Chapter 18: The Child Is Still Young, Don’t Harm Him

“Everyone, line up properly and don’t rush. You arrived early, so there are plenty of empty beds in the dormitory. Since it’s still early, the only ones handling the enrollment today are just a few of us, so please bear with us and wait in line.”

The person in charge wore a red armband and appeared quite young—likely a senior from one of the departments.

Seeing her standing at the very back of the line with a small child in tow, the senior approached.

“You… why are you bringing a kid along?”

“Hello, senior. My parents are at work and there’s no one to watch my little brother, so I brought him with me. After finishing here, we’ll have lunch together to avoid making extra trips,” Lin Wei explained.

“Oh, you’re from around here, no wonder you only brought a little luggage.”

The senior said no more, nodded, and walked away.

After about fifteen minutes, it was their turn. Lin Wei handed over her admission notice. The senior who had spoken with her earlier took it and looked surprised. “You’re in the Architecture Department? A junior, huh?”

“Oh, senior, what year are you in?”

He smiled. “I’m a third-year in Architecture. I’m He Yu. Junior, nice to meet you.”

“Please take care of me too, senior.”

Perhaps because they shared the same major, after completing the formalities, He Yu hesitated for a moment, picking through a bunch of keys before handing one to her.

“We checked in advance; this dorm is pretty decent. You’ll stay here. The dorm supervisors won’t check rooms before school starts, but you must return three days before classes begin.” He pointed to the side. “Over there—let that person take you.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Most new students arrived with lots of luggage, so many boys came to help carry. But the dorm area wasn’t far; the girls’ dorm was just up a slope, then a left turn at the end.

Lin Wei’s room was 303 on the third floor.

With only one bag, she carried it up herself.

Opening the dorm door revealed an empty room, not yet occupied.

The bed frame was broken and creaked with any movement.

The desks and chairs were chipped, and the wardrobe was scratched all over, but the space wasn’t cramped.

Judging by the environment alone, Lin Wei couldn’t see any particular advantage, but since her family wasn’t well-off, she didn’t mind.

She chose the upper bunk on the right, tossed her bag up, and claimed the bed. She locked the wardrobe and desk drawers, simply marking her territory.

—

After leaving the school, the two took a bus to Jiangzheng Street.

Jiangzheng Street was a large wholesale market in Jiangcheng, covering all sorts of goods for clothing, food, living, and travel.

Lin Wei quickly found the insulated food container she wanted, but the price was steep—

“Sixty-five each, no bargaining.”

Lin Wei widened her eyes. “That expensive? Can it be cheaper?”

“I said no bargaining. If the kid doesn’t want it, don’t cause a fuss here.”

“Who said I’m not buying? Your price is just too high.” Lin Wei tugged Lin Yuan’s hand. “Come on, let’s check somewhere else.”

Unfortunately, prices were similar everywhere.

Lin Wei entered a shop where the owner was relatively polite. “Boss, I want four. Can you give me a discount?”

Seeing she wanted that many, the boss hesitated. “Sixty each, so two hundred forty for four.”

“One eighty.”

The boss nearly cursed her. “How can you offer that price? I’d lose out badly at one eighty. No sale, no sale.”

Lin Wei started to walk away with Lin Yuan.

Seeing she was serious about leaving, the boss immediately reconsidered. “Add a bit, add a bit, alright? Our containers are different from others. Best quality around here and come with lids.”

“Ninety-five each, that’s 190 for four.”

“Two hundred flat. Plus a stainless steel spoon for free. Little lady, I can’t go lower. Any less and I take a loss.”

The boss looked heartbroken but began packing immediately. Lin Wei wasn’t sure if it was expensive, but it was within her budget.

“Boss, do you have disposable large lunch boxes?”

“Yes. How many do you want? I’ll give you a discount.”

In the end, Lin Wei bought three big boxes of disposable lunch containers for fifty yuan.

Luckily, these were light. Though not convenient to carry, they managed to bring them home.

“Yuan Yuan, walk ahead of me and hold one of the containers with one hand. Don’t lose it.”

“I know, sister. I’ll hold it steady and help carry.”

The siblings cautiously squeezed through the crowd to the bus stop. After much difficulty, they finally brought everything home.

—

After resting briefly, Lin Wei took her brother to lunch.

Later, after shopping for groceries and bringing them back, their day’s tasks were finally complete.

The siblings sat in the courtyard preparing vegetables. Lin Yuan asked curiously, “Sister, will you take me with you to sell boxed meals tomorrow?”

“Of course, I’ll bring you. I want you to be my living advertisement. When noon comes tomorrow, I’ll give you a bowl of rice. You’ll sit at the door eating, and when people see you enjoying your meal, they’ll get hungry and come buy.”

Before Lin Yuan could reply, two children from next door shouted through the wall, “Sister, can we be living ads too?”

Startled by their loud voices, Lin Wei said, “You two are home too? You have sharp ears.”

Turning, the two kids ran into her yard. “Sister Weiwei, can we come with you when you sell meals tomorrow? We can be your advertisements. My mom says we eat so well, anyone who sees us gets hungry.”

The two chubby kids had comical faces, clearly big eaters.

But Lin Wei didn’t dare take other children out.

“Jiangdu Road isn’t far but not very close either. You probably don’t usually play that far, right? It’s not that I don’t want to treat you; it’s just that I can’t be responsible for other children’s safety that far away.”

The boys ignored her words, exchanging a glance before saying, “We’ve played that far before. We often go over there. Sister, please take us.”

Just as Lin Wei was about to refuse, she looked up and met Aunt Zhang’s half-smiling face.

“Su Sijin, Su Sian, you’re dead meat.”

Lin Xiaomeng, just opening the gate, hurriedly said, “Xiaomin, the kids are little. Don’t be too harsh.”

“Don’t worry, they’re my own; I won’t kill them.”

Then—

A beating with sticks and stir-fried meat was inevitable.

The kids’ screams and the sound of sticks hitting skin even startled Lin Wei.

“Auntie, Aunt Zhang is pretty ruthless. Won’t she hurt these two kids?”

“No. Aunt Zhang beats them almost every day. These two are already toughened up; she can’t really hurt them.” But Lin Xiaomeng also thought they deserved it. “Though the hair factory is only one stop from Jiangdu Road, once out of the compound, these two playing so far really need a beating.”

Then she smiled and warned, “Don’t you dare take these two kids with you tomorrow. I’m not worried about their safety—I’m just worried they’ll eat too much and you won’t have anything left to sell.”