"Lanlan? Dad?"
Tan Huajun was the first to rush into the house, calling out in the living room, but the only response was the quiet air.
"Old Tan, stop looking, co and check this out."
Zhang Su walked to the coffee table in the living room and picked up a piece of A4 paper, shaking it.
Tan Huajun hurried to Zhang Su and took the A4 paper: "Mom, grandpa and I left with the rescue team that Uncle Jia from the building next door organized. I begged them to go to the gas station, but they said it was too dangerous and refused. I don’t know where we’re going; Uncle Jia only ntioned heading to the countryside. If you see this note, take care! Daughter: Lanlan."
The elegant handwriting looked very clean.
Tan Huajun’s face revealed a very complex expression, and she asked the few people around her, "They’re fine, right? Lanlan and the others left with the rescue team, so they’re safe, right?"
"Of course!"
Zhang Su imdiately affird Tan Huajun’s words, patting her shoulder, saying, "Now you can relax. By the way, your neighborhood isn’t bad; there’s even soone organizing a rescue team. In my block, so lunatic set the building on fire, otherwise, we wouldn’t have run out so early..."
"Damn, setting the building on fire? Who’s the brave one?"
Lu Yubo, quite clueless, asked.
"Brave, my ass. Luckily we ran fast; if we were taking a nap, we would’ve been cremated!"
Zhang Su angrily punched Lu Yubo.
"Sister Tan, your daughter and uncle are definitely safe, don’t worry."
Zhong Xiaoshan smiled and comforted Tan Huajun.
With so light banter and reassurance, Tan Huajun felt much calr. After reading the note several tis, she folded it and put it in her pocket, smiling: "Everyone sit down and rest. They probably couldn’t take much with them; I’ll get so snacks."
She invited everyone to sit down and then briskly walked to a cabinet ant for storing snacks, muttering along the way.
"My daughter and I both love snacks, so we set up a cabinet just for them, usually..."
Speaking as she opened the snack cabinet, she was stunned; the cabinet was completely empty.
"Gone?"
She then ran to the kitchen for a look. The empty kitchen felt like they had just moved in; nearly all the food had been swept away, leaving only small appliances behind.
In disbelief, Tan Huajun opened each cupboard with a flurry, only to find even kitchen paper, cling film, and so cookware missing. She eventually found a little dry mushrooms and dried bean curd in a corner.
"No need to look, the rescue team must have taken the stuff; you think they don’t need food on the road?"
Zhang Su leaned against the kitchen door fra, stating. Seeing this kitchen scene was oddly familiar to him because a few days ago, he, Zheng Xinyu, and Zhong Xiaoshan did sothing similar, but not so thoroughly...
He had a sense of illusion that if the rescue team could bear the weight, they might have taken the microwave and gas stove too.
"That makes sense, oh my!"
Rembering sothing else, Tan Huajun ran out of the kitchen and checked a bedroom, finding that her father’s usual dications were also gone, confirming Zhang Su’s statent in her heart.
"Well, I’m really sorry, everything at ho has been taken. I don’t have anything to entertain you all with..."
Tan Huajun rubbed her hands, slightly embarrassed.
"Co on, Old Tan, you think this is entertaining guests? Haven’t you seen what it’s like outside? Having a place to rest is already good!"
Zhang Su waved his hand and said to Zheng Xinyu and the others: "Relax and rest for a bit; we’ll fix up sothing to eat later."
He walked to the window, looking outside. Unfortunately, Building Seven was in the middle of the complex, with a very bad view. He could barely see the distant street through the gaps, not gathering any useful information.
Looking at the windows of the opposite building, perhaps because of the height, he surprisingly saw soone moving inside.
A man lay sprawled out on a bed by the window, wearing thick clothes, occasionally punching the ceiling, venting his anger.
Zhang Su shook his head helplessly; in these tis, people driven mad by reality were everywhere. One more or less wouldn’t matter. He habitually drew the curtain and turned back to see Tan Huajun organizing her bag.
"Old Tan, do you know this Uncle Jia your daughter ntioned?"
Tan Huajun paused her work, thinking: "Just by na, I can’t recall, but maybe I’d recognize him if I saw him..."
This is the reality, neighbors might greet each other but not introduce themselves in detail.
Soon, everyone settled their belongings and arranged for the day’s second al.
"Good thing we ate enough this morning. We’ll just make do this ti. Two Snickers for the n, one for the won. As for milk, there are two packs; you guys take one, and the three of us won will share one."
Zheng Xinyu took out two packs of milk and seven Snickers bars, placing them on the coffee table.
Though Zhang Su didn’t specify who should handle the food rationing, this task was always jointly managed by Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan.
No one objected to this arrangent.
"Xinyu, aren’t you... not going to finish it?"
Tan Huajun noticed Zheng Xinyu carefully eating only half a Snickers bar before closing it up, seemingly having asked for it.
"I’m not hungry yet. Going to train later—if I’m really starving afterward, I’ll eat it. Otherwise, I’ll save it for tomorrow morning."
Zheng Xinyu said naturally. The food shortage exerted a lot of pressure, mandating thriftiness wherever possible.
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