Chapter 30: Little Tian

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Little Tian

Huai Yu knew nothing of what Zhou Qian had said.

Her memory started from the national census on March 8th. She had absolutely none of the ingrained knowledge that everyone else had passively absorbed over the six years of the catastrophe. Fortunately, she still retained some basic common sense about normal life, which at least kept her from acting like a total fool. Huai Yu patted her head sympathetically. Her brain really was incredible!

By now, the city was probably echoing with endless curses, but here in the silent, formidably terrifying Rose Corridor, there was nothing. She could only stare blankly at the dark, heavy curtain of rain.

The Rose Corridor, which had previously shown a bit of a temper but remained overall docile, was now bearing its fangs and brandishing its claws in the downpour. Sanqing Mountain, completely obscured in the dead of night, seemed to exude an even deeper sense of dread.

Just earlier, she had declared the great mountain as her home. Now, with a single rainstorm, was her home... gone? Even the docile and lovely Rose Corridor had gone mad. Could she still eat those fresh, tender wild vegetables and mushrooms that she hadn’t even had the chance to taste yet?

Most likely not.

Looking again at the soybeans that were about to be eaten, Huai Yu’s face fell completely. If she had known this would happen, it would have been so much better to use these soybeans as seeds! She could have spent her remaining points to stock up on nutrient solutions, which would have easily lasted her a month or two! Then, once the rain stopped, she could have carefully planted the seeds in the ground. Coupled with her superpower, surely they would have produced something in a month or two, right?

But now the beans were already soaked, and there was no way to plant them in this heavy rain. Huai Yu agonized over it for a long time before finally giving up and resigning herself to her fate. Since things were already like this and they couldn’t be planted anyway, she might as well just eat them! At worst, she could go collect more beans later. Plus, there were still vendors selling vegetable seedlings—she remembered that pepper seedlings were ten points each!

Cupping her hands, she scooped out half of the soaked beans and tossed them directly into the pot. After a moment of thought, she reached her hand back into the water, squeezing out the tiny trace of her superpower that had just managed to recover...

Wisps of an inexplicable substance surged from her palm into the water. Huai Yu’s eyes widened as she watched the water—which had felt dirty to her—slowly become clear and clean. Although a few impurities still floated in it, it just felt undeniably cleaner.

She turned her head to look at the water stored in the mineral water jug nearby, which she had set aside for drinking... Her face instantly fell.

After purifying the entire jug of water, Huai Yu sat there, trembling all over. She could barely even lift her arms. Panting heavily, she rested for quite a while before resentfully tossing another handful of firewood into the stove and setting the pot on top.

Flames instantly flared up. Because there was still smoke in the room, the door remained unclosed. Traces of cold dampness from the rain drifted in, making it quite uncomfortable.

Huai Yu adjusted her position. Once the pot was hot, she dumped in the handful of soybeans she had scooped out earlier. Having soaked for only half an hour, the beans had only softened slightly on the outside; their insides were still rock hard.

But that didn’t matter.

Relying on her fragmented memories, she stirred the beans with a wooden spatula. Once the high heat rapidly dried up the surface moisture, she pulled the firewood back out of the stove, reducing the flames to a low heat to slowly roast them. Stirring and roasting the beans was her little bit of joy to pass the time on this boring night.

As waves of a roasted aroma slowly wafted out, all of Huai Yu’s pent-up resentment and exhaustion vanished without a trace. She perked up, staring at the pot with burning intensity. The occasional faint CRACK of a splitting soybean sounded incredibly melodious to her ears.

The slightly cracked edges of the soybeans in the pot were already showing hints of a toasted golden-brown. As Huai Yu stirred them, she felt her mouth watering profusely. She closed her eyes, immersing herself in the mouthwatering roasted scent. She had never felt so ravenous in her life.

When she opened her eyes again, she spotted a small, soaking wet lump sitting beside the flickering shadows cast by the fire, watching her cautiously with beady black eyes.

Huh?

Huai Yu’s eyes widened. She realized that this wet little creature looked an awful lot like the vole that had "sponsored" her earlier! Perhaps because it was drenched in rain, its fur looked different from before—it was a shade of deep jujube red, yet also somewhat orange-red. Right now, the little vole was curled up in a pitiful ball, staring at her. It seemed to be trying to leech some warmth from the fire, or perhaps freeload off the aroma of the roasted soybeans.

Huai Yu was speechless. Thinking about the peanuts and yam beads she had taken, as well as the supplies she had exchanged with the Defense Army for those two large basins of mung beans, she suddenly felt a tiny bit guilty.

Then, her smile became even more amiable. "Little Tian, even though I accepted a tiny bit of your sponsorship, I also shared my 600 acres of land with you. As a vole, it’s best to be content with what you have."

The vole, who had inexplicably been dubbed "Little Tian," squeaked frantically. It nimbly scooted closer to the fire, looking up at her with an even more pitiful expression.

Huai Yu remained firm. "It’s 600 acres of land..."

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

"No other vole has ever achieved what you have!"

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

"Greedy little voles will get snatched away by owls!"

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

"..."

"Fine, fine. Since it’s raining so heavily outside, I’ll be merciful and let you warm yourself by the fire. But you have to leave once you’re dry..."

"Squeak..."

"You’re so greedy... Forget it. Here, I’ll spare you a single bean. You’re not getting any more than that."

"Squeak, squeak..."

"Three! Exactly three! Absolutely no more, I’m about to sprinkle the salt!"

Using the spatula, Huai Yu cautiously picked out three soybeans. She blew on them to cool them down before tipping them into her palm. The soybeans were completely roasted now. Wide cracks split their dry, yellow skins, and the beans were dotted with charred black spots. As they tumbled back and forth in the pot, they looked exceptionally appetizing.

She placed the three soybeans on the edge of the stove. Squeaking, the vole eagerly scrambled forward!

Now that it was closer to the stove’s opening, Huai Yu noticed something. Earlier, she hadn’t been able to tell because its wet fur had darkened its coat. But now, after their bout of bargaining, Little Tian’s fur was already half-dry. The flickering flames illuminated its fur, making it appear a vibrant orange-red with a halo-like golden fringe at the tips.

It... it actually looked quite pretty!

For a moment, Huai Yu wanted to pet it. But she quickly snapped out of it. Remembering that her handful of soybeans was quite meager to begin with, she puffed out her cheeks. Watching the vole timidly nibbling on the beans, she carefully poured out a pinch of salt and sprinkled it evenly over her own portion.

The salt crystals melted rapidly under the high heat, quickly seeping into the beans. She tossed the beans—whose split edges were now charred black—a couple of times. Taking a deep breath, she raised her spatula and loudly declared:

"Wow! I am basically a master chef! My crispy, savory, roasted salted soybeans!!!"

The next moment, a soft PFFT of laughter suddenly echoed in the air.

Huai Yu instantly stared at the door, her expression filled with vigilance!

The cold, damp wind continued to blow in from outside. It was pitch black; nothing could be seen. But in that instant, what surged in her heart was absolutely not curiosity, but an overwhelming sense of terror and unease!