Chapter 403: If You’re Dissatisfied, Just Hold It In

Deng Xuan ran over and hugged Deng Ying’s leg. In a childish, tearful voice, she said, "Sister, I miss you so much. Please come home with us?"

Deng Ying lowered her gaze and looked at her younger sister. "You brought them here?"

She’d never told the Deng Family where she worked. Not that they cared; all that mattered was that she brought money home on time every month.

So, the reason the Deng Family had shown up here today was most likely because her sister had told them the address.

Deng Xuan said timidly, "Sister, it’s not nice here. This isn’t our home."

Deng Ying closed her eyes. She had raised her younger sister herself. By all rights, her sister should have been the one closest to her, the one on her side.

But Deng Ying realized she was wrong.

’It seems no matter how well I treat my sister, she’ll still unconditionally side with Mom and Dad.’

"GET OUT!" Deng Ying suddenly exploded, roaring at the Deng Family. "Are you incapable of understanding me? Get out! All of you, get out! Just pretend I’m dead and never come looking for me again!"

"You wretched child..." A flash of anger crossed Mrs. Deng’s eyes, and she wailed even louder. "Who’s been putting these ideas in your head? How can you speak to your mom and dad like that?"

"Deng Ying, who do you think you’re yelling at?! You’re getting more and more out of line!"

"Little sister, we’re your family by blood—the only people in this world who will ever treat you well."

A sneer tugged at the corners of Deng Ying’s mouth. "Family by blood? The only people who will treat me well? Are you talking about how you tried to marry me off for a bride price? How you locked me in a room with that man even after I refused? If my boss hadn’t saved me in time, would I have any innocence left to speak of?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" It was said one shouldn’t air their dirty laundry in public, and Father Deng never expected Deng Ying to say all this in front of so many people. "What’s wrong with finding a husband when you’re of age? That boy from the Wei Family is about your age, his family is better off than ours, and he’s handsome to boot. He’s the kind of great match you couldn’t find even if you searched high and low!"

"That’s right, Little Ying. Come home with us. One day, you’ll understand that Mom and Dad had your best interests at heart."

Hearing this, the crowd of onlookers roughly understood the whole story.

Most of them chose to side with the Deng Family.

In the Lower City District, trading a daughter for a bride price was all too common. By those standards, Father Deng and Mrs. Deng were actually considered humane.

Some truly heartless parents would marry their daughters off to old men who were willing to pay a higher bride price.

Most of those old men had their problems, and the women who married them essentially lived a life worse than death.

"What’s all the fuss about? Young lady, just go home with your family."

"Exactly. When you’re of age, you’re supposed to get married. Your parents didn’t just marry you off to anyone. That’s pretty decent of them."

"You’re already nineteen. You’re about to hit your prime childbearing years. In another couple of years, it’ll be hard to get pregnant. Listen to me, girl. Don’t be so stubborn. Just go with your family."

...

Some tried to persuade Deng Ying, while others lectured her. Most just stared at her with reproachful eyes.

The Deng Family relaxed. With so much public support, Deng Ying would have no choice but to go back with them.

Deng Ying was starting to crumble under the pressure, and she unconsciously took half a step back.

’Why is everyone blaming me instead?’

’I made an agreement with my family. As long as I brought money home on time, the matter of my marriage would be my own decision.’

’But they went back on their word in less than three months.’

"In your eyes, are only sons considered children? Are daughters only good for being married off for a bride price?" Deng Ying cried out through her tears.

After a brief silence, the accusatory voices from the crowd erupted even louder.

"Only sons can carry on the family line!"

"If our family was well-off, who would want to trade their daughter for a bride price?!"

"This is a poor person’s lot in life."

"Everyone else goes through it. What makes you think you can be different?"

...

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Shen Lu had no choice but to turn on the shop’s PA system and crank the volume to maximum.

"Everyone, quiet down."

The voice was like a thunderclap, nearly bursting everyone’s eardrums.

Shen Lu realized the volume was too high and lowered it slightly.

"The situation is clear. My employee does not want to go home with her family. I must ask the people disrupting our customers’ meals to leave the shop at once."

"You bitch! We haven’t settled our score with you! You stormed my house with a group of people, smashed my door and windows to pieces! Trespassing is a crime, you know! Pay up now, or I’ll have the police come and arrest you!"

Mrs. Deng turned her fire on Shen Lu, unloading on her.

Shen Lu just smiled indifferently. "And what about you trying to have someone ruin your daughter’s innocence? Are you a madam? That’s some serious dedication, pimping out your own daughter. And you still have the nerve to come to my shop and cause a scene with a clear conscience? Do you think I’m an easy target because I look young?"

"At best, you’re just her boss. You have no right to interfere in my sister’s affairs!" Deng Jianxin declared self-righteously.

"And you have the right to? She’s an adult. She has her own mind and is fully capable of deciding what she will and will not do. What kind of family forces someone to do something against their will?"

Shen Lu chuckled. "By the way, your sister signed a contract to work here. If you want to take her away, that’s fine. Just pay the breach-of-contract penalty first."

"Bullshit! She just does odd jobs here, what kind of contract would she sign? Stop trying to fool me."

"I am a legitimate business owner. Of course I sign contracts when I hire employees. What’s more, the contract is filed online. If you don’t believe me, you can check the Public Credit Network. Just enter your sister’s name and ID number, and you can look up all the contracts registered to her."

Every employee had a copy of this contract. After they became official staff, Shen Lu signed one with each of them and uploaded it to the Public Credit Network.

The Deng Family didn’t have a Light Brain, but a helpful onlooker in the crowd offered to run a search.

"That’s right, Boss Shen is correct. There is a contract under your sister’s name. If your sister terminates her employment before the contract term is up, she’ll have to pay a penalty of one hundred thousand Star Coins."

One hundred thousand Star Coins!

The Deng Family gasped. Their family couldn’t even come up with ten thousand Star Coins right now.

"I... We never said she couldn’t come back to work," Mrs. Deng said, an idea suddenly striking her. "She can continue to work after she gets married. That way it won’t be a breach of contract."

"Exactly. My sister is just going home to get married."

"I’ll say it again: if Deng Ying is willing, I’ll give her a grand wedding gift. But if she is unwilling, no one can forcibly take her from my shop." Shen Lu was getting truly annoyed. "I’ve let you cause a scene for this long only out of respect for the fact that you’re her family. Everything that needs to be said has been said. If you’re still not happy about it, then you can just suck it up."

With that, Shen Lu added the Deng Family to the shop’s blacklist, permanently banning them from entry.

WHOOSH. In an instant, the four members of the Deng Family were teleported outside the shop. Caught off guard, they were buffeted by a gust of wind and staggered, nearly tumbling over.

"Alright everyone, no need to crowd around. If you linger any longer, you’ll be late for your afternoon shifts."

Shen Lu dispersed the crowd, then glanced worriedly at the customer satisfaction rating.