Chapter 7
“Hey, kids, what are you two doing?”
Guanguan and Wei Cheng turned at the sound of the voice and saw a dozen or so tall teenage boys standing outside the basketball court.
With two plastic bags full of bottles slung over his little shoulders, Guanguan lifted his face and said, “Picking up trash.”
Without drawing attention to it, Wei Cheng stepped in front of Guanguan.
The older boys did not seem hostile at all. They burst out laughing. “You are this little and already picking up trash? That is amazing. So when will you be done? We want to play basketball!”
Guanguan shook the plastic bags. “All done. Guanguan is leaving. Going somewhere else to pick.”
A boy in a number eight jersey asked, “Did your kindergarten make you do this?”
Guanguan did not understand. He only said, “Need to make money.”
Wei Cheng added from the side, “We are children from Warm Sun Home Welfare Institute.”
The boys looked at one another. The boy in the number eight jersey clicked his tongue, rubbed the back of his head, and said, “Wait here!”
A moment later, he came back carrying a whole case of bottled water. He kicked the chubby boy next to him and said, “What are you standing there for? Drink! Who was it that said he was thirsty just now?”
The boys immediately caught on and nodded again and again. “Right, right, right, we were all thirsty already!”
The boy in the number eight jersey quickly chugged a bottle of water and tossed the empty bottle to Guanguan. “Here, you can have this!”
Guanguan held the bottle in his hands, but there was no voice in his head. He set the bottle down, then picked it up again. At once, the system’s voice sounded in his ears.
[Congratulations, you have obtained 1 Twisty Coin!]
Guanguan’s eyes went round. He looked up at his brother in delight.
Wei Cheng smiled, then said to those boys, “Thank you.”
Guanguan bared his tiny rice-like teeth in a grin. “Thank you, big brothers!”
“It is nothing!”
“We really were thirsty!”
“Yeah, hurry up and drink, hurry up and drink!”
The teenage boys actually seemed a little shy. They shoved and jostled one another as they competed to drink the water.
A case of mineral water had twenty-four bottles. A dozen or so boys drank and even poured some over their heads, and in no time at all the entire case was gone.
[Congratulations! You have accumulated 64 Twisty Coins! Daily limit reached!]
After collecting all the bottles, Wei Cheng first took Guanguan to the restroom by the court to wash his face and hands.
Then he dragged the plastic bags as he walked in front, while Guanguan obediently waved goodbye to the big brothers. “Bye-bye, big brothers!”
The sunny, kindhearted boys laughed and replied, “Bye-bye, kid!”
Wei Cheng knew there was an old residential compound nearby that they could reach without crossing the road. The people living there were all elderly, alone and without family.
Guanguan skipped along happily. “Brother, brother, it feels so nice to be helped by other people!”
Wei Cheng smiled. “Right. So now we should go help other people too!”
As soon as the two of them reached the entrance to the compound, they saw a hunched old woman intently digging through a trash bin.
Even in the scorching summer heat, she was wearing a thick wool sweater and a knitted cap on her head.
Wei Cheng had at least some legal awareness. He set the large garbage bags beside the trash bin and whispered to Guanguan, “Let us go.”
Guanguan whispered back, “Will Grandma find them?”
“She will.”
The moment they walked out of the compound, a voice sounded in their ears.
[Congratulations! Little House Owner has successfully helped an elderly woman who lost her only child! You have received 30 Twisty Coins! Total earnings today: 94 Twisty Coins! Please continue stocking supplies, enriching the safe house, and vigorously upgrading the escape Twisty Car!]
[Please conduct the Surprise Lucky Wheel draw somewhere with no one around!]
“Brother, will Grandma be happy when she finds the bottles?”
“She will. These few dozen bottles cannot improve her life, but they will bring a little surprise into a life as still as stagnant water.”
Wei Cheng bent down and rubbed Guanguan’s head. “We made nearly a hundred thousand yuan today thanks to those big brothers. Your brother has a little money on hand, so let us go buy some drinks and secretly send them to them, okay?”
Guanguan nodded obediently. “Okay!”
Wei Cheng took Guanguan back to the supermarket near the basketball court. There were not many people inside, only the shop owner’s wife sitting under a fan watching short dramas on her phone.
Guanguan’s eyes were locked firmly on the sausage grill on the counter.
“Boss, I would like to buy twelve bottles of this sports drink.”
The shop owner put down her phone and quickly picked them out for him. “Anything else?”
Wei Cheng glanced at Guanguan. Guanguan swallowed his saliva and stood on tiptoe, pointing at the sausage grill. “Are they not hot inside there?”
Only then did the shop owner lower her head and notice the cute little child standing below the counter.
“Oh my, this child is really beautiful.”
