Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH59

Chapter 59

After lunch, everyone was utterly exhausted and went back to their own cabins to rest.

After his shower, Wei Cheng forced his heavy eyelids open long enough to change the sheets and duvet cover in the safe house. The moment his body touched the warm, comfortable little bed, he fell fast asleep, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

This body had really reached its limit.

He had not even had time to remind Guanguan not to take any food or items out of the safe house that might arouse suspicion…

Guanguan sat beside the little bookshelf at the head of the bed, huffing and puffing as he stuffed storybooks into his little yellow duck backpack.

He wanted to read Mingming and Xiaotiao the adventure story of Little Soldier Fink, and also the story about the baby chicks searching for the sun together…

The house had suddenly gotten so quiet.

Little Apricot was outside the farm, having the time of his life. But where was Brother?

“Brother?”

“What is Brother doing?” When he didn’t hear a reply, Guanguan started to get anxious.

He dropped the backpack, which he still hadn’t filled, and ran to the bed with quick little steps. Only when he saw his brother lying in the blankets with his eyes closed did he relax.

“Brother fell asleep.”

Counting on his fingers, Guanguan muttered to himself, “Guanguan closes his eyes when he sleeps, Little Apricot closes his eyes when he sleeps, so Brother has to close his eyes when he sleeps too.”

“Ah! Brother didn’t cover himself properly!”

Guanguan lightly kicked off his bunny slippers and climbed onto the bed, tugging one corner of the blanket up over Brother’s shoulder. But just as he was about to feel pleased with himself, he noticed Brother’s back was still exposed!

“If you don’t cover yourself properly, you’ll get sick!”

His little brows furrowed as he climbed onto the bed from the other side with great seriousness, pulling the blanket up from his brother’s waist and awkwardly tucking in the edges with his little fists.

Once he saw that Brother was now properly covered, Guanguan puffed out his cheeks and let out a little breath, even wiping sweat that wasn’t really there from his forehead. “Whew… this little baby is exhausted.”

Then he looked at the completely empty bedside cabinet and kept mumbling, “When Guanguan wakes up, he wants water. What if Brother wakes up?”

The chubby little child climbed backward off the bed, found his bunny slippers, and tiptoed downstairs.

He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, only to spot the Snowball Duck family on the bottom shelf.

“Guanguan hasn’t come to see you in so long.”

He randomly picked up one snow-duck ball and held it in his palm, even rubbing his cheek against it. “Hello, Mama Duckball. Have you eaten?”

Then he realized his cheek felt wet!

Heavens! It was Mama Duckball’s drool!

“No! No, that’s not okay!”

The little baby hurriedly put the duck snowball back on the shelf and rubbed his cheek with his sleeve, puffing up in anger. “Mama Duckball can’t kiss Guanguan. Brother said grown-ups and little kids both can’t kiss Guanguan! I’m telling my brother about this!”

The little snow-duck and all her family lay there quietly in the fridge.

To Guanguan, that felt like silent protest.

Guanguan blinked. He suddenly realized he had been the one who touched Mama Duckball first, and scratched his chubby cheek guiltily. “Okay then, you can tell your brother too. We shouldn’t play together for a while!”

With a clunk, he shoved the shelf back in.

When he stood up, he spotted a bowl of washed blueberries, big and plump. Tilting the bowl, he poured a few into his mouth, chewing with his little head swaying contentedly. “Tart and sweet—Guanguan loves them!”

With blueberry pulp in his mouth and his little heart fully satisfied, he closed the fridge and wandered into the living room with his hands behind his back to choose toys.

He had to share toys with Mingming and Xiaotiao!

Once he had picked out a huge pile of toys, Guanguan tilted his little face up at the ceiling.

It felt like he had forgotten something.

Then he finally noticed the blue “little waffle cup” on the coffee table, the cup his brother usually drank from.

Its ridged surface looked like a waffle, so Guanguan had given it that name.

“Oh right, I have to pour water for Brother!”

Guanguan pushed aside the toys surrounding him, picked up the little waffle cup, and ran back into the kitchen. He skillfully dragged over the little round stool from beneath the cabinet, stood on it, grabbed the white thermos from the side, and began pouring water into the cup.

When it was almost full, he stopped just in time.

Not a single drop spilled!

His little brows relaxed, and he was absurdly proud of himself. “The King of Pouring Water is Guanguan!”

Holding the little waffle cup carefully, he made his way upstairs. Every time he sensed the water trembling, he immediately stopped and gulped down two big mouthfuls from his little chick mouth.

