Chapter 178, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Even men who cheat can be picky eaters...
In the wind and snow, a hoverbus slowly came to a stop at the entrance of Yunlu Village.
As soon as the car door opened, dozens of men and women filed out.
"It's so cold!" The wind, snow and low temperature made the disaster victims shiver.
"It seems colder than it was a few days ago."
"Luckily I put on heat patches, otherwise I wouldn't dare to go out in this kind of weather."
"Over here!" The women who had been waiting at the station waved to them, and several female workers who were still shivering in the crowd immediately went over to greet them.
“Why did you come out in such heavy snow? We’ll go to your house to look for you,” the female workers said.
The village women chuckled and said, "We just came out too. The bus schedule is fixed every day, and there's hardly any snow. Let's go to the general store."
"Have you decided what you want to change to today?"
"I'm planning to switch to some more nutritional supplements; this one is the most cost-effective."
The aunties nodded in agreement: "We have plenty of food and drink, and we've already stocked up on a lot. You can never have too much of this stuff, and the price is reasonable."
Another female worker said, "I plan to exchange for more salt to marinate the fish I've been allocated."
"I want to get more candy for my son to sweeten his mouth; the candy at the grocery store is much cheaper than before the famine started."
"As the weather gets colder, I was thinking of getting a new bio-suit, but I heard from you guys that the upgraded version is better, so I'm going to save up a bit more and buy the upgraded version directly after the next winter fishing season, which would be more cost-effective."
"Great idea! With the upgraded bio-suit, we won't be afraid of the temperature dropping another twenty degrees next month."
"Is it really going to drop that much? That's terrifying."
Behind them, the men also gathered in twos and threes and walked toward the grocery store, chatting about what they were going to buy.
Nutritional supplements, salt, sugar, and charcoal are essential, in addition to meat, mushrooms, braised dishes, fruit wine, and so on.
Compared to the female workers who plan for the long term, the men, in addition to stockpiling goods, also choose a lot of food that can satisfy their immediate cravings.
After buying the drinks, they weren't in a hurry to go back. Instead, they went home with the villagers they had become somewhat familiar with. In the safe house with the air conditioning on, they would have a few drinks with some snacks. Those days were so wonderful that they almost forgot about the cold outside.
The reason for this change among the disaster victims is that after the winter fishing season, Huo's army no longer ate from the same pot, and the fish they caught were distributed to each person.
With more supplies at their disposal, beyond basic survival needs, further demands naturally re-emerge.
The Huo family army could not meet this demand internally, so they had to find Yunlu Village to exchange for it.
Therefore, after discussing it, Huo Tiankuo and Lu Xuan came up with the current floating bus that runs between the two sides once a day to facilitate travel between them.
It is mainly to make it easier for people from Huo Jiajun's side to come to Yunlu Village.
Besides those who come to exchange supplies, there are also regular workers who come looking for jobs.
For example, at the Lu family's farm, with so many fish waiting to be processed, there's never a shortage of people in the processing shed.
It's too much trouble to travel back and forth every day, so the helpers have basically settled down in tents outside.
Other families in the village also became somewhat addicted to the ease of hiring help after experiencing it.
Washing and cleaning every day in the dead of winter is tiring enough, so why not just take a few pounds of supplies and hire someone to clean them up, and enjoy being treated like royalty?
Li Tie also took charge of snow removal for the greenhouses, hiring a large number of able-bodied disaster victims using public resources, thus freeing up the village's hunting team.
As more and more helpers were hired, the village became increasingly lively, and all sorts of gossip began to circulate.
First up is the village chief's house.
Everyone knows that the youngest son of the Li family is not married yet, and the village chief is the richest and most influential person in the village besides the Lu family. If possible, who wouldn't want to become the daughter-in-law of the Li family and live a life of luxury in the future?
Therefore, most of those who volunteered to find work were unmarried young women.
Miao Jinfeng couldn't find a suitable daughter-in-law in the village, and since she was looking for one, she decided to keep all the women in the village.
And so, the lively atmosphere at the Li family's home began.
The young female workers who had successfully been hired tried every means to win Li Tuo's heart in order to achieve their goals.
Temptations included physical beauty, delicious food, and even attempts to evoke Li Tuo's protective instincts by appealing to his pitiful appearance. In short, they all used various ingenious methods.
These are all relatively upright and aboveboard.
While both are tempted by beauty, some are simply confident in their appearance and want to show it off to Li Tuo, while others want to use their bodies as bait and resort to some low-class methods.
