Chapter 62: A Problem with Rations!
The 3 women were chased up by Chen Yi, but he didn’t disturb Su Qian, allowing her to continue to massage Zhang Xiao Qiang. The 3 men began to chat in the living room, each of them lamenting about the state of the world.
Yang Ke’er carried a plastic bag of Huanghelou cigarettes, giving them to Brother Long. Chen Yi saw that Brother Long only received 2 packets, and his expression became better, and his words flowed more.
However, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt his heart bleed. In one day, he had already taken out 6 packets of those premium cigarettes. Those were 50 a pack! And he had only found them.
Brother Long took out a pack, throwing one to Chen Yi, as he lit one and sucked in a deep breath: “Brother, you have been living well, eh? Ai! It’s truly hard to make a living in this world!”
Yang Ke’er seemed to want to say something before Zhang Xiao Qiang coughed slightly and shot her a look, and she excused herself to go out for some air.
Zhang Xiao Qiang was naturally unwilling to let Yang Ke’er reveal the secret base. Those resources had been painstakingly stocked up by the both of them, and he didn’t want to just hand it over like that. Furthermore, the cave had always been the backup plan, if he couldn’t continue out there in the outside world, at least he would still have a home.
Not long after, He Wen Bin came in, declaring that the food was ready, and they all went into the dining area.
The interior design of the kitchen was pretty decent, and the huge round table had a rotating glass top. 12 high wooden chairs were already arranged, and the surrounding wallpaper had some hints of gold. A few calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls, it was just that the previous owner had not much taste.
There were Chinese-style drawings as well as oil paintings from the western world that were just randomly hung together. Near the wall, there was even a small idol of Guan Yu. The Guan Yu idol had a freezer on its left, and on the right, a chilled wine rack. They were both empty at the moment.
The dishes on the rotating glass top was simple, there was a huge bowl of egg white soup, a plate of dried meat and fried vegetables. There was also a plate of chicken that had no seasoning added, as some other vegetables. On top of that, there were some fried potato chips and a bowl of hot pot chicken.
When Zhang Xiao Qiang and the rest had just sat down, 2 men walked in, one of about 1.65m, and his body sturdy. He had a full beard and looked like a dwarf from games. He had a leather jacket, and his muscles looked like they were about to rip the jacket apart. It didn’t seem to be made of genuine materials…
The other man was the exact opposite. He was tall, towering at 1.8m, extremely skinny, and if it weren’t for his pupils, people might mistake him for a zombie. He had a balding hairline, with the top part extremely shiny, and his face was ordinary, save for his vulture-like eyes. It gave people an uncomfortable feeling.
“Haha! You guys are back? Come come come, sit and eat. Brother Cockroach, let me introduce them to you, this is Cannon.” Brother Long pointed to the dwarf and said.
“Cannon has a fiery temper and can tolerate a beating. He had challenged 10 people once, and managed to kill 5 of them! He truly is something!”
Cannon nodded silently, his eyes fixated on the meat on the table.
Brother Long then pointed to the tall one, “This is Vulture, and he had claimed a number of lives before working for S City’s boss.”
Vulture did not say anything, just watching the expressions of everyone, no one knew what he was thinking.
“Damn, we truly walked into the lion’s den.” Zhang Xiao Qiang cursed inwardly but smiled at the two.
There was a total of 9 people seated at the table. Other than Zhang Xiao Qiang and Yang Ke’er, there was He Wen Bin and the other 2, Brother Long, Chen Yi and the 2 newcomers. The women had disappeared. It seemed like not everybody had the qualifications to eat. Even Old Hairy was not present.
Brother Long also introduced Zhang Xiao Qiang and Yang Ke’er to the two men, before declaring the start of the beast. 4 women who looked ordinary then came in, as they began to serve rice and white wine. They didn’t look too healthy, walking somewhat crookedly. Their clothes were untidy also, although they were clean.
As they poured the wine and served the rice, Brother Long listened to Vulture and Cannon’s reports.
“Brother Long, most of the places have been cleaned. The rest are too dangerous, we don’t dare to get too close!” Vulture was talking about the spoils today.
“Yea, Brother Long! Today I brought men and charged into a small shop, and only managed get some cigarettes and wine, as well as some instant noodles.” Cannon also muttered bitterly.
