That night, the family talked late into the night, and by the time they finally went to bed, it was already a little past dawn.
Shen Cong had planned to sleep in, but early in the morning, the house was suddenly full of people, making such a ruckus it was like a tea party in full swing.
Even with all the windows and doors tightly closed, the laughter and chatter couldn’t be blocked.
It left her feeling thoroughly annoyed.
Shen Cong shot upright from the bed, quickly threw on some clothes, and left her room.
The moment she stepped out, all her sleepiness vanished.
Looking down from the second-floor corridor, Shen Cong realized she had been mistaken, her house wasn’t holding a tea party at all, it was, an early market!
The front yard had been filled with small stools, with a large circle of people seated. That wasn’t all; many others were standing around.
Next to these adults were a dozen or so children, chasing and playing with each other…
A single glance revealed dozens of people!
Where on earth did all these people come from?
Shen Cong’s mind buzzed—
Could it be that the entire neighborhood had come to gather at their house?
Gu Kai had planned with his father-in-law to go buy an electric tricycle today, so he didn’t need to leave early and had slept in for once.
He got up later than Shen Cong and was equally shocked when he saw the scene.
“Where did all these people come from?” he asked, his voice muffled with sleep.
“How would I know?”
Shen Cong poked him. “Stop standing there. Let’s go see. If we can, try to get them to leave, don’t wake my sister and the kids again.”
Gu Kai nodded, and the couple went downstairs together.
But before they even reached the bottom, Shen Cong heard a sharp, cutting voice: “Oh, sister-in-law, I’ve always said you’re the luckiest in our village.
No sons, but look how well you’ve raised these two daughters! The eldest married abroad, and I hear her husband is a big shot? Just by getting married, she became rich, every day she can just sit at home and count money.”
“Tsk tsk, the younger one’s not bad either! Not only is the son-in-law handsome, but the family’s background is solid too!
Sister-in-law, I heard your in-laws bought that wasteland out back to grow ginseng?
Oh, I’ve lived decades and never even seen ginseng! You should take us there and let us see for ourselves!”
Shen Cong was so annoyed she almost choked. She rolled her eyes, ready to snap back, but Gu Kai grabbed her in time.
Fortunately, Cheng Ru wasn’t one to let it slide either. From the stairs, her sharp retort carried clearly.
“No matter how lucky you are, Liu Xia, you don’t compare! Your son and daughter-in-law are making big money abroad, didn’t they open several restaurants already?
Don’t be modest. Whether or not people have seen ginseng, you’ve probably eaten enough of it by now! That Xiao Song’s restaurant is supposed to be top-notch, with ginseng and bird’s nest dishes, how could your obedient son leave you out?”
The crowd around erupted in laughter.
Shen Cong didn’t know who the woman was, but clearly her mother’s words hit a nerve.
The woman sputtered for a while before managing to say, “Of course I’ve seen ginseng. But haven’t we never seen the seedlings? We’ve never seen what they look like in the soil. Sister-in-law, don’t be so stingy, take us to have a look, let us open our eyes too.”
“Want to see how our house was renovated? You’re from the village, and neighbors want to look, just look! Why make a fuss over nothing?” Cheng Ru replied with a laugh.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen the ginseng seedlings you mentioned. Our in-laws plan to grow medicinal herbs on that back plot, not ginseng. Who could grow that without experience?
Besides, what season is it now? It’s not planting season! The soil hasn’t even been tilled, and you’re running over to see seedlings? If you say that out loud, everyone will laugh, they’re all farming families, after all!”
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
At this point, what’s there not to understand?
They came under the pretense of visiting her sister, but really, they were here to snoop!
The house renovation had made a big stir, and countless neighbors and people from the community were curious, but they never had a chance to see properly.
Now that Shen Xi had returned home to visit, they finally had a reason to show up.
Most of these people were probably after the old man’s herbal garden, curious to see what was going on and whether it could really make money.
In fact, Shen Cong’s parents had anticipated this situation. They had already said they would find a good opportunity to satisfy the neighbors’ curiosity.
