Chapter 250 | Chapter 251 | Chapter 252
Chapter 250: We Have a Car!
“Sixty-five thousand points?”
Huai Yu’s expression couldn’t help but turn somber—because this amount happened to align exactly with her and Zhou Qian’s entire net worth.
They had checked their balances while waiting for the bus; she had 53,284 points, and Zhou Qian had 16,618 points. A car wasn’t just sixty-five thousand; transferring ownership incurred tax fees, and they also needed to prepare for fuel, which was the most expensive part…
The few thousand points left over would barely suffice to sustain their daily lives.
But!
Once Zhou Qian took the car for a spin and luxuriously felt the cool air blowing from the air conditioner, the two of them exchanged a glance and said without a second thought, “We’ll take it!”
Neither of them haggled. The happiest person was Boss Tang, who felt that his trust and honesty hadn’t been wasted. A bright smile spread across his exceptionally plump face:
“Great! I knew Xiao Yu and I hit it off from the moment we first met. If someone else came to buy this car, I wouldn’t have quoted anything under seventy-five thousand! And I wouldn’t sell it for less than seventy thousand either. Once the transfer is done, drive the car and follow me. I have two barrels of fuel left at my place, and I’ll give them both to you.”
“In the future, if you can’t buy fuel, you can look for me. I have channels over here, though the price might be slightly higher.”
This was a truly pleasant surprise! When Boss Tang had brought up the car before, he had never mentioned anything about fuel. Zhou Qian looked at Huai Yu, who was simply beaming with foolish joy, and thought to himself that a silly person truly had a silly person’s luck.
Huai Yu had no idea how many calculations Boss Tang had made in his mind regarding the sale of the car. At this moment, she said triumphantly, “Of course we hit it off! Since the first time I met Boss Tang, you’ve always taken care of me, paying high prices for my vegetables, and you’ve never forgotten me when you had good stuff. Even my previous transaction wristband was a gift from you, Boss Tang!”
“You’re so good to me. Even though I don’t understand cars and don’t know much about the market, sixty-five thousand points definitely hasn’t let me down one bit!”
She giggled and loudly declared, “Boss Tang! From now on, you’re the absolute best boss to do business with me in the entire world!”
A brilliant flush of red bloomed on Boss Tang’s fair face. He waved his hand, dismissing Huai Yu’s exaggeration as too dramatic, while grinning from ear to ear.
Even so, Huai Yu was still completely unprepared for Boss Tang’s generosity! When he led them to another warehouse, she saw that the two large barrels of fuel were housed in cylindrical drums, not at all what she had imagined—which was plastic jugs or cans.
With this much fuel, they wouldn’t have to worry about fuel at all this year!
The remaining few thousand points would not affect their living conditions in the slightest.
Huai Yu was deeply moved. She was always the type to return a gesture tenfold if someone treated her well. After some thought, she decided to bring Boss Tang some good things the next time she came.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she heard Boss Tang ask again, “Gao Ming will be out before long, and I need to find a safe place for him—somewhere secure, unpopulated, and spacious. It’s best if it’s remote and inconvenient for travel, to keep him from running around and messing with materials.”
He looked at Huai Yu. “Xiao Yu, seeing as you can safely grow so many vegetables, you must know of a place like that, right?”
Truth be told, that garage location was something he had carefully considered for Gao Ming, but even an unfinished residential complex on the periphery still saw quite a few residents move in because a massive number of buildings in the urban area were still undergoing repairs.
With people coming and going, trouble was frequent. On top of that, a garage was perfectly suited for small businesses. Because he didn’t want the upper-level apartments and instead chose three garages, he had been targeted by malicious individuals.
If not for that, Gao Ming wouldn’t have been caught so easily.
After this incident, Boss Tang wanted to find him a place that was truly sparsely populated. However, he had traveled the entire outskirts of Flower City, and even the more remote Jin Yuan residential complex was fully packed with people, leaving him at an utter loss as to where to arrange it.
Now, he could only place his hopes on Huai Yu—since she grew so many vegetables, the scale of her home must not be small, and she could at least offer a point of reference.
Huai Yu let out an “ah,” then looked at Zhou Qian. The two of them leaned in close to whisper to each other: “Brother Zhou Qian, do you want a neighbor?”
Zhou Qian furrowed his brows. “Boss Tang is trustworthy, but have you interacted with this Gao Ming? What kind of person is he?”
