Chapter 121: Expressway
Because of that little incident about the “boyfriend,” by the time Zhou Qian finished eating, the food at the bottom of the bowl was already cold.
Fortunately, everyone nowadays had iron stomachs; as long as the mutant value of the food was fine, there wouldn’t be any problems with digestion.
Huai Yu happily packed up the bowl and looked at Zhou Qian expectantly: “What do you want to eat tomorrow?”
Zhou Qian shook his head, “The hospital has meals, and there’s a dedicated caregiver. You don’t need to make a special trip to bring food.”
He knew that Huai Yu didn’t have a car and had to transfer buses twice each time she came to Flower City Hospital. It was really a hassle.
But Huai Yu sighed, “I’ll still bring it. Right now, you’re the only person I know. If I don’t come every day, I’m afraid one day you’ll secretly get transferred.”
Huai Yu thought that maybe she had been alone for too long, so when she developed feelings for someone, she trusted them deeply. And she drew very clear lines between different kinds of relationships—like she instantly knew Lin Xuefeng was trustworthy after just one encounter, or how she felt comfortable speaking freely with Zhou Qian.
Boss Tang from the trading market was a good person, Uncle Zaozi was greedy but not bad at heart, and even the staff at the market entrance were nice, just like the uncle and auntie who helped her with paperwork before…
But when it came to how close or distant people were, she still had a clear sense of it.
After hearing her words, Zhou Qian was momentarily speechless.
For someone like him, retired due to injury, he’d normally be placed at a military academy in the capital or settled back in his hometown, receiving monthly contribution points until the end of his life.
This time, he had made significant contributions and survived a near-death situation, so he’d definitely receive rewards and recognition. But as for his future arrangements, Zhou Qian wasn’t sure either.
Not to mention his leg…
Nowadays, medications were extracted from mutant plants and animals, and their physical fitness was far superior to ordinary people’s. After just a few days of recovery, his leg amputation wound was already nearly healed.
Once he met the standards, they’d install a prosthetic.
All of this wasn’t something he could decide at the moment. After thinking it over, Zhou Qian realized the only thing he could do was give Huai Yu a promise—
“Don’t worry, I’ll never leave without saying goodbye.”
“If I ever have to leave Flower City, I’ll definitely let you know.”
…
With Zhou Qian’s promise, Huai Yu happily stuffed the stainless steel bowl back into her basket and got ready to head back.
But just as she reached the hospital lobby, she saw a man in line, grimacing in pain. Although his face was swollen and puffy, he looked oddly familiar…
“Uncle Zaozi!”
Huai Yu exclaimed in surprise, “You’re at the hospital too?”
Uncle Zaozi had a bruised and swollen face, two long streaks of dried blood still hanging from his philtrum, one eye swollen shut into a slit, and his cheekbones purple and blue.
Not to mention his mouth—his cheeks were swollen high.
Uncle Zaozi strained to open his eyes and looked at her, snapping, “Do I look like I came here for fun?”
“Hehe.” Huai Yu giggled.
Uncle Zaozi was still standing in line himself, so it was clearly just external injuries.
After all she’d been through with Zhou Qian’s life-and-death injuries—and even having to stitch him up herself—these minor scrapes felt oddly familiar now!
“What on earth happened?”
She dug through her pockets and handed Uncle Zaozi a piece of tissue.
But Uncle Zaozi waved it off and flexed his jaw, loosening the dried blood clinging stiffly to his philtrum, “Can’t wipe it off—I was beaten up. I’ve got to make him pay.”
As he spoke, his cheeks twitched, and the swelling on his right cheek went down while the left side puffed up.
Huai Yu’s eyes widened.
Uncle Zaozi looked puzzled at first, then caught on, “The right side, right?”
The swelling switched sides again as he adjusted, muttering, “Why hasn’t that guy come to negotiate compensation yet? If he waits any longer, my candy will melt—it’s expensive, you know.”
Huai Yu finally realized that Uncle Zaozi’s cheeks weren’t swollen from being beaten—they were stuffed with fruit hard candy.
She was speechless and had to change the subject: “Seriously though, what happened? Why would someone hit you?”
Uncle Zaozi got angry at the mention of it!
“It’s Labor Day, right? Lots of explorers were returning for the holiday, and the expressway was packed. I was doing my usual thing, hanging around the checkpoint to snag some deals!”
Huai Yu remembered their first meeting and her expression turned complicated: “You mean snagging those mutant-value-23 dates again?”
Uncle Zaozi’s face turned green—literally date-green.
“I just couldn’t resist a small profit—besides, no matter how long it took, I still sold it in the end, didn’t I?”
He looked at Huai Yu meaningfully.
But Huai Yu was puzzled: “But you spent so much time—staking out the expressway, setting up a stall at the trading market, and even ate those terrible dates yourself. In the end, you only made 4 points… Uncle Zaozi, what’s the point?”
She asked sincerely, and Uncle Zaozi answered just as sincerely, “I just purely love working—I can’t stand being idle.”
Huai Yu: …
“Don’t doubt me!” Uncle Zaozi got anxious.
“You kids don’t understand business! Sure, I was staking out the East District expressway checkpoint, but it wasn’t just for dates. I found other stuff too.”
“It’s just something to do on the side.”
“Plus, I’ve got connections. When I get good stuff, I can flip it fast. As for leftover things like those dates, well, I’m free anyway—setting up a stall isn’t a big deal.”
“These days, lots of people only earn 100 points a month. I make 4 points in an afternoon—that’s not bad at all.”
“And it’s all no-capital business.”
Huai Yu listened in a daze.
She really wasn’t good at business. Listening to Uncle Zaozi explain it all logically like that… it kind of made sense.
She grew curious, “Where’s the East District expressway located? Can anyone go stake out there? Do you think I could try it?”
Uncle Zaozi laughed, “I knew you were bold!”
“But you can’t go alone. The four expressway checkpoints in the east, south, west, and north are all staked out by different groups—if you go alone, you’ll get bullied.”
“How about this: tomorrow at 9 a.m., I’ll wrap up my stall and head over. You wait for me at the trading market entrance?”
Huai Yu nodded, “Okay!”
Uncle Zaozi nodded back cheerfully, “Great! Lots of big buyers are there to purchase stuff. If you’ve got anything valuable that’s hard to sell elsewhere, you can sell it there—no one will question you. Private transactions don’t need to go through the scanners either.”
Just then, he suddenly gasped and weakly leaned against the wall, his right cheek swelling up again as he groaned dramatically, “Oh, I’m dying… they’re gonna kill me… poor me, just a wretched life, always getting bullied…”
Huai Yu looked up and saw a man with a dark expression walking toward them.
Here it comes! That’s the second update—goodnight! Thanks for your tips!! Really appreciate it!!!
