Volume One, Chapter Four: Charging for Taking Care of Grandfather—Is the Gold Enough?

“Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say, I just don’t want to listen. My ears haven’t been good lately—what goes in one ear just comes out the other,” Qin Fan said lazily, unwilling to argue with the old lady.

“Qin Fan, why don’t you take these two phones over to your eldest uncle’s family and see if they’ll give you a few bucks for them?” the old lady insisted again.

“A few bucks, huh? Sure! If he already has that kind of money, why would he need my phones? Doesn’t he know how to buy his own?” Qin Fan retorted.

“You! He’s your eldest uncle. Isn’t it right to show him some filial respect? Besides, your eldest uncle is educated, a cultured man. His son works in the city, and it’d be nice for each of them to have a phone—makes a good impression,” the old lady said with a broad smile, proudly mentioning her eldest son.

“Heh! What impressive wealth! Then why are you still sitting here with us? Why doesn’t he take you away to eat well and dress fine? Why do we even have to pay to take care of grandpa when he’s sick?” Qin Fan snapped.

“You even made me buy grandpa’s coffin. Your eldest uncle is really filial,” Qin Fan sneered.

“That’s nonsense! Not true at all!” the old lady denied sharply.

Qin Fan, hiding his true feelings from the old lady, had no desire to engage further. In the past, when he was still studying and couldn’t contribute financially, such disputes would spread through the whole village in no time. But now that he had money, he wasn’t afraid of his eldest uncle. If the old lady favored the eldest son, let her. But if she wanted to lay a finger on him, she was dreaming.

“Ah, Xiao Fan, don’t quarrel with your grandmother. If she goes out and says something, you’ll be branded the unfilial grandson of the village, and that would be a disgrace,” Li Ping hurriedly admonished.

“I’m telling you, don’t sully your eldest uncle’s reputation,” the old lady warned.

“Fine, I won’t say anything. After all, you’ve always treated us like outsiders,” Qin Fan said wearily. Since birth, his grandmother had never treated him kindly—strict and biased.

“Mom, these clothes are from grandma and grandpa’s side. It’s hot now, and they’ve worked hard. You should take these clothes to show some filial piety,” Qin Fan said with a smile.

“All right! Your grandparents will surely be happy,” Li Ping’s eyes glistened with emotion. Since marrying into the Qin family, though her husband was kind, the mother-in-law was harsh.

“Mom, you better go quickly,” Qin Fan urged, fearing the old lady might say something else.

“Okay, okay, I’m going right now!”

“By the way, Xiao Fan, have you prepared anything for your grandmother?” Qin Yong asked.

“Dad, I want to, but you know how grandma thinks I waste money. I’m afraid if I buy something for her, she’ll just say I’m being wasteful. Besides, she said ‘a stitch in time saves nine,’ and grandma’s clothes aren’t even a year old,” Qin Fan explained.

As soon as he spoke, the old lady’s face turned a dark purplish red.

“You’re truly my good grandson! Thank you, thank you for saving money,” the old lady said, her legs trembling.

Qin Yong didn’t know what to say and could only nod awkwardly.

“My mom really knows how to teach!” Qin Fan chuckled.

“Dad, my mom knows how to use those phones. Let her teach you later. I have some things to do, so I’ll head inside first,” Qin Fan said.

“All right!”

“Qin Yong, you’re such a rebellious son.”

“Mom, didn’t you teach me to save money?” Qin Yong smiled proudly. After all these years, he finally felt comfortable once.

...

Inside the room.

Qin Fan quickly opened the strange folding phone and launched a livestream in an unknown channel, but found that the other party hadn’t appeared.

“Damn! Could something have happened? That world is crawling with zombies and it’s a natural disaster. Could the other side have—”

...

On the other side of the world.

Sweat poured down Dongfang Wan’er’s forehead as she wrapped her wounds, blood still flowing freely. Beside her, Shen Hui was utterly exhausted.

“Captain, are your wounds serious?” Shen Hui asked anxiously.

“They’re just scrapes and bruises, nothing fatal,” Dongfang Wan’er bit her lip.

“These gold pieces are the most important. The more we find, the better chance we have to survive.”

They had just gone out from the base to search for gold when acid rain caught them by surprise. Night fell faster than usual, and the crazed creatures appeared earlier than expected. The two were chased relentlessly until they finally reached a safe spot.

“Captain, you really don’t have to push yourself so hard alone. If it weren’t for me and my wife and kids...” Shen Hui felt guilty. Food and drink were all exchanged by Dongfang Wan’er. If it weren’t for the larger number of people, she wouldn’t have needed to search for so much gold.

“Don’t blame yourself. Remember, I brought you out. You’re like a brother to me. There’s nothing to feel guilty about,” Dongfang Wan’er smiled.

“But—”

“Enough. We need to be cautious and head back quickly. Though we have water, those others might get jealous.”

Dongfang Wan’er had been out for two days. At this point, two days without returning could only mean death.

“All right! We haven’t been back for two days. These people are starving. If we don’t go back, it’ll be dangerous,” the two cautiously made their way back, hiding along the way.

Inside the base.

“By the way, those two from the National Ability Bureau—are they dead outside? They haven’t come back for so long.”

Besides them, the base was filled with many people—bosses, famous figures, even some beggars.

“Those two guys haven’t returned in two days. They’re probably dead,” some men whispered.

“Definitely. Didn’t they have meat buns a few days ago? If they went out, they wouldn’t let that mother and daughter starve. If they can’t come back, we’ll just seize their supplies. In this apocalypse, they won’t survive anyway,” another said.

Three days passed.

Qin Fan was still waiting for a message from the other side.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the two weakly approached the base entrance.

“Captain, I feel utterly drained. After battling those filthy creatures yesterday, my energy is nearly depleted,” Shen Hui leaned against the wall weakly.

Suddenly, Dongfang Wan’er sensed something.

She opened her psychic space and a bag of bread rolls fell out.

“White steamed buns!”

“Captain!” Shen Hui’s eyes sparkled with hunger as he grabbed the buns and devoured them.

“Could Qin Fan have found resources? Or is he short on money?” Shen Hui wondered.

“Shen Hui, stop eating those. Save some for the girl. Quickly, take out the gold!” Dongfang Wan’er commanded.

Still gobbling down the buns, Shen Hui hurriedly pulled out a pile of gold.

Dongfang Wan’er took it all and stored it in her psychic space, then called out urgently:

“Qin Fan, are you there?”

“Yes!”

At last, the old phone responded. Qin Fan, who had been dozing, suddenly shot up, excited. This was the root of his future wealth.

After three days, he finally heard the other side’s voice and held a small bag of gold in his hand.

“So much!”

“Qin Fan, did you find resources? We found some gold; see if it’s enough. If not, we’ll keep looking,” Dongfang Wan’er asked.