Three Women in the Cage

Huanhuan fished out the change from her purse and took a look. Although she knew her second sister wasn't sincere, she could only agree, "Okay, let's go over there and take a look!"

They walked along the street in tacit understanding, heading towards the stalls with the most traffic. Suddenly, they saw a stall in front of them was surrounded by a crowd of people. Most of those people were cleaners and ragged scavengers. They thought that the food at that stall must be very cheap, so they also gathered over!

After pushing their way through the crowds, they found themselves at a stall selling potato chips and braised vegetarian dishes! Watching the potato chips, drenched in red chili oil, being tossed in a pot, sprinkled with green onions and various seasonings, the aroma washed over them, and Huanhuan and Yaya were drooling!

There is another pot next to it, cooking kelp, eggs, pig skin... and various snacks in brine, with the aroma of eight spices swirling around, surrounding you!

Yaya couldn't help but ask, "Boss, how much are these?"

The stall owner was too busy and replied without even looking up, "Potato chips are two yuan a bowl, and braised vegetables are three yuan a bag!" As he spoke, he quickly packed the bag in his hand!

Yaya felt a little disappointed. She had never expected that these things that cost only a few cents a bowl back home would be so expensive here! Her eyes dimmed, her lips curled, and she felt a little disappointed.

Huanhuan also didn’t want the things here to be so expensive. After hesitating for a while, the two decided to go and have a look for cheaper ones!

Two people, covered in dust, squeezed out and continued walking along the street, asking as they walked, but they didn't find any food cheaper than the potato chip stall until they reached the end of the street!

At this point, their stomachs were already full from all the food they had eaten along the way, and they were even hungrier. They looked at all the beauties, wanting to try their hand at something delicious! But they couldn't afford to spend so much money. Although the money their uncle had given them was enough, they still didn't dare to splurge! Accustomed to a life of poverty, they were confined to a narrow-minded view of consumption.

Looking at Huanhuan's conflicted and embarrassed expression, Yaya finally made a decision. "My saliva is almost dry! Let's stop wasting time and have a bowl of potato chips each! I really can't stand it anymore!"

There was nothing cheaper here, and even though they knew that potato chips were still expensive for them, they still chose to squeeze back into that stall!

After standing still, Yaya didn't wait for Huanhuan to hesitate before she hurriedly said, "Boss, two bowls of potato chips, with extra chili!"

Huanhuan was afraid she'd get to the stall and back out again, but luckily her second sister didn't give her time to hesitate and called out first! Her frown finally relaxed, and she looked eagerly at the stall owner serving the potato chips!

After a while, two delicious-looking potato chips were handed over. "Here, take them. Four pieces in total!"

Yaya reached out to take it, pulled Huanhuan, and signaled her to pay!

Huanhuan took out the pocket money from her pocket. It was the twenty yuan her uncle had given her that morning. She counted out four yuan as if it were a treasure and handed it over reluctantly, "Boss, here you go!"

Yaya hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd, handed a portion to her sister, and then couldn't wait to open the bag. She held the box in one hand, picked up a toothpick in the other, and couldn't wait to pick up a piece of greasy red potato chips and put it into her mouth!

With a "crack", her mouth was instantly filled with a spicy taste, which went straight down her esophagus into her stomach! Yaya sighed comfortably, "It's so fragrant, so delicious!"

Seeing Yaya's satisfied expression, Huanhuan couldn't help but jokingly said, "Look at you, you're like a greedy little cat!"

Yaya kept putting potato chips into her mouth with a fork in her hand. She had no time to refute her sister. She just raised her eyes and glared at her, then continued to eat her delicious food!

In this way, they carried the boxes, walked slowly, and ate with relish!

After finishing the meal, both of them had red lips and were sticking out their tongues from the spiciness! I didn’t expect this chili to be so authentic!

Yaya fanned her mouth gently with her hand and said hotly, "Sister, let's buy a bottle of water! It's too spicy, I can't stand it!"

Huanhuan was also very uncomfortable with the spicy food, but she still advised, "Why not drink it in the store? Why spend that unnecessary money?"

Yaya thought that she still had a long way to go before returning, and she would have to boil some water to drink. She felt so hot and wanted to drink some cold water to quench her thirst immediately!

She looked at the mineral water in front of her with impatience, and said to her sister unwillingly, "It's only one yuan, buy a bottle! It's not a waste of money if we only drink one bottle. I really can't bear it anymore."

With no other options, Huanhuan went over to buy a bottle of water and handed it to Yaya first! Yaya unscrewed the cap and gulped it down. A cool feeling washed over her mouth, and the spiciness gradually subsided! She finally felt better!

He turned around and handed it back, "You should drink some too! It looks like you're suffering from the spiciness!"

The potato chips they had just eaten were barely enough to fill their stomachs, but now that they had drunk most of the water, they were completely full! Holding their stomachs, they walked towards the internet cafe, still unsatisfied.

Before I even reached the door, I heard someone talking inside, "Sister Ma! Why haven't they come back from eating yet? It's been almost an hour. They can't have gone out to hang out, right?"

"People who come from the countryside and finally get to visit a big city will surely be dazzled by all the colorful food and won't be able to move their legs!" Ma Mei said nonchalantly!

"Haha, that's right! Two country bumpkins from the countryside, they've never seen the world! Sister Ma, where did you find them? Why didn't you find someone local?"

"It was forced upon me by others. I have no choice but to refuse directly! Besides, their wages are cheap, two people are paid for only one! Where else can I find such cheap wages locally?" Ma Mei didn't even want to reveal her relationship with them! She said it in a concealing way!

Li Li didn't expect them to be so cheap. She couldn't help but look down on them even more, saying, "They must have never seen a lot of money! Even if you offer a small amount, they won't be able to hold on!"

Ma Mei laughed and said, "That's right. I really don't know how these poor people manage to get by three times a day! They treat even a little money like a treasure!"

Huanhuan listened, her brow furrowed. She faltered, fearing embarrassment, and finally stopped. She had always known her aunt looked down on them, but she had never expected her aunt to so brazenly use this as a topic of conversation after dinner!

What made her even more heartbroken was that she hadn't even mentioned their relationship to them, avoiding suspicion! She even said that her mother had forced them to come. If it weren't for her uncle's initiative, how could her mother have allowed them to travel far away for the first time, to live under someone else's roof, to feel out of place and discriminated against in an unfamiliar environment for the first time?

This seemingly earning money, seemingly having relatives supporting them, seemingly living a life of the upper class, is actually a life devoid of self-respect and dignity! You're just bending down to pick up coins under their arrogant heads to make a living! Unable to resist the temptation of large denominations of money, you bend down unwillingly to pick up the coins they throw on the ground, and then the light money in your hands becomes a thousand pounds heavy! So heavy that you can no longer straighten your back, and can only bend over and look up at their breath!