The evening breeze brushed gently past as Mi Beibei walked home at an unhurried pace. The rich, savory taste of the dumplings still lingered in her mouth. The handmade wrappers, filled with juicy, flavorful meat, made every bite feel worth it. She silently promised herself that whenever she wanted dumplings in the future, she would definitely come back to this restaurant.
When she reached the neighborhood square, she instinctively slowed her steps and wandered into the lively area.
Children chased colorful balloons around the square while parents leaned against the railings, chatting and laughing. Their cheerful voices echoed through the evening, filling the air with warmth and happiness. Mi Beibei couldn’t help but stop and enjoy the atmosphere. She found a stone bench beneath a weeping willow and quietly sat there, watching the setting sun cast a golden glow across the square.
Only after the streetlights gradually lit up, bathing the night in a soft amber light, did she finally head home, stepping through patches of golden light scattered across the ground.
Back at home, Mi Beibei washed up, letting go of the day’s exhaustion. Still thinking about the delicious dumplings, she quickly drifted into a deep sleep. In her dreams, she seemed to return to the bustling dumpling restaurant, surrounded once again by the irresistible aroma.
Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains. Stretching lazily, Mi Beibei sat up and pulled the curtains open, welcoming the rising sun. The golden rays chased away the last traces of sleep.
A new day had begun.
It was finally time to officially open her little shop.
She went into the kitchen, poured some flour into a bowl, cracked two eggs into it, and mixed them into a batter. She made herself two thick flour pancakes, sprinkled them with sesame seeds, dried shrimp, and pickled vegetables, then spread a layer of spicy bean paste over them. She ate with great satisfaction.
After breakfast, she climbed over the mountain of rice, flour, and cooking supplies that filled her apartment and entered the storage room.
She opened the window.
Outside remained the same devastated landscape—ruined buildings and scattered rubble as far as the eye could see. A few zombies shuffled aimlessly through the wreckage.
Mi Beibei quickly looked away. Even though she had already seen this scene several times, it still made her uncomfortable.
She sat by the window as usual, thinking about how she should turn the gold and jade jewelry she collected into cash. After all, there were only so many jewelry stores in the city…
Just as she was thinking, someone knocked on the window.
Knock… knock…
The calm, steady knocking startled her. She immediately turned toward the window and saw the man from yesterday—the one who had wanted to trade a corpse crystal for food—looking down at her.
Patting her racing heart, Mi Beibei stood up and asked,
“What do you need?”
Then she quickly added,
“I’m not accepting corpse crystals.”
Lin Fei silently placed a bundle onto the windowsill without saying a word.
Mi Beibei looked at the bundle, then at Lin Fei, then back at the bundle.
The cloth wrapping looked like it had been specially chosen because it was clean. Aside from a little dust, there were no bloodstains on it.
She reached out and unfolded it.
Inside was a pile of all kinds of jewelry.
It looked as though someone had deliberately cleaned them. Apart from a few blackened pieces, the gold jewelry gleamed brilliantly, and several crystal-clear jade pendants sparkled among them.
Surprised, Mi Beibei looked at Lin Fei.
“This much can be exchanged for quite a lot of supplies. Are you trading everything, or just part of it?”
“Everything,” Lin Fei replied.
Mi Beibei nodded.
“Alright. Besides food, I also have lighters, razors, toilet paper, disposable underwear, iodine, cotton swabs, and vitamins. Is there anything else you want?”
“Razors… vitamins… toilet paper,” Lin Fei answered.
“No lighter?” she asked.
Lin Fei shook his head.
“No.”
“Alright then.”
She placed the bundle on the chair and began bringing out supplies.
Two cases of instant noodles.
Two cases of self-heating rice.
One case of ham sausages.
One case of compressed biscuits.
She then went into the living room and brought back two razors, two bottles each of various vitamins, and two large packs of toilet paper.
After thinking for a moment, she also took two rolls of bandages and a box of fever medicine from the medicine box before returning to the storage room.
Finally, she went back once more and brought several bags of vacuum-packed meat.
After handing everything over, she asked,
“How about this? Is it enough? Is there anything else you want?”
Lin Fei nodded.
After a brief pause, he asked,
“Do you have soap?”
“I do, but only two bars. Wait a moment.”
Mi Beibei suddenly remembered that when she had gone shopping a few days ago, she had bought a three-pack of bath soap. She had already used one bar, leaving two.
