Chapter 21
Bro, you are honestly a little too generous.
This amount of money was enough to travel abroad. Buying some things, eating and drinking—he could not possibly spend that much. What travel expenses? It was basically just a disguised way of stuffing money into Jiang Qingyu’s hands.
Fine, fine. He would use this money to buy more supplies. The wool comes from the sheep, after all.
Jiang Qingyu could just use him to grind some experience. He could gain points and upgrade the RV system too.
Considering their upcoming itinerary, clothes, shoes, and boots were actually the most important things. Otherwise, there was no way they could withstand temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero.
Because of this, he specially drove the vehicle into the city and went around a large shopping mall, clearing out most of the inventory in those outdoor supply stores.
Aside from the things he bought for Fu Jingqiu, when Jiang Qingyu saw styles he liked, he also added a couple of pieces for himself.
Facts proved that once one started buying this kind of thing, it was impossible to stop. Jiang Qingyu regained the feeling he had when he first started stockpiling. It was completely a satisfying buying spree.
There was no need to look at prices. He only needed to look at performance and preference.
When they separated, Jiang Qingyu asked Fu Jingqiu if he had any preferences. Fu Jingqiu shook his head and said to choose according to Jiang Qingyu’s preference, as long as the colors were not too flashy.
When Fu Jingqiu was getting his ID reissued, Jiang Qingyu had accidentally seen his birth year and month. This person was only three years older than him, yet not only did he look extremely mature, even his preferences were this steady.
Jiang Qingyu asked if he had any preferred colors, and he answered with black, white, and gray, leaving Jiang Qingyu not even knowing how to respond.
True enough. After all, Fu Jingqiu himself would not be the one looking at what he wore. Jiang Qingyu would.
Shell jackets, down jackets, all kinds of inner layers and long pants, hiking shoes and snow boots, socks, scarves, gloves—once he started buying, he became ruthless, absorbed, and unstoppable. He only felt full of energy, wishing he could sweep through an entire building.
In fact, it was not far off from that.
In peaceful times, shopping was always very convenient.
Buying rice and flour, vegetables and meat—probably because there was now one more man, Jiang Qingyu became very free with his hands when stockpiling these things again. As long as there was stock, and the quality was good, he accepted all of it.
In one afternoon, while Fu Jingqiu was busy getting various documents reissued, transferring assets, and contacting his friends, Jiang Qingyu had already negotiated several big orders with different vendors. He drove a small truck with a changed “skin” all over the place, hauling goods and storing them in his space.
While he was at it, he also ran to several gas stations. Besides filling his super, super, super-large “fuel tank,” he also bought another batch of stock using iron barrels.
Before the RV was upgraded again, even if he drove on the road every day, it should be more than enough.
As long as it had not reached the point where he could no longer buy anything, he would buy a little whenever he had the chance.
Apart from that, several large water stations in the city were practically emptied by him. Jiang Qingyu, at one point, had reached the stage of spending lavishly.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he even put on a small disguise.
He had always kept a few sets of clothes in the vehicle that he would never normally wear. This was just the right time to wear them.
Today’s stockpiling was different from before. Because there was one more person, he could not leisurely wait for others to haul goods over, so today’s main focus was one word: fast.
He wanted ready stock. If goods needed to be transferred, it had to be quick. Ideally, the goods would be prepared and loaded onto the vehicle in the shortest time possible, and payment and goods would be settled on the spot.
This trip kept him so busy that he lost track of time. Jiang Qingyu barely rested at all. By the time he reached the time he had agreed on with Fu Jingqiu, night had quietly fallen. Outside was still lively, with many tourists crowded along the snack street, strolling from one end to the other.
Only Jiang Qingyu had no time to stroll. He hurriedly drove back. Sure enough, Fu Jingqiu was waiting for him at their agreed location, sitting in the pavilion of the campsite park, head lowered as he fiddled with his phone.
Jiang Qingyu parked the vehicle in front of him and honked lightly.
Fu Jingqiu turned his head to look over. Seeing the familiar little RV, he immediately put away his phone, stood up, and strode over.
Jiang Qingyu opened the electronic door and leaned over the steering wheel with a smiling face. “Hungry?”
Fu Jingqiu felt a slight warmth in his heart. “Mm. A little.”
“What a coincidence.” Jiang Qingyu turned the steering wheel and looked for a parking spot. “I haven’t eaten either. I was exhausted this afternoon, so I won’t cook properly later. I bought some ingredients. Tonight, let’s have hot pot.”