Whether it was the mutated cowpeas or the tall eggplant trees at Huai Yu’s place, or the barnyard grass trees in the pond that continuously filtered water, or Ketaro, Da Zai, and Er Zai…
In short, every single one of them was out of step with the normal world when taken individually; he had to be cautious.
Huai Yu stole a laugh: “I’ve seen him. When I attended the police auction, he was on stage—most importantly, Da Zai and Er Zai were eggs confiscated from his place, and Ketaro was also bred by him.”
“Boss Tang asked me to bring Ketaro back precisely because he was afraid some people would discover his abilities.”
Zhou Qian: “…”
His own life had been clawed out by Ketaro. When it came to secrets, these two were clearly cut from the same cloth; neither was suited for the public eye.
Thus, he nodded decisively. “Fine. Area Three of Rose Manor covers 616 acres and connects directly with Areas 1 through 31 of the Rose Corridor… it should be suitable.”
Huai Yu was simply delighted that she was about to welcome another new neighbor, and because this neighbor had too many secrets of his own, he was obviously very reliable.
Zhou Qian, however, looked at Boss Tang, thinking to himself that the other party had made a concession on the car and had additionally provided so much gasoline, presumably all on account of Huai Yu.
By lending a helping hand in turn, the relationship between both sides would become even closer, giving Xiao Yu another backer in the future.
To be able to open such a large shop in the trading market with all sorts of excellent goods readily available, how could it be possible without some backing?
Having made their choice, the two of them asked Boss Tang, “We do have a place like that near our home. Boss Tang, if you have time, why don’t you drive with us to take a look after finishing the paperwork?”
“If you find it suitable, you can directly apply for that piece of land on your return trip.”
Boss Tang’s eyes had already filled with anticipation while the two were discussing it. Hearing this, he grabbed his keys without another word. “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up! Getting this sorted out sooner gives me something to report back on.”
The two vehicles drove out one after the other. Huai Yu sat happily in the passenger seat with the air conditioner blowing, feeling a rare coolness in the sweltering heat, and couldn’t help but grow excited again:
“If that Gao Ming really moves over there, then Ketaro won’t have to leave me, and he can still stay with his owner! How wonderful!”
“And then there’s Da Zai and Er Zai. They aren’t picky eaters at all, but I’m always afraid that eating poorly will affect their bodies—what kind of goose has no feathers?”
“If Gao Ming is there, he’ll probably provide a recipe!”
Zhou Qian watched her joyful expression and couldn’t help but think: That Gao Ming, since he’s been inside for rehabilitation, he must be very good at digging fields and turning vegetable patches, right?
It should be quite normal for neighbors to lend a hand, right?
Otherwise, with only himself working hard every day, it was truly a bit too lonely.
Chapter 251: A Neighbor on the Way
The car continued driving toward the outskirts, and the further they went, the more familiar the route looked to Boss Tang. When the famous, massive, unfinished residential complex appeared in the distance, he finally couldn’t help but step on the brakes and bring his vehicle to a halt.
“Is this Jin Yuan residential complex the place you wanted to show me?”
He sighed. “This place is quite remote, but there are just too many people living here. I didn’t consider it at first. Later on, when I really couldn’t find anywhere else, I drove inside and discovered it really is enormous. I actually took a liking to a spot, but the owner runs their business there and refused to transfer it…”
He rambled on, clearly a little disappointed by how the trip was turning out. Huai Yu, however, asked curiously, “I’ve been inside before, too. Which spot did you take a liking to, Boss Tang?”
Boss Tang wasn’t discouraged, treating the drive as a simple outing, so he replied quite casually, “I looked at the zoning map at the municipal office. There’s a very large artificial lake inside that complex, and building private homes by the shore is permitted.”
“I originally wanted to acquire that lakeside area and set up a few prefabricated houses, but the original owner is a water-type ability user. They’ve planted lotus flowers and raised fish in the lake, so we couldn’t reach an agreement.”
Huai Yu understood. That was the couple she had bought lotus flowers and fish fry from.
But even if the lakeside was spacious, there were simply far too many people in that complex; it wasn’t suitable.
Thus, she grew even more confident. “Keep driving, Boss Tang. The place I’m talking about will definitely meet all your requirements.”
Boss Tang was a little surprised. “We have to keep going?”
