Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 50

“Looking for me?” Feng Ling asks, a little surprised. She doesn’t know Chen Gang, but based on his height and age, Feng Ling realizes she can’t leave the service center or follow him to a secluded place. She walks toward the door. “Is there something you need?”

Her companions follow her out.

All the children at the service center are orphans, and they have learned to stick together without a teacher. After all, a group of underage kids without parental support could easily be bullied. By staying close to one another, they find confidence and the strength to stand tall.

Chen Gang doesn’t treat the children in front of him as mere children—living in such an environment, it’s normal for them to mature early. Children who lack parental love are forced to grow up faster.

“Do you know Longsheng Supermarket?” Chen Gang lowers his voice, not wanting others to hear that the supermarket is recruiting workers. While he doesn’t intend to bring all his relatives in, there’s always a chance. If the supermarket needs more workers, his relatives might have a chance too.

Even if he can’t pull strings to get them in, at least knowing about the recruitment ahead of time gives them an edge. Everyone understands the value of being in the right place at the right time.

Feng Ling nods. Chen Gang says, “I want to speak to you alone.”

He can tell that Feng Ling is the leader among the children. Sometimes, the hierarchy among children is clearer than it is among adults. Especially with teenagers, they are easily influenced by “authority.”

And right now, Feng Ling plays the role of “authority.”

He just needs to make things clear to her.

Feng Ling steps forward two paces, keeping half a meter between them. Chen Gang speaks in a voice only the two of them can hear, “The supermarket is hiring temporary workers. The boss asked me to see if you’re interested. The pay is in the form of store goods—you can choose what you want at the end of the month. Meals are included, but no lodging.”

Chen Gang is sure Feng Ling won’t refuse, but he still asks, “If you need time to think it over, I can come back tomorrow.”

Feng Ling’s eyes widen. Her body trembles slightly. She makes a swift decision. “No need! We’re ready now.”

“You guys go with him,” she turns to her companions, her voice stern. “Be careful.”

As long as they don’t take any side alleys, it will be fine. There are so many of them—even if Chen Gang is an adult man, two fists can’t fend off four hands.

“Lingling, you’re not coming?” Her companions take a few steps but turn back when they see Feng Ling still standing there, confused.

Feng Ling shakes her head. “I’m not in good health. If I don’t perform well, I’ll drag you all down.”

Her companions quickly say, “We’ll help you work! Just come!”

“Yeah! We can help you!”

“We’ll split your workload and finish it for you! It won’t be a big deal.”

“Come with us, Lingling. We won’t feel right if you’re not there.”

Feng Ling doesn’t budge. She still shakes her head. “No. I can’t let all of you be held back because of me.”

She knows very well that a job like this is rare.

Feng Ling bites her lower lip.

“Then if you’re not going, we’re not going either.”

“That’s right, we’ll share the burden. We can’t have a good job without you.”

“I’d rather stay here with you. It’s not like it’s a permanent job—if we don’t take it, we don’t take it.”

“Enough with the nonsense!” Feng Ling suddenly raises her voice. “Go if I tell you to go!” She rolls her eyes, then her voice softens. “If you go, I can still take advantage of you. If you don’t go, who will I take advantage of?”

Her companions: “…”

Although her words are blunt, they make sense.

Feng Ling raises her hand in a gesture to push them along. “Go, go. I’m closing the door.”

Although they haven’t had the white rice at the service center yet, they know the difference between having it once and having it every meal. They all follow Chen Gang to the supermarket.

One of them can’t help but ask Chen Gang, “If food is included, what do we eat?”

“Is there meat? Vegetables?”

“Do we get rice?”

Chen Gang shakes his head. “I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

The half-grown children chat excitedly. They don’t seem as numb or depressed as they had been in the past few days. “It’d be nice if there were fruits. I saw fruits being sold in the supermarket before! Big grapes! But I didn’t check the price.”

“You can exchange them with your salary.”

“You can exchange them, but I won’t. If I want to trade something, I’ll choose food that can be stored for a long time. Who knows how long this supermarket will stay open? Wasn’t it the same with the supermarket at the base? At first, no tickets were required, and things sold out right away. Then they started asking for tickets. Now, everyone has tickets, but the supermarket has no goods.”

“Yes, we still need to exchange for things that last. We don’t have a fridge.”

“Rice, cornmeal, and cured products are the best.”

“Exchange dried fruits too! Get some sugar.”

Although they haven’t started working yet, they are already planning how to spend their wages. Even though they lower their voices, passersby can still see their excitement.

As an adult, Chen Gang doesn’t let his excitement show, but listening to these half-grown children, he feels the same way.

