บท 52: Radiating Golden Light
Craig approached and asked, "Do you have any vacant rooms at your homes where we can stay for a day? We'll leave tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing about the supplies, the locals were very welcoming to the supply convoy. "I have three empty rooms at my place. There are beds and quilts inside. You can stay at my house."
"I used to run an inn at home. We have many rooms, and they are very comfortable. Come stay at my place."
Craig let the convoy members negotiate on their own. "You can go to any local's house, but make sure to discuss the conditions for the supplies first."
Hurley and Alice chose the woman who owned the inn. Alice asked, "What supplies do you need for a room?"
The woman promptly replied, "Just bring whatever you think is appropriate—food or warm clothing will do."Not knowing what they had, she didn't expect to get exactly what she wanted.
Alice turned and opened the trunk, taking out a pound of rice and a few ounces of wood ear mushrooms. "Is this enough?"
"More than enough," the landlady exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the white rice, expressing her delight.
Hurley, on the other hand, took out a pork elbow. "This is my rent."
The landlady stared at Hurley as if he was radiating golden light.Please come in." The landlady enthusiastically took the items from them and welcomed them into the house.
The two chose rooms on the second floor, with Hurley staying next to Alice. The room's furnishings weren't much different from a regular inn. The landlady apologized, "After the extreme cold arrived, we lost power, and only the water is still available."
"As long as there's a bed," Alice replied, not being picky.
"Then I won't disturb your rest." The landlady happily went downstairs, thinking about stewing a pork trotter for dinner tonight.
Craig informed everyone that they would leave tomorrow morning. After putting down their belongings, Alice took out two char siu buns and a cup of soy milk from her space, filling their stomachs before anything else.Upstairs, there was also a balcony, but unfortunately, the vast expanse of white snow outside offered no view at all. After closing the doors and windows, Alice folded the blankets on the bed and then took out a mattress, a quilt, and a pillow from her space.
Alice changed into her pajamas and lay on the bed. After staying up all night, drowsiness quickly took over. Hurley, not used to sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, took all the bedding from the bed and set up his tent on top of it.
The snow outside the window had stopped, but the sky remained dark. When Alice woke up again, it was already 2:00 PM. She decided to take a bath, took out a bathtub from her space, poured in hot water, and mixed it with cold water.
After enjoying a comfortable hot bath, Alice changed into a new set of clothes and put on her temperature-regulating suit before heading downstairs.
The inn's landlady was busy welcoming a group of people. Alice noticed someone familiar among them. Cecilia looked up and saw Alice, waving at her with a smile. "What a coincidence, you're staying here too."
The landlady looked at Alice and cheerfully said, "You two know each other? Then stay here together; it's good to have someone to chat with, right?"
Alice remained expressionless, not as familiar as Cecilia. She nodded slightly, acknowledging the greeting.
The landlady looked at Alice and said, "We only have three rooms left upstairs. Since you two are friends, how about sharing a room?"
Cecilia felt a bit awkward and explained, "You misunderstood. We're not friends; we just lived in the same safe house and met before."
The landlady glanced at Alice's expressionless face and smiled apologetically at Cecilia. "How about this, I'll take you to find other locals. Their houses are also very clean, and they sleep on a kang bed, which is particularly warm."
The landlady asked Alice with a smiling face, "Where is your convoy heading?"
"Looking for supplies." Alice replied.
Craig had cautioned them not to mention their grain transport mission to anyone to avoid trouble.
Cecilia, who was busy registering names, took a moment to say, "It's snowing heavily outside every day, and we can't find. The residential areas and office buildings have long been looted clean. Your trip might end up empty-handed."
"Can't say that for sure; there must be some overlooked opportunities," the landlady said with a smile. "If you come back this way and decide to stay here, I'll give you a discount."
"If we pass by here on our way back, we'll definitely stay at your place," Alice added.
The landlady then suggested, "How about cooking tonight? I can lend you the kitchen; there's firewood inside, feel free to use it."
"Thank you," Alice replied with a slight smile.
The landlady turned to Cecilia, asking, "Are you also looking for supplies?"
Cecilia replied, "No, we are escorting a family of four back to their hometown. Our reward is the work credits they accumulated in the safe house."
"That's an interesting arrangement!" The landlady exclaimed.
"Yes, they've accumulated a total of five thousand work credits. We, the eight of us, will share the credits, which can be used to buy things in the safe house, similar to supplies. Escorting people is much safer than transporting goods, fortunately, we haven't encountered any robbers on the way," Cecilia explained with a gentle smile.
Alice, curious, asked, "Are there no people leaving the town?"
The sound of children's laughter could still be faintly heard inside the room.
"Who said that? We used to have over ten thousand people in our town, and now there's only about a tenth left. Most of them are old people and children without parents," the landlady sighed. "The propagandists all say how great the safe houses are, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'd rather stay here."Her home's cellar stored plenty of food, and occasionally people came to stay. With these supplies, it was enough for her to live alone for two years.
The landlady inquired about how life was in the safe house. Cecilia naturally presented it in a positive light, "There's no shortage of water or electricity in the safe house. There are various workshops inside where you can earn work credits through your labor. Work credits can be used to buy things
"Is it really that good?" The landlady's interest was piqued. "Are there no unruly people, robbing and looting on the streets?"
Cecilia replied, "I haven't encountered it yet, but there's always danger everywhere. In this world, there is no absolutely safe place. It's just that compared to the outside, the safe house is relatively safer."
"That makes sense," the landlady nodded in agreement.
Alice noticed that the snow had stopped outside, so she took a stroll around the town.
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