A tent stood out among the various sheds in the Fifth Camp as it was considered a luxury.
Tang Ling had exchanged the tent from Quark’s after he got a piece of weird stone the man requested.
That time, Tang Ling got tangled up in the web of spotted jumping euophrys spiders and almost lost his life because of that.
Nevertheless, he did not regret it at all. He could provide his grandmother and little sister with the best living conditions at all costs.
Looking at the familiar tent, excitement and warmth surged in Tang Ling’s heart. They had lived dependently on each other for a very long time, so leaving for three days felt like nothing but worrying and missing each other.
Just when Tang Ling was about to reach his tent, a small figure dashed out from inside quickly and jumped into his arms.
The familiar fragrance of dried pogostemon stellatus made Tang Ling tighten his arms without thinking.
“Brother.” The meek voice held a trace of grievance.
Tang Ling caressed his sister’s hair in his arms. His heart was filled with tenderness as he carried her into the tent.
The tent was dark until Tang Ling lit up the gasolene lamp. Then, he noticed that the fireplace in the middle had not been kindled. A piece of half-eaten nutrition bar was placed beside the bed filled with dried pogostemon stellatus leaves.
Nutrition bars, the cheapest food around provided by Safety Sector No. 17 could be traded with very few iron coins.
It was called a nutrition bar, but in fact, it could only keep a person from dying from starvation. It was devoid of taste and had the texture of wax.
It seemed like the food he left behind was too little, so they could not last for a whole three days.
With that guilty thought in mind, Tang Ling turned around and caressed San San’s petite face.
San San’s pair of cute googly eyes stared at him. When he caressed her, she smiled as though everything would be fine after her brother came back.
He built a warm fire in the fireplace before hanging a pot over it. Then, he crushed the nutrition bar with his hand, added some Level 4 drinking water, and boiled them.
No matter how hard life was, he had to ensure that his grandmother and little sister drank and ate lesser of the contamination.
The resources he had hidden in his tent was enough to turn eyes in the settlement, but they were all earned through Tang Ling’s hard work.
San San stared at the dried black-toothed rat meat and swallowed her saliva quietly.
Black-toothed rat meat was by no means tasty, but having meat in the settlement was not easy, therefore it was palatable.
San San was not disappointed that her brother had brought black-toothed rat meat back, not even the slightest bit. She was just anxious about why he did not shred the meat and add them to the nutrition paste.
Tang Ling playfully pinched his sister’s cheeks. Without a second thought, he took the uncontaminated meat that he had hidden in the tree trunk out. It should be the meat of a red-striped black-skinned snake. He shredded plenty of it and added them to the paste.
San San cheered delightedly. She loved drinking paste added with meat, especially when the added meat seemed a lot tastier than black-toothed rat.
“Where’s Grandma? Tang Ling wiped San San’s face with his sleeve while she locked her gaze on the pot with the boiling meat paste. She replied that her grandmother had gone out to collect items and had not come back.
Tang Ling sighed in his heart. While he was deep in thought, the curtains moved and a white-haired figure with a slightly hunched back appeared at the entrance.
It was Grandma.
Tang Ling stood up in a hurry and walked to his grandmother. With the dim gasolene lamp in the tent, Grandma saw Tang Ling and after that, her eyes shone with excitement. She even looked grateful and relieved.
It had been three days, and Tang Ling had finally come back safely.
Since her son and daughter-in-law passed away in an accident, every time Tang Ling went out, she would worry.
“Grandma, how’s today gains?” In Tang Ling’s heart, he really hoped that his grandmother would stop collecting scraps, but he still smiled, feigning anticipation as he asked.
In a life of poverty, no one would willingly be worthless, even a grandmother. That was unless oneself was powerful enough.
After Tang Ling’s question, Grandma said, “Today’s gains are quite normal, but I still managed to collect 1.5 kgs of scrap metal.”
As she spoke, she lowered the vine basket she carried on her back. It was empty save for several rusty metal bars.
It was not worth a lot. At most, it was tradeable for 2 pieces of nutrition bars.
As a matter of fact, according to settlement rules, collectors had to pay a percentage of their gains to the chief collector. Otherwise, they could not even keep the petty gains.
Tang Ling fell into silence while Grandma held his hand tightly as if she was afraid that he would disappear. All her warmth and care were more than words.
**
Tang Ling’s gains provided this impoverished family with a rare gluttonous feast.
Had it been in the past, exchanging for 500 grams of uncontaminated meat was considered a huge harvest already. Life had other needs after all.
After tidying up everything, Tang Ling carried San San, who was sleepy after a fulfilling meal, in his hands while he sat with his grandmother beside the fireplace.
Grandmother chattered about her scrap-collecting and shared her opinions and admiration towards the old civilization.
Of course, the old civilization existed, but as for what kind of era it was, the people in the settlement had no rights to learn, so it was natural for no one to know.
However, the relics and resources that it left behind were able to prove that it was a prosperous era. As for how the prosperous era turned into the current one? At least for the people of the settlement, it was difficult to fathom.
As for the rumors surrounding the old civilization, Grandma had spoken about it many times, and Tang Ling would listen with smiles and patience every time.
However, Tang Ling was troubled by his thoughts this time. As he listened to his grandmother, he caressed San San’s black hair in absent-minded anxiety.
Finally, he made up his mind. “Grandma, tomorrow...”
Grandmother was stunned because Tang Ling’s tone and expression planted slight anxiety in her heart.
Tang Ling exhaled a long breath and tried to speak with his grandmother in a casual tone, “Tomorrow, the Safety Sector is recruiting reserved warriors.”
Grandmother’s countenance changed. The shirt that Tang Ling had torn during his outing was in her hands as she was patching it up for him, but it fell into the fireplace because of her daze. She picked it up in a hurry and the sparks from the shirt burned her.
Nevertheless, she could not care less about that as she grabbed his hands and asked nervously, “Are you going?”
Tang Ling lowered his head and smacked the sparks on the shirt away before he lifted his head back up with a determined look. “I’m going.”
Grandma’s lips shuddered a little while she grabbed Tang Ling’s hands tighter.
Reserved warrior recruitment might sound like an honorable thing, but as a matter of fact, other than the warriors elected into the First and Second Reserved Camps, the rest were nothing but cannon-fodder.
They would be simply transferred into the warrior camp after several months of training. Then, they would follow the Purple Moon Warriors to open up new lands or collect resources.
Only a handful of them survived throughout the year.
As compensation, their family would be able to move into the Safety Sector and live a better life. It was also the reason why the people of the settlement were so eager to become a reserved warrior.
But, Grandma definitely would not want to qualify to move into the Safety Sector at the cost of Tang Ling’s life.
She knew too well in her heart that the teenagers in the settlement had absolutely no chance of entering the First and Second Reserved Camps.
In her heart, failure to be chosen was something to be grateful for instead.
But would Tang Ling fall off the selection list? She might not know about the others, but she understood how all these years, Tang Ling supported his and their lives. He had proven his abilities. Should he go, he would surely be selected as a reserved warrior.