Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH60

Chapter 60

Everyone was drawn over by Shen Zheng and Yi Qi’s shouting.

Guanguan and Wang Xiaotiao were especially excited, running wild circles around the two big black bags on the ground.

Mingming was steadier. He was clearly curious too, but he still stood obediently beside Director Grandpa.

“Ta-da!”

Shen Zheng yanked open the zippers on the two black bags, and the contents inside were so full they nearly overflowed.

Guanguan gasped in delight. “It’s super-duper lots of canned food!”

Inside were not only boxed meat cans like braised beef and chicken breast, but also all kinds of vegetable cans, pickled mustard greens, baked beans in tomato sauce, braised bamboo shoots… as well as soup cans and fruit cans.

Shen Zheng grinned. “Four huge bags of cans in total. No matter how you count it, there’ve got to be over a thousand.”

Wei Cheng picked up a few cans and checked the production dates. Their shelf life was three years, and they were still very fresh.

He was happy too. “This many cans will keep us fed for quite a while.”

Recently, they needed to focus on fortifying the base. They couldn’t go out on missions, and they also couldn’t casually take in survivors. That meant less time to teach Guanguan, and their Twist Coin income would go down too.

At the moment, their coins and remaining supplies were still abundant, but Wei Cheng hated the feeling of simply consuming what they had. Perhaps because in his previous life he had experienced too many moments of completely running out, he got anxious whenever there was no income for too long. He was always afraid Guanguan would go hungry or suffer.

Guanguan also touched the cans on the ground, then looked up excitedly. “Brother, baby wants canned food!”

“All right, come eat.” Wei Cheng asked, “Do you want meat cans or fruit cans?”

“Fruit!”

Wei Cheng picked out a small can of yellow peaches and handed it over. “Peach can okay?”

Guanguan waved his little hands eagerly. “Okay! Okay!”

Wei Cheng then looked at Mingming and Wang Xiaotiao. Seeing how awkward they were, he smiled too. “What kind of canned food do you two want?”

Without exception, both children turned to look behind them at Director Wang.

Director Wang gently nudged their shoulders. “Brother Chengcheng is asking you.”

The moment he heard that, Wang Xiaotiao got so greedy he wiped his drool on his sleeve. “Brother Chengcheng, Mingming and I want meat cans!”

Mingming nodded like a pecking chick. The timid look in his eyes from before was now glowing.

“Then you two can each have a braised beef can.”

The three children bumped their cans together a few times, then ran off laughing and playing.

At that moment, Yi Qi carried over the remaining two big bags of cans too.

He waved at Wei Cheng. “Chengcheng, come here!”

Wei Cheng quickly walked over.

Looking at all the cans spread out on the ground, Shen Zheng said, “Director Grandpa, shall we sort these by type?”

Director Wang crouched down. “Yes, yes, that’ll make it easier.”

The two of them sorted the cans while chatting.

Director Wang sighed. “I never imagined I’d see Mr. Shen again.”

Shen Zheng replied, “Life is unpredictable. I never imagined I’d run into Guanguan again either.”

“I have to thank you. If not for you and Mr. Yi, these two children would still be wandering outside. And you even risked your lives to rescue me, Mingming, and Xiaotiao. I truly don’t know how I could ever repay you…” Director Wang sighed.

Shen Zheng thought, You’ve got that backwards, haven’t you?

If not for Guanguan and Chengcheng, he and Yi Qi probably would have died long ago in Yu City Ren’ai Hospital.

But they had already agreed on what to say with Chengcheng. “Old sir, don’t think too much about it. In times like these, if you can eat your fill, sleep well, and stop living in fear, then you’re already someone with good fortune. Better days are ahead.”

On the other side, Wei Cheng climbed onto the truck bed and saw the “good stuff” Yi Qi had mentioned.

“Look.”

Yi Qi pulled back the thick black cloth, revealing rows of neatly arranged flat metal canisters with iron lids.

Each one held thirty liters. Counted carefully, there were fifty in total.

