Chapter 494: Don’t Drink It
The woman stared at the broken cup with terror on her face.
Chief Gao’s friendly smile slowly vanished.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
His voice was calm, but the woman trembled as if she had heard a death sentence.
"I...I saw something inside the cup," she stammered.
"What did you see?"
"An insect. I thought an insect had fallen into the water."
Chief Gao lowered his gaze towards the broken pieces of pottery.
Water had already spread across the dusty ground. There was nothing visible within it, but the woman’s excuse was reasonable. After the locust swarm, a stray insect could have entered the courtyard.
Unfortunately, Chief Gao did not appear convinced.
His gaze remained fixed on the woman.
"What insect?"
"I didn’t see it clearly. It was small and black."
"Small and black?"
"Yes."
Chief Gao’s eyes narrowed.
Before he could continue questioning her, Janna suddenly placed her hands on her chest and sighed with exaggerated relief.
"Thank goodness you noticed it! I almost swallowed an insect."
The woman looked at her gratefully.
Janna might be young, but she wasn’t foolish. She understood that the woman had deliberately stopped her from drinking.
Whatever was inside the water was dangerous.
"Chief Gao, you should reward her," Janna continued. "She saved your village from embarrassment. What would we think if your guests were served dirty water?"
Chief Gao’s expression darkened further.
Yet, he could not punish the woman openly without confirming everyone’s suspicions.
"Of course," he replied through gritted teeth. "She was very attentive."
He turned towards another woman.
"Bring our guest a new cup."
"There is no need," Leng Pan interrupted.
She pulled a bottle of mineral water from her backpack and handed it to Janna.
"The child is easily frightened. She probably won’t want to drink from another cup after seeing an insect in the first one."
Janna nodded vigorously.
"Yes. I don’t want another insect crawling into my mouth."
She twisted the bottle open and took several large gulps.
Chief Gao watched the bottle with a strained smile.
"It was only a small accident. Our well water is clean."
"We know," Leng Pan assured him. "But children can be stubborn. There is no need to force her."
No one at the table was truly a child, but Janna looked young enough for the excuse to work.
Besides, Chief Gao had already seen that they possessed their own water. If he insisted too much, his intentions would become obvious.
"Very well." He sat down again. "Let us eat before the food becomes cold."
The atmosphere did not return to its previous friendliness.
The woman who had knocked over Janna’s cup hurried away, but not before giving her a meaningful look.
Chief Gao followed the woman with his gaze until she disappeared inside the house.
Leng Pan noticed everything but remained silent.
She lowered her eyes towards the dishes on the table.
The roasted meat had been cut into small pieces and covered with a thick layer of seasoning. Its original appearance was completely concealed.
Even the scent was difficult to identify.
Leng Pan glanced at Little Vine.
The bracelet tightened around her wrist, transmitting the same feeling of rejection it had sent earlier.
Whatever meat was on the table, the vine did not like it.
"Why aren’t you eating?" Chief Gao asked. "Is the food not to your liking?"
"We were waiting for the host," Lu Zhen replied.
Chief Gao laughed.
"You are too polite."
He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth.
Everyone watched him chew and swallow.
"There. Now you can eat without restraint."
Lu Tao looked at the meat before turning to his brother.
Even though he knew they shouldn’t consume anything, the aroma was truly tempting.
Moreover, Chief Gao had eaten it without hesitation.
Lu Zhen gave him a warning look.
Lu Tao immediately lowered his head and picked up some rice instead.
Before he could eat it, Leng Pan kicked him under the table.
His chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth.
Was the rice also dangerous?
He slowly placed it back in his bowl.
"Why aren’t you eating?" Chief Gao asked again.
"We ate before entering the village," Leng Pan explained. "We are not very hungry."
Chief Gao’s smile stiffened.
"You should still taste a little. We prepared all this food to welcome you."
"We won’t waste it," Lu Zhen said.
He waved his hand, and the dishes on the table disappeared.
Chief Gao stared at the empty table in shock.
"Since we cannot finish everything now, I stored it for later."
Lu Zhen’s voice was calm, as if he had done nothing unusual.
"Your cooking will not go to waste."
Chief Gao opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He had wanted them to consume the food in front of him. Now that Lu Zhen had stored it away, he could neither protest nor force them to bring it back.
More importantly, Lu Zhen’s casual display confirmed that his storage space was not small.
There had been at least twenty dishes on the table. Yet, he had stored everything without difficulty.
Greed flashed in Chief Gao’s eyes before he concealed it.
"Of course. You can eat whenever you feel hungry."
The other villagers stood around the courtyard without speaking.
Leng Pan noticed that several of them appeared relieved when the food disappeared.
Others looked disappointed.
It was difficult to tell who was innocent and who was working with Chief Gao willingly.
"Chief Gao, your village appears to be doing well," Ouyang Jin said, changing the subject. "You have clean water, rice, vegetables, and meat. Most survivor bases cannot provide such meals anymore."
"We were lucky," Chief Gao replied.
"Where do you grow the rice and vegetables?"
"We stored them before the apocalypse."
"A small village stored enough food to last this long?"
Chief Gao hesitated.
"We have always preserved grain after every harvest. When the apocalypse began, fewer than half of our villagers survived. The food meant for everyone has lasted longer because there are fewer mouths to feed."
His explanation sounded reasonable.
However, the amount of rice in the villagers’ homes indicated that they were not rationing it carefully.