Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 2

In the security break room next to the supermarket entrance, Ye Zhou watches as the mother and daughter desperately stuff rice into their mouths. It’s the first time he’s seen people eat like beasts. He only realizes who they are after bringing them in.

It’s hard to discern their gender at first glance.

They’re so thin that they’ve lost all feminine features.

The older one isn’t dead—she only fainted from overwhelming joy, but the smell of porridge revives her.

Ye Zhou doesn’t plan on asking them questions just yet, so he lets them eat first.

The mother and daughter don’t use spoons. Instead, they grab the rice with their hands, not letting a single grain go to waste. By the end of the meal, they even lick the remaining rice soup from the bottom of the bowl.

Their eating is nothing short of ferocious.

Ye Zhou is relieved that he remembers to only heat up two servings of instant porridge for them, knowing that people who have been starving for a long time shouldn’t eat too much at once—and certainly not meat. He carefully selects vegetables instead.

He doesn’t know if his attentiveness moves them, but it certainly moves him.

After finishing the porridge, the mother and daughter are still hungry. Their bellies remain flat, but even if their stomachs were full, their mouths wouldn’t feel satisfied. Years of hunger have made them unwilling to let go of any food. As long as they can eat, they will keep eating.

Back in their hometown, they could never afford to eat white rice. Even though their family grows rice, the amount left after paying rent and land taxes isn’t enough to last a year. They’re forced to sell the rice in exchange for cheaper food.

During bad years, they survive on bran.

Their family also raises chickens, but those chickens are for laying eggs. If they save the eggs, they can trade them in town for salt, needles, and thread.

Cao’er has never eaten white rice since she can remember. She doesn’t think the Lord Immortal gives her too little, but she hates how quickly she eats—finishing it before she can even taste it.

“Finished?” Cao’er hears a gentle male voice.

She’s never heard such a beautiful voice in her life!

She doesn’t dare look at him, or even raise her head to speak.

In a voice so soft it’s barely audible, she says, “Immortal… Immortal… finished… finished eating…”

Ye Zhou replies, “You’ve been hungry for too long. You can’t eat too much at once, or your stomach will burst.”

Cao’er doesn’t understand, but she believes that what the Lord Immortal says must be true. If he says her stomach will burst if she eats more, then it certainly will.

“Immortal! I kowtow to you!” Cao’er’s mother supports herself with one hand, pushes the chair away with one leg, and prepares to kneel again. She’s a country woman who’s never seen anyone more respectable than the landlord. Kneeling and kowtowing are the only ways she knows to show respect.

When she was a girl, her parents once took her up the mountain to worship Buddha. They told her that only if she kowtowed until her head bled would it be considered true sincerity, and then Buddha would bless her.

Even though the one who saves her now isn’t Buddha but an immortal, she thinks that as long as she hits her head hard enough, surely that will show sincerity, right?

Cao’er suddenly realizes, to her shock, that she hasn’t kowtowed yet. Her face goes pale. She quickly pushes her chair away and kneels on the ground.

Ye Zhou, quick on his feet, holds one of them back with a hand. He knows that if they really kowtow that hard, it’ll definitely shorten their lives.

“Do you have a place to go?” Ye Zhou asks.

The question catches the mother and daughter’s attention. They twist their bodies, held back by Ye Zhou, and look at each other.

Cao’er’s mother blinks, but no tears come out. Her tears have long since dried up. Now, if she cuts her skin, she can bleed a little, but even if she bites her tongue, no tears will fall.

“Immortal, Immortal, we will work like slaves for you. We can do anything! Please let us stay here, Immortal! You can ask me to do anything! Anything is fine!” Cao’er’s mother pleads in a panic, her fear obvious. “Please, let us stay!”

If Ye Zhou weren’t holding her up, she would definitely try to kowtow again.

Ye Zhou doesn’t think they’re being greedy. They’re in such a miserable state that it’s understandable they’d beg to stay after finally finding hope.

Besides, Ye Zhou genuinely needs them.

