Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Seeing in a New Light
Zhang Aihua was surprised his son could actually produce two packs of coffee. He lovingly patted his head. "Dad will figure out a way to pay you back later."
Zhang Yiwen waved his hand. "Come on, Dad, stop with the empty promises. I’m your son, after all. Now, don’t bother me while I’m trying to get myself a big Vulture mattress."
Zhang Aihua laughed in exasperation. "You little rascal!"
’I wonder where he learned that from.’
They had expected Jiang Si and Qin Shen to bring at least a hundred radish seedlings, but when they arrived, there were only fifty.
Everyone was a little disappointed, especially after they had rushed and worked so hard to hack out a large plot of land all at once.
Still, fifty seedlings were better than none.
If they tended to them meticulously and propagated them well, it wouldn’t be long before they achieved radish freedom.
Deep down, everyone was still overjoyed.
They even gave Jiang Si and Qin Shen special treatment, using precious rice they couldn’t bear to eat themselves to make rice cakes and serving up their only two cups of coffee.
After presenting the radish seedlings, Jiang Si and Qin Shen followed up by hauling a giant radish off the Icebreaker.
This was a giant radish from their cultivation research. The area around the hot spring was a natural habitat for this type of radish, so it should propagate quickly through tuber division.
Zhang Aihua knew Jiang Si had said the radishes were big—that they were a mutated variety.
But he had never imagined a single radish could grow to be over a meter tall!
He was so excited he was speechless.
’If the fifty seedlings from Jiang Si all grow successfully, a person could hug a single radish and gnaw on it for half a month, with plenty left over to plant.’
Seeing their stunned and flabbergasted expressions, Jiang Si said, "Plant these radishes well, and you won’t starve."
The crowd cried tears of joy, cheering and jumping. "Thank you, thank you..."
Jiang Si remembered something else she needed to warn them about. "We previously discovered a type of blood-sucking insect around the hot springs. They automatically detach after they’ve fed, but if you have an open wound, they might burrow into your body. You need to be careful."
The thought that there were blood-sucking insects nearby sent a shiver down everyone’s spines. At the same time, they hurriedly thanked Jiang Si and Qin Shen once more.
Jiang Si then handed them soybeans and chives.
Everyone was thrilled to suddenly have two more types of plants they could cultivate.
’With lords this good, life is bound to get better day by day.’
They had assumed Jiang Si and Qin Shen would head back after dropping off the supplies.
But they didn’t. Instead, they began to wander around the hot spring.
Zhang Aihua followed beside them and asked curiously, "What are you two planning to do? Is there anything we can do to help?"
’They’ve received so much help, but haven’t done a single thing to benefit Jiang Si and Qin Shen. It’s making me very uneasy.’
’People with no value are easily discarded.’
’For instance, if I get sick, they could try their best to save me, but if I’m considered worthless, they might not see the point.’
’Everyone gets sick eventually.’ Zhang Aihua was already starting to worry about such a scenario.
Jiang Si collected a vial of the hot spring water to measure both its temperature and quality.
She took a moment from her work to reply, "We’re thinking of running a pipe to pump the hot spring water to our base. It would be more convenient."
Zhang Aihua’s eyes lit up when he heard this. "We can help you install the pipeline," he said eagerly.
’If we help them install the pipeline, they might let us monitor the water quality in the future, to prevent things like poisoning.’
’That would mean we’d have at least some small value to them.’
Jiang Si didn’t turn him down. "We’ll see. It might not even be feasible."
"Alright."
’He had already fully adapted to his role of taking orders from Jiang Si and Qin Shen. After all, if you’re going to rely on someone else to get by, you need to know your place.’
’He’d learned that lesson ever since he started navigating the world on his own at sixteen.’
Once the tests were done, Jiang Si noticed fry swimming in the hot spring. "With all these pools," she said to Zhang Aihua, "you should try raising fish in them. It would be another source of food."
Zhang Aihua nodded. "We were thinking about that."
"Alright, we’re heading back for now."
As Jiang Si and Qin Shen left in the Icebreaker, everyone watched, envious that even in a world like this, they could still maintain such a superior, modern lifestyle.
’A thought suddenly occurred to them: in the past few days, they had only ever seen a handful of people in Jiang Si’s group. The rest were all monkeys and dogs.’
’Could it be that’s all there is? Just a few of them?’
Zhang Aihua had the same suspicion. But even if it was just a few people, those monkeys they kept were no pushovers. Every single one of them had better marksmanship than a special forces soldier.
Most importantly, while Qin Shen and Jiang Si had only reluctantly allowed them to stay—their initial attitude had been poor, even disdainful—they had never once held back on providing necessary aid.
Rather than lords or bosses, they were more like neighbors who simply disliked having their space invaded or being disturbed.
Right now, no one had the mind for anything else. They just wanted to hurry up and get their new home properly established.
While Qin Shen and Jiang Si were figuring out how to pipe the hot spring water over, Jiang Linhai and his troop of monkeys finished building their standalone house ahead of schedule.
The interior didn’t have fancy tiles; it was all built from high-quality, natural wood.
Jiang Linhai called Jiang Si and Qin Shen over to inspect it, and it felt like they were being shown their new marital home.
It was a small, two-story structure with a front and back yard. Though small, it had everything they needed.
The second floor housed their bedroom and study, while the first floor had the kitchen, a guest room, and the bathroom.
It really felt like a complete little home.
Jiang Si could feel the care her father had put into it, and her eyes grew a little misty. "It’s built so well! Dad, you’re the greatest!"
Jiang Linhai patted Jiang Si’s shoulder, then turned to Qin Shen. "You two live a good life together," he instructed, as if he were marrying his daughter off. Jiang Si burst out laughing. "Dad, you live right next door, you know. Don’t be so dramatic."
Jiang Linhai glared at her. "How is that the same? You’re independent now. This is your own little family."
’There he goes again with the hints, both subtle and not-so-subtle.’ Jiang Si just smiled. "Mm-hm."
’Truth be told, she had already come to accept it herself.’
’After all, her fiancé had so many... functions... that were just waiting for her to explore.’
The others still had to help build more houses, so arranging their own place, adding furniture, and so on was left up to Jiang Si and Qin Shen.
Jiang Si had furniture in her storage space, saved for the very purpose of settling down somewhere during the apocalypse so she could just take it out and use it.
The Icebreaker also had a variety of large items they could choose from.
Jiang Si and Qin Shen bustled about for three days and finally had the house looking presentable. They had even crafted some of the furniture and kitchen utensils together.
The style was warm and homey, clean and bright.
Jiang Si’s favorite spot was the bedroom. She loved the feeling of lying on a mattress worth hundreds of thousands, basking in the sunlight with her beloved by her side.
When the others came to see the decorated house, they all exclaimed, "You have such great taste!"
Jiang Si smiled. "It was all Qin Shen’s design."
Shen Baoying loved their dining table. "Is this that thing you two were fiddling with the other day?" she asked in surprise.
"Yup."
"I can’t believe how beautiful it turned out! And it even rotates!"
