Chapter 17: The Seventeenth Day of Being a Salted Fish

From a distance, Goudan seemed to feel Lu Yuan’s gaze and turned back with a broad grin.

He looked like a happy big dog.

Lu Yuan smiled back at him.

Goudan froze, suddenly shuddering as if struck by a chill. He hurriedly handed his work over to someone else and ran over in a rush. “Why did you suddenly smile like Siming? What’s wrong with you? No, wait, what’s wrong with me? Did I offend you?”

“…” Lu Yuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He had long known that the dynamic between Goudan and Siming was a bit strange when he wasn’t around, but what on earth had Siming done to make Goudan so traumatized that even seeing a smile triggered such terror?

“Nothing.” Lu Yuan shook his head and gestured toward the small band nearby to change the subject. “Those are the kids you mentioned who are interested in instruments, right?”

“Yeah,” Goudan nodded.

“I remember you saying they might want to buy sheet music and records from me. How come you never brought them over?” Lu Yuan asked.

Goudan gave him a surprised look. “You’re so diligent today! You actually have the mind to care about other people.”

Lu Yuan looked at him, speechless.

Goudan chuckled. “I thought after dealing with that Garbage Ship, you would have used up your entire month’s quota of activity and spent the rest of the time lying there motionless.”

“…I’m not quite that bad.”

“True. You look pretty relaxed, not nearly as serious as the day Siming arrived.” Goudan shook his head, finally bringing the conversation back on track. He jerked his chin toward the teenagers and explained, “They said they want to compose their own music. It’s probably because I told them the story of the protagonists making original songs in that TV show, ‘The Crazy Band’.”

“I see.” Lu Yuan nodded. “So, how is their composing going?”

“Pretty good!” Goudan waved toward the group. “Er Ya¹, come over here!”

“Eh?” Over there, a young girl glanced over and then led the others toward them. “Coming, Uncle Dan! What’s up?”

“…Uncle Dan?” Lu Yuan was profoundly shocked.

Goudan scratched his head sheepishly.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

The “band” appeared to have five members in total, all around fourteen or fifteen years old. There were three girls and two boys.

The leader was clearly the girl Goudan called Er Ya. She was the tallest among the children, with short hair that reached just to her ears, giving her a very brisk and capable look.

As they approached and saw Lu Yuan standing next to Goudan, the girl greeted him openly. “Yo, good morning, Boss!”

Lu Yuan, finding himself in a rare good mood, looked at her with interest. “Hello.”

“She’s Er Ya. Over there are Ying Ying and Yan Yan, and those two boys are Tiechui and Tiezhu,” Goudan introduced.

The two boys didn’t look much older than Zhu Rong. Standing there thin and small, they didn’t possess any of the sturdiness suggested by the names “Iron Hammer²” or “Iron Pillar³.” Fortunately, when Goudan called their names, he added a diminutive suffix⁴, making the names sound lighthearted rather than heavy, which made them feel less out of place.

Lu Yuan had long since grown accustomed to the haphazard naming style of the people on the Desolate Planet, so this didn’t surprise him much. He was just curious about what the next generation of children would call them when these kids grew up.

Uncle Hammer and Uncle Pillar?

…That seemed slightly better than Uncle Dan.

Ying Ying and Yan Yan appeared to be twins, looking almost identical, though Lu Yuan could easily tell them apart. The older sister was slightly taller and thinner. The younger sister had a rounder face and a more lively, sweet personality; when she smiled, two deep dimples appeared by her mouth.

The twins had light-colored hair, somewhat like the color of old-fashioned toffee. Despite the poor nutrition on the Desolate Planet, they had a surprising amount of hair, which was braided into long plaits hanging over their shoulders.

Unlike the twins commonly seen outside, their clothes were not identical – it was difficult enough to find two matching sets of clothes on the Desolate Planet.

However, their clothes were washed very clean. Although they were worn and had been patched more than once, they looked relatively smooth and tidy.

In contrast, the two boys’ clothes were much more disheveled. But that was normal. Boys were more active, and getting them to sit still and carefully wash or mend their own clothes was a difficult task.

Goudan pulled one of the boys over, slinging an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner. He said with a grin, “Boss Lu wants to hear your songs. How about it? Give us a tune?”

Er Ya blinked. “Are there any benefits?”

Lu Yuan laughed. “Yes. If it sounds good, I’ll make a few instruments for you. I just picked up a Garbage Ship, and after Siming and the others finish dismantling it, there should be plenty of good materials left. But once they’re made, you have to write a few more songs for me in return.”

“Awesome!” The teenagers cheered and high-fived each other.

“But our instruments aren’t here,” Ying Ying said. “Shall we go to the base?”

“I still have things to do,” Goudan said. “I see you lot aren’t working anyway. You take Lu Yuan over there.”

“You got it!” Tiechui ducked out from under Goudan’s arm. He reached out to grab Lu Yuan but then pulled his hand back, grinning as he leaned forward in a clumsy, makeshift bow of invitation. “This way~”

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. This entire exchange had been too smooth, without a single moment of hesitation or extra discussion before reaching an agreement. It gave Lu Yuan the feeling that he was being played.

Goudan must have discussed with them beforehand what to do if a similar situation arose.

However, Lu Yuan didn’t mind.

He could roughly guess the reason behind the current scene:

Even if these children’s parents were open-minded, and even if the lives of the residents in this area had become more comfortable over the past year, they likely still couldn’t spare the money for the children to pursue music.

Goudan might seem careless, but he was actually a very observant person. He wouldn’t try to give the children money directly to buy things, nor would he approach Lu Yuan to ask him to give things to the children for free.

So he came up with this method. He would be responsible for giving the children an opportunity to try and impress Lu Yuan, to see if they could make a “deal” with him directly.

Lu Yuan actually appreciated this bit of cleverness from Goudan.

Goudan was very good at seizing opportunities. It was because of this that he was able to get the chance to watch shows at Lu Yuan’s place every day, and why he could constantly learn through his daily interactions with Lu Yuan and even through his bickering with Siming, managing this area better and better.

As he followed the teenagers to their “base,” Lu Yuan wondered with interest what kind of song they would play for him.

It certainly wouldn’t be an ordinary song.

This song must be one they had carefully prepared, confident that it could move Lu Yuan.

Behind Lu Yuan, Goudan watched the group walk away for a long time before turning to board the starship.

He didn’t return to the cargo hold, but instead went to the control room.

The door was suddenly pushed open. Siming looked up in surprise, only to see Goudan poking his head in with a serious expression.

“What happened?” Before Siming could speak, Goudan asked first.

Siming looked at the captain across from him, hesitating slightly.

He had been listening to the captain talk about Lu Yuan’s past, but the captain was a sharp man; as soon as Goudan pushed the door open, he had quickly shut his mouth. He was now looking at Siming with nervous eyes.

Goudan looked at him too and continued, “This guy knows about Lu Yuan’s past?”

“…How did you know?” Siming was stunned.

Goudan shrugged. “Lu Yuan’s mood was off, and you haven’t come out for so long. I guessed.”

“I see.” Siming sighed. “Yeah, I’m listening to him right now.”

He thought for a moment, looked up, and managed a faint smile. “It’s a huge piece of gossip. Want to join in?”

Translator’s Notes