No matter how long the supermarket stays open, at least for a while, they won’t have to worry about what to eat tomorrow.

It feels like there’s suddenly a goal, and life doesn’t feel like a stagnant, hopeless mess anymore.

Entering the supermarket for the second time, the half-grown children still look around, overwhelmed. When Cao’er hands them their uniforms, they mistake them for products.

Seeing the group of children, Cao’er quickly reminds them, “These are uniforms. You have to wear them when you go to work. Don’t think they’re ugly! The material is good, and the design is nice!”

The uniforms are custom-made by Ye Zhou for employees. It doesn’t matter where they are kept. They haven’t been used in the previous plane, but they won’t go to waste in this one.

A freckled boy whispers, “Do we have to pay for them?”

Cao’er shakes her head. “No. You’ll even get a second set after work for changing. And in autumn and winter, you’ll get two more sets.”

The kids blink. “No money?!”

Cao’er smiles. “Yes, but you have to leave your uniforms here when you’re not working so they can be disinfected and given to others.”

The children immediately say, “As long as the supermarket doesn’t fire us, we’ll never leave!”

Cao’er smiles again. “That’s the right attitude!”

She spends half an hour helping them get familiar with the different sections. “Your main job is guiding and giving directions. If customers don’t know where something is, you lead them there. If something runs out and we’re too busy, go get the security team to help restock.”

Although the supermarket is big, it only has a few main sections. The kids don’t memorize every shelf’s contents, but they at least remember the major areas—food, fresh produce, drinks, etc.

Zou Ming glances at his watch and says to Wu Yan, “Go ahead and open the door.”

Currently, two people are stationed at the supermarket’s main entrance, while the other workers are busy stocking goods.

Chen Gang and six of the older boys join the stocking team, which helps relieve some of the pressure on Wu Yan and his team.

Wu Yan and Zhou Wen exchange a look, their faces set with determination. They head toward the small door before the main entrance, each holding a loudspeaker and shouting, “Don’t crowd! Be careful of trampling! No pushing!”

There are more people today than yesterday. Yesterday, many residents didn’t get the news, but today nearly everyone in the base has come out.

The people in the queue are considerate, shouting back with their hands cupped to their mouths: “We know, we know! We all know!”

“No squeezing! Open the door already!”

“Yes, yes, yes, whoever squeezes is a bastard!”

With the word “bastard” being shouted, the crowd’s mood quickly shifts, and a few others join in, yelling: “Whoever squeezes will be a pig in their next life!”

“Whoever squeezes will be unlucky for life!”

“Whoever squeezes will be single forever!”

“Whoever squeezes will eat corn cakes for life!”

Wu Yan nods to Cao’er’s mother, who is inside, and she presses the switch to open the automatic sensor door.

As the door slides open, Wu Yan thinks to himself: With all these oaths, they shouldn’t push, right?

However—

A group of people, shouting about turning into pigs, having bad luck, or being single forever, pushes forward as though they are risking their lives.

The ones in the front lead the charge, and those in the back keep shoving.

Wu Yan rushes to stop the crowd but doesn’t have time to pick up the horn that has fallen to the ground. He shouts, “Don’t push! We agreed not to push!”

Zhou Wen and the others also try to block the crowd.

But the crowd is enormous. Their small efforts feel like a gnat trying to shake a tree. They can’t halt the tide of people.

Some of the thinner individuals can’t maintain their balance and fall to the ground as the crowd surges forward, nearly getting trampled.

Wu Yan is so anxious that he starts sweating. “Don’t push!!”

Zhou Wen and the others are shouting as well, but no one listens.

People aren’t worried about tomorrow—they fear they won’t be able to buy anything if they wait until late.

Many things fall to the ground: tickets, money, small personal items.

One person’s corn cake falls, getting covered in dust and trampled by the crowd.

“My corn cake! My corn cake!” The man bends down to pick it up.

Wu Yan, panicked, grabs his arm and shouts as loudly as he can, “Don’t lie down! Don’t pick up the fallen things!”

If that man dares to lie down, he might not get up again.

Just as the scene grows more chaotic, a gunshot rings out from the crowd.

The sharp “bang” is louder and more powerful than any of the previous warnings.

The crowd suddenly goes silent.

Everyone turns to look at the source of the gunshot.

Zou Ming stands there, holding a rifle, the dark muzzle aimed at the crowd. He speaks calmly: “Keep pushing. Since you’re not afraid of death, it’s better to die by my gun than under someone else’s feet. I’m not afraid to take lives. If you don’t want to live, feel free to try me.”

Zou Ming raises his chin slightly. His face is expressionless, and his dark eyes show no sign of emotion.

He looks utterly arrogant.