Why is the system taking my request to photograph a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 211 Meeting a Benefactor Leads to Great Wealth!

On the third day, Baima went out to look for work as usual, and the result was the same as always.

In short, don't take summer jobs!

After finishing the last interview, Baima slumped down by the roadside, feeling like a headless fly.

Around noon, a message popped up on my phone.

[Ding Heng]: Have you found a job yet?

【白马非马】: No.

[White Horse is Not a Horse]: [crying]

Ding Heng: Hmm.

There was no comfort, no advice, and they couldn't even be bothered to send a meme.

Baima pouted, put her phone back in her pocket, and her stomach started growling again, but she didn't go looking for a place to eat.

Although she received a huge income of 720 yesterday, Baima dared not spend it recklessly.

It's not a big deal to miss a meal, since Sister Jiang will be there when I get home tonight.

Pema gritted her teeth, got up, and continued walking forward.

She wandered aimlessly down the street, her eyes scanning every job posting.

"Hiring waiters/waitresses, starting salary 3,000 yuan per month, room and board included."

"Hiring sales associates, base salary plus commission."

"Hiring dishwashers, salary negotiable."

The sun grew increasingly intense, and Baima began to sweat. Her clothes were soaked and clung to her skin, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

She found a shady spot under a tree and squatted down again. She turned on her phone, and suddenly, big data pushed a "Star City Gig Market" to her.

gig market —

After much hesitation, Baima decided to go and take a look.

Taking the subway cost her another four yuan, reducing her balance from 958 to 954.

Stepping out of the subway station, the sun was blazing. Baima followed the navigation and walked forward.

The gig economy market is more vibrant than Pema had imagined.

The area in front of the gate was crowded with people, men and women, young and old, some dozing against the wall, others squatting on the ground smoking—many with cigarettes laid out in front of them.

Holding up a cardboard sign with the words "laborer," "porter," and "cleaner" written on it, he stares blankly at the passing crowd.

Baima blended in, completely unaware of where to go or who to look for.

Fortunately, Ding Heng gave her the glasses, so she didn't become the center of attention.

"We're hiring! We're hiring!"

Suddenly, someone got out of a car by the roadside, shouting as they walked, "Porter! 380 yuan a day, dinner included. Need five. Strong guys, come on over!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd stood up and surged forward.

"Me! Me! Me!"

"Wow! I'm strong!"

"Old Qi, it's me, an old acquaintance!"

Pema was pushed aside, and when she looked up again, the people recruiting were already surrounded by a huge crowd.

Then two more people came to recruit workers, one time needing three cleaners and the other time needing two loaders, and each time it was the same scene.

The crowd surged forward and snatched everything up in an instant, then dispersed like the ebb and flow of the tide.

Baima let out a long breath, a wave of exhaustion washing over her, as if she had been completely drained from the inside out.

Here, she doesn't even have the right to compete for jobs!

Suddenly, a thin girl appeared in front of her.

Gray short-sleeved shirt, black trousers, and a pair of sneakers whose brand is unknown.

She was not tall, with prominent cheekbones and a pointed chin. Overall, she looked even thinner than Hua Qing, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

"Um—excuse me, could I borrow your phone to make a call? My phone was just stolen."

The skinny girl has asked many people, and the answer she received was always a rejection.

The bespectacled woman in front of me, Baima, was unassuming in appearance and seemed approachable.

Pema instinctively reached into her pocket.

Using a mobile phone?

She recalled the scams she had seen online before and became extremely vigilant.

"Please, I'm in a real hurry!"

The thin girl pleaded again, "Please, have mercy, I just want to make one phone call, less than a minute, I'll make it right in front of you, okay?"

After hesitating for a long time, Baima finally softened and took out her phone to unlock it and hand it over.

The girl quickly reached out and took it, then dialed a number.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

She held the phone to her ear and shouted, "Hey? Where are you? — It's not that my phone got stolen — Don't ask, I'm at that — come pick me up — the gig market — Okay, I'll wait for you!"

