After listening to Fei Lin's question, Jiang Baimian briefly introduced:
"A four-seater jeep, grey-green."
Fei Lin thought for a moment and said:
"It's already dark. I'll bring people over to take a look tomorrow and design a plan.
"At the same time, let's discuss how you want to go to Wildgrass City and what kind of services you need us to provide.
"When the time comes, we'll settle the bill together. I hope you have enough canned food."
Jiang Baimian sensed that Fei Lin didn't want to discuss work right now, so she gave up the idea of further discussion and patted Shang Jianyao's shoulder with a smile:
"If it's not enough, use him as collateral!"
Fei Lin chuckled:
"It's not that it's impossible.
"I was just thinking about how to make my brother willingly stay."
Long Yuehong clicked his tongue in amazement, feeling that this "progress" was too fast.
It had only been a few minutes, and it wasn't even enough time to go from "strangers" to "friends," yet they had already evolved into "brothers!"
"You can marry your little daughter to him," Jiang Baimian suggested with "ill intentions."
Fei Lin and Shang Jianyao exchanged glances and shook their heads quickly:
"No, no, the seniority is wrong!
"How can a niece marry an uncle?"
Shang Jianyao solemnly echoed:
"How can a brother be a dad?"
The two looked at each other and nodded simultaneously, their friendship seeming to have sublimated again.
Jiang Baimian smiled and rolled her eyes, continuing to come up with bad ideas:
"Then is there a deceased brother's widow left behind?"
"How could she be left behind? At this age, in this environment, who wouldn't want to find another partner? Moreover, our merchant group needs to have more children. These days, children die too easily," Fei Lin pondered. "My mother did keep her widowhood for a few years, but the seniority is also wrong."
Seeing that the topic was getting strange, Jiang Baimian looked around and said:
"Chief, what kind of food do you have here?"
She then added:
"Something with a special flavor."
The Old Task Force hadn't had dinner yet.
Fei Lin finished the glass of wild tree berry wine and said with a self-deprecating smile:
"What kind of special food can we 'rootless people' have? We travel all over the place and eat whatever is available wherever we go.
"Hehe, the good cooks in the merchant group can all make many different styles of dishes."
Speaking of this, he changed the subject:
"However, after so many years, we still have a little something of our own."
"What is it?" Shang Jianyao spoke before Jiang Baimian, his face full of anticipation.
Fei Lin looked at the flickering lights outside the RV:
"Compared to many wasteland vagrant settlements, although we don't have roots and drift wherever we go, our business is doing quite well. Most of the time, we have a guarantee of food, and the variety is quite rich.
"Every time we travel in the wilderness and mountains, we always have a little bit of various foods left over at the end, which is quite awkward. We can't possibly make a dish or staple food out of each one, right? It's only a bite or two worth of food.
"To save trouble, my father's generation started putting them all together and cooking them. The taste isn't good, but it's not bad either.
"As we traveled to more places and saw more things, the methods gradually improved a lot. Now it tastes pretty good. We all call it 'Mixed Stew'."
Jiang Baimian especially liked this kind of local customs and culture, and said with great interest:
"Then give us four servings, large servings!"
After speaking, she turned to look at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen:
"You want to eat, right?"
"Yes, yes." Long Yuehong nodded vigorously.
For him now, anything was good as long as he didn't have to eat energy bars, compressed biscuits, and military canned food.
"I might not be able to eat a large serving," Bai Chen said after considering.
"It's okay, I'll help you eat it. If it really doesn't work, there's Shang Jianyao!" Jiang Baimian said in a tone as if she had a pig at home.
In fact, she knew that Shang Jianyao had been traveling in the Sea of Origins recently, searching for the second island, which consumed a lot of energy, so he ate more than normal.
"Four large servings will cost you two cans," Fei Lin quoted a price, then looked at Shang Jianyao and said sincerely, "I have a discount."
"As long as it's delicious," Shang Jianyao didn't mind at all.
"It depends on whether it suits your taste," Fei Lin went around the milky white platform, walked to the kitchen area, opened the aluminum pot on the electric stove, and scooped out four large bowls of sticky stuff from inside.
By the time he took the orange plastic tray and brought the "Mixed Stew" to Jiang Baimian and the others, they could see what the food really looked like.
It was dark amber in color and a very viscous liquid.
Jiang Baimian stirred it with a spoon and found small pieces of diced meat, flour dumplings, sliced ham, diced carrots, and the heads of some unknown vegetables, and so on, in no short supply.
"It has everything," Fei Lin said with a smile as he walked back behind the milky white platform. "The biggest feature of 'Mixed Stew' is that the ingredients you eat each time are more or less different, rarely repeating."
"It just depends on what's available at the time?" As Jiang Baimian spoke, she noticed that Shang Jianyao had already buried his head and was slurping it up, so she stopped talking, scooped up a small spoonful of dark amber broth, brought it to her mouth, and gently blew on it a few times.
Then, she tasted the food.
Her first feeling was fragrant, followed by a faint sourness, and then just the right amount of saltiness.
These three experiences blended harmoniously together, suppressing the dazzling flavors of different kinds of food, making them obedient.
