Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Perhaps due to her good mood, Mother Sheng had meticulously chosen and arranged the dishes for today's meal, making everything look exceptionally refined.

"Mom, you're in such a leisurely mood today! You even carved decorations!" Sheng Yao exclaimed in surprise at the intricate food carvings on the plates.

"It's been a while since I last carved, so I wanted to see if my knife skills had dulled... Son, what do you think?" Mother Sheng, wearing an apron, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled gently.

"Beautiful! Mom's truly skilled!" Sheng Yao nodded approvingly, showering her with praise.

"Always so sweet with your words..." Mother Sheng was overjoyed by the compliment, her smile widening. "Manman, Xiao Teng, come sit down. Let's eat!"

"Alright." The two washed their hands and pulled out chairs to sit at the table.

The jade-hued shrimp had their heads and veins removed, resting on a bed of golden sliced Japanese-style tofu. Their tails were fanned out like a blooming flower, surrounded by a cluster of vibrant green broccoli.

The orange shrimp, yellow tofu, and green broccoli complemented each other beautifully, resembling a work of art.

Tang Man picked up a shrimp, peeled it, dipped it in a small dish of sauce, and took a bite. Mother Sheng had steamed the shrimp perfectly—the meat was sweet, fresh, and delightfully Q-彈 (chewy and springy).

The tofu, parboiled beforehand, had no trace of beaniness. During steaming, it had absorbed the shrimp's umami, giving it a unique and enhanced flavor.

The sweet and sour pork tenderloin, coated in a thick glaze, sat in the center of a round plate, garnished with a few sprigs of green cilantro and adorned with carrot-carved flowers along the edges.

The tenderloin, pounded and massaged, was incredibly tender; its fibers broke apart with a gentle bite. The sweet and sour sauce was perfectly balanced, making it an ideal accompaniment to rice.

"Auntie, today's dishes are truly beautiful! It feels like we're having a fine dining experience from before the apocalypse," Tang Man praised.

"If you like it, eat more!" Mother Sheng replied, serving her a bowl of daikon and spare rib soup.

Since everyone in the household except Mother Sheng was a meat-lover, she consciously prepared more meat dishes daily. Today was no exception—four of the four dishes and one soup on the table were meat-based.

The stir-fried green beans and ham with cucumber were also delicious, making everyone's mouths water.

The four of them thoroughly enjoyed the meal, finishing every dish, leaving only a bit of sauce. Even the decorative carvings weren't wasted—they, along with the leftover scraps from earlier, were given to Scissors and Stripes as an extra treat.

***

The next morning, everyone except Tang Man was up before five.

Mother Sheng had barely slept a wink all night, nervous about personally killing zombies and mutant animals and plants today.

Tang Teng and Sheng Yao, eager to practice with the guns they'd acquired from the safe zone, had set ten alarms, terrified of oversleeping.

By the time Tang Man came downstairs, the three had already packed and even finished breakfast.

Seeing her finally awake, Sheng Yao picked up a food storage bag from the table and handed it to her: "Sis, you're finally up! Let's go! I packed breakfast for you—eat it in the car..."

Tang Man glanced at the wall clock in the living room—6:50 AM, the same time she usually came downstairs. Why did Sheng Yao make it sound like she'd slept in until nine or ten?

Under Sheng Yao's urging, Tang Man could only grab the steamed buns and eggs and head out.

"Wait, I haven't fed Midautumn yet," she suddenly said, noticing Midautumn, the tortoiseshell cat, following closely behind her.

"I already prepared the cat food—it's by the dining table. Midautumn will eat when she's hungry... Sis, let's hurry! Didn't you say we still need to go to the safe zone? We're running out of time," Tang Teng joined in the urging.

Seeing this, Tang Man could only quicken her pace toward the bus.

"Midautumn, take care of the house with your little followers," she said before boarding, turning to the tortoiseshell cat that had been about to follow her.

"Meow~" Midautumn seemed a bit reluctant but obediently stepped back a few paces, squatting on the ground to watch her leave.

Once the bus started, Tang Man opened the window and absentmindedly ate her breakfast. Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye.

"Stop the car!" Tang Man suddenly called out.

Her voice wasn't loud, but Sheng Yao immediately slammed on the brakes upon hearing the command.

"Sis, what's wrong?" he asked nervously, thinking zombies had appeared in the neighborhood.

Tang Man's gaze turned toward the back of the bus, where a boy and a girl were playing in the mud early in the morning—Sheng Zhang's children, Sheng Qian and Sheng Kai.

After yesterday's incident, they still dared to stay in this neighborhood?

