RITAAB 45

Thank you so much for my ko-fi supporter. I appreciate it! 

Chapter 45

Qin Shanzhou was a bit unwilling, but there was really no way to see Qin Jiulin right now. Not to mention trying to use Qin Jiuzhen’s method of meeting someone, he had just looked out from behind the curtains and saw that the nearby guards had arrived.

And Qin Jiuzhen had also said that starting tomorrow, all the operational teams in the military camp would be going out on missions, with uncertain return times. The times they would be away were also uncertain.

He couldn’t be sure if they would have the opportunity to see Qin Jiulin when he and the others returned. Since that was the case, he would listen to Qin Jiuzhen and wait until the city was cleaned up before going to find him.

Qin Jiuzhen stayed silent, looking a bit dazed, lost in thought. But soon, he perked up and said, “Mom, Dad, it should be about time. Let’s go eat?”

Qin Shanzhou and Yao Meimei suddenly felt hungry, “Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s eat first.”

Qin Jiuzhen quickly picked up the two lunch boxes, “Don’t forget these, Mom and Dad.”

Qin Shanzhou felt annoyed when he saw the lunch boxes, “Don’t give it to me. Just take them yourself. Just bring back something to eat later, anything will do. Such a bother.”

Yao Meimei said, “Don’t give it to me either. After we bring back the food, help feed your grandmother and great grandma. Your parents are getting tired day by day. We have to work during the day as well.”

Qin Jiuzhen carried two empty lunch boxes, which were a bit dirty inside. They had brought back the food for their grandmother and grandfather to eat at lunchtime, but they hadn’t washed them afterwards.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to wash them, but washing the lunch boxes required water, and the only place to get water was at the military camp’s mess hall. However, it was quite far from their tent, taking about fifteen minutes round trip. So, they would only bring the lunch boxes when it was time to eat and quickly wash them before getting their food.

Qin Jiuzhen glanced down at the lunch boxes in his arms. They were closer now, so he could see clearly the dirt and grease that hadn’t been cleaned off. It felt sticky and disgusting to touch.

Instinctively, he held them a little further away from himself, making sure they didn’t touch his clothes. They were already in short supply, and if they got dirty, it would be difficult to clean them. It was better not to make a mess.

He hurriedly caught up with Qin Shanzhou and Yao Meimei, who were already walking ahead. The family of three seemed happy and content. Many other relatives living here envied them because their family of three was complete. It was said that their child had a boyfriend who was a special type of beastmen, which allowed them to stay here.

It was really great. How come they hadn’t encountered such good fortune?

The number of special type beastmen was extremely small, and everyone knew this. Most of the people living here were relatives of regular beastmen, and those who were brought here by special type beastmen received preferential treatment.

For example, when it came to meals and drinking water, or even the quality of their tents, they were given special treatment. Their tents were bigger, even though more people lived in them. But at least they were more spacious inside.

Qin Jiuzhen arrived at the dining area, and the first thing he did was find some water to wash his hands and the lunch boxes. He didn’t want to touch the greasy dirt on the lunch boxes, and there were also some crushed rice grains stuck inside. Simply rinsing them under water wouldn’t clean them properly, so he had to wash them with his hands or find some leaves and grass around to use.

But Qin Jiuzhen really didn’t want to go through the trouble. However, if he brought such dirty lunch boxes to get food, he would definitely be noticed by the soldiers responsible for serving them. Then the image he had built up over such a long time would be ruined, wouldn’t it?

He could only endure the disgust and picked some grass from the ground to clean the lunch boxes in the water, slowly getting rid of the more visible dirt.

As he went to get his food, the soldier who had become somewhat familiar with him said a few words.

“It’s you again. How are your grandmother and great grandma?”

If they couldn’t even come to eat, then they must be unwell. He had heard that they were lying down all the time.

Qin Jiuzhen’s face turned a bit pale, and he forced a smile, shaking his head. “They’re fine. Thank you for your concern. Being in the military camp, they will definitely recover quickly.”

The soldier nodded, “Yes, it’s safe in the military camp. I hope they get better soon.”

The soldier handed Qin Jiuzhen two full lunch boxes. If the lunch boxes were larger, he could have fit even more food. Qin Jiuzhen thanked the soldier again and then went to get himself a plate to serve his own meal.

“Hey, that’s enough. I can’t eat this much, it’ll go to waste!” Qin Jiuzhen exclaimed.

The soldier didn’t believe him initially, so he had given him a lot of food. But in the end, Qin Jiuzhen couldn’t finish it all, so he ended up giving some to the police dogs kept in the military camp.

“Alright then, I won’t give you as much next time. But you’re too thin, if you encounter any danger, you won’t even be able to run. That won’t do! Eat a little more every day!” the soldier advised.

