Chapter 112: There's Also an Older Brother

Jiang Yan looked at the little girl, her eyes curving with a gentle smile. “Little one, do you know me?”

Seeing her friendly and not at all angry, Zhou Wei and Wang Jiamei visibly relaxed.

The little girl pressed her lips together, her eyes sparkling as she replied, “Mm, my mom and dad, uncle and auntie all say you’re amazing!”

Jiang Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “What a sweet talker you are! Let me see if I have any candy on me.”

As she spoke, she reached for the black backpack on her back, unzipped it a little, and pretended to rummage inside.

In reality, with just a thought, she took a rainbow lollipop out from her space.

“Oh? Looks like I’m lucky today—I actually found one! Here you go!” Jiang Yan said warmly, crouching down to hand the lollipop to the little girl. She casually asked,

“Pretty girl, how old are you? What’s your name?”

Zhou Wei was about to chime in, but before he could, the little girl’s eyes lit up. She happily accepted the candy and replied cheerfully,

“My name is Zhou Haoyue—like ‘bright moon in the sky’ Haoyue. I’m six and a half! I also have an older brother, his name is—”

“Zhou Haoyue!” The little girl’s excited words were abruptly cut off by Wang Jiamei’s sharp voice.

Zhou Wei’s face suddenly turned a bit ugly.

Zhou Haoyue trembled all over, bit her lip, and lowered her head, falling silent.

Jiang Yan: “...”

Beside her, Su Dai frowned slightly.

“Haoyue, Auntie gave you candy. Shouldn’t you thank her first? We don’t want to be rude children, do we?” Wang Jiamei seemed to realize she’d lost her composure and quickly tried to smooth things over.

Zhou Haoyue fiddled nervously with the lollipop in her hand, looked up at Jiang Yan timidly, and said, “Thank you, Auntie.”

“You’re welcome,” Jiang Yan replied, giving her an encouraging look.

Su Dai sensed something was off with the couple’s demeanor and said,

“Oh, Brother Zhou, you have a younger son too? How come we didn’t see him with you last night?”

Normally, that kind of question would be considered prying into someone’s private family matters.

Su Dai had always been someone with a strong sense of boundaries.

If others didn’t bring something up, she wouldn’t ask.

But now, things were different, and she found herself much more curious than usual.

“Heh, yes.” Zhou Wei’s face showed a trace of embarrassment, and he quickly said,

“Sorry, you two. We’ll be heading back now.” With that, Zhou Wei tugged at Wang Jiamei’s sleeve.

Wang Jiamei gave them an awkward smile. “Haoyue, say goodbye to the aunties.”

“Goodbye, Auntie Jiang Yan. Goodbye, Auntie Su Dai.” Zhou Haoyue sniffled and hugged her little stuffed cow tighter.

The three of them turned and left together.

The door to 3203 slammed shut with a “bang.”

Jiang Yan and Su Dai watched the family’s heavy-hearted backs, exchanged a glance, and silently went back inside.

Normally, if a neighbor moved in and invited you over, you’d bring a gift or a red envelope.

But now, with supplies so scarce, no one bothered with such formalities.

Besides, this wasn’t exactly a housewarming.

Jiang Yan also noticed that when Su Dai asked Zhou Wei if he had a younger son, Zhou Wei forced a smile, but his hand suddenly clenched into a tight fist.

Wang Jiamei’s red, swollen eyes flashed with a barely detectable mix of hatred and fear.

But it wasn’t her place to pry further.

After all, every family has its own troubles.

Inside, Sun Jingtao and Tian Jiliang were working together to move a three-seater leather sofa against the wall.

The supplies that had been piled up earlier had already been sorted, and the living room was much tidier and more spacious.

Ye Qing was standing with his back to the door, focused on adjusting the exhaust vent.

They had built a makeshift stove near the floor-to-ceiling window, using bricks and cement.

Inside the stove, they’d used a large stainless steel steamer rack as a shelf.

When burning firewood, the wood could be placed on the rack, allowing the ashes to fall below.

The middle was hollow, which increased airflow and made it easier for the fire to catch.

They’d also installed an exhaust vent, using two white PVC pipes as chimneys.

The pipes slanted out through the window.

Because the stove was newly built, the living room was filled with the damp smell of cement.

Hearing the door close, Sun Jingtao and Tian Jiliang turned around at the same time.

Ye Qing paused in his work, looked up at Jiang Yan, and a barely noticeable hint of joy flashed in his eyes. “Jiang Yan!”

Jiang Yan smiled at him. “Hi.”

Maybe it was because she’d spent the past few days with Su Dai and her husband, but Jiang Yan felt that Ye Qing seemed much less aloof than before.

He looked better and better overall.

“Jiang Yan.”

“Jiang Yan, you’re here! Come in and have a seat!” Tian Jiliang and Sun Jingtao greeted her warmly.

Both were long-time residents of Qianshui Bay and had known each other longer than Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan greeted them each in turn.

Su Dai gave her a quick introduction to Tian Jiliang, saying he now lived alone on the 29th floor.

She didn’t mention the tragic loss of his parents, wife, and son to the heat.

“Jiang Yan, have a seat and rest for a bit. As soon as we sweep up, we’ll eat,” Sun Jingtao said politely, brushing dust from his hands.

“No rush. If you need help, just let me know,” Jiang Yan replied, taking some supplies out of her backpack and handing them to Su Dai. “Su Dai, I didn’t bring much, but here’s a little something.”

Su Dai refused without hesitation. “Jiang Yan, just come eat, you don’t need to bring so much. Especially rice and salt—they’re precious.”

For southerners in the apocalypse, rice was invaluable.

Salt, though cheap in normal times and used sparingly, became essential—without it, even the finest food tasted like wax.

That’s why, whenever disaster struck, salt was always the first thing people scrambled for.

“It’s not much. I’m just feeding myself, so I don’t use a lot. Please, just take it—otherwise, I won’t come mooch food next time,” Jiang Yan insisted, stuffing the supplies back into Su Dai’s hands.

Seeing this, Su Dai didn’t argue further and quietly put the supplies away in the kitchen.

With nothing else to do, Jiang Yan went to the balcony to check out the vegetables Su Dai was growing.

Su Dai came out of the kitchen and saw Jiang Yan examining her little balcony garden with interest, so she walked over.

“Jiang Yan, I haven’t even had time to plant the seeds you gave me last time. I still have some containers that could be used as planters, but there’s no soil left.

If I try hydroponics, the temperature’s so low and we don’t have any nutrients, so the veggies won’t grow well.”

She sighed. “If only we could find some soil.”"