Why did you provoke me?

After a full 10 minutes, Dali and her team finally peeled off the first piece of stone.

Several women stood there, grinning foolishly. Sun Hongmei's tears streamed down her face. "I never imagined I could be so useful."

"If you follow your master and learn skills properly, maybe you can even have your own page in your family's genealogy." Xue Yuling smiled and wiped away her tears.

Xiao Xue curled her lip. "You think you're so capable? Aren't you afraid your old man will break your legs?"

"Xiao Xue, do you think if I brought such a large piece of stone to my grandfather, he would let me make any demands?"

"I can't say anything else, but it's certain that you'll never get married. You'll be a long-term servant for your family for the rest of your life, without any salary."

Xue Yuling seemed to be hit hard by those words. "Can't you say something that makes me happy? I'm telling you, none of you are allowed to tell anyone that I can peel off the stone skin, or I'll get really angry with you, the kind of thing that means we'll break off all relations."

Sun Hongmei chimed in from the side, "I don't want my affairs to get out either."

Li Yiqing glanced at the male comrades around him.

"Captain, don't look at us, we don't know anything." The group quickly waved their hands. What a joke! Revealing this would do them no good. If they behaved well now, who knows, these unmaskers might take them on the next mission.

To be honest, if a child is a pampered child at home, the parents would have already made clear arrangements for him and wouldn't let him go to a mining company to suffer such hardship, since mining companies are not the only profession.

In smaller towns, this isn't so obvious; after all, there are only so many ways to make a living, and people have to do one thing or another. But it's different in the city; there are many more opportunities. However, if your parents aren't willing to make arrangements for you, there's nothing you can do.

That's why Sun Hongmei and the other two were overjoyed and cried tears of joy.

Dali didn't understand their emotional experiences. In the Yu family, even those as pampered as Dali had to perform tasks; otherwise, they would have no source of income.

"You're crying like this, do you still want to continue?" Dali's voice rang out.

"Master, can't you let us have some fun first?"

"I can see that you are genuinely happy, so happy that you can't stop crying. But time waits for no one, and a lot of time has already passed. Are you sure you want to waste more time and continue to be happy?"

Dali's words may have hit the nail on the head, and the group wiped their tears with their sleeves.

"Master, let's continue."

"That's more like it. Just do it, why think so much? Let me tell you, from now on, all the finished products you make can be sold in my little sister's shop, and I guarantee that not a single word of it will leak out."

"Oh, little sister, are you going to open a specialty store in the city? I'll definitely sell my products there," Sun Hongmei said eagerly.

"Sell mine there too."

Don't leave me behind.

What could Yu Meng do? She could only nod. "I have this idea, but there's no concrete plan yet."

"It's alright, little sister, take your time thinking about it. We don't know how to make things yet anyway. By the time you've figured it out, we'll probably have a finished product ready," Xue Yuling said with a grin. "You have to keep it a secret from us then."

The men stood there exchanging bewildered glances. Wasn't this a bit inappropriate? To be so openly discussing giving a small share of the money right in front of them.

Dali couldn't stand it anymore. "Stop dreaming and get to work. My sister's shop only accepts the best quality products. If your work doesn't even pass my inspection, she absolutely won't accept it."

"Master, we'll listen to you. The stricter your requirements, the happier we'll be." Xue Yuling always had the thickest skin.

Working requires motivation, and with money hanging in front of them like a big carrot, these women were as energetic as if they'd been injected with chicken blood.

At noon, they didn't rest. They just drank a cup of water, ate a dry meal, and continued their journey into the Stone Forest.

Yu Meng shook her head from behind; the woman with her hair rolled up was too scary.

"What's wrong? Are you scared by them?" Li Yiqing chuckled from the side.

"Not all girls are the apple of their family's eye. This is even more serious in large families, where they weigh a girl's value. If she's talented, they'll nurture her; if she's beautiful, they'll nurture her too. But if she has neither, she'll only become a tool. One is a tool to serve the family; the other is a tool for family marriage alliances."

Yu Meng was puzzled. "Even if they aren't talented, there's still the option of marriage. Their lives won't be that difficult."

Li Yiqing scoffed, "Who would want to marry a useless vase? A vase still has the word 'vase' in it. People like them, who are plain-looking and unremarkable, how good of a family can they marry into?"

At this point, Li Yiqing slapped his forehead in regret. He had really been foolish to tell these things to a child who was only a teenager.

Although Yu Meng is only 12 years old, Li Yiqing has always regarded her as a peer in terms of her thoughts, language, and ability to handle things.

Yu Meng smiled and said, "From my brother-in-law's perspective, it's okay for me to call you cousin. Tell me more about these things so I won't make any mistakes when I'm looking for a partner in the future."

These words made Li Yiqing stagger. "No, no, please. I'm a single guy of a certain age now, I have no experience. What I just said was all nonsense, don't take it seriously."

Yu Meng frowned as she looked at him. "Really, don't you want to say anything more?"

Li Yiqing's face turned red. Yu Meng didn't seem like the delicate, fragile beauty he expected. He'd mistakenly considered her a friend for a moment, which was why he'd blurted out such crude things.

Yu Meng looked at Li Yiqing, who was fleeing in disarray, with a hint of confusion. She didn't seem to have said anything, did she?

The plane arrived on time at 3 p.m.

Everyone packed their belongings, disassembled and folded their tents, and put them into designated bags.

Once on the plane, these women weren't as chattering as they had been on the way there. Instead, they all slumped down, closed their eyes, and took a nap.

They were exhausted after spending most of the day peeling off the outer layer of 10 stone pillars. Keep in mind, they are beginners.

Yu Meng also admired them; their fighting spirit and drive were just like her eldest sister's.

The women were all asleep, so the remaining men naturally kept quiet. Therefore, the journey back was unusually peaceful.

Once they arrived in the city, Yu Meng gently patted each of them awake. "We're home now. If you're still not awake, I don't know where I'll send you next."

Those who stood up had glazed eyes, as if they weren't fully awake. Yu Meng, however, paid no attention to any of that. She grabbed Dali's hand and, together with Jiang Mingfeng, got off the plane first.