Chapter 151: Joyful Rain on a Spring Night

Chapter 151: Joyful Rain on a Spring Night

"Eating spring vegetables on the Spring Equinox" brings peace and health to the whole family.

Zhou Yun set a bowl of tender shepherd's purse, bamboo shoot, and fish soup on the table, signaling it was time to eat.

The bamboo shoots were dug up from the back mountain. Seeing Du Zonghan summon bamboo shoots, Zhou Yun felt like having bamboo shoot soup.

The fish was brought back by Guan Yuanfeng, who reportedly saw some mutated fish while passing by the reservoir and caught them with an electric shock.

Zhou Yun diced the bamboo shoots, chopped the shepherd's purse, and coated the fish slices with egg and batter, whipping up a fresh spring soup.

But he couldn't help teasing Guan Yuanfeng: "You weren't planning to cook this fish for Comet tonight, were you? Where is Comet?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "I left him at the military camp with Xiao Jiang. The soldiers love him. Training with him around really boosts morale."

The fragrant shepherd's purse and the light soup, along with the sour beef soup and stir-fried mushrooms with chili, were all very appetizing. As they ate, Zhou Yun started making small talk:

"Take that young Luo, ambitiously planning to take over small bases and woo a psychic wife. The Deputy Governor in Xining mentioned that upon taking office, he’d review personnel and finances. These are all power players from influential families, who have been influenced by their surroundings and know the essence of power struggles."

"This Du Zonghan, as soon as he arrived, was busy competing for rankings and positions, demanding accommodations and benefits, spouting nothing but useless nonsense—these old tricks of the bureaucratic trade only work in peaceful times, for those who just want to coast. For someone so young, it’s odd if he’s here for achievements."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I asked General Tan. Indeed, no one wants to come to Guixu City. This batch of Deputy Governors was chosen from psychics, and the position is seen as a way to gild their resumes—basically, they are all from influential families, each treated like a golden child. They all know about my conflict with Ye Yuqing, and my fierce reputation, so they are afraid of clashing with me and getting killed."

Zhou Yun, with a smile in his eyes, picked up a piece of beef for Guan Yuanfeng: "Captain Guan’s reputation is well-known, keeping troublemakers at bay."

Guan Yuanfeng was pleased by his words and smiled slightly: "Guixu has already named a Chief Governor, and it's not easy to achieve political success. But Guixu is important, so they can't just not send anyone. The Alliance government doesn’t want the major bases to keep growing unchecked, so they chose this Du Zonghan."

"I heard the Du family only had two psychics in this generation. Du Zonghan is said to be unmotivated, so his family wanted to give him some experience."

Zhou Yun laughed: "Do you have his resume? Forward it to me."

Guan Yuanfeng picked up his phone and sent a message to Dong Kexin. Soon, an encrypted resume was sent to him, and Guan Yuanfeng forwarded it to Zhou Yun: "There’s too much to handle as soon as I’m back. Why are you suddenly asking? Did you find something new?"

"Or did he come to see you?"

Guan Yuanfeng's face darkened: "Zhu Zhuan said he was MIA all afternoon."

Zhou Yun opened the resume and raised his eyebrows: "Hmm... graduated from Sanchu Agricultural University, majoring in Animal Science, with a minor in Veterinary Medicine, double degree. This university has pretty high admission standards, so how can he be called a failure?"

He thoughtfully looked at his place of origin: "True, there are agricultural universities in the capital. He probably deliberately applied out of state, probably to his family's dissatisfaction. With his family background, getting into a local university would have been easy. But being able to get into this university shows that his scores were not low. He probably deliberately applied out of province and stayed there until he graduated with a master's degree, and then the apocalypse happened." Veterinary Medicine is basically becoming a vet, which his family probably didn't accept.

Guan Yuanfeng: "I don't know. They say he has been idle at home, not working, not participating in any social activities, not getting married. Even after awakening his psychic ability, he’s progressed very slowly, with almost no achievements."

Zhou Yun sighed: "If I didn't need money, I wouldn't want to work either, or participate in any social activities..."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..." He added: "His psychic level is also much slower than average. Even though his family doesn't lack crystal cores, he still hasn't reached the third tier."

Zhou Yun thought for a moment: "Wood abilities are inherently slow, and he's dual-element with metal and wood..." He also went off track by recklessly fusing with many mutated plants.

Guan Yuanfeng looked at him: "How do you know he's dual-element? Have you met him?"

Zhou Yun: "..." He explained the situation of meeting Du Zonghan earlier that day and analyzed: "So it’s very likely he doesn’t want to be this Deputy Governor. But from our perspective, he's dual-element with metal and wood, and there's still room for him to advance. His major is also helpful to our industry. He's not interested in power struggles and seems to have a simple personality. If he goes back, the Alliance will send someone else, and there will be new variables... It’s better to consider keeping him by leveraging his interests and expertise..."

He analyzed at length, and Guan Yuanfeng pondered for a while before saying: "So, you rode your bike back from Nanshan Medicinal Garden alone today, without any guards?"

Zhou Yun: "..." He knew Guan Yuanfeng would definitely notice this.

He rubbed his nose and placed another piece of chili beef in Guan Yuanfeng's bowl: "I just wanted to come back to see you as soon as possible."

Guan Yuanfeng shot him a disapproving glance: "If your schedule changes, just let Dong Kexin know, and she’ll arrange vehicles and guards for you. Don’t worry about troubling her; she only handles our schedules, which is much less work than before."

