Chapter 67
It was late spring in May, and the grass across the farm stretched green and endless.
After seeing that family of three off, Yi Qi and Shen Zheng chatted and laughed as they walked toward the largest cabin in the core area.
The moment they drew close, two shadows pounced at them.
The one-year-old black wolfdog, nearly as tall as an adult man’s knees, wagged his tail and sniffed all over them. His coat was glossy and jet-black, his limbs lean and strong, and his upright ears looked like nimble little wings.
The merle Border Collie pup refused to be outdone. He barked at them in a crisp little voice.
The little thing was a glutton. His head was round, his paws were plump, and everyone on the farm had fed him so well that he’d become adorably chubby.
Every time he barked, he would lunge forward with his front paws, but because he was so round, he would lose control and flop right onto his little butt. After falling, his glacier-blue puppy eyes would look a bit aggrieved, yet he still flailed and bit at their pant legs.
Fierce and cute at the same time—so adorable it was unbearable.
Yi Qi scooped up the pretty little Border Collie and laughed. “Gray Cub, why are you biting your uncle too? I’m the one who helped nail together your little doghouse by the door.”
Beside the cabin stood two doghouses, one tall and one short.
One was painted black, the other gray, and both had a crooked little bun-shaped figure painted on them.
Naturally, that was Guanguan’s handiwork.
The bun family had gained new members.
Gray Cub rested his little dog head on Yi Qi’s arm and gave two soft whimpers, as if acting spoiled and trying to be cute.
Little Black was extremely possessive of Gray Cub. In just that short moment, he had already stretched out one thick paw and lightly slapped the top of Yi Qi’s foot.
His cool dog face was especially serious.
The little gray dog in Yi Qi’s arms seemed to sigh.
Once Yi Qi put him down, the round little gray fluffball immediately pounced on the big black dog and started biting him in a fake-tough little way.
Even when the big dog got bitten, he still grinned with his dog mouth open, clearly teasing the Border Collie pup.
Yi Qi was afraid Little Xing would get hurt and hurriedly tried to stop them. “Gray Cub, don’t bite Little Xing!”
The little gray dog immediately barked twice at Yi Qi.
As if to say, Give me a few years, and I’ll beat you too!
The two men burst out laughing and played with the dogs outside for a while.
Then the window opened, and a wave of fragrance drifted out.
Wei Cheng leaned half out of the kitchen window and smiled. “Uncle Yi, Uncle Shen, did you two send that family of three off?”
“We did. When they left, they even said they owed us their lives.” Yi Qi set the dog down, and he and Shen Zheng went into the cabin.
The moment the people left, the black wolfdog snatched up the fluffy gray pup by the scruff and darted back into his big doghouse.
Gray Cub kicked his chubby little feet.
Time for grooming!
Though the cabin was small, it had everything it needed. The moment you pushed open the door, the built-in bed-cabinet came into view.
Yi Qi smiled and headed toward the bedroom, while Shen Zheng rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.
“Chengcheng, what are you making? Want your uncle to help?”
Wei Cheng shifted slightly and said, “I steamed a pot of glutinous rice shumai with mushrooms and meat. It’s almost done.”
Shen Zheng nodded repeatedly. “Wow, shumai!”
Then he lowered his voice. “The other day, when Director Wang asked me for vegetable seeds, he also asked how much food we had left and whether we needed to go search for more. If he sees this shumai, could it…”
Wei Cheng lifted the lid to check, then said, “It’s fine. There are ready-made frozen shumai too. Grandpa Director knows our cabin fridge has electricity. Even if he sees them, he won’t think too much of it. Mingming and Xiaotiao are still growing—it’s not like they can eat nothing but preservative-packed canned food every day. Since we have good things, we should let them eat better whenever we can do it without exposing anything. Grandpa Director is always worrying we won’t have enough supplies to eat. If he asks you about our food again, just tell him not to worry.”
The past few days, the two uncles had been doing heavy labor every day, and Wei Cheng and Guanguan had only been able to secretly make them chicken soup and fish soup. They were all family, after all. Sneaking around all the time wasn’t much of a solution. It would be better to just bring out suitable things to eat. No matter how suspicious Director Wang might get, he would never suspect that Guanguan possessed a materials mall with everything imaginable.
