Chapter 10: Going Shopping
Zhan Yun didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but he was awakened by a faint aroma of cooked food.
It was a scent he hadn’t smelled in the mornings ever since his mother’s accidental death.
Just then, the door leading to the backyard opened, and Su Ruizhe walked in carrying a tray. On it sat a steaming bowl of porridge and two or three small side dishes.
“Y-you’re awake?” When he saw that Zhan Yun was already up, two adorable red clouds bloomed once again on his fair little face.
Seeing his nervous, shy expression, a smile unconsciously spread across Zhan Yun’s face as well.
Su Ruizhe first set the tray down on a chair, then dragged the table over to the bedside and carefully laid out the food one by one.
The porridge was cooked until soft and creamy. The white rice was dotted with bits of green scallion, with a splash of light soy sauce poured in the center and a thin sheen of oil floating on top—it looked instantly appetizing. The three small dishes held stir-fried spinach, chilled cucumber salad, and rose fermented tofu, perfect accompaniments for the porridge.
“Don’t tell me you made all this yourself?” Zhan Yun asked in surprise.
Su Ruizhe’s face flushed even redder as he said shyly, “I did. I thought since you’re injured, you shouldn’t eat anything too greasy, so I made you some porridge… I don’t know if it suits your taste. Would you like to try it?”
“Of course.” Zhan Yun was very pleased. Breakfast made personally by someone he liked—even if it tasted awful, he’d still eat it as though it were a delicacy.
“What about you? Have you eaten?”
“I have!” When Su Ruizhe got up early to make porridge for Zhan Yun, he’d also boiled two eggs for himself in the kitchen.
Hearing this, Zhan Yun felt a little regretful that he couldn’t eat together with him. But when he thought about how the breakfast in front of him had been specially prepared by Su Ruizhe, he felt happy again. Still, he didn’t have particularly high expectations of Su Ruizhe’s cooking—how good could the cooking of a half-grown kid really be?
Yet the moment Zhan Yun lifted his spoon, scooped up a mouthful of porridge, and tasted it, he felt a hint of surprise. The porridge was cooked perfectly through, with bits of chicken added, and the light soy sauce brought out its flavor, making the whole bowl wonderfully savory. He then tried the stir-fried spinach and the cucumber salad. These dishes were simple and required little skill, but even so, they left Zhan Yun feeling exceptionally satisfied.
The rose fermented tofu paired beautifully with the porridge, and Zhan Yun very considerately polished off everything Su Ruizhe had prepared for him.
“It’s delicious. Thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome.” Hearing Zhan Yun’s praise, Su Ruizhe’s beautiful eyes curved into a smile. He wasn’t actually very good at cooking. Although he’d grown up living with his grandfather and usually had to cook for himself due to their circumstances, the lack of ingredients meant he never learned many dishes. He could stir-fry vegetables, cook rice, make porridge, or boil noodles… but as for rich, heavily seasoned dishes, he couldn’t make those at all.
Today’s breakfast was simple and ordinary, yet Brother Yun didn’t dislike it at all. Brother Yun really was a good person.
Thinking this, Su Ruizhe happily went off to wash the dishes.
Zhan Yun was also in a great mood. He realized that Su Ruizhe was like a treasure mine that never ran dry—each time, he brought unexpected surprises.
After breakfast was taken care of, Su Ruizhe began to feel troubled. Should he still go out to sell vegetables today? If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to make any money. To prepare for the impending apocalypse, he had to find ways to earn as much as possible and buy large quantities of supplies. But Zhan Yun was recuperating at his home—he couldn’t just leave Zhan Yun behind and go out to sell vegetables, could he?
What if Zhan Yun suddenly felt unwell while he was alone? What if he got bored? What if he needed him?
Yet he couldn’t not go out either. Even if he didn’t sell vegetables today, he still needed to buy some things. Zhan Yun’s clothes were stained with blood and needed replacing. He also had to buy towels, a toothbrush, slippers, and other daily necessities—he couldn’t very well have Zhan Yun use his. He even wanted to buy a cookbook and a young chicken, to try making some chicken soup for Zhan Yun. He couldn’t let an injured person live on porridge and vegetables all the time—patients needed proper nutrition most of all!
