Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
After gathering the information she needed, Zhao Jiamin came to the bathroom door.
She didn't take her daughter from Jiang Chenyi's arms but instead knelt on the floor to gently caress her daughter's little face with a loving expression.
"I don't know who you are or why you found me, but as long as my daughter can survive, I'll do anything you ask." This was the second time Zhao Jiamin had said these words.
"Regarding those leverage points, I've thought of a desperate plan. I'll use that man's phone to call Zhou Wei over. Can you help me knock him out? I found something on that man that could be used on both of them." As she spoke, Zhao Jiamin smiled silently.
Jiang Chenyi frowned slightly.
He had a feeling that what she was planning wasn't safe.
Seeing his disapproving expression, Zhao Jiamin's heart softened for a moment.
Only now did she realize that this young man with mysterious methods was just a kid in his early twenties.
"I know I'll be in danger, and I'm not sure if I can completely erase everything but... I have to try. I have no way out."
Zhao Jiamin's voice was gentle, and the way she looked at Jiang Chenyi was similar to how she looked at her own daughter—both were the gaze of a mother looking at a child.
"My only question now is, after I handle this matter, can you help me and my daughter completely stay away from Zhou Wei?"
Jiang Chenyi slightly lowered his head to look directly into Zhao Jiamin's eyes, and firmly answered her question: "Yes."
After seeing the other person visibly relax, he continued to hold Xiao Rui and said in a light tone, "Don't worry, I'm not like Zhou Wei. I won't ask you to pay any price you can't afford, nor will I harm your daughter."
He pretended not to notice Zhao Jiamin's slightly trembling body or the small knife she tightly gripped in her hand, and continued, "What you need, you'll have to come to the supermarket to trade with me personally, and the currency for this trade will be the Merit you possess."
No money was needed, nor did she have to do anything. The supermarket only wanted Merit.
With a clang, she let go of the knife in her hand.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered and her eyes instantly turned dim.
Jiang Chenyi shook his head: "There's no need to apologize. After all, you haven't carried out the act, so it doesn't count."
Moreover, he could understand her feelings. The knife was mainly to prevent him from harming the child and serving more as a warning.
But the more he said this, the more guilty Zhao Jiamin felt.
"Now is not the time to talk about this. If you're going to take action, what about your daughter?"
It's not possible to stay here holding her daughter, is it?
Zhao Jiamin fell silent, struggling and hesitating for a while before gritting her teeth and asking, "Could you... could you look after her for me first?"
If possible, she naturally wanted to take care of her daughter herself, but under the current circumstances, it was clearly not feasible. So, the only person left in the room was the young man.
"Sure. Go ahead, no one will see me here," Jiang Chenyi agreed straightforwardly.
Zhao Jiamin looked at him in surprise with her eyes quickly turning red and her voice filled with gratitude: "Thank you!"
With that, she indeed walked out and used the fat man's fingerprint to unlock his phone before sending messages to Zhou Wei while investigating the information inside.
As she read the information, her body trembled with anger.
But she firmly remembered what she needed to do.
She quickly takes photos of the contents with her own phone to use as leverage in future negotiations.
Zhou Wei arrived soon after, and when the knocking on the door sounded, Zhao Jiamin glanced at Jiang Chenyi sitting in the bathroom.
Seeing him give her an "okay" gesture, Zhao Jiamin took a deep breath then gritted her teeth and went to open the door.
The person who entered was startled and took a step back upon seeing Zhao Jiamin.
But he quickly rushed in and soon discovered his "benefactor" lying naked on the floor while still unconscious.
"You..." He didn't know what was going on.
He turned around furiously to demand an explanation from Zhao Jiamin when a hand suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Then, Zhou Wei fainted on the ground just like the fat man.
"Next, do you still need me here?" Jiang Chenyi kindly asked.
Zhao Jiamin shook her head.
The scene that followed was too gruesome, and she didn't want these two children to witness such things.
"Please take Xiao Rui to a safe place first. I'll handle things here and come find you later."
Although she didn’t want her daughter out of her sight, she had no other choice.
Jiang Chenyi knew she was worried, so he proactively mentioned two people: "You must know Luo Qiuming and Zhang Miaomiao, right?"
Seeing the look of surprise in her eyes, Jiang Chenyi gently touched her shoulder to reassure her. "My name is Jiang Chenyi. They know me."
Zhao Jiamin looked into the young man’s clear and bright eyes, and the deepest unease in her heart seemed to ease.
"I’ll take the child to the hospital first. Contact me when you’re done here," he said and take the initiative to add Zhao Jiamin’s contact information.
No one knew what the fat man had fed Xiao Rui, so it was better to take her to the hospital for a check-up, just in case.
Jiang Chenyi didn’t mind going beyond the scope of the transaction, especially when it involved the safety of a child.
Before he left, Zhao Jiamin suddenly remembered something and took off the bracelet from her wrist before handing it to Jiang Chenyi. "This is a bracelet Xiao Rui and I bought together. With this, she’ll trust you."
The door slowly closed behind them.
Jiang Chenyi glanced back and sighed silently in his heart.