“The blue ones are diesel, the dark green ones are gasoline.”

Yi Qi’s voice was full of barely contained excitement. “Didn’t you say Guanguan’s mall can’t buy gasoline or diesel for now? With all this, can’t we hold out for months?”

Gasoline and diesel were extremely important to them. They meant they could start a vehicle and escape at any time, and they also meant they could have something like a normal life with electricity and water.

They still had about two-thirds of the gasoline and diesel left in the basement, and now they had this major new supply on top of that. It really was like getting the perfect pillow the moment they started getting sleepy.

—

After resting for two days, they officially began construction!

If they had simply laid down barbed wire around the ranch fence, it would have taken only ten days or so. But if they wanted to reinforce it with steel pipes and steel plates, it would take at least three to four months. And with traps added on top of that, it would take even longer.

After discussing it together, everyone agreed to establish the core zone first—that was, to build a solid square steel gate wall centered around Guanguan’s cabin.

Counting Guanguan’s cabin, a total of five wooden cabins were enclosed inside.

It was an enormous amount of work, and everyone on the ranch took part in it.

Director Wang led Mingming and Xiaotiao in mixing mud…

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi dug earth alongside Wei Cheng. Even the little black dog joined in, flinging its paws and scratching at the dirt. Now that Yu City had returned to normal temperatures and the soil was gradually loosening, digging and turning earth was much easier.

Guanguan wore a black cable-knit polo-collar sweater and a little yellow construction helmet on his head. Carrying a bucket and snacks, he ran all over the place delivering food and drinks.

“Uncle, drink water!”

“Grandpa, open your mouth!”

The purpose of fortifying the base was to protect everyone’s safety, so everyone worked with tremendous energy. And with sweet drinks and fragrant jerky snacks in the middle of the work, everyone felt even more satisfied.

Resting on his shovel, Yi Qi laughed. “The little squirt has really gone down the old cadre route today.”

Guanguan of the people!

Wiping his sweat, Wei Cheng also smiled. “He picked the outfit himself.”

The day before, when he had been choosing clothes in the mall for Mingming and Xiaotiao, Guanguan had followed him in to join the fun. After hearing Brother say they should pick darker-colored clothes, Guanguan had immediately chosen this sweater for himself—even though the style wasn’t exactly childlike.

“Brother!” Guanguan came running over with a little bamboo basket.

Wei Cheng took off his dirty gloves and rubbed his head. “What is it?”

Guanguan stared at the shovel in Brother’s hands. “Guanguan wants to dig dirt too!”

Wei Cheng said, “Sure, then go back and get your little plastic kid’s shovel.”

“Guanguan wants to use the one in your hand!”

“No.”

Wei Cheng smiled. “It’s too heavy. You can’t lift it, and if you’re not careful, it could smash your foot.”

When Brother refused, the child ran off to pester Uncle Shen instead. But Shen Zheng, who usually doted on the children, unusually refused too. “Be good. No playing with the shovel. If it smashes your little feet and they swell up, you won’t be able to fit into your Ultraman shoes.”

Guanguan lowered his head with his hands behind his back. “Okay then.”

He came over round and left flat again.

Wei Cheng’s heart softened at the sight, and just as he was thinking of a solution, he saw Director Wang waving at Guanguan. “Guanguan, come help Grandpa carry some sand over.”

Guanguan immediately lifted his head. “Coming!”

Seeing that, Wei Cheng smiled and relaxed.

Back to digging!

After a full day of hard work from both adults and children, everyone looked at the first visible outline of the square wall and felt both exhausted and deeply satisfied.

None of them had the strength to cook anything elaborate, so they simply made a pot of rice and then opened several heated meat and vegetable cans.

Guanguan especially loved the sweet, soft corn from the canned corn. He scooped a spoonful of sticky corn kernels into fragrant white rice and took a huge bite, eating with obvious delight. “Brother, Guanguan loves corn!”

Wei Cheng smiled. “Then when spring comes, we’ll clear out a patch of land just for growing corn.”