Any further ahead and they would be approaching Flower City’s old national highway entrance. Not only was it completely deserted, but it was also far too remote. If Gao Ming lived out there all by himself, it really couldn’t be considered safe. It wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?
However, right after his words fell, the large vehicle ahead—vibrant as an oil painting of sunflowers—smoothly started up again. Boss Tang let out an “oh my” and had no choice but to follow.
Yet the further the car drove, the more remote the surroundings became. He looked left and right, realizing they had veered onto another side road. They passed a bus stop along the way, where Huai Yu pulled over to kindly remind him to remember the location, noting that while transportation here was inconvenient, it wasn’t impossible to leave the house.
Boss Tang took a glance and continued driving behind her car.
However, the further forward they went, the more he could see a mountain-like expanse stretching into the distance…
The Rose Corridor?!
Screeech!!! He slammed hard on the brakes.
Seeing him stop, Zhou Qian checked his rearview mirror from the vehicle ahead and brought his car to a halt as well.
Boss Tang got out of his car and stood on his tiptoes to look into the distance, shaking his head repeatedly at this point:
“This won’t do, this won’t do! How can anyone live in a place like this? It’s so close to the Rose Corridor. Other people wouldn’t dare come here, and I certainly wouldn’t dare let Gao Ming live here either!”
He understood the terrifying nature of the Rose Corridor far better than the average citizens of Flower City, and he absolutely wouldn’t dare let Gao Ming come here. Huai Yu, however, gave a small smile. “We aren’t going toward the Rose Corridor. Just follow the main road and drive a bit further in the direction of the Defense Army camp.”
The Defense Army camp?
At this mention, Boss Tang visibly relaxed a great deal. He gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, then I’ll go take a look.”
Huai Yu naturally wasn’t taking him to the Defense Army camp. Zhou Qian’s house was just ahead by the side of the road; they only needed the car to crest this hill to see it.
Before long, Boss Tang indeed spotted it.
The two vehicles pulled over by the roadside. Looking at this house, which was clearly newly built, he couldn’t help but look at Zhou Qian and Huai Yu in astonishment:
“So you two live here?!”
Having said that, he cast a wary glance toward the Rose Corridor, then quietly looked at the warning sign ahead, only then breathing a slight sigh of relief.
He had guessed many possibilities for Huai Yu’s residence, ranging from a villa district early on to a farm or a manor later on. But he had never imagined in his wildest dreams that she actually lived here!
No wonder she was able to have so many vegetables every single time. With such massive expanses of land, what couldn’t she grow?
It was just…
What kind of courage did she have to dare live right next to the Rose Corridor?
Looking at Zhou Qian’s house again, he asked hesitantly, “Did you hire people to build this house?”
Could workers even be hired out here?
Zhou Qian nodded. “I hired a earth-type ability user from the Construction Department, and my old comrades from the military came to lend a hand, too. Plus, we used a lot of new materials, so building a house like this only takes a few days.”
Knowing that so many people had been here, Boss Tang felt slightly more at ease.
Huai Yu added, “This is Brother Zhou Qian’s house. His plot belongs to Area Two of Rose Manor.”
“If you loop around over there, you can faintly see a house by a bamboo grove—that’s mine, and it belongs to Area One of Rose Manor.”
“Right up ahead, the area closest in a straight line to the bus stop sign, is Area Three of Rose Manor, which is the place I wanted to show you.”
Boss Tang: “…”
The place they had found actually left him at a loss for words for a moment.
After a long while, seeing that Zhou Qian had already pushed open the door to invite him inside for a look, Boss Tang slowly got out of his car. “I… I think here… Let me think about it a bit more!”
Huai Yu asked, puzzled, “What is there to think about?”
“Boss Tang, the requirements you set were that it had to be remote, it had to be deserted, yet it had to guarantee safety. Transportation had to be inconvenient, but there still had to be a mode of transport.”
“And it needed to be an exceptionally wide and vast space…”
“Look, this place perfectly satisfies all your requirements!”
That was certainly true—and that was exactly where Boss Tang’s internal conflict lay.
It was remote yet could guarantee safety because the Rose Corridor was here; who would dare come over lightly? But the Rose Corridor itself happened to be the greatest source of danger!
