The cold frost was heavy. Although Suzhou was a water town in the south and not as cold as the capital, after a bout of autumn rain, the temperature dropped suddenly. Waves of cold wind blew by, making people shiver uncontrollably.
The wealthy households had already put on fur coats early, while the poor farming families could only add two more thin layers to keep warm.
Winter was just around the corner. Outside the city of Suzhou, the men in the villages had already gotten up and started their journey before dawn, hoping to enter the city early and get more work.
On the wide official road, among a group of tall and strong men, one slender and weak figure carrying a basket on their back stood out.
"Brother Ran, let me carry that for a while."
Caleb looked at the heavy basket on Ran's back, then at her thin body. Before she could refuse, he directly grabbed the basket and slung it over his own back.
"Thanks."
Ran felt a sudden lightness on her body. When she looked up and saw the basket on Caleb's back, she didn't say no, just smiled and thanked him.
Then she pulled out a large meat bun from her coat pocket and handed it over. "You haven't eaten yet this morning, right? Eat this to fill your stomach a bit."
"Ah, alright." Caleb didn't refuse either. He grinned as he took the bun and began eating in big bites. While chewing, he praised her. "Brother Ran, your cooking is amazing. With skills like yours, you'll definitely get a great wife in the future."
"Heh..." Ran didn't reply. She just gave a slightly awkward smile and lowered her head to keep eating her bun.
Caleb was tall and broad. In just a few bites, he finished the bun the size of a fist. He took off the water pouch hanging from his waist and gulped down two big sips. Only then did his stomach feel a bit better.
After chatting a few words with the men walking beside him, he turned and saw Ran still had half a bun left, wrapped in oil paper and placed back in her pocket.
Having lived through the apocalypse, even though she no longer needed to worry about food now, Ran still instinctively only ate half to leave some rations just in case.
Caleb frowned slightly and said with concern, "You're eating way too little. No wonder you're so skinny, like a woman."
Ran rolled her eyes inwardly. Like a woman? She was one. No, she was a proper unmarried young woman.
What kind of saying was that? Too crude.
"A woman? Where?" Logan, who was walking nearby, suddenly perked up when he heard Caleb mention a woman. He looked around and mumbled, "Where's a woman? Caleb, are you missing a wife so much you're seeing things?"
"You heard wrong. There's no woman in this wilderness." Caleb gave him an annoyed look. "I said Brother Ran eats too little, like a woman."
Logan sniffed the air, catching the scent of food, and swallowed his saliva. Hearing Caleb's words, he turned to glance at Ran's thin frame and nodded. "Yeah, Brother Ran is way too skinny. You won't be able to find a wife like this."
"Mhm." Caleb also nodded in agreement. Seeing that Ran didn't seem to care, he just sighed softly and turned back to chat with Logan again.
Ran wasn't affected at all. She calmly kept walking. She had been here for over a month but still wasn't used to how they always talked about finding a wife.
A little more than a month ago, she was still a survivor struggling in the apocalypse. Luckily, after awakening her wood-based power, she was able to protect her family and survive.
But she never expected that her closest family, just to let her younger sister marry the base leader, would worry that she might block her sister's future, and in the middle of a retreat, they pushed her into a swarm of zombies.
I don't know if it was mercy from heaven, but she was not bitten by zombies. When she was pushed into the zombie pile, a white light suddenly surrounded her. When she opened her eyes again, she had arrived at a continent she had never heard of before, the Canglan Continent.
She didn't have a system here, but luckily her wood-type ability and space power came with her. Her space power was recognized half a month before the apocalypse. She didn't know how it happened because she was drunk at that time.
Her space was different from the strong spaces in novels. It was small, only the size of a stadium. She could only use it for preserving items, not for planting.
Even so, Ran was very satisfied. After binding the space, Ran didn't feel happy. Her mind immediately flashed with images from apocalypse novels and movies.
She felt this was a warning from heaven. She didn't know when the apocalypse would come, so she began quietly storing supplies. Luckily, even though she wasn't favored at home, her parents didn't treat her badly for the sake of face.
She got about ten thousand in allowance each month. She didn't spend much, so she saved a lot and used all of it to stockpile supplies. When the space was full, the apocalypse came overnight.
Zombies, mutated plants and animals, extreme cold and heat, acid rain. Every change in weather challenged human survival. After her family barely survived one acid rain, she thought about the apocalypse with a heavy heart.
Even though she already knew her father was unfair, she still felt pain. But now they were far apart and might never see each other again. Ran felt a new, unprecedented lightness inside.
From now on, she would live for herself. "Hey! I wonder when I can save enough for my dowry!" While Ran was deep in thought, Logan sighed sadly nearby with a worried look.
"Let's work hard and try to save more before the New Year!" Caleb patted his shoulder to comfort him. "When the New Year comes, Uncle Lin will find someone to take a look at you. You look good, I'm sure a girl will like you!"
That was true. Logan was indeed handsome. Not only Logan, but Ran had never seen an ugly person here since she arrived.
The men here were all tall and good-looking. Even the farmers working in the fields looked ruggedly handsome. But after more than a month, she hadn't seen any young women in the village except the elderly village chief.
She guessed the young women must be good-looking. "Caleb, Brother Ran, do you like any girls?" Logan asked, leaning over with a gossiping look. At Logan's question, Caleb's face flushed red.
He hummed shyly and quietly said, "I... I like Sarah!" "Sarah from the village chief's family?" Logan widened his eyes in disbelief, then asked worriedly, "Sarah is famous around here. She already has eight suitors, and she wants a big dowry. Do you have enough silver?"
"Yes! I have saved some silver. The dowry should be enough!" Caleb said shyly with a red face. "Also, Sarah told me she likes me. She doesn't want so much dowry. She will come to propose to my family after the New Year!"
"That's good! We'll wait for your wedding banquet then!" Logan laughed and congratulated him.