Сhарtеr 20 Living Togеthеr
Аs thеу apprоаched thе neighborhооd, Jiаng Сi fоund аnothеr hiddеn sрot tо storе her off-rоаd vehiсle in hеr sраcе.
Shе then skаtеbоаrdеd tо thе entrаncе оf the neighborhoоd.
Oрening thе саr dоor, she slid intо the pаssеngеr sеat аnd direсted Si Bеiсhеn tо drivе into thе parking lot.
Аftеr finding аn еmрty parking sрасe, shе instructеd Si Beiсhеn tо drаin the gasоlinе into a сontainеr, whiсh wаs thеn loсkеd in the trunk.
Only then did she lead thе threе оf thеm uрstаirs.
Thе elevatоr had lоng sincе stoрped working, so they had to take the stairs.
The dim light of a flashlight illuminated the stair steps, and the neighborhood was eerily quiet.
All four of them were usually active and in good physical shape, so they quickly made their way up to the 11th floor.
Just as they were unlocking the door, the door of unit 1103 suddenly swung open from the inside. Li Weiwei emerged with a flashlight, swept her light over Jiang Ci and the other three, then hurriedly clattered down the stairs.
Jiang Ci opened the door and invited Si Dad, Wen Mom, and Si Beichen inside.
Together, the four of them dragged all the luggage into the apartment.
After closing the door, Jiang Ci turned on the desk lamp next to the generator, instantly brightening the room.
Si Jianhua and the other two finally got a clear view of the entire apartment.
It was an 80-square-meter two-bedroom, one-living-room unit.
The two bedrooms were roughly the same size, each equipped with a double bed, a bay window, and a wardrobe.
One of the rooms had a pink bedsheet on the bed and a fluffy carpet on the bay window—clearly Jiang Ci’s room.
The other room was unoccupied, with nothing on the bed.
The kitchen and bathroom were on the right side of the entrance, followed by the dining table.
At the far end was the living room, which led to the balcony.
Against one wall of the living room was a large sofa, the kind that could be pulled out to transform into a bed.
There was no coffee table in the living room, only a large carpet spread across the floor, adorned with many flower-shaped cushions.
Without the obstruction of a coffee table, the living room appeared visually spacious and open.
Jiang Ci went to the kitchen to pour three cups of tea, letting the three of them rest in the living room.
She began making the bed in the unoccupied room.
Wen Qianyue, feeling sorry for her, insisted on helping.
So Jiang Ci asked Wen Qianyue to take out her and Si Dad’s clothes to hang in the wardrobe, while she quickly laid out the bedsheet, duvet cover, and a cooling mat.
While the three weren’t paying attention, she slipped out to the small balcony off the kitchen and placed a water tank filled with water next to the washing machine.
After sending Si Dad and Wen Mom to freshen up, Jiang Ci directed Si Beichen to pull out the lower layer of the living room sofa, transforming it into a bed.
She then fetched a new set of bedsheets, duvet cover, and a cooling mat for Si Beichen to use—this would be his bed from now on.
Moving a portable clothing rack from her bedroom to the living room, she designated it for Si Beichen’s clothes.
Leaving the living room’s storage battery and air-conditioning fan for Si Beichen, Jiang Ci brought out another set of storage batteries and an air-conditioning fan, placing them in Si Dad and Wen Mom’s room.
She also set up a set for her own room.
After everything was arranged, Jiang Ci was drenched in sweat.
Once Si Dad and Wen Mom had finished washing up, she took a quick shower herself.
Si Dad and Wen Mom retired to their room to rest, while Si Beichen went to freshen up. Jiang Ci opened the kitchen storage cabinet and began stocking it with supplies.
There was a row of cabinets on the wall and another row beneath the countertop, providing ample space to store many things.Jiang Ci stocked up on rice, flour, noodles, oil, various dried vegetables, cured meat, cured fish, cured ribs, instant noodles, self-heating hot pots, canned meat, and more.
