Chapter 43 - The new living arrangement

Jian lugged the cloth bags into the small room and placed them under the bed. His grandpa's roommate, aka the foreman, was still at work so there was no one inside. The man's stuff was also very minimal. In order not to disrupt his things, Jian made sure to keep his things on his grandpa's side. The old man helped him arrange his clothes into a small bag near the bed. "We'll buy you a new uniform tomorrow."

"No need, I have one," he mumbled under his breath as he arranged the bedspread.

The old man grumbled, "You're is looking old and yellow. It even has holes under the armpit," he held up Jian's uniform. "We'll get a new one."

Jian sighed. "I can mend it. It will take me seconds." He plucked the uniform from him. "Grandpa, I don't want a new uniform. It's a waste of money."

"Why is it a waste of money? You can use the uniform for years to come. We need to change it."

Jian glanced up at him with a frown. The world is going to be thrown into chaos in a few months. The most they would need was food and shelter. Not uniforms. For that, they needed to save as much money as possible.

"I won't allow you to," he searched his things and found a needle and thread. "Besides, it's my lucky shirt," he whispered audibly, hoping at least this will convince the man.

The old man let out a small sigh. "Fine... but if that tears, you have to buy a new one," he sat down next to him and gently patted the top of his head. "I'm sad you're not allowing me to spoil you."

Jian gazed up at him with a bright smile. "When did I say that? You can spoil me with your love, not with money." He started to sew the shirt. "We need money to rent a new place."

Even though the construction site sleeping arrangements were good, it was still not that good. The room was big, but there was only a small window to the side. There was no kitchen to cook their food. He wanted his grandpa to eat well so that in the upcoming months, he would be able to run with all that stored energy. Without a kitchen, he would not be able to achieve that.

Jian let out a sigh. 'Being broke sucks... I wonder how the rich live...' That guy who brought him a burger looked very rich. But weirdly, he looked very melancholic. 'I guess even the rich would have deep troubles.' He shook that thought off and started to keenly stitch the tear.

After his shirt was sewn, he started to stitch some of his grandpa's shirts. The old man complained about his wearing torn clothes, but in fact, his clothes were torn so badly. 'That old lady did not even buy her own husband a few pairs of shirts. Tsk!' Gritting his teeth, he continued to mend them.

Suddenly, a cold feeling on his forehead shook him. Looking up, he met his grandpa's worried eyes. "Does it hurt?"

Jian shook his head. The wound on his head had stopped bleeding, leaving behind a slightly tingling feeling. The worst was his face. His right eye was swollen. Without even looking in the mirror, he knew it would be black or blue.

The old man gently applied medicine on his swollen eyelid. "That bitch..." he sniffed slightly, hiding his tears.

Jian chuckled and held his trembling hand. "It's okay. It's all in the past. Now I can live with grandpa happily."

The old man wiped his eyes hurriedly. "Yes, grandpa will never let anything like that happen to you. My Jian is precious to me." He cupped his face softly. "Such a beautiful treasure."

Time passed, and it was past lunchtime. The old man got up and got ready to leave. "Jian, I'm going to work. Will you be okay?"

"Hmm, I'll do my homework."

Jian obediently did his homework. 

By evening, he was done with all his studies and laid on the single bed with a huge grin on his face. 'Finally! I've separated my family! Ahh, I feel so accomplished!' He rolled around happily. 'Next, I need to think of a survival plan.' 

The Wang family will soon approach their small town. Bian will be picked up. 

'I need to make sure the old lady tagged along with him.' 

Even though he hated her so much, he still did not want to see her blood-soaked face again. He did not want that guilt to weigh him down. In the Wang family, they will live a happy and luxurious life. 

'As long as Bian doesn't bother me, I would not care about him.' Jian smirked dangerously. 'But if he does... I will show him what I can do.'