Chapter 34: I’m Going to Enjoy Life!
Su Tao immediately put away her rough demeanor and politely asked:
“Excuse me, are you Mr. Mei?”
Zhuang Wan was amazed by how quickly Su Tao changed her expression.
The old man by the window heard the voice and slowly turned around.
It was only then that Su Tao and Zhuang Wan noticed he was sitting in a wheelchair. The rusted, creaky wheelchair seemed quite stiff, emitting a harsh grinding sound as it moved.
The elderly man had graying hair, a gaunt appearance, and his oversized, pilled sweater made him look even thinner. His glasses were broken on one side, a clear sign of neglect.
He adjusted his glasses, hunched over, and looked at Su Tao and Zhuang Wan with a puzzled expression:
“Who are you?”
Su Tao stepped forward, squatted slightly to meet his gaze, and spoke politely:
“Mr. Mei, we are from Taoyang. We’d like to ask for your help with planning Taoyang’s land use and designing community spaces.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Hongyi immediately tried to turn his wheelchair back, as if unwilling to see them.
“Who told you to find me? Didn’t they tell you that my designs are all utopian dreams? In these times, they can’t be realized.”
Su Tao firmly grabbed the armrest of his wheelchair and said seriously:
“I’ve seen your work. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come to you. Taoyang needs a designer like you. Sir, please don’t rush to reject me. How about I take you to Taoyang for a look? If you find it pleasing, why not settle down there? I’ll take care of your accommodation and living expenses.”
Mei Hongyi took off his glasses, raised his cloudy eyes to look at her, and smiled slightly:
“Little girl, are you saying you’ll take care of me in my old age?”
Su Tao responded earnestly:
“If you’re willing.”
Mei Hongyi laughed heartily:
“Alright, let’s go. These old bones of mine might still be useful. Little girl, what’s your name?”
“Su Tao, Tao as in peach.”
“Good, good, Peach Girl. I’m going to enjoy life now.”
Just then, Guan Zining, who had gone out to find a parking spot, returned. Together with Zhuang Wan, they carefully carried the old man downstairs.
Su Tao stayed behind to pack his simple belongings.
The old man had very few possessions. He didn’t even have a change of clothes. The only things worth taking were his drawing tools and a pile of “utopian” design blueprints.
Su Tao casually picked up a drawing. The delicate hand-drawn sketch depicted a corner of a park. There were seating areas designed as flower beds, shady plane trees, and a sculpture fountain not far away, where children played by the water…
Another drawing was a school blueprint, featuring an academic area, dormitories, wide and clean rubber tracks, and fully equipped sports fields…
This was the world in Mr. Mei’s heart.
It was also her vision.
When Tan Fangchun saw the old man being carried out, she raised her voice and shouted:
“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?”
Su Tao replied:
“He hasn’t paid his debt, so we’re taking him with us. If you’re willing to pay for him, we’ll let him go.”
There was no way Tan Fangchun would pay the old man’s debt. She immediately said:
“His debt has nothing to do with me. Take him if you want.”
Saying this, she quickly shut herself inside, slamming the door with a loud bang, afraid Su Tao would ask her for money.
Zhuang Wan was utterly impressed and whispered:
“You’re really something. This woman is so greedy. If she finds out Mr. Mei is going to Taoyang with us, she might throw a fit and try to get benefits before letting him go.”
Mei Hongyi smiled pleasantly, not showing whether he had heard or not.
Guan Zining, seeing how happy the old man was, thought to herself that he was yet another person who had fallen for Su Tao’s sweet talk.
This made her even more determined not to let herself be swayed by this woman named Su. She would keep her distance from any “sugar-coated bullets” and resist firmly.
After settling Mr. Mei in the back seat, Su Tao took out a bento box from her backpack:
“It’s mealtime, and there’s nothing good to eat nearby. Let’s have some bento first. Later, I’ll take you all to a restaurant.”
Guan Zining hesitated when handed the bento, but eventually, she opened it and ate.
She’d resist next time.
Worried that Mei Hongyi, being elderly, might struggle with hard food, Su Tao soaked the bento in hot water to soften it. She then selected easy-to-chew vegetables and mixed them into the soaked rice before handing it to him.
Mei Hongyi looked at the rice in his hands and asked:
“Is this white rice?”
Su Tao nodded.
He was momentarily stunned and began eating slowly, savoring each small bite. Between bites, he murmured:
“The taste from twenty years ago… Are there still places growing rice now?”
“I remember the rice fields at home were so vast. My mom had to shout at the top of her lungs from one end to the other, her voice echoing over the fields.”
“Running from one end of the field to the other left you out of breath. Unlike now, where you worry about extending your arm into the neighbor’s space.”
The three young women present had never seen such large rice fields, making it hard to imagine the scene.
Was the world before the apocalypse really so free and unrestrained?
Mei Hongyi ate happily, like an old child.
After a simple meal, Guan Zining continued driving. With the elderly passenger on board, Su Tao insisted on a slower speed.
Mei Hongyi squinted out the window:
“Twenty years… There’s no going back.”
Su Tao followed his gaze. Two crumbling buildings teetered on the edge of collapse, with clothes hanging from every window. Looking down, she could see what was once the entrance to a park, now repurposed to build more housing for the growing population after the apocalypse.
She thought of the park Mr. Mei had drawn.
Indeed, there was no going back.
“If we can’t go back, we’ll build a new one,” she suddenly said.
Mei Hongyi was taken aback, then laughed:
“Peach Girl, you’re young but ambitious. In this world, where can you find so much land?”
Su Tao said:
“Very soon, there will be a piece of land where we’ll need your expertise. You can design it however you like.”
Mei Hongyi remained skeptical:
“Such bold claims. Can you really make it happen?”
Su Tao replied firmly:
“I can. Please, go ahead and design freely. We’re the same, you and I—we both want a comfortable, safe, and beautiful home, right?”
Mei Hongyi felt that not only were his old eyes growing dim, but his ears were also a bit deaf. How else could he possibly hear a child born in this apocalyptic world say they wanted a comfortable home rather than a cramped dwelling that could fit as many people as possible?
But he wished he could stay this deaf forever: “Yes.”
Su Tao’s smile bloomed, bringing a dazzling brightness to the bleakness of the end times this April.