After all, it’s better to let them see for themselves than to let them guess, better to show openly than have them imagining things.
Anyway, except for the courtyard wall, there was nothing visibly different about the rest of the house.
The basement had an invisible door installed, and although two small rooms had been added in the backyard, they were just ordinary steel-frame structures that looked like temporary storage sheds from the outside, plain and unremarkable.
As for the supplies, anything that couldn’t be shown to others was safely kept in Shen Cong’s space.
So there was no need to worry about visitors.
Obviously, her parents were letting these people wander and gossip around the house today with exactly this mindset.
Seeing her mom’s battle-ready energy, Shen Cong didn’t bother to help, she grabbed Gu Kai and went upstairs.
Why bother doing anything else?
She had no interest in dealing with these people alongside her mom.
After sending Gu Kai back into the room, Shen Cong stopped Shen Xi, who had also been woken up and was about to leave: “Sis, are Tongtong and Shanshan awake? How about I take you all out for a little walk?”
No one knew how long the crowd downstairs would keep going, and staying inside wouldn’t let anyone rest properly, better to take the kids out for a stroll.
After all, peaceful and beautiful days like this wouldn’t last long.
Once she helped her sister get the kids ready, Shen Cong went downstairs and started the car.
By the time Shen Xi led her children out through the small gate in the backyard, the car was already waiting at the front.
Once inside, Shen Xi froze for a moment, her eyes growing complicated again.
Two child safety seats were secured side by side in the back, and on the passenger seat’s headrest hung a multifunctional car tray holding a large paper bag.
After buckling the kids in, Shen Xi opened the bag and found a box of fresh meat buns and a box of red bean buns, both steaming hot.
There was also a small box of cut fruit, two packs of children’s milk, and a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice.
When her sister left the house, her hands had been empty, so it was obvious these items had been stored in Shen Cong’s space beforehand.
Seeing Shen Xi staring at the food in surprise, Shen Cong smiled and said, “It’s still over an hour to the city. Don’t let Tongtong and Shanshan get hungry, have some now. These buns were made by Mom herself, green bean and meat filling, your favorite since you were little. I wonder if Tongtong and the others will like them?”
“They’ll like them. Thank you, Auntie.”
Tongtong was almost six now, so he understood what his aunt was saying.
He held out his hand for his mom to wipe it with a wet wipe, making sure to thank her loudly as well.
Shanshan was only two years old and still couldn’t speak clearly. After all the twists and turns of the trip, the child was exhausted and still drowsy.
But hearing her older brother, she also called out, “Thank you, thank you!”
Her tiny, sweet baby voice made anyone listening want to rush over, scoop her up, and smother her with kisses!
“No, no, no, Sis, you go drive! I have to kiss my little baby! Ah, she’s too cute!” Shen Cong exclaimed loudly from the front.
Hearing her, Shen Xi couldn’t stop smiling, and the shadow of worry that had been lingering in her heart seemed to lift considerably.
The group first picked up the meals they had reserved yesterday, then headed straight for the city center.
Last night, Shen Cong had told the family about the space expansion, and everyone agreed to stock up on supplies, ideally spending as much of the money as possible.
After all, given the current situation, the apocalypse was unavoidable. If that was the case, there was no point in hoarding money.
With the larger space, the previous plan to sell the car was canceled, replaced instead with the need to secure more energy supplies.
Gasoline, diesel, and the like, having a stockpile was still wise, even if just as a precaution.
As for refined stones, Grandpa Gu felt the current supply at home was sufficient to last a long time.
Besides, in times of peace, jewels and gold are valuable, but in the apocalypse, even gold and jewelry might not be useful; they might not even buy a single bun in the end.
So there was no need to spend a fortune on these items, they could be acquired gradually when the opportunity arose.
On the other hand, buying a tricycle was practical and necessary.
So today, Gu Kai and Shen Jianyi’s task was to buy a tricycle and as much gasoline as they could manage.