By the time he finally made it back upstairs, there was only a little water left in the cup. But Guanguan was only happy that he hadn’t spilled any at all, and didn’t even realize there was barely anything left.

Then he noticed the blanket had slipped back down to Brother’s waist again.

“Oh no! He’ll get sick!”

He carefully placed the cup on the bedside cabinet, then climbed onto the bed once more and used his old trick to cover Brother back up.

By the time he finished, Guanguan was exhausted. He sprawled across the pillow, puffing and panting. “Brother, kicking off your blanket is naughty.”

Before long, the chubby little child yawned, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and murmured, “Brother, your baby is sleepy too.”

He wriggled across the pillow, inch by inch, further and further sideways, until he reached the area near Brother’s head—and then instantly powered down. One plump little hand still lightly clutched a lock of Brother’s hair.

The sun sank westward, casting brilliant golden light. Hidden in the forest, the farm was quiet and warm.

The kind adults and adorable child were perhaps all dreaming the same beautiful dream.

When Wei Cheng woke up, his head felt strangely heavy.

He sat up, took one look, and burst out laughing.

How had Guanguan ended up sleeping above his head?

No wonder, in his dream, some plump little alien creature had been hugging his head and refusing to let go.

He pressed a hand to his dry throat. Sleeping too long had made him thirsty. His gaze landed on the blue cup on the bedside cabinet.

When had the cup gotten upstairs?

Wei Cheng picked it up and saw there was still a little water inside.

“Brother…” The child on the pillow woke too. With his eyes still closed, he stretched lazily and murmured, “You drink water…”

Rubbing his eyes, Guanguan rolled off the pillow like a little ball and tumbled down beside Brother’s legs. He stuck up his little bottom and tried to push himself up on all fours, but his butt was so chubby that he thumped right back down onto the warm blankets.

Wei Cheng set down the cup, took hold of the child’s arms with both hands, and pulled him up, laughing. “You poured water for Brother?”

“It was Guanguan.”

Guanguan had no waking grumpiness at all. Even though his eyes were still hazy with sleep, there was a smile on his face. “Brother, did you drink water?”

“I’m drinking it now.” Wei Cheng downed the rest of the water in one gulp, and his throat felt much better immediately.

Both happy and worried, he said, “Guanguan really has grown up. You can pour water for Brother all by yourself now. Did you slip when you carried it upstairs from downstairs?”

“I didn’t slip!” Guanguan perked up a bit. Gesturing with his hands, he explained, “When the water moved, Baby drank. When Baby got upstairs, the water stopped moving!”

What else could it do when it was nearly empty?

The moment Wei Cheng imagined that scene, he found it unbearably adorable. He hugged Guanguan and laughed. “Baby is just too smart.”

He carried the child downstairs and pulled back the curtains. It was already dark out.

Warm yellow light glowed from Uncle Shen’s and Director Wang’s cabin.

Since Uncle Shen was awake, there was no need to worry about the old man and Mingming not getting dinner.

Guanguan stretched his neck to peer outside. “Oh! It’s dark!”

Wei Cheng smiled. “That’s right, it’s dark. We really slept for ages.”

Suddenly, barking came from the living room.

Both of them turned around and saw Little Apricot, who had just appeared, making a beeline for his dog bowl, tail wagging furiously as he gulped down water.

Guanguan kicked his legs and pointed at the dog. “Little Apricot, you’ve been out fooling around!”

The little black dog barked twice in response.

This dog was especially alert. He would never eat or drink anything fed to him by anyone other than Brother and Guanguan, so apparently he’d just been having too much fun outside and didn’t want to come home. Now that he’d had his fill, the first thing he did was eat and drink.

Carrying Guanguan into the kitchen, Wei Cheng took out the container of vegetable-and-beef food specially prepared for the dog from the top shelf. “After we feed Little Apricot, we’ll get ready for dinner. What do you want to eat?”

Guanguan tilted his head. “I want to eat the same as Little Apricot!”

Wei Cheng arched an eyebrow and shook the fresh-keeping container in his hand. “Even broccoli?”

“Can we swap the green flower for lettuce?”

“Sure.” After setting Guanguan down, Wei Cheng washed a head of romaine lettuce and placed it in the child’s small bowl. “How many leaves do you want?”

Standing on tiptoe, Guanguan held up three fingers. “Three!”

Wei Cheng slipped in a little trap question. “There are five leaves total. If Brother eats one and Little Apricot eats two, how many can Guanguan eat?”

