Chapter 237: Thank You, Let's Have a Meal Together
"Sure."
The man looked outside the house and, remembering that his head had been injured by the hail, nodded.
"But you can only stay on the first floor. You're not allowed to go upstairs," the man instructed.
"Okay."
"Thank you."
Meng Ci tried to hand a can of food to the man, but the man waved him off.
"No need, I have food. You guys keep it." He waved his hand dismissively.
"That way is a bedroom, but there's only a bed inside. You can stay there."
The man didn't take the item, and after pointing out the bed, he limped upstairs.
Since the man didn't want anything, Meng Ci didn't force it on him, to avoid seeming like they had plenty and attracting unwanted attention.
Meng Ci and Shen Que led Qiezi and Xiong Ying into the bedroom the man had indicated.
The bedroom was very clean, almost dust-free, with dim light filtering through the small windows. The floorboards creaked softly under their feet as they moved around.
Shen Que gently locked the door, and Meng Ci took out a curtain from his storage space, covering the entire room thoroughly.
Since there was no electricity in the house, Meng Ci first took out a lamp and then some quilts and other bedding.
Just as they had finished tidying up the room, they suddenly heard a knock on the door.
Meng Ci and Shen Que immediately became alert, as the items in the room couldn't be quickly stowed away.
Shen Que quickly turned off the lamp, leaving the room in darkness. Meng Ci then cautiously opened the door, leaving only a small gap.
When he saw what was outside the door, his heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected anyone to come back so soon.
The man wasn't standing at the door but rather in the living room, holding a blanket.
"I only have one blanket and one mattress pad, so I brought the blanket down for you."
"The bedding is fresh. If you don't mind, you can use it."
Seeing Meng Ci at the door, the man spoke while holding the blanket.
Meng Ci quickly stepped forward and took the blanket from the man, sincerely saying, "Thank you!"
As he got closer, he noticed that the man had only wiped the blood from his face, leaving the wounds on his head untreated.
Thinking that the man had given them his only blanket, Meng Ci pointed to the wounds on the man's head and asked, "Do you need to treat this wound?"
The man touched the wound on his forehead and said casually, "It's okay, don't worry about it."
As he turned to go upstairs,
"Wait," Meng Ci called out to the man, then quickly returned to the room. He hesitated for a moment before pulling out half a bottle of alcohol, a pack of cotton swabs, and half a roll of gauze from his storage space.
"I bought these at the M City Base hospital. You can have them," Meng Ci said as he handed the items to the man.
"No, no need," the man waved his hands hastily.
"This wound of mine will heal soon."
The man knew how important medicines were in the post-apocalyptic world, so he certainly couldn't accept them.
But Meng Ci forcefully handed the plastic bag to the man.
"Take it. Whether you use it or throw it away, it's up to you."
After saying that, Meng Ci returned to the bedroom.
The man looked at the items in his hand, deeply moved. He then limped up to the second floor and clumsily bandaged his wound.
Meng Ci went back to the room and continued tidying up with Shen Que. They rested for two hours before being suddenly awakened by the barking of Qie Zi (the dog) and Xiong Ying (the eagle).
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Meng Ci heard the knocking from outside and got up to open the door.
The man was waiting in the living room, giving them some space. His eyes lit up when he saw Meng Ci.
"I've made a little food. Would you and your companion like to come out and eat?" The man sounded a bit awkward, still somewhat reserved.
The man's thoughts were simple. Meng Ci had given him medicine, and since he had nothing to repay him with, he could at least make some food.
"Sure!," Meng Ci said, and called Shen Que over to eat together.
The meal was quite simple, just a pot of plain porridge, two pancakes with wild chives mixed in, and two unidentifiable wild vegetables.
The man scratched his head, looking sheepish. "Sorry, this is all I have."
Rice was precious, so he rarely ate it. Instead, he usually mixed wild vegetables with a bit of flour to make meals that lasted longer.
Meng Ci smiled reassuringly. "It's fine. It actually looks pretty good."
He picked up a bowl and took a sip, finding the porridge quite tasty. However, the wild vegetables were extremely bitter, and without oil or salt, they were hard to swallow.
Meng Ci noticed how thin the man was and felt a pang of sympathy.
So, during the meal, he asked, "Do you know about the M City Base? Why don't you go live there?"
This place was too desolate, with barely any food. How could anyone survive on just wild vegetables?
The man nodded and replied calmly, "I know."
He then told Meng Ci that the rice and flour were things he had traded for with items from the base.
As for why he didn't live at the base, the man initially didn't want to say, and Meng Ci didn't ask.
It wasn't until after the meal that the man suddenly opened up.
"My name is Qiao Moyan, and I'm thirty-three years old."
Qiao Moyan used to live in M City Base, where he was known for being kind and hardworking. One day, about a month ago, he saw a three-year-old boy sitting alone and crying in the base, with no adults nearby.
Though Qiao Moyan understood that people in the post-apocalyptic world could be dangerous, the child looked so pitiful that he stepped forward. He picked up the child, who gradually stopped crying, and asked where his home was. The boy pointed in a direction, saying it was there.
Qiao Moyan didn't expect any trouble. After all, a three-year-old child wouldn't lie, so he took the child to find his family.
However, on the way to find the child's parents, Qiao Moyan was ambushed by a group of men and taken to a tunnel.
When they heard the word "tunnel," Meng Ci and Shen Que exchanged a glance, their eyes wide with shock.
But Qiao Moyan was too lost in his grief to notice their reaction.
Once inside the tunnel, Qiao Moyan realized that the child's parents had also been captured by the same group and were forced to cooperate under threat.
"And right in front of me… those monsters boiled the child alive," Qiao Moyan said.
As he spoke, Qiao Moyan gripped the table, unable to hold back a wave of nausea.
Seeing a glass of water on the table, Meng Ci quickly poured some for Qiao Moyan. "Here, drink this," he said softly.
"Thank you," Qiao Moyan took the chipped cup, his hands trembling.
"I wanted to save that kid so badly, but I couldn't fight them off!"
Not only did he fail to protect the child, but they overpowered him, beat him senseless, and forced him to watch as they devoured the child.