As dusk settled in a car repair shop near the highway, Shi Xiaomei brought soup and dishes to the table and called out, "Come and eat quickly, it'll get cold soon."
In the corner, Zhou Bin, who was in a horse stance, took off the two small iron weights hanging from his wrists and ran over in a flash.
Zhang Xiaomei slapped away his outstretched hand and pointed to the basin of water next to her, "It smells like rust, go wash your hands."
Zhou Bin's hand was slapped away, but he wasn't angry. He just smiled and responded, then turned around and ran to wash his hands quickly. He came to the table and spread out his fair and delicate hands for Zhang Xiaomei to see.
Zhang Xiaomei nodded in satisfaction and turned to greet Shi Lan.
A sound came from the bottom of the dusty jeep, and Shi Lan, covered in oil, crawled out.
"No, the wear and tear is too severe. Even if it's repaired, it probably won't go very far."
Shi Lan threw down the wrench, frowned, and looked somewhat worried.
Zhang Xiaomei wrung out a towel and handed it to her, comforting her, "It's alright, Zhou Ren and the others have really messed with this car, it's a miracle it made it this far."
Shi Lan spread out a towel, wiped her face and hands, and said, "I'll go look for a sturdier car tomorrow morning."
Zhang Xiaomei nodded, and Zhou Bin, seeing that the food on the table was getting colder, quickly called out, "Sister Shi, Sister Zhang, come and eat!"
Shi Lan looked up and saw that Zhou Bin clearly wanted to eat, but he was trying to suppress his drool and act sensible and well-behaved. Shi Lan felt a pang of sadness.
Before the disaster struck, weren't these little children the darlings of their families? They weren't given all the delicacies they wanted, but they could eat whatever they wanted. When would they ever drool over stewed cured pork and cabbage?
“Coming right away,” Shi Lan said, draping the towel aside and walking over with Zhang Xiaomei.
The three sat down, and Zhou Bin looked around before awkwardly placing pieces of cured meat from the plate onto Shi Lan and Zhang Xiaomei respectively.
Shi Lan affectionately patted his head and whispered, "Good boy, let's eat."
The three of them then began to eat. Suddenly, the sound of a car braking came from outside the door. Shi Lan stopped eating and gestured for the other two to be quiet.
Zhang Xiaomei quickly went to hug Zhou Bin, but Zhou Bin reached out his little hand, pulled her, and twisted his chubby body away from her embrace. Instead, he stood beside her and silently said, "I'll protect my sister."
Shi Lan nodded at his action. Zhang Xiaomei's foundation was too weak. Although she had practiced some kung fu, she hadn't accumulated enough internal energy in such a short time. Even if she used her moves, they would only be fancy moves. Zhou Bin's awakened ability was speed, and he was just a child. Most people wouldn't be wary of him. With him taking Zhang Xiaomei with him, they could avoid enemy attacks in the first place, and after that... she would naturally stop the danger.
A few steps away, the heavy roller shutter door rattled as someone knocked lightly.
Is anyone inside?
Shi Lan stood holding her breath in the corner near the door, without answering.
The visitor waited quietly for a moment, seemingly certain that someone was inside, and then said, "I'm really sorry for disturbing you." As soon as he finished speaking, the roller shutter made a piercing 'whoosh' sound, and most of the entire door panel was rolled up.
Under the bright headlights, a figure appeared in the halo of light.
Shi Lan squinted and, taking advantage of the fact that his line of sight was limited before the roller shutter door was fully rolled up, launched a direct attack.
The man seemed to sense the danger and instinctively turned to the side. A dark, sharp light silently flashed past his neck.
The icy wind carried a hint of murderous intent. The man's back stiffened, and he quickly dodged two steps to the side, avoiding Shi Lan's fatal blow as well as Shi Lan's sweeping leg attack aimed at his lower body.
The man's face turned pale, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Madam, I mean no harm. I just want to find a place to stay after dark."
Shi Lan stopped and stared at him cautiously, only then realizing that this person was the same man she had met at the gas station earlier.
Seeing that she didn't move, the man raised his hand and touched his neck, which was covered in goosebumps, and said, "Madam, we meet again."
Shi Lan snorted coldly and remained silent.
The man glanced inside, his nostrils flaring involuntarily, and said, "Would I have the honor of dining with you all?"
Shi Lan glared at him, ignoring him completely, and stepped inside, raising her hand to close the roller shutter.
The man quickly opened the car door, took out a five-pound bag of rice, and said, "Of course, in return, I'm willing to use this as a reward."
Shi Lan didn't even glance at it and continued pulling the door. Zhang Xiaomei looked at the bag of rice, glanced down at the dining table, and quickly said, "Wait a minute."
Shi Lan frowned and stopped what she was doing.
Zhang Xiaomei ran quickly to Shi Lan, gave her a fawning smile, tilted her head, and asked through the half-drawn roller shutter, "Are you telling the truth?"
The man knew there was a chance when he heard her ask that question, so he quickly offered the bag of rice and smiled ingratiatingly, "To be honest, I've been living on biscuits and canned food these days. I was planning to just make do with that until I got to the base, but the food you make is so delicious that I couldn't resist coming over to bother you."
Zhang Xiaomei was overjoyed by his unintentional flattery, but she still retained her basic sense of self-defense. She quickly ran to the table, picked out half of the dishes, and took two fried buns, handing them over.
Here, take it.
The man quickly took it, thanking him repeatedly.
Zhang Xiaomei ignored his thanks, grabbed the rice bag, and swiftly pulled it back into her spatial storage.
Shi Lan was helpless against her greedy nature and could only smile bitterly to herself.
After drawing the curtain, the three of them sat down again.
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