Others were unaware of the Li family's house-buying plan and thought that Li Tuo, the youngest son, would not get the majority of the family's assets and instead had his eye on Li Jing, a married man.
Another problem is that he's so focused on pleasing Li Tuo that he doesn't do his job properly.
Miao Jinfeng: ??? I'm looking for a daughter-in-law, not a troublemaker, understand?
Sensing something was amiss, Miao Jinfeng decisively dismissed the troublemakers and issued a statement to the migrant disaster victims:
"Anyone who dares to disrupt the harmony of my family will be beaten out with sticks and blacklisted, and will never be allowed to enter the village again!"
The somewhat agitated atmosphere among the female workers in the house was immediately suppressed, and the atmosphere became more harmonious than ever before.
However, the female workers who remained did not lose their enthusiasm for Li Tuo.
Li Tuo, a young man who had never been so sought after, couldn't handle it and ran to the training room to hide after only two days.
It turned out that he wasn't the only one facing the same situation.
Li Tuo looked at Wu Yang, who had just taken off his holographic glasses, with surprise and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Chengming laughed and put his arm around Wu Yang's shoulder, saying, "Of course it's because Wu Yang, like you, has been noticed by someone."
He's different; he came here purely to watch others have a good time.
Li Tuo blurted out, "Don't you like my sister?"
Wu Yang glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Zhang Chengming scoffed, "So it's that he was targeted by someone else, not that he was attracted to someone else."
The Wu family consisted of only the father and son; there were no women in the family.
To avoid suspicion, the father and son did not hire any female workers in the first place.
But with a handsome and capable single man like Wu Yang right there, how could no one have designs on him?
If I can't be a helper and have the advantage of being close to the source, then I'll find another way to create opportunities to meet.
For example, in addition to exchanging supplies at Lu's general store, disaster victims would also privately exchange with individuals in the village, because the prices offered by individuals were cheaper than those at the general store.
Women who had taken a liking to Wu Yang would bring supplies to the Wu family to exchange for charcoal and meat.
Even though both father and son were at home, they insisted on exchanging places with Wu Yang, clearly having ulterior motives.
Liu Chun, who was also there to watch the spectacle, asked curiously, "They've been to the village several times before, hasn't anyone mentioned Wu Yang and Li Yue to them?"
Zhang Chengming said, "Of course there is, but it didn't work out."
It's understandable that those female workers felt they still had a chance since they weren't married.
Even if Wu Yang was truly moved by one of them, or had come to terms with it and decided to let go of his obsession with Li Yue, there's nothing wrong with that.
Since Li Yue has been refusing Wu Yang's advances, we can't keep making Wu Yang wait forever, can we?
Of course, on the bright side, perhaps Wu Yang can really get what he wants by taking advantage of this opportunity?
Liu Chun stroked his chin and said, "Speaking of which, Chen Rong seems to be quite popular. I saw some young female workers chatting and laughing with Aunt Chen yesterday. I guess they're thinking that if Aunt Chen is satisfied, they can arrange the marriage directly through their parents' wishes and the matchmaker's words."
Zhang Chengming was surprised, "That's a good idea too."
As she spoke, she suddenly looked around and exclaimed, "Where's Chen Rong? Could it be that he really was persuaded by Aunt Chen and went off to cultivate a relationship with someone?"
"Where?" Liu Chun waved his hand and said, "I saw him auditing Mr. Ji's class again before I came over."
“Mr. Ji is not bad-looking either, and he can read. I think it is unlikely that either Chen Rong or Aunt Chen would be interested in a woman from Huo’s side.”
Zhang Chengming nodded and said, "Ms. Ji is the daughter of a scholar who passed the imperial examination. She comes from a proper scholarly family, which is incomparable to girls from ordinary families."
Zhang Chengming sighed, "In the end, it's because we're living too well that the women from Huo's side are trying every means to marry into our family."
Wu Yang, who was setting up a new training environment on the control panel, said, "It's not just women; men also have their eyes on the women in the village."
"Huh? Is that so?" Zhang Chengming perked up. "Who's been chosen?"
Li Tuo said, "I know that. The helpers who have been going to the Liu family to grind grain recently are all young and strong men."
Zhang Chengming immediately understood and turned to look at Liu Chun, "Is this aimed at your sister?"
Liu Chun touched his nose. "What else could he possibly do but target me?"
He sighed, "Back in Yangshan County, my mother was looking for a son-in-law who would live with her family, but unfortunately, she didn't find anyone she liked. I don't know if it will work out this time."
