Chapter 158: The Old and Young of Longteng

“Miss Yun, look, this is our Longteng base.”

Zhong Qiu, face full of enthusiasm, squeezed up beside Yun Qimu, proudly pointing ahead as he introduced her to the place, grinning ear to ear and treating Wu Xingyu—who outclassed him in every way—as if he were invisible.

Pei Yu couldn’t help but admire this pretty boy a little. His mental fortitude was impressive.

Yun Qimu followed the direction Zhong Qiu pointed. The Longteng base looked big, and empty.

Not the bustling scene she’d imagined.

They entered through a thick, somewhat worn but sturdy old gate. Inside was a spacious courtyard, bare and undecorated, just a dull grey cement ground that looked especially desolate under the blazing sun.

But it was very clean—not a fallen leaf or bit of trash in sight. That was at least one positive.

All around the courtyard were buildings, arranged in a traditional siheyuan (courtyard house) style. The walls were patched with lime, flaking here and there, making them look like ancient, timeworn houses.

Compared to the new, sturdy, and stylish buildings in Chaos City—built with modern materials, steel, and high-tech aluminum alloys—this place was downright shabby. It didn’t look like the headquarters of a major power at all.

Zhong Qiu followed her gaze, which happened to land on the house that Man Niu had accidentally punched a huge hole in—almost bringing down the whole wall.

His handsome, pale face flushed red, and he mumbled an explanation, “Uh, well, we like retro stuff. These are all houses left by the original locals.”

Yun Qimu smiled, not exposing his fib, and played along, “Mm, it really does have a sense of history. Very valuable for research.”

Especially the siheyuan layout—it reminded her of a game.

Back when she played the full-immersion online version of this game, there had been a section of very expensive siheyuan housing, which looked almost identical to these.

That only made her more certain that the game and this exile planet were closely connected.

Zhong Qiu’s face was still red, feeling a bit guilty.

Hu Yi patted his shoulder, smiling in understanding at his wish not to embarrass himself in front of his goddess. As a good brother, he had to help.

So he turned to Man Niu and said, “Everyone should be back from the fields by now. Why don’t you call them out to share some candy?”

Man Niu nodded happily and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Dad, uncles, aunties, kids—come out, it’s time for candy!”

From the siheyuan with the hole in the wall came the first stirrings of movement. A handsome, gentle face poked through the hole, still looking half-asleep. “Where’d the candy come from? Man Niu, are you dreaming again?”

Man Niu grinned and shook his head at him. “No, no, how could I be dreaming in broad daylight? Only you, Dad, like to nap during the day.”

The handsome uncle wiped his face and scolded with a laugh, “I work late at night, that’s why I sleep in.”

Mr. Kui Hai would never admit to being lazy.

Man Niu turned away, unconvinced. Hmph. After all these years, he wasn’t about to be fooled by his dad’s gentle, kind face.

Kui Hai chuckled softly, said nothing more, but after glancing over the five unfamiliar faces—Yun Qimu, Wu Xingyu, and the others—his deep blue eyes flickered, and he pulled his head back inside.

But he didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, he changed into a blue robe, tidied himself up, and then strolled out of the house, sleeves fluttering, hands clasped behind his back.

“Man Niu-ge, Man Niu-ge, where’s the candy?”

As the childish, chattering voices rang out, the once empty, lonely courtyard instantly came alive.

The children led the way, running out of the houses, followed by a few young adults, and then a large group of elderly people.

There were a lot of elders—at least a hundred by the look of it.

And plenty of children too—dozens at least.

Yun Qimu was stunned. In this day and age, children were rare in the interstellar world, and so were elders. She hadn’t expected so many to be living at the Longteng base.

She began to understand why Longteng, one of the three great powers of Chaos City, lived in such shabby housing and why its members seemed so poor.

The elderly and children didn’t contribute much labor, but supporting them was a huge expense. If this went on, Longteng could easily be dragged down.

A sharp glint flashed in Yun Qimu’s eyes as she quickly turned things over in her mind, already forming a plan.

Hu Yi smiled at the children, “The candy’s with me and your Man Niu-ge. Line up, everyone gets one to try. When we have more energy coins, we’ll buy more for you.”

“Wow, awesome!”

The kids jumped for joy, but still lined up quickly and neatly.

They were tiny and skinny, the youngest just three or four years old, stumbling over, the oldest eleven or twelve, blinking as they led their younger siblings. No one fought or pushed; the little ones lined up in front, the older ones behind, all gazing eagerly at Hu Yi and the others handing out candy.

The tiniest kid at the front opened his dirty little hands. Hu Yi took out his handkerchief to wipe them clean, then placed a soft Danmu candy in his palm with a smile.

The child clutched the candy tightly and said in a soft, sweet voice, “Thank you, Brother Yi.”

“No need to thank me. Be good, go eat your candy.” Hu Yi’s handsome face was full of warmth as he reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair—then thought better of it, remembering he still had more candy to hand out.

The little one grinned, showing his tiny teeth, and ran off happily.

The next little one shuffled forward, looked up at Hu Yi with big eyes, and said, “Brother Yi, candy.”

“Here you go, this one’s yours.”

Hu Yi patiently handed out candy, one child at a time.

Meanwhile, the elders lined up as well.

Man Niu and a few others helped distribute the candy, and Zhong Qiu, grinning, left Yun Qimu’s side to help out too.

The elders’ faces were marked by the years, full of wrinkles and the traces of hardship, but they looked peaceful. Even those with sharp cheekbones and stern features were all smiles, their eyes full of kindness.

It was clear Longteng took good care of its elders.

After receiving their candy, the elders turned their concern to Zhong Qiu’s injuries.

“Little Qiu’s back! Oh my, what happened to your black eye? Did someone bully you?”

A very thin old lady with high, prominent cheekbones looked at Zhong Qiu with deep concern, as if he were her own grandson, itching to grab a broom and go after whoever had hurt him.

Zhong Qiu grinned sheepishly and reassured her, “It’s nothing, Granny Cuihua. The guy who hit me ended up worse—got his head bashed in with a rock, blood all over his face. He won’t be getting out of bed for at least ten days.”"