Chapter 31: The Last Meal

He Jiahuan breathed a secret sigh of relief when she saw Tu Shan return unscathed; as long as she hadn't caused any trouble, it was fine.

"Since today is your first day, focus mainly on getting familiar with things. You can look through these files here, or help out if anyone needs it. Our workload is very heavy, so starting tomorrow, it might not be this relaxed."

Tu Shan nodded to show she understood. After reading files for a while, she ran over to the interrogation room to act as a scribe, letting a colleague go out to relieve themselves—the group had been holding it in for too long.

Once busy, time flew by. At 6:00 PM, it was time to clock out.

The comrades left one after another, leaving only a few on night watch.

Tu Shan went to find He Jiahuan.

"Captain, we're just leaving like this? How are we handling the situation across the street? Can't I participate?"

The interrogation wasn't over, and she hadn't heard any arrangements regarding the situation across the street. Tu Shan found it very strange.

He Jiahuan looked up from a pile of documents: "Come over and take a look."

Tu Shan hopped over. What He Jiahuan showed her was a regional map—the area they were currently in.

The three exits she had mentioned were marked on it.

"According to the locations you described, these three exits are, unsurprisingly, inside residential houses.

They are a public rental unit, an abandoned dilapidated courtyard, and a waste processing station, respectively.

Adding the warehouse, that makes four. Each one should have someone guarding it.

It’s even possible that all the tenants in that public rental unit are their people.

We don't know how many more eyes they have in other places, so we cannot act rashly.

We will continue to clock in and out as usual to confuse the enemy. Tonight, I will take a few teammates with good combat skills to scout the situation."

Tu Shan’s eyes sparkled: "Take me! My combat skills are the best in the whole team—even you, Captain, would have to take a backseat. Plus, I’m a fresh face. They must have already memorized all of your faces and could recognize you from a distance. I just arrived today; no one knows me."

He Jiahuan felt like he’d been stabbed, but he agreed with Tu Shan. He had intended to bring her along anyway, otherwise, he wouldn't have told her the situation.

"Tonight at ten, meet at the park nearby. For now, clock out as usual."

"Yes." Tu Shan pushed her small cart, loaded with her things, out of the gatehouse and said goodbye to Old Man Man: "Grandpa, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, see you tomorrow." Old Man Man waved with a chuckle.

On the way back, Tu Shan first made a trip into the mountains to accelerate the growth of some food to bring back.

Then, she went to the woods outside the residential area, grabbed the roe deer she had hunted yesterday, and returned to the small courtyard.

The courtyard was quite lively. Even the brats who usually ran wild and were nowhere to be seen were there, all busy working on her little plot of land.

They had even trampled and compacted the loose soil from the foundation digging.

"Still busy?"

"Third Sister is back? Quick, quick, Third Sister is back!"

With a shout, Tu Shan became the center of attention.

They swarmed over like wolves seeing meat. Tu Shan quickly retreated: "What are you doing, what are you doing?"

"Why are you running?" Auntie Wang broke through the encirclement, walked up to Tu Shan, and grabbed her: "The house is all set for you. Hurry up and see if anything isn't right. While everyone’s mouths are soft from eating your meat, let them fix it for you. What meat are we eating today?"

Tu Shan’s mouth twitched. Auntie, could you be a little more polite?

"Roe deer." Upon receiving the definitive news, the crowd erupted in passionate celebration, becoming even more enthusiastic.

They snatched Tu Shan’s cart to help unload and settle the goods.

Tu Shan felt they were truly too enthusiastic; she felt bad about delaying everyone from eating meat.

She first borrowed a knife, skinned and chopped the roe deer to hand over to the eagerly waiting aunties, then took out a bag of hulled rice before going to look at her room.

It had to be said, "eating someone's food makes your mouth soft" was very effective.

The room was not only finished according to her requirements, but the mud-brick walls had been plastered with a mixture of yellow mud, straw, and sticky rice, and even painted with a bit of grayish-white lime—likely some discarded stock they’d scavenged from somewhere.

