Chapter 211: Nourishing the Body
Zhou Qian frowned as he looked at Huai Yu. He probably thought of the same thing and wanted to suggest she get checked as well. But thinking about all of Huai Yu’s secrets, he didn’t dare bring it up easily.
In the end, he could only ask, “I heard things like donkey-hide gelatin and bird’s nest are good for the body. Does the hospital pharmacy carry them?”
The hospital actually did.
During the years of the catastrophe, no one had time to care for their health. All medical supplies collected were sent to the hospital, so now, the only drawback of the pharmacy’s stock was its high prices—there was no shortage.
But—
The nurse laughed. “She’s so young, why would she need those? That stuff is too much. She just needs to eat well and get enough food.”
Zhou Qian, however, was blunt: “So you mean it works, right? Then I’ll go buy some.”
With that, he headed straight to the pharmacy.
Huai Yu: “Huh?”
She quickly called out, “Don’t forget the follow-up checkup later!”
Then she sweetly smiled at the nurse. “I’m going to visit a friend.”
She hadn’t been by in a few days, and she didn’t know if Chen Xing had been discharged yet. From what the doctor said before, the recovery would take a while—probably because the medical pod could repair the body, but not restore vitality.
So she was just taking the chance to check in.
Unexpectedly, Chen Xing hadn’t been discharged yet!
Huai Yu was surprised and a little nervous. “Chen Xing-jie, is your injury really that serious?”
If she had known, she would have brought more food.
But Chen Xing’s eyes lit up. “Serious? Not at all! I just overused my powers. To prevent my mutation index from increasing during recovery, I’m staying in the hospital for conservative treatment.”
Overexertion of abilities and depletion of physical potential was actually dangerous. So during recovery, injections had to be administered in fixed amounts and times.
But since Chen Xing didn’t mention it, Huai Yu didn’t know and quickly felt relieved. Instead, she asked curiously, “Does the hospital cover those costs?”
At this, Chen Xing’s expression turned pained. “Each person has a quota for ability-recovery serums. Beyond that, you need to apply and sign personally—no reimbursement!”
Because sales were prohibited to individuals or groups, and hospitals couldn’t record private trades, Chen Xing also felt her ‘virus’ wasn’t worth that much. It was possible to trade it to the hospital through other means, but it wasn’t necessary—so she let it be.
She was still in 3,750 points of debt!
So frustrating!
This trip to the wilderness had truly been a complete loss.
Huai Yu felt sympathetic. “Do you want to borrow some? I have points.”
“No, no.” Chen Xing shook her head. “The hospital left my details on file, and they’re pretty apologetic. It was supposed to be fully covered, but now due to policy changes it isn’t…”
“So, no interest for two years.”
“How long until you recover, then? Will you go back to the wilderness after that?”
Huai Yu sounded a little worried.
Chen Xing paused, then said, “Recovery won’t take long. I will go back—after all, fortune favors the brave.”
“But…”
She hesitated slightly, then told Huai Yu her plan. “I contacted Zhao Feiyan a few days ago—the owner of the ‘Bai Zhao Subsidy.’”
“I’ll pay a 30% fee, and next time I’ll drive myself and follow them into the wilderness.”
Huai Yu didn’t quite understand the income model of the wilderness but was curious. “Will Fenda and the others agree?”
Chen Xing paused. “Fenda’s not going.”
“They’re all kids who were abandoned during the catastrophe—picked up by me later.”
“But I’m not very capable and don’t know how to teach kids. They’ve been with me since they were twelve or thirteen, and now they’re seventeen or eighteen. They’re lacking in a lot of ways.”
“Military school enrollment is in August. Fenda, Qixi, and Xuebao—all three have abilities and meet the requirements.”
Talking about it, Chen Xing looked deeply reluctant: “They’ll have to go to school. Learn skills in military school, and next time something like this happens, at least they’ll have a better chance to survive.”
Ah—studying.
Huai Yu, a self-proclaimed academic underachiever, didn’t have much to say, but she agreed that learning more was always good.
So she nodded. “Chen Xing-jie, I think this is a great idea!”
But… would Fenda and the others be willing?
Chen Xing had a headache: “They’re not.”
The kids, emotional and impulsive, felt that going to school after such a dangerous mission—and seemingly abandoning Chen Xing—was a betrayal. Especially since Chen Xing went into debt to save them, and now she could only rely on Bai Zhao Subsidy to go back to the wilderness…
How could three young, proud boys accept that?
They were angry for a long time and hadn’t visited her much during her recovery.
But Chen Xing thought about it, then smiled. “They’ve always listened to me. I told them they’d earn more after military school. Sooner or later, they’ll come around.”
“That’s true.” Huai Yu nodded from the side. “I know a sister from the Construction Department—Liang Zhu-jie. She graduated from military school too. She gets 500 points just to lay a foundation! She can also drill wells and earns loads of extra money.”
Really?!
Chen Xing lit up: “I was just trying to sweet-talk those silly boys, but it’s actually true?!”
“Silly me—always focusing on the present and never thinking ahead. Wasted several years for nothing.”
Probably because seeing a solid career path after graduation gave her confidence, Chen Xing was now more spirited and determined than ever.
Huai Yu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked: “Chen Xing-jie, in the future—if you go back to the wilderness again, would it be possible to pay to join you?”
“How many points would that cost?”
Chen Xing looked at her, face turning serious: “Xiao Yu, don’t even think about going to the wilderness.”
“Explorers won’t take people like you—ordinary people.”
Once upon a time, explorers did take paying passengers. But in the wilderness, not following commands could get you killed—and drag others down too. Over time, no one was willing to do it anymore.
If it were possible, Uncle Zao and his wife would’ve gone long ago.
Huai Yu paused but didn’t look disappointed. She asked again, “Then… do exploration teams have fixed return dates?”
They didn’t. At best, the team might give a rough time range for return.
Chen Xing saw she had let go of the earlier dangerous topic and sighed in relief, asking curiously: “Why? You want to join a team?”
“No, no.” Huai Yu shook her head. “I just want to buy some high-mutation-value things—like inedible fruits or meats.”
“But I don’t have time to go to the expressway entrance every day.”
Chen Xing laughed out loud: “Are you silly? What do you think those scalpers hanging out at the expressway entrance are doing all day?”
“As long as you pay, what can’t they bring back?”
“For those unwanted items, just add a few extra points and a delivery fee—someone will take your business.”
She paused, remembering that Huai Yu lived in the Rose Corridor, and added: “Better to offer a slightly higher delivery fee.”
Huai Yu’s eyes lit up.
