Chapter 52: A Timely Gift
1286 Words
Back home, Zhou Lin couldn't escape being scolded by Cheng Yali.
Blackie seemed to have sensed the smell of an enemy, curiously circling around Zhou Lin, occasionally whining, as if asking if Zhou Lin had gone to take revenge for him.
Rubbing the dog's chin, Zhou Lin went upstairs to his room, took a refreshing hot shower, and relaxed completely.
When he came out of the bathroom, he was startled by the sight of Wu Xue in the room.
Instinctively, he grabbed the bath towel wrapped around his waist and asked, "W-What are you doing in here?"
Wu Xue, initially a bit awkward, almost burst out laughing when she saw Zhou Lin's reaction. "Auntie asked me to come in."
Zhou Lin furrowed his brow, wondering what his mother was up to again. Even if no one had objections, don't cultivating feelings still matter?
"When you left, Auntie talked to my parents. They have no objections."
"Your parents... have never met me, and they have no objections?" Zhou Lin couldn't quite believe it. Was their trust really that big?
Actually, Zhou Lin was overthinking.
In a peaceful era, considering the situation of the Zhou family, it wasn’t just about whether Wu Xue’s parents would approve. Wu Xue herself wouldn't even have looked at Zhou Lin, someone who was much more focused on studying and would only be attracted to those who outshined her academically.
But what was the situation now?
As highly intelligent individuals, Wu Xue's parents could see much clearer than ordinary people. Only those with supplies and capability would survive longer, and Zhou's family just happened to meet those two requirements.
Although they were abroad and included in the Olympus Plan, it didn’t guarantee safety. Wu Xue’s parents had to consider her future.
What better option was there than Zhou’s family?
Even if there were better ones, could Wu Xue escape if Zhou's family was offended?
Of course, the most important reason was that Wu Xue had no objections herself.
"Auntie said she wouldn’t manage your daily life anymore; I’m taking over. I’ll go grab your clothes."
Daily life?
If I hadn’t seen the way you swallowed just now, I’d actually believe you. Of course, you just want my body!
Since Cheng Yali was injured and Wu Xue had no cooking skills, Zhou Lin ended up in the kitchen. If he had known, he wouldn’t have bothered taking a bath.
After enjoying a hearty meal, Zhou Lin comfortably lay on the sofa, his consciousness sinking into the storage space to continue the modification of the Lu Xiaofeng number. The materials and parts he needed had already been packed into the car in advance.
Because of the hasty departure, there were still a few places he hadn't visited in the auto city, so he planned to go back whenever he had the chance.
"Did you find them?"
Cheng Yali was lying on another sofa, her large frame almost covering the entire piece. Zhou Caijun was applying ice to the bruises she had gotten.
"I found them. I even broke one of Tang Yili's hands and feet!"
"Why are you so impulsive?" Cheng Yali frowned. She was still afraid of causing trouble. What if the government comes knocking? Could they really resist?
"I have it under control."
As mother and son were talking, Huang Mengying’s voice came through.
"Could something have happened again?" Zhou Lin frowned as he answered the call, only to hear Huang Mengying’s crying voice, "Cheng Jie, is Zhou Lin back yet? My stove is about to go out, should I come over now?"
"I'm back." Zhou Lin glanced at Cheng Yali, "You wait here, I’ll bring some coal over right away."
"Be careful. Don’t cause any more trouble. Right now, we just want to survive peacefully."
"Mom, you're right!" Zhou Li, who had been playing with her phone, suddenly looked up. "But that's definitely not possible. After all, as the saying goes, when the tree seeks stillness, the wind will not cease..."
"I’m going."
Taking advantage of the fact that Wu Xue was still in the kitchen, Zhou Lin decided to leave quickly. Otherwise, he would have to pretend to go upstairs and bring coal, which would have been exhausting.
He deliberately delayed for a few minutes on the way and then knocked on Huang Mengying’s door. At his feet was a sled filled with coal.
Seeing Huang Mengying’s tear-streaked face, Zhou Lin didn’t go inside. It was better to keep some distance to avoid awkwardness later on.
He didn’t bring up anything about fast food. A sled full of coal couldn’t burn for too long anyway, as long as Huang Mengying was smart enough not to go back on her word.
On the contrary, Huang Mengying was surprised. When she opened the door, she had already prepared to accept whatever conditions Zhou Lin might have. A businessman like her knew very well that "free" was often the most expensive.
But for her mother, she could only silently accept.
"You just gave it to her without mentioning anything about fast food?" Cheng Yali frowned. It wasn’t that she cared about the coal, "I’ve told you clearly, I only recognize little Xue Xue. No other women, no matter who they are, have a place!"
After cleaning up the kitchen, Wu Xue came out and blushed at Cheng Yali’s words.
"Where is your mind going?" Zhou Lin shook his head. "Since we’re cooperating, we might as well show sincerity. I’ll go check out the tool room."
Without Yang Qiqi, many things had to be done personally. It wasn’t exhausting, but it was time-consuming.
The hydroponic plants, supported by constant temperature, light, and abundant nutrients, were growing very fast, especially the lettuce and Shanghai bok choy. They would probably be ready for harvest in two or three days.
There were also plenty of eggs and duck eggs, but compared to ducks, geese were less cost-effective. They grew slowly, laid fewer eggs, and were bulky, occupying space and eating a lot.
"If it weren't for preserving the breed, I would have slaughtered you and cooked you."
"Wang Wang!" Blackie barked twice, seemingly agreeing. After all, in the entire tool room, the only ones daring to stand up to him were those geese.
"Geese, geese~"
Hearing Blackie’s bark, the geese flapped their wings aggressively, showing their combative side. On the other hand, the rabbits in their nest were much quieter, especially the largest female rabbit. It hadn’t moved at all today...
"She gave birth!"
Zhou Lin lifted one of the female rabbit’s back legs and counted. Well, well, there were twelve plump little ones!
When they heard that the rabbit had given birth, the three women downstairs rushed up eagerly, nearly scaring the mother rabbit away in her panic.
"Yue Yue Hong, a good omen! Our family is really having double happiness!" Cheng Yali’s loud voice made the tool room buzz with sound.
In the apocalypse, this was indeed good news. The green vegetables brought hope to everyone. Although hydroponics used pure chemical fertilizers, who cared about that now?
"Do you think we could grow enough vegetables for our family if we expand?" Wu Xue asked Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin had already considered this.
For example, when conditions were right in the future, they could easily find a warehouse inside the Laifu number and fill it with hydroponic equipment, or use another more eco-friendly growing method—aquaponics.
"What’s aquaponics?" Wu Xue asked curiously.
"To put it simply, it’s using fish tank water to grow vegetables, then sending the water, now filtered by the plants, back to the fish tanks. In theory, it allows you to grow delicious fish and completely organic vegetables."
"When can we try it?"
- Writer