He needs someone to help him understand this world.

They’re both powerless and pose no threat. Even if they have ill intentions, Ye Zhou feels confident he can handle them. It’s far better than bringing in a strong young man—if that person turns out to be dangerous, Ye Zhou might not even be able to defend himself.

After all, Ye Zhou has never learned martial arts like sanda or boxing. He’s good at running and playing basketball, but he doesn’t even play football that often.

(Translator’s Notes: Sanda (散打), also known as Sanshou (散手), is a modern Chinese combat sport that combines traditional kung fu techniques with more contemporary combat elements like kickboxing and wrestling.)

He has no experience in fighting. He’s been a model student, excelling academically and morally. Even basketball is something he plays only because it looks cool.

“You can stay if you want,” Ye Zhou says with a serious expression. “But you have to shave your head. No—all the hair on your body must be shaved.”

Ye Zhou feels a little embarrassed, but he keeps a straight face and suppresses the discomfort. “There are many things and a lot of food in my supermarket. It would be bad if you brought fleas in. You’ll need to change clothes too. I’ll get them for you later. Shave your head, take a shower, then put on the new clothes.”

With that, Ye Zhou leaves the room.

He doesn’t know what else to say. Even if he has questions, he’ll need to wait until they’ve rested. Asking them now, in this condition, won’t help.

Ye Zhou goes behind the supermarket and washes himself with a water pipe. To avoid fleas, he throws away his clothes and washes his hair with sulfur soap. He isn’t sure if sulfur soap will help, but it has to be better than just shampoo, right?

Just in case, he wraps his hair tightly in a shower cap.

After sorting things out for the mother and daughter, he plans to wash his hair again with pediculicides and water.

(Translator’s Notes: pediculicides are medications or substances used to kill lice)

Once he finishes taking care of himself, Ye Zhou enters the supermarket from the back door and grabs two sets of women’s clothes—two pairs of trousers and short-sleeved shirts. He thinks for a moment and then takes two coats as well.

He also grabs two razors and a bar of soap.

Their hair is so dry and yellow that it breaks with the slightest touch, so there’s no need to bring shampoo.

There’s a simple shower room in the security break room. After all, this is a 24-hour supermarket. When it was being decorated, Ye Zhou specifically told the team that the shower room didn’t need to be fully equipped—just enough to provide hot water.

While Ye Zhou stays busy, the mother and daughter in the break room can’t calm down.
The porridge they’ve just eaten replenishes their energy. Everything in the break room is new to them. They want to take off their eyeballs and hang them on the ceiling just to see everything clearly.

“That lamp is really bright,” Cao’er’s mother says in awe.

Cao’er nods and whispers, “Mother, that’s definitely not the kind of light we’ve seen before. The landlord’s oil lamps weren’t this bright. This one doesn’t even have fire. It must be an Immortal’s light. This place could be an Immortal’s palace.”

Cao’er’s mother tightly grasps her daughter’s hand. “We’ll work like cattle and horses for the Lord Immortal. We have to stay!”

Cao’er nods fiercely. She wants to stay here, even if it means working until old age and death. If only they had found this place sooner. Then, her father and younger brother wouldn’t have died, her second sister wouldn’t have been sold, and her little sister wouldn’t have been abandoned.

At one point, her mother even considered selling her too. It might have been better to be sold. No matter what price the buyer paid, it would have been in exchange for food, and she wouldn’t have starved to death.

But Cao’er doesn’t dare to leave. If she does, her mother really won’t survive.
No one would buy a woman who’s already given birth.

“We shouldn’t have sold little sister…” Cao’er chokes, her voice breaking. “Er Ya never even ate rice…”

Cao’er’s mother lowers her head in silence. She doesn’t dare to think about the past. She doesn’t dare to think about her children. If Cao’er weren’t with her, she might’ve already thrown herself off a mountain.

Life is hard, so hard that even her bones feel worn to dust.

When a knock sounds at the door, the mother and daughter immediately quiet down.

