Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH81

Chapter 81

Captain Can wasn’t exactly disloyal either.

He was small and chubby, with rosy cheeks, and the two little tufts on top of his head gradually came loose as he ran around. No matter which team scored, he circled the field cheering for them, like a giant wind-up doll that never ran out of energy.

As for Uncle Yi, he really was hopeless.

The moment Uncle Shen picked him up, he was over the moon, and while he was distracted, the round little football at his feet got kicked straight into his own goal.

Watching from the sidelines, Sun Dali and Sumin exchanged glances, holding back laughter. They were both adults who had been through things, and they could tell something was off.

In the second half, Uncle Yi was sent by Captain Cheng to guard the goal. With Uncle Yi no longer getting in the way, he and Wang Xiaotiao quickly clawed back the score.

The two children made a great team. One had strategy, the other had strength, and they worked together with perfect coordination.

Meanwhile, Uncle Shen was handling three kids at once. One moment he was helping Wei Guanguan pull up his pants, the next he was tying Xiaoyue’s braids, and then Mingming would suddenly need a drink of water…

He was stretched too thin, and before long, the two clever, determined boys had successfully won this chaotic football match.

“Baby’s big brother won!”

Guanguan threw himself onto his brother and beamed. “Brother, hug!”

Wei Cheng had played to his heart’s content. His pale face was covered in sweat. He bent down, picked Guanguan up, and said with a smile, “Brother’s face is all sweaty.”

“Baby wipe!” Guanguan grunted as he dug a packet of peach-print wet wipes out of his shorts pocket.

With his plump little fingers, he yanked one out so hard a few drops nearly flicked into his brother’s mouth.

He pressed the wipe dramatically onto his brother’s forehead and instructed him, “Don’t move.”

With both chubby little hands, he carefully smoothed it into place, then stuffed the packet back into his pocket before starting to wipe his brother’s face.

A very proper little baby.

He was just wiping his brother’s face the way someone would put baby cream on.

Guanguan suddenly burst into laughter. “Haha, so fun.” He ended up amusing himself with the wiping.

Wei Cheng got wiped so hard he could barely open his eyes, but he still laughed. “Oh no, my face is going to get wiped off.”

Off to one side, Xiaoyue was taken away by her parents to use the toilet, while Shen Zheng was teaching Mingming and Xiaotiao how to kick the ball.

Yi Qi stood there with his arms folded, watching the brothers. “Captain Can, a bet is a bet. Don’t forget you promised Chengcheng one thing.”

Guanguan sprang upright like a carp. “Okay!”

Wei Cheng almost lost his grip on him and laughed. “Just eat more and sleep more. That’ll make brother perfectly happy.”

Guanguan held up two fingers with absolute seriousness. “Wei Chengcheng, that’s two things!”

“You can call me Wei Chengcheng now?” Wei Cheng raised a brow and started tickling him with one free hand.

Guanguan was ticklish all over. He laughed so hard he hugged his little arms to himself, and his soft white double chin popped right out.

Wei Cheng couldn’t help laughing. “Fine then. You can pick one of those two things to do.”

Guanguan patted his very prominent little belly. “Baby eat lots and lots!”

Yi Qi walked over and flicked one of Guanguan’s little tufts. “Still eating more? Your brother can barely carry you anymore.”

As he spoke, he took the child from Wei Cheng and tossed him lightly into the air before catching him securely.

This wasn’t the first time Uncle Yi had played this tossing game with Guanguan, and Baby loved it. It made him feel like he had little wings.

“Guanguan is flying again!”

The grassland was so lively that even the boys confined to the cabin had their spirits lifted.

They had seen blood the moment they arrived. With nowhere else to go, they had no choice. They had thought this farm would feel oppressive, but instead it was full of joy.

The next morning, the boys’ isolation ended.

The six boys introduced themselves one by one and listed their specialties. Zhao Bin and Lin Xiangfeng had trained in track and field. The other four had trained in weightlifting, shot put, and basketball.

Because they had gone hungry for so long, they were terribly skinny, but they weren’t short. Just standing there, they still looked imposing.

