Chapter 52
Looking at the intricate patterns on the hilt and the gleaming blade, Tong Shu's breath caught in her throat for a moment. She was certain that this dagger was a product of Wen Shaocheng's game space, and no one but the two of them could see it.
"This...this is too much trouble." Tong Shu rubbed her hands on the seam of her pants, saying sorry, but her hand had already reached out and taken the dagger.
"Be careful, it's already been sharpened, it's very sharp," Wen Shaocheng warned.
"Oh, oh." Tong Shu held the knife hilt and examined it repeatedly, liking it more and more with each look.
Wen Shaocheng could tell from her expression that she was satisfied. He went up and pointed out her grip, saying, "There's another scabbard. I'll give it to you in the next transaction."
"...Who trades in half and half?" Tong Shu glared at him and muttered.
Wen Shaocheng joked with her in a good mood: "There's nothing I can do. My game space can only be used to pick up some trash and do some handicrafts. It's not as big and powerful as Island Master Tong's. If I want to do business with you, I have to be careful with my money."
Tong Shu felt embarrassed by his words, turned her head away without replying, and carefully put the knife into her backpack.
The two worked until late into the night. In the end, Tong Shu couldn't bear to let Wen Shaocheng, a major, carry flour all night, so she gritted her teeth and helped him fill the shelves.
After locking the hatch, Tong Shu swung her aching arms and walked to the deck. Forgetting all about appearances, she plopped down and leaned on the deck, gazing at the stars. Since the natural disaster, the stars that had disappeared due to light pollution had reappeared one after another, sparsely dotting the night sky, creating a beautiful sight.
Wen Shaocheng didn't stand on ceremony and sat down next to her, looking up at the sky with her.
The two sat quietly for a while, neither speaking nor feeling uncomfortable.
"I thought you would take this opportunity to ambush me," Wen Shaocheng said, staring at the back of Tong Shu's head and curling the corners of his mouth.
Tong Shu had actually had this idea as soon as she stepped out of the cabin, but unfortunately, she was too weak in her arms and legs. "If you can guess that now is the time for a sneak attack, then it's not a good time to launch a sneak attack," Tong Shu argued.
Wen Shaocheng didn't deny it. If she made a move now, he wouldn't mind pretending not to know and letting her succeed once. During this period, Tong Shu came to his door almost every day. She even secretly inquired about his lunch break time from Liu Wanqi, taking the opportunity to sneak over and ambush him. Wen Shaocheng also realized that this was less about being eager for quick success and more about using him as a sparring partner. He also felt Tong Shu's growth in his defense every day. The force of her punches was getting stronger and stronger.
"You've certainly put in a lot of effort behind the scenes," Wen Shaocheng said, subtly observing her. "What are you planning to do?"
Amazed by his keen insight, Tong Shu dared not reveal a word: "It's just for improving my health. I just want to have another way to save my life in the future."
Seeing that she didn't want to talk, Wen Shaocheng didn't force her. It would be dawn soon, so he got up, took Tong Shu's hand, and the two walked back to the residential area side by side.
With Wen Shaocheng's help, the Faith Point collection mission could continue to advance. However, the military's resources were limited, and Wen Shaocheng, as the person in charge, could not make it too obvious. Fortunately, Tong Shu was not in a hurry to advance the mission, so she let it proceed slowly.
After training with the soldiers, Tong Shu would occasionally wander around the office. Every time she went, she would see several people loitering outside the iron gate, peeking inside from time to time. There was no door on the top floor, and the iron gate alone could not block other people's view. Tong Shu knew that they had been eyeing the supplies. In order to prevent people from getting impatient and having bad intentions if the supplies were moved too quickly, she specifically instructed her family to move the things in the warehouse first.
Days passed by, and it was soon the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
That morning, Shu Hua got up early to make a pot of Laba porridge. When everyone was drinking the steaming porridge, they suddenly realized that the New Year was just around the corner.
Tong Shu greeted Shu Hua and took a thermos of Laba porridge to the supply ship to find Wen Shaocheng. Zhu Cheng happened to be there as well. The crops in the greenhouse had not been growing well in the past few months, and the grain stored in the cellar was dwindling day by day. Zhu Cheng was getting anxious. The supplies for Section Chief Li had to be distributed according to labor, and he couldn't take care of the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the community. So he had no choice but to ask Wen Shaocheng for help to see if the military could lend a hand.
With Tong Shu's help, Wen Shaocheng had no shortage of supplies, but he didn't agree immediately. He only told Zhu Cheng to wait a few more days, and he would send messages to other districts to see if they could borrow some supplies. He would return them when the greenhouses produced some produce.
Zhu Cheng was not optimistic about this; even the northern part of their city was struggling financially, let alone the other districts.
"Director Zhu, are you leaving already? I brought a pot of Laba porridge. You and the Major can share a bowl." Tong Shu bumped into Zhu Cheng, who was hanging his head, and called out to stop him.
"...Laba porridge, oh, is it already Laba?" Zhu Cheng squinted, counting the days, his nose tingling slightly. The New Year was just around the corner. In previous years, he would go home to spend this time with his parents, wife, and children. His mother's Laba porridge was always delicious and fragrant. Now, with no news from his family, he was worried about whether he would have enough to eat in the future, and he had even forgotten about the days.