After filling the supplies, she also went back to her room to sleep.
When they arrived last night, it was already late, and the lighting was dim. Si Beichen had only briefly scanned the layout of the house before tidying up, washing, and going to bed.
When he woke up, it was already bright outside, and the sun was slowly rising.
Si Beichen walked to the balcony and casually pulled back the curtains to look outside.
To his surprise, he discovered that the windows of this small house were bulletproof…
He suddenly remembered the two doors when they entered last night. He opened the inner door to check the outer security door.
Goodness, even the outer door was no ordinary sturdy door.
Just how insecure must his sister be to have turned this two-bedroom house into a fortress?
The house was easy to defend and hard to attack. Unless someone opened the door and walked out, ordinary people simply couldn’t get in.
Staying inside the house was indeed very safe.
With the world already starting to descend into chaos and no one knowing what would happen next, it was good that his sister had such strong awareness of self-protection.
He took another tour of the house before washing up and starting to install the solar panels.
The sunlight outside was so intense—they absolutely couldn’t waste the available resources. By installing the solar panels, they could harness solar power.
Jiang Ci was woken up by Wen Qianyue. “Time to get up and eat.”
Wen Qianyue had already checked out the kitchen and seen many supplies in the cabinets. Although the supplies seemed plentiful, they still needed to be used sparingly.
She simply cooked some rice porridge for breakfast.
After the family finished breakfast, Wen Qianyue asked Jiang Ci what she wanted for lunch. She planned to prepare lunch while the sun hadn’t fully risen yet in the morning.
Otherwise, the midday heat would be unbearable, making it impossible to cook.
Jiang Ci said, “Dried vegetables stewed with cured meat.”
Wen Qianyue went to the kitchen to cook, Si Beichen continued installing the solar panels on the balcony, Si Jianhua sat at the dining table reading a book, and Jiang Ci sat at the dining table, resting her chin in her hands, lost in thought.
Listening to the clattering sounds from the kitchen and seeing the people she loved and who loved her safe and sound by her side, she suddenly felt very reassured.
Before, when she lived alone, she would turn on the air-conditioning fan with a storage battery, hide in her room, and take out ready-made food from her space whenever she was hungry.
Truly, when one person was full, the whole family was satisfied—but she often felt an emptiness inside.
Now, although using her space wasn’t as convenient, having her family by her side made her feel fulfilled and content.
Humans really are social animals after all.
Occasionally, being alone and quiet felt comfortable, but after the water, electricity, and internet were cut off, if she had to stay alone for too long, she was afraid she’d go crazy and turn into a wild person.
After Si Beichen finished installing the solar panels, he rearranged the living room.
He divided the living room into two parts, moved the sofa bed over, and hung a curtain to separate it, turning it into his bedroom.
The other part, with the carpet, remained the living room.
Jiang Ci brought out two single-person beanbag chairs from her room and tossed them onto the carpet.
She also took out a tablet and gave it to Si Jianhua, loading a downloaded TV series for him and Ms. Wen to help pass the time.From 12:00 to 2:00 PM, taking advantage of the power supply period, the family turned on the central air conditioning in the living room and had lunch together.
A large pot of dried green beans and dried potatoes stewed with cured meat, with vermicelli added as well.
Wen Qianyue had stewed it until tender and flavorful. Paired with rice, everyone ate until their bellies were full and very satisfied.
They charged every device in the house that could be charged and refilled the water tank on the small balcony.
The two hours of water and power supply passed very quickly.
However, with the solar panels installed by Si Beichen, the household didn’t have to worry about electricity.
Even during power outages, the house remained relatively cool.
The eleventh floor was also in a favorable position, located in the middle section of the building, and all the windows were fitted with sun-blocking curtains.
The apartment was small, so turning on two air circulators in the living room was enough to feel cool.
Going outside was out of the question—the temperature outside had already reached 58 degrees Celsius, a deadly high heat for sure.