Chapter 237 - 204: Visiting

Chapter 237: Chapter 204: Visiting

At 6:00 PM on a late May evening, the horizon was already billowing with blue and pink clouds. Shielded by the massive Rose Corridor, the towering mountains in the distance were reduced to a faint silhouette of rolling peaks.

Huai Yu washed the aged rice clean, fighting the urge to reach out and purify it. Then, she sat on the steps next to Zhou Qian.

"When are they coming?"

Zhou Qian was chopping wood—or rather, breaking it. Watching him cleanly SNAP SNAP the long, rotted branches beneath his boots, it looked more like he was just tidying up the deadwood collected from nearby. He was doing it simply because he had free time anyway.

Originally, he had wanted to hoe the fields. Huai Yu had mentioned that the vegetable garden by the front door could be expanded and asked him to transplant some seedlings over. However, Zhou Qian refused. First, the ivy was acting unruly, and he didn’t feel like digging right now. Second, his house was quite a distance from the Rose Corridor. For safety reasons, it was built by the roadside, visible to any car passing by. If the vegetable patch was suddenly accelerated in its growth by Huai Yu, it would be far too suspicious. Best to forget it.

Therefore, he had told Huai Yu, "I’d better go hoe some more land on your side. It’s close to the Rose Corridor, so it won’t matter how much you mess around with it."

Besides, he wouldn’t ever be short of vegetables to eat.

On his first day back, he cooked for himself. On the second day back, he cooked for himself morning and night. By his third day back, he had completely transformed into a farmhand for the Huai family, not even boiling a kettle of hot water at his own house.

He could only conclude that although chopping wood, carrying water, and digging dirt were hard work, compared to cooking, washing vegetables, and doing dishes all by himself... he’d much rather dig dirt!

As a good man retired from the Defense Army, he had inexhaustible strength! His digging efficiency was top-notch!

Cupping her chin, Huai Yu watched him. Seeing the vigorous lines of Zhou Qian’s back stretching and contracting beneath his thin shirt as he swung his arms, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Brother Zhou Qian, how old are you this year?"

She didn’t think she had ever asked this question before. At first, she thought he looked like an uncle and only called him "brother" to build rapport. Over time, he truly felt like a reliable older brother. As even more time passed, he sometimes gave off a bit of a fatherly vibe. Staring at his tanned face, Huai Yu honestly couldn’t guess his age, which was why she thought of it now.

Zhou Qian froze. He couldn’t help but reach up to touch his face. "I don’t look old, do I? Why are you asking so cautiously?" Then, he puffed out his chest. "I’m thirty-two!" After a moment’s thought, he added, "I’m only two years older than your General Lin!"

Huai Yu was baffled. "Why are you suddenly comparing yourself to him?"

Zhou Qian thought to himself that it was because he feared she might actually start calling him "uncle" later.

Huai Yu took another look at him, then nodded. "Not bad, that isn’t too old. But Brother Zhou Qian, you’re at this age, and you’re not looking for a girlfriend?"

"PFFT—"

"Hahahahaha..."

The next moment, wild, unfamiliar laughter rang out from the front door.

Huai Yu looked over curiously to see over a dozen men carrying supplies toward the entrance. Judging by their wide grins, their excellent hearing clearly hadn’t missed her question.

The man at the front was carrying over a dozen fish in his hands. Each looked to be about two or three pounds. Although they weren’t huge, in this day and age, who wouldn’t get starry-eyed seeing them?

The first thing he said upon entering the courtyard was to echo her sentiment. "Exactly! The country is encouraging childbirth right now, so why aren’t you married yet?"

Zhou Qian snapped, "I’m thirty-two, and you’re thirty-five. You’re saying this to me? You old bachelor!"

Good heavens! The man spread his fish-carrying arms outward and puffed up his chest, his pectoral muscles arching tightly. "With a physique like mine, I’m not married because I don’t want to be, not because no girl wants me!"

The rest of the men laughed heartily. "What’s so special about your physique? Ours aren’t bad either."

"Yeah! I’m even taller than you guys."

"I’m younger than all of you!"

So... Huai Yu stared at them curiously. "Are you all bachelors?"

How hurtful those words were. It was especially damaging coming from a fair, tender young girl with phoenix eyes and a round little nose—a teenager who clearly hadn’t fully grown up yet.

The tall, sturdy man holding the fish instantly lost his bravado. "You can’t really call us bachelors... We’re single. Single by choice, you know?"

"What ’single by choice’?" Zhou Qian instantly exposed his lie. "These guys are all from frontline squads. They absolutely have to go on Wilderness exploration missions three times a year. What good girl would want them?"

With the casualty rate being so high, even if someone did want them, they wouldn’t dare get married. Of course, things were on the right track now. The missions weren’t as treacherous as before, having improved slightly, which was why everyone was able to bring up the topic again.

However, Huai Yu furrowed her brow and did some calculating. "But hasn’t the cataclysm only been going on for six years? Six years ago, you guys were already pretty old, and you still didn’t have girlfriends back then, did you?"

Critical hit!

Embarrassed to glare at such a young girl, the group could only shoot accusatory looks at Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian was speechless. What were they looking at him for? If he were capable, would he be here huffing and puffing, digging dirt for her right now? If it weren’t for the fact that no one dared approach the Rose Corridor and Huai Yu had too many secrets, he would have made this bunch of guys grab hoes and wouldn’t have let a single one of them off the hook.

Huai Yu giggled, then consoled everyone, "Don’t be sad. I don’t have a boyfriend either!"

She remembered being in her twenties before—she didn’t know exactly what age, but probably around twenty-five or twenty-six. Having slept through the last six years, she wasn’t sure if that time should count toward her age. If she discounted it by half and counted it as three years... that meant she was approaching thirty, too.

With these little calculations in mind, her consolation was extremely sincere. However, the sturdy men, who averaged around six feet tall, looked at her frail, petite figure and simply couldn’t accept her comfort in good conscience.

So, they glared at Zhou Qian again. "Our sister is only a teenager! What have you been teaching her every day?"

Zhou Qian couldn’t explain himself out of this even if he tried!

Regardless of their banter, it was time to find a place for the supplies they were holding. The barrel-chested man immediately asked, "Do you have a basin? Find me one, and let’s stew these fish for dinner tonight!"

As soon as he spoke, Huai Yu had already smoothly dragged over a large stainless steel basin. She observed the dozen or so fish, her face lighting up with joy. "These are carp! Do you want to eat them braised in soy sauce? I can make braised carp for you."

At this, the men beamed. "Oh my! Our sister can cook, too! That’s impressive!"

Huai Yu giggled. "Of course, there’s a lot I can do. But there are too many fish. Could I trouble you guys to clean them?"

She held out her hands; her fingers were fair, tender, and slender, and her palms were soft. At a glance, it was obvious she wasn’t cut out for scaling fish and gutting intestines!

The group of grown men immediately agreed.

"Don’t worry! I know how to do this!"

"I’ll do it!"

"Oh right, there’s a side of pork here. Where should I put it?"

"I didn’t have much else to bring, but this is vinegar my mom brewed. The Mutant Value is only 14... Pretty generous of your buddy here, eh?"