Tong Shu ladled out a lid of Laba porridge and handed it to Zhu Cheng. Zhu Cheng took it in a daze, and the fragrant aroma of rice pulled him out of his sorrow. He sniffed, blew away the rising steam from the bowl, and took a big gulp of porridge.
"This porridge is well-cooked; it tastes just like the New Year," Zhu Cheng said with a forced smile. Only Tong Shu's family had enough food to spare and could afford to cook Laba porridge for the festival. A hint of envy appeared in Zhu Cheng's eyes. When will the world return to normal so that everyone can have a peaceful and happy New Year?
"...There's still rice at home, but not much of the other grains. My mom gathered them all together and made a pot of porridge, so everyone got a little to share with us for the festival," Tong Shu said carefully, afraid that he might feel uncomfortable.
Zhu Cheng smiled and said, "I just happened to come to see Major Wen, so I'm taking advantage of his presence to celebrate Laba Festival."
Tong Shu quickly waved her hand: "No, that's not true. If I don't see you here, I'll still go out of my way to bring you a bowl."
After finishing his porridge, Zhu Cheng took his leave. Tong Shu remained silent, lost in thought, and casually handed the rest of the pot to Wen Shaocheng.
Wen Shaocheng took the pot, stared at the bare spout and laughed helplessly. Was he supposed to just hold the pot and drink the porridge directly?
"Do you have a spoon?" he prompted.
"Oh." Tong Shu slowly rummaged in her pocket, took out a white porcelain spoon, and handed it to him.
Just as Wen Shaocheng was about to reach for it, everything went blurry before his eyes. Tong Shu's other hand, which was in her pocket, swung in a half-circle and struck him squarely on the back of the neck. Wen Shaocheng instinctively tried to block it, but in a flash, he saw the steaming Laba porridge in his hand and was reluctant to let go. He could only tense his muscles and let Tong Shu's hand hit the back of his neck. A tingling and numb sensation ran through his neck as the white porcelain spoon was turned around and pointed at his Adam's apple.
Wen Shaocheng looked up at Tong Shu. The woman's expression had changed from being stunned to having a sly glint in her eyes. She raised her eyebrows at him triumphantly, as if waiting for his evaluation.
“Not bad.” Wen Shaocheng parted his thin lips slightly and uttered two words.
Tong Shu let out a deep breath. She had been incredibly nervous, her mind racing with how to execute the entire sequence of actions flawlessly while simultaneously lowering the guard of this battle-hardened major. Her breath was pounding in her chest, and she almost lost control.
"Major, am I up to standard?" Tong Shu looked at Wen Shaocheng expectantly.
With such rudimentary skills, even a greenhorn with three months of training could easily defeat her, without the need for a special forces team. However, Wen Shaocheng didn't want to discourage her. After all, she wasn't one of his soldiers, so there was no need to have high expectations of her. According to her, it was enough for her to have some ability to escape when facing bad guys.
He nodded and said, "You pass."
Tong Shu wasn't entirely satisfied with these words, but then she perked up and pressed Wen Shaocheng for an answer: "What's next? What are you going to teach me next?"
Wen Shaocheng raised his hand and took the white porcelain spoon from her grasp, shook the thermos flask he hadn't put down, and said, "Let me have some porridge first?"
"...Oh." Tong Shu blushed, suppressing her excitement, and obediently sat down opposite him to wait for him to finish his porridge.
Although Wen Shaocheng was a soldier, he ate very politely. And despite his politeness, he was also very quick. While Tong Shu was still examining the little bit of his undershirt collar that was showing on his neck, he had already finished the rest of the Laba porridge.
"What are you looking at?" Wen Shaocheng asked, looking up at her.
When she was caught peeking, Tong Shu didn't feel embarrassed at all. She pointed to his neck and asked, "Is the shirt you're wearing underneath a gift from me?"
Wen Shaocheng was surprised by her sudden comment, and a slight flush rose to his face. He didn't know how to respond, so he simply nodded.
Tong Shu smiled and asked, "Is it warm? This is my reward for completing a task. My aunt used it to make several sets of thermal underwear."
Wen Shaocheng understood. No wonder this set of clothes was so warm. He was in a good mood, and wearing this set of clothes made it much easier for him to move around without having to wear a thick vest underneath.
"It's definitely a good product."
Seeing that he had finished eating, Tong Shu rolled her eyes and asked again, "Tell me quickly, what are you going to teach me next?"
Wen Shaocheng already had a plan in mind. He clasped his hands together, rubbed his fingers, and asked, "Are you interested in practicing shooting?"
Upon hearing this, Tong Shu became excited. She tried her best to suppress her inner turmoil, bit her lip, and nodded firmly.
Seeing that she was willing, Wen Shaocheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that the young girl wouldn't be interested in firearms.
Tong Shu hadn't really been interested in firearms before, but things are different now. Having a gun in his hand is much more reliable than having a body full of muscles.
“Then come find me every evening after you finish practicing, and I’ll take you up the mountain to practice until it gets dark and we’ll go home and continue the practice early in the morning.” The lighting isn’t very good at these times, and the marksmanship developed under these conditions is suitable for ambushes in the dark, which fits Tong Shu’s style.
Tong Shu naturally had no objections, nodding vigorously. After thanking Wen Shaocheng, she picked up the empty thermos and left the supply ship with light steps.
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