He said, “The core zone and the fence are both finished now. All that’s left is to dig a few traps and build the watchtower. Even the strongest people can’t keep doing heavy labor every single day. Just like you two worry I’ll hurt my growing body, I worry you’ll wear yourselves out too. Over the next couple of days, I’ll take the little ones and Grandpa Director to plant vegetables. You and Uncle Yi should rest properly.”
Shen Zheng felt touched by Chengcheng’s thoughtfulness and smiled. “The two of us are adults. We don’t need to squat inside the cabin resting. Helping you plant vegetables sounds pretty nice too.”
Meanwhile, Yi Qi quietly came up to the bed.
Looking at the chubby little one sleeping soundly under the floral quilt, he couldn’t stop his smile.
He really looked like a cotton doll—far too cute.
Guanguan shook his head, scratched his face with his little fist, and sleepily opened his eyes.
“Uncle Yi.” The child showed a little grin, the sides of his face marked red from the pillow. His voice was small and hoarse. “You’re stealing Baby’s water gun!”
Yi Qi laughed helplessly. “I’m not stealing your water gun. The sun’s already shining on your butt. I came to see whose child was still not out of bed.”
“Brother’s child is out of bed!”
Guanguan slowly rolled over, his fluffy curls messy as he pushed himself upright on the bed.
He spread out his little hand, and the sleeve of his thin pajama top slid forward, exposing a ring of snowy white baby fat. “See? I’m up!”
Yi Qi was completely charmed. He patted Guanguan’s little head and laughed. “Why don’t you have any morning grumpiness?”
“I don’t get grumpy in bed. Guanguan is a good baby.” Guanguan smoothed the hair by his temple, then braced his short little legs and looked outside. “Where’s Brother?”
Yi Qi thought for a second and teased him, “Your brother and Uncle Shen went out!”
Guanguan tilted his head back, his big eyes still hazy with sleep. “They went to find Grandpa!”
Yi Qi kept lying shamelessly. “They went far away!”
Guanguan blinked. Then panic hit him. “They didn’t take their Guanguan!”
His lips trembled.
Yi Qi became afraid that in the next second, the waterworks would come rushing out. He grabbed the child and dashed toward the living room. “Your uncle was teasing you! Look, quick look—Brother and Uncle Shen are in the kitchen making food!”
Wei Cheng happened to be carrying out the shumai. “Guanguan’s awake? What’s wrong?”
“Brother! Brother!” The moment Guanguan saw him, he beamed. He stretched out his little arms. “Brother, hug!”
Wei Cheng picked him up and bounced him slightly. “You got up really early today. What happened just now?”
Guanguan looked at Uncle Yi and bravely snitched. “Uncle Yi said he tricked Baby.”
Yi Qi tried to run again. “I’m going to go check on Mingming and Xiaotiao!”
Shen Zheng happened to be carrying out the breakfast portions. “Hey? Where do you think you’re going? Bring the breakfast!”
Yi Qi had no choice but to walk back, only to hear Guanguan continue, “He said Brother and Uncle went out! Didn’t want Guanguan anymore!”
Shen Zheng immediately elbowed him in the chest. “Don’t scare children!”
Clutching his chest, Yi Qi said, “I forgot he’s already a four-year-old! He can make things up now!”
Watching Uncle Yi get chased around by Uncle Shen, Guanguan sat in his brother’s arms and clapped, laughing loudly.
Time really was treating them well.
Spring was warm, the flowers were blooming, and the air was fresh.
The whole family set up a table outside the cabin and ate shumai dipped in sweet vinegar sauce.
The two uncles liked spice, so they added a lot of bright red chili oil to their dipping dishes.
Director Wang smiled. “This shumai is so fresh. Rich people really know how to eat. Even frozen this long, the filling is still this tender.”
Everyone at the table praised the breakfast endlessly.
Guanguan held a shumai on his little fork and took big bites, shaking his head in delight as he chewed.
Wei Cheng found it amusing. After sipping some refreshing seaweed soup, he smiled and asked, “Guanguan likes it too?”
“I do!” Guanguan pointed at the little gray dog by the doghouse, busy wolfing down his bowl of puppy milk. “His name is Mai Mai!”
Shen Zheng almost sprayed his food. “Looks like he really does love shumai.”