Guanguan shook his head quickly, refusing to let the hidden lesson into his brain. “Then Baby will eat all five!”

“That works too.” Wei Cheng would be thrilled if he actually liked vegetables.

Then he asked, “Do you want boiled chicken drumsticks?”

Guanguan swallowed audibly. “I do!”

“Five drumsticks. Brother eats one, Little Apricot eats two. How many can Guanguan eat?”

The child stomped his little feet, very excited. “Baby can eat two!”

He could solve it that easily? Apparently chicken drumsticks really had power.

Wei Cheng laughed so hard. “Little glutton.”

Dinner was simple: steamed, tender, fragrant chicken drumsticks, sliced cooked beef, and a vegetable salad.

The two children ate alongside the dog, with the Little Soldier Fink theme song playing in the background.

Guanguan crunched happily on lettuce. After swallowing, he said, “Brother, a girl kissed Baby today.”

Wei Cheng nearly choked. “A girl?”

That was horrifying!

At the moment, the only ones on the farm were male. Even Little Apricot was a male dog.

“It was Mama Duckball!” Guanguan wiped his mouth and lifted his little face. “You said if someone kisses Baby, Baby has to tell you!”

Wei Cheng let out a breath of relief and smiled. “Did you press your cheek against the snowball? The duckball is an icy snowball, and Guanguan’s cheek is warm. When snow meets warmth, it melts and turns into water.”

Guanguan suddenly understood. “It was a misunderstanding!”

“Right, a misunderstanding.” Wei Cheng, feeling very gratified, added, “But Guanguan was still very good. In the future, no matter what kisses your face—or if someone asks you to kiss them—you have to tell Brother carefully, just like today.”

Wearing his little gloves, Guanguan grabbed a chicken drumstick and mischievously tilted his head. “Then if Brother kisses Guanguan’s face, do I have to report that too?”

Wei Cheng thought back and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever kissed your face?”

Guanguan stretched his pink little peach-like cheek toward him. “Then kiss Baby now!”

Wei Cheng laughed. “How can I kiss you while we’re eating?”

“Then Baby will kiss Brother’s face!” Guanguan gave his brother a loud smack on the cheek with his oily little mouth.

Wei Cheng actually had a bit of a cleanliness habit, but never when it came to Guanguan. Laughing, he said, “Your mouth is all greasy, little Guanguan!”

Guanguan gave him a look that clearly said Brother didn’t know quality when he saw it. “But it’s tasty grease, Brother!”

Then he tried to kiss Little Apricot.

Little Apricot treasured his glossy, sleek black fur too much for that. With a swish, he snatched up his dog bowl and fled.

“Why did Little Apricot run away?”

The little black dog barked twice at Guanguan.

Doggy didn’t want a bath today!

After finishing the dishes, Wei Cheng suddenly remembered something important.

He pulled up the system panel and checked the coin balance, only to find it had not gone up.

What was going on?

Director Wang and Mingming had already moved into the farm.

Wiping his hands, he glanced at Guanguan, who was running around the living room chasing the dog, and asked tentatively, “Guanguan, are you willing to let Director Wang, Mingming, and Xiaotiao live together with you here at Full-Belly Farm?”

Guanguan, panting, replied, “Guanguan is willing!”

At that very moment, the same voice rang in both their ears.

[Congratulations! The little master’s Full-Belly Farm has welcomed three familiar survivor residents! Reward: 3000 Twisty Coins!]

[Always guard against others. In the future, the bound person should carefully assist the little master in choosing survivors!]

[Please reinforce the base as soon as possible, establish the core zone, and protect the little master’s safety!]

Wei Cheng checked the base info again.

Base: Full-Belly Farm
Twisty Coin Balance: 21980
Safe House Stockpile: 355
Twisty Car Transformation Level: Intermediate Form 355 (Unlock ten-person escape at Intermediate Form 2000…)

He tapped the little star next to the farm’s name.

A new page popped up.

Current Ordinary Survivors: 3

.

Since they’d slept so much the night before, both Chengcheng and Guanguan woke up especially early the next morning.

“Brother, is it ready?”

Wei Cheng took the last fried egg out of the pan. “All done!”

Guanguan used his little fork to place the fried egg into the lunch box, then pressed the lid shut with a loud click. “Baby and Little Apricot are going to deliver breakfast!”

Wei Cheng smiled. “Go ahead.”

He and Guanguan were going to sleep outside tonight, and he still needed to wipe down the inside and outside of the cabin later, so he couldn’t go with Guanguan to deliver breakfast.

