Chapter 29

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong scanned the crowd, and the two things that left the deepest impression on them about the residents of Shuwei Town were:

Everyone was dressed in a variety of styles, as if they came from different places, and most of their clothes had patches; they were very dirty, with dirty hands, faces, hair, and clothes.

Besides these two points, fatigue, thinness, and short stature were more common characteristics.

The townspeople glanced at the outsiders a few times, and upon seeing Tian Erhe, they no longer paid attention or worried, each returning to their homes. Some brought out stoves, lit fires, and cooked meals, while others carefully prepared a bowl of grain mixed with bran and poured it into the pot, or directly ate the remaining half of a cold steamed bun from lunch... Gradually, the entire Shuwei Town was filled with the smell of cooking and food.

Tian Erhe noticed Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong observing the residents and asked with a smile:

"How about it? Did you notice anything?"

Long Yuehong opened his mouth, feeling that directly stating his impressions might be impolite, so he closed it again and carefully chose his words.

Shang Jianyao收回目光，坦然说道：

"不干净。"

"不干净……嘿。" Tian Erhe chuckled, "Compared to you, they are definitely not clean."

Although Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and others had rolled around during the previous battle, leaving mud and dirt on their bodies, they had habitually cleaned their faces when they replenished water along the way.

Before Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen could interject, Tian Erhe pointed to the middle of the square with his chin:

"Although we in Shuwei Town don't lack clean water sources, we still need to conserve charcoal. I read in a book that excessive deforestation makes the land less fertile, so we don't let them cut trees nearby; they have to go very far.

"Occasionally, we can get coal from smugglers, which is like a holiday. You know, the 'White Knights' have a lot of coal.

"Ha, in summer, it's fine to use cold water for washing, but in autumn, we can only endure it as much as possible. Being a bit dirty is better than getting sick. If it gets unbearable, we boil a pot of water and wipe our bodies."

At this point, Tian Erhe paused, his smile becoming more complex:

"Besides, they work from morning till night every day. By the time they can rest, who has the energy?"

Long Yuehong immediately recalled the training of the past two months: he and Shang Jianyao were always exhausted by Jiang Baimian's drills, wanting only to lie in bed when they got home.

But inside "Pangu Bio," there was an employee cafeteria, so he and Shang Jianyao could simply take a lunch box or skip it altogether and eat ready-made meals without the need for additional labor.

"No wonder," he said, showing understanding.

Shang Jianyao didn't say anything, just nodded silently.

Jiang Baimian smiled at him:

"I thought you would ask why they don't use cold water in winter, as it can effectively promote blood circulation and boost their resistance."

"Poor physical condition," Shang Jianyao answered seriously.

At this moment, a town guard named "Dogzi" ran over with Tian Erhe's stove, carrying a small bag of charcoal on his back.

He enthusiastically helped light the fire and then joined the patrol team responsible for the surrounding area, unwilling to leave.

This wasn't because he hoped to get a share of the braised beef cans, but because, compared to most of the girls in town, Bai Chen and Jiang Baimian, with their clean hair and faces, were more attractive to young men, especially Jiang Baimian, who was tall and had long legs, having undergone genetic modification from the embryonic stage. To these young town guards, she was as beautiful as a celestial being, making them want to circle around her.

In the ash and dirt, relationships between men and women were not so conservative. Even if they had only known each other for a few minutes, if they hit it off, they could roll in bed. Therefore, the town guards patrolling and guarding the area stood tall and proud, showing off themselves.

Jiang Baimian glanced at them, almost amused.

She ignored them, walked to the back of the jeep, and took out four military cans.

"Do you need a pot? Do you need a pot? And chopsticks and bowls, do you need them?" Tian Erhe asked, his eyes shining.

"Sure, it's much more convenient than using lunch boxes," Jiang Baimian said without any hesitation.

"Dogzi! Quickly, go get my pot and chopsticks! Count how many people there are!" Tian Erhe immediately raised his voice.

The town guard named "Dogzi" responded quickly and soon returned with a black iron pot, inside which were five sets of chopsticks and bowls.

After helping set up the pot, he偷瞄了Jiang Baimian一眼，语气很弱地对Tian Erhe道：

"镇长，能不能，能不能不要再喊我的小名？我都二十了……"

"怎么的？你爸都是我看着长大的，我现在还叫他小名呢！" Tian Erhe scolded, then waved his hand, "Go, go, don't bother us while we eat, no, chat."

Shang Jianyao一直盯着那口锅，发现里面的碗呈淡青色，有非常精致的花纹，而筷子通体象牙白，没有丝毫瑕疵。

这比“盘古生物”大部分员工家的碗筷好多了。

Tian Erhe glanced at him and chuckled:

"What? Do you think the bowls are too small?"

