Fireside Night Chats

Rong Xianxian was completely unaware of Ning Qingyun's painful struggle.

Chongzhou.

Rong Xianxian and her group retraced their steps back to the villa area as dusk began to fall. At this hour, they would normally either be practicing meditation or resting.

Having labored the whole day with fairly fruitful results, and having made do with a few biscuits for breakfast and lunch, everyone's stomachs were now rumbling with hunger. Rong Xianxian decided to make hot pot.

She dragged over the monster they had hunted along the way today, eviscerating, skining, and deboning it. The meat was tender, fine-grained, and firm. With white light flashing rapidly in his hands, Cui Lie controlled his flying knives, slicing the meat into even, moderately thick, translucent pieces that were neatly arranged on the cutting board.

Wang Quirui still did not get to eat the dried sea cucumbers he wished for, as rehydrating them took a long time, and everyone's stomachs simply could not wait.

Vacuum-packed solid hot pot base was dropped into a rolling boil, and the bright red broth instantly released a fragrant, spicy, and numbing aroma, complemented by a few pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms to elevate the savory depth.

Rong Xianxian laid out the ready-made hot pot dipping sauces, along with simple and accessible condiments like chili paste and fermented bean curd.

Although prepared dipping sauces lacked the aroma of custom-blended ones, they made up for it in convenience and simplicity. Water and electricity had been cut off for nearly a month, and the leafy greens in supermarkets had long since rotted into mush. Fortunately, there were durable vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions, along with some vacuum-packed corn, dried bean curd skin rolls, pressed tofu skin, Chinese sausage, red sausage, and fish balls, all of which were arranged on plates alongside wide sweet potato noodles.

Rong Xianxian lit a circle of candles around the dining table. Amidst the flickering candlelight and the rich, hot aroma of food, swallowing a slice of tender and savory meat brought a deep sense of happiness and satisfaction to everyone's hearts.

As night fell, the occasional strange cries of nocturnal animals drifted in from outside.

Gathered around the dining table, everyone ate with hearty enthusiasm, and in no time at all, more than half of the fresh meat had disappeared.

"This is so delicious!" Wang Quirui, who hadn't stopped eating since the start, exclaimed with satisfaction.

"Sister Rong, this cassette stove is so incredibly useful. It's a blessing that you had it at home; otherwise, even getting a hot meal right now would be difficult. Why would you have prepared a stove like this? Did you used to like picnicking?" Xia Kai looked across the table at Rong Xianxian through the rising steam.

"I did want to travel around a bit, but because the children were still small, I never got around to it. My home is in the countryside, where the electrical wiring is old and can't handle high-wattage appliances, so I bought these two stoves to take back home. I just hadn't had the chance to send them yet," Rong Xianxian said with a smile.

"Sister Rong, your parents..." Xia Kai asked tentatively.

"The day before the apocalypse, I still spoke with them on the phone. I wonder how they are doing now," Rong Xianxian replied.

In her past life, she had only wanted to bring her children safely to their father's side so they could have a better life, and she never thought of going home to visit.

Rong Xianxian came from a rural family and had an older brother. While her parents had shown her a fair amount of affection growing up, ever since she was old enough to understand, she knew that everything in the house belonged to her brother, and that a daughter would eventually belong to another family.

In her previous life, she had neither the energy nor the ability to go home and see if her parents were safe.

"Don't you want to go home and check on them?" Xia Kai asked.

Wang Lin kicked Xia Kai under the table; going home to check in such an environment was an extravagant wish.

"I do, of course I do. My parents live with my older brother. The house they recently renovated has a very tall courtyard wall. In the countryside, houses are single-family courtyard units, and they had stored quite a bit of food at home, so the possibility of them surviving is quite high. My parents even have a vegetable plot right inside their courtyard. I was the one who bought that large courtyard for them, and I also paid for the house renovations. That's why I've always felt somewhat at ease. What about you guys? Do you miss your homes?"

Rong Xianxian looked around the table, finally letting her gaze rest on Cui Lie.

Cui Lie had always been taciturn. Seeing Rong Xianxian's gaze upon him, he proactively put down his chopsticks, paused for a moment, and began to share his story—a past he had never mentioned to anyone before.

"When I was five years old, my mother died in a car accident. My father went away to work, and later started a new family. I never saw him again after that. I was raised by my grandparents, practiced martial arts from a young age, and later joined the military. My grandparents passed away long ago, and now I have no one left in this world to worry about." A young girl's figure flashed through Cui Lie's mind. He glanced at Rong Xianxian, whose eyes were gentle, and silently added in his heart, *The person I worry about is right in front of me.*

Rong Xianxian then turned to look at Xia Kai.

"My parents only have me as a son, and I also have an older sister. In other families, people tend to favor boys over girls, but in my family it was the exact opposite. My sister is pretty and has great grades; she was always my parents' pride. As for me, after graduating high school, I worked odd jobs outside and only came home for festivals and the New Year. Before the apocalypse, my parents were helping my sister look after her kids. I wonder how they are now?" Unconcealed worry was written all over Xia Kai's face.

"I also have an older brother. After my parents bought a house and a car and funded my brother's wedding, they were left with heavy debts. The money I saved in the military, along with the settlement pay given when I was discharged, were all given to them to pay off those debts. Not long ago, they called and told me to save my money well, that in the future I would have to rely entirely on myself to get married, and they even said they wouldn't mind if I married into a woman's family and lived with them." Wang Quirui was the youngest among them. Normally he appeared sunny, cheerful, enthusiastic, and kind, but mentioning his parents now, his expression turned dim.

"Even so, I still worry about them very much. I hope to have the chance to go back and check on them someday," Wang Quirui said with a smile, his eyes holding a sense of relief.

"My parents and my brother both love me dearly, but I'm not worried about them because I'm the weakest one in the family. I just hope they don't worry about me too much," Wang Lin said with a relaxed expression.

"There's a younger brother at home. He's two years younger than me, but he's taller than I am. Our village's ancestors were hunters, and every family has skilled hunters adept at tracking in the forests. Everyone in the village is related by blood or marriage, so facing this kind of world, they will definitely band together. That's much better than me struggling alone out here. Fortunately, I met Sister Rong, or else my little life would have been forfeited long ago," Jiang Jie scratched his head and smiled with honest simplicity.

Hearing this, Rong Xianxian understood clearly in her heart: Cui Lie had no living relatives left and no burdens on his mind; Wang Lin had a mission to fulfill and would be wherever Rong Xianxian was; Jiang Jie owed Rong Xianxian two lifesaving debts. These three had no objections to Rong Xianxian's decisions.

Wang Quirui and Xia Kai were different, however.

Both of them had attachments in their hearts.

When Xia Kai asked whether she wanted to go home, it was actually because *they* wanted to go home!

Rong Xianxian could certainly have avoided this topic, and Wang Quirui and Xia Kai wouldn't have been foolish enough to leave the team.

However, since they were companions traveling the same road, Rong Xianxian still preferred that there were no barriers or estrangements among them.