Chapter 25 Two Old Men
"Children, you are survivors, right? What's going on outside?" The white-haired old man walked up with a smile, his steps were very steady despite his age.
Han Shuo gave the fat man a meaningful look, and the fat man understood immediately.
"Yes, there are too many zombies outside. We got lost when we escaped and stumbled our way here." Fatty was usually quite talkative, so he was clearly more socially adept than Han Shuo.
Han Shuo is not yet able to fully determine whether the two elderly people are as normal as they appear, and the fat man needs to probe them with words.
“Oh dear, poor children. My wife and I have never seen any other survivors in over a month.”
The white-haired old man seemed to understand the hardships Han Shuo and the other two had endured, and a look of heartache crossed his face.
"Yeah, it's terrifying outside. We were just lucky to survive." The fat man looked like a simple, honest boy at this moment, and he even put on a fearful expression as he spoke.
"Honey, hurry up and cook. The children should come inside first; they must be starving. Tell me slowly, tell me slowly."
The white-haired old man turned around and called out to his wife. Then, he took the fat man's hands in his own and gently stroked them, as if trying to drive away the fat man's fear as soon as possible.
"Thank you, sir."
The fat man was deeply moved. Han Shuo saw that he almost wanted to cry, and he admired him greatly!
Led by the old man, Han Shuo and the other two walked into the Western-style building.
Through their brief exchange, Han Shuo didn't notice anything unusual, but he vaguely felt that the old man was being a bit too enthusiastic.
Of course, after the zombies appeared, there were fewer and fewer survivors. For the first time in more than a month, the old man saw people other than them and was overjoyed. It is normal for him to have such enthusiasm.
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Han Shuo thought to himself, and soon he entered the house. He looked around and realized that this family was obviously very wealthy before the disaster.
Not only does it have a separate ranch, but although the decorations in the mansion are not luxurious, the furniture is all made of expensive mahogany.
In the center of the living room on the first floor was a table, and several paintings that Han Shuo couldn't understand were pasted on the wall. There was no sofa, only wooden chairs.
There are several closed rooms on the side, complete with bathrooms and kitchens.
At that moment, the old woman with the cane who had been there earlier was busy in the kitchen.
Overall, the layout of the first floor is not much different from most other homes.
Han Shuo also noticed a hunting rifle in a corner cabinet. The moment he saw the gun, Han Shuo's heart skipped a beat, but he remained silent and his expression did not change at all.
"Old folks, have you two always lived here?" the fat man slowly tried to strike up a conversation.
The white-haired old man showed no wariness towards the three of them. He answered whatever the fat man asked, always with a friendly smile on his face.
"Yes, we've lived here for over twenty years."
"So long? Sir, are the rooms on the second and third floors where your children live?" The fat man glanced at the stairs next to him.
The old man sighed deeply when the child was mentioned, as if he were saddened.
"Sigh—no, it's just my wife and me living here. Our children have their own houses in the city. They haven't come back for over a month since the day the fog rolled in, I'm afraid..."
Han Shuo understood. If the old man was telling the truth, then the old man was likely in grave danger.
The fat man cooperated, showing regret, and offered a few words of simple comfort before walking over to Han Shuo and Li Shurou.
"Grandpa, I haven't introduced you yet. These two are my friends. This is Han Shuo, and this is Li Shurou. Oh, and my name is Wu Chengbin."
"Thank you for taking us in, sir," Han Shuo and Li Shurou said to the old man together.
The old man stopped thinking about what had just happened and smiled again.
“It’s not easy for you three children to have survived. Don’t be shy, find a place to sit, make yourself at home,” the old man continued.
"Also, stop calling me 'old man' all the time. I'm just over 60. My surname is Jiang. Just call me Uncle Jiang."
“Okay, Uncle Jiang.” The fat man showed no sign of being shy and kept calling him Uncle Jiang.
Within ten minutes of the three entering, the fat man had won over Uncle Jiang's heart, frequently making Uncle Jiang laugh heartily with his words.
During this time, Li Shurou went to the kitchen to help, while Han Shuo chatted with Fatty and Uncle Jiang.
To avoid making their intentions too obvious, the group chatted about everyday things, and the fat man didn't continue to probe with his words.
Everything is normal.
When Jiang Bo wasn't looking, Han Shuo would always glance at the hunting rifle out of the corner of his eye.
The shotgun was in the cabinet, and for a moment, he couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.
On the surface, Han Shuo maintained a relaxed demeanor, but in reality, after what happened with Captain Wang, he remained cautious at all times.
...
Soon, about 20 minutes later, as darkness fell, dinner was ready. Under the warm hospitality of Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang, Han Shuo and the other two finally had a decent meal for the first time since the apocalypse.
Of course, the three of them only started using their chopsticks after seeing the two elders put the food in their mouths.
Most of the dishes on the table were stir-fried green vegetables, all grown by the elderly couple themselves in front of their house. In the center of the table was a plate of cured meat, which made the fat man's mouth water. The staple food was rice.
The group ate and chatted.
Han Shuo learned that the two of them had learned about the world's dramatic changes from television.
Jiang Bo was aware of the existence of zombies, but he called them terrifying things.
The elderly couple had a son and a daughter who achieved great success in their careers at a young age, earning a lot of money and buying this place to leave for their retirement.
Apart from Jiang Bo's wife having some difficulty with her right leg, the two elderly people are in relatively good health, so they have never hired a nanny or housekeeper to take care of them.
After the catastrophe began, because this place was relatively remote and few people came, there were naturally even fewer zombies.
Although there was no flaw in the two elders' words, Han Shuo did not believe that the two elders would be so lucky as to not encounter a single zombie.
So, when the conversation reached this point, Han Shuo asked a question.
"Uncle Jiang, have you two never encountered any zombies?"
"Zombies?" Uncle Jiang asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Those terrifying creatures you're talking about are now collectively referred to as zombies outside."
Uncle Jiang understood, but his smile remained.
"Of course I've encountered them. But don't let my age fool you, I'm quite daring, and I've taken care of them all." After saying that, Uncle Jiang even puffed out his chest like a child, revealing a proud expression.
"Wow, that's impressive! Did you serve in the military when you were young? You're in such good health; those guys weren't easy to deal with." Han Shuo continued to press.
"Haha! It's not as powerful as you make it out to be. My old arms and legs can't take much more. I rely on this!"
Hearing Han Shuo's praise, Uncle Jiang blushed and felt a little embarrassed. He got up and walked to the cabinet in the corner, where he took out the hunting rifle that Han Shuo had seen earlier.
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