Fu Xin Ci knew her friends wouldn't be able to come tonight, so she forced herself to maintain a cheerful demeanor, chatting aimlessly with the old man and two youngsters about the weather in Long Cheng.
The three individuals, having received food from Fu Xin Ci, answered almost every question they were asked.
The two young boys, in particular, spoke with animated gestures and flying spittle. Even through the screen, Fu Xin Ci could see the airborne droplets.
However, she didn't show any disdain, gradually becoming engrossed in their stories.
Seeing that Sister Fu was listening with joy, the two young boys spoke with even more fervor.
The elder beside them occasionally chimed in with a sentence or two. From the weather in Long Cheng, the three of them moved on to gossip within the city, discussing both major and minor events, leaving no detail unmentioned, much of which her friends were unaware of.
The elder boy, glancing furtively towards the entrance of the trading hall, confirmed that it was still raining and no one else was entering. He then lowered his voice and said to Fu Xin Ci, "Sister Fu, the female city lord of Phoenix City has a particularly troublesome woman by her side. She's incredibly annoying and is always instigating the female city lord to hook up with Captain Long Teng."
"Yes, I overheard it once too," the elder added.
"I've heard it several times. Each time, she drags the female city lord to a corner to whisper. They don't look like good people at all."
Fu Xin Ci knew a little about the female city lord of Phoenix City; her friends had mentioned her, but she didn't know someone was instigating her.
Sigh, honestly. She could understand if someone liked their wise and mighty captain. But instigating the female city lord to hook up with the captain? That she couldn't comprehend.
Was this person out of their mind?
However, before she could even process this, her mind was already racing, feeling indignant for her captain.
"Here's another juicy piece of gossip," the young boy blurted out. "Yesterday, I saw the sister of the City Lord of Qilin City trying to get close to Captain Long Teng with starry eyes."
"What starry eyes! Those were eyes glowing blue, with a desire to sleep," the boy, to make his point convincing, mimicked the woman's gaze.
Fu Xin Ci worried his eyeballs might pop out.
"Hmph! Where did you learn all this vulgar talk from, you brat? You're not allowed to spout nonsense like this anymore."
"He's not talking nonsense. Big Brother Zhang said it yesterday, and I heard it too."
Fu Xin Ci's mood soured, and she began to complain inwardly.
"Tsk, what kind of people are these? Can't there be a pretty young lady who simply likes our captain?"
"Sister Fu, let me tell you, there are many female ability users who like Captain Long Teng."
Fu Xin Ci: She actually seemed to know this. The few of them had even huddled together to discuss it conspiratorially, only to be caught red-handed by the captain.
She still vividly remembered what the captain had said then, telling them to go collect more living supplies if they had nothing better to do.
Fatty had even mimicked the captain's tone, feigning a lecture, "Are you all so bored you've got nothing better to do! Go collect supplies, you're not making anyone worry less."
The ensuing result was Fatty being chased by them, yelping all the way.
Thinking back to the days spent with her friends always brought a sense of nostalgia.
Fu Xin Ci bolstered her own spirits again. She had to keep trying.
When she returned to her space, she looked at the ginseng she had dug up with Bai back then, noting its good growth. She didn't understand much about it, nor did she know how many years it had been growing.
She suddenly recalled that the initial upgrades to her space were due to this ginseng.
So, if she used her wood element ability to accelerate the growth of this ginseng, would it, would it be what she imagined?
Although she didn't know the outcome yet, Fu Xin Ci firmly believed this method was feasible.
In the following days, whenever she had free time, she would sneak into her space and use her wood element ability to urge the ginseng along, attempting to make it grow faster.
The result of being exhausted every day was that she discovered the growth speed of the older ginseng in the middle was slowing down.
Alas, what to do? Her confidence was beginning to waver.
Sigh, she couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything these past two days. Fu Xin Ci feared her family would notice, so she forced herself to appear normal.
The rain in Long Cheng had not stopped. She had only seen the captain tonight.
The captain told her he had come specifically because he was afraid she would worry.
The captain also spoke of the dreadful weather in Long Cheng, "This rainfall might last longer than the last time. I've already told everyone to make thorough preparations. Don't go outside if you don't have to. The acidic substances in this rainwater might be even stronger than last time."
"Captain," Fu Xin Ci felt like crying upon hearing the captain's analysis and decisions.
"It's alright. We've all worked hard together. Even if the final result isn't perfect, it doesn't matter."
"But Captain..."
Before Fu Xin Ci could finish, the captain interrupted her.
"Xin Ci, you look much more haggard than you did a couple of days ago. This is not good."
"Girls should look like girls. Don't force yourself to bear things you shouldn't. Moreover, you're still young. You should enjoy your life right now."
After speaking, the captain traded for some grain, meat, and eggs, essential living supplies, from Xin Ci, then waved goodbye and returned to the dormitory.
Watching the captain's tall figure recede, Fu Xin Ci decided to take his advice and have a good night's sleep.
The next morning, as soon as she opened her eyes, she heard the sound of rain outside her window.
She pulled back the curtains and saw that the rain was quite heavy. The bluestone path in the courtyard was already wet from the rain. She began to ponder how to arrange her day.
However, before she could finalize her plans, she heard the sound of small hands patting on her door.
"Sister, are you awake? Can Ning'er come in?"
"I'm awake. Ning'er, come in."
"Mhm," the little one replied and pushed the door open to enter.
Fu Xin Ci looked at the little one, completely dry, and found it strange.
It was raining, and this little one hadn't gone out to play in the rain. This didn't make sense.
Just as Fu Xin Ci was wondering where she had gone wrong, she saw the little one run to her side, take her hand, and lead her to the window.
Fu Xin Ci: Fine, this kid was waiting for her here. She waved her hand and pretended to be hesitant, saying, "Ning'er, in this kind of weather, it's best for us to sleep."
"Sister, we just woke up." Ning'er didn't directly say: Sister, why are you being lazy now.
"Ning'er, we're not sleeping now. We'll sleep after breakfast."
Ning'er didn't quite agree with his sister's idea.
He lowered his small head and thought for a moment before making his wise choice: he would go play with his grandfather after breakfast.
Fu Xin Ci remained silent. She only glanced at the little one's expression and knew she had successfully gotten rid of this little burden.
After breakfast, she returned to her room with a sense of lightness.
An excuse readily available: "If I don't sleep in this weather, I'd be doing a disservice to the rain."