Guanguan’s eyes went round as he looked at the spoonful of corn kernels. “Can Guanguan plant it too?”

“You can. And Guanguan can watch the corn break through the soil, grow tall, and finally bear ears.”

Guanguan stared with bright starry eyes. “Wow, that sounds so fun!”

Then he tilted his head. “Little Apricot’s ears are big-big, it grows taller, and it gets fatter. Did Guanguan plant Little Apricot?”

The adults around the table were all amused by his childish words.

Yi Qi laughed. “Little Apricot is an animal, not a plant. That’s not the kind of thing you can plant!”

Then he pointed out the window. “Once the weather gets warmer, we uncles can take you little ones outside to plant flowers by the house. Then when the wind blows, our little wooden cabins will be full of flower fragrance.”

The three children all let out matching gasps of wonder, as if they could already see a sea of colorful flowers before their eyes.

Guanguan cheered, “Then our home is going to get even prettier!”

Usually after dinner, everyone would still sit together talking for a while, but today they were simply too tired. After cleaning up their bowls and chopsticks, everyone went back to rest.

Even the black wolf pup, who was normally overflowing with energy, didn’t go parkouring around the cozy little house. The moment it got back, it ran straight to its little dog bed and fell into a deep sleep.

No matter how Guanguan called, it wouldn’t wake up.

Before bed, as usual, Wei Cheng read Guanguan a storybook.

He hadn’t read for very long before Guanguan started yawning over and over. He was sleepy too.

Wei Cheng stood up and dimmed the lamp.

The child rubbed his eyes. “Brother.”

“What is it?”

Guanguan said in a tiny voice, “If you don’t let Guanguan play with the shovel and dig dirt, Guanguan won’t be mad at you anymore.”

So he really was a stingy little Guanguan.

Wei Cheng couldn’t help laughing. “So you’re only now not mad at Brother?”

Guanguan’s eyelids drooped lower and lower, and he smiled with his little hands folded.

Wei Cheng gently patted the child’s chubby little back. “All right, go to sleep nicely.”

Once he heard Guanguan’s small, steady breathing, Wei Cheng quietly lifted the blanket and got out of bed.

He went to the mall’s hardware section and searched for a while until he found a little metal trowel head meant for planting succulents.

The handle needed to be longer.

The next morning, Guanguan woke up because breakfast smelled so good.

Rubbing his eyes, he called out, “Hungry.”

From downstairs came Brother’s voice: “Breakfast’s almost ready. Guanguan, go use the toilet first!”

Guanguan shook his little head and then flopped back into the soft, warm blanket. He lazed around for a long while before slowly climbing out of bed and running into the bathroom.

Wei Cheng set breakfast on the table, then quickly went upstairs to help Guanguan brush his teeth and wash his face.

Children who had grown up in orphanages were all very independent. The way they spoke and acted was often smarter and more mature than children their age.

Even though Guanguan was only three, he used to be able to stand on a slippery little stool in the washroom and brush his teeth and wash his face by himself. But ever since he had Brother taking care of him, it seemed he’d forgotten how to do any of it!

Wei Cheng carefully brushed Guanguan’s teeth and said, “All right, spit out the foam.”

Guanguan tilted his head back like a little carp and went gurgle gurgle gurgle.

Wei Cheng laughed. “A delicious breakfast is waiting for you.”

Guanguan obediently spat out the toothpaste foam.

The moment he ran downstairs, he saw a little shovel on the coffee table. The handle was wrapped in Ultraman stickers.

“Brother! Brother, look!”

The little black dog, which was eating dog food, jumped in shock at Guanguan’s loud little voice.

Guanguan lovingly grabbed the little shovel from the table. It was the perfect size, almost as if it had been custom-made just for him.

“Ultraman brought Guanguan a shovel!”

Wei Cheng said, “Really? Then are you happy?”

“Happy!”

Guanguan wanted to carry the little shovel even while eating breakfast.

