Chapter 204: Being a guest
At 6:00 p.m. on a late May evening, the sky was already streaked with blue and pink clouds. The distant towering mountains were partially hidden behind the massive rose corridor, their rolling peaks only faintly visible.
Huai Yu rinsed the rice clean, resisting the urge to purify it with her powers, and then sat on the steps with Zhou Qian:
“When are they coming?”
Zhou Qian was chopping wood—or rather, it looked more like he was breaking dry branches with swift, precise movements, as if he were just tidying up the firewood he had gathered nearby. After all, there was nothing else to do.
He had planned to dig up more ground for planting since Huai Yu had mentioned the vegetable patch at the door could be expanded, and he could transplant some seedlings over.
But Zhou Qian had refused—first, the climbing vines were unruly, and he wasn’t in the mood to dig right now.
Secondly, their house was some distance from the rose corridor. For safety, it was built near the road, so anyone passing by could see it.
If Huai Yu used her powers to make the vegetable patch grow too fast, it would look very suspicious.
Better to let it be.
So he told Huai Yu, “I’ll just dig more land on your side. It’s close to the rose corridor, and you can do whatever you want there without worry.”
Anyway, he was never short of vegetables.
On his first day back, he cooked for himself.
On the second day, he cooked breakfast and dinner by himself.
By the third day, he had fully become a laborer in Huai’s household, and not even a pot of hot water had been boiled at his own place.
Honestly, even though chopping wood, carrying water, and digging were tiring, compared to cooking, washing vegetables, and doing the dishes…
He’d rather dig!
A good man from the defense forces, full of strength and efficiency at digging!
Huai Yu rested her chin on her hand, watching as Zhou Qian swung his arms. The strong lines of his back flexed and relaxed beneath his thin shirt, making her curious again:
“Brother Zhou Qian, how old are you this year?”
She realized she hadn’t asked that before.
At first, she thought he looked like an uncle and only called him “brother” to be polite. Over time, he really started to feel like a dependable big brother.
And sometimes, like a bit of a dad.
She stared at his dark face, unable to guess his age, so the question popped up now.
Zhou Qian paused, then touched his face: “I don’t look old, do I? Why are you asking so cautiously?”
He straightened his chest: “I’m 32!”
After a moment, he added, “Only 2 years older than your General Lin!”
Huai Yu: “??? Why are you suddenly comparing yourself to him?”
Zhou Qian thought, Isn’t it to stop you from calling me uncle?
But Huai Yu looked at him again and then nodded: “That’s fine, not too old—Brother Zhou Qian, you’re already that age. How come you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“Pfft—”
“Hahahahaha…”
Suddenly, wild laughter rang out from the gate.
Huai Yu looked over curiously and saw a group of about a dozen people carrying things as they approached. Judging by their wide grins, they had definitely overheard her last question.
The man in front was holding about a dozen fish, each weighing 2-3 jin (about 1-1.5 kg). Though not huge, at times like these, who wouldn’t be excited to see that?
The first thing he said upon entering the yard was to join in: “Exactly! The country is encouraging childbirth now—why aren’t you married yet?”
Zhou Qian snapped, “I’m 32, you’re 35, and you’re saying that to me? You old bachelor!”
The guy spread his arms, showing off his chest, muscles tensing:
“With my physique, I’m single because I choose to be—not because no girl likes me!”
Everyone laughed and teased: “What’s so special about your physique? Ours isn’t bad either.”
“Yeah! I’m taller than you.”
“And I’m younger than all of you!”
So…
Huai Yu curiously asked, “Are you all bachelors?”
Ouch. That stung.
Especially since the question came from a fair-skinned, delicate-looking young girl with phoenix eyes and a round little nose, who looked no older than her teens.
The burly man with the fish immediately toned down: “Well, I wouldn’t say bachelors… single, we’re single by choice, you know?”
“Single by choice?”
Zhou Qian exposed them right away: “They’re all from the front-line units. They have to do three wilderness exploration missions every year.”
“What decent girl would want to be with them?”
The mortality rate was so high that even if someone liked them, they wouldn’t dare marry.
Of course, now that things had stabilized and the missions weren’t as dangerous as before, the topic had come up again.
But Huai Yu frowned and did some quick math: “Hasn’t it only been 6 years since the catastrophe? You were all grown men 6 years ago—still no girlfriends?”
Critical hit!
The men didn’t dare glare at her, so they all shot accusatory looks at Zhou Qian instead.
Zhou Qian: “…” Why are you looking at me? If I had the skills, would I still be out here digging?
If not for the rose corridor being too dangerous for others, and Huai Yu’s many secrets, these guys would’ve grabbed hoes and joined in long ago.
Huai Yu giggled and tried to comfort them: “Don’t feel bad—I don’t have a boyfriend either!”
She figured she used to be in her mid-twenties before, maybe 25 or 26. After sleeping for 6 years… well, maybe that counts as 3 years if she fudges it a bit, but she was still pushing 30.
Her little mental math made her quite sincere in her comfort, but these tall, burly men (all around 1.8 meters) looked at her slim, fragile appearance and couldn’t in good conscience accept her sympathy.
So they turned to glare at Zhou Qian: “She’s just a kid—you’re supposed to be teaching her, and this is what she’s learning?”
Zhou Qian was utterly speechless.
Still, while they chatted, the guys began setting things down. The burly man quickly asked, “Got a basin? Bring one over—we’ll cook the fish tonight!”
Before he even finished speaking, Huai Yu had already dragged out a big stainless steel basin. She checked out the fish and grinned happily:
“These are carp!”
“Do you want braised carp? I can make that.”
At that, everyone perked up: “Oh wow! You can cook too? Amazing!”
Huai Yu giggled: “Of course—I know lots of things.”
“But there’s a lot of fish here—could you guys clean them up first?”
She held out her hand, her fingers fair and slender, her palm soft. Clearly not someone used to scraping fish scales or gutting fish!
The group of big men quickly agreed:
“Don’t worry! I got this!”
“I’ll do it!”
“Hey, where should I put this slab of pork?”
“I didn’t have anything else to bring, so here’s some vinegar my mom made—mutation value only 14… pretty good, huh?”
