Chapter 98: Arriving in Qingyuan
Inside the cave dwelling, Xi Shi stayed behind to cook and took Zhuang Ai Yi to pick the vegetables in the courtyard. Liu Rui and Lu Weiyi went to pick peaches on the slope. Zhuang Mingxu sat at the top of the slope, using a small basin to shell longan and cut red dates. Gu Qingyue, having settled Gu Qingji, also came out to help.
They busied themselves all afternoon, and it wasn’t until nine o’clock in the evening that everyone gradually finished tidying up. Over there, Gu Qingji’s fever had subsided. The anesthesia had worn off, and he was in a bit of pain, but his spirits were good. A pile of apples and pears was stacked in the courtyard. Several people stood beside it, debating whether to just put them directly into their spaces and pick through them when they wanted to eat, or to sort out the good from the bad first before storing them.
After talking for a long time without a result, Xi Shi’s words, “Dinner is ready,” finally solved the problem.
Stewed pork with green beans and glass noodles, braised pork, eggplant braised with green beans, stir-fried tomatoes and green peppers, garlic greens, and a large pot of red date and goji berry chicken soup. Although they only made five dishes for fifteen people, each dish was in a small basin, and the quantity was ample.
Xi Shi had thoughtfully prepared two kinds of staple food: steamed buns and hand-pulled noodles. The large white steamed buns were soft and fluffy, and the noodles were chewy. The group slurped down a bowl each and couldn’t help but take another steamed bun.
“This soup is amazing,” Li Zhuang took a sip of the chicken soup and gave Xi Shi a thumbs-up.
“I used to drink soup every day and felt sick of it. I really want to go back and slap myself in the face,” Dean said, chewing on a chicken leg and slapping his hand hard.
“I’ll catch chickens and stew them for you more often,” Antonio put the chicken wings from his bowl into Dean’s, gesturing for him to eat more, and asked, “Are there any farms in Qingyuan?”
“There definitely are, but they’d all be in the suburbs,” Ning Yuan replied. “As for the location… do you know?” He looked at Lin Yimu.
“I know a few, but they’re all for farmed chickens, not free-range,” Lin Yimu replied.
“Then let’s go catch some when we get there. Let’s catch all the remaining ones,” Antonio said, looking eager to try.
“No problem. It would be best to go to a pig farm too, and catch a few pigs to eat,” Ning Yuan said, his mouth watering at the thought of meat. Although they weren’t lacking now, they couldn’t eat their fill.
Lu Weiyi thought to himself that when they returned to Qingyuan, they would face heavy snow. Once the heavy snow passed, the animals would mutate into ability animals. A chicken would be half the height of a person, how easy would it be to catch?
However, he only thought about these things and didn’t say anything.
The time spent on the road wasn’t short. Zhuang Mingxu and Ning Yuan were worried about Wu Yue, who had stayed behind in Qingyuan. They didn’t enter the city again to look for supplies after setting off. Apart from stopping to rest every night when it was almost dark, they set off early every morning and finally entered Qingyuan territory on the evening of the third day.
As soon as they entered Qingyuan territory, there were obviously more vehicles around. Most of them looked like they were going to seek refuge at the Qingyuan base. Although they were wary and vigilant of each other, seeing living people after seeing zombies all the way made them feel better.
“Are we going to stay up tonight and go directly into the base, or stay nearby for a night?” Xu Sa, who was driving, asked the others on the walkie-talkie. They had put away the truck again and switched to driving three cars.
“Of course, go back directly…”
“…Rest for a night.” Ning Yuan hadn’t finished speaking when Zhuang Mingxu interrupted him at the same time. Without waiting for Ning Yuan to ask why, he directly explained, “We have to scout the situation inside the base first.”
“Oh, right, you’re late, Li Ji will definitely be suspicious,” Ning Yuan also thought of this. “Then where should we rest? Hey, there’s a farm here! Why don’t we go near here? We can go check it out later.”
“No,” Lu Weiyi said first without waiting for others to reply, “Go to the village ahead.” He looked at the weather outside and felt something was wrong. He had a feeling that heavy snow was coming soon.
The heavy snow in his previous life hadn’t fallen exactly after a month, but more than a month later, but Lu Weiyi couldn’t remember exactly how much longer.
A few days before the heavy snow, it was the irritable period for zombies and animals. This period was particularly troublesome. If they chose a place close to the farm, in case of heavy snow, they would easily be attacked by mutated animals. Among them, there were still ability users who needed to endure the initial changes in their bodies during the heavy snow, and they simply couldn’t deal with it. The best way was to stay a little further away.
“If we don’t go, we can choose a place a little closer to the base, right? It will be more convenient to inquire about information then,” Ning Yuan still wanted to struggle a bit.
“No need, a two or three-hour drive is just right,” Lu Weiyi said, turning his head to look at Zhuang Mingxu sitting beside him. “Later, you settle down with them, and I’ll take some people to the base to gather information.”
“It will be dark when we reach the base at this hour. Let’s go tomorrow,” After the previous incident, Zhuang Mingxu was very reluctant for Lu Weiyi to leave his sight.
“I feel like the weather is wrong. I’m afraid something else will happen. It’s better for us to get to the base as soon as possible. Even if Wu Yue leaves the base tonight, he will definitely return. I’ll meet him and ask about the situation. We can still rush back early tomorrow,” This was Lu Weiyi’s plan, and it was the fastest way.