Guanguan clasped his little hands and smiled shyly. “Big sister is very pretty too!”
The shop owner’s wife touched her cheek and smiled like a flower blooming. “What big sister? Auntie’s child is already in college. I am old, old.”
Guanguan said, “No. You are very young.”
“Hahaha! Do you want a grilled sausage? Big sister will treat you!”
The owner pulled out a plastic bag to help them pack the sausages.
Wei Cheng said, “Boss, there is no need to treat us. Please pack five sausages for me. There is also one thing I would like to ask you.”
The moment the owner heard he wanted five, she knew she really could not give them away for free. She asked, “What is it?”
“We were helped by a few big brothers at the basketball court just now, so we want to buy some drinks for them. But I am afraid they will not accept them. Could you help us deliver them to them?”
The shop owner’s wife agreed at once. “No problem!”
In the end, Guanguan left the little supermarket completely satisfied, a flower-cut grilled sausage clamped in his mouth.
The summer breeze carrying the scent of flowers brushed against their faces as they walked down the shady path back toward the orphanage.
Holding his brother’s hand, Guanguan took huge bites of sausage. “Brother, how can grilled sausage be this delicious?”
Wei Cheng chewed as he answered, “Our secret base has lots of grilled sausages too. When the time comes, brother will grill them for you.”
The moment Guanguan heard that, his eyes lit up. “Then Guanguan wants to do missions every single day!”
“Every day you have to learn characters and do missions too?”
Guanguan nodded. “Do them! Do super lots and lots of missions!”
“Today was a beginner mission. Who knows what tomorrow’s mission will be.” Wei Cheng finished off his sausage in one bite and tossed the skewer into a trash can. “Tonight, do you want to do the lottery draw with brother and then go shopping in the store?”
“Yes, yes!” Guanguan’s little mouth gleamed with oil. “Guanguan wants to shop for grilled sausages!”
When they returned to the orphanage, they saw Wang Xiaotiao and Qiqi playing on the slide, while a quiet, thin little boy sat beside the pile of sand.
The older children were not around, which was why the younger ones had a chance to play.
“Mingming!”
Guanguan ran over. “Are you better now?”
Mingming’s face was a little pale. He nodded, then looked curiously at Wei Cheng.
Guanguan wrapped himself around Wei Cheng’s arm. “This is Guanguan’s brother! His name is Chengcheng. This year, this year…”
He looked up. “Brother, how old are you this year?”
Wei Cheng said, “Brother is eight this year.”
By the time he came to the orphanage, Mingming had already been hospitalized for a long time.
“Ta-da-da-da~”
Guanguan brought out the hand he had been hiding behind his back. “Xiaotiao, Qiqi, Mingming, look what this is!”
Wang Xiaotiao and Qiqi ran over from the slide.
Wang Xiaotiao said, “These are grilled sausages! I have seen Zhou Zihao and the others eating them!”
“Eat!” Guanguan handed the sausages out to them and lifted his chubby little face proudly. “Guanguan’s brother bought them!”
Wang Xiaotiao was already drooling. “Thank you, Brother Cheng!”
Timid little Qiqi also thanked him softly, but Mingming shook his head and did not take one.
“Mingming, why are you not eating?”
Mingming still quietly shook his head.
Wei Cheng thought for a moment, then said, “Are you afraid that if you eat it, you will get sick again?”
Mingming looked at Wei Cheng for a while, then nodded.
Wei Cheng asked, “Did someone scold you and say you got sick because you ate things carelessly?”
Mingming’s eyes reddened.
Wei Cheng handed the sausage to him and sighed. “Your illness is not because you ate things carelessly. Eat it. You will not get sick.”
Mingming hesitated for a while, but in the end he still accepted the sausage.
The doctor had clearly instructed Uncle Chen to give him more meat, yet during all the days he had been in the hospital, he had only been eating millet porridge and steamed buns. He truly had not had anything oily or rich for a very long time.
Director Wang had returned, and the orphanage meals were much better than they had been two days earlier.
Aunt Yun, who cooked in the cafeteria, had plenty of little schemes in her heart, but she did not dare pull too many tricks right under Director Wang’s nose. That was because she knew her father-in-law well. He was stubborn and stingy, but he could not really be called a great villain.
Over the years, ninety percent of the donations and subsidies the orphanage received had been spent on the children. In the past there had been many children in the orphanage. Food, clothing, daily necessities, illness, hospitalization, schooling, every single thing cost money. It was only recently that the number of children in the orphanage had gone down. The Qiao family, afraid the matter of taking children back would blow up into a scandal, had donated a large sum of money to hush things up. That was also why Aunt Yun had begged her father-in-law to let her work in the orphanage cafeteria. Every now and then she could skim a little profit for herself, and her father-in-law, for the sake of her husband, turned a blind eye.
