Yam Girl was beaten badly, and even after being beaten like that, she still had to go to work in the fields.
Yam Girl was busy until sunset and then went home.
The family ate fish and drank soup, but there was no share for Yam Girl. Her family still gave her a steamed bun that even a dog wouldn't eat.
She returned to her house, or rather, the house was a shack built against the earthen wall of the backyard.
The shed was less than half a meter away from the doghouse next to it.
Inside the doghouse, a large mongrel was smugly gnawing on a fish bone, occasionally baring its teeth at her as if to say: "You better behave, or I'll bite you!"
Yam Girl was too scared to move, while the big dog looked at her with disdain.
Until the big dog had eaten its fill and was asleep.
With tears in her eyes, Yam Girl swallowed the cold steamed bun that was scraping her throat. She couldn't understand it at all: her life shouldn't be like this.
After an unknown amount of time, a "squeak squeak squeak" sound came from the corner, and a mouse crawled out from the corner, clutching a piece of fried fish.
The mouse placed the fried fish pieces in Yam Girl's hand, squeaking as it pointed its paw at its mouth and then at the big dog, meaning: Eat quickly, before the big dog finds out.
Yam Girl shed tears of gratitude and wolfed down the fish pieces, saying, "Thank you, little mouse."
She touched the mouse's head, wondering why this mouse always stole food from the kitchen for her.
Just then, there was a noise on the earthen wall, and the rat quickly hid.
"Yam Girl, Yam Girl."
A shout came from the earthen wall.
Yam Girl came out of the shack and saw that it was her neighbor, a young man, who had only recently moved in.
"Sister Yam, there's some leftover food from the guests today. I brought it back for you. Eat up!"
Yam Girl felt that this scene was familiar, but she couldn't remember where it had happened before.
Did your family hit you again today?
Under the moonlight, Ah Long saw that the yam girl holding the bowl had a bruised and swollen face, and he was furious.
"Yam Girl, wait a little longer. Once I sign a ten-year contract with my employer and have the money, I'll take you away!"
He knew that Yam Girl's family had been shouting in the village that they wanted to sell his money-losing business, but who would buy it?
They're all from the same village; it wouldn't be appropriate to buy them as child brides.
"When the time comes, we'll move to the city, and no one will bully you anymore."
"Thank you, Brother Long, I'll be waiting!"
Ah Long, perched on the wall, offered words of comfort for a while longer before saying he needed to rest as he had to return to the restaurant early the next morning.
The next day, before dawn, Ah Long hurriedly headed back to the city.
He's a man with goals now; as an outsider, he wants to work hard to gain a foothold here.
Once he signs a ten-year contract with his employer, he'll have the money to bring Yam Girl to the city.
Ah Long himself didn't know why he felt sorry for the poor yam girl and wanted to protect her the moment he saw her.
It felt as if he and Yam Girl were meant to be family, and that Yam Girl was his long-lost sister for some reason.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Ah Long was even more efficient than before.
Ah Long is sweet-talking and knows how to get things done. Manager Wu and the regular customers at the restaurant all like this young newcomer.
But the other waiters in the restaurant didn't like Ah Long much: Why was he so enthusiastic? He made them feel so inferior.
That afternoon, while Manager Wu was away, the waiters made Ah Long do the hardest work in the restaurant.
"Ah Long, go and tidy up the ice cellar. Winter is coming, and we need to store new ice."
"Move all the old ice together, hurry up, we'll be serving customers again soon."
The waiter, with ill intentions, gave the order with a smile.
Ah Long knew they were deliberately messing with him. They were local bigwigs, long-time employees at the restaurant. What could he say? He could only let them do it.
Ah Long entered the ice cellar; it was so cold inside.
He was already dressed lightly, and this made him even more terrified.
Ah Long had no choice but to frantically move large chunks of ice, his fingers turning red from the cold.
Some of the old ice was stuck to the ground and couldn't be pried off, so Ah Long had to use an ice axe to break it open.
As a result, a large piece of ice bounced up, knocking him dizzy and cutting his forehead, causing blood to flow.
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