After agonizing over it for quite a while, Su Ruizhe decided he still had to go out, but he would come back as quickly as possible.
When Su Ruizhe returned to the room and began explaining to Zhan Yun that he planned to go out and buy some things, he hadn’t even finished speaking before Zhan Yun interrupted him.
“That’s perfect. I was actually planning to ask you to go out and buy some things for me as well.” As he spoke, Zhan Yun stretched out his long arm, took the clothes he’d taken off the night before from the back of a chair, pulled out a bank card from the pocket, and handed it to Su Ruizhe. “Take this card. The PIN is 66666. Spend whatever you want from it.”
“Oh…” Su Ruizhe took the card blankly.
“There’s way too little stuff in your place—you should really add some things. How about buying a TV? Watching the news in the evenings would be good. And an air conditioner—the weather’s getting hotter and hotter; without one, it’s really hard to bear. Do you have a washing machine? I’ll be staying here for several days, after all—I can’t have you washing my clothes by hand, can I? Might as well buy one too! And some change of clothes—I need to buy a few sets anyway. Look at what you’re wearing; your clothes are all torn…” Zhan Yun rattled on, listing a whole bunch of things they needed to buy. Seeing Su Ruizhe staring at him with wide, glossy eyes, completely dazed, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Little Zhe, did you hear me or not?”
“I—I heard you…” Su Ruizhe came back to his senses and nodded quickly.
“Then go.”
“Okay!” Su Ruizhe answered and headed out.
When Zhan Yun handed him the card and told him to buy things like a TV, washing machine, and air conditioner, Su Ruizhe had actually been resistant inside at first. With the apocalypse just around the corner, he felt there was no need to waste money on such things. But later, from the way Zhan Yun spoke, it seemed he planned to stay here for quite a few days. Su Ruizhe’s heart instantly bloomed with joy, his mood soaring at once. If it were just himself, he didn’t mind making do—but for Zhan Yun, he wanted to give him the very best. He would definitely buy everything Zhan Yun asked for, so that his days recuperating here would be as comfortable as possible.
Su Ruizhe took the bus to the largest supermarket in town and picked out the color TV with the best cost-performance ratio, along with the cheapest washing machine and air conditioner. There was already an old-style refrigerator at home, so there was no need to waste money on a new one. When he finally looked at the bill, it came to nearly four thousand yuan. Suppressing his heartache, Su Ruizhe paid up. Those were the main big-ticket items; the supermarket offered free home delivery, so after leaving the address, he continued on to buy other things.
He wandered around the men’s clothing section for quite a while before finally choosing a plain T-shirt, buying five each in size L and size S. He also bought several pairs of pants suitable for Zhan Yun, all made of pure cotton, which should be comfortable to wear. After buying socks, shoes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, rinsing cups, towels, washbasins, and other daily necessities, Su Ruizhe went to the fresh foods section and bought a variety of fresh meats. He planned to try cooking some dishes for Zhan Yun at home using the cookbooks. As for vegetables and fruit, he didn’t even look at them—his space already had plenty.
In the end, carrying bags upon bags, Su Ruizhe left the supermarket. He couldn’t bear to waste money on a taxi. After walking some distance, he found a deserted spot and quietly transferred everything he was carrying into his space. Lightened of his load, he then went to a bookstore and bought two cookbooks—one specifically for beginners learning cooking, and another focused on everyday home-style dishes. The pictures in both books looked very appealing.
He took the bus back home, and after getting off, he found another empty alley to take all the bags back out of his space, then lugged them all the way inside.
“I’m back!” Su Ruizhe panted as he set several bags down on the floor.
Zhan Yun frowned slightly. Seeing him drenched in sweat and struggling like that made his heart ache in a way he couldn’t quite describe. “You didn’t carry all this back yourself, did you? You didn’t take a taxi?”
“I—I took a taxi back… I just carried it in from the alley entrance,” Su Ruizhe said guiltily. As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the bags and bolted toward the backyard.
Tsk, he got away again. Zhan Yun shook his head helplessly. Su Ruizhe’s guilt was written all over his face—it was obvious at a glance that the kid was lying. He must have been too stingy to take a taxi, feeling it wasn’t worth the money.
This little miserly habit of his would definitely have to be fixed somehow in the future.
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