CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 247: UNEXPECTED TITLE

The feeling of coming home is always good. Even if the conditions are slightly poor, being able to reunite with familiar family members is still a joyous occasion for Chen Xin.

Especially in the current environment, if one is separated from their relatives or friends, it might be a lifetime separation. Not everyone has the means, like Chen Xin, to drive across four provinces to see their family.

"The conditions are a bit simple, Ah Xin, please don’t mind. Take a good rest first." After dinner, the second uncle led Chen Xin to his room, explaining with a bit of embarrassment.

The two cousins had already told him that the car Chen Xin drove back was a very luxurious and large motorhome, and compared to that, the conditions in the shelter were quite lacking, which made the second uncle feel a bit embarrassed, thinking he had not hosted Chen Xin properly, who had traveled a long way.

However, Chen Xin didn’t mind at all and smiled, telling the second uncle, "It’s nothing, this is already great. Everyone knows what kind of times we’re living in now. Having a place to sleep, a full belly, and not freezing or starving to death is already very good."

Hearing this, the second uncle also laughed, seemingly relieved of some burden. He exchanged a few more polite words with Chen Xin, instructed him to rest well, and then left the room.

Watching the second uncle leave, Chen Xin finally let out a slight sigh of relief. He had to admit that the enthusiasm of his relatives was a bit overwhelming for him, especially since the second uncle was someone who valued face a lot, an attitude that hadn’t changed even in the apocalypse.

Chen Xin surveyed his room, his eyebrows slightly raised.

The room the second uncle arranged for Chen Xin was a temporarily vacated standard room, no different from others’ rooms, except Chen Xin slept alone, unlike other rooms which were clearly shared by two people.

The room’s furnishings were very simple: a table with a lamp on it, a chair in front of the table; a steel frame bunk bed, with the lower bunk made with new and thick bedding, and nothing else.

"There’s not even an extra hot water bottle?" Chen Xin observed the room and felt the conditions were even simpler than the room he had seen at Qin Lan’s in the city. Some essential living supplies were in a state of scarcity.

Although the second uncle had the room cleared, the bed made, and brought a lamp, the absence of a basin, towels for washing, and hot water indicated the living conditions here were not very good.

Especially since the second uncle mentioned that this week’s supplies had only just been delivered to the town that morning.

This made Chen Xin want to do something, at least to improve his relatives’ living conditions.

However, it’s not something that can be done overnight. Even with system upgrades, Chen Xin couldn’t just throw survival points to upgrade this shelter.

It’s important to note that this shelter is much larger than his own, and lacking materials, a huge amount of survival points that seems astronomical to Chen Xin would be required to upgrade.

It’s not that he’s reluctant to make such an investment, but it would be wasteful. Chen Xin could upgrade some basic facilities for this shelter, just like he did for his own, to improve the living conditions here, rather than spending a large number of survival points to upgrade the entire shelter.

In the end, it’s also because he isn’t quite that wealthy yet.

While Chen Xin pondered these issues, his second aunt brought him a hot water bottle full of hot water, a new basin, towel, and a hot water bag, making Chen Xin feel a bit embarrassed as if he had caused his relatives a lot of trouble.

Shaking his head to clear these jumbled thoughts from his mind, Chen Xin decided to have a good rest first.

Although inconvenient with one hand, Chen Xin still managed to soak his feet in hot water and prepare a hot water bag for himself before getting ready to sleep.

The temperature in the shelter was quite low, and despite the decent indoor insulation, the lack of heating equipment made the room feel very cold. Going to bed early was a way to conserve warmth, as it was much warmer under the covers.

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The next morning, Chen Xin woke up early, but it was more from the cold than feeling well-rested.

The room wasn’t too cold per se, but even under the covers, there was no warmth. The hot water bag he held was already cold, feeling almost icy to the touch.

This was a different kind of experience for Chen Xin, who, after the disaster, had stayed mostly in his shelter and thus was not much affected by severe cold.