Shen Xi took out all the money she had, over thirteen thousand euros in total, clearly her entire savings.
No one at home asked questions, and no one even mentioned her relationship with Zhang Ye. At this point, those things didn’t matter.
The Shen sisters took the children to the bank first to exchange the euros, depositing the entire amount into Shen Cong’s account, and then headed to the largest shopping mall.
This was per Cheng Ru’s instructions.
Last night, seeing her daughter appear before her looking utterly exhausted, she had cried at once.
Now, hearing that Shen Xi was taking her eldest daughter and grandchildren out, she immediately handed over another card, instructing: “Go buy some things for your sister and the two kids. Don’t get daily necessities, get things she likes: clothes, perfume, cosmetics… whatever she wants, buy it!”
Shen Cong knew her mother was just worried about her daughter, so she accepted the card without saying anything.
But Shen Xi naturally wouldn’t let her mother and younger sister run wild with the spending.
Seeing Shen Cong leading her toward the cosmetics counter, she reached out, pulled her aside, and, bluntly and decisively, took all the cards, taking control of the finances.
At Shen Xi’s request, they first went to the underground supermarket.
They restocked some infant formula, children’s sausages, and the utensils the kids were used to.
After loading everything into the car, they headed straight to the top floor of the mall.
That floor had the children’s section, plus a large bookstore.
They bought Shanshan a stuffed toy she had been wanting and Tongtong an electric train he liked. When Shen Xi wanted to go to the LEGO section, Shen Cong stopped her.
“Already bought it. Educational toys, board games, mobile games, we got a bunch. Plus a lot of plush toys. That’s more than enough for the two of them to play with for a long time.”
Shen Xi paused, looking at her younger sister with pure admiration.
She suddenly hugged Shen Cong and, without any more formalities, said, “Then I’ll go buy them some picture books.”
“Picture books, storybooks, textbooks… Gu Kai gave me a reading list, and I bought everything on it. You have to trust an editor’s eye, and behind this editor is a team of colleagues who are also moms giving advice.”
Shen Xi couldn’t help but laugh at her sister.
“I’ll pick out some books for myself then.”
Just as she was about to move, she hesitated and asked, “You didn’t already buy all my books too, did you?”
Shen Cong shrugged and made a polite gesture as if to say, “After you,” without telling her that the books at home were nearly enough to fill a small library.
And that didn’t even include the batch she later went crazy buying.
After all, in times like these, knowledge is the greatest wealth.
Shen Xi didn’t buy many books, she didn’t even fill a single shopping bag, and didn’t need to go back to the car.
Carrying the books, the two sisters took the kids to the amusement area.
Although the trip had been tiring, playing is in a child’s nature. Seeing the colorful ball pit, the two kids could barely move along the path, so they let them play for a while. Meanwhile, the sisters took the chance to talk.
After all, with so many people at home, they probably wouldn’t get a moment to speak otherwise.
Watching the kids start to play, the two sisters sat down in a nearby rest area and ordered two drinks. Finally, Shen Cong asked the question that had been worrying her all along.
“Sis, what’s going on with you and Zhang Ye now? How could you get back so much money?”
Given Zhang Ye’s stinginess, coughing up that much at once must have been a huge effort for her sister.
Noticing her sister’s thoughts, Shen Xi took a sip of her drink and said calmly, “It wasn’t as hard as you imagine. I just applied for a divorce and property division.”
Although her sister made it sound simple, Shen Cong knew it couldn’t have been that easy.
Over the past few years, both of them had done fairly well in their careers, and reportedly they had opened several branch stores.
There was no way Zhang Ye would just leave over a hundred thousand euros idle in the account.
Seeing the doubt on her sister’s face, Shen Xi had to explain a little more: “Actually, the conflicts between Zhang Ye and me had been deep for a long time. Dad’s situation was just a catalyst.
Over the past year, the situation in Country D has been unstable, refugee issues, strikes, and various natural disasters from time to time. The economy has been consistently bad.
