Every time Chen Momo cooked, she could hear the constant opening and closing of doors from the apartment across the hall.
Several times, peering through the peephole, she saw the couple from across the hall standing at their door, staring intently in the direction of her apartment. Chen Momo became increasingly certain that these two were extremely dangerous. If they went mad from hunger in the later stages, there was no telling what they might do. The only thing she could do was make sure the deadbolt was securely locked from the inside.
"Xiao Bao, come eat!"
For lunch today, Chen Momo had made fish with pickled mustard greens, Mapo tofu, and hand-shredded chicken.
After practicing for a while, her culinary skills had improved by leaps and bounds. Every time she cooked, Xiao Bao would run over, clamoring for food. By now, Chen Momo had compiled a thick recipe book. The preparation method for each dish was optimized for the best flavor, written out in meticulous detail.
Chen Momo and Chen Xiaobao were eating when they heard a KNOCK KNOCK on the door. Chen Momo’s nerves immediately tensed.
"Xiao Bao, hurry back to your room and stay there. Don’t come out," Chen Momo said. She had Xiao Bao take his unfinished food back to his room to eat. Meanwhile, she turned off the lights and quickly gathered everything that needed to be put away, temporarily storing it all in her spatial dimension.
Only when she finished cleaning up did she ask, "Who is it?"
"Property management," Wang Jian Country’s voice came from outside.
"Momo, please open the door," Wang Liping said.
Ever since Wang Liping was taken hostage, the door-to-door visits were conducted by Wang Jian Country and Wang Liping together. Every day or two, they would come around to take a census of each household’s situation.
Chen Momo opened the door, not daring to open it too wide. As usual, she only left a crack. "Sister Wang, Brother Zhang, what’s the matter?"
As soon as the door opened, a wave of heat rushed out from the room. Wang Liping instinctively said, "Momo, it’s really warm in your apartment!"
"My place is small, so it holds the heat a bit better," Chen Momo replied.
The weather was even colder today. Aside from wearing two down jackets, Wang Liping and Wang Jian Country wore thick sweaters and cotton vests underneath. Their heads and feet were also bundled up tightly.
Wang Jian Country sighed and said in a heavy voice, "The two elderly residents in 709 and 806 have passed away. We just went to check. They still have some supplies left in their homes. In a bit, we’re going to organize everyone to go over and collect them. You can see if there’s anything useful to take back for yourself."
Wang Liping’s eyes turned red. "This isn’t something we want to see happen, but there’s truly no other way. Momo, you have to take good care of Xiao Bao. Let’s wait patiently; rescue will definitely come."
Chen Momo nodded. "I know. Thank you, Sister Wang."
After notifying Chen Momo’s household, Wang Liping and Wang Jian Country continued going door-to-door to inform the others.
The couple across the hall immediately grew excited upon hearing there were supplies to be taken. The man urged his wife, "Grab a few more bags, hurry!"
Through the peephole, Chen Momo watched the couple rush out like they were going to war, clutching several large bags.
Chen Momo instructed her son, "Xiao Bao, wait at home while Mommy goes downstairs to take a look. Remember to lock the door from the inside."
Chen Xiaobao nodded. "I got it, Mommy!"
Chen Momo then grabbed a bag as a token gesture and prepared to head down. Passing by Xu Xiaoka’s door next door, she hesitated for a moment before finally knocking. "Are you going?"
Soon, Xu Xiaoka opened the door and nodded. "I’m going! Momo, wait for me!" Saying that, she grabbed a bag of her own and hurriedly closed her door.
Xu Xiaoka was dressed very thickly, bundled up in layers inside and out, looking like a giant panda. Her neck and head were half-shrunken into her padded jacket, leaving only the top half of her head exposed.
The elevator was out of service, so they had to take the stairs. Chen Momo turned on her flashlight, and the two of them descended the steps floor by floor. Xu Xiaoka clung tightly to Chen Momo’s arm with both hands, chattering away.
"Momo, I’m only eating one cup of instant noodles every two or three days now. I finished the last cup yesterday. If I don’t get any more food, I’m really going to starve to death.
"Those two elderly people living alone were so pitiful. When I heard the news of their passing, I cried so hard. Momo, do my eyes look red?
"That couple across the hall is terrifying. They actually knocked on my door to borrow food."
Hearing this, Chen Momo was a bit shocked and finally spoke up. "They knocked on your door?"
She thought the couple was truly despicable for harassing a young girl living alone!
Xu Xiaoka nodded. "Yeah. They wanted to borrow food and said they’d return it when the snow stopped. When I said I didn’t have any, they didn’t believe me and insisted on coming in to check. I was absolutely terrified and didn’t dare open the door. I heard they knocked on everyone’s doors on our floor, but hardly anyone paid them any attention."
Chen Momo said nothing more.
As they went downstairs with the flashlight, they happened to see the couple descending as well. Since the couple hadn’t brought a flashlight, they had to navigate in the dark. The woman cautiously tested the steps with her feet one by one, while the man followed behind, constantly complaining that she was moving too slowly.
When Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka passed by them with the flashlight, the woman acted as if she had seen a savior, immediately urging her husband to keep up. At the same time, she shouted at Chen Momo, "Hey, hey, hey, slow down and wait for us! We don’t have a flashlight!"
Chen Momo couldn’t be bothered to entertain them and quickly hurried down the stairs with Xu Xiaoka.
From behind came the woman’s cursing voice. "We’re neighbors, what’s wrong with helping each other out? Going down so fast, are you afraid we’re going to steal from you or something? So shameless! You don’t have an ounce of community spirit!"
Chen Momo couldn’t care less about these two low-class individuals. Only Xu Xiaoka muttered indignantly, "They’re the shameless ones!"
When they reached the seventh floor, quite a few households were already waiting in line. Since only one person per household was allowed to go in, everyone was clutching several bags to grab as much as possible. Only Xu Xiaoka and Chen Momo were holding just a single bag each.
Wang Jian Country stood at the entrance of 709, while Wang Liping organized everyone into an orderly line. "Don’t push, everyone! Line up!"
Seeing that Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka had arrived, Wang Liping’s eyes lit up. She walked over and said, "Momo, hurry and get in line. We’ll wait a little longer; there are still a few households that haven’t come down."
Chen Momo quietly observed the queue. Everyone looked as though they had just survived a severe famine, their faces a sickly sallow hue.
Standing in line, Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka heard continuous sighs rippling through the crowd.
"I heard they died three days ago."