Chapter 282: Dinner Gathering, Eggplant Suddenly Faints
"Son, come here, to Dad."
Zhang Mingtian looked at his son with a mix of exasperation and helplessness. He never would have guessed his son would be so bold as to hug Meng Ci, someone he'd only met twice.
He quickly stepped forward and took Zhang Jianguo from Meng Ci's arms, worried that the jealous Shen Que might take it out on the child.
After all, given Shen Que's temper when he's jealous, anything could happen.
Even in his father's arms, Zhang Jianguo kept turning his head, eyes locked on Meng Ci, still calling out.
"Brother... hug me..."
Holding his son, Zhang Mingtian walked back while comforting him. "Okay, buddy, let's go find Mom!"
With that, he took Zhang Jianguo and left the scene.
Seeing Zhang Jianguo leave, Shen Que couldn't help but snort in dissatisfaction.
Meng Ci ignored it, knowing Shen Que had been getting more possessive lately.
At that moment, Yun Jingcen and several other teachers walked in, carrying a large bag. They went straight to Meng Ci and handed him the bag.
"Teacher Yun, Teacher Mao, Teacher Fang..." Meng Ci greeted each of them warmly.
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you, Teacher."
After setting the items down, Meng Ci chatted with the teachers and found out the base's school was finally up and running.
However, due to the scarcity of books, the officials had currently only set up elementary courses. Yun Jingcen and the others had been teachers before the apocalypse, so it was easier for them to be rehired.
Ruan Qing had been well-taught by them and easily got hired as their colleague.
Meng Ci nodded; being a teacher was definitely better than doing labor in the fields.
At this moment, Zhao Jingyu stormed in, clearly livid. Upon seeing Meng Ci, he immediately pounced on him.
"Meng Ci, that Lu Chen is really shameless!"
"You only invited us, but Lu Chen had to butt in uninvited."
At this point, Liang Xiu also walked in and, hearing Zhao Jingyu's words, patted him on the head.
"Watch your language."
Zhao Jingyu was unconvinced. "If Lu Chen can act like that, why should I hold back?"
Since there were very few zombies left, the main issue for the officials now was planting crops and rebuilding homes. This task was assigned to the former deputy mayor.
As for Lu Chen, he was mainly responsible for daily patrols and maintaining order. These tasks only required him to assign his subordinates, so Lu Chen had some free time.
With all this free time, he could spend more time hanging around Qiao Moyan.
"I think Lu Chen has ulterior motives!"
"I wanted Qiao Moyan to be my dad, but then Lu Chen started pursuing him. Isn't he trying to replace my mom or what?"
"Just look at how big and strong he is—how could he possibly resemble my mom?"
Zhao Jingyu began ticking off on his fingers, describing how stunning his mother was.
Liang Xiu grabbed Zhao Jingyu's hand and sighed.
"Zhao Jingyu, I'm only a year younger than Uncle Qiao. Do you really have to call him Dad?"
Zhao Jingyu blinked. "We can just call each other whatever feels right."
Meng Ci and Liang Xiu exchanged a glance and fell silent.
"Uncle Qiao!"
Zhao Jingyu was unaware of how shocking his words were, as in his eyes, Qiao Moyan treated him so well that he wanted to treat Qiao Moyan like a father.
When he saw Qiao Moyan come in, Zhao Jingyu quickly ran up to him, but upon seeing Lu Chen next to him, he didn't greet him and instead dragged Qiao Moyan over to Zhang Mingtian.
"Uncle Qiao, do you know what this child's name is?"
"His name is Jianguo. Isn't it very meaningful? I wish I could change my name too—I'd be called Jianjun!"
"Zhao Jianjun, haha!"
It was indeed meaningful, but Qiao Moyan felt it didn't sound as nice as his original name.
Watching Qiao Moyan get dragged away, Lu Chen let out a resigned sigh. Most of the people in the room were unfamiliar to him, so he approached Meng Ci.
"Comrade Meng, Comrade Shen!"
"Captain Lu," but then noticing his new rank insignia, they quickly corrected themselves, "I mean, Major Lu now."
Meng Ci wasn't surprised by how quickly Lu Chen had been promoted.
After all, considering all Lu Chen had achieved since the end of the world, if he weren't only thirty-five or thirty-six, he might have even become a lieutenant colonel.
Even though Meng Ci had been away from City M for a while, after returning, he made sure to catch up on Lu Chen and Uncle Qiao. Upon finding out that Lu Chen hadn't acted rashly or done anything inappropriate, Meng Ci reconsidered and thought that maybe Lu Chen could be a good match for Uncle Qiao.
Of course, whether they should be together was ultimately up to Uncle Qiao himself.
Although Lu Chen wasn't a petty person, he now held a high position, and since Zhao Jingyu had just been somewhat disrespectful, Liang Xiu felt the need to explain.
Lu Chen glanced at Liang Xiu, recalling what he knew about the man. He had heard the vice mayor mention before that Liang Xiu was highly capable and would be entrusted with important responsibilities in the future.
Since they might work together in the future and Zhao Jingyu hadn't done anything too offensive, Lu Chen decided not to take it personally.
Everyone pitched in—some tending the fire, others preparing the meat. With so many people helping out, it only took half an hour before they were all enjoying the delicious barbecue.
Yun Jingcen and the others brought some rice wine, while Zhao Jingyu brought up a bottle of aged red wine that Zhao Ting had once treasured.
Enjoying the mouthwatering barbecue and sipping the fine wine, everyone had a fantastic time.
Once the meal was over, Meng Ci and Shen Que bid farewell to the guests before starting to clean up the yard.
Two wolves, Qiezi and Xiongying, had been fed quite a bit of grilled meat just moments ago, but their stomachs didn't seem very full.
So Meng Ci pulled out some food from his storage space and prepared a half-basin of food for the two, letting them eat.
To their surprise, while Qiezi was eating, its legs gave out and its head plopped into the food bowl.
"Qiezi?" Meng Ci jumped in alarm and rushed over.
Shen Que was equally startled and followed closely behind. "What's going on?"
The two hurried over and carefully lifted Qiezi up.
Its breathing was steady, and it was even snoring lightly. Upon getting closer, Meng Ci also smelled alcohol on it!
"This..." Meng Ci stared blankly.
Shen Que had the same expression, glancing at Meng Ci in bewilderment. "Did it drink alcohol?"
Meng Ci's mouth twitched, and he immediately turned to look at the basin of rice wine on the nearby table, left speechless.
Not a single grain of rice was left in the basin now. Only Qiezi could have licked it spotless.
They didn't know if wolves would have an allergic reaction or other issues after drinking alcohol.
At first, they considered just leaving it on the ground, but ultimately, they couldn't bring themselves to do it. Together, they moved it to its nest and periodically checked to see if it showed any signs of an alcohol allergy.
Seeing that Qiezi's breathing remained smooth, Meng Ci felt relieved.