He wrestled with the decision, wandering around the courtyard, looking at the neatly stacked firewood in the shed one moment, and looking at the water well that made daily life convenient the next. Finally, he looked up at the power lines overhead…
He gritted his teeth and asked once more, “If Gao Ming lives in Area Three, can electricity be connected over there?”
“It should be possible.” It was right by the side of the road anyway, and power to that side could easily be drawn from Zhou Qian’s place. As long as enough contribution points were provided and the house was built on the outer perimeter, why would the authorities refuse?
At this, Boss Tang let out a sigh. “Let’s go. Take me to see Area Three.”
Despite all his nitpicking and his initial feeling that it wasn’t very reliable, Boss Tang’s merchant instincts allowed him to quickly estimate the costs here.
When all was calculated, an area this massive turned out to be slightly cheaper than a residential property in the city, making it truly the most suitable place for Gao Ming.
This spot was also some distance away from the Defense Army camp. As long as Gao Ming closed his own doors, he could mess around with his materials however he pleased, which would likely be the workspace of his dreams.
Standing at the edge of Area Three and looking into the vast space inside, the Rose Corridor still stood tall in the distance, looking both vibrant and intimidating.
Boss Tang looked between Huai Yu and Zhou Qian, and then he gritted his teeth:
“Fine! I’ll go to the municipal office tonight to pick up the regional zoning map, and tomorrow I’ll go tell Gao Ming!”
“Xiao Yu, if Gao Ming really chooses to live here, you must take extra care of him!”
Chapter 252: No Way, Absolutely Not
Boss Tang left, his mind consumed with internal conflict.
Even until the moment he departed, he lacked the courage to step foot into Area One of Rose Manor. Who could blame him when Area One wasn’t a neat, orderly square but instead shared the largest perimeter with the Rose Corridor? Huai Yu’s cabin was also the closest to it.
Huai Yu watched him drive away. As soon as she saw Zhou Qian pull up to the front of the house, she hopped out and excitedly circled the vehicle several times, admiring its vibrant pattern that looked like a brilliant sunflower.
They finally had a car!
“Brother Zhou Qian, are you happy?” Huai Yu looked at him expectantly.
Yet Zhou Qian remained thoroughly cool. “What’s there to be happy or unhappy about? It’s just a car.”
With that, he turned and went inside. A few moments later, he walked back out lugging a full bucket of water. “Step aside, let me wash it down.”
Huai Yu: …
Stubborn man.
She tossed her head and turned on her heel to head toward the treehouse.
Since Boss Tang had treated her so well, she was going to force-grow a ginseng plant to give him as a gift! As long as she didn’t use both of her abilities at the same time, the ginseng would turn out completely normal.
The treehouse had been left untended, and the wisteria leaves had grown rampantly, once again transforming it into a lush, green shelter. The canopy overhead was exceptionally dense, layering over itself to block out the sunlight entirely.
The moment Huai Yu stepped inside, she finally understood why the fat ginseng needed photosynthesis—the light inside the room was dismal.
She couldn’t resist rustling through Da Pang’s vibrant green leaves. “If there isn’t enough sunlight, you should have told me. I’ll bring a pair of shears later to trim back the leaves and vines.”
Da Pang was currently rooted inside the dark green resin pot fitted with swivel wheels. When it stood completely still in the soil, its long stem and massive canopy of green leaves lined up perfectly with the rim of the pot.
The disguise was absolutely flawless.
The moment Huai Yu lowered her hand, it burrowed back out of the dirt, bringing its large white radish head perfectly level with the rim.
Right now, its root hairs were hooked over the edge of the pot, looking exactly like a toddler standing on his tiptoes to peer over a counter. “I-I-I f-f-forgot.”
It truly had forgotten. After all, it could run around this massive open field every single day; it didn’t care at all whether there was sunlight or not.
As it shifted its chubby legs, the resin pot glided forward with it. The sight was inexplicably comical, but Huai Yu conscientiously held back her laughter.
“Even if you don’t need it, you should think about your brothers and sisters. They need it desperately. Look, because of the lack of light, their stems and leaves have grown all leggy.”
Da Pang, however, said with deadpan earnestness, “Th-th-they a-a-aren’t, aren’t m-m-my b-b-brothers, s-s-sisters!” The little stutterer dropped words as it spoke, but its tone was exceptionally serious. “W-w-we are d-d-different!”
Huai Yu understood exactly what it meant.