Tonight’s dinner was braised pork over rice, and the children in the cafeteria were all overjoyed.
Director Wang stood with his hands behind his back at the serving window and frowned. “Give Mingming two extra pieces of meat.”
He glanced at Chen Sheng, the doctor working at the orphanage. “During these days, have you not bought meat for Mingming?”
Chen Sheng was helping serve the food. He quickly smiled and said, “Director, the doctor said Mingming cannot eat meat. But I bought Mingming plenty of nutritional supplements, did I not, Mingming?”
Mingming shrank back under Chen Sheng’s gaze and nodded.
Director Wang did not say anything more. He looked at Guanguan, who came over obediently carrying his little basin.
“Give him two extra pieces too. He is three years old and shorter than some two-year-olds!”
Aunt Yun said smilingly, “That is right. Who knows whether this child gets food and then does not eat it? Otherwise, why does he get so much food every day and still not grow?”
Between the lines, she was accusing Guanguan of wasting food.
Standing behind Guanguan, Wei Cheng suddenly said, “He can eat three buns in one meal, but Auntie is afraid the other children will not have enough, so she only gives him two. If this goes on, no matter how good a child’s digestion is, he still will not grow tall.”
Aunt Yun’s face changed. “What do you mean by that, you brat? Were you sent to the orphanage because you had no manners?”
Guanguan’s little face tightened. He slammed his food basin down hard. “Do not scold my brother!”
“Li Yun, what are you saying!”
Director Wang shouted angrily, “How can you say such things in front of the children!”
Li Yun realized she had misspoken. “Dad! Th-this child is obviously saying I abuse the children in the orphanage! When have I ever done that? In this scorching weather I buy vegetables and cook every day!”
“That is enough!” Director Wang knew very well what Li Yun had been doing. With his hands clasped behind his back, he said, “From now on, I will handle the cafeteria purchasing. You just cook for the children normally. I will still pay you as usual. If you want to work, then work. If you do not want to, then go home!”
How could Li Yun possibly not want to work here? The Qiao family had donated such a large sum of money. As long as she stayed in the orphanage, there would definitely be profit to skim!
She said, “Dad, why would I not want to work? Your eldest grandson is already at the age to get married…”
Because of this incident, every child in the orphanage got to eat a heaping bowl of braised pork over rice that day. In the end, Li Yun and Doctor Chen had none left and could only go eat instant noodles.
Guanguan ate with great delight, swaying his head from side to side as he buried himself in his bowl. “So fragrant, so fragrant!”
“You ate a lot today, so later you will have to play outside a little longer,” Wei Cheng said with a smile.
Grains of rice clung all around Guanguan’s mouth. “Brother, from now on, will we get to eat lots of food every day?”
Wei Cheng nodded. “Yes. From now on, we will be able to eat our fill every day.”
He had deliberately made a scene in front of Director Wang today. He did not know where the orphanage children would end up in the future, but at the very least, right now, they should not have to go hungry.
Human beings were the most complicated animals. Director Wang was indeed fierce toward the children of the orphanage, but he had truly used the donation and subsidy money on them. Every family always needed one shrewd, stern, and cold authority figure to manage the household.
When the global temperatures began rising in strange ways, Doctor Chen and Li Yun ran away early. Only Teacher Xiaomei and Director Wang stayed behind to protect the orphanage. But then a poisonous fog suddenly descended, and Director Wang died on the road while buying fever medicine for the children.
—
Now that Wei Cheng had his own bedding, he no longer had to squeeze together with Guanguan on one little wooden bed.
Dressed in bear-print pajamas, Guanguan rolled around once on the new bedding. “Brother, Guanguan wants to sleep with you.”
Wei Cheng ruffled his little curls. “But will you not feel hot?”
“No.”
Guanguan crossed his legs and patted his chubby little belly. “Guanguan just wants to sleep with brother.”
Wei Cheng thought for a moment. “All right then. Tonight, we will sleep on the new bedding.”
After hearing Wang Xiaotiao and Mingming start snoring, they opened the system panel.
The instant they opened it, the seven-colored lucky wheel popped up.
Guanguan pressed his hands together and kept swaying as he muttered under his breath, “Sausage grill, sausage grill.”
Wei Cheng whispered, “You do the draw. If you do not win it, brother will buy you a sausage grill in the store.”
Guanguan lightly touched the wheel with his little hand. The pointer spun rapidly and finally landed on the blue section.
[Congratulations! Little House Owner has obtained one Kitchen Appliances Gift Pack!]
Guanguan suddenly lifted his little face. “Brother, did I win the sausage grill?”
