Chapter 61: The Wine Cellar

At this moment, the prawns roasted by Chen Lang were done. He happily distributed them to everyone, exclaiming, "How can these prawns be so fragrant?"

Duan Shumei lowered her head and said, "How did I raise a son who is such a little foodie? I have no face to show anyone."

Gu Pan said, "Teacher Duan, isn't Chen Lang at the age where a growing boy can eat his parents out of house and home? He's in his developmental years, but he just happened to run into the apocalypse. In a way, we've wronged the child."

Duan Shumei sighed, "Indeed. In the past, three meals a day with fixed amounts of meat, eggs, and milk were the norm. Now, just being full is already very good."

Chen Lang said, "I'm already very satisfied. Not starving in the apocalypse makes me better than ninety-nine percent of people, right?"

Lu Ruisheng smiled and said, "This kid is good. If he were in the military, he would definitely be an exceptional soldier. If not for the end of the world, I would truly recommend him to take the military academy entrance exams."

Chen Lang replied, "I also admire soldiers. If the apocalypse ends and school resumes, I will definitely test into a military academy."

As they spoke, everyone began to share their respective aspirations, talking about what they wanted to do if the apocalypse ever came to an end.

Of course, this by no means delayed their eating. Plate after plate of roasted meat had everyone exclaiming in satisfaction.

While eating, they started talking about Li Dong's building. Now that the building was completely vacant, it felt rather wasteful.

Gu Pan had an idea: they could use that building for training during the day. Since everyone already knew they had guns, practicing firearms there wouldn't matter.

Training there would be superior to practicing on flat ground, as it provided realistic terrain and tactical practice.

After the meal, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng went home to fetch some potted soil, and Lu Xuerong brought some as well.

They divided the soil equally among themselves. Each household planted different seeds so they could exchange harvests with one another later.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng planted purple-leaf lettuce, Teacher Chen's family across the hall planted small Chinese Cabbage, Cheng Yang planted bok choy, and Lu Xuerong planted spinach.

However, since Gu Pan and Lu Xuerong had prior experience, they decided to plant two additional varieties: coriander and scallions.

After dividing everything, they returned to their respective homes and began planting.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng prepared the soil, buried the seeds, watered them, and covered them with plastic wrap to retain moisture and warmth.

Their heating was on all day long, so plant growth would not be an issue. Gu Pan had enjoyed growing small plants in the past, so she was not unfamiliar with cultivation. Furthermore, her tablet stored a wealth of agricultural knowledge, which she could review whenever needed.

That night, Gu Pan slept very well because the hidden threat of Li Dong had been resolved.

Since everyone's nerves had been tightly strung previously, after dealing with Li Dong and his group, they agreed to rest for another three days.

Therefore, the next morning, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng did not wake up early. Rising a little past nine, they had breakfast and headed out to sell the powdered milk at the address provided by Shi Liang.

Naturally, before leaving, the two prepared insulated containers so they could place the wine directly into thermal boxes and bring it back.

This residential complex seemed to have established a security patrol team; people were patrolling in shifts. It was probably similar to the community where Tian Zhenzhen's family lived—a self-organized security squad.

After approaching the guards at the entrance and negotiating with them, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng asked for assistance in calling Li Yijun from Unit 1, Building 9, Room 603. To show their gratitude, Gu Pan took out two bills and handed them to the guard.

The guard was quite pleased and called over one of the patrollers to fetch the person, as he could not leave his post.

Before long, Li Yijun came out. He was a tall and sturdily built man.

Upon reaching the entrance, he politely shook hands with Lu Ruisheng and then led them a short distance away before speaking, "Are you here to trade for supplies?"

Lu Ruisheng nodded and said, "Yes. You can just call me Little Lu." When outside, it was best not to casually spread full names.

Li Yijun didn't seem to mind this; in these times, everyone had their own ways of protecting themselves.

He stated, "My items are not kept at home, but I need to see your goods first before I can take you to the wine cellar."

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng had already anticipated this. The compound didn't look like the type to have underground wine cellars.

Thus, they raised no objections. Lu Ruisheng agreed, unzipped the mountaineering backpack on his back, and let the other party inspect the goods.

After inspecting the items, Li Yijun breathed a sigh of relief and led them to the location of the wine cellar, which was a tavern where the owner had personally excavated a cellar.

As they walked, Li Yijun explained, "I am the chef at this tavern. Our boss went on a business trip and lost contact after the blizzard. I had no other choice. My baby is only six months old, and my wife hasn't been eating well, so her milk has dried up. That's why I thought of using my boss's wine to trade. I checked beforehand, and none of the wine is frozen; they are all fine vintages."

Earlier, Gu Pan had wondered about this. Most people who owned wine cellars were wealthy. Truly wealthy individuals would typically go directly to Shi Liang's superiors. Being able to find Shi Liang definitely had a reason, and now she understood.

Lu Ruisheng asked, "Hasn't anyone else found this place since the apocalypse began?"

Li Yijun replied, "This place is extremely hidden. Previously, only I and one waiter knew about it, but after the apocalypse, I never saw that waiter again. The two times I went to the wine cellar, there were no signs of anyone having been there. To be honest, it's just wine; it doesn't fill your stomach. I never expected anyone would want these. After all, in the end times, who wouldn't want to get more food?"

At this point, Li Yijun suddenly felt his words sounded inappropriate and hurriedly explained, "However, those are all fine wines. If you have supplies and want to improve your quality of life, these wines are rare treasures. It's just that my current life truly doesn't match up to them."

Gu Pan understood Li Yijun's perspective; the man was being quite honest. "As you said, everyone has their own needs. We've been scavenging for supplies all along as well."

Li Yijun remarked, "You two are capable. Whenever we went out, we always ended up tailing behind others. At first, we could occasionally pick up scraps, but later it became too difficult. Recently, I couldn't even scavenge a mouthful of food after going out for a whole day. But the baby cries from hunger every single day, and I truly couldn't bear it anymore."

Gu Pan sighed softly, "Children in the apocalypse have it far too difficult. I hope that by the time he grows up, he will be able to see a brand-new world."

Li Yijun sighed, "I don't even dare to imagine that. Right now, I can't even guarantee whether I'll be alive tomorrow."

While talking, they arrived at the tavern. The front door had been smashed open, allowing direct entry.

Once inside, Li Yijun walked over to a shelving unit against the wall and gave it a hard push, causing the shelf to swing open.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng walked inside. Li Yijun lit a candle since there was no electricity left, leaving candlelight as the only option.

As they descended, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng held hands; if the other party showed any malicious intent, they could instantly enter their spatial dimension.

Upon reaching the bottom, they unlocked another door and finally entered the wine cellar.

Li Yijun handed the candle to Lu Ruisheng and said, "It's not very clear down here. You should hold it closer to look."

Gu Pan retrieved an emergency light from her backpack and said, "I brought this." With a flick of the switch, the wine cellar instantly lit up.