Gan Li's voice suddenly interrupted, and Gan Mingyi stopped what he was doing in surprise, looking at his younger sister with confusion:
"Little sister, what's wrong?"
He suddenly realized something, his expression changed, and he said with a tearful face, "You're not going to soften your heart again, are you? Didn't you just say that you shouldn't be soft-hearted towards people who aren't worth it?"
Gan Li was inwardly groaning. Soft-hearted? She wished she could pack Zhao Juan up and throw her out right now! But—
[Host, please give Zhao Juan another chance! Look how pitifully she's crying; she definitely knows she was wrong and will surely change for the better!]
Maria's extremely obsequious voice echoed in Ganley's mind, trying to persuade her to change her mind.
Ganli was almost amused and exasperated by Maria's naiveté: "You said last time she would definitely change her ways, and look what happened?"
"But...but people just think there's still hope for her! Look how pitiful she is now, all alone and helpless. How can you really bear to kick her out?" Maria's voice weakened.
"I can't bear it," Ganli answered without hesitation.
She paused, then gave a cold laugh, and without hesitation, saw through Maria's thoughts:
You only wanted to try again because you were about to lose the bet you made with me.
"No, no! I didn't! I genuinely hope Zhao Juan can change her ways!" Maria said somewhat guiltily.
[Heh, alright, I'll give you one more chance, and I'll make you admit defeat wholeheartedly!]
Seeing that she had agreed, Maria showered Ganli with compliments, but Ganli was not swayed by these sweet words and coldly replied:
[A generous donation is better than empty words of concern—even a small act of kindness would suffice.]
My mind was completely silent; there was no echo.
Ganli chuckled and gave a slight smile.
The Gan family members were still looking at her with suspicion. Gan Li didn't explain much, but simply said:
"Forget it, I think she should be able to repent after this. We're both women, and I can't bear to kick her out in the middle of the night. Let's keep her for now."
After saying that, she looked at Zhao Juan and said in a deliberately stern tone:
"This is your last chance. If you behave yourself, we'll pretend nothing happened. But if you cause any more trouble, I won't be so lenient this time!"
Upon hearing this, Gan Mingyi, though unwilling, had no choice but to release Zhao Juan since his sister had said so, and added gruffly:
"My younger sister is kind enough to let you stay, but if you still don't repent, I'll make sure to kick you out no matter what!"
Regardless of what Zhao Juan thought in her heart, she was outwardly full of gratitude.
Gan Li didn't care about her kindness or whether she was truly grateful. After saying that, she told everyone to go and rest.
The restaurant had one more person, Zhao Juan, but the sleeping arrangements remained the same: Grandma Gan, Gan Li, and Gan Tian shared a room, Zhao Juan and Gan Qiao shared a room, and the men slept in the remaining room.
Zhao Juan and the others cleared out a space in the storage room and set up a simple frame to make a bed.
At this point, everyone took a break, and Granny Gan couldn't help but ask her daughter why she decided to continue taking Zhao Juan in.
Ganli didn't explain further, only saying, "You'll know in a few days."
Seeing that her daughter was unwilling to say more, Old Mrs. Gan did not press her further, but her curiosity remained undiminished.
In the storage room, Zhao Juan was also puzzled by this.
Although she doesn't have to worry about sleeping on the streets for the time being, she is filled with doubt and unease about Ganli's decision.
Honestly, if she and Ganli were in each other's shoes, she would have been incredibly generous not to humiliate Ganli, let alone take her in! After all, there was a grudge between them.
It was understandable that Ganli took her in the first time, but this time, after exposing her underhanded tricks, she was still willing to take her in!
why is that?
Why did Ganli keep her? Did he want to torture her? Or did he have another purpose?
Despite her doubts, Zhao Juan felt temporarily at ease, since a restaurant was better than sleeping on the streets.
However, Zhao Juan did not have a comfortable time in the days that followed.
After that day, although the Gan family did not make things difficult for her on the surface, they also ignored her. The surroundings were bustling, but no one spoke to Zhao Juan. Even if she took the initiative to chat and laugh, people would simply ignore her, either pretending not to hear her or turning away directly.
No matter what Zhao Juan does or says, she is completely out of place here.
The easy jobs she used to do are gone now. She not only has to clean up the leftovers from the guests' meals, but also wash vegetables and sweep the floor. She's so busy at the end of the day that she can't even straighten her back!
Zhao Juan was suspicious. Could it be that Gan Li had kept her here just to make her do these dirty and tiring jobs, to torment her?
Thinking of this, she became so angry that she started trembling all over.
If that's the case, she might as well leave! But she's penniless right now, and even if she wanted to leave, she'd probably starve to death in a few days!
She had considered asking Gan Li for her wages, since she had done a lot of work at Gan Ji Restaurant. However, when she asked for a job, she hadn't mentioned it at all, and now she felt too embarrassed to bring it up again.
Just when Zhao Juan was in a dilemma, a man approached her.
While Zhao Juan was tidying up the table, the man secretly slipped a note into her hand.
She was startled and for some reason didn't say anything for a moment. Instead, she glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that none of the Gan family members had noticed her.
Zhao Juan returned to the storage room and, when no one was around, unfolded the note and read it. There were only a few words on it.
[This afternoon, in the woods at the east end of town, I'll do business with you.]
Business? Zhao Juan bit her lip.
Since she was doing business, she naturally needed money, and she was currently short of it...
The afternoon is the quietest time at the restaurant, so Zhao Juan and Gan Li asked for an hour off.
"I've been cooped up for a while, and I want to get away and take a walk around the area."
Ganli didn't make things difficult for her, only telling her not to delay the evening's business, and then let her go.
Zhao Juan breathed a sigh of relief as she left the restaurant, then hurried toward the east end of town.
Once she reached the woods, she peeked around for a long time, and only when she saw that no one was paying attention to her did she quickly walk into the woods.
She hadn't gone far when she saw a man standing there. She recognized his clothes; he was the same man who had slipped her the note in the restaurant earlier that day.
She mustered her courage and asked, "Did you send me here?"
Hearing the voice, the man turned to look at her: "Indeed, it is I."
"Why did you summon me here?"
"Didn't I say I wanted to do business with you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Juan looked at the other party warily: "What kind of business? Let me make this clear first, I don't do anything that harms people."
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