When the uncles asked how they had heard about the farm, Lin Xiangfeng’s face fell. “At first, we were hiding in the cafeteria at the training base. But once the food ran out, we had no choice but to leave. There were too many zombies at the training base. Our coach and a lot of our classmates were eaten by zombies. In the end, only the six of us escaped.”

Zhao Bin chimed in from the side, “It was kind of funny. All six of us are from Changyang Town.”

Lin Xiangfeng continued, “None of us know how to drive, so we could only hike out through the mountains. On the road, we ran into a few foreigners in black robes. Even though we couldn’t understand each other, I guessed they wanted us to join their group and work for them. They gave us fried noodles every day. After we followed them to a big church in the outskirts of Linshui City, I realized those foreigners weren’t good people. They were probably some kind of cult…”

Wei Cheng narrowed his eyes. “A cult?”

The basketball player Ying Hui said, “There were a lot of children in the basement. We didn’t know what they were going to do with them.”

Wei Cheng went still.

In his previous life, when he was thirteen, he had gone out on a mission with a group of people. Their destination had been a small town in Ansha City, South City.

Someone had supposedly discovered a grain processing plant there.

The teammates with him had had ulterior motives too. They had warmly welcomed him only because they had planned to use him as a human shield.

At the time, Wei Cheng had barely touched a gun. He only had a crossbow he had secretly modified himself. But he had heard there was a Western church in that town, and there were many orphans inside.

Riding in the dark, jolting truck bed, he had kept thinking: Guanguan was eight years old now. Had he grown taller? Was his little face still as round as it had been when he was small?

Would he… still recognize his brother?

He had wiped his face hard with his sleeve. He wanted Guanguan to recognize him at a glance.

His teammates had gone straight for the grain plant, but Wei Cheng had slipped away to search for that eye-catching building.

The moment he entered, he found zombies everywhere. It was a living hell.

He had noticed strange symbols painted on the basement walls. There were many children’s bodies lying on the broken iron beds. None of them had visible external injuries. Their little faces were even still rosy, but they had all died quietly.

He had searched every single corpse with trembling hands.

Guanguan wasn’t there.

He had barely escaped the church alive.

When he made it back to the grain plant, he found all of his teammates dead too.

“…We wanted to take the children and run, but one of the foreigners caught us and locked us up. They were furious, babbling in some language we couldn’t understand.” Zhao Bin stuck out his tongue. “It didn’t sound like English either. We really couldn’t understand a word… In the end, one Chinese man secretly let us go. He said there was a farm at the foot of Wuqing Mountain that needed people, and that simple kids like us were better suited to go there.”

Yi Qi immediately asked, “A man? What did he look like?”

“He wore a mask the whole time, so we never saw his face. But he was pretty tall.”

Yi Qi exchanged a look with Wei Cheng. They both had the same guess.

Who else knew Full-Belly Farm so well?

“I remember there was some kind of evening prayer going on. The church was huge. And then there was this old man—kind of like a priest—who kept saying the children were blessed lambs chosen by heaven. It sounded creepy.” Lin Xiangfeng rubbed his arms. “The adults there were all super weird too. Some of them looked normal, but the way they looked at the children… it felt wrong.”

Wei Cheng’s expression darkened slightly. He already knew enough.

He looked at the uncles. They understood.

“There’s nothing else for now. Other than the core area, you still can’t go in. But you can move around the farm as much as you like. You’re not allowed to leave whenever you want, and you’re not allowed to open the farm gate without permission. There’s always someone on guard. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll shoot.”

Shen Zheng stood up. “Once your bodies recover a little more, we’ll teach you how to use guns.”

“Guns?!!”

The boys shot to their feet, their eyes shining.

Lin Xiangfeng’s face lit up. “Really? We… we’re qualified to use guns…”

“If you’ve joined the farm, then you’re part of the farm. If we don’t teach you how to use guns, when enemies or zombies come, should we just send you out to die?” Yi Qi crossed his arms and chuckled.

Before leaving, Wei Cheng turned back and said, “I hope you’ll protect the farm like it’s your second home.”

Lin Xiangfeng clenched his fist and nodded. “The farm took us in and fed us. We’ll protect this place properly.”

