Chapter 7: The Metal Jungle
At this Di Tou stopped chewing for a second. Hell no. He was not getting sent to a village. He wasn't fond of the mandatory "volunteer programs" he had been forced to take in high school that essentially made him work as an unpaid farm hand for a couple of months during his precious summer vacation back in the day and there was no way he was getting sent to some random village now that he was in this weird world.
Besides, it wasn't like he was from a village around here anyways, who would take him in! He was an old man with no blood relationship to anyone for heavens sake, ah! Who would be willing to take in an additional mouth to feed.
Di Tou didn't know how to live the villager life and even if he did… He was an eighty-year-old man! Even if he was in good health now, how long would he be able to sustain for himself. Heck, where would he even get the resources to start? He had no land, no seeds, no tools, no home. Heck, based off of the weather it seemed like it was the start of fall, so he even missed the planting season. Was he going to a village to die?
Pui! Nobody would even be around to buy him a coffin and burn paper money for him. This was not an acceptable outcome.
"Ah well…"
"You villagers live a hard life though, huh, having to wake up early in the morning to do farm work. Ah, I remember when I lived in a village way back when. Laozhi was such a handsome strong young man back in the day, that's where I met my wife…" At this Laozhi, no wait, he should be called Mu Di Bai now, anyways, Mu Di Bai's face darkened, remembering that his wife's wedding dress, one of the few mementos he had left of her had been burned.
Di Tou had wanted to interrupt, but hearing where the conversation was gone felt helpless. It was indeed his fault alright, ah! Could you please stop bringing it up. He was sorry okay!
"I, uh, I'm sorry. But I really didn't know. Where I come from wedding dresses are more often white, I really didn't realize."
"White huh? What a weird custom, are you marrying ghosts where you come from? Is your village a ghost village? Hmm… White… What a weird choice. No wonder you got sent all the way out here out of nowhere, you must have cursed yourself with a white dress. Haha! But as far as I know there are no villages nearby that have such a weird custom either, what was the name of your village again? Let me try to see if I know where it's located."
Di Tou felt a vein threatening to burst on his forehead. Di Tou had always felt that he was a relatively patient person, sure he wasn't put into a lot of situations where it needed to be tested, but he felt like he had been raised into a relatively speaking understanding young man, but this old man. Haish.
"I. Am. Not. From. A. Village."
"Oh? Don't tell me that you really are some rich old man who's from a city."
Well. It was true that Di Tou was from a city… But it definitely wasn't the type city that Mu Di Bai was thinking about. Suddenly Di Tou felt like making a joke.
"Where I come from… Can be called a metal jungle."
"Ah you must come from the Rong prefecture, I hear they have a metal jungle, I've always wanted to see it at some point. Tell me about it, is it really true that the trees grow out of iron, and the leaves are gold? Hmm, that is really far away though, I don't think I'll be able to bring you home."
Ah!? There really was a metal jungle? What sort of… No. What was important here was clearing up the misunderstanding first.
"No, no, no, not a literal metal jungle. I was trying to say that where I come from all the buildings and signs are made out of metal, so much that it's everywhere you look and sometimes it feels like a jungle."
"Hmmm." Mu Di Bai looked at Di Tou quizzically, "What a weird place. What sort of king would waste so much metal on buildings, he could arm an army with such luxury. And they name their kids odd names like Di Tou, and have their weddings in white, I really don't think I know of this place."
"I." Di Tou sighed, "I don't think I'll be able to go home in a short period, if it's okay with you senior, could you take me along with you for now? I can work or help. I need to pay you back for your help up to now anyways."