Chapter 4The After-School Program That Changed Everything

Content and Happy replied to the group messages instantly.

[Kids sitting close together keeps them warm and helps them bond.]

[As for the balcony, I'll just close the window. It's no different from being inside.]

[Children should eat more leafy greens. It's good for their health.]

[Plus it's not all vegetarian. That pork belly alone could feed my family for a month. Isn't that good enough?]

[If you feed them too well now, they'll be picky eaters when they grow up, with weak stomachs. You'll regret it.]

[My cousin is a senior nutritionist. I consulted with her about all this. You can all rest easy.]

This explanation convinced no one.

[If they get malnourished eating this and can't grow properly, that'll be a real problem. Grace's mom always used top-quality ingredients and none of the kids had any issues.]

[You should say less. Grace's mom already left the group. If you offend her now, will you take time off work and lose your perfect attendance bonus tomorrow, or will your husband?]

Both messages were immediately recalled.

They must have been meant as private messages but were accidentally sent to the group.

The group went quiet. No one raised any more objections.

Content and Happy messaged me privately.

[You saw the photos in the group, right? I bought all those vegetables for just thirty bucks. That means I net three hundred twenty-five a day.]

[I had no idea until I did the math. You must have made so much dirty money before. No wonder you can afford gold jewelry now.]

I ignored her, which made her even more smug.

[But I'm not the kind of person who kicks someone when they're down. Your husband ran off with someone, you don't have a job yourself—you must be desperate to find work but worried about who'll watch your kid, right?]

[Why don't you send your daughter over too? I can give you a discount.]

[Don't be too proud to accept help. When you can't even afford food, don't come crying to me.]

From shameless provocation to outright slander.

I couldn't take it anymore and blocked her.

At dismissal time, I went to pick up my daughter.

I actually saw Content and Happy walking to pick up the kids.

The kids from the earliest-dismissing kindergarten must have already walked quite a distance with her.

Their little faces were all scrunched up, looking completely listless.

You have to understand, walking from the first kindergarten to the last elementary school and then back to the community was a total of four or five miles.

I felt sorry for those little ones.

But I didn't say anything.

I quietly thought to myself that her business wouldn't last long.

But I never imagined it would blow up that very evening.

I'd just finished washing up and gotten into bed when the group started blowing up with messages.

Everyone was mentioning me, all saying the same thing.

[@Grace's mom, help us!]