"Uncle, what exactly happened with Zhan Zeyi's injuries?"
Tang Qiyue had always been curious about the man who had indirectly caused her death.
Her tragic death in her previous life had left a knot in her heart. Back then, she had been unable to find the answer. Later, after being thrown into the apocalypse and witnessing countless scenes of life and death, she gradually lost the desire to search for the truth.
But in this life, things had started differently from what she remembered.
Tang Qiyue wasn't stupid. Zhan Zeyi's behavior, and the fact that he showed little surprise toward her abilities, had always bothered her.
After thinking about it carefully, she decided she still wanted to know what had happened.
The one-eyed uncle sighed and his expression turned serious.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took two more puffs from his pipe.
Smoke slowly flowed from his nostrils, surrounding him in a thin cloud.
Tang Qiyue didn't rush him. She simply stood quietly beside him and waited.
"He went on a mission," the one-eyed uncle finally said. "But because of confidentiality regulations, I can't tell you the details. I can only say that he went to a very strange place."
"He led a team of seven—every one of them a highly trained elite soldier."
The one-eyed uncle adjusted the leather patch over his eye. Seeing Tang Qiyue listening attentively, he gestured for her to sit on a small stool.
"But the mission failed," he continued. "He was the only one who came back alive."
The one-eyed uncle looked toward the distant sea.
Fishing boats were scattered across the water, and seabirds occasionally skimmed the surface, creating a scene as beautiful as an oil painting.
"And even though Xiao Ye survived, he was terribly injured," he said slowly. "His body was practically riddled with holes. No one believed he could survive."
Tang Qiyue was stunned.
She clearly remembered that Zhan Zeyi only had one visible wound on his abdomen. Under her care, that wound had healed completely.
Although she hadn't carefully examined every part of his body, they had shared a bed for several nights. It was impossible for her not to have noticed serious injuries.
She was certain he had many scars—but they were definitely old scars, not fresh wounds.
"He stayed in a coma for a whole month," the one-eyed uncle continued. "My old friend invited nearly every top doctor he could find, but none of them could wake him."
Then the one-eyed uncle suddenly added,
"Oh, right. Your sister came to visit him once while he was still in a coma. She overheard some nurses talking—and then she ran away."
At that moment, Tang Qiyue finally understood why Tang Meilan had been so certain before.
It was probably because Zhan Zeyi had seemed very unlikely to survive.
Tang Meilan might have been selfish, but she wasn't stupid.
At that time, the Tang family had already been struggling. Arranging a military marriage for her had probably been the greatest protection Tang Qiyue's father could offer.
"It's a good thing you married Xiao Ye," the one-eyed uncle suddenly said. "If someone who disliked him had married him, he would've been heartbroken."
The conversation was starting to drift away from the topic, so Tang Qiyue quickly redirected it.
"Uncle, then how did Zhan Zeyi recover so quickly in just one month?"
Hearing this, the one-eyed uncle shook his head.
"I don't know. Even Xiao Ye himself doesn't know. When he finally woke up, there was only a single hole left in his body."
Tang Qiyue: …
Why does that sound so strange?
"When Xiao Ye woke up," the one-eyed uncle continued, "the first thing he insisted on doing was going home to see his family. He even said he wanted to cancel his engagement and refused to let my old friend arrange a marriage for him."
At that moment, Tang Qiyue realized the "old friend" he kept mentioning was probably Zhan Zeyi's former superior—the one who had arranged their marriage.
"Because his condition was so unusual, many doctors were ordered to keep it confidential," the one-eyed uncle said. "But for safety reasons, Xiao Qin was sent along with him to monitor his health and confirm whether he had really recovered."
It was obvious now that the one-eyed uncle was not just an ordinary canteen cook.
He looked at Tang Qiyue seriously.
"Girl, the fact that Xiao Ye accepted you and brought you here shows he truly cares about you. You're a good girl—live a good life with him."
Although some of Tang Qiyue's doubts had been answered, even more questions had appeared.
Still, she didn't continue asking.
After finishing his tobacco, the one-eyed uncle seemed to be in a great mood.
He told Tang Qiyue that she didn't need to come to the canteen anymore—breakfast would be delivered to her door.
He also said that if she didn't want to cook lunch or dinner, she could come to the canteen, and he would prepare a separate meal for her instead of the communal food.
Tang Qiyue naturally didn't refuse.
After thanking him, she gave the one-eyed uncle some sugar and returned home. She still had many things to do.
She would eventually uncover the secret of Zhan Zeyi's strange recovery, so there was no need to worry too much for now.
After returning home, Tang Qiyue began preparing the seeds Xu Qiuju had given her.
Instead of following Xu Qiuju's instructions—soaking the seeds, wrapping them in a damp cloth, and keeping them close to her body for warmth—Tang Qiyue simply exchanged for a plant nutrient solution and soaked the seeds directly.
High-tech products were incredibly effective, and she wasn't worried that they wouldn't work across time and space.
After soaking the seeds, she went into the courtyard to plan how she would plant them.
The yard was quite large. Besides the vegetable patch, there was still plenty of empty space.
Since the house was on an island, there was no need to dig a well. Fresh water came from a mountain spring nearby.
Tang Qiyue's yard was not far from the stream. If she used bamboo pipes, she could channel the water directly to her home and wouldn't need to fetch water every day.
However, that arrangement would have to wait until Zhan Zeyi returned, since it might benefit other families as well.
There were no trees in the yard to provide shade.
Tang Qiyue considered building a trellis where she could grow gourds or grapes.
Planting a wisteria vine would also be beautiful.
Wisteria had a long flowering season, and when in bloom, the purple blossoms looked like floating clouds.
The idea was wonderful, but none of it could be done immediately.
Tang Qiyue wasn't in a hurry.
If she wasn't mistaken, she would likely be living on this island for many years.
A place meant for long-term living should naturally be decorated properly.
Holding a sketchbook, Tang Qiyue kept moving her pencil across the page, drawing her vision for the courtyard.
Only when her stomach began to rumble did she realize how long she had been sketching outside.
The canteen was already past meal hours.
Tang Qiyue didn't want to trouble the one-eyed uncle again, so she went to the kitchen to cook for herself.
Among the supplies delivered earlier was some flour.
Tang Qiyue was not someone who treated herself poorly just because she was alone.
In the apocalypse, most people relied on nutritional supplements for convenience, but real food still existed—although the mutated ingredients often looked rather frightening.
Tang Qiyue exchanged for a giant bird egg nearly the size of her face.
In the post-apocalyptic world, this egg was commonly used as a substitute for chicken eggs.
Because of its rich flavor, people nicknamed it a "fragrant egg."
She cracked the egg into a bowl, mixed it with flour and salt, and made a smooth batter.
Soon she was spreading the batter in the pan, cooking fragrant egg pancakes.
Just as she was about to fry a salted fish to finish her meal—
she suddenly noticed a small head peeking in through the doorway.
The child was holding a bowl and repeatedly swallowing saliva.