“A puppy should remember his own name is Gray Cub. It’s better not to change it casually. That’s also a kind of respect for the dog. If we ever get another puppy later, you can name that one Mai Mai, okay?” Wei Cheng smiled and wiped the corner of the child’s mouth.
Guanguan bit off the ruffled edge of the shumai, cheeks bulging. “Brother, can a kitty be called Mai Mai?”
Wei Cheng was surprised. He did not know where Guanguan’s thoughts of cats had come from. “You want to raise a cat? Why do you suddenly want a cat?”
Director Wang, sitting beside them, laughed. “Wasn’t it you who found me that animal picture book, the pop-up one? It had all kinds of little animals in it. After reading it, Guanguan and the others wanted to raise tigers and lions. In the end, I had to tell them that in our current situation, all we can raise are little cats and dogs.”
The calves and lambs Uncle Yi kept longing for were nowhere to be found.
Xiaotiao hugged his shumai and said, “Brother Chengcheng, I want to raise a fierce tabby cat! Grandpa said tabbies are the fiercest little cats!”
Mingming also gestured excitedly, saying he wanted to raise a fat orange cat.
Wei Cheng smiled. “Alright, when there’s a chance, Brother will find each of you a cat.”
The children all cheered happily.
“Our farm backs onto the mountains. It’s big, and there are plenty of mice. Raising a few cats really would be nice,” Shen Zheng said, smiling and pointing at Yi Qi. “You’re the one who’s obsessed with little cats and dogs, so when the time comes, Great Veterinarian, you’ll be the one scooping litter and looking after them.”
Yi Qi lifted a brow. “Sure. I love cats and dogs most.”
Then he added, pointedly, “It’d be even better if Chengcheng could help Uncle find some calves and lambs too.”
Wei Cheng glanced at Guanguan and thought, You’d be better off begging Guanguan than me.
After breakfast, under Director Wang’s urging, the two uncles finally went back to rest.
The old man carried two big buckets, while Chengcheng and Xiaotiao shouldered shovels and rakes, and Guanguan and Mingming each carried a basket of treated seeds. All of them excitedly headed down the slope in the core zone to plant vegetables.
Director Wang could not sit idle. The moment he had nothing to do, his thoughts would wander. Since the children and Mr. Yi refused to let him carry steel plates or do heavy work, he spent every day after lessons taking a shovel down the slope to loosen the soil.
After a few days, the whole patch had been thoroughly turned over. This was also to keep the soil loose and fertile.
There were two large square plots in total, each meant for two kinds of vegetables. Stones lined the edges, and the furrows were clearly marked. You could no longer see the green grass that had once been there.
Director Wang lifted the cloth covering the basket. “Today we just need to plant the romaine and the bok choy.”
The three little ones squatted in a row. Guanguan, curious as always, asked, “Grandpa, how do we eat the vegetables?”
Director Wang smiled kindly. “The romaine gets stir-fried. The bok choy can go into dumplings for Guanguan later. Sweet and fresh—you’ll definitely like it.”
Guanguan nodded in approval. “I’ll like that!”
The old man’s back could not take too much bending anymore, so Wei Cheng helped him water the furrows. The soil had to drink enough water before the seeds were buried if they were going to grow well.
Watching his brother’s movements, Guanguan also tried scooping up water with a little yellow ladle and gently drizzling it into the furrow. A few drops hit the soil, barely noticeable.
The child lifted his face and said excitedly, “Brother, look!”
Wei Cheng turned to look and smiled. “Oh? Learning how to water, are you?”
Wei Cheng stepped forward and held his hand. “Come on, Brother will teach you. See? You can scoop a little more water than that.”
This time, the little ladle filled properly.
Wei Cheng guided Guanguan’s hand, spreading the water evenly along the furrow. “See? That way all the dirt gets a drink.”
The water soaked quickly into the dry earth.
Guanguan let out an amazed “Wow!” and stamped his little chubby feet. “Baby learned!”
The child tried again by himself. His little hand trembled a bit, splashing some water onto his shoes, but he didn’t notice at all. When the remaining water sprinkled into the furrow, he lifted his eyes and said, “Brother!”
Wei Cheng smiled. “Baby did great!”
Hearing that, Guanguan swung the little ladle and praised himself grandly. “Good job, Baby!”
The cabbage seeds had already been soaked, so planting them was easy.
Once the two brothers had watered the soil and the furrows had soaked up enough, Director Wang led Mingming and Xiaotiao in burying the seeds.