After hanging up the phone, the thin girl handed the phone back to Baima.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Baima took the phone, and the thin girl squatted down and rummaged through her bag, muttering to herself.

"My ID card and bank cards are still here—thankfully I didn't put them behind my phone case—"

Baima stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay.

"Um—your phone was stolen, do you need help reporting it to the police?"

"What's the point of reporting it? It's just a broken wall-mounted air conditioner; the police won't care."

"Wall-mounted air conditioner, what is a wall-mounted air conditioner?"

"Um----"

The thin girl looked up and glanced at Baima.

Because of the [Holy Radiance Disguise Mask], from a female perspective, Bai Ma is just an ordinary girl, except that she is a little shorter and has fairer skin.

"You just came to Changsha looking for work?"

"right."

"No wonder—he doesn't understand anything."

"I----"

Before Baima could answer, her stomach rumbled.

"It's past 2 PM and you still haven't eaten?"

"Isn't he busy looking for a job? —"

Baima smiled shyly.

Immediately afterward, an electric scooter turned into the alley and stopped in front of the two.

The person riding the bicycle was a short-haired girl, much more robust than the thin girl, with tanned skin.

She yelled at the skinny girl, "What? Your phone got stolen?"

The thin girl stood up and patted the dust off her pants: "I just came out of the market, my phone was still in my hand, and it was gone in the blink of an eye. I don't even know when it was taken."

The short-haired girl scratched her head, then turned to Baima. "What's this?"

"I borrowed your phone to make a call."

The short-haired girl from Baima Chong nodded, unsure of what to say, and politely said "Hello."

The short-haired girl nodded at her.

The skinny girl casually asked, "Want to grab something to eat together? It's on me."

"That's not a good idea—"

"It's okay, I haven't eaten either."

The thin girl turned around, got on the electric scooter, and patted the back seat: "Get on."

Looking at the two girls in front of her, Baima felt a strange sense of novelty and stopped being coy.

Since I can't find a job anyway, I might as well talk to some people first; sharpening my axe won't delay my work.

The seats were narrow, so the three of them had to squeeze together.

The short-haired girl turned the handle, and the car started with a hum, suddenly lurching forward. Then it began to twist and turn, and because the road conditions were bad, the bumpy ride made Baima's butt hurt.

Finally, the three of them arrived at a small restaurant.

It was past lunchtime, and there weren't many people in the restaurant except for an old man leisurely drinking beer.

The slender girl sat down in front of the fan and called out to the proprietress, "Three dishes, please—stir-fried pork with chili peppers, spicy and sour chicken giblets, and water spinach with garlic."

The proprietress responded and turned to walk into the kitchen.

The short-haired girl rolled her eyes: "Are you crazy? We're going to buy a phone later, why are you ordering so much food?"

"fine."

The skinny girl pulled a wad of crumpled cash from her pocket: "This is the cash I got from my part-time job yesterday. I'll get a new phone card later, and we can make do with one for now."

After saying that, she took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, put it in her mouth, lit it, and took a deep drag.

The smoke filled the air, causing Baima to instinctively cover her nose.

The skinny girl asked, "Can't you stand the smell of smoke?"

"fine."

Bai Ma released her grip: "It's just a little...uncomfortable."

The thin girl held the cigarette between her fingers, flicking off the ash: "You'd better get used to it. When you're looking for work, the smell of smoke is a common occurrence. You smoke on construction sites, in factories, and it's everywhere in the casual labor market. You have to smell it even if you don't like it."

Baima nodded but didn't reply.

The thin girl took another drag of her cigarette, turned her gaze to Bai Ma's phone, and unceremoniously reached out and took it, examining it from all angles.

"Fruit 17 Pro Ma?"

She held the phone up to her face: "How much did you pay for it? How many installments?"

Baima looked completely bewildered: "What installment plan?"

"Are you kidding me?"