It’s not just Country D; the whole of Europe has been struggling, and the disasters have been too many! Earthquakes one day, forest fires the next…
What I mean is, I wanted to maintain things temporarily, keep some money on hand just in case. Zhang Ye thought time was running out and insisted on buying land at low prices. We argued countless times over this.
This time, when he refused to let us come back, we even fought physically before he finally agreed to let me send home five thousand euros…”
Shen Xi trailed off, gripping her glass so tightly her fingertips went white.
After more than ten years of marriage and two children together, reaching this point, she couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt.
But before the coming disaster, recognizing the truth about her partner and stopping further losses was, Shen Xi knew, ultimately the right choice.
Shen Cong tenderly held her sister’s hand.
Shen Xi gave a self-deprecating smile: “When we opened the store, most of the money came from me. I had just graduated, where else would the money come from if not from our parents’ support?
Now Dad needs money, and Zhang Ye gives me five thousand!
But that’s fine. My heart just died right there. I immediately filed for divorce and property division.
Shen Cong, you know, the house and the company were both registered under my name. Even if we split everything fifty-fifty, I’d still get at least a few tens of thousands.”
“And I made it very clear to him, if he didn’t agree to the divorce and tried to stall me, I would just resell the land he had just bought. After all, he has more than one competitor.
Zhang Ye saw I was serious and finally had no choice but to agree. He scraped together the money over a few days and gave me 150,000 euros, plus another IOU for 150,000 euros.”
“Has the divorce paperwork been completed?”
“Yes, all done.”
Shen Cong nodded and added, “Sis, when you go back, can you give me your divorce certificate, the signed property division agreement, and his IOU for safekeeping?”
Shen Xi didn’t hesitate for a second and agreed.
Only then did Shen Cong feel relieved.
Even though Zhang Ye was abroad, his parents were still in the country.
Even after the disaster, the chances of encountering them might be slim, but she still felt precautions were necessary.
What if something happened?
Better to keep these things safe, prepared for any eventuality.
“Congcong, I haven’t even had the chance to thank you properly. Thank you and Mom and Dad for not giving up on me, for making sure I came back. Without you, me and the kids… we might not have made it.”
“Sis, what are you talking about!” Shen Cong said anxiously.
Shen Xi waved her hand. “I’m telling the truth. You have no idea how terrified we were when we just got off the plane and heard about the volcano eruption in Country C. If we had left even half a day later…
Country C and D are so close, if something had happened there too, me and the kids… Zhang Ye wouldn’t have been able to help us at all.”
Shen Xi trailed off, unable to continue.
Shen Cong walked over and wrapped her arm around her sister’s, soothing her: “It’s all over now, Sis. You’re home.”
She pointed to the two children happily playing and said firmly, “As long as our family is together, no matter what comes, we can make it through, and live well!”
“Mm, I believe you,” Shen Xi nodded solemnly.
But no one expected that just after saying this, both of them suddenly felt dizzy at the same time, their bodies swaying uncontrollably.
Immediately, they noticed the paper cups on the table had toppled, spilling drinks all over the floor.
Shen Cong’s face changed instantly. She jumped up and sprinted toward the ball pit!
Shen Xi didn’t understand what was happening, but seeing the situation, she hurriedly followed her sister and ran.
At that moment, the lights in the mall suddenly began flickering. After several flashes of bright and dim, a small popping sound rang out, and then everything went dark.
The entire world turned pitch black!
“Not good! Earthquake! Run!” someone suddenly shouted in the darkness.
This floor was the children’s section.
It was summer vacation, and the floor was crowded with kids and grandparents who had brought them to play.
The shout set the entire floor into chaos.
Shouts and screams rang out everywhere, mixed with the hysterical cries of children, and the sharp clatter of things being knocked over.
Shen Cong dove into the ball pit and frantically searched, but she couldn’t see Tongtong or Shanshan anywhere.
Panic surged through her, and she couldn’t help but shout loudly, “Tongtong! Shanshan!”
Her voice trembled with fear she could no longer suppress.