Chapter 31

"Alright." Tian Erhe turned his head and said to Shang Jianyao with a teasing tone, "Now you know how difficult it is to maintain order in a settlement like this, right?"

Jiang Baimian, not wanting to further provoke Shang Jianyao, took over the conversation and asked:

"Mayor, when we came in just now, there didn't seem to be as many children, were they working with the adults?"

Tian Erhe turned his body and pointed to the three buildings arranged in a 'pin' shape:

"They are in class, and the adults come back to pick them up after school."

"Class?" Jiang Baimian's eyebrows twitched, "You still maintain classroom education?"

This was a very rare thing outside of major forces, in the many wilderness settlements on the gray earth. At least, the settlements Jiang Baimian had visited before did not have this.

For people who struggled to survive, organizing classroom education was completely unnecessary, both a waste of energy and resources—human resources being a very important part. Teachers who did not work and children who did not help in the fields were considered luxuries in many settlements.

In those places, only parents and elders could occasionally provide some guidance in daily life, helping the children gain common knowledge, learn how to farm, gather, cook, clean, shoot, hunt, and care for infants.

Tian Erhe smiled and said:

"Every time outsiders enter Shuwei Town and discover this, they are always surprised. Indeed, it is not easy for us to maintain a 'school' with our conditions. Everyone has saved and tightened their belts to keep this tradition alive."

He subconsciously raised his head and looked at the dim, overcast evening sky, half in reminiscence and half in reflection:

"The first person to propose formal education for the children was an uncle named Shen Liuxin.

"He said: No matter how difficult it is, we must still teach the children to read, write, and learn the most basic knowledge. Only then can they and their descendants, the future residents of Shuwei Town, remember who they are, where they come from, what group they belong to, and what culture and history they have. Only by always remembering these things can they hold on in a bad environment, in the 'darkness' where there is no hope, with a constant expectation.

"At that time, although I agreed with Uncle Shen's proposal, my thoughts were actually very simple: every time we brought items back from the city ruins, I couldn't recognize some of the words on the items and instructions. Even if I recognized them, I often didn't know what they meant when put together. This made it impossible to effectively use the items, and that wouldn't do.

"This thought was really simple, and it wasn't until recent years that I gradually understood what Uncle Shen meant."

At this point, Tian Erhe stood up and pointed to the three buildings arranged in a 'pin' shape:

"Do you know what this place used to be?"

Bai Chen, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong all shook their heads.

"This used to be the school of the old Shuwei Town. That was the basketball court, that was the flag-raising platform, that was the teachers' dormitory, that was the students' dormitory, that was the computer, library, and laboratory building, that was the teaching building..." Tian Erhe introduced one by one, his face illuminated by the charcoal fire.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao listened intently, and even the buildings and grounds, which were only vaguely visible in the dim evening, caught their attention.

Tian Erhe withdrew his hand, turned around, and repeated his initial words:

"This used to be a school."

His expression was serious and solemn.

Before Jiang Baimian and the others could respond, he sat down again and said with a self-deprecating smile:

"Many of the townspeople do not understand this. They are not unwilling to maintain such a small school, but they think it should only be provided to the original residents. As for the later arrivals from the wilderness, giving them a mouthful to eat is already a great kindness, why waste resources?

"They believe that the original residents, especially the core members of the town guard, should divide the land, and the later arrivals from the wilderness can only rent it, paying a certain share of the harvest.

"They also believe that the later arrivals should not be allowed to join the town guard and should not be given relatively better weapons."

At this point, Tian Erhe shook his head:

"Ha, while I am alive, I can still rely on my prestige to suppress any opposition, but at most, they complain in private. When I die, I don't know what Shuwei Town will become.

"Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it, eat, eat."

Regarding the internal affairs of Shuwei Town, Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen did not feel comfortable giving opinions and maintained the attitude of guests, eating the pot of braised beef with compressed cookies, energy bars, and the coarse grain steamed buns that Tian Erhe had someone bring.

Shang Jianyao did not rush to join, continuing to pick up small pieces of beef from his bowl and feed them to the little girl beside him.

The little girl was very well-behaved. After eating, she did not ask for more and bowed earnestly to Shang Jianyao:

"Thank you, big brother!"

After thanking him, she held the remaining items and skipped back to the area where many buildings were haphazardly constructed—what used to be several basketball courts.

"You did a good job," Shang Jianyao praised her from behind.

"That's what the teacher taught us," Tian Erhe said, somewhat proudly.

Shang Jianyao still did not go to pick up the braised beef, silently eating the yellow coarse grain steamed buns with water.

Jiang Baimian did not persuade him, eating while asking Tian Erhe about their various experiences after the old world's destruction.

Most of these experiences were quite dull, after all, Shuwei Town had geographical advantages and faced fewer external challenges, but Jiang Baimian and the others still listened with great interest, making Tian Erhe even more enthusiastic, even recounting how he and his wife fell in love during a hunt.

