Chapter 69: Tea with a Hint of Tea Flavor
At sunrise, a house built on solidified foundations behind the treehouse had already settled there steadily. The house, constructed rapidly with quick-drying materials, was structured similarly to the treehouse. Its roof, made of light gray tiles, reflected a faint glow under the sunlight.
It was said that this reflective material was most visible when surrounded by dense vegetation, which had become a standard for both clothing and building construction nowadays.
A long corridor stretched out from the door, connecting the grass shed and the toilet. The toilet was newly constructed, with a modern septic tank made from new materials, eliminating the need to step onto makeshift pits for using the bathroom.
Huai Yu awoke groggily, her fingers unconsciously picking up a handful of silk-like cotton with a unique texture.
It took her a while to remember what had happened the day before, and she looked toward the head of the bed—
There, only an empty vase sat. No roses, no ice sculpture.
The little chicks seemed to be doing well in the warm straw, chirping loudly as if they were hungry.
Before Huai Yu could get up to feed them, she heard Zhou Qian’s voice from outside the door:
“Huai Yu, are you awake?”
Looking at Huai Yu lifting the curtain to exit, Zhou Qian’s expression relaxed, “Come to see your new house?”
His face showed a slight weariness, but his sense of accomplishment was evident. “I brought over everything you asked for last night. Come and see.”
Huai Yu smiled and said to Zhou Qian, “Brother, I’m not upset with you, so please don’t feel guilty.”
As a defense soldier, it would have been a problem not to follow the orders of someone of higher rank.
Moreover, Zhou Qian had been helping her from start to finish, and the destruction of her house was not his intention. Therefore, Huai Yu decided to speak honestly.
“I was just too sad yesterday, and I wanted everyone to be sad with me, which is why I didn’t say anything.”
Zhou Qian paused for a moment, then smiled, “I know.”
“When you’re angry, you don’t even act coquettishly… Little girl, you were pretty good at sweet-talking people when you were trying to please them in the beginning.”
“But there’s no need for that.”
“You’ve always been living your life steadily. Whether you’re being sweet or cold, it’s all human nature wanting to avoid harm and seek benefits.”
“Xiao Yu, I know your life must have been really hard in the past, which is why you’re always so cautious, even in the way you speak, often appearing to rely on others…”
The morning light slowly spread, casting a golden haze over everything.
In this soft morning light, Zhou Qian seemed almost enveloped in a pale golden mist, and even his voice sounded gentle like morning dew, without any sharpness.
Yet, when his words cut through the core, they were as cold as morning dew.
“If you want to call me Captain Zhou, just call me Captain Zhou. If you want to call me brother, call me brother. However you call me, I know you’ve always been trying hard.”
“So, feel free to call me however you want. Don’t apologize, and don’t feel burdened.”
He smiled lightly, unaware of Huai Yu’s memory loss.
Huai Yu didn’t fully understand what he meant.
But she clearly sensed his kindness.
And… the idea that her previous life was very hard, and now she’s used to speaking softly and sweetly…
Was that true?
When she wanted something, she would softly call people “brother,” “sister,” or “uncle,” but when angry, she would address them coldly.
Was that instinct?
Confusion piled up in her heart, but she still felt like she had the mentality of “It’s never my fault!”
This left her even more distressed.
Because her previous persona went from being a rich young lady with two hundred servants to a strong, hardworking farmer who knew how to cultivate land. Now…
She couldn’t possibly be a tea-flavored, opportunistic, soft-spoken farmer, right?
She couldn’t be weak either, considering how much farm work she could do.
The tangled past worries were too much for her, so she decided to throw them aside and hummed, “I’ll call you however I want.”
“Right!” Zhou Qian laughed, “Little girl. You have relatives in the city who pamper you, so be bold when you should, okay? Now, come, let’s see your new house!”
The new house had white walls and a reddish-brown door with a sturdy lock that looked solid.
Zhou Qian handed her the keys, “There are only three keys, so be sure to keep them safe. If you lose them, it’ll be hard to break this lock.”
Huai Yu’s expression became conflicted, and she wasn’t very happy.
“This house feels like a dream…”
She murmured, “Looking at it, it feels like looking at a stranger’s house.”
Zhou Qian patted her shoulder, “Of course, this one was built brick by brick by your own hands, so it’s bound to feel different. But you have to look forward.”
“General Lin is such a kind person; he would want your life to get better.”
“If there weren’t enough people helping to build the house, you would’ve taken ten years just to finish this house by yourself.”
“And we’ve used a lot of good materials this time. Although it was built overnight, it’s stable due to our accumulated wartime experience. It can withstand strong winds and rains, and it won’t be damp.”
He gently pushed Huai Yu’s back, “Come on, see your house.”
The smooth key easily unlocked the alloy lock.
When the door was pushed open, the early morning sunlight poured in, casting light on the smooth new cement floor, the pristine white walls, and the carefully laid roof, all of which left Huai Yu in awe.
If this weren’t a new house stirred up by Wu Yue, she would definitely love it.
But now, just thinking about that name made her feel unlucky.
The house felt much more spacious compared to the previous tiny ten-square-meter treehouse.
There was a row of metal cabinets along the wall, and on the upper bunk, several storage boxes were neatly arranged.
The lower bunk was covered with a mattress and neatly folded, square, new blankets.
Although the color was uniformly dark, it was much easier on the eyes compared to her previous fluorescent pink pillows or fluorescent purple bed covers and black-blue floral blankets.
In the corner of the room, there was even a chimney connected to the stove!
Perhaps considering that cooking in the summer could be too hot, even the grass shed outside had a neat double stove.
Now, the stove was equipped with all the necessary iron pots and utensils, and their household items were quite abundant.
Beside the door, there were two water buckets for daily use. Next to them was an old-fashioned basin rack, with a round mirror above, an enamel basin at the bottom, and a towel draped over it…
Everything in the room exuded a strong sense of domestic life.
“This was my suggestion.”
Zhou Qian smiled beside her, “These are all new, so you should be satisfied, right? The basin rack wasn’t on the list, but I found it in the warehouse.”
“I heard it’s an antique from about 100 years ago, and it fits quite well.”
“Do you like it?”
