Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 77: Chapter 71: Meeting Gift

Lin Yi recounted everything in great detail, telling Tang Mo almost all that had happened since she arrived.

Knowing her mother was doing well here, Tang Mo felt much more at ease.

The things she told Lin Yi were much more abbreviated; she mostly spoke about the people she met on her journey and a few interesting events.

As for all the fighting, she naturally and strategically left that out.

However, when she heard about Aunt Lin, her daughter-in-law, and her newborn grandson in Taoyuan Village, Lin Yi still felt a pang of empathetic sadness.

The Labrador, named Zhima, took a liking to the newcomer. After a brief sniff at the beginning, it lay down by Tang Mo’s legs as if they were old friends, showing none of the usual reservation toward a stranger.

Sunlight streamed through the large, floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the mother, daughter, and dog in a warm glow. The scene was as beautiful as an oil painting in a frame.

The first floor of the villa housed the rooms for the maids and nannies, the third floor was for Wen Jianshu and Lin Yi, and Tang Mo’s room was on the second floor.

The room was no longer decorated in pink, but a light blue that Tang Mo quite liked.

The closet, filled with clothes, no longer contained princess dresses. Instead, it was stocked with all sorts of high-end sportswear, each piece looking much sturdier and more stain-resistant than the ones Tang Mo had bought for herself.

’You really do get what you pay for.’ The old saying was always true.

It seemed Wen Jianshu was slowly getting a handle on his new daughter’s personality, and the things he prepared were increasingly to Tang Mo’s taste.

Tang Mo changed her clothes and slept comfortably in her bed for the whole afternoon.

Having gotten used to sleeping on the wooden plank bed in Taoyuan Village, she had almost forgotten what a soft mattress felt like.

Sinking into the soft, thick comforter... ’Ah, I really don’t want to get up.’

’Comfort really does make you soft.’

By the time Tang Mo got up again, it was almost time for dinner.

Before her nap, Uncle Wen had told her about the plans for the evening: they were going to have dinner at ”Grandpa’s” place.

This was to be her formal introduction to the rest of the family, acknowledging her as a member of the Wen Family.

Tang Mo didn’t change into anything formal. She just picked out a gray-blue sweatsuit from the closet, washed her face, combed her hair, and went downstairs to go with Lin Yi and Wen Jianshu to Mr. Wen Sr.’s home.

Wen Jianli’s two children were away at school for intensive training and weren’t home today.

At the dinner table were Mr. Wen Sr., the three couples—Wen Jianli, Wen Jianshu, and Wen Jianming with their wives—plus Tang Mo and five-year-old Wen Yixuan.

After Wen Jianshu’s introductions, Tang Mo politely greeted everyone at the table one by one before taking her seat.

Seeing Tang Mo’s polite and composed demeanor, Mr. Wen Sr. was the first to nod in approval.

He knew that this girl, Tang Mo, had been out fending for herself for a long time instead of returning to S Base.

’Now that’s an impressive girl!’

The old man, who already had a good impression of Tang Mo, liked her even more after meeting her in person.

”Kiddo, this is a little something from Grandpa for our first meeting.”

Mr. Wen Sr. slid a sandalwood bracelet from his wrist.

At a signal from Wen Jianshu, Tang Mo quickly stepped forward and accepted it with the utmost respect.

’So there’s a gift-giving part to this!’

’If I’d known, I would have come back sooner,’ Tang Mo thought to herself.

Wen Jianli and Wen Jianming also produced their prepared gifts. Both had brought a fruit of an unidentifiable species, each packaged in a transparent gift box.

’It’s probably some kind of abnormal treasure.’ In front of everyone, she couldn’t possibly use her watch to appraise it.

Tang Mo accepted the items and thanked them one by one.

Although the Wen Family presented these items casually, even in S Base, an abnormal treasure was an incredibly valuable thing.

An abnormal treasure with an attribute value of 10 was equivalent to that of an Intermediate Beast, making it extremely precious.

The fact that the Wen Family members were giving her such valuable items showed that they truly accepted Tang Mo.

And their reasons for accepting Tang Mo were simple.

First, since marrying Wen Jianshu, Lin Yi had been very cultured and sensible, and she got along harmoniously with the entire family.

Second, Tang Mo seemed like a good kid, not spoiled, willful, or unpresentably petty.

The third and most important reason was that Lin Yi was now carrying the Wen Family’s bloodline!

On that point alone, no gift for Tang Mo could be considered too extravagant.

The family dinner was, on the whole, quite harmonious. Her eldest uncle’s wife and Lin Yi spoke little, while the others took turns amusing Mr. Wen Sr.

Wen Jianming’s wife, Zhou Ying, was especially adept at managing the atmosphere at the table, laying on one compliment after another for Mr. Wen Sr.

But she was beautiful and eloquent, and coming from her, the flattery sounded more charming than sycophantic.

Having gained a rough understanding of the Wen Family’s dynamics, Tang Mo could actually understand Zhou Ying’s way of handling things.

Her husband was unreliable—a married man with a child who still philandered. She had to secure her own footing in this family to provide any security for herself and her child.

After dinner, Tang Mo’s family of three returned to their own villa.

Before Tang Mo went upstairs, however, Wen Jianshu called her into his study.

”Take this pouch. Think of it as some spending money,” Wen Jianshu said, taking out a small bag.

The pouch was made of a semi-transparent mesh, and with a single glance after taking it, Tang Mo could tell it was filled with Crystal Cores.

There were two Intermediate Crystal Cores—one white for the Spirit Attribute, and one blue for the agility attribute.

There were also over thirty small, multicolored Basic Crystal Cores.

’This is some seriously generous spending money...’

On her way to the Wen Family’s residence, Tang Mo had already gotten a general sense of the economy in S Base.

Food was still the primary currency. Crystal Cores were far too precious to circulate in the general market.

At the very least, Tang Mo hadn’t seen a single person at the roadside stalls paying with Crystal Cores.

Two Intermediate Crystal Cores and dozens of Basic Crystal Cores—this was a huge amount.

Over thirty Basic Crystal Cores was roughly what a ten-person squad would earn in a month.

Tang Mo had been part of a small squad in her past life, so she knew the going rates better than anyone.

As for Intermediate Crystal Cores, forget about it. Most small squads would do anything to avoid an Intermediate Beast; one wrong move and the entire team could be wiped out.

”Momo, I know you’re a girl with your own mind and that you have your own ambitions regarding your strength. What I want to talk to you about today is the use of these Crystal Cores and abnormal treasures.”

”Their use?”

Tang Mo thought she understood how to use Crystal Cores and abnormal treasures perfectly well. It was a simple matter, so she didn’t know what Uncle Wen wanted to discuss.

”You’re part of the Wen Family now. Abnormal treasures might be rare and hard to come by, but you will never be short on Crystal Cores. However, I hope you’ll exercise some restraint when using them. Don’t blindly rely on external items to raise your attribute value. When it comes to attribute value, higher isn’t always better for everyone.”

Wen Jianshu’s expression was very serious. He truly saw Tang Mo as his own daughter and was telling her this because he wanted what was best for her.

”Attribute value isn’t the higher, the better?”

Tang Mo was genuinely shocked. In her two lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever heard such a thing.

’Could I have been wrong all this time?’