RNP Chapter 538 This person, this tree, this city.
Chapter 538 This person, this tree, this city.
When the group was teleported to the city lord's mansion again by Xu Si, Zheng Fangzhou still did not realize what method Xu Si had used.
His gaze, however, was drawn to the statue in front of the city lord's mansion.
The statue in front of the city lord's mansion is of Xu Si, not Fu Xiaojian, who is the leader, which shows that Xu Si is the core figure of the City of Fire.
"Please come in..."
As Fu Xiaojian invited Zheng Fangzhou inside, he spoke to the air.
"Mingming, make a pot of hot tea!"
It was clearly a grilled sausage, but only Fu Xiaojian called her by her real name, Chang Mingming.
The reception room of the city lord's mansion was much simpler than Zheng Fangzhou had imagined.
The stone walls were not heavily decorated, the ground was paved with smooth bluestone slabs, and the tables and chairs were all made of stone with intricate patterns, showing that they were made with care.
In the corner, a few unidentified wildflowers were stuck in a stone jar. Their stems and leaves were emerald green, and their petals were pale purple. They were slightly unfurling in the morning light, clearly having been picked not long ago.
Zheng Fangzhou's gaze lingered on those few wildflowers for a moment.
This thing was everywhere before the apocalypse, but after the apocalypse, 20,000 miles away in the ocean where he was hiding, he had not seen a truly living plant that did not grow from a hydroponic rack for a long time.
All of this was beyond his imagination; even at headquarters, they had never been this wealthy and leisurely.
When everyone was homeless, wandering and struggling to survive in the end times, this place truly felt like a haven.
"Sit down." Fu Xiaojian sat down in the main seat and gestured to the stone bench opposite him.
Zheng Fangzhou didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down on the stone bench with his back straight and his hands naturally resting on his knees. His gaze quickly swept between Xu Si and Fu Xiaojian before finally settling on Xu Si.
The young man was younger and more relaxed than he had imagined.
Xu Si leaned back on the throne, his posture languid, still pondering how to further advance the evolution of that starlight.
His starry eyes were half-open, like a raccoon that had been basking in the sun, seemingly indifferent to everything in front of him.
But Zheng Fangzhou knew that this was just a facade.
Facing this young man, he, a veteran Sequence 7, felt unprecedented pressure.
"The tea's here! Let's have some tea before we get down to business." As the footsteps drew near, the sausage, accompanied by Da Huang, entered.
Seemingly sensing Xu Si's presence, the big yellow dog stopped abruptly at the door.
"Try it, this is this year's new tea, it's only been picked for less than two days!" Fu Xiaojian gestured to Zheng Fangzhou.
Zheng Fangzhou's gaze fell on the little girl in front of him and the big yellow dog that was obediently squatting at the door.
Is the high price unusual?
Why are you here?
Don't they know?
"Brother Dao, have some tea!" The little girl had prepared a real teacup for Xiao Si, not a stone cup.
Nirvana split off a small disc that held the teacup in mid-air, which amazed the little girl.
"How's Dahuang doing lately? Has he been throwing a tantrum?"
"No, Big Yellow is fine. He hasn't been stealing chickens lately!"
During this time, she followed Da Huang everywhere, so Da Huang didn't have time to do anything bad.
Da Huang glanced timidly at Xu Si, then glared fiercely at Zheng Fangzhou before leaving with the sausage.
The shock in Zheng Fangzhou's heart was like the steam rising from a teacup.
He now seems like Granny Liu, who has just entered the Grand View Garden, as everything in the City of Fire keeps refreshing his understanding.
Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing's gazes fell on Zheng Fangzhou, and then they picked up their teacups and took a sip with a half-smile.
This is exactly the effect I wanted.
Guess how much wealth our City of Fire still has?
Zheng Fangzhou picked up the teacup, and the moment his fingertips touched the cup, the warm sensation made him feel momentarily dazed.
He glanced down at the tea in his cup—clear and green, with a few tender buds slowly unfurling in the water, like jade that had been moistened by time, gradually releasing the fragrance that had been accumulating for who knows how long.
Although the cup is made of stone, it does not affect the refreshing quality of the tea at all.
He took a small sip.
The bitterness melted on the tip of his tongue, followed by a sweet aftertaste that was long and clear, like a gust of wind passing through a valley, blowing away some of the pent-up emotions that had been building up in his chest for who knows how long.
Even the fatigue he had endured along the way quietly dissipated with this sip of tea.
"Good tea," he said.
Actually, he had a lot to say, but he changed his mind.
He'll be staying here for a few days, and there are some things he can't say right now.
"What is the purpose of Zheng Zhushi's trip?" Fu Xiaojian asked leisurely after everyone's attention had been drawn back.
"Just call me Zheng Fangzhou! I'm unworthy of the title 'pillar of society,' or if you don't mind that I'm a few years older, you can call me Brother Zheng or Big Brother Zheng!" Zheng Fangzhou adopted a very humble attitude.
This was unexpected by Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing.
Even Xu Si couldn't help but glance at him again.
This is someone who can take things in stride and let them go easily.
"Brother Zheng, you're too kind. Every time the apocalypse comes, Brother Zheng has crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. You truly deserve the title of pillar of strength."
That's true. Zheng Fangzhou and the other three stepped forward when the country was in crisis. Although they couldn't save the country from disaster, they did give the Great Xia a chance to catch its breath.
Otherwise, the current situation will only deteriorate further.
Zheng Fangzhou shook his head and did not dwell on the topic any further. Only those who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the nation deserve to be called pillars of society.
He doesn't deserve it.
"Your place here..."
His gaze swept over the furnishings of the reception room. Several hastily drawn paintings and calligraphy on the stone wall were clearly hand-painted, with childlike brushstrokes, like the exercises of a few children in a school.
The wildflowers in the stone jar in the corner were in full bloom, and the morning light shone through the cracks in the window, falling on the petals and giving them a soft glow.
All of this is perfectly normal.
It's so normal it doesn't feel like the apocalypse.
Could it be that he had spent too long in the underwater hub, becoming accustomed to those faces suppressed to the extreme, and to those conversations always tinged with vigilance?
Has the end of the world already passed?
Is he out of touch?
Are we falling behind the times?
Everything here is so different.
This person, this tree, this city.
Everything was so normal it was almost abnormal.
It gave him a feeling of being out of control and confused.
Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing exchanged a glance, naturally understanding the deeper meaning behind Zheng Fangzhou's words.
Every outsider is amazed by the uniqueness of the City of Fire, but this is also the very meaning of the City of Fire's existence.
No?
Everything is getting better and better, isn't that what everyone is pursuing?
In fact, sometimes Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing would wake up in the middle of the night.
They were equally impressed by the achievements of the City of Fire.
I was shocked that it was all not just a mirage.
Everything is real and within reach.
Sometimes they would sit up in the middle of the night and laugh like idiots, laughing at yesterday's harvest and laughing at today's expectations.
They experienced more unreality than Zheng Fangzhou.