“Right—can we see… Guanguan?” Lin Xiangfeng smiled.

Zhao Bin slapped Lin Xiangfeng on the shoulder. “I still remember you saying in the group chat back then that the little chubby kid was insanely cute, and if only he were your little brother. You even wanted your mom to adopt him… This time you really can be the little chubby kid’s brother.”

“I want to be the little chubby kid’s brother too!”

“Guanguan is way too cute.” All the boys laughed, suddenly a lot brighter.

Wei Cheng looked at them. “Guanguan is in class.”

Lin Xiangfeng and the others instantly looked disappointed. “Okay…”

Wei Cheng paused, then his tone softened just a little. “I’ll ask him.”

The boys immediately burst into cheers again.

On the way back to the core area, Wei Cheng walked ahead in silence.

Yi Qi bumped Shen Zheng’s hand.

Shen Zheng tilted his head. “Hm?”

Yi Qi jerked his chin. “Our young master is sulking.”

Shen Zheng nudged him back and muttered, “Your focus is always off. How is Chengcheng like a young master? He’s tiny, always rushing around, everything depends on him. I think he’s more like the farm’s busybody mom.”

“You always miss the point,” Yi Qi said with a low laugh.

“You’re the one who’s off,” Shen Zheng shot back.

Yi Qi looked left and right, then suddenly grabbed Shen Zheng by the wrist and pulled him around the side wall of the core area.

Shen Zheng jolted. “What is wrong with you?”

Yi Qi braced a hand against the wall, trapping Shen Zheng, who was a head shorter than him, in his shadow.

The moment he lowered his head, he could see Shen Zheng’s beautifully shaped lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’ve liked you for ten years. So… do you want to be the kind of boyfriend I can hug and sleep with every day?”

Shen Zheng snapped his head up so fast his lips nearly brushed Yi Qi’s nose.

His whole face flushed red. “Can you not be so direct?!”

Yi Qi let out a soft laugh and rubbed his nose. “Sorry.” With someone as adorably dense as you, there’s no other way.

Shen Zheng coughed twice. “Would everyone… would everyone…”

“They already know. Except for the kids, everyone figured it out.”

Shen Zheng looked stunned all over again. “Since when?!”

Yi Qi bent near his ear and laughed softly. “Everyone knows I like you.”

Shen Zheng gripped Yi Qi’s shirt without realizing it and lowered his eyes. “Then… then let’s be together. I like you too.”

He felt the shadow close in again and quickly pressed a hand to Yi Qi’s chest.

“Wait, wait…”

Shen Zheng turned his face aside. “Let’s… let’s not sleep in the same room yet, okay? That feels way too awkward, hahaha…”

Yi Qi straightened a little and smiled. “Fair enough. I’d be too embarrassed to ask Chengcheng for the contraceptives we’d need anyway.”

Shen Zheng was speechless. “Big brother! How did your mind jump there?!”

“All right, all right, I’m done teasing you.”

Yi Qi opened his arms and pulled Shen Zheng into a careful, tender embrace, burying his face against his shoulder. “As long as you stay safe, I’m already satisfied.”

Shen Zheng gently ran a hand through Yi Qi’s hair, smiling softly. “Me too.”

Sunlight poured over them.

—

When Wei Cheng returned to the core area, he found Sumin and Director Wang helping the children wash their hair.

Several little stools were lined up on the grass, with colorful basins placed on them.

Today was haircut day on the farm.

Yesterday, Wei Cheng had casually mentioned trimming Guanguan’s hair. Director Wang hadn’t expected the farm to even have hair-cutting tools, so he had said they might as well trim everyone’s hair.

“Chengcheng!” Guanguan caught sight of his brother and came rushing over. “You went where?”

“I went to see the bottle brothers.”

Director Wang saw Wei Cheng return and set down the basin in his hand. “Chengcheng, come here, you should wash up too.”

Wei Cheng said, “Grandpa, I’ll cut Guanguan’s hair first. After I finish him, I’ll wash.”

Both Director Wang and Sumin looked surprised. “A child like you knows how to cut hair?”

