On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the factories around the discount supermarket were all closed for the holiday, and only a few people would come out to find food on the streets at mealtimes.

Recently, most of the people shopping at the discount supermarket are locals, and some are migrant workers who haven't gone home and come to buy dry food.

The bulletin board outside the discount supermarket is covered with discount information, with different products on sale every day.

Xia Minmin often skateboards in the open space in front of the supermarket and often sees many elderly people with gray hair and housewives standing in front of the bulletin board exchanging discount information.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and the number of people without possessions has not decreased at all.

At the back door of the supermarket, Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu took off their coats, rolled up the sleeves of their knitwear, and were unloading goods from a truck and moving them to the warehouse to be neatly stacked.

"Second Brother, I didn't expect business to be so good before the New Year! This is the first time we've been open during the New Year holiday. We don't have enough staff at the supermarket, so we need to keep more next year. Our seafood gift boxes are almost sold out."

"These are all for Chinese New Year gifts. I'll order another batch of gift boxes and packaging, and customers can choose freely while we handle the packing."

"That's a good idea. We've heard some customers say they don't like some of the dried seafood in the gift boxes and want to change them to something else. Letting them mix and match freely would be more satisfying. But we might not have enough staff for that?"

“Your second sister-in-law can pack the gift boxes, and we can also transfer an employee from the cashier to help with the packing. Xiaomin can work at the cashier; he’s done a lot of cashier work.”

Xiao Wu's thoughts instantly drifted back to a few years ago, to the little boy standing on a stool to help customers pay their bills. He was so adorable. What would his child look like when he was born? He really looked forward to the day they would meet.

"So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies. In a few months, I will become a father."

Xia Minmin, who was playing on her skateboard outside, had no idea that someone was eyeing her.

Lunch was eaten with the supermarket staff in the staff canteen. The meals provided during the Chinese New Year were plentiful, including chicken, duck, and fish.

The staff canteen is run by a husband and wife; the husband is the chef and the wife is the kitchen helper. Both of them come from poor families, and in order to earn four times the overtime pay, neither of them went home for the Chinese New Year.

The restaurant has four long tables, each seating four to six people at the same time.

Xia Minmin took her stainless steel bowl and spoon and went to the window to get her food. Three or four supermarket employees saw her and made way for her to get her food first.

"No need, you all have a lot to do every day and are likely to get hungry. You eat first, I'm not hungry and I'm not in a hurry."

Seeing that Xia Minmin was standing at the back and had no intention of coming forward, the supermarket staff had no choice but to get their food and find a place to sit down and eat. They had a lot of things to do later, so they had to eat quickly. They hadn't eaten as well as they had at the supermarket during the Spring Festival when they went back to their hometowns. Besides, the colleague serving the food had a very steady spoon and always served a full spoonful.

When it was Xia Minmin's turn, the restaurant's kitchen helper, holding a spoon, smiled and said, "Little boss, why are you the only one eating here today? What would you like to eat today? Steamed egg custard, right? Spicy chicken and hot and sour shredded potatoes? If you're still not satisfied, you can order more."

A bowl of rice and three spoonfuls of vegetables filled Xia Minmin's bowl to the brim.

Xia Minmin nodded, "Thank you, Auntie!"

"You are welcome."

Xia Minmin took her bowl, found an empty table, sat down, mixed the food, and started eating with her spoon. She ate with great relish, nodding occasionally to herself that the chef at the discount supermarket cafeteria was really good at cooking.

Xia Jianguo, covered in sweat, sat down next to his daughter.

Xia Minmin moved aside in disgust.

Xia Jianguo knew exactly what his daughter meant. He and Xiao Wu unloaded a 4.2-meter van, their clothes soaked with sweat.

Xia Jianguo pressed Xia Minmin's head down with his hand, "Your father isn't old yet! And you already dislike me like this! I'm afraid I can't raise this child."

When Li Chunmei arrived at the restaurant, she saw her husband teasing their daughter. She grabbed her chopsticks and smacked her husband's hand hard. "Can't you see she's still eating? The spoon is still in her mouth! What if it gets stuck in her throat?"

Xia Jianguo sheepishly withdrew his hand, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Chunmei, I was wrong!"

Xia Jianguo's speed in admitting his mistakes was not the fastest, but only the fastest.

Li Chunmei ignored him and took the bowl and chopsticks to get the food. Sure enough, as long as the child is alive, nothing else matters to the man taking care of the child.

Xia Jianguo followed after her, carrying bowls and chopsticks, to get the food. "Chunmei, slow down, I have something to discuss with you."

Li Chunmei slowed her pace. "What is it?"

"The supermarket has been very busy these past few days. You go to the gift counter to pack up the items, and Xiaomin can also go to the cashier. I'm going to take a shower after lunch; your daughter just complained that I smell bad."

"I understand." Li Chunmei leaned closer to Xia Jianguo and sniffed. There was indeed a strong smell. She expressionlessly moved away from Xia Jianguo.

Xia Jianguo reached out and grabbed Li Chunmei by the back of the neck, preparing to scratch her.

Li Chunmei looked around and said, "Be mindful of your appearance; so many people are watching you!"

Xia Jianguo withdrew his hand, wiped it on his clothes, and stepped forward, whispering, "I was wondering why my daughter's disgusted expression looked so familiar. It's just like you! Your expressions are exactly the same!"

Xia Minmin finished all the food in her bowl, rolled up her sleeves to wash the dishes, and took the clean bowl to her parents' table. "Mom and Dad, I'm going upstairs."

Xia Jianguo said, "Xiaomin, the supermarket has been a bit busy these past few days. Why don't you go help out at the checkout counter?"

"Okay, I'll go upstairs and get a small stool."

After Xia Minmin went upstairs, Li Chunmei said to Xia Jianguo, "Aren't you worried that Xiaomin might receive counterfeit money?"

Xia Jianguo smiled and said, "I'm not worried about Xiaomin at all. I took all the counterfeit money I received before home. Now Xiaomin can tell the difference between real and fake money just by touching it."

"I was thinking that you two had a little secret that even I didn't know about."

Xia Minmin carried the bowl and chopsticks upstairs with a clattering sound, and then brought the small stool downstairs.

The new checkout counter at the discount supermarket is located at the entrance. The counter is high, so Xia Minmin can use a stool to make it easier to operate.

Li Chunmei, Xia Jianguo, and Xiao Wu would check on her in their spare time, worried that she might fall over because the stool was too small.

The customers checking out noticed that the cashier was a child and asked the staff nearby.

"Is this child your boss's? Why is he working as a cashier at such a young age?"

"Yes, our young boss, don't let his young age fool you, he already has four or five years of cashier experience."

"That's amazing?"

"I heard from the old employees in the supermarket that the young owner has an exceptionally strong mental arithmetic ability. He can calculate the bills faster than a calculator when the items are laid out on the counter, and he never makes a mistake. It's a pity I came too late and never saw it."

In the 1990s, there were a lot of counterfeit money. Every time I received a denomination of fifty or one hundred, I had to use a banknote detector to check it, which slowed down the checkout process.

When the wait is long, customers in line will complain about the slow checkout process. In response, Xia Jianguo asked the cashiers to give each customer a free box of chewing gum, which helped to calm their frustration.

Several counterfeit bills were posted at each cash register. To encourage cashiers to distinguish between real and counterfeit money, those who didn't receive any counterfeit bills each month received a bonus of fifty yuan. Those who received counterfeit money had ten percent of the counterfeit bill amount deducted as punishment.

In addition to the disciplinary system, the proportion of people receiving counterfeit money has decreased.