Wei Cheng pushed eggs and milk in front of him and said with a smile, “You eat properly first. After breakfast, you can take the shovel and dig dirt with Brother. Otherwise Ultraman won’t come bring you gifts anymore.”

Guanguan hurriedly set the shovel down and gulped a big mouthful of milk. “Ultraman, don’t stop coming! Guanguan is eating properly!”

When they reached the work area, Guanguan proudly showed off his little shovel to everyone.

They all knew what was going on, but everyone still indulged his childlike fantasy, praising him so much that he nearly floated away.

Only Wang Xiaotiao believed it completely. During their lunch break, he found Guanguan. “Guanguan, then did you see Ultraman?”

Guanguan was digging in a sand pile, chewing crunchy cream-coated peanuts. “No, I didn’t see him.”

Wang Xiaotiao’s cheeks bulged with candy. “Oh. I really wanted to know which Ultraman it was. Does he usually go to the toilet? How does he go to the toilet? What if he gets diarrhea? Oh man, the TV never explains that!”

That question was far beyond Guanguan’s level.

He looked confused for a moment, then answered with what he could understand. “Guanguan went to the toilet.”

“I went to the toilet too. I went twice.”

Guanguan held up little fingers and bragged, “Guanguan went three times!”

Wang Xiaotiao said, “Tomorrow I might go four times!”

“Guanguan’s going five times tomorrow!”

The two children automatically ended the topic once they got up to ten.

Wang Xiaotiao tapped the little shovel. “Can I look at it?”

Guanguan generously said, “Look!”

Holding the little shovel, Wang Xiaotiao nodded solemnly. “Oh my god! Ultraman really did give it to you!”

“One uncle said this is Ultraman’s selfie!” Guanguan proudly swung his little feet. Then he patted Wang Xiaotiao’s sturdy shoulder. “When Ultraman comes again and brings more, Guanguan will give you one!”

Wang Xiaotiao solemnly handed the shovel back to him. “Thank you. Don’t forget, okay?”

From the wooden cabin came Uncle Shen’s voice: “Lunch time! All the kids, come over!”

Guanguan got excited. “Food time!”

Wang Xiaotiao was especially strong. In one pull, he yanked Guanguan right up out of the sand pile and even dusted the sand off his little bottom for him.

The two children ran hand in hand into the cabin.

—

A month later, the core zone of Full-Belly Farm was finally complete.

The five wooden cabins were arranged in a staggered pattern across the pasture. Because they were considering future vegetable plots and building a watchtower, they enclosed an area taking up two-fifths of the entire farm.

The core zone was surrounded by a brand-new, smooth steel wall. Along the top of the wall were embedded sharp blades and broken glass, with a large slanted stretch of wire mesh above that, to prevent people from throwing things over.

To make the wall stronger, Wei Cheng had searched through every construction book he’d bought from the mall. In the end, he decided to dig a foundation first, then build a soundproof double-layer wall, using cement bricks packed with dirt as the load-bearing structure. After that, they buried steel pipes and fixed steel plates over the wall.

The gate pillars were made the same way, and as for the most important main gate, they installed the double steel gate they had scavenged from the building materials market.

Once the core zone was finished, they no longer had to worry about a zombie horde breaking through the shaky wooden fence and smashing their way inside. This extra layer of protection gave them a great deal of peace of mind.

Originally, they had planned to keep going without stopping—digging trenches near the fence and burying steel pipes to build the final perimeter wall in one push. But the weather refused to cooperate, and it rained through several winter days in a row.

The sound of steady rain filled the air everywhere.

The three children sat on the bed playing with toys.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi each held a novel and were reading.

Director Wang was old, and his knees and joints ached whenever it was windy or rainy, so he was resting in his room.

Wei Cheng, meanwhile, stared absently out into the rain curtain, mentally working out the best way to build traps into the farm wall.

Once the wall was finished, would it be better to dig a deep trench outside as a trap?

If they lined the mud walls with blades and sharpened steel plates, then if zombies or bad people tried to force their way through, wouldn’t they be cut in half?

