Quick Travel: Save the poor little villain

Chapter 2885 Town Infrastructure Construction in Full Swing 0304

After driving for nearly an hour, the view suddenly opened up.

The valley edge was surrounded by a simple wall made of a mixture of stones and scrap metal sheets; it was crude but looked quite sturdy.

There are observation posts on the walls, from which people can be seen moving around.

Inside the walled compound, houses of varying heights and shapes are scattered about, with clothes and dried vegetables drying on the rooftops, adding a touch of life to this settlement in the wasteland.

This is Heping North Town.

The car drove through a movable wooden gate, where two men with homemade spears stood guard. They grinned and waved when they saw Huo Zhaoye's car.

As soon as you enter the town, you can see small plots of land that have been cultivated on both sides of the road. Some drought-resistant crops grow sparsely in them, and most of the leaves are yellow and wilted. Some people are squatting in the fields, carefully tending to them.

In the open space, women were hanging clothes or food to dry, an elderly person was sitting at the door repairing tools, and several teenagers were chasing a thin dog.

"Boss Huo is back! Did you pick him up?"

Huo Zhaoye leaned halfway out of the car window, laughing and scolding, "Stop talking nonsense, open the door!"

Huo Zhaoye got out of the car first and stretched his muscles.

Yan Genggu and Jin Chen also came down.

A middle-aged woman, still holding a kitchen knife, came out of a shop with a grocery store sign hanging nearby. When she saw Yan Genggu, her eyes lit up. "Oh my, this must be the professor we invited! You must be tired from your journey!"

Her voice was loud and enthusiastic, but her gaze couldn't help but drift towards Jin Chen. "And this is..."

“Aunt Fang, this is Jin Chen. We met him on the road. He can read and write, and he might stay and teach the children,” Huo Zhaoye introduced.

"Teacher! Great! Welcome! Now that you're in Beizhen, we're all family!"

Jin Chen blinked, then turned to Huo Zhaoye and whispered, "Lord Huo, I haven't agreed yet..."

Huo Zhaoye pretended not to hear.

Once you're in Beizhen, such a rare talent shouldn't even think about running away!

Jin Chen turned her head to the side, and her lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

Deciding to stay is one thing; whether or not one can stay depends on whether one is useful.

Jin Chen understood this principle, and so did Yan Genggu.

In the wasteland, there is no free food or water, and no unconditional shelter.

The next morning, Huo Zhaoye came looking for him.

He probably went on patrol again last night; there were faint dark circles under his eyes, but he was still full of energy, like a weed that wouldn't wilt in the sun.

“Professor Yan,” he spoke first to Yan Gengu, and was much more direct, “Since you’re here, let’s not beat around the bush.”

"That sunny slope at the east end of town is the best field right now. Last year we were able to harvest some drought-resistant beans there, but this year, almost two months have passed since we planted the seeds, and there are only a few sparse seedlings. They look wilted. Could you please go and take a look? Is it the soil that's not good enough, or is there something wrong with the seeds, or... is there any other way?"

Agronomists are highly valued these days, but if they're just armchair theorists, Beizhen can't afford to support them.

Yan Genggu replied earnestly, "Of course, show me around."

Such an important matter should be handled personally by Huo Zhaoye.

But Huo Zhaoye glanced at Jin Chen again. He was standing there, but it seemed that although he was standing there, he did not really belong to any place.

"Monkey!" Huo Zhaoye called out towards the outside.

The monkey, who had been waiting outside, answered the call and came in, still with that clever look on his face, "Brother Huo!"

"Take Professor Yan to Third Master's place, get the records from the fields, and then go to the warehouse to check on the remaining seeds," Huo Zhaoye instructed. "Then take Professor Yan to the hillside and explain the situation in detail."

"okay!"

Yan Genggu took his cloth bag, which contained some simple tools and a few leather notebooks, nodded to Huo Zhaoye and Jin Chen, and followed the monkey.

Huo Zhaoye looked at Jin Chen and suddenly remembered what Third Master Qiao had said in private last night.

"That Mr. Xiao Jin doesn't seem like an ordinary cultured person. Ah Ye, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on him, but don't scare him off."

"Teacher Jin."

Upon hearing the sound, Jin Chen slowly turned her head.

“Come with me,” Huo Zhaoye said, leading the way outside, “and let’s see what you can do.”

Jin Chen nodded slightly and followed in his footsteps.

Huo Zhaoye led him through several rammed earth paths to a spacious row house.

"Uncle Zhao!" Huo Zhaoye called out.

Uncle Zhao looked up. "Hey! Boss Huo, what's up?"

"We decided to use this house for the children's literacy lessons, as we discussed yesterday. It will serve as the school building for now." Huo Zhaoye pointed to the row of houses. "Have you notified everyone?"

"Notification has been issued!"

