Stockpiling for an Exiled General Through My Store's Back Door

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Second Brother Smiled at Me Like This for the First Time

Ling Qianfan stood there with a silly grin on his face. The corners of his mouth never dropped, staying steadily curled upward. His whole face beamed with joy, and his eyes sparkled as if holding a thousand radiant stars.

Ling Qianjun looked at him in confusion. After a moment, he couldn’t help but call out, ”Qianfan? Qianfan!”

”Huh? Qianjun, did you call me?” Hearing his name, Ling Qianfan finally snapped back to reality, though he still looked a bit dazed.

”What are you grinning at like a fool?” Ling Qianjun asked.

Ling Qianfan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Chuckling, he replied, ”Hehe, I... I was just... That was the first time you’ve patted my head so gently, Qianjun. I... I just feel like you treat me so well. I’ve never seen you smile at me so softly before. You have a really nice smile, Qianjun. You should smile a lot more in the future. Hehe.”

Ling Qianjun felt an invisible strike to his heart. THUMP! The sudden rush of emotion was so profound that it sent a tremor through his very blood.

He never knew that a casual smile or a careless gesture from him could make Qianfan this happy. As it turned out, bringing joy to his family was actually incredibly simple. He realized he should smile at his family more often and offer them more praise. Hua Buwan was right; family members needed to be complimented more.

Having figured this out, Ling Qianjun offered his brother an even brighter, truly heartfelt smile. ”Let’s go.”

Ling Qianfan stared at that smile, his eyes shining as bright as the stars. He nodded emphatically. ”Mhm!”

The two set off again to help another small team ”find” a water source. This time, Ling Qianfan pretended to just be passing by, casually giving them a tip as they dug their pit. While speaking, he deliberately asked them to lean in closer to hear him, stalling for time.

Meanwhile, Ling Qianjun took the opportunity to secretly release water into the pit from behind. Once he finished giving his advice, Ling Qianfan dusted off his hands and walked away. Ling Qianjun had also long since accomplished his mission and slipped away unnoticed.

By the time the other team members pondered Ling Qianfan’s words and turned back, they were stunned to find water bubbling up from the bottom of their pit.

After helping this particular water-searching squad, the brothers decided to stop assisting anyone else. Instead, they found a quiet spot to sit and rest, drinking water and eating some food.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, they put on a show of dejection and returned to the main group.

Ling Qianjun sighed. ”Mr. Luo, we only managed to find one water source this time. None of the pits we dug after that had any water.”

Ling Qianfan shook his head, wiping at his perfectly dry eyes as if wiping away tears. ”We’re so useless. We weren’t lucky enough to stumble across any more water sources later on. But we did see people from other squads find water. I’m genuinely so happy for them.”

Initially, the others had wanted to ask Ling Qianjun and Ling Qianfan a few more questions. However, upon hearing Ling Qianfan’s words, their attention immediately shifted to the members of the other two squads who had successfully found water. Everyone eagerly crowded around those four individuals.

”How did you find the water sources? How did you dig the pits?”

”How much water did you manage to scoop up?”

”Wow, you guys are incredible! We’ll have to rely on you to find water from now on. Thank you for your hard work!”

”You’re all amazing. I’ll definitely pray for you the next time you go out searching for water.”

Hearing the shower of praise from the crowd, the four couldn’t stop grinning.

”Oh, it was really just good luck.”

”We’ll definitely do our best to find more water sources.”

”That’s right! Now that we have some experience, we’ll search even harder next time.”

”Please, stop praising us! You’re making me blush.”