By the time we finished eating, it was completely dark.
It would be too late to return to the planting area from the city, so Zhao Xiaoxiu decided to find a hotel nearby with her father to stay for the night and go back the next day.
Now that she saw that the Meng family mother and her two children were all safe and sound, she felt relieved.
As for what happens next, let's talk about it after this winter is over.
The house was so small that Granny Meng felt bad about letting Zhao Gang and his daughter squeeze into the house, so she asked Meng Er to take them to a nearby hotel and help them get a room.
Before leaving, Grandma Meng pinched her son's ear and repeatedly instructed him: "Get a nice room, and remember to pay the bill yourself, do you hear me?!"
Meng Er, hissing, quickly replied, "I know." He pulled his ear away from his mother's grasp and hurriedly slipped out the door.
"Brother Gangzi, let's go."
Zhao Gang's backpack, which was packed full when he arrived, has now been emptied, leaving only Zhao Xiaoxiu's change of clothes and her shoes that she had just dried.
It's good to have a pair of waterproof rain boots on snowy days, Zhao Gang thought to himself, and planned to go to the Hope Base's supply station to buy rain boots for the cubs before going home tomorrow.
There are many small hotels nearby, but management is lax now, and the local customs are extremely open, with a touch of ecchiness.
Meng Er specifically chose a quiet place to avoid any negative impact on the children.
He walked ahead the whole way, with the father and daughter following behind. The room was booked by Meng Er, who specially requested a large room with a heater, which cost him 120 points, but he didn't feel bad at all.
After seeing the father and daughter to their room, Meng Er scratched his head and said, "Brother Gangzi, see if there's anything else you're missing. I'll go ask the boss to bring it up right away."
The door opened, and Zhao Xiaoxiu rushed in first, full of expectations for the hotel environment, but was greatly disappointed.
The small room, about twelve square meters in size, was unfinished. Floral fabrics covered the cold gray cement walls, and a carpet on the floor was so dirty that its original color was no longer visible.
A wobbly light bulb hangs from the ceiling. A large bed, about 1.5 meters wide, is placed against the wall, next to a small bedside table with a power outlet and a kettle on it.
There were two plastic chairs at the head of the bed, and a white plastic basin on the chairs. The basin was printed with the red logo of a hospital area before the disaster, and there were two gray-pink dry towels inside.
Golden velvet curtains hung on glass windows covered with wire mesh security bars. Several black marks from cigarette ash or lighter burns were clearly visible, making the entire curtain fabric look scarred and patchy.
A small heater, placed under the curtains, that's all there is in the room.
The only thing that comforted Zhao Xiaoxiu was that the bedding looked relatively clean, the blankets were thick, and there was a Simmons mattress.
I sneaked up and sniffed it, but there was no strange smell.
There is no toilet inside the house. To get water or use the toilet, you have to go to the public area at the end of the corridor. You also have to spend extra points to get water.
Using the toilet is free, but you can't take a shower.
Zhao Gang looked at his cub and asked her if there was anything she needed that Meng Er could bring up.
"I want a chamber pot," Zhao Xiaoxiu said to her father in a slightly embarrassed voice. That way, she wouldn't have to go to the public toilet when she got up in the middle of the night, which would be more convenient.
Zhao Gang nodded and went out to loudly tell Meng Er, who was standing outside the door, "Xiao Xiu said she needs a chamber pot!"
Zhao Xiaoxiu's breath hitched.
Doesn't she have any dignity? Dad, why are you shouting like that!
He frantically waved his hands, trying to stop them, but it was too late.
Meng Er turned and rushed to the front desk downstairs, saying, "Boss, do you have any bedpans? It's inconvenient for the child to get up at night!"
Zhao Xiaoxiu took a long breath, spread her arms wide, and collapsed face down onto the bed, utterly exhausted.
Those two damn loudmouths!
Meng Er brought up the chamber pot that the innkeeper had lent him for free and then went back.
Zhao Gang spent ten points to buy a kettle of water, heated it up, and poured it into a basin mixed with cold water so that Zhao Xiaoxiu could wipe her face and hands, and soak her little feet before going to bed.
The heater was plugged in and turned on to its highest setting. Because the room wasn't big, the temperature rose quickly.
After tidying herself up, Zhao Xiaoxiu took out her phone to charge and played the Tetris game that came with the phone for a while. Her eyelids started to droop uncontrollably.
Without realizing it, her head tilted to the side, and the grip on her hand loosened, causing the phone to slide down. If she hadn't reacted quickly, it would have hit that rosy little face.
He gently removed the phone and placed it on the bedside table, then helped her adjust her sleeping position, turned off the light, and the room was immediately plunged into darkness.
After a moment of silence, the light in the room brightened slightly, coming from the neon lights projected from the high-rise buildings in the inner city in the distance.
Zhao Gang took off his coat and lay down outside to shield the cub in his arms from the cold wind seeping in through the window cracks. Tentacles moved a chair over and placed it beside the bed, then lifted the heater onto the chair and positioned it facing the bed. The small corner where the father and daughter were quickly warmed up and made them sweat.
Zhao Xiaoxiu was so hot that she stretched her hand out from under the covers. She opened her eyes groggily and was caught off guard when she met Zhao Gang's two vertical pupils right in front of her. Half of her drowsiness was jolted awake.
"Dad, why aren't you sleeping?" Zhao Xiaoxiu asked lazily, her eyes half-open.
Zhao Gang thought for a while and said, "I don't want to sleep."
Zhao Xiaoxiu: "Okay..." Then she went back to sleep.
The little one snuggled closer to his father and exclaimed, "The hotel bed is so comfortable!" He closed his eyes and soon began to snore.
It was late at night, the neon billboards on the distant buildings had been turned off, and the noise from upstairs and downstairs had gradually faded away.
At two o'clock in the morning, only the repair workers and pouring machines outside the high wall were still working.
Suddenly, the defense alarm on the high wall watchtower sounded "whoosh-whoosh," waking people from their sleep.
The hotel was filled with the sounds of panicked activity from the guests, and there was a loud banging on the door.
The hotel staff on duty shouted, "Wake up, everyone! The giant mutated python is back!"
"Emergency notification from the defense center: All residents in the area adjacent to the high wall must immediately evacuate to a safe area three kilometers away from the high wall!"
"Boss, whose fee should we pay? At least half should be refunded, right?"
The hotel owner angrily cursed, "Do you guys care about points or your lives? What kind of time is this to keep saying this? Get out of here, quick, quick, quick..."
Zhao Xiaoxiu opened her eyes instantly and sat up in bed. Everything in front of her was pitch black. "Dad?"
Zhao Gang hummed in agreement and slowly helped Zhao Xiaoxiu put on her clothes, shoes, and socks.
The room was dark to allow the other tentacles to move around. In less than half a minute, Zhao Gang had slung the packed backpack over his shoulder, picked up Zhao Xiaoxiu with one hand, and the father and daughter opened the door and went out.
The hotel was doing very well, with almost no vacancies. The corridors were full of people, mostly members of hunting groups who came to seek thrills or relax and have parties. They rested at the hotel as the night wore on.
Even after the alarm went off, he was still arguing with the hotel owner about the refund fee.
Zhao Gang carried his daughter through the crowd and quickly went downstairs to the street.
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