Uncle Zhao put down his work and walked over with a smile on his face. "I asked everyone to send their children over early this morning. The older ones are with the younger ones, and they're all waiting inside!"

"Is this Mr. Jin? He's really handsome... He looks very learned."

Huo Zhaoye didn't respond to that, only saying, "Alright, you go about your business."

After saying that, he pushed open the creaking wooden door of the row house.

The room was darker than the outside. A dozen or so children sat on mats, ranging from innocent toddlers of five or six years old to teenagers of thirteen or fourteen.

"Stand still," Huo Zhaoye called out, his tone not particularly stern, but the children immediately quieted down and shoved each other into two or three rows.

Jin Chen glanced around. There were sixteen children in total. The oldest boy was almost as tall as Huo Zhaoye's shoulder, while the youngest was not even as tall as his thigh.

These children, born in the wasteland and raised in a chaotic world, are quite different from the children in the large base. Their daily lives are spent learning how to identify edible plants, dangerous mutated monsters, and how to survive with limited resources.

999 thinks it should be launched online.

[Lord Jinchen, I have searched for basic teaching plans, covering common introductory textbooks from the old world, illustrated versions of general knowledge, basic mathematics, etc.]

Jin Chen: [No need for those.]

999 sadly logged off, continuing to win effortlessly.

Jin Chen didn't ask Huo Zhaoye for paper and pen. Instead, she picked up a half-dry brick from the corner of the wall and drew the first mark.

"Sun, river, house, people."

"The sun comes out and shines on the river, and people come out of their houses."

Jinchen drew simple sketches and then wrote words on them, gradually extending to the daily life that children are familiar with: bowls, knives, fire, hens, eggs, carts, watchtowers, and also interspersed them with comic strips.

Huo Zhaoye stood to the side watching, and he became completely absorbed in the spectacle.

at this time.

The nails at the window joints were rusted and loose, and the entire wooden board was tilting inwards, about to smash towards Jin Chen.

Jin Chen noticed and looked up, but Huo Zhaoye had already blocked her way, waving his hand diagonally upwards.

The wooden board was forcefully cleaved open by Huo Zhaoye's strong forearm, and other odds and ends fell to the ground with a clatter, raising some dust.

The children would look up, then look down and continue drawing; it was all too common for them.

Huo Zhaoye lowered his arm, making sure there were no other signs of loosening, then turned to look at Jin Chen, "Are you alright?"

-

Jin Chen shook his head.

He was indeed fine. Huo Zhaoye's movements were so quick that he blocked the dust completely, and not even a speck of dust splashed on him.

Huo Zhaoye breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned as he looked at the damaged area. "These broken wooden windows should have been replaced long ago."

Huo Zhaoye said to the children, "Alright, that's enough for today's class. Go home and have dinner, and don't run around on the way."

The children reluctantly dispersed, still excitedly discussing the words and stories they had just learned as they walked away.

After the children left and the townspeople who had helped began repairing the back wall, Huo Zhaoye looked at Jin Chen, scanned him from top to bottom, and then fixed his gaze on Jin Chen's wrist.

Just now, Jin Chen subconsciously raised his hand to block, and his sleeve slid down a bit.

Huo Zhaoye noticed that besides the totem on the inside of her fair wrist, there were also slightly raised bloodstains. These were from when Jin Chen pinched herself while questioning about the totem in the car yesterday.

Huo Zhaoye frowned slightly.

Jin Chen seemed to notice, his fingers twitched slightly, and he subconsciously wanted to pull up his sleeve, but then stopped and slowly loosened his clenched fist.

"Let's go out for some fresh air," Huo Zhaoye said.

Jin Chen silently followed.

The two walked to the row house, where the sun was quite strong, making the ground hot.

Huo Zhaoye stopped, turned around, took out a cigarette case from his pocket. It was made from old tin. He knocked out something that looked like a homemade cigarette, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. He just habitually held it in his mouth.

Jin Chen looked over, sniffed lightly, and her eyes subtly shifted as she looked into Huo Zhaoye's eyes.

Strange, my wife's cigarettes smell like herbs.

"You taught very well," Huo Zhaoye said.

Jin Chen looked away, gazing at the mottled wall and the ground in the distance, refusing to meet Huo Zhaoye's eyes.

Huo Zhaoye looked at him for a few seconds, then took out another tin box from his work pants pocket, which contained half a box of dark green ointment.

"The ointment that Aunt Fang makes is good for wounds."

Jin Chen didn't reach out to take it, but only raised her eyes and looked at Huo Zhaoye.

Huo Zhaoye met his gaze for a moment.

Jin Chen's eyes were light-colored, reflecting the slanting midday sunlight. Huo Zhaoye shifted his gaze, his eyes returning to the wrist, where the red mark stood out starkly against the pale skin.

"Hand." Huo Zhaoye said succinctly, his brows furrowing as usual.

Jin Chen was silent for two seconds, then slowly extended his right hand and offered his wrist slightly.