Wei Cheng tapped it open and found that there were five household appliances inside altogether: a multifunction electric oven, a microwave, a soy milk maker, an electric hot pot, and the last one really was a sausage grill.
“You won it!”
Guanguan gave a small cheer. “Yay! When Guanguan grows up, I can sell grilled sausages and will not have to pick up trash anymore!”
After thinking about it, Wei Cheng opened one of the four main sections: [Twisty Car Safe House Section].
Guanguan’s Twisty Car was still in storage, while the activated safe house area on the left had become like the monitoring page. They could clearly see what the safe house looked like inside, and in the upper left corner of the screen there was a bright red dot. When he tapped it, a stockpile inventory list for the safe house popped up.
Most magical of all, they could even manually touch and move the supplies inside the safe house.
Guanguan stretched out a finger and moved a bag of rice next to the refrigerator. “Wow, this is so fun!”
The current safe house was a little messy. Food and appliances were piled up everywhere. Even if they went inside, there was no place to set their feet.
Wei Cheng thought for a moment and searched the Cloud Store for the words storage rack.
To his surprise, just like with the refrigerator, three choices popped up.
- Ten-tier, fifty-meter extra-long heavy-duty warehouse rack, dual-layer storage-and-sales structure, each layer can carry unlimited goods (shelf life 100 years) — 1000 Twisty Coins
- Eight-tier, ten-meter heavy-duty warehouse rack, dual-layer storage-and-sales structure, each layer can carry 20 tons of goods (shelf life 60 years) — 300 Twisty Coins
- Five-tier, six-meter heavy-duty warehouse rack, dual-layer storage-and-sales structure, each layer can carry 8 tons of goods (shelf life 20 years) — 20 Twisty Coins
Considering that they did not have much money and currently did not have many supplies, in the end he ordered the third type, the cheap and practical shelving unit.
The moment he paid the Twisty Coins, the system popped up:
[Do you need one-click arrangement?]
Wei Cheng selected [Yes]. In the next second, the rice, flour, and food inside the safe house automatically appeared on the six-meter rack, and immediately afterward the entire space underwent a drastic transformation!
The safe house, which had originally been as cramped as a bathroom, expanded into a small room of more than thirty square meters!
Guanguan let out a soft gasp. “Brother, this looks like a home.”
Wei Cheng smiled and said, “Once we have stocked enough supplies, brother will buy Guanguan a little bed, a soft sofa, and a television.”
“Can Guanguan watch Ultraman every day?”
“You can watch it, but you cannot watch it every day.” Wei Cheng tapped Guanguan between the eyes and said with a smile, “If you watch it every day, Guanguan will turn into a little raccoon with four eyes. When monsters come, you will still have to run around looking for your glasses.”
Guanguan yawned and rubbed his snowy little cheek against Wei Cheng’s hand. “Brother, Guanguan does not want to turn into a little raccoon, and I do not want to get caught by monsters either.”
“You will not. Brother will protect you.”
Once Guanguan fell asleep, Wei Cheng looked at the remaining Twisty Coin balance and began stockpiling on a large scale again.
He bought two hundred bags each of 20-kilogram rice and 25-kilogram flour, then another hundred barrels of soybean oil.
This time, he focused on stockpiling salt, which was extremely scarce in the apocalypse.
The edible salt in the Cloud Store was very cheap. A 400-gram bag only cost a few cent, so Wei Cheng chose the once-and-for-all solution and stocked up on fifty thousand yuan worth of salt.
That one purchase used up almost all the money they had earned today along with the 22 Twisty Coins they had left from before. Fortunately, the Twisty Car’s transformation level deepened again.
[Twisty Coin balance: 10]
[Safe house stockpile level: 5]
[Twisty Car transformation level: Basic Form 5 (Reach 10 to unlock two-person escape mode)]
Wei Cheng opened the safe house stockpile list and saw the following displayed on it:
Food Section
#White Flour
Stock: 25kg × 300 bags
#Rice
Stock: 20kg × 350 bags
#Water Supply
Stock: 20 × 19L barrels of bottled water, 20 cases of 24 × 500ml bottles
#Edible Salt
Stock: 400g × 100,000 bags
#Instant Food
Stock: rich soup instant noodles, children’s instant noodles × 50 cups, self-heating rice × 120 boxes…
They still had not stocked enough water. They had not stocked any meat or eggs at all. Amoxicillin antibiotics, cold medicine, allergy medicine, and gas masks all had to be prepared as soon as possible!
Besides gold and salt, medicine, white sugar, and alcohol would become even harder currency in the apocalypse. At critical moments, they could literally be traded for lives!
A strong sense of urgency rose in Wei Cheng’s heart.
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