Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 1002: Chapter 868: Poverty

Qu Jianlei couldn’t be bothered to respond to the middle-aged man’s question.

He had already made it clear that if someone was determined to go head-to-head, it wasn’t his problem.

Seeing that he remained silent, the middle-aged man lost his temper.

Recalling the rumored personality of that person, he didn’t want to take risks—it truly wasn’t his business.

So he raised his hand, pulled the chair from the reception over, and sat down directly.

Then he turned his head to glance at Celestial Sound, "Which year did you graduate?"

"Not long ago," Celestial Sound replied vaguely, "Just a nobody, you don’t need to ask."

"You’re not a nobody," the middle-aged man spoke meaningfully.

He couldn’t see the other’s cultivation level, suggesting someone had deliberately concealed it.

However, obviously, just being with these two supreme individuals, that luck alone was extraordinary.

Moreover, he heard what the other said earlier—during school days, her talent was comparable to Mu Yu!

"I’m just a nobody," Celestial Sound laughed self-deprecatingly.

If she hadn’t chosen the wrong person to rob, who knows if she would be dead in a ditch now?

Once upon a time, she believed she was the center of the world, and everyone else revolved around her.

But the experiences of her uncle’s family gave her a harsh awakening—even the Lord has fallen, how strong could she be?

And the reaction of the Rhodiola rosea team further confirmed it: in the eyes of the powerful, a B-level Light Attribute means little.

So she seriously suggested, "Senior, if it’s none of your business, don’t get involved."

"Hmm," the middle-aged man nodded, feeling a hint of affection for this young girl, the only warmth he gained today.

"Just call me senior, there’s no need to be so formal..."

Meanwhile, Zheng Tianwen looked at Mu Yu in the cage and wiped his forehead helplessly.

When he agreed to take in this grandaunt, it was partly due to family ties and a little personal calculation.

He had a cousin who once coveted the grandaunt’s wealth, but it didn’t pan out, and the family couldn’t even remain as relatives.

Zheng Tianwen despised that cousin, but he had never met the grandaunt—his father hadn’t either.

So there’s truly no affection, that little bit of kinship... is just that.

However, with family suffering, ignoring it was inappropriate, and at the time he was in the military, having a supreme backer was beneficial for his development.

But unfortunately, this grandaunt was more often incoherent than coherent.

Furthermore, when incoherent, she acted like a child of five or six, doing all sorts of outrageous things.

The key is that her combat value is still strong, although she doesn’t kill, flipping cars and knocking down houses is common.

When he took her in, the research center provided some money—to prevent others from taking advantage.

But that money... truly wasn’t enough to cover up for the grandaunt.

Having no choice, he locked her in a cage, even putting on restriction handcuffs.

What’s worse, when she was coherent, she wouldn’t help him navigate the connections.

So bringing back the grandaunt might have been the biggest mistake of his life.

However... he felt stuck, he couldn’t send her to a nursing home, that’s no place for respectable people!

After all, family is family, he didn’t want to be laughed at despite the predicament.

Because the grandaunt caused so much trouble, he was nearly fifty and still unmarried—who would want to bear such a burden?

Back in the day, Mu Yu was the pride of all Chaoyang, but now, she’s truly just a burden!

Especially two years ago, when during a mission, he lost his right arm and was forced to retire.

The military’s resettlement offer wasn’t bad, with a retirement fund and a small courtyard over a hundred square meters.

On Blessing Star, a courtyard over a hundred square meters is quite good; land here is genuinely valuable, even in remote areas.

The courtyard’s ownership belonged to the military, but it didn’t matter, as long as he was alive, he could live there, and after his death, the military would take it back.

In fact, if he rented out the courtyard’s use, or rented half of it, he wouldn’t worry about finding a wife.

But with such a huge burden at home... he’s truly speechless.

He sighed helplessly: If only my grandaunt would help network a bit, I wouldn’t be like this.

Not saying much, having a relatively decent job instead of perpetually collecting a pension would improve the quality of life.

Then perhaps he could marry and have children.

As for limb regeneration... he’s no longer hopeful, nearly fifty, no longer dreaming.

Just then, the courtyard door was pounded loudly—their makeshift wooden gate was due to financial constraints.

Zheng Xuewen could guess who it was, falling so far that he couldn’t even call on comrades.

He snorted irritably, "No replacement!"

"You cripple!" a furious voice sounded outside, "Really want to go against me?"

"This is the house allocated to me by the Military Region," Zheng Xuewen replied without bothering to say more.