Just as the Rose Corridor looked down on all humans and plants equally, she could roughly empathize with that feeling. An organism that had mutated to the point of possessing its own thoughts would look at other humans, animals, and plants…
And see them all as the same category of lesser beings.
To Da Pang, the remaining ginseng plants before it were no different from any other weeds by the roadside.
The only exception was Huai Yu, who was right in front of it—the one who had allowed it to grow, run, and talk!
It shook its head, causing the massive leaves atop it to wobble, so its root hairs quickly braced against the pot to keep from looking too disheveled. Huai Yu patted the top of its head; the leaves felt broad, smooth, and refreshingly cool.
“Mm, I get it!”
“It was my fault for not thinking about the sunlight. I shouldn’t blame you.”
“N-n-no p-p-problem!” Da Pang replied swiftly.
Huai Yu withdrew her hand and selected a ginseng plant to examine. They were all still planted inside hollow concrete blocks and had originally been growing quite sturdily. However, because Wu Yue had paid a visit, three of them had their stalks sliced off, and their current growth lagged noticeably behind the rest.
After looking them over, Huai Yu picked out the weakest one and slowly channeled her ability into it.
Beside her, Da Pang’s leaves rattled loudly. Its stem kept leaning forward from time to time as if it wanted to intercept the energy, but before it could make up its mind, Huai Yu had already pulled her hand back.
She realized—the concrete block was too small!
It was fine for a two- or three-year-old seedling, but once she used her ability…
Huai Yu had no choice but to carefully extract it. Only after burying it in the open soil did she resume using her ability.
A continuous stream of energy flooded in. The ginseng’s roots seemed to lock onto the soil, desperately drawing in the power. Before long, Huai Yu quietly drew her hand back.
She could sense that the ginseng beneath the soil had plumped up several times over, reaching a size that was neither absurdly large nor failed to surprise.
Da Pang watched from the side, its expression thick with envy. Huai Yu patted its leaves but truly didn’t dare give it any more power. Its current canopy was already massive enough, looking exactly like a giant pothos plant bought from a flower market.
By the time she walked back to the doorway, Zhou Qian had already scrubbed the car until it was gleaming. Presently, he was scooping up a basin of water to rinse the tires, working with such meticulous care that it looked like he was scraping every last speck of dirt out of the grooves.
Huai Yu shook her head, letting out a clicking sound. “It’s just a car…”
The moment the words left her mouth, she heard Zhou Qian command, “Pack your things. We’re going up the mountain tomorrow.”
“Get ready and bring your sleeping bag. If your ability truly performs well, we’ll head deeper. We might need to spend the night in the mountains.”
If she lacked the ability, they would drop it; they would just take a quick lap around the outer perimeter and head back. As for this car, it could just serve as a tiny psychological consolation prize for not being able to go into the wilderness.
Huai Yu let out an “ah.” Having not entered the mountains for so long, she suddenly recalled the fish trap that had broken. “Can we bring the fishing net? There might still be fish in that pool…”
Zhou Qian recalled the entries in her notebook—not only were there strange fish in the water, but orchid mantises might also be perching along the edge of the aquatic plants.
He refused flatly on the spot. “No. You cannot go near the water. Just bring enough water for the two of us to drink, pack some food, and we’ll rough it out for the rest.”
Huai Yu protested, “Then let me bring the back basket! What if there’s wild fruit on the mountain? Pears should be perfectly ripe this season, and there should be wild raspberries too…”
“No.”
“We are entering the mountain to test your affinity, not to hunt for treasure. Are you going to constantly look for food like this when you’re in the wilderness?”
Zhou Qian opened the car door and began wiping down the seats and steering wheel inside.
Huai Yu was incredibly unwilling to yield!
Sanqing Mountain was so difficult to climb. Now that they were finally going deep inside, wouldn’t it be an absolute waste if they didn’t gather anything at all?
She thought it over and offered a compromise: “Then can I just bring a few plastic bags? I want to take you to meet the giant pine tree. It’s so nice to me. It didn’t just give me pinecones; it even let me collect pine pollen—what if there’s still some left this season? It would be a waste to miss it!”
Zhou Qian’s eyelids twitched violently as he listened. Whether it was the edge of the water or the giant pine tree, why did every single species Huai Yu considered “nice” sound exactly like the hazards Kuang Biao had described?