Wei Cheng picked Guanguan up and said, “Grandpa, I’m taking Guanguan back first to change him. He got his pants and shoes all wet.”
Director Wang hurriedly said, “Go change him quickly. Children have weak constitutions—cold in the feet can make their stomachs hurt.”
On the way back, Guanguan spotted Gray Cub and Little Xing. He had his brother carry him for a while, then suddenly wriggled free and began running around the farm.
Now that the family of three had left, there was no need to keep the core zone gate shut all the time, and the two dogs could finally race around to their hearts’ content.
The farm’s main gate was sturdy. The front, back, left, and right were enclosed by four-meter steel walls. Not far away, the square core zone was surrounded by a six-meter wall, occupying a huge stretch of land.
The grass was lush green, and strangely shaped clouds drifted above the cowshed on the slope, close enough that it felt like you could reach up and touch them.
This was the first time since arriving at the farm that Wei Cheng had felt truly comfortable and at peace.
Then the little runaway Guanguan came running back.
The small distant dot grew larger and larger.
As he got close, Wei Cheng caught him in one swift movement.
“Brother!”
Guanguan’s little face was flushed pink. Smiling brightly, he said, “Baby wants cotton candy!”
Wei Cheng laughed. “Sure. You haven’t had much dessert lately. Today you can have a big cotton candy.”
Then he asked, “What flavor do you want?”
Guanguan pointed at the clouds above the cowshed. “Cloud flavor!”
Wei Cheng laughed. “That would be cream flavor.”
No child disliked cream. Guanguan nodded his little head excitedly. “Cream flavor! That one!”
Wei Cheng picked him up again. “Come on, after we change your shoes and clothes, Brother will take you shopping in the mall. We haven’t gone shopping in a long time.”
Guanguan grinned and cheered, “Buy, buy, buy! Buy lots of cloud-flavored cotton candy!”
After returning to the safehouse, Wei Cheng changed Guanguan into a fresh outfit.
Back in Huan City, May was still a little chilly. But here in Yu City, the weather was neither hot nor cold.
Both adults and children wore short sleeves underneath and light outer layers on top.
Wei Cheng chose a little outfit with a giraffe pattern for Guanguan.
Glancing downstairs, he saw Guanguan in only Ultraman underwear, stuffing toys into his little backpack, and called out, “Guanguan, come up here. Brother’s getting you dressed.”
“Coming!”
Guanguan never dawdled. The moment his brother called, he came running at once.
One look at the outfit, and Guanguan shook his head. “Brother, Baby doesn’t want this one!”
Wei Cheng smiled and opened the wardrobe. “Alright then. What do you want to wear?”
Guanguan stood on tiptoe and pointed. “Baby is handsome. Wear that one!”
“Okay, then we’ll wear that one.”
It was a dark navy short-sleeved top that looked both soft and cool, paired with light beige pants.
Once he was dressed and stepped out—
Well now.
What a fine little heir to a materials mall, future arms dealer, and inheritor of the Full-Belly Farm.
Guanguan smoothed his little curls and beamed. “Brother, is Baby handsome?”
Wei Cheng grinned. “Very handsome!”
Guanguan swayed proudly like a little roly-poly. “Hehe. Baby also wants a sausage!”
Even with all his many titles, the little heir was still devoted to grilled sausages.
Wei Cheng carried him downstairs. “Sure. But first you’ll eat your cotton candy. That kind of thing isn’t easy to take outside, so Brother will grill some sausages later and share them with everyone.”
The sausage machine at home was one of the things Guanguan had won in a prize draw.
As Wei Cheng watched it working, he found himself wondering what kind of surprise reward the system would give them once they completed the farm-building mission.
A spin on the prize wheel would be nice. Then he could cheat again and wish for little Guanguan to draw a tank.
The thought made him laugh.
Then he touched the corner of his own mouth.
He had never imagined there would come a day when he could smile this happily.
From the living room came the sound of Guanguan running around with a toy water gun.
For lunch they had handmade noodles, cooked by Uncle Shen himself.
The noodles were springy and smooth, and the scallion broth was fragrant.
But when Brother Chengcheng came over carrying steaming hot grilled sausages, the children lost their minds.
Director Wang waved his hand. “That’s children’s food. You all eat, you all eat.”
