“If it weren’t for my comrade’s kid digging up a whole box this time, you might never get to taste it. As for the price, 60 contribution points each—pretty cheap, right? If you go to the ‘supply market’ to buy a pound of fresh pork, it’s 50 points, and that doesn’t even include seasonings, no one cooks it for you, and you might not even be able to get it! Also, ahem, after you finish this can, you can hand the metal shell over to the ‘materials management department’ and exchange it for some contribution points. Isn’t that a great deal?”

Brian Carter looked at Old Man, waited for him to finish, then suddenly asked:

“How long has it been past the expiration date?”

“Expiration date? How would I know? I don’t even know how to convert the old world’s years.” Old Man Brooks widened his eyes. “Anyway, it’s only year 46 of the new calendar, it’s edible, it’s edible.”

As he spoke, he showed a look of reminiscence:

“Back when I was in the ‘security department’, there was a time I was out on a mission, lost my supplies, almost starved to death. Luckily, I found a military warehouse and discovered this kind of canned food. Even back then, it had been expired for who knows how many years, but I ate it and nothing happened. It tasted amazing.”

Chapter Four: Rumors

Brian Carter held the can, didn’t respond, nor did he put it down.

After a few seconds, he finally asked:

“Can it sing?”

“Huh?” Henry Brooks had lived so many years, but this was the first time he doubted his own ears.

At this moment, Charlotte Reed rushed in from outside the “activity center” carrying two yellow plastic lunch boxes and spotted Brian Carter.

He greeted him with a big smile:

“Let’s eat together later!”

“Will you treat me?” Brian Carter put down the can and stood up.

Charlotte Reed shook his head without even thinking:

“No.

“You still have quite a bit of subsidy left, don’t you?”

Although Brian Carter’s parents hadn’t left much inheritance, the company did provide some compensation, and when he entered university, he received an additional monthly subsidy of 1,200 points—every university student got this.

This allowed Brian Carter to barely make ends meet.

The subsidy lasted until a student was assigned a job and had been working for a month.

There was no trace of awkwardness on Brian Carter’s face at being refused. He smiled and said:

“Isn’t it true that happy things should be shared with friends?”

“You mean, treating someone to a meal is the best way to share?” Charlotte Reed had gotten more and more used to Brian Carter’s leaps in logic over the past two months.

Listening to their conversation, Henry Brooks chimed in with a laugh:

“That’s right, Little Charlotte, you were so down this afternoon, but now you’re so happy. You must have had some good news.”

“Don’t call me by my nickname…” Charlotte Reed muttered at first, then beamed and said, “My mom said there’s no need to wait for next year’s arranged marriages. She and my dad have a few colleagues whose daughters didn’t get into university and just started working. She’s planning to introduce us to see if we can develop a relationship.”

Company employees only had one chance to take the university entrance exam. If they failed, they’d be assigned a job (after starting work, if they performed well, they might get a recommendation to attend university). At that point, they were usually only 18, not yet at the age for mandatory arranged marriage.

Young people at this stage all longed for free love, since it was definitely better than random assignment—not just pure luck, and there was at least some emotional foundation.

Of course, not many could actually experience true free love, because once they started working, they left home at 7:30 every morning, finished at 6 in the evening, stayed at a fixed post, with only an hour for lunch and a meal break. By 9 p.m., the “activity center” closed, the streetlights went out, and everyone had to go home and get ready for bed. So, young people had very few chances to meet suitable partners, and the time they could spend together was also limited.

By comparison, whether in regular schools or universities, free love was much more common.

As Charlotte Reed spoke, he suddenly became a bit gloomy:

“I wonder if any of them will like me. Even after genetic modification, I’m only 1.75 meters tall, my looks are average, my grades aren’t that great, and no department has reserved me…”

“Looks like something’s going on over there…” Brian Carter interrupted Charlotte Reed’s self-pity, pointing at an old table a few meters away.

A number of employees were gathered there, seemingly discussing something.

Curious, Charlotte Reed followed Brian Carter over.

He glanced around, spotted a familiar face, and blurted out:

“Aunt Cooper, what are you all talking about?”

The Aunt Cooper he referred to was a woman in her forties, wearing a polyester shirt, with delicate features and her hair simply tied up in a bun.

Her name was Alice Cooper, and she lived next door to Charlotte Reed’s family. She worked in a department under the company’s “Strategic Committee,” but was only at D3 level.

Alice Cooper glanced at Charlotte Reed and sighed:

“We’re talking about a recent rumor.”

“What rumor?” Charlotte Reed asked curiously.

At this moment, Henry BrooksOld Man Brooks withdrew his gaze and looked at the pile of military canned food in front of him. He couldn’t help rubbing his stomach and swallowing.

He seemed to recall the feeling of opening a similar military can when he was starving to the extreme.