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Chapter 24 Being Surrounded
"Knock. Knock. Knock." The rhythmic knocking sounded in the middle of the night. The mother and daughter opened their eyes at the same time, and in the moonlight streaming through the window, they could see the panic on each other's faces.
That person came again.

Jiang Wumei regretted her carelessness that day, saying that thing outside.

Neither of them expected that on that day, in that place, there would be someone listening.

“What should we do about Mother? This man has come twice this month.” Jiang Wumei sat up, curling her legs up.

Shen Xiangyun silently got up, hugged her in her arms, and gently stroked her back. "It's okay, we can always solve it."

"Mother, I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

"What's good or bad about children? You have to understand that not everyone in this world will be kind to you; there will definitely be people with bad intentions." Shen Xiangyun took it all in stride.

Liu San was just a street thug, nothing special, but he was incredibly difficult to deal with.

From the moment he first came to her door threatening her with those words from that day, she knew this day would come.

A person's appetite will grow bigger and bigger as they are nurtured.

"How can he be so greedy!" Jiang Wumei complained in a low voice. "Mother can't give it to him this time. If we do, will he ask for a third time?"

“He will definitely come back again and again, each time asking for more, until we can give him nothing more.”

Shen Xiangyun spoke softly, yet her voice was icy and biting, colder than the night wind.

"Then...should we still give it to them?"

"give him."

"Why?"

"It's just some grain. When he comes back a couple more times, we'll tell him it's all gone."

"Would he just let it go?"

Jiang Wumei didn't believe it; how could such a greedy person possibly give up?

"Go to sleep, give him the food stamps tomorrow." Shen Xiangyun had her own plans.

People like Liu San are greedy and insatiable, but they are useful.

The next day, Jiang Wumei stayed home all day with Shen Xiangyun, waiting for Liu San to come over.

The person arrived just after noon.

"Oh dear! My aunt and sister are waiting for me. I'm so sorry I'm late." Liu San grinned, wearing a thick cotton coat with brand-new cuffs.

Jiang Wumei immediately recognized that it was a new dress, which must have been bought with money obtained from her family, and her eyes filled with hatred.

"Hurry up and grab your things and leave." She pulled out two grain coupons that she had prepared beforehand from her pocket and shoved them into his hand.

Liu San weighed the grain coupons in his hand, then suddenly pushed her aside and tried to barge into the house. "Let me see how much I have left? Your house has a high threshold; you can't let us ordinary folks go hungry, can you?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Aren't you going to do anything? Just take a look." He overturned the kitchen box, tore open the wicker basket covered with cloth, and pulled out a bag of rice. "Wow, well hidden!"

Jiang Wumei rushed to grab it, but he pushed her back and she hit the corner of the table, resulting in a bruise on her elbow.

"Liu San!" Shen Xiangyun called out softly.

"Here you go, here you go!" Liu San reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Auntie, I didn't do anything. My sister was just too impulsive. His injury has nothing to do with me." Liu San shrugged, looking nonchalant.

Jiang Wumei was so angry that she wanted to argue with him. "Liu San, you've got your benefits, so just leave. But I also want to say something to you: going on and on like this is going too far. Is this how your father taught you to be a person?"

As Shen Xiangyun spoke, she stared at Liu San with a cold gaze.

Liu San was startled. He had come to the Shen family to swindle things, but he couldn't let his father know.

His father had received a great favor from the Shen family; if he knew what he had done, he would definitely beat him to death.

He chuckled dryly, "Auntie, you're joking. I certainly understand the reasoning behind it."

With grain coupons in his hand, Liu San walked away slowly. It seemed he couldn't come anytime soon and would have to wait a while. He needed to devise a new way to make money.

The next day, when Jiang Wumei went to buy rice, she happened to see Liu San again, and the boy waved to her.

Jiang Wumei initially didn't want to pay attention, but not wanting to cause any further trouble, she had no choice but to go over.

Before Liu San could even speak, she tossed the bag of rice she had just bought over, saying, "That's all. Take it and don't come looking for me again."

“This isn’t enough,” Liu San chuckled, patting the bag. Then, his eyes darted around, and he decided to threaten, “Either bring another ten pounds of fine grain, or I’ll send this to the neighborhood office.”

Jiang Wumei trembled with anger, "You've already taken the rice, how dare you push your luck?"

"You gave me the rice yourself." Liu San hugged the rice bag to his chest and started acting like a rogue.

"Get out of here." Jiang Wumei ignored him and turned to leave. Liu San chased after her, running ahead, which attracted the attention of some people.

That day, when Jiang Wumei was returning home, she felt like someone was following her, so she quickened her pace as she weaved through the alley.

After circling around a few times, figuring out that he should have shaken them off, he slowed down.

Suddenly a dark shadow appeared in front of him. "Run! Where are you going?"

"Who are you? What are you doing following me?" Jiang Wumei shouted as she backed away. Before she could turn around, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see two people standing there.

It was blocked by someone.

"What do you want?"

"We've come to you, Miss Capitalist, what do you think we're after? Of course, it's for money." A man reached out to touch her hair, but she raised her hand and slapped it away.

The man got angry and slapped her across the face. "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

"You're not from around here!" Despite being slapped, Jiang Wumei remained calm. She knew very well that she was familiar with the kinship ties among her neighbors over the years. These two people weren't from around here, so why were they watching her?

"Don't ask so many questions. We just need money. Otherwise, we'll report your family to the neighborhood committee for being capitalist remnants."

The burning pain on her cheeks was a constant reminder to her, but Jiang Wumei covered her face and glared at them, though tears did not fall from her eyes.

After they left, grumbling and cursing, she knew she couldn't hide it anymore.

She covered her face, hiding the handprint on her cheek, and hurried home.

She closed the door as soon as she got home. When she came back, she saw a letter that had just been delivered on the table, but she didn't pay attention to it and went straight into the house to find her mother.

"Mom, something bad has happened!"

Shen Xiangyun had just finished writing her reply when she turned around and saw her daughter who had just been slapped across the face.

"Wu Mei! Who hit you!"

(End of this chapter)