"He thinks they are too good and too exquisite," Jiang Baimian quickly answered for Shang Jianyao, fearing he might say something impolite.

Shang Jianyao didn't mind, nodding to indicate that was his thought.

The next second, he looked at Jiang Baimian, closed his mouth, and made some muffled sounds.

As everyone looked at him in surprise, he asked Jiang Baimian:

"Can you guess what I just wanted to say?"

"…How can I guess?" Jiang Baimian's expression was somewhat呆滞, but she managed to keep smiling.

"You just guessed it accurately," Shang Jianyao said, somewhat regretfully.

Jiang Baimian took a deep breath and slowly exhaled:

"If it wasn't you, I would definitely think you were angry about what happened earlier."

As she spoke, she wasn't looking at Shang Jianyao's eyes but at the top of his head, as if she wanted to do something.

Tian Erhe watched their interaction with a strange expression and then laughed:

"The atmosphere among you seems, seems very relaxed and lively."

"Mainly because his brain occasionally goes haywire, yes, that's it," Jiang Baimian emphasized, and Bai Chen nodded in agreement.

Shang Jianyao immediately responded:

"How do you know I wasn't intentionally trying to liven up the atmosphere?"

"…Trying to maintain," Jiang Baimian ground her teeth.

Tian Erhe laughed and picked up a set of chopsticks and bowls:

"These are all from the ruins of the old world's cities. There are too many similar things there, and they don't have much value.

"Relic hunters travel long distances; who would want to carry a backpack or a car full of chopsticks and bowls back?"

Jiang Baimian listened intently and commented:

"Indeed, the ruins of the old world's cities still bury many things. Well… just because they are not currently useful doesn't mean they have no value."

As she spoke, she poured the five cans into the pot.

"镇长，热好罐头前，你可以讲一讲旧世界的事情，讲一讲你当初的遭遇吗？" Jiang Baimian casually threw the empty cans to the side and eagerly handed the blackened, yellowish leaf cigarette to Tian Erhe.

Tian Erhe took the leaf cigarette and lit it with the charcoal from the stove.

After a satisfying puff, Tian Erhe half-closed his eyes and said:

"My biggest wish now is to smoke three times a year. This is the second time this year."

After sighing, he looked around and showed a nostalgic expression:

"When the old world was destroyed, I was just over 10 years old, still a, ha, elementary school student."

"My mother was a junior high school teacher in the city, and my father was an employee of a government agency. At that time, it was just after winter break, and the weather was probably colder than now, maybe more than a little. I can't remember why, but it might be because junior high school had a later break, and my father was busier as the year-end approached. No one was at home to take care of me, so they sent me to my grandfather's house on the weekend, in the village not far from Shuwei Town.

"I remember very clearly, they said, wait eight more days, and they would come to pick up my grandfather, grandmother, and me to go back to the city for the New Year.

"Ha, I was wild back then, running around the village, but every night, I would miss home, look at the calendar, and count the days until my parents would come to pick me up.

"On the second-to-last day, in the morning, my friends and I planned to go fishing by the river, but the adults stopped us, so we played near a shallow stream. Then, we heard explosions, and the ground shook.

"I was terrified, just wanting to get back to my grandfather's house and never go out again.

"The explosions kept coming, getting more intense. I even felt like there was a high-level earthquake."

As Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, Jiang Baimian, and others listened intently, Tian Erhe warmed his hands by the fire and continued:

"At some point, I passed out, probably from the shock wave of the explosions. When I woke up, I was unharmed.

"After waking up, I ran back and saw that my grandfather's house had collapsed… They didn't manage to get out…

"At that time, my grandfather and grandmother were much younger than I am now, raising chickens, growing vegetables, doing everything.

"Cough, let's not talk about this. At that time, many people in the village were still alive. I followed the uncles, aunts, grandfathers, and grandmothers to the town. There were still many intact houses, but we didn't choose them. We picked this place because it had open ground, and we could temporarily live in tents without worrying about the houses collapsing.

"At that time, communication was cut off, no signal. Everyone waited here for rescue and help, but unfortunately, no one ever came…"

Tian Erhe's voice gradually lowered, as if he still remembered the panic and despair of those times.

"A few uncles and aunts didn't want to wait anymore. They went to the supermarket, to some people's homes, gathered some food, and tried to leave Shuwei Town to go to the city. I, I also followed them, hoping to be with my parents. Don't laugh, it was a very instinctive choice for a child.

"We drove for a while, climbed over broken roads, and walked for a long time, finally reaching the city.

"Here, here, it was even more terrifying…"

Tian Erhe's eyes gradually lost focus.

He seemed to be trapped in a nightmare he could never escape.

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