When chewing, these flavors bloomed in turn with different "encounters" with her teeth.
"Not bad, delicious," Shang Jianyao praised vaguely.
If he wasn't busy using a spoon, he might have clapped his hands.
"Yes, yes..." Long Yuehong responded very emotionally.
After enduring the torment of a monotonous diet on a long journey, such a meal was enough to soothe his soul.
Jiang Baimian smiled and glanced at Bai Chen, her head tilted slightly.
Seeing that this team member wearing a dusty scarf was also eating heartily, with a hint of satisfaction in her expression, Jiang Baimian smiled to herself:
"It seems I don't need to help her eat..."
The Old Task Force's praise for the "Mixed Stew" made Fei Lin quite happy, feeling that they were indeed friends.
After finishing dinner, Jiang Baimian looked around and saw that there were not many people inside the RV, so she asked:
"Chief, has anyone recently asked you to pay attention to the whereabouts and tracks of some people?"
Fei Lin, who was washing the dishes, looked up and chuckled:
"For example, people like you?"
Jiang Baimian was not at all uncomfortable being exposed, and replied with a smile:
"Yes.
"People like us believe that friends will not betray us."
"Friends might, it just depends on whether you add money," Fei Lin said solemnly, "But brothers won't."
As he spoke, he raised his right arm.
Shang Jianyao didn't mind his wet hands at all, and completed a high five with him with a resounding slap.
After completing the "ritual," Fei Lin said to Jiang Baimian:
"There are no similar matters for the time being. There are searches for people, but the characteristics are completely different from yours.
"You should also know that we 'rootless people' travel all over the place, and many members also work part-time as ruin hunters. If they want to find someone, they will definitely mobilize the entire merchant group to help. I couldn't possibly not know."
"That's good," Jiang Baimian smiled.
She then asked:
"Chief, have you encountered any particularly strange religious organizations recently?"
Fei Lin recalled for a moment and nodded:
"Yes."
After Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen exchanged glances, she asked:
"Which sect is it? What is it called?"
"It's called 'Holy Eye,' and they worship 'Double Sun,' the Governing Star of July," Fei Lin didn't hide anything. "They are still preaching in the camp now."
The Governing Star of July... Double Sun... Jiang Baimian said with a slight doubt:
"Chief, you just let them preach?"
Fei Lin said seriously:
"It's not like I didn't do anything.
"I also helped to gather people, provide a venue, and prepare food..."
Seeing that Jiang Baimian and the others were getting a little confused, the Chief of the merchant group smiled:
"Because I am the high priest of this sect!
"The one in the merchant group closest to the Governing Star."
Jiang Baimian was stunned at first, then smiled:
"I thought you even did this kind of business."
"Yes, yes," Shang Jianyao said, indicating that this was also his thought.
Bai Chen asked with a slight doubt:
"I heard that you don't believe in any Governing Star?"
"How is that possible?" Fei Lin retorted, "We believe in every Governing Star!"
He smiled and added an explanation:
"As a merchant group that needs to travel all over the place and deal with all kinds of forces, we must sing the song of whatever mountain we are on, and we can't be too extreme. We can't make friends that way. So, as long as someone preaches, we will believe a little bit.
"If it weren't for 'Holy Eye' not allowing me to work part-time, I might have a dozen or so sect titles hanging on me now, such as the 'Dream Keeper' of 'Dawn Star,' the Bishop of 'Glorious Balance,' the 'Six Senses' of 'Crystal Consciousness'... As long as the business partner has a belief, I can be his fellow brother."
Long Yuehong was dumbfounded, unable to believe that there were such people:
This is too casual, isn't it?
At this time, Shang Jianyao asked with a look of longing:
"Which one has the best Eucharist?"
"I think it's 'Glorious Balance.' Their fried chicken wings are amazing, but this is purely a matter of personal taste," Fei Lin, with a circle of grey beard around his mouth, exchanged experiences with Shang Jianyao.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Baimian deeply suspected that even if Shang Jianyao didn't use his Awakened abilities, he could still become good friends with Fei Lin.
After discussing the Eucharist for a few sentences, Fei Lin changed the subject and said:
"Among so many sects, the doctrines of 'Holy Eye' are the most suitable for us and the most touching to me, so I reluctantly joined the sect. Alas, I am no longer free from then on."
He then "Mm" a sound:
"We have a mass tomorrow at noon. If you are interested, you can come and watch it. It's right here."
Seeing that Shang Jianyao was eager to try, Jiang Baimian hesitated a little. Fei Lin smiled and said:
"We don't force people to believe, it's all voluntary. At least two-thirds of the people in our camp don't believe in 'Double Sun' yet.
"Of course, if you want to pretend to believe, I don't care either."
"Okay," Jiang Baimian agreed.
After chatting for a while, they said goodbye and prepared to return to the jeep.
When they reached the door of the RV, Jiang Baimian suddenly turned around and asked curiously:
"Chief, I haven't asked what your merchant group is called yet."
Amidst the flashing and rhythmic colorful lights outside the window, Fei Lin was silent for a moment and said:
"Sangzi."