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墨書 Inktalez
Li Jingfeng walked into the office and looked out the window at the vast expanse of white, feeling an unprecedented sense of confusion. He recalled the scene from that day when the earthquake struck, his son abandoning him to run away, and the last cold gaze of his wife.
Suddenly, he thought of that gentle and kind woman, fearing that she would rather die than drag him down with her. He remembered various moments from his youth, the way Li Yan used to pout and act cute when she was little, and how Li Ming would shout for his dad.
"Uncle Li, I'm coming in," Jin Yu said as she entered wearing a white down jacket, making her already fair complexion look even more radiant. She held a tray with a white porcelain bowl of congee and a small dish containing some pickled vegetables. "Uncle Li, I made you some plain congee."
Li Jingfeng's gaze softened, and his previous thoughts came to an abrupt halt. This girl, Jin Yu, was truly wonderful; her gentle kindness always reminded him of his youth when Li Yan's mother would quietly stand by his side, occasionally handing him a snack she had made herself.
"Yuan Yuan has been giving you a hard time again, hasn't she?" Li Jingfeng stood up to take the tray from Jin Yu's hands. Ever since Li Yuanyuan was disfigured, her temperament had become particularly strange, which made things difficult for Jin Yu.
"It's okay; I know Yuan Yuan is feeling upset. The doctor said her leg will recover with rehabilitation. It's just her face... it's a pity she can't have cosmetic surgery right now." Jin Yu lowered her head, her thick eyelashes fluttering slightly, and her full lips looked especially charming in the night.
Li Jingfeng felt a stir in his heart as memories of that beautiful night flooded back. The night he first arrived at Safe Zone was impulsive due to alcohol, but it left an unforgettable taste in his mouth.
He couldn't help but reach out and slowly unzip Jin Yu's down jacket. The sound of the zipper echoed in the quiet night sky, creating an unusually captivating atmosphere.
"Uncle..." Jin Yu shyly lowered her head. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with affection. She had initially thought Li Jingfeng was a gentleman; it was only on that day that she realized how eager he was.
"Little Yu, I will treat you well, okay?" Li Jingfeng gazed intently at her youthful body. Before the apocalypse, he had many women. But when Jin Yu called him "uncle" in such a shy voice, he felt an indescribable thrill and sense of achievement.
At that moment, as he lifted her shirt, her youthful fullness surged forth. Li Jingfeng's large hands slowly slipped inside Jin Yu's underwear, exploring her curves. Their bodies pressed tightly together; even a slight movement made her gasp softly. "Ah, Little Yu, come here," he said as he pulled Jin Yu's hand toward himself.
Jin Yu climbed up to kiss his slightly protruding Adam's apple while her delicate hands unbuckled his belt and slid inside his pants. "Uncle, ah, Uncle, Little Yu is in pain..."
Li Jingfeng gasped heavily, disregarding everything else as he turned off the only lamp and locked the door. With the white reflection from outside illuminating them, he lifted Jin Yu onto the office desk. Jin Yu was also quite experienced; she played coy while moaning softly. They quickly fell into rhythm as she lay on this older man's body, ignoring the cold as she twisted and turned seductively. At the moment Li Jingfeng entered her, she arched her back invitingly...
When Li Yan and Zhou Miao returned home late that night after wandering around Safe Zone for a while, they realized that this kind of weather wouldn't improve anytime soon. Since they wanted to establish their own territory, they naturally needed to gain some experience.
The hierarchy within Safe Zone was strict, especially regarding food security. Those so-called greenhouses were just starting out; however, the soil appeared somewhat strange—similar to nutrient soil used for growing flowers or some kind of nutrient solution. In any case, it seemed mixed with other materials; thus, it was uncertain whether the crops grown would have the same nutritional value as before.
As March approached and heavy snow fell outside without any weather forecasts available, Li Xiaoming used his precious thermometer to check outside temperatures—it read minus twenty degrees Celsius. They were still in the southern region where temperatures usually only dropped to minus two or three degrees at most before the apocalypse. If it was this cold here, it must be even colder up north.
Everyone tried to stay indoors as much as possible, especially the children, who were bundled up tightly with only two small openings for ventilation. The New Year quietly approached in this atmosphere, and Yu Tian, as usual, took out some dried fruits. After all, with Zhang Yi around, he didn't dare to be too extravagant and left the fruits aside.
It wasn't that he was stingy; his experiences over the years had made him more cautious. He had killed a chicken and a duck from the yard, and kept a rabbit and a sheep in his space, so he didn't dare touch those. Li Yan and Zhou Miao went out for a while and returned with a fish weighing three to four pounds, telling Zhang Yi that they had caught it by breaking the ice. Zhang Yi was quite interested upon hearing this. Earlier in the day, he had gone out to find Zhang Hong and others to break an ice hole, and the men had spent an hour by the hole, managing to catch two or three crucian carp. Although they were small, sharing half a fish each among several families was still considered a feast.
Thinking back, the river had dried up significantly last summer, causing many fish to die from lack of oxygen. This river had been there since their birth, and no one knew how deep it was. The older generation said that the river was connected to the dragon vein; as long as the dragon vein remained intact, the river would not dry up. Whether this was true or just a rumor didn't matter; everyone believed it now, especially since many places had reported droughts last summer that led to numerous deaths from thirst.
Yu Tian prepared a large plate of boiled fish with some pickled vegetables added in. He also made a big plate of Kung Pao chicken, using up the remaining chicken meat to make soup with dried sweet potatoes. The chicken he raised himself was not only delicious but also complemented by the dried sweet potato strips, creating a unique flavor. The duck was braised with some beer added for extra taste. Due to the earthquake, they only had vegetables available in their space, which were not suitable for taking out.
