CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 254 RELATIVES WHO BUILD CONNECTIONS

The supplies that a regular small town can provide, of course, can’t compare to those in the city where Chen Xin originally lived, and even compared to the nearby county, it’s considered a shortage of resources.

Fortunately, the town where Chen Xin is now has been expanded after a large population moved in, and due to the expansion, a considerable amount of resources have been concentrated here as well.

"Ah Xin, we only managed to get the car battery you wanted and some construction materials." Chen Xin’s second uncle’s face wore a troubled expression as he explained to Chen Xin the difficulties they were currently facing: "The metal materials needed to modify the heating system and the cables for electrical rewiring aren’t available in the town; we have to get them from the county. As for the materials needed to upgrade the greenhouse, they might not even be available in the county, and getting them requires a trip to Anqing City."

"Ah? No materials?" Chen Xin hadn’t expected to face such a situation and seemed somewhat caught off guard.

Did I underestimate the scarcity of resources in this post-apocalyptic world, or is it just that the town’s supplies are insufficient?

Chen Xin quickly abandoned thinking about the reasons; regardless of the cause, this was a pressing issue right in front of him that needed immediate attention. The reasons behind these problems could be considered after solving them.

At present, Chen Xin had to face the reality of completing his upgrade plans with the limited materials available.

"Second uncle, just get whatever you can for now. As for the missing materials, I’ll ask my cousin-in-law to drive my car to the county tomorrow to see if we can exchange for them." Chen Xin told his second uncle, feeling actually unfazed by the shortage of materials.

The lack of upgrade materials for the greenhouse was not an insurmountable issue for Chen Xin. At worst, he could build a workbench first and then use it to process raw materials.

For Chen Xin, adding an extra step to gather the materials needed was entirely acceptable.

As for the situation where raw materials are scarce... Though the supplies might be lacking in the county and town, they’re not so tight that even raw materials are unavailable.

Upon hearing Chen Xin’s words, his second uncle, who also had no better solution for the situation at hand, could only nod and say slightly helplessly, "We can only do it this way for now."

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The group exchanged supplies before returning to the shelter.

"Ah Xin, now that we haven’t gathered all the materials, what do you plan to do? Can the modifications proceed without them?" Back in the shelter, the second uncle, with some concern, pulled Chen Xin aside to discuss the upgrade plans.

Having already thought about this, Chen Xin was not worried about halting the operations. He simply smiled at his second uncle and said, "It’s not a big issue. There’s a method with materials and one without. Besides, it’s not like we have no materials now; let’s work with what we have first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll get some raw materials myself and process them."

"Can you really process them yourself?" The second uncle hadn’t expected Chen Xin to have such an ability, which clearly surprised him.

"Yes, it’s just some simple rough processing. With raw materials and tools, it’s not a big deal." Chen Xin nodded, noting that for the system, it wasn’t really an issue.

If worse comes to worst, he could spend some survival points and create things out of nothing.

Not knowing Chen Xin could summon things out of nothing, the second uncle appeared a bit embarrassed and apologetic, saying to Chen Xin, "Isn’t this too troublesome for you, Ah Xin? Just work on what we have materials for, and leave the rest alone."

Chen Xin understood this sentiment, but he neither wanted nor felt the need to explain that, for him, materials were not necessary.

Thus, faced with the second uncle’s suggestion to "forget about the missing materials," Chen Xin could only smile and reply, "Let’s work with the materials we have first, and we’ll see about the rest later. My cousin-in-law can still get more from the county tomorrow, right?"

Seeing Chen Xin’s response, the second uncle had no choice but to agree and work with the available materials.

Yet he still felt apologetic towards Chen Xin, saying, "It’s such a bother for you, Ah Xin, especially since you’re helping us out when you’re still recovering! I’m really sorry!"

"We’re family; there’s no need to say such things. And it’s just a small effort, not really a trouble." Chen Xin responded politely before excusing himself to return to his room.