“Come back early. Brother is waiting to eat with you!”

As he struggled to put on his shoes, Guanguan answered, “Okay!”

Then Wei Cheng suddenly remembered something and leaned half his body out of the kitchen. “Don’t forget to knock!”

“Okay!”

Guanguan carried the little bamboo basket while a beautiful little black dog trotted ahead of him.

The dog also had a little pack on his back, filled with tissues.

Since Uncle Shen’s cabin was the closest to the brothers’, Guanguan delivered breakfast there first.

Standing on tiptoe, he knocked. “Hello! Is anybody there!”

The cabin stirred quickly, and Yi Qi opened the door to find Guanguan outside, wearing a little cap and a fluffy yellow vest.

He burst out laughing. “Oh my, what an adorable little delivery worker!”

“Thank you for the compliment!”

Guanguan pulled back the thick cloth covering the little basket and took out two lunch boxes. “Uncle, this is breakfast for you and Uncle Shen. Guanguan’s brother made it. You have to eat it while it’s hot!”

The little black dog barked twice and turned his back toward Yi Qi.

Yi Qi laughed and pulled a box of tissues from the dog’s pack.

Shen Zheng also came over when he heard the commotion and immediately tried to abduct the delivery worker. “Guanguan, come eat with Uncle!”

Guanguan spread his little hands helplessly. “No, I can’t! Guanguan still has other people’s breakfast to deliver!”

Yi Qi leaned against the door and laughed. “Then come back after you finish. Come eat with us and we’ll give you a good-review flower!”

Guanguan hesitated but still shook his head. “Brother is still waiting for Guanguan to eat. Next time, book me earlier!”

As Guanguan turned to go, Yi Qi suddenly said, “Wait.”

When Yi Qi came back out, he had a transparent little flower in his hand.

Yesterday, Chengcheng had taken out a bunch of IV tubing, and while Yi Qi had been standing by while the children and old man got injections, he had casually woven a rose out of it.

Guanguan’s eyes lit up. “What kind of flower is this!”

Yi Qi crouched down and tucked the flower into the little pocket on Guanguan’s chest, smiling. “It’s for you. Tomorrow morning, don’t forget to eat breakfast with us.”

Guanguan touched it with delight and care, nodding his little head wildly. “Okay, okay!”

Then, a little shyly, he asked, “Then… tomorrow, can you make a flower for Little Apricot too?”

The little black dog gave a pitiful bark, his watery big eyes looking straight at them.

Both Yi Qi and Shen Zheng felt their hearts melt from the cuteness of this pet-and-owner pair.

Shen Zheng punched Yi Qi repeatedly. “Go make Little Apricot a flower right now!”

Yi Qi laughed. “Okay. Little Apricot and Guanguan and the other little friends can all have one!”

When he heard that his good friends would get flowers too, Guanguan became even happier, waving his little hand. “Thank you, Uncle. Eat breakfast while it’s hot!”

The child and dog trotted off, and just from the backs of them, their happiness was obvious.

Holding his fragrant lunch box, Shen Zheng took a deep breath. “It smells amazing. What kind of heavenly life is this!”

Yi Qi raised an eyebrow with a grin. “And the icing on the cake is that I, your friend, am here too, right?”

Shen Zheng made a pained face. “Go clean the new cabin today. It’s way too cramped for two grown men to share a bed!”

Yi Qi verbally agreed, but in his heart had already decided that cabin would take at least two months to clean.

When Guanguan delivered breakfast to Grandpa and the little friends, they were still washing up.

Yesterday afternoon, Brother had already sent the three of them daily necessities. Grandpa Director had asked a few questions, and they had simply said some of it came from a scavenged supermarket, while things like the generator and electrical appliances had originally belonged to the farm.

With two adults like Yi Qi and Shen Zheng around, Director Wang had no reason to suspect anything.

After all, those two looked exactly like capable, reliable adults. Of course they would be good at gathering supplies.

Mingming and Xiaotiao were overjoyed when they saw Guanguan and rushed over, hugging him and spinning in circles.

Guanguan nearly got dizzy and quickly said, “It’s breakfast!”

Wang Xiaotiao shouted, “It smells so good!”

Mingming signed a few quick gestures too, asking Guanguan to stay and eat with them.

“Brother is still waiting for Guanguan. We can all eat together tomorrow!”

Then Guanguan told them all about how he had traded tomorrow’s breakfast for a flower.

As he talked, he stuck out his little chest proudly, making his round little belly even more obvious.

