Rotting Land: Survive-Chapter 350 - 772

"No need, Uncle Zhao, I can keep watch here. You go ahead and eat!" Tang Xiaoquan, already feeling guilty for the group’s predicament, couldn’t bear to trouble others because of him.

Tang Xiaoquan’s refusal was already anticipated by Old Zhao. Wang Qiang’s earlier skepticism seemed to have a significant impact on him, and it wasn’t a small one.

Since Tang Xiaoquan felt guilty, it was obviously inappropriate to dwell on whether he should come in for dinner. So Old Zhao simply squatted down and sat. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Seeing Old Zhao sit on the ground, Tang Xiaoquan hurriedly tried to persuade him, "Oh, Uncle Zhao, what are you doing? It’s really okay with me here. You’ve been busy all day, hurry and eat!"

Old Zhao shook his head like a drum: "Fine, you go eat, I just got a bit tired from cooking and I’m just resting here in the breeze."

"How can that be? The wind is too strong. If you want to rest, go inside and lie down. Besides, the food will get cold soon!" Tang Xiaoquan frowned, speaking seriously.

"No problem, no problem!" Old Zhao didn’t take Tang Xiaoquan’s words seriously, chuckling, "The food’s still warm in the survival pot; it won’t get cold. If it does, I’ll just heat it up again."

"Old Zhao, you don’t..."

"Any new movements from the factory?" Old Zhao interrupted and changed the subject.

"No!" Sure enough, as soon as the factory was mentioned, Tang Xiaoquan’s expression turned somber, his previous stubbornness vanished.

Old Zhao sighed inwardly; the young man before him had worried too much about the villa’s matters. There was no reason to burden him with unfounded accusations and doubts: "No movements are normal. We just thwarted their sneak attack yesterday and even killed two people. They must be wary, and I doubt they’ll act again so soon."

Old Zhao’s attempt to console did little. Tang Xiaoquan remained silent, not responding to what he said.

A gust of northern wind blew through, and Old Zhao instinctively looked up at the sky. The snow was easing, with only a few flakes drifting in the air. He couldn’t help but remark, "Looks like tomorrow will be good weather!"

Tang Xiaoquan absent-mindedly replied "Hmm" and continued eating his meal.

Originally intending to lighten Tang Xiaoquan’s heart through casual conversation, Old Zhao realized the attempt was ineffective. So with the reticent Tang Xiaoquan, he decided to be direct. Adjusting his sitting position to be more comfortable, he said:

"Xiao Tang, just now, Xiao Wang’s words might have been too harsh, but he meant no harm. Just listen, but don’t take it to heart. His temper these days is irritable, and you know the reasons even without me explaining. So you should continue with your plans and not let his words affect you. Don’t feel your plan is troubling everyone. Since it’s based on analysis, there will be errors or mistakes. We don’t need to overthink the correctness of the analysis. What we should do is to correct any deviations quickly and get closer to the truth, eliminating dangers as the top priority."

"Thank you!" Old Zhao’s gesture moved Tang Xiaoquan. He didn’t even have his meal, just to come up and say comforting words. How could he hold on to petty grievances? But due to pride, even though Wang Qiang’s words mattered to him, he couldn’t show it. "Old Zhao, I’m fine. Maybe watching for so long has made me look dazed, sorry to worry you. Haha. As for what Qiangzi said, why would I take it to heart? That’s just his straightforward nature. Plus, his doubts have some validity, and there are indeed areas I should reflect on."

"Ah, that’s good. I’m relieved. Alright, I’m rested enough. I’ll head down to eat and come up to relieve you later. If the food isn’t enough, just call me, and I’ll bring more up." With that, Old Zhao stood up and dusted off his pants.

"No need, Uncle Zhao, after you finish eating, just rest early. I’ll take the night shift!"

"Nonsense, we must take turns at night. Without shifts, none of us would have the energy. If we doze off and miss something, the day’s effort would be wasted. So listen to your Uncle Zhao. Later, I’ll relieve you, and we’ll alternate every 3 hours. That’s settled." Old Zhao decisively ended the conversation and left, leaving no room for argument.

Tang Xiaoquan thought it through and realized arguing was pointless. He was exhausted, and pushing further would only mess things up.

Wang Zhongyu lay comfortably on the metal boards of the cargo truck, savoring a cigarette. In front of him, Wenquanxin was belching repeatedly.

"Hey, Xiao Wen, can you stop with the burping? You’re not a hen!" Wang Zhongyu teased out of boredom.

Wenquanxin kicked him hard without hesitation: "You’re the hen, your whole family are hens, dammit. I burp and you’re bothered? You must be stuffed full too!"

"Come on, can’t even take a joke! Let’s be serious then. Tonight, you sleep in the cargo box, I’ll stay in the driver’s seat for the night, in case anything happens, it’ll be easier to escape." Wang Zhongyu said seriously, his playful tone gone.

Wenquanxin couldn’t agree, knowing the cargo was safer: "No way, you sleep in the cargo, I’m sleeping up front."

"You sleep? In an emergency, can you handle this truck?"

Wenquanxin was speechless, hit right where it hurt.

He could drive but rarely had a chance, mostly driving smaller cars.

In an emergency, he knew he wasn’t as capable as Wang Zhongyu.

Wang Zhongyu wasn’t showing off his driving skills; he wanted Wenquanxin to rest well given the tiring day, so he eased his tone: "Xiao Wen, Old Xu might give us a task tonight, so I really need to be in the driver’s seat ready to leave. Meanwhile, take this time to rest so we have full energy when we move."

"But you’re staying in the front, that’s no place to sleep!"

"It’s fine, you don’t drive often, so you wouldn’t know. We long-time drivers can sleep anywhere, grab naps as a routine habit. Let’s not argue, it’s decided." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)