After all, both his shelter and the armored motorhome he stayed in on the way had comprehensive heating and insulation facilities, allowing Chen Xin to sleep comfortably without freezing.

But here, in his old hometown’s shelter, lacking such conditions, waking up from the cold was unexpected yet understandable.

Since he was awake from the cold and the bed wasn’t very warm, Chen Xin got up, dressing with one hand in the still sleepy and slightly numbed state due to the cold, washed up, and left his room.

Others in the shelter also seemed to be up early, starting their busy days.

Back home, most of Chen Xin’s relatives were quite old, with the younger generation mostly having ventured out or moved to the county town before the disaster, and few were left in the town. Therefore, most people in this shelter now were older.

Watching this scene, Chen Xin couldn’t help but consider if he could do something to help or improve their living conditions.

With this thought, Chen Xin went to his parents’ room.

His parents were already up, tidying the room. Chen Xin had talked to them yesterday about taking them back to Xiang Province, but they seemed hesitant.

Returning would certainly provide better living conditions and allow them to live with their son, which was persuasive enough for Chen Xin’s parents. Their hesitation mainly stemmed from the reluctance to leave their relatives behind.

After all, it might be a permanent farewell, with the possibility of never seeing these relatives again.

Unlike Chen Xin, his parents grew up here, studied here, and started a family here. They only moved to Xiang Province after Chen Xin was born to provide him with a better life.

For them, the connection to their hometown was much deeper than for Chen Xin.

Thus, their hesitation and reluctance were understandable.

Chen Xin found nothing odd or unexpected about this, nor did he urge his parents. He was confident they would decide to return to Xiang Province with him, given some time.

"Ah Xin, did you see a doctor for your broken arm? What did the doctor say?" Chen Xin’s mother asked as she made the bed and noticed Chen Xin’s arm still in a sling, worried by his somewhat disheveled clothing, and began helping him adjust it while inquiring about his injury.

Chen Xin let his mother help with his clothes and replied, "On the way here, I found a doctor skilled in orthopedics to reset the bones, but there was no X-ray, so we don’t know the exact situation. But for now, it’s not a big problem."

"Then you should go to the county hospital for a thorough check and good treatment," Chen Xin’s father suggested, watching Chen Xin’s arm and advising him, "A fractured arm is nothing to take lightly; seeing a doctor is the safer option."

Seeing how concerned his parents were, Chen Xin nodded in agreement.

The county town was quite a distance from the town; before the disaster, it took over half an hour to drive there, mostly via mountain roads. In the current circumstances, getting to the county would require considerable time.

Therefore, if Chen Xin wanted to go to the county hospital, he’d need to set out in the morning.

Chen Xin informed the second uncle of this plan, who fully agreed. Although the town had some doctors, especially after the influx of many people, the medical level had improved mainly for common ailments.

For more serious injuries like fractures, it was still necessary to go to the county hospital for treatment.

However, neither the second uncle nor Chen Xin’s parents felt comfortable letting Chen Xin drive to the county himself. After some discussion, it was decided that one of Chen Xin’s cousins would drive for him, and his parents would accompany him to the county.

After breakfast, the group walked to the car Chen Xin had parked at the village entrance. They were evidently shocked by the armored motorhome, even Chen Xin’s parents found it hard to believe it was his.

Fortunately, the motorhome had system-enabled conceptual camouflage, and Chen Xin’s reasonable explanations quickly convinced them.

Once in the car, Chen Xin taught his cousin how to drive it and then sat down with his parents in the living quarters.

"No wonder you said you’d sleep in the car last night, Ah Xin. It’s indeed more comfortable here than in the shelter," Chen Xin’s mother said, feeling the car’s air conditioning and observing the living environment, unable to resist commenting, "I’d like to sleep here too; is there enough space for sleeping? It’s too cold in the shelter, and I didn’t sleep well."

Chen Xin nodded and said, "The car can sleep at least six people, there’s more than enough space, and you can shower and cook; there’s no issue at all."

Hearing this, Chen Xin’s mother’s face showed a satisfied expression.