Chapter 241: Big Brother, What Should I Do?
"Hello, there are still a few houses in the base, but they are all located on the second floor. Would you like one?"
The staff at the base's rental office said to Qiao Moyan, who had come to rent a house.
"How many points do you need?" Qiao Moyan asked.
"One hundred points!" the staff member replied.
With food production now increased and more jobs available, residents had more points to their name.
To encourage everyone to keep working hard, the base's rent had also risen accordingly.
The second and third floors were the best locations in the base, so the rent was relatively higher.
"I'll take one."
After much hesitation, Qiao Moyan decided to rent a place outside the base. In the end, he rented a one-bedroom house for two months.
After all, living in the base allowed him to quickly learn about the various missions released by the authorities, so he could earn more points and repay the debt he owed to Meng Ci sooner.
Once the house was rented, a staff member took Qiao Moyan to the property. Meng Ci then gave him their specific address and reminded him that he could come anytime if something happened. After saying this, Meng Ci turned around and headed back to the villa.
On his way back, Meng Ci happened to see that Zheng Yan's house was completed, and a line of people holding water buckets had formed in front of a small window.
Curious, Meng Ci pulled aside a person standing nearby to ask what was going on.
He learned that Lin Jun and the others had dug a well in the yard, and people could exchange items like solar panels, wire, and nuts for water, which was why so many had come to queue.
It was cheaper to get water here than through official channels, so the makeshift well was doing brisk business.
Lin Jun had also implemented a scarcity strategy, offering only thirty liters of water per day, which meant people lined up early.
Hearing this, Meng Ci had to admit, Lin Jun had a real knack for business, which explained how he managed to thrive in the apocalypse.
Back at the villa, after more than two months of being uninhabited, a layer of dust covered the floor. Fortunately, Meng Ci had stored the furniture and other household items in his space, so he only needed to sweep the floor lightly.
After Meng Ci left, Qiao Moyan, eager to repay his debt as soon as possible, forced himself to head to the government building to check the announcements.
Seeing that they would need to cut mutated plants at eight o'clock the next morning, he noted the time and planned to go together with others the next day.
Every day, his mind was filled with working and earning points, leaving Qiao Moyan no time to dwell on other things, which, surprisingly, helped ease his trembling.
Of course, a big reason was that Qiao Moyan was a healer.
This type of psionic ability was incredibly powerful; it could heal both physical wounds and mental distress.
In the harsh, unforgiving world of the apocalypse, people often faced various pressures and injuries, both physical and psychological.
Healers could release warm energy to help others recover their health, effectively alleviating both physical pain and mental trauma.
Shen Que had mentioned that psionic abilities were controlled by human spiritual power, so many psionics in the past had struggled with mental issues; irritability and drowsiness were common among them.
However, the team with the healer didn't face these troubles.
The healer possessed a unique ability—purification.
As a result, they didn't have to worry about water shortages.
This made the other teams incredibly jealous, and everyone started spreading rumors that it was all thanks to the healer.
Although this rumor had not been confirmed, it had become a popular topic in the base.
However, bringing people back didn't cause any trouble, at least not for Meng Ci.
Soon after Meng Ci and Shen Que returned, Zheng Yan heard about it.
Zheng Yan was so excited he ran over to Meng Ci, suggesting they celebrate and brought some rice and flour as a gift.
Seeing Zheng Yan's glowing face, Meng Ci couldn't help but laugh.
Zheng Yan enthusiastically offered to take care of all the water needs for Meng Ci's household.
Then Zheng Yan sighed, saying that their lives were getting better and better now, with a house and 10,000 points in the points card, making it possible to consider getting married.
He joked, "I'm not like Lin Jun, who is still single at his age."
With that, he laughed heartily.
Then Zheng Yan lamented, "Alas, I just haven't met the right person yet!"
Meng Ci and Shen Que exchanged glances and smiled as they comforted him, "Don't worry, when the time is right, you'll find someone."
Zheng Yan nodded, a glimmer of expectation in his eyes.
Seeing this, Meng Ci glanced at Lin Jun, thinking that if he didn't make a move soon, Zheng Yan might actually bring a girlfriend back.
Sure enough, just a couple of days later, Lin Jun made his move.
"Big bro! Big bro!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Early in the morning, while Meng Ci and Shen Que were still in deep sleep, they were awakened by loud banging on the door.
The dogs and the eagle downstairs also started barking and howling in response to the knocking.
"Bark! Bark!"
"Howl! Howl!"
Unable to take the noise, Meng Ci tossed aside his pillow, kicked Shen Que awake, and went downstairs to open the door.
"Big bro!"
As soon as the door opened, Zheng Yan's disheveled appearance greeted Meng Ci.
He wasn't exactly disheveled, but his mouth was swollen, and his exposed skin was bruised.
It was clear at a glance what had happened.
Meng Ci quickly stepped aside, helping Zheng Yan into the living room.
Shen Que came down from upstairs and, seeing Zheng Yan's condition, naturally understood what had happened.
Shen Que, being a guy, didn't feel like sticking around for this kind of emotional talk, so he decisively took the dogs and the eagle out for a walk.
Once Shen Que left, Zheng Yan threw his arms around Meng Ci and broke down in tears.
"Oh no, what am I gonna do, big brother?!"
"I lost my innocence, and now I'll never find a wife!"
"Big brother, what am I gonna do?!"
Meng Ci wasn't that close to Zheng Yan, but seeing him so upset, he decided to bear with it for a couple of minutes.
After two minutes, Meng Ci decisively pushed Zheng Yan away!
"Big brother, what am I gonna do now?!"
"Ow, my ass is killing me!"
Meng Ci couldn't believe how Zheng Yan, who usually acted so tough, was now bawling his eyes out.
"Alright, alright, stop crying!" Meng Ci poured Zheng Yan a glass of water.
This water was from his spatial storage, and it would be good for Zheng Yan's health if he drank more of it.
"Drink water."
"Oh!"
Zheng Yan stopped crying and finished the glass of water in one go.
Meng Ci kept pouring water, and Zheng Yan kept gulping it down, one glass after another, until he had drunk six cups.
Seeing that Meng Ci was about to pour another, Zheng Yan hurriedly refused.
"B-big brother, I can't drink anymore!" Zheng Yan belched loudly, clearly full.
"Alright, that's enough." Meng Ci put the water jug down.
Meng Ci kept pouring water because he figured if Zheng Yan's mouth was full of water, he wouldn't be able to cry as much.
With Zheng Yan finally quiet and full of water, Meng Ci didn't bother pouring anymore.