Antonio, who was driving, immediately felt that something might be about to happen after hearing Lu Weiyi’s words. He glanced at the sky outside without making a sound, not understanding what Lu Weiyi had seen, but this didn’t prevent him from supporting him. He immediately stated, “I can go with you.”
“No need, you’re too distinctive,” Lu Weiyi pointed to his appearance. A noticeable foreigner appearing at the base would indeed be suspicious enough.
“Let Ning Yuan and Brother Mu go with you. They are familiar with the place and will take good care of you,” Zhuang Mingxu knew he couldn’t stop him. Sooner or later he would have to go to gather information. He could only give him the only two people he could rely on.
“No need. They might have acquaintances in the base. If someone has been waiting for us and we get exposed as soon as we enter, it would be counterproductive,” Lu Weiyi was thinking of taking Liu Rui and Li Zhuang. One had strong abilities, and the other was skilled in combat. The three of them would be enough.
“It’s okay, they’ll disguise themselves and hide. You definitely won’t be able to tell,” Zhuang Mingxu had a lot of faith in the talents cultivated by the country. “Let them go with you, I’m worried.”
But with both of them going, Lu Weiyi was worried about Zhuang Mingxu. He didn’t directly refuse but said, “I’ll ask them later.”
Zhuang Mingxu nodded and whispered some information about the base to him, including where the supplies were stored and where to hide if something happened. Before long, the person driving in front identified a new temporary place to stay. After scouting the way, the group drove the cars over.
The village wasn’t small and looked quite prosperous. Many houses had two-story buildings in their yards. However, it might also be because it was relatively close to the base, so the village was already empty.
They chose a two-story house on the edge of the village. Xu Sa and Liu Rui took people to check a few nearby buildings. Li Zhuang, who had scouted the way, opened the gate and let the cars drive in. “They probably all went to the base. We took a quick look around and didn’t see anyone. The things they took were really clean. Even the vegetable gardens were all pulled up. It looks like they’ve been swept clean too. Not a single fruit on the surrounding trees.”
“It’s okay, we’ll just stay for a few days and go to the base as soon as possible,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Ning Yuan, you and Brother Mu disguise yourselves later and accompany Xiaoyi to find Wu Yue and inquire about the situation,” Zhuang Mingxu said to the two who had parked the car.
“No need. If Brother Mu and I both leave, Mingxu will definitely disagree. So, let’s just take one each,” Lu Weiyi thought.
“I should still go with you. I came out with Mingxu. When Wu Yue sees me after we go back, he will definitely trust my words more,” Ning Yuan said.
“Alright,” Lu Weiyi nodded, looking at Li Zhuang. “Will you come with me?” They needed to leave enough people here, so he could only take one more person who was skilled in combat. Three people might be safer on the road.
Li Zhuang leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, looking at Lu Weiyi with a half-smile. “Little kid, beg me, and I’ll consider it.”
As soon as Lu Weiyi heard this, he knew Li Zhuang was settling an old score. At that time, he had been scratched by a zombie cat, and Lu Weiyi, knowing he wouldn’t be infected, had mischievously made him beg. This guy had remembered it for so long and was now coming to settle the debt.
Lin Yimu also remembered the situation at the time and smiled without saying anything.
Zhuang Mingxu didn’t know what was going on. Although he didn’t say anything, his expression was a bit unpleasant. Ning Yuan directly said, “No need, I can protect you alone.”
Li Zhuang ignored Ning Yuan’s words, his eyes fixed on Lu Weiyi, waiting for his reply.
Lu Weiyi met his gaze, held back for a long time, and cursed, “…Get lost.”
“Hahaha…” Li Zhuang saw his eyebrows twitch and him instantly getting agitated, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It wasn’t until he felt that if he laughed any longer, Lu Weiyi would really get angry that he finally waved his hand and said, “Let’s go.”
Lu Weiyi rolled his eyes at him and went into the villa to leave supplies for the others. Li Zhuang shouted, “Give me some food first,” and followed behind him.
Lin Yimu quickly whispered a rough explanation of the “grudges” between the two of them. After listening, Ning Yuan asked with a complicated expression, “Are you sure this is something Lu Weiyi would do? I’ve never heard of him joking around.”
“I was there,” Lin Yimu said.
Zhuang Mingxu, however, remained silent after listening, his gaze fixed on the two seemingly bickering inside the house through the window, his hand gripping the wheelchair armrest unconsciously tightening.
The villa was clean, with only furniture left. Even the appliances were gone, and the kitchen was completely empty. Lu Weiyi carefully left bedding and a full set of food. They would return the next day, so he didn’t leave too much. He left some rice, flour, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Finally, he also left a bag of flour and a lot of weapons, even a few bundles of explosives, for Zhuang Mingxu’s space.
When he came out again, Ning Yuan had already changed his appearance. He had smeared something unknown in his hair, making it dirty and knotted, and his face was also smudged with streaks. In the dim light, it was really hard to recognize him. Li Zhuang on the other side wasn’t as exaggerated, but he had also put something on his face.
“Why did you make yourself so dirty?” Lu Weiyi asked Li Zhuang.
“Most people in water shortage are in this state. You’re the one who’s abnormal,” Li Zhuang sized up Lu Weiyi. Ning Yuan reached out to smear something on his face as well, but Lu Weiyi pursed his lips, clearly unwilling. “No need, I have a way. Let’s go.”
