I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 10

“No, thank you, uncle. I just… came to take a look.”

With a simple nod to the cotton candy vendor, I turned and rushed into the vegetable market, the sound of my footsteps echoing, “da da da da.”

At half-past four in the afternoon, the market was neither too crowded nor too empty. Relying on my memory, I arrived at the seafood section and found a stall with sea bass. With a curious look from the stall owner, I pointed at the smallest fish and said, “This one, please help me clean it.”

“Is the little girl here to help her mom with shopping?”

Seeing that I really came to buy fish, the stall owner seemed somewhat delighted and, while using a net to scoop out the fish, spoke in the local dialect, “You look so pretty, and you’re so sensible.”

“Yes.”

I didn’t want to argue with the stall owner, so I took out my phone and scanned the nearby QR code.

“It’s 12 yuan. How many people are there in your family? Is this small one enough to eat?”

“It’s enough, thank you.”

“Do you want to buy anything else? Clams, perhaps? They make delicious soup. Shrimp, maybe?”

“No, thank you. We can’t finish it all.”

I made the payment with a quick tap, and as soon as the stall owner had cleaned the fish and bagged it, I picked up the bag and ran towards the vegetable section.

“Is the little girl helping her mom with grocery shopping?”

“What vegetables do you want? Some spinach or Chinese water spinach?”

“Tomatoes? Winter melon? Do you need eggplants?”

Compared to the seafood section, the uncles and aunties selling vegetables were quite enthusiastic. Wherever I walked, they called out to me, almost trying to pull me into their stalls.

It’s strange, back when I was a regular customer as an uncle, I hardly ever received such warm treatment.

“How much for the cucumber seedlings?”

I didn’t spend even half a minute at the vegetable stalls before I found what I was looking for. I stopped at a stall that displayed fresh cucumber seedlings and asked in a crisp, girlish voice.

“Three for a dime, dear. Just three yuan for you. Oh, you’re so pretty. You’ll grow up to be even lovelier.”

The woman selling cucumber seedlings was in her forties or fifties. She saw that I had taken an interest in her vegetables and couldn’t stop smiling. “How old are you, little girl? Your hair is so beautiful. Have you been growing it out for a long time?”

“Yes, yes…”

I absentmindedly answered the auntie’s questions while selecting cucumber seedlings.

Drawing from my experience at lunchtime, this time I intentionally bought only about 50% of what I typically eat, taking just a small bundle of vegetables. I shook off the dew on the top and handed it to the auntie in front of me.

“These days, young girls are so responsible. My son, he’s in the sixth grade, and he’s afraid to even go to the store to buy a bottle of water.”

Taking the vegetables I selected and weighing them, the auntie in front of me began packing them. “One yuan and eight cents.”

I raised my phone and scanned the nearby QR code with a quick “beep.”

“Look at this girl, so responsible, helping her mom buy groceries at such a young age and even using WeChat.”

Oh no, dear auntie, I don’t have a mom, and these groceries are all for myself.

By the way, don’t the kids around here know how to use WeChat? I remember many seven or eight-year-olds knowing how to use WeChat to top up their gaming accounts. They spend thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan. It’s been in the news multiple times.

Even though I kept silently criticizing these people in my mind, following the principle of staying low-key, I didn’t say a word and took the cucumber seedlings, leaving the stall.

Next, I just needed to buy some sweet potatoes and corn, along with the eggs at home, for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Corn can serve as both a fruit and a vegetable. It’s high in dietary fiber and, in my opinion, the perfect breakfast ingredient. At lunch, you can stir-fry it with minced meat, and in the evening, you can chop it up and make soup with spare ribs. The only downside is that this fruit-vegetable doesn’t keep well at room temperature. Even in the refrigerator, it tends to lose its freshness within three to four days. To enjoy the best taste, it’s best to consume it within 24 hours of purchase.

On the other hand, sweet potatoes are a bit more forgiving. Their biggest advantage is their long shelf life, and they provide a high level of satiety after consumption. If you ever want to change your taste and skip rice for a day, sweet potatoes are a stomach-friendly alternative.

