Chapter 11: I Just Lent a Hand

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The inside of the tent was pitch black at night; nothing could be seen. Wan Chuncui did not notice the curious looks from Gu Xiaomai and Liu Ju’s trio, especially from Liu Ju and her companions.

To them, Wan Chuncui seemed like someone with little desire to live. Although she was alive and working, she lacked initiative.

Now, she had taken the initiative to say she wanted to learn—how could that not pique their curiosity?

“I want to learn more so that I can earn more points for my child in the future,” Wan Chuncui explained gently.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju and the others understood. Which mother wouldn’t want to earn more points to give their child the best?

Liu Ju said, “Chuncui, allow me to be frank. Although we don’t know what crime you committed to be punished and sent to the reclamation team, it’s only a few months—time will fly by quickly. It’s not a big deal. You need to pull yourself together, for your child’s sake and for your own.”

“Exactly, Sister Cui. Now, the base dares to send large groups out to explore and set up stations. Our days will get better. Imagine if you weren’t here—how terrible would your child’s life be? Can you bear that?” Wei Xiaoqin couldn’t help but speak up.

Meng Xue thought of her own experience, touched the scar on her left arm, and whispered, “Sister Cui, a child’s happiness lies in living with their biological mother.”

“Hmm. I will face things actively from now on. Thank you, Auntie, and the three younger sisters, for not holding grudges against me during this time.”

After these days of living here, Wan Chuncui had come to a clear understanding. Once her three-month labor reform was over, if she couldn’t find a job back at the base, she would return to the reclamation team. It wasn’t as dangerous as she had imagined.

Liu Ju, who was in her fifties, could still earn over a hundred points a day. Wan Chuncui was much younger; as long as she was willing to endure hardship, she would definitely be able to earn enough points.

After discussing Wan Chuncui’s situation, the conversation returned to having Gu Xiaomai teach them about three kinds of medicinal herbs.

Gu Xiaomai readily agreed. It just so happened that Jiao Yang had some leaves of Angelica and Codonopsis from Jiang Chen’an’s purified plants. If they didn’t go up the mountain tomorrow, they could borrow those for the three of them to start recognizing.

“But I don’t want to share half with you. I want a full set of clothes.”

“Okay!” The four quickly agreed.

Although some of their clothes had been patched repeatedly, each had two or three sets to change into. Sharing a full set was much more cost-effective than giving away half of their shares.

…

E4 Camp.

When Fang Baozi appeared at the cafeteria entrance with Jiao Yang hanging on his left and Camp Commander Zhu Xingjie on his right, Mi Tang and the others had not yet arrived.

After setting down the two leaders, Fang Baozi went to find their chef, the Madman, as pointed out by Jiao Yang.

Zhu Xingjie headed straight to the kitchen water bucket to activate his power and began adding ice cubes. When Mi Tang and the group arrived, the fire-element power user Zhao Jiaozi carefully used his power to melt the ice into water.

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Jiao Yang took out a bag of purified plants and led the group to clean them in the front hall. The cleaned plants were sent to the Madman’s chopping board in the kitchen.

The Madman held a knife in his left hand and chopped furiously, smashing the purified plants into tiny pieces before rubbing them and placing them into four large pots on the stove.

The four pots were filled with water, and Zhao Jiaozi controlled the fire to boil them.

Once the water began to boil, the Madman added seasonings and let it simmer for a few minutes before turning off the heat.

The hot broth was ladled into three gray metal buckets.

Mi Tang and his companions eagerly waited at the window. Although Zhu Xingjie and Jiao Yang sat chatting, their gazes frequently darted toward the kitchen.

Soon, the Madman and Zhao Jiaozi, who was helping with the fire, pushed the gray metal buckets out. As soon as they reached the front hall, everyone gathered around.

Zhu Xingjie stirred the broth in the middle bucket with a ladle and sniffed it. There was no aroma, but also no off-putting smell.

“Madman, you didn’t improvise this time, right? You followed what the master chefs taught?”

Shi Feng glanced at him and said, “If you’re worried, you don’t have to drink it!”

With that, he tossed his head, picked up his bowl, and strode away.

Zhao Jiaozi ladled broth from the left bucket, carefully scooping the floating purified plants. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had chopped them too finely, so each scoop yielded little. After just two scoops, his bowl was full.

While ladling, he said to Zhu Xingjie standing by the middle bucket, “Commander, rest assured. I’ve been watching Shi Feng the whole time, and I guarantee he didn’t add anything extra.”

Seeing the soldiers behind urging him on, Zhu Xingjie quickly ladled a small amount and sat opposite Shi Feng, ready to taste before commenting.

He didn’t want to endure another meal as awful as before just to avoid wasting the purified plants.

The soldiers born a few years before or after the catastrophe might not remember or know what proper food tastes like, but he did—and it was definitely not like anything the Madman made.

Unfortunately, the number of people capable of making authentic cuisine in the base was dwindling. Before the military headquarters realized it, most had been snatched away by powerful families.

A few chefs worked at the military headquarters or base leaders’ places, but no one was willing to leave the base with them—only allowing people to be sent to learn.

Whether the other party genuinely taught them, he did not know. He only knew that the three meals Shi Feng had prepared so far were hard to swallow.

Sigh!

Zhu Xingjie sighed heavily, wondering if he should send someone else to learn cooking if the Madman kept making meals this unpalatable.

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Shi Feng sensed a chill from across the table and immediately pushed his bowl next to Zhu Xingjie’s. Jiao Yang then placed his bowl down, followed by Mi Tang, Zhao Jiaozi, Fang Baozi…

Zhu Xingjie saw the growing number of bowls before him and veins bulged on his forehead. “Get lost! Am I here just to cool your bowls of soup?”

Jiao Yang smiled gently. “Old Zhu, the capable do more work!”

“I just put in the effort,” Shi Feng looked at his bowl.

Zhu Xingjie shouted angrily, “Get lost—”

“All right!” The group, seeing the soup had cooled enough, immediately picked up their bowls and started drinking.

Zhu Xingjie took a small sip. Hmm?

Another sip. Today’s was acceptable; although still bitter, it was drinkable.

He thought he should be more patient with the Madman. Maybe with more practice, his cooking would improve?

Look, this fourth time wasn’t nearly as hard to swallow!

After the first group of soldiers finished drinking, they actively called for the next batch, taking turns to drink.

Zhu Xingjie, still nostalgically recalling the delicious meals he remembered, told Shi Feng to practice more and improve his skills—only to be interrupted by a series of beast roars.

The cheerful atmosphere in the cafeteria shattered instantly. Soldiers who had been leisurely sipping finished in just a few gulps.

Their bowls were left on the tables as they hurried out, and the entire camp went on high alert.

Soon, the E4 Camp soldiers assembled, guarding both ends of the silver metal bridge.

Zhu Xingjie stood at the front, face stern, staring into the darkness of Mountain No. 1. He asked the equally serious He Jie beside him, “What did you hear?”

He Jie focused intently on the sounds from Mountain No. 1. “There are quite a few animals. It’s still the roaring stage—no fighting yet and no sign of them coming down the mountain. It’s not the time for us to go up and check.”

“Then these aren’t corrupted animals. But what’s going on with these ordinary or purified animals? Why are they gathering on Mountain No. 1?”

Zhu Xingjie’s question echoed the concerns of everyone present.