Fu Jingqiu said, “All right.”
He walked two steps toward the living area, then turned back. “Are the things in the refrigerator? I’ll wash the ingredients.”
“Mm-hm.” Jiang Qingyu’s tone as he answered was very cute. “The pot, hot pot base, dipping sauces, and ingredients are all over by the open kitchen. There’s an expansion cabin function under the window. Open it up. It’ll be more spacious that way.”
Fu Jingqiu agreed and followed Jiang Qingyu’s instructions, taking things out from the cabinets and refrigerator.
From here to Jiang Qingyu’s destination, the route was full of tourist spots. There were plenty of campsites where they could park. He chose a place with not too many vehicles, parked, turned off the engine, and went to the back to help.
After the expansion cabin was opened, the inside of the RV instantly became much more open. Even with two grown men inside, it felt extremely spacious.
The lights were bright, and the atmosphere was warm. Fu Jingqiu had his back to him as he washed all kinds of ingredients. Beside him, on the counter, were drain baskets and plates that had been taken out and arranged properly, neat and orderly.
Jiang Qingyu helped sort the ingredients beside him while chatting casually.
Ever since the matter of the expansion cabin, Jiang Qingyu increasingly felt that it was best to give a heads-up before everything, so he first talked through everything he had bought: things to eat, things to wear, things to use. Once he started listing them, it really seemed endless.
The words “daily necessities” sounded simple, but in reality, the categories were so many they made one dizzy, and the consumption speed was also fast.
Just take tissues, for example. He had already bought tens of thousands of yuan worth of goods. Even then, he still felt it was not enough.
Fu Jingqiu had never done procurement work before. Although he was puzzled as to why Jiang Qingyu had bought so much all at once, he still offered financial support.
“Did you pay in advance? I’ll transfer you more money.”
As he spoke, he was about to wipe his hands and get his phone, but Jiang Qingyu, quick-eyed and quick-handed, pressed him down.
“Wait. It’s not that exaggerated. The money you gave is enough.”
He had even used the opportunity to grind a wave of experience points. If he bought more things online tonight, he might upgrade again before bedtime.
No matter how he thought about it, he was the one profiting. Hehe.
“All right,” Fu Jingqiu said. “If the money isn’t enough, you must tell me.”
Jiang Qingyu stared at him for a couple of seconds, then burst out laughing. “Do you know that when you’re like this…”
Fu Jingqiu asked, “Like what?”
With that way of asking, if it were anyone with bad intentions, even if the money were enough, they would still say it was not. After all, who would complain about having too much money?
His mother and younger brother had probably been fed bigger and bigger appetites by him this way.
He did not check accounts, and as long as he gave money, he cooperated. In the past, getting money out of him had probably become a habit for them.
They must have thought that asking him to buy a house for his younger brother’s marriage and then give another sum of money should not be difficult. They had not expected Fu Jingqiu to refuse to cooperate, which was why they had been driven into desperation.
Jiang Qingyu avoided this topic and instead asked him, “Did you go get your bank cards reissued afterward?”
“Mm,” Fu Jingqiu said. “And handled some procedures.”
Jiang Qingyu said, “Actually, I have a question. Throwing you into the desert doesn’t count as a very clever method. After all, you’re family. If they really wanted to harm your life, there should have been plenty of opportunities in daily life.”
When those two people were mentioned again, Fu Jingqiu’s expression remained normal.
“Yes. But my situation is a little special.”
Jiang Qingyu was still hesitating over whether this counted as privacy and whether he should continue asking when Fu Jingqiu explained, “If I suddenly died, there would have to be a reasonable cause. They don’t have the ability to disguise it as an accident. On top of that, I still have some friends. I’ve always kept in contact with them. If something happened to me, they would definitely come over. My mother and the others wouldn’t be able to fool them.”
“Only by letting me disappear during a trip like this, then making up some excuses, with no surveillance and no evidence, and after enough time had passed, would no one be able to find anything.”
“This was already the easiest method they could think of and the one that allowed them to escape unscathed.”
Jiang Qingyu tried to comfort him. “But you didn’t let them succeed, and now you’re still alive and well.”
After saying it, even he felt this comfort was a little dry. He laughed awkwardly twice. “Being alive is always better than staying in the desert, right?”