Only then did the other two children notice the rubbery rose tucked into the pocket on Guanguan’s chest.

Mingming gave a thumbs-up, and Wang Xiaotiao let out an amazed, “Wow! Uncle Yi is so awesome!”

“Can we touch it?”

“Of course! That Uncle said tomorrow he’ll make one for you and Mingming too!”

Grandpa Director had just come out of the bathroom when he saw Guanguan. “Guanguan, come here.”

Guanguan obediently ran over. “Grandpa!”

Director Wang carefully examined him, then touched his little arms and legs. “Have you fallen or gotten hurt lately? Has anyone bullied you or Brother Chengcheng?”

Guanguan thought about it, then nodded. “Some people wanted to bully Guanguan and Brother, but Brother chased them all away!”

Director Wang sighed. “Then your brother made the right choice. Letting him take you away was the most correct decision I’ve ever made.”

On the way here, he had endured countless hardships with the two children.

Many people had looked kind, but really wanted to trick the two tender little children away for meat. Others had genuinely helped them, but not long after had died in the jaws of zombie hordes.

He was nearly seventy, riddled with illness, and had only been hanging on by force of will. But now, with the deaths of those closest to him, even his spirit had gone hollow.

He knew that even if he kept living, he would not survive another two years.

Guanguan would be safe with a steady, intelligent child like Chengcheng protecting him. The ones he still could not stop worrying about were Mingming and Xiaotiao.

After everything they had been through, the two children were no longer the same as before.

But they were still far too young—one only seven and still unable to speak, the other six, not exactly foolish but not quite normal either.

Now, with reliable adults and a base like this, Director Wang could finally rest a little easier. If he died, at least he would be able to close his eyes in peace.

Eyes red, he beckoned to Mingming and Xiaotiao. “Come here. All of you.”

The three children stood beside him.

“Mingming, Grandpa knows you’re very smart. You weren’t born unable to speak. Grandpa originally saved up some money to get you treated, but now the world is in chaos and money is useless. I heard that Mr. Yi is a doctor. Grandpa is going to ask him to help you.”

Mingming nodded lightly.

“Xiaotiao.” What worried Director Wang most was actually this child. “You have to be obedient. Listen to Brother Chengcheng and the two uncles. When you grow up, you need to make good use of all that strength in you.”

Wang Xiaotiao clenched his little fists. “Grandpa, I’ll be even stronger when I grow up!”

Director Wang smiled in relief. Finally he looked at the plump, short little Guanguan. “Actually, Grandpa’s forgotten how you came to the orphanage. It feels like you were always there, and yet also like you just suddenly appeared. But it doesn’t matter. Grandpa still raised you. I just didn’t raise you as well as your brother did.”

With his hands clasped in front of him, Guanguan said, “Grandpa, you raised Guanguan well!”

Director Wang stroked Guanguan’s head. “You’re a child who came into this world carrying your own good fortune. Grandpa needs to thank you.”

Then he stood up, an aged smile appearing on his face. “Alright, go back and eat with your brother.”

Then he added one more thing. “Don’t tell your brother and the uncles what I said today. These are Grandpa’s true feelings. You all have to remember them in your hearts.”

Guanguan was only three years old. He couldn’t understand the deeper meaning behind these words. Holding the little bamboo basket, he answered brightly, “Okay!”

—

By the time Guanguan came happily running back home, Brother was already sitting at the table waiting to eat with him.

“I thought you’d stayed over there to eat with Grandpa.”

“Guanguan promised Brother!”

Setting down the little basket, Guanguan climbed into his chair. “Grandpa talked to us!”

Wei Cheng handed him warmed milk and asked casually, “What did he say?”

Covering his mouth, Guanguan said, “Can’t say. Those are his true feelings!”

“His true feelings?” Wei Cheng paused with his chopsticks, and immediately understood.

Softly, he said, “Guanguan, go spend time with Grandpa every day, alright?”

Guanguan nodded while gulping down milk.

Just as breakfast ended, they heard Uncle Shen laughing outside the cabin.

“Chengcheng, Guanguan, come out quick!”

Guanguan, who had been washing dishes with his brother in the kitchen, shoved the window open with a smack. “Uncle, what is it!”

In Shen Zheng’s hands were two heavy black bags, and his face was full of delight. “We were so worn out yesterday that we forgot—there are so many good things in the pickup truck we drove back!”

Guanguan’s eyes went wide. “Brother, more treasure!”

Wei Cheng had forgotten about that too. He immediately picked Guanguan up off his little stool. “Let’s go see what treasures there are!”

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