For the sake of her child, she was truly willing to risk everything.
Jiang Chenyi hurried to the hospital with the child in his arms. When the medical staff saw the child’s attire, their expressions instantly turned hostile.
It felt like they were about to call the police any second.
"Wait, this isn’t my child! I rescued her with her mother! I have a token from her mother. When the child wakes up, she’ll explain everything!"
Even after his explanation, the others’ gazes didn’t soften much.
Jiang Chenyi felt somewhat helpless. Fortunately, after the examination, it was determined that the child had only been given sleeping pills and nothing else.
Still, Jiang Chenyi’s every move was closely watched by the medical staff.
The head nurse personally came to keep an eye on the child and was afraid she might disappear in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Chenyi decided to move the child to a private VIP room with dedicated care then sat on a chair outside while waiting for Zhao Jiamin.
Seeing him willingly keep his distance from the child, the nurses in the hallway couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He yawned.
After rushing here in a hurry and going through so much, he was now both hungry and exhausted.
After asking the nurse to keep an eye on the child, Jiang Chenyi planned to go to the convenience store downstairs to buy some bread to fill his stomach.
Just as he reached the first floor, his phone buzzed with a notification.
Jiang Chenyi initially thought it was Zhao Jiamin to let him know she had finished handling things, but when he opened it, the message was from Luo Qiuming and his wife.
"We know them. What’s up?"
As he was about to reply, Jiang Chenyi noticed several people hurriedly walking through the hospital entrance. The person at the front was holding his head, as if he had been hit.
And this person was none other than Luo Qiuming, who had just replied to his message.
Walking behind him was Zhang Miaomiao, who was tightly holding a small sapling in her arms—this was the sapling they had obtained from the previous transaction.
In just two days, it had grown twenty to thirty centimeters taller.
Behind Zhang Miaomiao were a man and a woman, who were both looking anxious, nervous, and slightly angry.
Seeing them approach, Jiang Chenyi moved to the right and effectively blocked Luo Qiuming.
At first, the other party didn’t react, but when they looked up, they saw a beautiful face with a smile: "It’s you!"
The man and woman who had just arrived looked extremely displeased when they saw him blocking the way, as if they were about to start cursing the next second. However, they were surprised to find that Luo Qiuming actually knew this person.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Jiang Chenyi followed them to the doctor’s side. While getting stitches, Luo Qiuming showed no reaction at all and even smiled as he spoke to Jiang Chenyi: "We’ve already driven those people away."
Jiang Chenyi knew exactly who "those people" referred to.
"Congratulations, but what about your health? Have you gone for a check-up?" He knew that something had been done to their bodies, but he wasn’t entirely sure what.
At this, the man and woman instantly became furious. If it weren’t for the fact that they were in a hospital, they might have started cursing right away.
"They added contraceptive pills to our food, ground into powder and mixed into the meals." Zhang Miaomiao explained.
To be precise, long-term contraceptive pills had been added to her food, which was why she had been unable to get pregnant.
Those people simply didn’t want them to have children, but they didn’t want to kill them either. After all, they could only continue to make money if they were alive.
"That’s good."
Fortunately, it wasn’t something toxic, or it would have been troublesome.
Zhang Miaomiao seemed to remember something.
After glancing around, she pulled Jiang Chenyi outside.
After they left, the man and woman quietly asked Luo Qiuming: "Brother Qiuming, who is that person? Are you and Sister Miaomiao very familiar with him?"
Luo Qiuming didn’t introduce Jiang Chenyi’s identity and only said: "Just treat him the same way you treat me. He’s a benefactor to both Miaomiao and me."
These two were their assistants and the only people they could trust.
Although the assistants didn’t know what had happened, since Luo Qiuming had said so, they naturally obeyed.
Meanwhile, Zhang Miaomiao led Jiang Chenyi to the corridor outside and whispered: "During the check-up, the doctor said that I’ve been taking contraceptive pills for a long time, and my health isn’t very good. After this result, do I need to regulate my body before trying to get pregnant? If I get pregnant like this, could it have a negative impact on the child?"
As the saying goes, all medicine is somewhat toxic, and she had been taking it for over a decade.
Various side effects had already appeared but she had always thought it was due to the exhaustion from filming.
Jiang Chenyi shook his head: "That’s not necessary, but…
He looked somewhat troubled: "But if your health isn’t good, the pregnancy will be very tough."
This was the result of a Merit transaction, so the child would be stronger and healthier than most.
However… as the mother, pregnancy itself is uncomfortable and if the body isn’t in good condition, this discomfort could become even more severe.
Hearing this, Zhang Miaomiao actually breathed a sigh of relief.
"As long as the child is fine, I’m not afraid of anything else."
Having a child was already an unexpected joy, so what did it matter if she had to endure some hardship?
Jiang Chenyi didn’t quite agree with this perspective.
"Motherly love is indeed great, but mothers also need to take care of themselves."
His eyes were bright and gentle while stopping Zhang Miaomiao’s refusal: "Alright, I’ll help you with this small matter."
Considering their consistent good deeds over the years, he decided to go all out and help them to the very end.