For my typical breakfast, I usually have corn, sweet potatoes, and eggs. When I’m feeling particularly lazy, I go to the nearby breakfast shop and buy some meat and vegetable buns and steamed buns, starting my day full of hope.

“Five yuan and three cents in total.”

“Add some green onions.”

“Give me a piece of ginger and this too.”

“Have you scanned the QR code?”

“All right, take care on your way, little girl!”

About ten minutes later, I walked out of the vegetable market, carrying bags large and small.

The uncle selling cotton candy outside was still there, and unlike the somewhat deserted market entrance a while ago, now quite a few workers were preparing to finish their day. Pedestrians were increasing, and two customers were gathered around the cotton candy machine, with the machine making popping and crackling sounds.

For a moment, the sweet scent of cotton candy filled the entire street.

Whimper… I really want to have some of that…

I felt a sense of helplessness as I walked out of the vegetable market.

Becoming a little girl suddenly is one thing, but being broke too… How am I supposed to live like this?

If I had a little more money, I wouldn’t have to think twice about whether or not to buy a three-yuan cotton candy…

Wait, why is there someone sitting over there?

At this moment, I noticed a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes sitting under the wall across from the cotton candy mobile cart.

The man looked to be around forty years old, had a high hairline, but his suit was meticulously kept, and there was little dust on his leather shoes. Clearly, he appeared to be a high-ranking official or some kind of local executive from a nearby company.

However, at this moment, he was sitting on the dirty ground with his head bowed, one hand holding his wallet, and the other swiping on his phone. His eyes were red, and there were tears in the corners of his eyes. His expression showed extreme pain, as if he had just experienced significant ups and downs in his life.

I paused my steps home because of the sight of this middle-aged man sitting on the ground.

This street was near the vegetable market, and the cleaning staff only cleaned it once a day, from five to six in the morning. The evening streets were very dirty, especially in the corners, where food vendors occasionally passed by and left food residues scattered everywhere.

The excellent vision of my new body allowed me to see the tears in the eyes of this middle-aged man.

It was like a kind of… resonance between uncles.

Usually, in this kind of situation… either something happened to a family member, the company went bankrupt, or a business venture failed, or there was a breakup with a girlfriend.

Just as the Grim Reaper girl mentioned, in the previous years, apart from working and working overtime, I also wrote to earn extra money after returning from work. It was quite strenuous.

Excessive fatigue made me visit the hospital quite often, and sometimes when I was really sick, I had to get intravenous drips.

Going to the hospital alone, registering alone, seeing the doctor alone, leaning on the cold chair in the infusion room to sleep, and then coming back from the hospital alone, continuing to struggle in life.

I’ve seen many similar situations in the hospital. Wives crying at the emergency room entrance or mothers breaking down in a corner because of their children’s treatment issues.

The reason this man was sitting on the ground without caring about his appearance was probably because he had received a message like “the surgery failed,” “let’s break up,” or “come to settle the accounts tomorrow” as he passed by this place.

Normally, one or two similar events may not be enough to crush an adult male. But an avalanche… it often happens because too much snow has accumulated over time, and then one day, a single leaf gently lands on it, causing it all to come crashing down.

I hope you can muster the strength.

After standing in place for a few seconds, I silently sent my best wishes to this unknown man in my heart. I couldn’t help but smile, carrying the groceries I had just bought and preparing to return to my rental house.

The man in the suit had also stabilized his emotions a bit at this moment and stood up, walking back towards the vegetable market.

At that moment, a motorcycle suddenly emerged with a “vroom” from somewhere, brushing past the uncle’s side. The shock made the uncle shudder, and his wallet flew out of his hand, with several coins spilling out from it.

“Sorry!”

The person on the motorcycle didn’t even slow down and, after shouting this one word, quickly disappeared into the distance.

“…”

“Clang, clang.”

In no time, the scattered coins rained down on the ground, with several of them rolling to my feet.

“Whimper…”

I heard the man in the suit seemingly choke for a moment, then he fell to the ground with a thud.

He threw his now-empty wallet to the side, let out a despairing “Ah!” and…

Sobbed uncontrollably.