Chapter 43 - 42: Oil Painting Rose

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Oil Painting Rose

Weighed down by all her purchases, it was almost three o’clock by the time Huai Yu returned to the treehouse.

The sky had grown increasingly dim. Halfway through her bus ride, a drizzling rain began to fall again. The people on the bus complained profusely, but they didn’t miss a single protective measure, terrified of getting any rain on themselves. Huai Yu, too, was forced to take out her newly purchased bags to securely protect her woven basket, tying the bags in her hands tightly. As for herself, there was nothing she could do. She simply covered her hair with a plastic bag and carried the increasingly heavy basket back home.

Unloading her burden, she vigorously rolled her aching, strap-chafed shoulders. She grabbed a handful of dry grass to start a fire, and soon, a faint wisp of smoke and a touch of warmth emerged in the damp room. However, the continuous rain made the ground damp, causing even the dry grass she had stored for kindling to become a bit moist, not to mention the firewood piled outside.

The smoke was a bit heavy, so Huai Yu had to roll up the door completely. The firelight danced. As dry firewood was slowly added, the light in the fire pit grew brighter. The entire room quickly warmed up, bringing out an uncomfortable, warm dampness.

Huai Yu let out a long breath. She changed into her newly bought loungewear before finally starting to organize the things she had brought back. A blue-striped coarse cloth bedsheet was folded in half and spread over the hay bed. The free neon pink pillowcase was stuffed full of dry grass. Finally, she carefully laid the blue-and-black floral silk-floss blanket on the bed.

Only then did Huai Yu realize she had forgotten to buy a duvet cover!

Actually, this silk-floss blanket looked like it didn’t require a cover and could be stuffed directly into a washing machine. But right now, she had nothing. If this blanket got wet, she probably wouldn’t even be able to lift it. For now, she could only make do. She made a mental note to definitely buy a duvet cover the next time she went out.

Huai Yu also remembered that she should buy a notebook and a pen. She lacked too many miscellaneous things in her life; buying paper and a pen would at least make it convenient to write things down, saving her from situations like today’s. She silently committed this to memory. Looking at the brand-new, soft bed right now, she dove straight onto it without a second thought!

"WAAH, it’s so comfortable!" she thought. "The blanket is so soft, so comfortable! If I had enough points, I could absolutely buy two! One to sleep on, one to cover myself with. That way, waking up every morning in a warm, fuzzy bed would be unbelievably blissful!"

But the reality was that she currently only had 232—no, 222 points left.

It took a great deal of willpower for Huai Yu to climb out of bed. She then took out the small, white vase. The craftsmanship of this vase was actually quite exquisite; even the inside was completely smooth without any rough texture. Before the cataclysm, it probably would have been worth a fair bit of money. But now, because it was too small and practically useless, it had been reduced to a bargain-bin item priced at ten points.

Huai Yu looked outside. The drizzle was still fine and misty. She stared at the vase for a moment, put on her rain boots and raincoat, and stepped out into the rainy mist.

Against the dim background, the Rose Corridor looked like an oil painting smeared with heavy colors. Even its leaves were a glossy green bordering on black. The tall wall of flowers blocked everything from the Wilderness, just as it obstructed the exploring gazes of the city’s inhabitants. Walking closer, one could see the emerald leaves and the pinkish-white flowers intertwining and drooping in massive, heavy clusters.

It was indeed very romantic.

Huai Yu lowered her eyes and looked at it for a while before taking out her scissors. She touched the petals and gently reasoned with it in a low voice, "I bought a new vase, and it’s very pretty. Can I cut another branch to keep at home?"

The Rose swayed in the wind and rain, as if it didn’t care about such trivial matters at all. But Huai Yu knew it had agreed again.

The tiny thorns on the branch were so sharp they gleamed with a cold, metallic gray luster, yet they had never pricked her. Huai Yu brought it back, poured water into the vase, and arranged the flower. Soon, a tranquil and gentle white porcelain vase sat on the blue brick nightstand, holding the delicate branch. Dark green stems intertwined with emerald leaves, guarding several flowers of varying shades of red, pink, and white at the tip.

Huai Yu stared at it for a while, then reached out to grab the small line of Ice Sculpture characters nearby, solemnly placing it in front of the vase. Wisps of cold wind blew in from the door. The slender flower branch swayed, casting dancing shadows in the firelight. Even that line of crystal-clear, small words seemed to sparkle:

[Thank you for the Rose—Lin Xuefeng]

She thought of their chat that night. A person she had never met used the most direct method to help her understand this world more intimately, and she smiled again.

By six o’clock, the sky had turned completely dark. Huai Yu collected more rainwater to purify and then realized with annoyance that she had forgotten to buy a cutting board.

But it was fine. The blue bricks, specially washed by Lin Xuefeng, were exceptionally clean. Placing a brand-new plastic bag on top, Huai Yu meticulously purified the two pounds of pork leaf fat, leaving not a trace of contamination before slicing it into even, small pieces. She poured hot water into a basin, mixing it until it was warm. After soaking the pork fat with some salt for quite a while, Huai Yu made another serious mental note to buy white vinegar.

But on second thought, it wasn’t a necessity, so she decided to forget about it. Without white vinegar to tenderize it, the faint traces of blood on the pork fat weren’t cleaned out completely, but it was close enough. As long as she didn’t have to eat those nutrient fluids anymore, Huai Yu felt she could completely ignore these minor details.

While shopping, she hadn’t even realized her culinary skills were this good. Sure, rendering pork leaf fat seemed simple, but someone without a bit of skill wouldn’t even attempt such a thing. Thus, she became delighted with her multi-talented self again.

The pot grew piping hot, and the fire in the stove was stoked high. Huai Yu added a splash of water, then scooped the washed pork fat from the basin into the pot. The water and fat boiled together, emitting a rapid BUBBLE BUBBLE sound as a rich aroma slowly wafted into the air.

Huai Yu crouched by the pot, staring at the snow-white pork fat slowly developing a slight yellow crust. She wanted nothing more than to immediately grab a pair of chopsticks and pick a piece up to taste! Afraid of wasting the ingredients, she had to pull out some rice and flour to purify, attempting to distract herself.

But having run around for most of the day, then returning to purify water and pork fat, and now even purifying the rice and flour, Huai Yu’s whole body went limp. Her eyes were fixed on the fragrant pot, unable to look away for even a second! She even began to regret not buying an extra pot. With another pot, she could have at least built a second stove and cooked some rice on the side.

Finally, after a long period of simmering over a low flame, the crispy, golden pork cracklings and yellow lard were poured into a lunchbox, filling it to the very brim!

Because she had no other tools, the pork cracklings and lard were stored together. But it didn’t matter. The weather was cool enough that it wouldn’t spoil anyway, and smelling this aroma, she swore she would finish it all very soon.

"It smells so good!" she thought.