Before Wei Cheng could answer, Wang Xiaotiao shouted, “Brother Cheng knows how to cut hair! Back at the orphanage, he once shaved Guanguan into a little bald egg!”

Guanguan scratched his cheek, vaguely feeling something was off.

Wei Cheng glanced down at him. “Then maybe Grandpa should cut your hair instead?”

Guanguan hugged his brother’s leg and refused to let go. “Baby wants brother to cut beautiful hair.”

Director Wang knew Wei Cheng was an independent, capable child. He could even hold a gun steady, so handling scissors should be nothing.

He chuckled. “Fine, you cut Guanguan’s hair. Then Xiaomin and I will cut the others’.”

The children sat in a neat row.

Mingming and Xiaotiao got the electric clippers. Those two were already used to being little bald heads.

As for Guanguan and Xiaoyue, one was a beauty-loving baby and the other was a little girl, so scissors were the only option.

At that moment, Yi Qi and Shen Zheng came back from outside, both looking like they were in an unusually good mood.

“Mr. Shen and Mr. Yi, you should get haircuts too,” Sumin said as she loosened her daughter’s hair.

“That’d be great. The weather’s hot, shorter hair would be much easier.” Shen Zheng smiled warmly. “I’ll go swap shifts with Brother Dali later.”

Today it was Sun Dali’s turn to guard the gate.

Yi Qi strolled around, then noticed that among the three barbers, Wei Cheng actually looked the most professional.

Were smart people really just this good at everything?

He looked at the unusually well-behaved little lump that was Guanguan and found it amusing. “Why are you being so good today?”

Guanguan rolled his eyes toward him. “Baby’s ears might get cut off!”

That was something Director Wang had used earlier to scare Wang Xiaotiao.

Wei Cheng held a comb in one hand and scissors in the other, his eyes fixed intently on his younger brother’s head. He smiled lightly. “If Guanguan wants to move, you can tell brother.”

Yi Qi, suddenly inspired, asked, “Guanguan, if there were a gold Brother Chengcheng, a silver Brother Chengcheng, and a bronze Brother Chengcheng, which one would you want?”

Guanguan blinked. “Is there no real Brother Chengcheng? Baby wants real brother.”

“There is. Real brother is right here cutting your hair.” Yi Qi grinned. “That’s nice. Looks like no matter how many brothers there are, our Guanguan only wants his own Chengcheng.”

Hearing that, Wei Cheng glanced up at Yi Qi.

Yi Qi lifted his brows at him.

Back when Lin Xiangfeng and the others had said they wanted to adopt Guanguan as a little brother before the apocalypse, Wei Cheng had indeed been a little unhappy.

He had always been possessive, ever since he was little.

On the surface, he acted like he wanted nothing, but in truth he hated anyone showing the slightest covetousness toward his family or his things.

But later, he had thought: in the chaos of the apocalypse, one shouldn’t underestimate anyone’s moment of kindness. One more person who liked Guanguan meant one more layer of protection for him.

This Yi Qi really did understand him well—both in his previous life and in this one.

Twenty minutes later, Wei Cheng finally finished cutting Guanguan’s hair.

A few light-brown baby hairs still framed Guanguan’s forehead. Before, he could have two little pigtails. Now he could only have one tiny curled tuft on top of his head, making him look even cuter and more alert.

Wei Cheng took a towel and gently brushed away the little hairs from the back of his neck. “You can go play now.”

Guanguan leapt off the stool and, instead of running to his friends, dashed straight back to the cabin.

A moment later, he came trotting back out, full of delight, chin lifted, little chubby hand stuck into his oversized pocket, strutting around the adults.

The adults all laughed. “Oh my, where did this little prince come from? How can he be this handsome?”

After making a full round and collecting an armful of praise, Guanguan’s face turned pink. Then he launched himself straight into his brother’s arms, wriggling wildly.

Once again, he became a dangerous little weapon—he’d been praised into happiness again.

“Guanguan, come quick, there’s a grasshopper!”

Wang Xiaotiao and Sun Xiaoyue shouted from below the watchtower.

