Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Grand Spatial Husbandry Enterprise Is Launched

When Chi Wan returned to the BBQ stand, she was still kicking herself for how she’d let her mouth run away with her and said all that nonsense.

’Li Xingye and his people were the ones in the apocalypse, and he’d helped me so much. Would saying all that make him think I was trying to take credit for something?’

She patted her slightly warm forehead, deciding to quickly pack that memory away and seal it up for good.

Seeing this, Chi Yuanshan asked with concern, "Wanwan, what’s wrong? Your face is so red. You’re not drunk, are you?"

Song Yinghe, who had been chatting with Zhuo Yu, immediately walked over with a glass of juice. "You silly girl, don’t you know your own limits? Quick, drink some juice and eat some more meat to line your stomach."

Chi Wan grinned and took a handful of skewers from Zhou Huaijin. "I’m just a little hot from the grill, that’s all," she said as she started eating.

She ate with gusto, not noticing that the tip of a bamboo skewer was slightly charred. As she pulled the meat off, it left a faint smudge on her cheek, like a cat’s whisker.

Watching Chi Wan’s face, Zhou Huaijin couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. His hand subconsciously rose, then suddenly stopped.

Chi Wan looked over at him, confused. Zhou Huaijin didn’t say anything, just smiled and pointed to his own cheek.

Realization dawned on Chi Wan. She smiled sheepishly, wiped her face with a napkin, and then went back to her skewers.

Zhuo Yu, watching this amusing scene from the side, sidled up and nudged Zhou Huaijin’s shoulder. "Has the Saint Monk been moved by worldly desires?"

Zhou Huaijin retorted irritably, "Go on, get out of here. My eldest disciple will be here any minute."

Zhuo Yu just smiled without a word.

By the time they finished dinner and cleaned up, it was almost 9 p.m. Since the inspection team was coming early the next morning and Zhuo Yu still needed to follow up, she decided to just stay the night at Chi Wan’s house.

Zhou Huaijin had no reason to stay, so he could only leave by himself.

Zhuo Yu was the type to warm up to people quickly, and Chi Wan had an easygoing personality. Although they had just met, they discovered they had a lot in common once they started talking.

The feeling of being able to talk about anything and have the other person keep the conversation going made the two women hit it off more and more.

When the conversation turned to how she ended up living in such a charmingly rustic treehouse, Chi Wan thought for a moment before giving Zhuo Yu a brief rundown of what had happened.

Zhuo Yu had originally brought her team over only because Zhou Huaijin had mentioned a potential news story. After hearing Chi Wan’s account, she learned the inside story and became furious. "Wanwan, you did the right thing! You can’t let people like that off easy!"

She hugged Chi Wan. "To see you talking and laughing, who would have thought you’ve been through so much? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back from now on."

Chi Wan smiled and patted Zhuo Yu’s back. "Sister Xiaoyu, you’ve already helped me a lot. Without you guys, it wouldn’t have been so easy to deal with the village chief. Life is pretty good now. I’ll send you some fruit when our orchard has a good harvest."

Zhuo Yu happily agreed, then seemed to think of something else. "By the way, Wanwan, do you like milk?"

Not sure how the topic had shifted so suddenly, Chi Wan let out a confused, "Huh?"

But Zhuo Yu just laughed. "I loved milk when I was a kid, so my family bought a ranch out on the grasslands just to supply us with fresh dairy. If you like it, I can have a share supplied to you, too."

"Oh, and I saw you really enjoyed the meat skewers yesterday. Our ranch also raises some sheep on the side. The meat is excellent. I’ll have some sent to you along with the milk."

Chi Wan knew that Zhuo Yu and Zhou Huaijin were close, and that Zhou Huaijin came from a very wealthy family—otherwise, he wouldn’t have so easily left the Pure Crown Orchid in her care.

Although she had guessed Zhuo Yu’s family background wasn’t shabby, it was only upon hearing a line as outlandish as "bought a ranch just for milk" that Chi Wan realized Zhuo Yu’s family was even more influential than she had imagined.

But she soon realized—’Isn’t this a case of someone handing you a pillow just as you’re getting sleepy?!’

Chi Wan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhuo Yu. ’She’d just been worrying about where to buy suitable lambs and calves. Now, her grand plan to raise livestock in her space could begin immediately!’

Seeing Chi Wan’s eager expression, Zhuo Yu assumed she just really liked milk and couldn’t resist ruffling her hair. "Stop being so cute... All right, all right, I’ll have a milk box installed for you by your door tomorrow."

"Hehe, Sister Xiaoyu, I hereby declare you my best friend!"

Chi Wan hooked her arm through Zhuo Yu’s. "But you can forget the milk. I’ve actually been wanting to buy some lambs and calves. Could I buy them from your family’s ranch?"

Zhuo Yu hadn’t expected Chi Wan to want to buy young livestock. Though she didn’t know what Chi Wan planned to do with them, she offered a word of caution: "The environment around your house might not be suitable for raising them. They won’t taste very good if they end up all scrawny."

Chi Wan quickly assured her it wouldn’t be a problem and got the contact information for the ranch.

Zhuo Yu was always generous with people she liked. Seeing Chi Wan insist on a proper transaction, she couldn’t dissuade her and could only mutter, "It’s just a few lambs. What’s the point of buying them? I could just give them to you."

Chi Wan just smiled without saying a word.

Zhuo Yu had already learned from Zhou Huaijin that Chi Wan’s family had gone bankrupt, but she saw no trace of the despondency that usually came with a fall from grace. Instead, Chi Wan was full of vitality, which made Zhuo Yu’s impression of her even better.

The two chatted idly until, before they knew it, they had both fallen asleep.

*

Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Xingye lay on a rooftop, his mind heavy with thoughts as he stared blankly at the dim sky.

In the apocalypse, the sky was always a murky gray, day or night, with no moon and no stars.

"Brother Li, what are you doing out here? I’ve been looking all over for you. That Duan Qianyu says she can make weapons, but she needs Fourth Rank or higher Zombie Crystal Cores."

"We don’t have many Fourth Rank Crystal Cores in stock, but there seem to be a lot of stray zombies around the Frenzy. Haozi and I have put together a few squads to clear them out regularly. But Duan Qianyu said it would be even better if we could get Fifth or even Sixth Rank Crystal Cores..."

Qiangzi rambled on as he walked over, only to find Li Xingye staring into space with a blank expression, unsure if he was even listening.

He plopped down next to Li Xingye and asked curiously, "What’s with you? You’ve been acting weird ever since we were eating those skewers."

Qiangzi was the person Li Xingye had known the longest in their current base; one could even say he had watched him grow up.

Back then, Li Xingye had only been twelve, yet he had already experienced too much bloodshed and betrayal. While his power was constantly growing, his values were on the verge of collapsing.

Saving Qiangzi had been an accident; after all, at first glance, he didn’t exactly look like a "good person."

But perhaps it was the way he fought to the death to protect his sister that moved Li Xingye, so he saved the siblings on a whim.

After that rescue, Qiangzi, a man nearly twenty years his senior, began calling him "Brother Li" without the slightest hesitation.

As such, he was arguably the person in the base who understood Li Xingye the best.

Seeing Li Xingye remain silent, he asked tentatively, "...Is this about the Space God?"