Wu Yang shook his head and said, "Most of those who go to help are just ordinary disaster victims, and Aunt Liu might not be interested in them."
"The Huo family's personal guards are all upright and honorable men, but precisely because of this, they certainly won't marry into the family. If Liu Yu marries into the family, she will have to leave the village and become a military household in the future..."
If you become a military household, your children will also have to join the army.
Upon hearing this, the others immediately felt that the possibility of the Liu family accomplishing something good seemed rather low.
Liu Chun also felt it was inappropriate.
Fang Yuan has been in poor health since birth. Even though she has recovered after drinking the evolution fluid, her mother and A Yu would not bear to let her join the army and suffer.
"Pfft." Li Tuo suddenly laughed.
The others looked at him suspiciously. What was so funny?
Li Tuo waved his hand and said, "I was just thinking that a couple of days ago I saw Lu Miaomiao being stopped by a man who forced a huge fish into her mouth."
Others: "???"
The expressions on the faces of those present instantly became quite amusing.
Putting aside the fact that the Lu family has no shortage of fish to eat, that's Lu Miaomiao!
Robots can't eat human food, can they?
Li Tuo chuckled and said, "I knew someone would be fooled by her appearance."
As long as Lu Miaomiao doesn't reveal her true species, she appears to be a lively and playful girl next door, and her age is just right, around sixteen or seventeen.
Most importantly, as a new member of the Lu family, she is the only one of suitable age who could potentially become related to the family.
Who wouldn't be tempted by that?
Liu Chun shook his head: "They don't even consider that if such a good thing really happened, wouldn't the other bachelors in the village take advantage of the situation and snag the girl first? It's not their place to even think about it."
Li Tuo grinned and said, "If you ask me, Lu Miaomiao should also open her head in front of the man who has his eye on her and ask him, 'Would you still marry me even if I were like this?'"
Zhang Chengming choked on his saliva. "Cough cough, you're going too far... If you scare someone badly, the Lu family might have to pay compensation."
Although, he was also somewhat interested in seeing that kind of scene.
Who doesn't enjoy watching something funny?
Wu Yang and Liu Chun imagined it for a moment and couldn't help but laugh.
Zhang Chengming patted Li Tuo on the shoulder, "Don't just talk about others. What about you? I've seen all the helpers who went to your house. They're all good-looking. Didn't you find any of them appealing?"
Li Tuo quickly shook his head, "No."
The women on Huo Jiajun's side suffered for half a year. Not only were they all pale and thin, but their hair and skin were also ravaged, dry and frizzy, and they were hardly beautiful.
In contrast, the women in their village had hardly suffered any hardship, and each of them had a rosy complexion.
As he saw more, his standards naturally rose.
Looking at the female workers in his home, he felt completely indifferent, unable to generate any particular thoughts.
When people come to the training room to hide, it's not so much because they're shy and at a loss, but more because they don't know how to refuse.
Li Tuoyi said sternly, "I am still young and not in a hurry to get married."
He was more interested in improving his superpowers than getting married.
Unfortunately, while the holographic training equipment can enhance their combat and reaction abilities, it does nothing to improve their superpowers.
If only there were a way to level up quickly.
·
At the same time, a group of women in the Lu family were also discussing similar topics.
While eating the freshly fried crispy fish, Wu Yinyin cursed, "Those female workers knew that my Li Jing had a wife, yet they still dared to flirt with him in our house. Do they think I'm dead?!"
"Even if Li Jing wanted to sneak a bite, would he dare to do it at home?!"
"Cough cough cough." Several of the other women sitting around choked.
Lu Qing said speechlessly, "Don't talk nonsense, Li Jing is not that kind of person."
Wu Yinyin snorted, "Of course I know he isn't, I'm just annoyed."
Liu Yu comforted her, "Didn't Aunt Miao already chase them away? It won't affect you two anyway, so don't be angry."
Su Ying looked at Lu Miaomiao, who was sitting obediently next to Lu Qing, and said jokingly, "Speaking of which, I think the one who has his eye on Miaomiao is the one who is skilled and daring."
The person Liu Chun saw blocking Lu Miaomiao was not the first person to have designs on her.
It can be said that Lu Miaomiao is currently the most popular woman in the village.
Why is it that Lu Xuan's wealth is so obviously obvious?
All the safe houses in the village belong to him, the general store belongs to him, all the treasures belong to him, and he is also the strongest.