Guanguan bounced right out, his big eyes sparkling. He still remembered to ask his brother first. “Brother, Baby wants to go play with the bug!”

Wei Cheng straightened the child’s little shirt. “Go ahead. If you get thirsty, remember to come back for water.”

“Okay!” The child clenched his tiny fists and dashed off to his friends.

Yi Qi saw Wei Cheng finally had a free moment and shamelessly asked, “Chengcheng, give uncle a fashionable haircut.”

Wei Cheng laughed. “Sure. Come here.”

When Shen Zheng saw Wei Cheng cutting Yi Qi’s hair so skillfully, he thought about the buzz cut in Director Wang’s hand that left not a strand behind.

He had just started dating and absolutely did not want to become a shiny bald egg, so he decisively requested that Chengcheng trim his hair too.

—

Late at night, one of the cabins was lit by candlelight.

Other than Director Wang, who was too old to stay up late, and the children, who still knew nothing of the world, everyone else was gathered there discussing the End Saints.

Yi Qi asked the key question. “Do we get involved?”

Wei Cheng looked at him and said calmly, “We are not their match.”

Silence fell over the room.

The End Saints numbered three hundred people, and that wasn’t even counting the frenzied followers.

Wei Cheng’s mind once again flashed to that eerie and silent basement full of dead children, and to the huge wave of relief he had felt when he hadn’t found Guanguan’s face among them—followed immediately by a crushing sense of despair.

A tightness spread in his chest. He stood up. “It’s late. The uncles and aunties still have to get up early tomorrow to teach the boys and the children how to use guns and crossbows. Everyone should go rest.”

When he returned to Warm Little Home, laughter and barking rushed to meet him.

In that instant, the heaviness in his chest vanished.

“Brother! Catch your Guanguan!”

Guanguan jumped off the sofa. Wei Cheng took one step forward and caught the melon-child firmly in his arms.

Gray Cub was unwilling to be outdone and also tried to jump down, but before he could, the big black dog caught the fur on his neck in one clean bite.

Gray Cub’s plump little paws kicked helplessly as he barked sharply.

Guanguan clapped. “Gray Cub is so grumpy.”

Before Gray Cub could retaliate, the big black dog leisurely carried him right out of the safe house.

The two little ones had grown bigger, and the little home was starting to feel cramped. They had stopped liking it as their sleeping place.

Wei Cheng touched Guanguan’s neck. No sweat, so no second bath was needed.

“Brother, your face is doing this.” Guanguan put his fingers to his eyelids and pulled upward, then scrunched his nose. “Like this!”

Wei Cheng laughed. “What kind of expression is that?”

Guanguan did a plump roll on the soft flower blanket, then sat up. “Brother, are you unhappy?”

Wei Cheng climbed into bed too and adjusted the bedside lamp. “Thinking about old things made me a little unhappy.”

Guanguan wrestled with the pillow, punching it with his little fists. “What things?”

He patted the spot beside him. “Leave the pillow alone and come sleep.”

Guanguan kicked the little pillow onto the floor in one motion and pounced beside his brother. “Baby’s pillow is bad. Baby wants to sleep on brother’s good pillow!”

The little pillow: You’re the worst one here!

Wei Cheng laughed and tugged his own pillow a little closer. “Okay, sleep.”

His eyes rested in the dark.

Had Guanguan been in that church in his previous life or not?

He didn’t dare think any further.

—

Over the next few days, several more outside survivors came hoping to join Full-Belly Farm.

But Yi Qi, Shen Zheng, and Wei Cheng all turned them away.

They had become pretty good judges of character.

Some people had shifty eyes and unfriendly expressions. Others still had flesh on their own cheeks while their wives and children were gaunt as skeletons… Every kind of person existed.

That afternoon, Yi Qi came back looking grim, muttering curses under his breath.

Everyone was helping Director Wang harvest corn in the field.

Shen Zheng walked over. “What’s wrong?”

Yi Qi clenched his fists. “Do you still remember Zhang Ming?”

Shen Zheng’s expression changed instantly. “Zhang Ming? That guy who was Nuan Nuan’s boyfriend—the one who got White Auntie and Uncle Zong killed?”

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