The thin girl examined it carefully again to make sure it wasn't a counterfeit before handing it back to Baima.

She put the cigarette back in her mouth and mumbled, "If you hadn't been paying for your phone on installments, would you be struggling to afford food now?"

Baima tried to explain, but didn't know how to say it.

Last year, when the Fruit 17 was first released, Secretary Huang asked her if she wanted to exchange it. She nodded, and the next day Secretary Huang brought her a new one.

As for installment payments—she had no idea.

"Is the iPhone 17 any good? If my credit score wasn't ruined, I'd like to borrow one and try it out."

The skinny girl sighed and lamented, "I used to use a 16-inch phone, but a man tricked me into getting my butt flashed. He turned me into a wall-mounted phone and then just walked away."

Baima looked completely bewildered again: "What's PG?"

"It's not a good thing."

The skinny girl didn't bother to explain: "You don't need to know."

Bai Ma simply said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

The food was served, 15 yuan per dish, and the taste was passable.

The skinny girl wolfed down her food, leaving Baima speechless.

She's so skinny, like a bamboo pole, yet she eats so wildly?

Why are you looking at me like that?

The skinny girl noticed Bai Ma's gaze: "Eat yours."

"It's nothing."

Baima lowered her head and continued eating, finding it increasingly novel.

After finishing her meal, the thin girl counted out a fifty-yuan note and handed it to the proprietress, taking back five yuan in change.

She asked Baima, "You just came to Xingcheng to look for work, do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"It's very convenient for me to live here."

Baima tentatively asked, "I just want to find a job now to earn some pocket money."

For some reason, Baima had a strong intuition that the girl in front of her could help her complete her plan to buy a car!

The skinny girl then asked, "It's a little past three now, and I happen to have a job. It's from five to nine o'clock, six hours, and I get a hundred yuan. Are you interested?"

Pema asked warily, "Is it serious?"

The skinny girl scoffed and slammed her hand on the table.

"Don't worry, I have the utmost contempt for those guys who just lie on the bed with their legs spread wide. If I wanted to earn that kind of money, would I be squatting here like this?"

Bai Ma was amused by the thin girl's blunt and vulgar remarks, and her worries were relieved.

"Dry!"

She readily agreed: "One hundred it is fine, it's better than getting nothing."

The thin girl took the electric scooter keys from the short-haired girl, turned around and walked out, and Baima quickly followed.

After the electric scooter had traveled a short distance, the thin girl started chatting.

"What's your name?"

"Pema, Pema Yangjin."

"What a strange name!"

"Hmm—and you?"

"Huang Yue, I'm nineteen this year, so I should be older than you, right?"

"Sister Huang Yue."

Bai Ma called out obediently.

Huang Yue didn't answer and continued riding her bike: "How long have you been out?"

"Not long after."

Baima mumbled, "I only started looking for a job a few days ago. What about you, Sister Huang Yue?"

"I came here the year before last."

"The year before last?"

"Yeah, I didn't finish vocational school. I came to Changsha with my boyfriend. I was so infatuated back then, I didn't even get my diploma."

Huang Yue lamented, "Now that men run away, I'm just drifting through life."

Baima sensed that Huang Yue sounded indifferent, but then again, she felt that she wasn't entirely indifferent.

Is it difficult to make money in Changsha?

"It depends on how much you want. Although the wages in Xingcheng are low, it's not too difficult to make a living by working a day job."

"Sister Huang Yue, is there any way to earn 5,000 yuan in 20 days?"

Huang Yue tightened her grip on the handlebars and glanced at Bai Ma in the rearview mirror.

"What would you do with 5000?"

"Buy a car."

Baima blurted it out, and immediately regretted it.

"Buy a car?"

Huang Yue paused for a second, then said "Oh," her tone suddenly realizing, "You're planning to buy a car to deliver food?"

Baima didn't explain.

"Let me tell you, that kind of work isn't something we women can do."