Guanguan’s little mouth was shiny with oil as he held up a sausage blistered from the grill. “Grandpa, you eat!”
Yi Qi bit into a sausage and urged him, “Old Director, go on and eat. If you don’t eat, I’ll feel embarrassed eating mine.”
It wasn’t that Director Wang didn’t want to eat. He was reluctant.
Things like meat and sausage were precious now. He thought that if he didn’t eat, the children could each have a little more. But hearing Mr. Yi say that, he still took it.
He could not be a spoilsport old man.
Soon enough, the whole table was full of laughter and chatter, easy and content.
Three or four days later, the romaine and bok choy in the plots had sprouted.
The first thing Guanguan did every morning when he woke up was take the dogs to look at the vegetables he had planted.
The dogs were good. They never messed around in the garden, so there was no need for a fence.
By the end of the month, Wei Cheng was planting corn with Grandpa again, while the two uncles, once rested, started digging traps along the steel wall.
Their first plan was to line the area near the wall with steel spikes, then dig a few deep trenches at random points, burying sharp blades at the bottom. Whether zombies or bad people fell into the traps, death would be guaranteed.
And to make sure the children wouldn’t accidentally get hurt, they would stretch wire mesh over the trap openings.
The days passed like that, peaceful and happy for a month.
And during that same time, danger was quietly drawing closer to them.
—
They had limited conditions, and none of them were carpenters, so the watchtower had to be built more like a small walled structure.
That meant the work went slowly.
The whole family, young and old, worked from dawn to dusk—laying the foundation, embedding steel bars, mixing cement, building stairs…
That night, the cicadas were noisy and the mosquitoes everywhere.
They had gone to bed unusually early. But not long after lying down, they heard a vicious burst of barking.
Little Xing, usually calmer now that he had grown up, sounded agitated.
He kept barking furiously at the core zone gate.
Normally mischievous Gray Cub was also staring fixedly at the gate with his glacier-blue eyes.
The barking only grew louder.
Wei Cheng’s face tightened. He quickly set down the fan he had been using to fan Guanguan.
Then, after a moment’s thought, he picked up the sleeping Guanguan and carried him into the safehouse.
When he stepped outside, he found Grandpa Director and Shen Zheng and Yi Qi emerging from their own cabins at the same time.
Wei Cheng called out, “Little Xing! Come here!”
The dog ran to his leg at once. He seemed extremely anxious, letting out repeated howls toward the gate.
“What’s gotten into Little Xing?” Shen Zheng asked, yawning.
“Don’t be scared, Little Xing. Don’t be scared.”
Wei Cheng held the nearly grown big dog and softly said, “Did you smell zombies?”
The second those words were spoken, everyone tightened their grip on the flashlights in their hands.
The black dog gave a light bark in response.
Wei Cheng said with certainty, “There are zombies approaching the farm. Little Xing’s nose is excellent. He can smell them.”
The peaceful days shattered in that instant.
Shen Zheng said urgently, “Don’t move yet. Yi Qi and I will take the ladder and the night-vision goggles and go have a look.”
The tall walls were good in many ways, but until the watchtower was finished, one downside remained: they had no way of knowing how many zombies were outside.
Luckily, the Cloud Mall had retractable ladders of every kind.
Wei Cheng nodded seriously. “Alright.”
The two uncles ran back to their cabin, grabbed guns and night-vision goggles, and hurried off carrying the retractable ladder.
Director Wang was pale with fright. Turning away, he trembled as he muttered, “Heaven, please have mercy on the children…”
Wei Cheng stayed behind in the core zone, while outside Shen Zheng and Yi Qi did not return for a long time.
The moment the two men approached the wall, they heard the guttural roars of zombies.
“Shit!” Yi Qi clenched his fists. “This doesn’t sound good.”
Shen Zheng knew it too. “I’ll go look.”
Yi Qi steadied the ladder while Shen Zheng, wearing the night-vision goggles, climbed as quietly as he could. As the ladder got higher, he himself began to shake.
When Shen Zheng was halfway up, he suddenly saw what lay beyond the wall and nearly slipped off the ladder.
Yi Qi’s heart jumped into his throat. “Careful, damn it!”
From the top of the ladder came the sound of teeth grinding.
“Someone set us up! It’s packed with zombies out there!”
I hope their able to find an orange kitty to raise