Tang Zhaodi and Li Ming helped out while Li Xiaoming was just being mischievous. Since there were guests at home, they couldn't casually enter the space. After waking up, Tang Zhaodi had become quite introverted; Li Xiaoming felt that he had lost his charm. In fact, only Wonton and Dumplings seemed to understand him.
During dinner, Zhang Yi's son stared wide-eyed at the table full of dishes. They held back their saliva until the old man moved his chopsticks first before they began eating. Perhaps it had been too long since they had such a spread of meat dishes; usually, they only had sweet potato strips or corn cakes. At this moment, no one spoke as they dug in vigorously. Zhang Yi managed to maintain some semblance of decorum as an adult man, but his son was different.
The old man happily enjoyed the fragrant boiled fish and served Tang Zhaodi a piece. "Little girl, eat whatever you like, okay?"
Tang Zhaodi nodded obediently and picked up a piece of sweet potato strip for her grandfather; she remembered that he liked soft foods. She also served chicken to Li Ming and Zhang Yi's son before finally taking some pickled vegetables and fish for herself.
Seeing Tang Zhaodi's excessive obedience made the old man sigh. Zhou Miao comforted him by patting his shoulder and said, "Grandpa, serve your grandson and granddaughter-in-law some duck meat."
Yu Tian wasn't as thick-skinned as someone else; although everyone understood their relationship without saying it openly, it had never been explicitly stated. Zhang Yi was surprised; while he found it odd that these men lived together, he hadn't thought about it in that way. Although it felt awkward for a moment, he recalled how during the apocalypse women openly followed older men just for food. With that thought in mind, Zhou Miao's and Yu Tian's situation didn't seem like such a big deal after all.
"Alright then," said the old man cheerfully. "Yu Tian, here's a duck leg; I hope you two live happily together. Miaozi has a bad temper; you need to be more tolerant of him. If he bullies you, just tell grandpa." The old man noticed Yu Tian's shyness and unease and handed him a large duck leg.
Yu Tian felt his eyes redden upon hearing this; his family was gone, and the old man was his only elder now. He had originally thought their relationship would remain secretive for life but never expected... "Thank you... Grandpa."
Li Xiaoming looked enviously at Yu Tian; he wanted a duck leg too. Li Yan playfully tapped the boy's nose and affectionately served him another duck leg. "Mingming is good; eat more." The boy compared his large duck leg with Yu Tian's and felt satisfied knowing his was slightly bigger before starting to munch on it.
Perhaps food tastes better when it's fought over; little Mingming devoured two bowls of rice. The large plate of boiled fish was completely cleaned out—truly spotless—as Zhang Yi mixed the broth with rice to eat it all up. The dried chili peppers were treated as snacks by Zhang Yi's son who nibbled on them while Zhang Yi chuckled awkwardly: "Chili peppers are great; eating some can help keep warm in winter."
This statement rang true if only his son didn't have to be so careful while licking them clean. Everyone laughed knowingly about how tough life had become nowadays. It was already remarkable that this child could be so well-behaved despite losing his mother and grandmother.
Li Yan grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and pecans and put them into the little boy's bag. The boy had been taught well; he smiled and thanked Uncle Zhang Yi only after receiving a nod from him.
Perhaps Heavenly Father knew that another year had begun because it stopped snowing starting from the next day. Everyone in the village came out to shovel snow; they were experienced in this matter since if they didn’t clear it away now, melting snow could lead to flooding later on.
Due to the heavy snowfall, which was about thirty centimeters deep, everyone in the village, young and old, was mobilized. They spent an entire week clearing all the accumulated snow around their village.
They did not waste the snow; instead, they threw it into the river. The villagers still remembered the hardships of last summer when there was no water, and now they dared not waste a single drop.
Li Yan and Zhou Miao convened a large meeting with the villagers, primarily to discuss land issues. It was clear that having no wall around the village was not an option. Currently, there was no activity from the Safe Zone, but they feared that they might come back later to claim land, which would be troublesome. It was best to establish their territory now so that they would have a basis for any future disputes.
Zhang Hong loudly protested, "What time is it now? Why should the land belong to the government? The government has neglected us; why should we still listen to them? This land has been farmed by our village for generations. Whether it's a Safe Zone or not doesn't matter; they can live their lives, and we will live ours."
Although Zhang Hong's words were blunt, they held a grain of truth. This was the apocalypse; they needed to take care of themselves first. Even though they had not interacted with the outside world, if there were truly any government authorities, there wouldn't be a Safe Zone, nor would it have taken so long for anyone to come here to provide assistance.
Overall, this meeting unified everyone's stance and highlighted the authority of the village chief. With no government left, naturally, the village chief became the highest authority.
During the vote, some people hoped to build a large wall that could enclose their farmland as well. Others advocated for a smaller wall just around the village.
In the end, Li Yan decided on building a wall around the village for two reasons: First, their manpower was limited. With winter coming to an end, those displaced people would soon become active again.
They simply did not have time to construct such a large wall. Moreover, if they expanded their farmland, having a wall could complicate matters. As for concerns about farmland safety, Li Yan suggested establishing a defense team in the future to inspect and supervise daily.
Second, they did not have much time. As soon as spring arrived, they needed to cultivate the land; they couldn't start plowing while only half of the wall was built. By summer, people could suffer from heatstroke under the blazing sun; last year's deaths among villagers were proof of that. If construction on the wall were postponed again, when would it ever be completed?
Thinking this way made everyone agree that Li Yan's reasoning was sound. Thus, plans for building the wall began enthusiastically...
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