Huang Yue's tone became serious: "It's exposed to the wind and sun, and it's dangerous. Several of my friends have tried it, and none of them lasted—I suggest you just do a day-wage job, it's more comfortable! If you really want to save money, I can introduce you to a factory job. If you're careful with your spending, you can save five thousand in two months."

The two chatted along the way and eventually arrived at a newly opened supermarket.

Huang Yue parked her car and strode into the supermarket. When she came out, she had a stack of colorful flyers and an orange vest in her hand.

"Give."

She handed the vest and half a flyer to Baima: "The task is simple: put on the vest and go to the roadside to hand out flyers. After you've finished handing them out, go back inside to get new ones. Continue until the supermarket closes at nine o'clock."

"clear!"

Baima nodded excitedly.

The sun slowly sank in the west, but its lingering heat was intense, making people's scalps burn and causing Baima's legs to ache.

From six o'clock to ten o'clock, for a full four hours, she barely sat down.

Huang Yue didn't seem tired at all; her voice was still loud and clear, and her hands kept moving.

Occasionally, a few elderly people would pass by and chat with her for a bit, laughing at her antics.

At 8:55, as the supermarket was preparing to close, Baima finished handing out the last few flyers in her hand, walked to the steps, and plopped down on the floor.

My legs felt numb, sore, and swollen; they felt like they no longer belonged to me.

Huang Yue came to Baima's side, took out a crumpled hundred-yuan bill from her pocket and handed it to her.

"Give."

Baima took it and asked, "What about yours?"

Huang Yue said nonchalantly, "They'll transfer the money to my WeChat account. I can start receiving payments tomorrow after I get a new phone card."

Do you need a new phone?

"We'll see. If it doesn't work out, we can just find a wall-mounted air conditioner to make do."

Baima didn't ask any more questions, folded the money neatly, and stuffed it into her pocket.

100 was below expectations, but at least it wasn't zero.

After resting for a while, Huang Yue got up and got back on her electric scooter: "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Baima shook her head and took out her phone from her pocket: "No need, someone is coming to pick me up."

Huang Yue didn't force her and waved to Baima.

"Bye-Bye."

"Bye-Bye."

Baima watched Huang Yue's figure disappear around the street corner, then dialed Ding Heng's voice call.

"what?"

"Brother, come pick me up, I know you're nearby."

"laugh."

Ding Heng chuckled and hung up immediately.

Two minutes later, a black Mercedes slowly pulled up in front of Baima.

Baima opened the passenger door and plopped in. Feeling the air conditioning blowing, she felt reborn after being scorched by the sun all afternoon!

Ding Heng asked curiously, "How did you know I was nearby?"

Stop pretending.

Baima fastened her seatbelt and leaned back in her seat.

"Last time I went for a job interview as a network administrator, you suddenly appeared. I knew you must have been secretly following me."

After saying that, she immediately turned to the side, put her hands on Ding Heng's arm, and looked up at him coquettishly, "Brother, you're the best! How could you possibly let your adorable little sister like me wander around looking for work all by herself?"

Ding Heng couldn't hold back any longer; the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Just this week."

He looked ahead and said, "Since your sisters-in-law aren't here, I can still keep you company. But once they all go back to Xingcheng, I won't have time."

Bai Ma's smile vanished instantly. She released Ding Heng's arm in a huff and gave a sullen reply.

"understood."

The little girl felt a pang of sadness.

Does this mean that your younger sister isn't as important as your girlfriends?

That's true—she can hardly even be considered a younger sister anymore.

Ding Heng started the car and smoothly changed the subject: "You seem to be in a good mood today."

Baima put away her affectation: "Of course, I made new friends today."

"friend?"

"Yes, you saw her too. Her name is Huang Yue. She's the one who helped me earn this hundred today!"

Baima pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, grinning foolishly, "I have a feeling I can make a fortune following Huang Yue and buy a Land Rover!"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true! Just you wait and see."

Ding Heng didn't refute, but chuckled softly.

"Okay, good luck!"