Huo Zhaoye applied the ointment to the red marks with his fingertips.

The ointment was cool and a little stinging. Jin Chen shivered and rolled up her sleeves even higher, exposing the totem completely to the sunlight.

The lines wrap around the wrist bone and extend deep into the cuff, like a brand growing on the skin, giving a sense of indescribable destiny.

Huo Zhaoye's fingertips paused, his gaze lingering for several seconds, recalling Qi Jinchen's panic and embarrassment yesterday.

"...What exactly is this?" Huo Zhaoye asked in a low voice, his fingertips still covered in ointment as he gently spread it around the red marks.

Jin Chen remained silent.

The wind blew by, carrying sounds from the distant town.

After a while, just when Huo Zhaoye thought he wouldn't answer again, Jin Chen suddenly spoke up.

"Does Lord Huo want to know?"

Huo Zhaoye withdrew his hand, closed the tin box, and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Of course, but... it doesn't seem convenient to ask."

Everyone has their own past, scars they'd rather not talk about, and these are all too common in this wasteland.

As long as it doesn't cause trouble for Beizhen, he can choose to respect it.

Jin Chen looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. "There will be opportunities in the future."

Huo Zhaoye was stunned for a moment.

He understood the implied meaning.

"You've agreed to stay?" Huo Zhaoye asked.

Jin Chen nodded slightly, "Yes."

Jin Chen responded, his eyelashes as black as ink, and he quietly looked at Huo Zhaoye with those eyes.

Huo Zhaoye met his gaze for a moment, smiled, and even softened the sharpness brought by the overly intense look in his eyes.

"Row."

Jin Chen and Yan Genggu officially stayed in Heping North Town, and summer truly arrived in the New World.

In the town of Heping, there is an old river with a silent bridge spanning it, connecting the two sub-towns to the north and south.

Jin Chen lived diagonally opposite Huo Zhaoye, and the two saw each other all the time.

Huo Zhaoye was very busy. He had to manage various affairs in the town, patrol, and deal with the people in Nanzhen. He often left early in the morning and did not return until dark.

It was an exceptionally hot afternoon; the air was distorted by the heat, and even the wind felt scalding.

The steam from the old river rose up, mixed with the smell of soil and dried plants, making it hard to breathe.

Huo Zhaoye was in the blacksmith shop.

Uncle Zhao's blacksmith shop is one of the most important places in Beizhen. Farm tools, simple weapons, and daily necessities are all repaired here.

The shop was as hot as a steamer. Although the fire in the stove wasn't burning brightly, the residual heat combined with the weather made everyone sweat profusely.

Huo Zhaoye took off his coat, leaving only a T-shirt and the axle of an old cart.

He was half-squatting, holding a hammer and chisel in his hands. Sweat streamed down his forehead, dripping onto his collarbone and continuing down, soaking the front and back of his undershirt, the fabric clinging tightly to his skin.

Apprentice Xiao Wu was helping to hold the wheels, and he was also covered in sweat.

"Brother Ye, take a break, it's too hot," Xiao Wu said, panting.

"Almost done." Huo Zhaoye didn't even look up. He tapped it a few more times, then twisted it with all his might, finally managing to remove it.

"It's done." He breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and wiped the sweat from his face with his arm.

Xiao Wu handed me a tin kettle. "Have a drink of water."

Huo Zhaoye took it, tilted his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls. He drank so fast that some water slid down his neck and into his collar. He laughed and chatted with Xiao Wu.

At that moment, Huo Zhaoye caught a glimpse of the person standing at the door out of the corner of his eye.

His smile hadn't faded as he turned to look.

Jin Chen stopped outside the blacksmith's shop, holding a small file in his hand, which he had borrowed from the blacksmith's shop.

He stood there, watching Huo Zhaoye and Xiao Wu playfully fighting in the shop, his gaze lingering on Huo Zhaoye's sweaty neck, collarbone, and the waist and abdomen that were inadvertently revealed when he raised his hand.

In broad daylight, he was teaching, while his wife was fooling around with other men.

"Teacher Jin is here." Xiao Wu saw him first, grinned and greeted him, but was a little intimidated.

Teacher Jin is good-looking, but he's always a bit aloof and doesn't talk much. Young people like Xiao Wu have a subconscious sense of awe towards him.

Huo Zhaoye casually grabbed a towel from the chair next to him and wiped his face and neck haphazardly.

"Is the desk fixed?"

"Hmm." Jin Chen responded, stepped into the blacksmith's shop, and placed the file on the workbench covered with iron filings.

"No need to thank me." Huo Zhaoye didn't take it to heart. He walked to the bucket, took out the tin kettle, and then picked up a rough earthenware bowl and poured in a bowl of cold water.

“I told you to let Xiao Wu fix it, but you wouldn’t. With hands like that, how could you do such rough work?”