Ye Zhou asks, “Can I come in?”

Cao’er’s mother quickly replies, “Please come in, Immortal.”

This time, Ye Zhou is fully prepared before entering the break room. Not only is he wearing a shower cap, but he also has on a disposable raincoat, and he ties the cuffs with rubber bands, fearing that lice might take the opportunity to sneak in. He also carries the clothes and bath towels for the mother and daughter in sealed bags.

“I’ll adjust the water for you. Once you’re done washing, take your clothes and change outside,” Ye Zhou says. “I won’t watch.”

The mother and daughter have seen everything on their journey to escape famine, so they aren’t shy.

“Immortal… These clothes are too good for us…” Cao’er’s mother says anxiously.

Ye Zhou walks toward the shower room, turning on the shower while adjusting the water temperature. “Clothes are made for people to wear. How can they not be suitable?”

When the water is just right, he says, “Go ahead and wash. Once you’re done, go outside to change. Call me when you’re ready, and I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

Cao’er is startled. “Immortal, we can sleep by the door!”

Ye Zhou waves his hand. “No, you’ll follow my arrangements.”

After they head to the supermarket’s rest room, Ye Zhou sprays the break room with insecticide. He doesn’t mind dirt or clutter—the only thing he can’t allow is lice.

He tells them how to turn off the water after washing and then leaves. He unlocks the supermarket and heads straight to the employee break room.

The security break room is by the door, the employee break room is inside the store, and Ye Zhou also has his own private break room.

Ye Zhou looks around and feels there’s nothing to add or remove. The new store hasn’t opened yet, and the employee break room has a bunk bed, a small wardrobe, and a table. Ye Zhou has never run a business before, but when opening the supermarket, he thought that if he treated his employees well, they might work harder. He’d done everything he could—if they weren’t dedicated, he wouldn’t feel guilty about firing them. Unexpectedly, this break room becomes useful. Although the security room has a simple shower, it doesn’t have a bed. The mother and daughter are in such a miserable state, and Ye Zhou can’t bear to let them sleep on the floor.

In the security room, the mother and daughter squat by the shower door, watching the water from the showerhead gush down. They stare, mesmerized, neither of them speaking.

Only an Immortal can make water flow like that! Now that the riverbed is dry, only an Immortal can bring forth water!

The mother and daughter squat there for a long time before finally going in to wash together. Afterward, they take the bag of clothes and bath towels and change in the light by the supermarket entrance.

The weather is hot, dry, and rainless. Even the evening wind feels warm.

“Mother, why are the sleeves of this dress so short?” Cao’er asks, holding up the short-sleeved shirt. She has never seen such a thing. Even the poorest in the countryside wear sleeves that cover their arms and legs.

Cao’er’s mother squints at the shirt, pretending to be knowledgeable. “In the eyes of immortals, we’re all just mortals, with only a few bones and a bit of skin. What’s a few inches of sleeves missing?”

Cao’er touches the fabric, her eyes sparkling, and says in wonder, “Mother! Feel it.”

Cao’er’s mother also reaches out and touches it, unable to let go.

Ye Zhou asks from outside the door, “Are you dressed?”

The mother and daughter hurriedly put their clothes on.

After confirming they’re dressed, Ye Zhou opens the supermarket door and prepares to show them to the break room.

Just as the mother and daughter step into the supermarket, a computer prompt sounds, startling them. They quickly huddle together.

The light shines on them, and their shaved heads reflect the glow.

Ye Zhou is puzzled. He hasn’t turned on the computer, and even if he had, it’s not connected to the supermarket’s speaker system.

But there’s no time to investigate now, so he guides the mother and daughter to the break room.

“The light switch is here. Just press it like this when you want to sleep,” Ye Zhou demonstrates. “I’ll get you two sets of clothes to change into tomorrow. Rest well tonight. I’m leaving.”

With that, he closes the door and quickly leaves, heading back to his own break room to check the computer.

As for the security room, he’ll wait until he figures out the source of the prompt before disinfecting it.