Just then, the foolish boy returned with a bright smile, sporting a fresh wound on his forehead that was gory and rather frightening.
But the foolish boy did not mind, cheerfully offering one of the cornbreads in his hand to Bai Junjun.
"Apology," the foolish boy pointed at the tube-shaped building.
It seemed like an expression of his apology for startling Bai Junjun.
Bai Junjun glanced at the blood-stained cornbread and did not accept it.
Lame Man Uncle asked the foolish boy, "If you gave away yours, what will you eat?"
"I still have one," the foolish boy boasted, holding up the cornbread he had already taken a bite of with pride.
Lame Man Uncle said no more.
On the contrary, Bai Junjun pointed at his head and asked, "What happened here?"
"Got hit," the foolish boy answered as casually as if he was commenting on the weather being good, as if getting hit was an ordinary event. After answering Bai Junjun’s question, he extended the bread again.
"Can I eat it?" Li Wenli walked over to Bai Junjun’s side with a smile.
The foolish boy glanced at Li Wenli and then back at Bai Junjun, only then noticing there were three more children standing behind them, all looking at him eagerly.
He rubbed his head, somewhat troubled, "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will earn more and bring them back."
It was unclear what exactly touched this foolish boy’s pure heart.
Perhaps it was their similar age, maybe it was their posture while they slept that he saw the previous night which left him astonished, or possibly their game of chase made him believe they were playing house. Regardless, without any sign, the foolish boy came to see them as friends.
Seeing the kind-heartedness of the naive boy, Bai Junjun felt somewhat complicated inside.
Meanwhile, Li Wenli had already accepted the cornbread with a laugh, saying, "We’ll take just half, you can eat the rest."
After speaking, Li Wenli broke off half the cornbread and gave it back to him.
The foolish boy looked at them in astonishment, "No, you guys, that’s not enough."
"We’ll go find some food later," Li Wenli said with an easy smile.
Lame Man Uncle scoffed at these worldly innocent kids, "Do you think this place is a hunting ground, with an animal every ten steps?"
"There’s... no food here," the foolish boy nodded in agreement.
"It’s not that there is none, the only thing edible is up in the sky. Those large eagles are the only living creatures around here, nesting in the cliffs," said One-Armed Uncle who had returned at some point, munching on his cornbread and talking at the same time. "However... you can only catch them during Mao Hour. Their talons are sharper than dark iron. They usually bring calamity to people as well, but you can try your luck."
Li Wenli and Bai Junjun’s eyes lit up.
However, before they could inquire further, passing by was One-eyed Uncle. He, too, was chewing on cornbread and slapped One-Armed Uncle’s back while saying, "Stop boasting and causing trouble for others."
"Hiss!" One-Armed Uncle, who had a wound on his shoulder, almost fainted from the slap, "You blind old man, if you’re leaving then leave. Why hit me, you’ve made my wound ooze pus."
"And how am I causing trouble? They’re just kids looking for food. I kindly informed them what’s edible nearby, how is that wrong?"
The two uncles didn’t chat further with Bai Junjun and the others and walked off to their own tube-shaped building, cursing all the way.
Crude as these two uncles were in their words, to the people of The Apocalypse, it inexplicably had the "flavor of home."
Bai Junjun followed their retreating figures and saw, coincidentally, that both men lived just next door to him, making them neighbors.