She hurried to the bathroom, grabbed the remaining two bars, then noticed an old laundry soap that had been sitting there for who knew how long. She picked that up as well before quickly returning.
Lin Fei accepted the bath soap and laundry soap.
“Thank you.”
He lowered his head and began packing the supplies.
He had already removed most of the cardboard boxes and stuffed the contents into his large backpack. The remaining items were quickly packed into it as well.
With a zip, Lin Fei slung the huge backpack over his shoulders, picked up another equally large duffel bag, nodded at Mi Beibei, and prepared to leave.
As he turned around, however, his eyes landed on the signboard beside the window. He paused for a moment, turned back, and said,
“Your sign is broken.”
Without waiting for her response, he turned and left.
Mi Beibei froze.
By the time she realized what he meant, he was already far away.
She immediately took the signboard down and discovered that it had indeed been smashed by something.
Several strokes of the characters had been broken off, and even the frame was covered in scratches.
Grinding her teeth in anger, she guessed it must have been Liu Laosi and those two obviously shady men from yesterday.
What a pity.
Her signboard had only been on duty for one day.
She put the old temporary sign back up, then carried the damaged signboard to the advertising shop.
The young employee looked surprised when he saw it.
“It was only one day. How did it end up like this?”
“Someone smashed it,” Mi Beibei said angrily. “Can it be repaired?”
The young man examined it carefully before saying,
“The base is still usable. We’ll just need to remake the lettering.”
“Alright. I’ll leave it here. Can I come pick it up tomorrow?”
He thought for a moment.
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
“Okay.”
Leaving the advertising shop, Mi Beibei rode her electric scooter to a pharmacy.
She bought various antibiotics, fever medicine, vitamins, and calcium tablets.
“Miss, why are you buying so much medicine?” the cashier asked curiously.
Mi Beibei smiled.
“I’m stocking up on common medicines, and I’m also sending some to poor mountain villages.”
Warmth flashed across the cashier’s face.
The employee quickly packed the medicines and even applied for a discount.
After thanking them, Mi Beibei loaded the medicine boxes into her scooter and headed toward another neighborhood.
Over the next two hours, she visited four or five different pharmacies.
Each time, she repeated nearly the same shopping process and the same kind-hearted excuse.
Only after her scooter was completely filled with medicine did she finally head home.
Back home, she sorted the several large bags of medicine together with the huge box that had been delivered yesterday, organizing everything by category before neatly placing it back into the corner.
Once she finished, the flour pancakes she had eaten that morning had already been digested.
Rubbing her stomach, Mi Beibei opened the refrigerator.
Looking at the remaining bags of vacuum-packed meat, she didn’t really feel like eating any of it.
She sighed.
She didn’t want to go out again.
So she took out her phone and downloaded a food delivery app, then started browsing.
She had only used food delivery a few times when she first started working, but after taking on a mortgage, she had stopped ordering takeout altogether.
A restaurant serving Iron Pot Stewed Goose caught her eye.
Interested, she tapped into it.
She liked stewed dishes because she always felt they had a richer, deeper flavor.
After browsing the menu, she ordered an Iron Pot Stewed Goose, paid for it, and kept refreshing the order status.
Only after the little delivery icon started moving did she finally put down her phone and pour herself a cup of warm water, drinking it all in one go.
Soon, there was a knock at the door.
Mi Beibei quickly opened it, took the heavy takeout container, and eagerly placed it on the dining table before digging in.
She picked up a trembling piece of goose meat first.
The tender meat glistened with rich juices. The moment she bit into it, the savory meat and fragrant sauce exploded across her tongue.
The potatoes were soft and naturally sweet.
The dried green beans had absorbed all the rich flavors until they were melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Finally, she slurped up the glass noodles soaked in the delicious meat juices.
Mi Beibei ate without even lifting her head.
Only after she could no longer fit another bite did she finally stop, satisfied, clutching her full stomach as she leaned back in her chair.
She licked the little bit of sauce from the corner of her lips, savoring the lingering rich flavor.
After resting for quite a while, she got up, covered the takeout container—which still held more than half the meal—and placed it in the refrigerator.
Then she wandered around the apartment to help digest her food.
As she walked, she kept looking around the room, trying to decide where she should store the pork she had ordered in advance.