Currently, he is in a state of absolute poverty, and the only valuable thing he owns is this house.

The property’s ownership doesn’t belong to him, but he can live there until he dies, and he’s even planted some vegetables in the yard.

The monthly subsidy from the Military Region is just enough to avoid starvation, and having some vegetables at least ensures some nutritional intake.

Zheng Xuewen himself is disabled, incapable of doing many types of work, and at home, there is an elderly great-aunt with limited capacity for self-care who also requires attention.

So he can only take on a few online jobs and, on occasion, leave the house but must return promptly.

Even in such circumstances, someone actually set their sights on his house, wanting to trade places with him.

The person is notoriously unreasonable and has some connections in the Military Region, so the proposal to trade houses was just something to listen to.

Zheng Xuewen is almost certain that after trading houses, the other party will make even more outrageous demands, eventually leaving him homeless on the streets.

Bullying honest people, isn’t this the usual way?

So from the very start, he firmly refused, and now he’s even less inclined to speak more.

If you have the ability, get an official document from the Military Region to kick me out of this house; otherwise, just give it a rest!

The other person, seeing his silence, sneered, "You like staying in the yard so much? Then don’t come out!"

Zheng Xuewen sighed lightly, this guy... really makes people sick.

Ever since he was targeted, he went out even less—if he got ambushed, he couldn’t even afford medical expenses.

Blessing Star is indeed a place where security is tight, but such petty people always have their ways.

He even knows how the other party has disgusted others before.

Throwing excrement on the door, dumping garbage on the road, these are acts they would do.

Such trivial matters, even if caught on surveillance, the City Guard wouldn’t waste resources tracking down the troublemakers.

And the garbage dumped at his door, he’d have to deal with it himself—because it’s at his doorstep.

Such acts are truly disgusting, considering he is disabled, it’s forcing someone into a dead end.

Feeling infuriated, he sneered, "Doesn’t seem like Supreme beat you enough?"

A while back, when forced into a corner, his great-aunt had a brief moment of clarity, and he decisively let her out.

Mu Yu didn’t kill, just directly grabbed the person and threw them more than ten meters away.

So occasionally letting great-aunt out once could also warn the other party.

The person outside hearing this also sneered, "What nonsense Supreme, if she injures people again, you won’t see her again!"

This statement isn’t wrong. Supreme is a pillar of the Empire, but an out-of-control Supreme would certainly be strictly contained by the Empire.

It’s only because Mu Yu hails from Chaoyang Academy and has done no great evil that family can take her home to care for her.

Zheng Xuewen also knows very well that if his great-aunt causes a big problem, he won’t be able to protect her either.

In fact, he could use this to get rid of the burden, but... if he really thought that way, he wouldn’t have brought her back in the first place.

Now, no matter where great-aunt is sent, the treatment won’t be better than the Nursing Home.

So he’s really conflicted, and at times can’t take it anymore, he’s thought about it, but in the end, his conscience won’t allow it.

In the past, he fantasized that great-aunt would gradually recover, and his hard days would come to an end.

But after twenty years, Mu Yu’s condition hasn’t improved at all, and he’s stopped hoping for it.

Yet, watching this silly great-aunt every day, over time, she truly feels like his own family.

Never see her again? Zheng Xuewen replied indifferently, "You better give up the thought, I won’t relinquish this house!"

"That’s not up to you!" The person outside sneered, "Looks like I really have to get the deed!"

Zheng Xuewen remained unmoved and replied nonchalantly, "Go ahead!"

"Getting the deed takes money!" The voice outside grew increasingly violent, "And it’ll all be on your account in the future!"

Hearing this, Zheng Xuewen remained silent. What the other party said could be true; the military now... isn’t as pure as before.

However, he also has comrades; whether the other party can forcibly take the house... that remains to be seen.

Just then, a dull thud was heard from outside the yard, followed immediately by a sharp wailing, piercing and shrill.

The one who shouted was the very person who was making threats just now.

In the next moment, the wailing stopped abruptly, followed by another voice.

The voice was exceptionally cold, as if the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees, "What did you just say... nonsense Supreme?"

Then there was the sound of murmuring; it was clear the person’s vocal cords were damaged.

The cold voice snorted and spoke again, "Zheng Xuewen, open the door, I came to visit a friend!"

"Who is this..." Zheng Xuewen furrowed his brow, who could be the friend outside?

He didn’t think about his great-aunt, because all her friends have already passed away.

However, in the next moment, he suddenly noticed tears welling up in great-aunt’s eyes inside the cage.

"Great-aunt, should I open the door?"

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