When Chen Qingqing opened the door and saw Sister Fang looking tense, she instinctively assumed that the situation outside had gotten worse and quickly stepped aside.
“Come in and talk.”
Sister Fang slipped into the room, her voice urgent. “Brother Li and the others want to cut off the water and electricity to your room! They’ll probably use other methods against you later, too. What are you going to do?”
Chen Qingqing froze, then relaxed.
She had thought it was something serious.
So it was just a petty supervisor with a grudge looking for trouble.
Lin Bai, who was changing Shuoshuo’s diaper, heard the voices at the door and immediately poked his head out to look over. “Do you need my help?”
Chen Qingqing smiled at her husband. “It’s nothing major.”
“Sister Fang, don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”
“But what about you? After telling us all this, they may target you.”
Sister Fang waved her hand. “I’ll be fine. They’ve targeted me plenty of times before. If it weren’t for putting my daughter through college…”
She smiled and sighed, leaving the sentence unfinished. She merely tugged at her wrinkled uniform.
“I was only brought in temporarily because the hotel was short-staffed. If it weren’t for the extra two thousand yuan a month, I wouldn’t have stayed here and put up with this treatment.”
“Thanks to everything you told me, I’ve figured things out, too. Preparing supplies in advance and surviving with my daughter is what matters most.”
“So I plan to leave the hotel tomorrow. I’m afraid I won’t be able to work for you anymore.”
“What does that matter?” Chen Qingqing shook her head, then asked, “Have you two made arrangements? Are you going to her, or is she coming to you?”
A warm, happy smile spread across Sister Fang’s face. “My daughter is coming to get me. She thinks things have been unsafe lately, too, and she’s worried about me.”
“I’ve never flown before, so she booked a plane ticket tonight and is coming back for me.”
Chen Qingqing nodded. “I hope you both stay safe and survive.”
In the Apocalypse, that was the most sincere blessing anyone could offer.
Sister Fang clasped Chen Qingqing’s hands tightly, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at her. “You and your family are the ones who should stay safe. You’re all such wonderful people. Your children will definitely grow up healthy!”
Chen Qingqing cared most about her son and daughter, so those words touched her deeply.
As mothers, Sister Fang and Chen Qingqing were alike in one way: they would always put their children first.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Qingqing stopped Sister Fang as she was about to leave. She turned around, rummaged through her backpack, and took out a list.
“This is the list of supplies we bought. I hope it helps.”
The shopping centers had not yet completely closed, so anything Chen Qingqing could buy, Sister Fang could buy as well.
However, Chen Qingqing had experienced the Apocalypse before and had discussed everything with her husband. She knew better which easily overlooked items were actually essential.
For example, water purification tablets, weapons that were easy to handle, and insecticide. They also needed to stock up on winter supplies in advance.
After all, at first everyone assumed that the Apocalypse meant zombies. No one expected the extreme cold and insect disaster that came later…
Sister Fang accepted the list with both hands, thanking her profusely as she wiped away her tears before leaving.
Chen Qingqing walked over to Lin Bai. The moment Shuoshuo, who was in his arms, saw her mother, her eyes curved into a delighted smile. She waved her little hands, wanting to throw herself into her mother’s embrace.
Chen Qingqing’s heart filled with warmth. She took the soft little bundle from him and gently patted her back.
“Be good, Shuoshuo~”
“That group of hotel employees wants to cause trouble for us?” Lin Bai asked.
Chen Qingqing nodded. “They’re nothing to worry about.”
“Sister Fang still has to stay at the hotel tonight, so let’s not alert them yet.”
If Chen Qingqing took the initiative to confront those people, they would definitely realize that Sister Fang had informed on them.
Lin Bai did not hesitate. “All right. I’ll do as you say. I’ll call a friend first.”
The reason he had chosen this place was that the owner of the resort hotel was his friend.
Lin Bai hung up soon afterward. “I discussed it with him. He’ll fire Brother Li after Sister Fang leaves.”
“Then we’ll continue with our previous plans?” Lin Bai asked with a raised eyebrow.
Chen Qingqing blinked. “What plans?”
Lin Bai smiled. “I’m going to learn how to cook from the head chef. You forgot?”
“Mom! You have to make Dad go learn!” Xiaohuan, who had been playing with a toy car, immediately rushed over and grabbed his mother’s knee.
“Mom, today’s food was so delicious! I want to eat it again in the future!”
Whenever Xiaohuan mentioned good food, his eyes lit up.
Chen Qingqing could not help laughing. She tapped the tip of his nose. “All right, you little glutton.”
As he watched his wife and son interact, Lin Bai chuckled and put on his coat. Just as he was about to leave, Chen Qingqing suddenly called out to him.
Chen Qingqing took a dagger and some medicine from her spatial realm. She tucked the dagger into Lin Bai’s belt and covered it with his coat.
“For self-defense,” she said quietly. “If you get hurt, remember to take the medicine immediately.”
“Although things outside aren’t too serious yet… we still need to stay vigilant.”
Looking at the worry in his wife’s eyes, Lin Bai felt a deep ache in his heart.
He could not imagine what Chen Qingqing had gone through during those three years of the Apocalypse to make her so worried about his safety.
The past could no longer be changed. The only thing he could do now was protect himself, take good care of the children, and do everything possible to put her mind at ease.
“Don’t worry. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done learning.”
Lin Bai found the lobby and stopped a hotel employee to ask where the kitchen was.
Following the directions, he soon found the back kitchen.
The head chef was fair and chubby. He was half a head shorter than Lin Bai and a few years younger as well.
Because it was the hotel’s off-season, the back kitchen was especially quiet, with only a few chefs present. In the middle sat a small one-person sofa, where the head chef was reclining and picking his teeth.
“Hello. You must be the head chef, right?”
Lin Bai walked up to him.
The head chef looked him up and down, barely bothering to respond. “Yeah. What do you want?”
Lin Bai said, “I’m a guest from Room 203. I’d like to learn how to make a few dishes from you.”
The head chef’s expression improved when he heard the first half of the sentence, and he was just about to stand up. But when he heard the second half, he lay back down.
“You ordered quite a few dishes, so I suppose you appreciate my cooking, Laoma’s craft. But I’m afraid my secret recipes aren’t passed on to outsiders.”
Lin Bai smiled gently. “I’ll pay you.”
Laoma clicked his tongue.
“I’m not short of money. Last month, someone else wanted to learn from me. He offered five hundred thousand, and I didn’t even…”
“I’ll pay five million.”
Laoma stopped mid-sentence.
The few assistant chefs nearby, who had been putting things away, also stopped what they were doing and looked over in unison.
“Five million.” Lin Bai’s expression did not change as he repeated himself calmly.
The toothpick fell from Laoma’s hand. He licked his lips, coughed a few times, and stood up.
“You… aren’t planning to learn my entire ancestral cookbook, are you?”
“Only four dishes. We’re from out of town, and my wife and son both love these dishes. I’m worried they won’t get another chance to eat them in the future.”
“Tsk… You’re quite devoted to your family, huh?” Laoma rubbed his nose and paced around the kitchen twice before suddenly looking at his assistants.
He drawled, “What do you think—should I teach him?”
The assistants exchanged glances and hurriedly chimed in.
“He’s sincere about learning, Chef. You should help him out.”
“Exactly. It’s only four dishes, and they’re just for his family. He’s not opening a restaurant.”
“Ahem. In that case, I suppose I can reluctantly agree,” Laoma said with an expression of helpless resignation.
Yet his steps toward the stove were remarkably brisk. Without another word, he turned on the burner.