When everyone was almost finished eating, Shang Jianyao finally started to eat the remaining braised beef, using the coarse grain steamed buns to soak up the sauce.

"It's been a long time since I've been this happy," Tian Erhe patted his stomach, glanced at the leaves of tobacco ash on the ground, "I need to go back to my room, there are still some matters in town waiting for me to decide."

Jiang Baimian suddenly remembered something and quickly said:

"Mayor, I have one more question."

"What?" Tian Erhe tightened the military green coat he was wearing.

Jiang Baimian recalled and said:

"Have you seen a person like this?

"Male, black hair, golden eyes, about 1.8 meters tall, very handsome, probably even more handsome than him."

She tilted her head to indicate that the reference was Shang Jianyao and continued:

"Likes to wear a trench coat, wear gloves, has neatly combed hair, and likes to wear boots."

Tian Erhe thought for a moment:

"Shuwei Town rarely has outsiders, and I haven't left the town for a long time. I have no memory of the person you described.

"Xiaogouzi, go ask the people who have recently gone out hunting if they have seen anyone like this, and come back to tell Baiyao and the others."

"Sure, Mayor." Seeing an opportunity to show off, the town guard member with the nickname "Gouzi" ran off quickly.

Watching Tian Erhe, wearing a military green coat and a furry hat, leave the wooden shed and enter the area where buildings were haphazardly constructed, Bai Chen looked around to confirm the positions of the town guard members.

She then sat down and said to herself:

"Why did the mayor tell us about the internal conflicts in Shuwei Town?"

Jiang Baimian looked at the fire in the stove and smiled:

"Of course, he hopes that the major force we might be connected to can accept Shuwei Town.

"Otherwise, why do you think he invited us as guests?

"Even if he trusts you enough, there's no need to do this. He could express his concern and kindness in other ways."

She turned her head to look at the somewhat confused Long Yuehong and the thoughtful Shang Jianyao and continued:

"It's clear that the internal conflicts in Shuwei Town have troubled Mayor Tian for a long time, worrying that after his death, the situation in Shuwei Town will deteriorate and eventually fall apart.

"In such worry, he met a wilderness wanderer he knew and could trust, and it's obvious that this wanderer has joined a significant force and seems to be doing well.

"If you were in his shoes, wouldn't you be a bit tempted to hope for a connection, so that Shuwei Town can rely on a major force that is not too hostile to wilderness wanderers in the future?

"With such protection and planning from a major force, the internal conflicts in Shuwei Town would be nothing."

Long Yuehong finally understood:

"Ah, I see...

"Leader, will the company accept them?"

This was also what Bai Chen wanted to ask, otherwise she wouldn't have deliberately spoken to herself.

Feeling Bai Chen's gaze, Jiang Baimian looked back at the stove and said with a smile:

"Once we return to the company, I will report it through the normal process. Whether they will be accepted or not depends on the board's decision. Even the entire security department and the strategic committee only have the right to suggest in such matters.

"However, I will definitely hide the specific location of Shuwei Town and only say that we encountered their hunting team in the wilderness."

Bai Chen visibly relaxed and said softly:

"That's good, that's good."

Long Yuehong, however, was clearly puzzled:

"Why hide the specific location of Shuwei Town?"

The report is to their own company.

Jiang Baimian glanced at him with a smile, did not answer, and did not explain, just said:

"Look, Shang Jianyao didn't ask."

Shang Jianyao, hearing his name, looked at the leader:

"Ah, what are you saying?"

Jiang Baimian forced a smile:

"Saying you look good."

"Thanks, I guess." Shang Jianyao was quite modest.

The scene fell silent for a moment, and soon the town guard member with the nickname "Gouzi" ran back and approached Jiang Baimian:

"Someone has seen the person you described.

"He went north of Yuelu Station, and he was a very strange person: at the time, everyone in the hunting team found him very charming and couldn't help but want to please him and get close to him, but he was very cold and forcibly kept his distance, disappearing into the wilderness."

"A bit strange..." Jiang Baimian seemed to think of something and muttered to herself.

She then looked up and said with a clear smile:

"Thank you."

"No, no!" The town guard member with the nickname "Gouzi" responded excitedly.

Next, Jiang Baimian did not ask any more questions, and the town guard member had to leave the wooden shed.

Shang Jianyao's gaze followed to the outside, where the sky was already dark, the clouds low, and the entire Shuwei Town was in deep darkness.

The hum of the diesel generator sounded, and the three buildings arranged in a 'pin' shape emitted light from many rooms. On the town's walls, one by one, the light bulbs were turned on, helping the guards illuminate the outside. In the area of bungalows and haphazardly constructed buildings, a few candles and fires flickered and quickly went out, almost completely sinking into the night.

Rushing rain finally began to fall in the darkness.

PS: Here are today's two updates, please vote for recommendations on Monday!