Fu Jingqiu turned his head and gazed at him for a moment. Seeing Jiang Qingyu staring at him somewhat nervously, his pupils looking round because of his focus, and his hair looking fluffy under the light, Fu Jingqiu could not help smiling faintly.
“Yes. What you said is right.”
What Jiang Qingyu did not know was that Fu Jingqiu had already adjusted himself last night.
Although he valued emotions, he was not foolish, and he would not be blindly filial.
He did not call the police to arrest those two people. First, because there was no evidence. Second, because he had made up his mind to use this to cut ties. From then on, whether it was his mother or his younger brother, neither of them had anything to do with him.
If things reached the point of going to court and completely tearing off all pretenses in the future, then he would pay the minimum support fee. That would count as having done his duty.
However, there was no need to say these things to the young man in front of him.
Although they had met by chance, Fu Jingqiu had a very good impression of Jiang Qingyu.
Jiang Qingyu observed his expression. Seeing that Fu Jingqiu indeed did not seem to be forcing a smile, he felt relieved and focused on arranging the ingredients.
Fu Jingqiu could eat mildly spicy food, so Jiang Qingyu cut one-third of the beef tallow hot pot base. The other side was a tomato soup base, which Jiang Qingyu liked.
Fortunately, the refrigerator had double doors and looked well stocked. In addition, Jiang Qingyu had gone out today, so no matter what ingredients he took out, it was all reasonable.
Needless to say, there was meat. It was all extremely fresh and tender meat bought at the start and stored in the stasis space. Since Fu Jingqiu could accept lamb, Jiang Qingyu had even prepared two extra plates.
Aside from that, all kinds of seafood—bamboo shrimp, small abalone, mussels, and huge fish roe shrimp paste—were arranged together. Everything was very clean and fresh. The shrimp pieces were especially large, and the flavor was exceptionally delicious.
There was frozen tofu that absorbed broth, kelp sprouts that cooked in seconds, and Jiang Qingyu used the air fryer to make a little cheese cod strips and crispy pork. They were delicious dipped in ketchup.
The booth dining table was cleared. The hot pot was placed in the center of the table, bone broth added and boiled until bubbling, while side dishes were arranged in a circle around it.
One liked a bit of ritual, and the other did everything in an extremely organized way. With these two partners working together, they ultimately completed this very aesthetic composition.
Jiang Qingyu stood by the table admiring it and felt extremely satisfied. He took out his phone and snapped a photo.
Meimei lifted her face and called at him, the urging meaning very obvious.
Jiang Qingyu answered while laughing, “All right, all right. We’re starting right away. Don’t be impatient.”
The upgraded fresh air system overhead was working hard. Once they finished this hot pot meal, no smell would be left inside the vehicle. After all, Fu Jingqiu still had to sleep here tonight.
After all, smelling food when one was hungry and smelling food when one was trying to sleep were completely different feelings.
Jiang Qingyu invited them to start swishing meat and vegetables. No one needed to be polite. In any case, he had been exhausted this afternoon and was now in urgent need of food to continue living. So he did not stand on ceremony with Fu Jingqiu either. He mixed his dipping sauce and began eating and drinking.
With one more person joining in, it really became much livelier. He no longer seemed lonely by himself, with only Meimei burying her head beside him and eating to keep him company.
It just so happened that they were seated opposite each other too. Whenever he looked up, he could see the other person. Their faces were occasionally covered by the rolling steam. The aroma of food rushed into their noses, and their whole bodies warmed as they ate.
Compared with the pitch-black, empty night scenery outside the vehicle, the scene inside looked especially warm.
From time to time, Jiang Qingyu glanced at Meimei sitting beside him, head lowered as she ate her cat food, and his heart felt warm.
No one who came upon this scene would have the heart to ruin it. Jiang Qingyu felt delighted and increasingly felt that his decision to keep Fu Jingqiu had been incomparably correct. Forget everything else—with one extra non-picky dining companion, even eating became more fragrant, all right?
He picked up a shrimp paste ball, dipped it in sauce, and put it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed full. By chance, he lifted his eyes and met Fu Jingqiu’s gaze. The other person was also looking at him.
After a brief few seconds, Fu Jingqiu’s expression suddenly changed.
Jiang Qingyu: ? What does that mean?
Just as he was blankly wondering why Fu Jingqiu had that expression, a violent smashing sound suddenly rang out from outside the RV, frightening Meimei so much that she sprang up on the seat.
