Chapter 43

Based on Tang Feng’s understanding of Mrs. Luo, her words did not convey any malice.

However, it seemed she had misunderstood something.

“Mrs. Luo, it’s not what you’re thinking, I was just passing by the garbage pile and found here there was…”

He stopped midway through his explanation, unsure of how to proceed.

He couldn’t possibly tell her that he had found a can worth a hundred thousand yuan here, could he?

No one would believe such a thing if he said it.

“Tang Feng, stop pretending with me; why put on an act?” Sure enough, Luo Mei didn’t believe his words and glared at him accusingly, “If you were doing well, would you be here picking through trash?”

Tang Feng wanted to cry but had no tears.

He really wasn’t here to pick trash; he was here to pick up money!

Luo Mei let out a sigh, “You’ve been out of a job for over a month now, haven’t you looked for something else?”

Tang Feng responded with an embarrassed smile, “I’ve tried a few places, but once they hear I was fired from my last company, they don’t want me. But luckily, I just found a job today, and the pay isn’t too bad.”

“Aiyah, what should I say to you? Why did you have to be so impulsive back then? You even dared to hit the boss without considering the consequences,” Luo Mei chided him like she was scolding a younger brother.

“Yes, yes, I was indeed thoughtless at the time,” Tang Feng admitted his mistake, though he quietly disagreed in his heart.

At the time, his boss had been harassing a new female colleague, and he happened to catch him in the act.

And that day, he was in a particularly bad mood, so he went up and gave the boss a good beating.

Subsequently, he was honorably unemployed.

To this day, he didn’t think he had done anything wrong; at most, his way of solving the problem was a bit rash.

If it were him now, he would definitely have recorded the lecherous boss’s disgraceful behavior first, then posted it in the company chat group.

Even if he lost his job, he would have made sure his boss couldn’t hold his head up in shame.

“Well, actually what you did was right. We talked about it privately, saying you always seemed carefree, but we didn’t expect you to be so righteous in a critical moment,” Mrs. Luo said with a look of regret.

But Tang Feng was speechless. What did she mean by ‘always seemed carefree’? Was that supposed to be a compliment?

“Quickly throw this thing away; it’s too dirty, isn’t it?”

Mrs. Luo snatched the can from his hand and threw it back into the garbage pile, then pulled open her bag, took out two hundred yuan, and after a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out another three notes, “Take this money. It’s not much, but it’s enough for you to eat for a few days. Go find yourself another job. How can a grown man be picking through trash?”

“Mrs. Luo, I really can’t take this money, I have money…”

Tang Feng was caught between laughing and crying, hastily trying to decline.

But Mrs. Luo, despite being a woman, was quite strong, and she forcefully tucked the five hundred yuan into his pocket.

“Alright, don’t be polite with me. Stop dilly-dallying, or I’ll get angry.”

“I…” Tang Feng saw that she was insistent to this degree, so he couldn’t refuse any longer and simply nodded, thanking her with a “Thank you.”

“Alright, hurry and find somewhere to eat. I’m off,” Mrs. Luo advised with heartfelt concern before turning to leave.

Tang Feng scratched his head.

Do I really look that much like a beggar?

Are there beggars as handsome as me?

Shaking his head, he quickly picked up the can again.

Hmm?

At the same time, he discovered a photo in the pile of trash.

The photo was a family portrait, with two elderly people sitting in the front row.

Behind them stood three people, one a handsome and dashing man holding a one-year-old child in his arms.

Next to them stood a fashionable woman.

What captured his attention about this old photo was that the fashionable woman bore a strong resemblance to someone.

Jiang Zi.

And the more he looked, the more striking the resemblance, at least seventy to eighty percent.

However, the photo looked to be at least twenty years old, and the woman in it definitely could not be Jiang Zi.

He found it amusing but didn’t take it too seriously.

He first followed the method taught by the system and scanned the QR code on the can with his phone.

Then, the screen on his phone changed, and he entered the prize redemption screen.

He followed the on-screen instructions and proceeded through a few steps.

“Congratulations, you have won the first prize in this event, one hundred thousand yuan prize money will be transferred to your WeChat soon…”

“Holy moly, it actually redeemed successfully?”

Tang Feng was immediately filled with surprise and joy.

At that moment, his phone suddenly vibrated twice.

Thinking the prize money had been transferred, he eagerly checked WeChat.

But it wasn’t a notification of the prize money arriving; it was the chat group of the real estate company he used to work for, which he had forgotten to exit and nobody had kicked him out of.

Curious, he clicked to enter.

He saw that Mrs. Luo had posted two photos there—the very scene of him picking through garbage.

And she added a text message below the photos.

“It’s so pitiful. On my way home, I actually saw Tang Feng. He was scavenging through trash for a living.”

Two shocked emojis followed the message.

As soon as this message was released, the group went wild.

“Oh my god, has Tang Feng really fallen to this level?” followed by two shocked emojis.

“I thought he had already found a job, but I didn’t expect him to be living so miserably.”

“Are you kidding? He was fired; what other company would dare to hire him?”

“You can’t blame Tang Feng for that incident; he was just trying to do the right thing.”

“I advise you to withdraw that message quickly before Mr. Wang sees it.”

“Why should I withdraw it? Did I say anything wrong? It wasn’t Tang Feng’s fault from the beginning.”

“Let’s not argue just yet, listen to me first. What I mean is, could we put together some money to help him through this tough time?” This was sent by Mrs. Luo, who suddenly began urging everyone to donate money.

“I agree. Tang Feng helped me a lot when he was at the company; I’ll donate two hundred.”

“I’ve almost spent my whole salary this month; I barely have enough for living expenses, but I’ll donate one hundred.”

“I’ll donate three hundred.”

“I’ll donate fifty…”

Watching this enthusiastic scene of donations, Tang Feng felt a little moved.

A melody spontaneously played in his ears.

“Ah, if everyone gives just a little love, the world will become a beautiful paradise…”