In the shelter, there weren’t any decent entertainment options. Even traditional games like cards and mahjong couldn’t be played before Chen Xin got the heating system running due to the cold temperatures, so everyone in the shelter had long gotten used to going to bed early after dinner.

After all, they would wake up early in the morning from the cold, so going to bed early and sleeping longer naturally became the preferred choice.

However, for Chen Xin, he still had a lot to deal with.

Not anticipating the shortage of materials beforehand, Chen Xin had given the second uncle a list of upgrade materials based on components, like the radiator and compressor needed for the heating system upgrade, rather than the raw materials to produce these components.

Therefore, Chen Xin needed to adjust his material requirements list according to the available resources, transforming some component materials into raw materials and adding the workbench materials.

Although this increased the total amount of materials needed, it reduced and lowered the difficulty of obtaining them.

"Okay, I’ll give this list to my cousin-in-law tomorrow and have him see if he can gather the materials in the county." Cross-checking the system and reorganizing the upgrade material list, Chen Xin took a long breath and rubbed his left wrist.

Normally not a left-handed person, Chen Xin, with his right hand injured, had to write using his left hand, which made him feel awkward. He also spent extra effort to ensure his handwriting was legible.

Fortunately, he managed to produce a clear list and only needed to hand it over to his cousin-in-law responsible for trading materials in the county the next day.

Putting the items away, Chen Xin finally prepared to sleep.

But just as Chen Xin had washed his feet, prepared his hot water bottle, and was about to slip into bed, his room door was knocked.

"Ah Xin, are you in your room?" The voice from outside inquired.

"What’s the matter? I’m about to sleep." Chen Xin got up to open the door and saw a relative he wasn’t too familiar with standing outside.

"Ah? Are you going to sleep, Ah Xin? I wanted to chat with you!" The relative outside seemed a bit embarrassed but still tried to speak to Chen Xin: "Can we chat briefly? I won’t take up too much of your time."

"Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’m really going to sleep now." Chen Xin frowned slightly, feeling a bit displeased.

Although everyone in the village was considered family, even with family, some were closer than others. This relative was merely one in name and not someone Chen Xin was familiar with.

Perhaps his parents knew who this person was, but Chen Xin himself didn’t even know their name or how to address them.

This made Chen Xin reluctant to engage with the person and eager to send them away quickly so he could go to bed.

But the person stood at the doorway, refusing to leave, which really annoyed Chen Xin.

What especially frustrated him was that this person blocked the door, chattering without mentioning anything specific, leaving Chen Xin unable to discern their intentions.

If it were any other time, Chen Xin might entertain them and consider what they might want, but at this moment, he only thought of sleeping, making him unwilling to analyze what the person wanted and wished to send them away quickly.

Just as Chen Xin was about to lose his temper, his second uncle appeared just in time, pulling the person away after a few words, allowing Chen Xin to close the door and lie on the bed, letting out a long breath.

The warmth of the bed calmed Chen Xin’s emotions and gave him the mind to think about what had just happened.

In fact, the goals of the relative he wasn’t familiar with weren’t hard to guess. Although they seemed evasive, if Chen Xin recalled their words, it was clear that their aim was to build connections with him.

But why would a relative suddenly come to build connections with him, a completely unfamiliar relative?

This left Chen Xin puzzled, not understanding the situation.

To Chen Xin, the village relatives weren’t particularly close, even the familiar elders like his second uncle. He would only see them once or twice during the year when visiting with his parents.

Without parental connections, Chen Xin might be closer to some acquaintances than to these relatives.

People don’t offer kindness without reason, so this unknown relative approaching to build connections and purposely choosing a time close to bedtime was obviously to avoid others’ attention, which puzzled Chen Xin.

Building connections isn’t something shameful, so why not do it during the day? Why choose a time when I’m about to sleep?

Moreover, building connections wasn’t the relative’s main purpose; it was clear they wanted something from him, but the distant relationship made it hard to say.

So what did they want? Chen Xin pondered this question in his mind until he fell asleep.