Qin Jiuzhen nodded and replied, “Okay, thank you, I will.”

The people Qin Jiuzhen had interacted with in the military camp were all kind to him, but his parents were not. They were always critical, with sour expressions on their faces. Every time they came to eat, they complained about something or the other.

So those who knew about their situation felt a great deal of sympathy for Qin Jiuzhen. However, it was just sympathy. After all, Qin Shanzhou and his wife were all talk and no action. They didn’t really do anything to Qin Jiuzhen. They loved their son very much, so everyone just watched from the sidelines.

Qin Jiuzhen sat at the table next to his parents and said, “Mom, Dad.”

Qin Shanzhou glanced at the two full lunch boxes without surprise and commented, “They really are kind-hearted. They always give those two old folks so much food. The people who need it the most don’t get much.”

Yao Meimei was actually a little tempted by the food in the lunch boxes, but when she thought about how dirty they had been earlier, she couldn’t bring herself to eat it. She decided to pass.

“What a waste,” she said.

Indeed, it was a waste. The two elderly people couldn’t eat so much, so they only ate a portion of it, and Qin Jiuzhen discreetly disposed of the rest in a place where no one could see. He wondered if anyone had noticed after all this time. If someone saw them wasting food, it would truly be embarrassing. After all, supplies were scarce now.

Qin Jiuzhen looked at the stacked lunch boxes and said, “Recently, Grandma and Grandpa have been eating more and more. Maybe they’ll get better in a while.”

Yao Meimei added, “If they could improve, that would be great. Then we wouldn’t have to take care of them. It’s disgusting having to help them change clothes and support them when they need to go out. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Qin Shanzhou interrupted, “Enough, let’s just eat!”

Yao Meimei closed her mouth and didn’t say anything else. Indeed, they were in the middle of eating. She thought about what she had said earlier and found it disgusting. “Really, can’t even eat in peace…” she murmured to herself.

Back in the tent, Qin Shanzhou and Yao Meimei went straight to sleep, while Qin Jiuzhen took the lunch boxes and walked to where his grandmother and grandfather were sleeping. The space there was very narrow, with only enough room for two people to lie down and a small walking path.

“Grandma, great-grandma, it’s time to eat. There’s plenty of food today!” Qin Jiuzhen said softly.

The two elderly women helped each other sit up and looked at him with loving eyes. “Little Zhen, you’re the best. We’re still alive because of you…”

“Grandma, let’s not talk about that. Mom and Dad just fell asleep,” Qin Jiuzhen whispered.

They both fell silent, not daring to say anything further. If they heard them complaining, who knows what they would do to their old bones!

Qin Jiuzhen opened the lunch boxes. “Grandma, great-grandma, let’s eat. The food today is very delicious!”

Each of the elderly women took a lunch box and started eating spoonful after spoonful. Of course, in the past, they wouldn’t eat like this, nor would they eat so much.

But now, just having food to eat was already good enough, especially since they had barely eaten anything for breakfast and lunch. It was only when Qin Jiuzhen cooked for them at night that they could eat this much.

Qin Jiuzhen watched them devour the food. It was quite impressive that despite their advanced age, they could eat like this without choking. It seemed like they were really hungry.

But it made sense. They only had a little breakfast and not much for lunch, so they naturally wanted to eat more when presented with a full box of food for dinner.

What surprised Qin Jiuzhen was that they actually finished everything. Human potential was truly limitless. Sometimes, you didn’t know where the limit was until you pushed yourself.

At this time, Xia Liansheng had just finished his meal and returned to his own tent. Since the other two variant beastmen individuals in his team were women, they each had separate small tents.

Xia Liansheng saw them coming back together and greeted them with a smile. “Hello, rest early tonight. We will begin our military mission tomorrow.”

Xí Sīhán and Chéng Tiānxiāng had a good impression of Xia Liansheng, who was both powerful and gentle. However, they knew he seemed to have someone already, so they never made a move.

“We understand. You should rest well too, Captain. Hopefully, the three of us can all make it through,” Xí Sīhán said.

“That goes without saying. As the captain, I am responsible for your safety,” Xia Liansheng replied.

Xí Sīhán smiled and said, “Oh, if I didn’t know what kind of person you are, I would think you’re trying to flirt with both of us at the same time.”

Xia Liansheng blinked in surprise. “Of course not. Well, sleep early. I’m going to rest too.”

After saying that, he entered his tent, leaving Xí Sīhán and Chéng Tiānxiāng exchanging teasing glances. “I didn’t expect him to get embarrassed so easily,” they both thought.

Xia Liansheng had no interest in knowing what the two girls were thinking. He slowly lay down, preparing to sleep. After all, the mission starting tomorrow was unknown in terms of danger.