The original bedroom had also been renovated.

Overall, it was clean, tidy, and much brighter.

The floor had been pounded flat and smooth, shining with a dull luster.

For the sake of a bite of meat, a whole courtyard of people had spent the day pounding the floor in her tiny room; how could it not be smooth?

Auntie Wang came over: "Someone came to deliver goods today. We saw they were all daily necessities, so we just organized them for you. Take a look: the stove is installed, and the bowls, chopsticks, basins, kitchen knife, and cutting board have all been washed.

The large vat that was brought over is in the corner, also scrubbed clean.

There are also quilts and blankets; they’ve been washed and sun-dried. You don't need the quilts these two days, so I put them in the cabinet for you.

The cabinet, table, chairs, stools, shelves, and door were all made by everyone pooling wood together. They are absolutely sturdy and durable. Your old ones were too ugly, so I took the liberty of selling them. Sold them for five yuan; just deduct that from the expenses later."

Tu Shan’s eyelids twitched. She had spent over ten yuan to buy them, and they only sold for five—not even counting her own labor. A total loss.

Auntie Wang didn't care about Tu Shan’s heartbreak at all and dragged her to the backyard: "I saw there were seeds among the things, so I sowed some radish seeds in your little plot. They count as vegetables and can save you a lot of money.

The rest of the seeds and small items are all stored in the cabinet for you; you can organize them yourself.

Right, that old frame bed is still there. Until the kang dries, just sleep on that. Take a look yourself, if there’s anything else, say it before this meal."

Auntie Wang left. Tu Shan was speechless. What, are they going to turn hostile after the meal?

Forget it. After walking a circle, there was nothing to be dissatisfied with.

The Yang family had been very thoughtful, sending her many things she needed but hadn't thought of. The room's configuration was basically complete.

She had a home.

Tu Shan let out a long sigh, her thoughts pulled back by the shrieking and playing of the children outside.

Auntie Wang came over with a bill longer than Tu Shan’s life, making Tu Shan’s eyes swim.

It was detailed down to a one-and-a-half-year-old brat helping to pick up a pebble, with a wage of half a candy.

Are they really not scamming her?

What was the purpose of that pebble?

She decided to just look at the final total: a total cost of seventy-eight yuan, sixty-three cents, plus forty-eight and a half candies.

For her palm-sized room, just a simple renovation cost more than half a year's wages for an ordinary worker. No wonder so many people didn't have houses.

If you asked where the money went and why it was so expensive, look at this bill—clear, distinct, and without a hint of ambiguity.

Tu Shan paid up with a pained heart. She also cashed out the dozens of candies, asking Auntie Wang to help buy them and distribute them to these skinny, dark little brats. The brats were a bit of a handful, but their cute, candy-begging faces were still quite endearing.

It was just that her little black bag had shrunk significantly.

Pain once, lasts ten years. She would endure it.

When the final meal was served, they really did turn hostile, all retreating into their own rooms. Only the scent of meat drifted in the courtyard.

Tu Shan clicked her tongue.

She had a lunchbox at home, but Tu Shan didn't use it, instead using taro leaves to set aside food for Father and Mother Tu.

She had forgotten to ask the Yang family to buy medicine today; she didn't know how her mother’s illness was doing.

After eating, Tu Shan went to look at the seeds the Yang family had given her. Besides radishes, there were sweet potatoes, sesame, and corn.

There was also an orange tree sapling, planted by Auntie Wang in the corner of the backyard—a very small plant.

Tu Shan first accelerated the growth of the orange tree. This perennial herb required much more energy; just accelerating its growth exhausted all her energy.

She took out the remaining peanuts at home, ate them frantically, and after recovering a bit, continued.

After repeating this three times, it finally bore oranges.

It was just the right seasonal citrus variety—thin-skinned, thick-fleshed, and rich, sweet, and juicy.

The tree, over a person's height, bore seventy or eighty oranges.