Chapter 50 - 49: Unexpected Surprise

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Unexpected Surprise

In just one night, the air seemed much drier, and the grass shoots on the ground showed an even more vibrant vitality.

The ground, covered with intertwined grass roots, was no longer a muddy mess that splattered with every step. Instead, it had a somewhat firm texture. At the very least, if someone wore white shoes today, they wouldn’t get dirty so easily.

Huai Yu looked at her watch. It was only seven-thirty!

She returned to the treehouse and, without hesitation, brought out the solar lamp first.

The newly made drying rack from last night was still heavy, bearing its own moisture and the dampness of the outer bark. Huai Yu took out a plastic bag, wrapped it around the trunk, and hurriedly hung her quilt out to dry.

Even though the sun hadn’t risen yet, this opportunity to air out the quilt seemed incredibly precious after the continuous gloomy rain. The quilt, adorned with a black and blue floral pattern, rested on the simple drying rack. It swayed gently in the morning breeze, its colors seemingly much brighter.

The branches extending from both ends weren’t wasted either; she hung up her clothes using her only five hangers.

Next was the hay spread in the center of her stone bed. She scooped it out layer by layer, bundle by bundle, and spread it out on the ground as well.

The temperature was slowly rising, and the sun was gradually peeking out. The open grassy field welcomed the warm golden morning light, making even the solar lamp sparkle brightly.

Huai Yu walked around the treehouse, removing the blue bricks that held down the waterproof tarp. Then, finding the right angle, she pulled the tarp down bit by bit with all her might.

Due to the friction from the vines and branches, this task was quite difficult. But when the tarp was completely lifted, it was visible to the naked eye that light had already shone through the gaps in the dried leaves.

The room instantly brightened up. Invisible moisture seemed to evaporate, and she no longer had to live in that damp, alternating cold-and-hot sauna.

Huai Yu smiled in satisfaction.

Only then did the morning broadcast finally begin.

[Today is April 3, 2066. Sunny. Air Mutation Index: 11...]

[...After days of rain, we finally welcome sunny weather...]

[...However, the soil and water source pollution indices have increased. The Anti-Pollution Command reminds everyone to...]

It was sunny!

Huai Yu finally set her mind completely at ease. She went back inside to organize her bamboo basket. She packed one basket of bean sprouts and kept the other basket to eat herself. She grabbed a jar of pickled bracken fern, then tore off a page of paper to wrap up some dried, spicy wild green onion stalks. These were for Captain Zhou.

She put on the basket, looked around, grabbed her pen and paper, and brought a few extra plastic bags. Now, she was ready to go!

The basket on her back hadn’t felt this empty in a long time. Huai Yu looked at the piles of belongings outside the treehouse, thought for a moment, and instructed the Rose Corridor, "I’m heading out! Please watch the house carefully—and you, Little Tian, no stealing! Otherwise, I’ll dig up your home again."

Her attitude shifted so quickly it was like she had two completely different faces.

Poking its head out from the entrance of its new home, Little Tian let out an angry SQUEAK before huffily retreating inside.

***

On the bus that had detoured here from the Golden Yuan District terminal, quite a few people were already seated. It seemed that after the rare clearing up post-rain, everyone had pent-up energy and wanted to go out for a stroll. Therefore, even though the bus now charged a fare, there was no shortage of passengers.

Holding her basket, Huai Yu walked all the way to the back of the bus before finally finding a seat.

Everyone was holding baskets or bags, so her getup wasn’t strange at all. Her boarding location, however, was quite rare, and an older woman who had seen her before recognized her.

"Girl, with this heavy rain, the camp is right next to the mountains and the Rose Corridor. Aren’t you scared living out there?

"That’s right, your brother and the others must have gone on quite a few missions these past few days, right? Tsk, this damn weather, we barely settled down and it won’t give us a break.

"Oh my, you’re with the Defense Army? I was wondering why someone would board at this stop..."

Huai Yu had already grasped the key to chatting with these aunties. She simply smiled shyly and kept her mouth shut.

Thus, everyone quickly picked up the chatter amongst themselves again. "Stop prying, stop prying. What’s the point of us asking about their missions?

"It’s not easy for anyone, nowhere is easy... It’s just like the old spring dampness. Heavy rain outside, light rain inside the house. My kid broke out in a rash all over.

"Don’t even mention it. A rash would be one thing, but he also had an allergic reaction. That allergy medicine is 50 points a box... Why don’t they just rob us?

"Sigh! We live on a high floor, and the wind leaking in from all sides made everyone catch a cold.

"We’re high up too, on the 27th floor! The men in our family brought back a lot of scrap furniture to burn for warmth. That made it a bit better.

"There are a few people in our district selling vegetables at exorbitant prices... Tsk, so what if you can grow vegetables at home? What’s the big deal, selling them for so much.

"Exactly! Last time I had my eye on a broken basin. It had such a huge crack in it, yet they still wanted so much for it...

"Our district just lacks proper market management, so people hike up the prices however they want. If I had the time, I’d rather buy from the Pedestrian Street.

"But it’s far. Sometimes it’s inconvenient to buy bulky items..."

Everyone talked over one another, vividly sketching a picture of life in the residential district right in front of Huai Yu.

As the bus headed toward the city center, it became increasingly crowded. Before long, people were packed in like sardines, quite reminiscent of the scene when she had first come out of the Administrative Hall.

The few aunties in the back row, trapped while holding their baskets, couldn’t help but complain again.

"There are so many buses in the city, why do they have to crowd onto this one with us?

"Exactly! It takes us over an hour to go out once, whereas they’re just a stone’s throw away...

"I guess they’re having a hard time too. Living in our remote district, no one cares if we start a fire, but here in the city, they’re not allowed to start fires at home..."

The bus wobbled and bumped along, and amidst this rocking motion, the Red Victory Trading Market finally arrived.

***

Huai Yu familiarly walked toward the inspection station at the intersection. Even though there was a long line of people waiting ahead, the moment she appeared, a familiar staff member immediately came over to greet her.

"Little sister! Come, come, sit here and wait a moment."

Huai Yu was briefly taken aback, but then naturally walked over.

One of the busy staff members stepped away and said, "Sis, come on, let’s talk in the office." With that, he opened the door to the adjacent room.

Huai Yu carried her basket and walked in. She listened closely, but there was no protesting or grumbling from the people outside. It seemed her presence wasn’t interfering with their progress.

Or perhaps, it was simply a common occurrence?

Then she paused in surprise. Inside the room, there was actually a compact scanner that looked much more high-end than the security-gate-like machine outside.

The staff member pressed the switch, tilted his head, and smiled at her. "Here, give me your basket. I’ll scan it for you first, and later you can go in through the side door. You have to get scanned. There’s a turnstile at this gate too, and it won’t let you through without a test code."

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

After all, there were an exceptionally large number of people at the Pedestrian Street today, forming a dense, endless queue. If she had lined up out there, despite the high efficiency, it would have taken at least half an hour.

Huai Yu set down her basket and couldn’t help but smile at him.