"Your position is now unique. If Ye Yuqing returns, people with hidden agendas will surely guess something. Moreover, you must have many scientific research results to release soon, right? Guixu City has a diverse crowd of tourists, making it difficult to screen out those with ulterior motives. You can’t afford to be careless."

Zhou Yun lowered his head in acknowledgment: "I understand." He quickly changed the subject: "What about Du Zonghan?"

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t care at all: "You decide. His heart isn’t in it; if he wants to go back, let him. No matter how many troublemakers show up, I’ll send them away directly. There’s no need to force someone to stay just because you’re worried about more people coming."

Zhou Yun: "..." Got it. Guan Yuanfeng is just fed up and doesn’t care about him.

After dinner, Zhou Yun also put Du Zonghan out of his mind and cuddled up with Guan Yuanfeng to enjoy the spring.

At dawn, the spring thunder roared, and a heavy spring rain poured down. Zhou Yun woke up to the sound of rain, watching Guan Yuanfeng pull open the curtains, letting the fresh, damp air fill the room. He lazily turned over, stretched out, and hugged a pillow: "Is Comet still at the military camp? Have someone take it to the herb garden for the teacher; I’ll go over after I wake up."

The rustling rain made spring the best time for sleeping in. With enough exercise last night, he needed to catch up on sleep today. Going to work was out of the question; sleeping in was his reward.

Guan Yuanfeng’s eyes lingered on his toned back for a while before saying: "Alright." He put on his trousers, tightened his belt, concealing any signs of last night’s activities.

Zhou Yun was clearly obsessed with his legs, always wrapping them with vines, as if in a passionate embrace. Though he didn’t understand, every time he responded with an equally passionate hug, Zhou Yun would get very excited, his satisfaction and affection always clear.

This gave him a strong sense of possession and fulfillment. He carefully put on his uniform, turning to see Zhou Yun, who had just been sleepy, now staring at him, his eyes full of admiration and affection.

He couldn’t help but smile, walking over to give him a light kiss on the lips: "I’m off to work; you go back to sleep. Kexin has arranged security; just give her a call when you head to the herb garden, and the car will be at the door to pick you up. Stop riding your bike."

Zhou Yun agreed, watching him walk out handsomely, then contentedly went back to sleep, waking up around ten to change clothes and head to the South Mountain Herb Garden.

Comet was already there, as expected, and Yao Huan had fed it a hearty bowl of bone broth. Zhou Yun took it out for a ride on his mountain bike.

Soon, he spotted Du Zonghan skipping work and wandering through the mutated herb section.

Du Zonghan immediately noticed Comet, and seeing Zhou Yun greet him, he walked over joyfully: "So you work here too?" He looked at Comet, his eyes filled with admiration: "Is this your mutated dog? It’s so majestic."

Zhou Yun, seeing he was hooked, patted Comet’s head: "Yes, isn’t it cute? A retired military dog. Do you think it’s handsome? You can pet it."

Comet sat obediently, its fur glossy and sleek, strong and imposing.

Du Zonghan reached out to touch its neck: "It’s so rare; mutated creatures are hard to tame, and tamed pets rarely mutate. This is truly exceptional."

Zhou Yun smiled: "It seems Mr. Du knows a bit about mutated creatures?"

Du Zonghan nodded: "Yes, I studied animal science and veterinary medicine in college, then opened a pet clinic." He laughed self-deprecatingly: "My family thought being a vet was embarrassing, so they didn’t support it. They forced me into politics, which is boring."

Zhou Yun understood now; it wasn’t that he was unemployed, but his so-called noble family couldn’t accept him being a vet, refusing to acknowledge his chosen career path, hence his decision to study far away.

He asked Du Zonghan: "How is it? Have you seen these mutated herbs? Are they good?"

Du Zonghan nodded: "Indeed, no wonder Qingniao Pharmaceuticals is so big. I’m thinking of making some mutated veterinary drugs. When I return, I’ll order some raw materials from here and try making some veterinary drugs myself."

Zhou Yun said: "Didn’t you say your family doesn’t support it? Why not stay here? It’s convenient to get raw materials, and you’re a governor, making resource allocation easy."

Du Zonghan shook his head: "Qingniao Pharmaceuticals has complex relationships, even involving Beiming. It’s a behemoth with many interests. If I get involved, I’ll be suspected of trying to seize power, causing unnecessary trouble."

He smiled: "Administrative tasks are endless, annoying, and constantly interrupt my thoughts. Plus, I have to go to work every day. I’d rather go home and be free. My family sees I’m not rising, so they leave me alone. I have many friends there waiting for me to return and start a business."

Zhou Yun resonated: "You’re right; focusing on one thing without interruptions is really hard." He changed the subject: "I have a challenging project on mutated volcano rabbits here, but I haven’t found the right person to lead it. Hearing that Mr. Du is a top student in animal science and veterinary medicine, and also in the upper echelons of Guixu City... you’d be perfect, but it’s a pity."

Du Zonghan suddenly looked up: "What volcano rabbits?"

Zhou Yun said: "Mutated volcano king rabbits captured from the Xuanwu volcano group in Xining. Would you like to see them? Just yesterday, they told me the volcano rabbits are new here and seem a bit unaccustomed. We also have accompanying volcano algae and volcano moss, rare fire-attribute mutated plants with abundant energy."

Du Zonghan was delighted: "Can I see them?"

Zhou Yun smiled: "Of course, let me take you."

He offered another enticing bait: "Besides fire-attribute plants, we also have shadow-attribute plants and self-bred shadow ducks, as well as lightning-attribute mutated plants. Haven’t you seen those?"