"Xiao Teng, get off and guard the house," Tang Man said to Tang Teng beside her.

Tang Teng followed her gaze and recognized the two kids. Thinking of the supplies stored at home, he gritted his teeth, took his lunchbox, and obediently got off the bus. He silently vowed that if that family dared to cause trouble today, he wouldn't let them leave unscathed.

For Tang Teng's safety, Tang Man also had him take his weapon with him.

Sheng Yao and his mother also recognized the children. Their expressions stiffened momentarily but returned to normal after the bus left the neighborhood.

Worried that the family might affect Tang Man's mood, Sheng Yao spent the entire trip making small talk and cracking jokes to lighten the atmosphere.

"Sis, I've been here before. A friend of mine ran a resort nearby—the scenery was amazing. I'll take you there someday..."

"Now, the only 'scenery' is zombies and mutant animals and plants... Focus on driving," Tang Man replied, annoyed by his chatter but refraining from harsh words in front of Mother Sheng.

"Don't worry, my skills are top-notch! Nothing will go wrong!" After just a few days of practice, Sheng Yao no longer panicked or trembled at the sight of zombies and was very confident in his driving.

Tang Man: "..."

Mother Sheng had barely seen the post-apocalyptic world outside. Gripping the knife Tang Teng had modified for her that morning, she nervously watched the scenes outside the window. As more survivors relocated to this area, the number of zombies on the road had increased. The bus had to mow them down every few seconds, making her heart pound. She barely noticed the conversation between the other two.

After driving for over an hour without finding any greenhouses using plant grow lights—only ordinary plastic-covered ones—they finally stopped at a vegetable cultivation base.

Endless rows of steel-framed greenhouses stretched before them. It seemed the authorities had already been here—mutant vegetables had been dug up and tossed aside everywhere, while the unmutated mature vegetables had been harvested, leaving only the unripe ones behind.

The authorities had likely planned to return for them later, but they might encounter some "minor complications" upon their return. Without wood ability users to tend to them, post-apocalyptic crops were prone to mutation during growth.

According to pre-apocalypse official explanations, the zombie virus had altered the soil in some way, and wood abilities could neutralize this change.

This also gave auxiliary wood ability users another means of survival—going door-to-door to soothe people's balcony plants.

"Why are these vegetables just thrown everywhere? Such a waste!" Mother Sheng muttered, distressed at the sight of the discarded mutant plants.

"Auntie, these are mutant plants—inedible for humans. But we can take some back for Stripes and Scissors. For them, it's a rare delicacy..." Tang Man explained.

"Then let's take more. I'll dry them into preserved vegetables—they'll last a long time," Mother Sheng said, swapping her handbag for a woven plastic bag.

Tang Man thought her idea was feasible and didn't object, crouching down to pick the undamaged ones.

The three moved from greenhouse to greenhouse until they'd filled three woven plastic bags.

After gathering the vegetables, they began dismantling the plant grow lights from the greenhouse roofs. The ceilings were too high, so Tang Man used Pothos vines to create a living vine ladder.

The grow lights were fixed to the steel frames with screws, making the removal process very laborious.

Tang Man almost regretted not bringing Tang Teng along. With him, the entire greenhouse's lights could have been taken down in under two minutes—they'd only need to load them onto the bus.

The three of them spent the entire morning basically just removing screws, and even then, the bus was only half full.

"Sis, isn't that enough?" Sheng Yao shook his arms, which were sore from holding them up for so long.

"We'll eat first, then continue. We'll head back only after filling the bus. This place is already on the official list—next time, we might not even be able to buy plant grow lights with energy cores. The extras can be traded for energy cores in the Safe Zone..." Tang Man shook her head, sitting down on the seat and opening her own thermal lunchbox.

Hearing this, Sheng Yao didn’t say anything more.

Mother Sheng had prepared them boxed meals similar to set meals today.

Each person had a three-tier thermal lunchbox. The bottom layer was rice—shiny grains glazed with rice oil, sprinkled with a few black sesame seeds. The fragrant steam made it look irresistibly delicious.

The second layer had stir-fried broccoli and braised beef with potatoes, separated by a halved hard-boiled egg.

The top layer was a milky-white crucian carp soup. The fish bones had been simmered for the broth, then strained out, and thin, boneless fish slices were added just before serving. There was no need to worry about fish bones while drinking it.

The thermal lunchbox worked exceptionally well, keeping the food steaming hot as if it had just been cooked.

Looking at the meal in the lunchbox, Tang Man’s mouth watered. She then took out the chopsticks and spoon from the utensil box and began to eat.