Eternal Sword

Chapter 44

When Chen Tang returned home, it was almost four o'clock in the morning.

He pushed open the door and entered.

There was an oil lamp lit on the table. When the wind from the open door blew in, the flame suddenly became dim and the light in the room dimmed.

Chen Tang's eyesight was not affected by the darkness, and he saw two figures lying on the table. One of them was Qing Mu, and the other was Zhi Wei.

The fat old man actually ran to the outer room, spread out his bedding on the other side of the stove, and fell asleep on his side.

The yellow dog also found a warm and comfortable place beside the fireplace and took a nap with his eyes closed.

When Chen Tang saw this scene, he unconsciously felt a little warm in his heart.

He hasn't felt this way in a long time.

Even in his previous life, he worked away from home all year round and lived alone. When he returned home, he was faced with an empty room.

No one was waiting.

The only thing waiting for him was a cold cat who ignored him.

The scene he saw at this moment seemed a little unfamiliar to him.

Is this home?
When Zhiwei heard the noise at the door, she stood up reflexively, opened her sleepy eyes, rubbed them with her hands, and confirmed that it was Chen Tang who came back, then she smiled happily: "Brother Atang, you're back!"

"Fortunately, you are back."

When Qing Mu heard the noise at the door, he looked up at Chen Tang and felt relieved.

"Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing here?"

Although Chen Tang was touched, he still frowned and asked.

"It's more than just not sleeping."

Qing Mu said: "This child prepared the meal, but when he saw that you never came back, he didn't even eat a bite of the meal. No matter how much my master and I tried to persuade him, it was useless."

"Luckily, you didn't stay out for a month this time."

Finally, Qing Mu gave Chen Tang a blank look, like a young wife, with a hint of resentment in her tone.

Chen Tang's eyes look at the nose, the nose looks at the mouth, and the mouth looks at the heart. He sees but does not see, and hears but does not hear.

"Brother Atang, you haven't eaten yet, right?"

Zhiwei tiptoed to the stove, lifted the lid of the pot clumsily, put it aside, touched the dishes inside, laughed again, and whispered, "It's still warm."

After Zhiwei said this, Chen Tang really felt hungry.

Zhiwei brought out several dishes and placed them on the table one by one.

There are meat and vegetables, and they are delicious and tasty.

When I came back, there was someone waiting for me with warm food.

There is also a charming woman sitting next to you, who jokes with you from time to time.

Chen Tang didn't even dare to think about it in his dreams.

Qing Mu said: "During the day, Zhiwei blamed Xiao Huang, saying that he almost got into trouble. He also asked me if it was because of Xiao Huang that you left without saying goodbye and refused to come back."

The yellow dog came up to Chen Tang, shaking its head and wagging its tail, as if it really realized its mistake, and whimpered softly.

"Be good, I don't blame you."

Chen Tang reached out and rubbed Xiao Huang for a few times, saying, "I know a big cat in the mountains, her name is Xue Tuan'er, it matches your name well, I'll introduce her to you later."

Xiao Huang was very happy to hear this and started barking.

Chen Tang gave a strange smile.

Zhiwei filled a large bowl of rice for Chen Tang and placed it in front of him. Then she sat back and said expectantly, "Brother Atang, please try it."

"Have a meal!"

Chen Tang had been salivating with greed for a long time, so he picked up the bowl and started eating.

"delicious!"

Maybe it was because he was hungry or because Zhiwei’s cooking skills were really good, but Chen Tang felt that the meal was particularly delicious, even better than the feasts he had eaten in his previous life.

"You didn't eat at night either, let's eat together."

Seeing that Zhiwei didn't move his chopsticks and just watched him eat from the opposite side, Chen Tang couldn't help but ask.

Zhiwei said, "I will eat after Brother Atang finishes eating."

"What's this for? Eating together makes the meal more delicious!"

Chen Tang said: "It's boring for me to eat alone."

Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Chen Tang's tone left no room for doubt, she had to slowly stand up, take a bowl, fill it with some rice, and return to the table.

Over the years, she had been sold from one home to another as a maid. In every home, she had to wait for her master to finish his meal before she could eat. It had become a habit for her.

She eats whatever is left.

Zhiwei took the bowl, picked up a few vegetable leaves from a few plates and covered the rice, then took the bowl and ran to the stove next to her and started eating in small bites. "What are you doing?"

Chen Tang was stunned for a moment, then seemed to think of something, pointed to the table, and said with a straight face: "Come and eat!"

"This, this is not good, it's against the rules..."

Zhiwei quickly shook his head.

Chen Tang didn't waste time talking to her. He stood up, picked up Zhiwei, pressed her down on the table, and said, "This is my home. There are no such bullshit rules. What I say is the rule!"

Zhiwei's eyes were slightly red, and she stammered, "But, but I am..."

Chen Tang waved his hand and said, "No one here treats you as a maid, so don't feel any burden."

"Brother Atang, I want to repay you...repay you all."

Zhiwei looked at Chen Tang, then at Qingmu.

"You cook for everyone, that's your way of repaying me, so eat!"

Chen Tang urged, and then seeing the vegetable leaves in Zhiwei's bowl, he picked up large chunks of meat from the plate and piled them into Zhiwei's bowl like a small mountain.

"This, this is too much..."

Zhiwei was a little overwhelmed.

"not much!"

Chen Tang said, "You are at your age, it is the time for you to grow, you need to eat more! Oh, you cooked this meal, you must eat more! This is the first rule of the house!"

Zhiwei didn't say anything.

She just lowered her head, pursed her lips, and tears rolled into the bowl like pearls.

She picked at the food in the bowl and swallowed it in big gulps mixed with her tears.

Tears are a bit salty.

The food is particularly delicious.

Qing Mu watched this scene with a smile, stood up and walked to the fat old man, and said with a smile: "Master, stop pretending to sleep, I won!"

"Okay, you can judge people better than Master."

The fat old man still didn't turn around and muttered something.

This kid is indeed a little different. He is different from others and has a bad temper towards me.

I failed to show off last time, but he ended up pretending to be something big.

I have to find an opportunity to show off again tomorrow and let him see what I can do.

Not long after, Chen Tang and Zhiwei finished their meal.

"I'll clean it up tomorrow, go to bed first!"

Chen Tang felt lazy and waved his hand.

Zhiwei wanted to say something but stopped.

How can you leave dishes and chopsticks overnight?

If she was at someone else's house and didn't wash the used dishes immediately, she would be afraid of being beaten again.

Then she thought again.

This is Brother Atang’s home, so you should listen to him.

Qingmu smiled, took Zhiwei's little hand, and went into the inner room.

When Chen Tang saw this scene, he finally understood why the fat old man ran to the outer room to sleep.

"Hey, you're coming out to keep me company?"

Chen Tang asked with a grin.

The fat old man snorted and said, "It's just that it's too crowded for three people to sleep. I like to be quiet, so I came out by myself."

An old man and a young boy sat on the floor around the stove and soon fell asleep.

Zhiwei was lying on the hot kang in the inner room, but couldn't fall asleep.

In the darkness, she opened her bright eyes, her mind full of thoughts.

She hasn't felt this happy for a long time.

Is this home?
My mother was with me in my childhood home, but my memories of that time are already a little fuzzy.

She even had trouble remembering what her mother looked like.

And here, she felt the long-lost warmth again.

is this real?
Zhiwei, from now on, you have a home and you don’t have to wander anymore.

(End of this chapter)