“Today, we left with 10, came back with 5. If it wasn’t for Brother Cockroach, none of us might have made it!” He Wen Bin lamented.
Everyone had ugly expressions, only the little lass was digging into her chicken and drinking her soup.
“How much more rations do we have?” Brother Long asked solemnly.
“Adding on to what Brother Cockroach brought, we have about 700 jin. The 15 women need to eat about 20 jin each day. The men who go out to scavenge have about 50 jin. The current rations would only last us for another 10 days or so. After which, we would have to rely on the chicken feed!”
He Wen Bin began to calculate for Brother Long, and the men looked worse. Zhang Xiao Qiang found himself worried as well, wondering if it was a mistake to join them.
Only Yang Ke’er didn’t seem to bother, continuing to eat. She had long since relied on the backup plan of the cave, and because of that, she was truly unworried!
“Why not we control the ration, each person can only take half from today onwards.” Chen Yi suggested.
Brother Long thought for a while, then shook his head: “If they don’t eat their fill, they might not be able to transport items even if they were found!”
“Or shall we mix half rations half chicken feed?” Three also piped in.
Brother Long had not even replied when He Wen Bin spoke up: “Those who dare to head out look forward to the food, if we’re all to eat the chicken feed, who would still go out and risk their lives?”
“Let’s stop talking about these unfortunate things, come let’s dig in.” Brother Long called an end to the discussion, as he stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth. Everyone also began to eat and drink: “Today is supposed to be a celebration for Brother Cockroach. Come, let’s down some wine.” Brother Long held up his cup and toasted.
Zhang Xiao Qiang also decided to throw his thoughts to the back of his mind, downing a toast as well.
“Great!” “Straightforward!” The men called out, and like that, one cup after another, they began to drink.
Zhang Xiao Qiang did not know how he came to be lying in this foreign bed, he just knew he threw up a few times. When he was peeing, he didn’t even fumble with his ‘Little Xiao Qiang’. He laid there in the dark, not being able to sleep. His head was aching dully, yet his mind was clear.
With all that he had seen and heard today, even if he knew the apocalyptic world was truly cruel, and living was not easy, he had not expected things to be this bad.
Thinking back to how Su Qian had to thank her assaulter even after being beaten, and those women who had to kneel like dogs, and those men who were sallow-looking outside. He thought back to the ungrateful Xie Yuan Shan, the deranged man who had eaten his beloved wife, as well as the young man who had killed his whole family before committing suicide.
Zhang Xiao Qiang had never thought of himself as a good person, compared to Chen Yi and Brother Long, he was practically a saint that one had to make friends with even at one’s deathbed. He wasn’t some big person, nor was he some all capable person, he just wanted to find some government to rely on.
Ever since he was blocked by the D2 and was told that there might be a monster in WH City, he had somewhat lost sight of his goal. He had even thrown his lot in with these convicts, watching women being belittled, and he could do nothing.
He didn’t know what his next move should be, nor what direction he should be moving towards. He looked at the photo in the Nokia phone and the photo of the lovable and pretty little girl.
He looked and was lost in thought when he was suddenly filled with a hope. The hope to find a pretty girl, to settle down and have a bunch of kids, and ensure the continuity of his family line.
He placed the phone down and didn’t feel like his heart was so empty. Having found a goal again, he wanted to live on, and continue his bloodline, and to have family visiting him for the many new years to come!
Even though his head felt like splitting, his heart was somewhat secure. He didn’t have to bother how others led their lives. As long as his own life was ok, he would be satisfied. He didn’t have to bother being a hero. Just like Chen Yi said, without any ability, and if one didn’t want to go out and work for food, then chicken feed was all they deserve.
Zhang Xiao Qiang continued laying down quietly, awaiting the alcohol-induced state to wear off. Once the headache subsided, he would be able to sleep well.
The door opened, and a silhouette entered, before closing the door.
Zhang Xiao Qiang felt for his .54 gun under the pillow and laid quietly under the blankets. He awaited the person to slowly come over.
The silhouette was not used to the dark and was moving about slowly. The house was extremely quiet, and one could hear the ‘weng weng’ sounds from a generator outside in the distance.