However, Lu Xuan's intimidating presence was so great that none of the disaster victims felt they could possibly be on par with him.
Thus, Lu Miaomiao became the best choice.
If I could marry her and become in-laws with Lu Xuan, I would never have to worry about anything for the rest of my life.
Li Yue also said, "Among the girls in my family who want to be my brother's wife, one of them has a brother and even asked me to test whether I could help her find a match for Miaomiao."
Su Ying held a cup of hot milk tea in her hand and scoffed, "So you're making two preparations? You're dreaming. I'll have Miaomiao take her head off and scare them a couple of times, then they'll know to behave."
Lu Qing said, "Miaomiao definitely won't marry anyone. Just take it as a joke."
Her gaze swept over the others. "But what about you guys?"
Ye Ping was the first to say, "Our family doesn't employ any female workers, and Chengming doesn't have any unmarried siblings, so there's no excitement at all."
She looked at Liu Yu with a mocking expression, "There must be quite a few people who want to become Liu's live-in sons-in-law lately."
Liu Yu's expression was somewhat unnatural, but she quickly said, "The conditions for the disaster victims are too poor. I myself rely on my parents' family for food, how can I bring back another freeloader?"
The Huo family's personal guards were quite well-off, but unfortunately, she couldn't let her son become a military household member along with her.
Even if she didn't become a military household, she worried that her remarried husband would mistreat Yuanyuan when she wasn't looking.
She had made up her mind not to remarry until Fang Yuan was old enough to protect himself.
Su Ying twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, a smug look on her face: "My Xiong Mao does have a few women eyeing him. Those women think I can't see through them? Humph, when it comes to seducing men, I know better than them."
Lu Qing and the others: "..." There's no need to be so proud.
Su Ying said, "My Xiong Mao isn't blind. With such a beautiful wife like me, why would he look at other simple porridge and side dishes?"
Although most men are prone to cheating, she looked radiant after using the medical pod for beauty treatments, which enhanced her already beautiful appearance even more, making Xiong Mao want to be with her every single moment.
Looking at other women?
Those who are not as good-looking as her, not as good-looking as her, and not as good at martial arts as her are not even considered as simple dishes, but as worthless food.
Men who cheat on their partners can be picky eaters too, you know.
Su Ying glanced at Li Yue and said, "If you ask me, the one most worth mentioning is Yue."
Wu Yang is outstanding in every way; there are many women who want to marry him. Seeing other women flirting with him, don't you really have any feelings for him at all?
Li Yue was slightly taken aback. "Of course..."
He realized something was wrong as soon as he said it, his eyes instantly regained their clarity, and he glared angrily at Su Ying: "Don't use your abilities on me!"
Su Ying, who thought she was about to succeed, pouted in disappointment and snorted, "Even if you did say something, it was your true feelings that you kept in your heart. I was just guiding you a little."
"I'm just afraid that if you keep acting awkward, you'll end up fooling yourself. If someone steals your boyfriend, you'll have to put on a brave face and offer your blessings at Wu Yang's wedding to another woman, while secretly finding a corner to cry in regret."
Li Yue's expression stiffened slightly. "If someone cries, they can get married if they want to. It's none of my business."
Su Ying gave him a meaningful look, saying, "You'd better really think that way."
Lu Qing and the others exchanged a knowing glance.
It seems they aren't entirely without a sense of crisis.
To avoid provoking Li Yue's rebellious nature by talking too much, the group quickly changed the subject to other men and women who had been targeted by the disaster victims.
Li Yue appeared to be listening, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.
As darkness fell, the women reluctantly went home, planning to inquire further about the situation the next day and continue their conversation.
Li Yue knew that her younger brother was most likely still in the training room, so she didn't go straight home. Instead, she planned to go to the training room first to pick him up.
Halfway there, they saw Wu Yang's familiar figure.
Li Yue paused, hesitating whether to take a detour to avoid him. But before she could turn her head, she caught a glimpse of Wu Yang's body shifting slightly, revealing another pretty woman who had been hidden from him.
From her perspective, Wu Yang's slightly bent-over manner as he spoke to the other person appeared exceptionally intimate.
Li Yue's expression changed slightly.
—I'm just afraid that you'll really get cheated on, and while you're putting on a brave face and sending your blessings at someone else's wedding, you'll secretly find a corner to cry with regret.
Su Ying's slightly mocking words still echoed in his ears. Li Yue stood frozen in place for a moment, gritted his teeth, and quietly took a few steps closer from their blind spot, silently pricking up his ears.
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