If they did that, they would definitely have to lay a layer of iron mesh over the trench edge too, so the children wouldn’t accidentally run too close, step wrong, and fall in.

“Isn’t today some kind of special day?” Yi Qi suddenly shut his book.

Wei Cheng turned at the sound. “What kind of special day?”

Shen Zheng also looked blankly at him.

Yi Qi slapped his hand. “Spring Festival!”

“Spring Festival?!” Shen Zheng suddenly realized. “Right, right. We spent New Year’s Day at Qingyuan Guesthouse not long ago. If you count the days, didn’t Spring Festival already pass?”

They carefully counted it out, and sure enough, Spring Festival had already gone by.

The three children all ran over when they heard the uncles making a fuss. Wang Xiaotiao asked curiously, “Uncle Shen, what are you talking about? What festival?”

“Spring Festival.” Shen Zheng smiled. “Both adults and children all get one year older.”

Guanguan gasped in delight. “Guanguan got one year older too?”

Wei Cheng pinched his peach-butt cheeks and smiled. “You’re four now.”

Guanguan wrapped himself around Brother’s leg and looked up. “What can you do when you’re four?”

Wei Cheng teased him. “What do you think four-year-olds can do?”

Guanguan’s eyes rolled around thoughtfully. “Can I eat spicy sauce?”

“Still thinking about that?” Wei Cheng laughed. “No.”

Guanguan’s eyes turned starry. “Can I drink Coke every day? Can I eat candy every day? Can I eat cream cake every day?”

Wei Cheng laughed. “You can’t eat those every day.”

Guanguan pouted and pointed with his little fingers. “Guanguan does not agree to being four!”

“You can disagree all you want, it’s too late. Spring Festival already passed. You are now Four-Year-Old Little Guanguan.” Wei Cheng carefully looked him over. Why did he feel like Guanguan had gotten a little taller?

That night, once they got back to the safehouse, Wei Cheng found the answer on the system panel.

He said happily, “Guanguan, you really did grow taller!”

[Guanguan]
Identity: House Owner
Age: 4
Height: 87 cm (on the short side)
…

He had actually grown two whole centimeters all at once!

And yet none of his clothes had even gotten small yet!

With a little flat peach stuffed in his mouth, Guanguan came running over, his dark eyes round as marbles. “Weally?”

So being four wasn’t without advantages—he could get taller!

In the future, when sneaking tasty things from the fridge, baby wouldn’t need to stand on a stool anymore!

“Really!” Wei Cheng said. “Come on, let’s check your weight too.”

Guanguan jumped onto the scale with the peach still in his mouth.

The numbers flickered twice. Thirty-something jin. Luckily it hadn’t crossed forty.

So he had actually slimmed down a little.

Guanguan lifted his little face. “Is baby still a little fat baby?”

Wei Cheng held back laughter. “You’re still kind of medium-fat.”

Guanguan had always been special. In truth, Wei Cheng had never been too anxious about his height and weight. But seeing the child grow taller still made him very happy.

Guanguan took the peach out of his mouth and set it in his palm. “The peach is causing trouble!”

“The peach isn’t causing trouble, and no one is causing trouble.” Wei Cheng picked up the heavy little watermelon child and walked toward the kitchen. “Drink a cup of milk, then get ready for bed!”

That night, the rain got even heavier.

The screech of sudden brakes in the rainy night was not especially noticeable.

Dim yellow headlights illuminated the tall gate of the farm.

Author’s Note:
I saw some people thinking Chengcheng is too tall, but I actually searched a lot of sites to see how tall an eight-year-old boy can be. Some bloggers’ kids were already 156 cm at age eight, and even Yao Ming’s daughter was around 160 cm at eight. I set Chengcheng’s parents up as both being tall in their professions, and making Chengcheng a little taller was mainly so he’d be better able to protect himself and Guanguan. That’s the only reason. 

Don’t worry about little Guanguan’s height and weight either. His background is pretty interesting (no spoilers for now), and as he gets older, he’ll grow more like a normal child.

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