Surviving the apocalypse with a wife and a system! [GL]

Because she had brought back a lot of frozen food, Yan Laojin prepared wontons for dinner, with plenty of shrimp paste and cuttlefish balls in the broth, it looked quite substantial. The side dish was pickled vegetables. The smell of hot broth spread through the room almost as soon as the lid came off the pot. It was the kind of smell that could make a tired person feel a little less tired and a hungry person feel even hungrier. Bai Li stood at the kitchen doorway for a second and just watched the steam rise, and for some reason she felt a little warm in her chest. Maybe it was because the room was too normal. Maybe it was because everything in front of her was so ordinary and soft that it made the whole outside world feel far away for a moment. In the apocalypse, this sort of meal would not be something she could easily get again. Right now, there was still time, there was still food, and there was still a home with lights on and voices in it. That was already enough to make people feel like they had caught a small piece of luck.

Bai Li first handed the little one’s bowl to her, "LiLi, come on, eat your wontons. Be careful, they’re a bit hot."

"Okay~" The little dumpling picked up her little spoon, scooped a spoonful of shrimp paste from the bowl, blew on it, and then ate it. "Mmm! Delicious."

Bai Li then brought over two more large bowls, smiling, "Eat more if you like it. We have plenty more."

After the apocalypse, it would be difficult to find these things again, but now that the apocalypse had just begun, there were many places to collect supplies. It was just that her space was too small, and there were many things she couldn’t fit in. She had already been thinking about that all afternoon while she was moving things around. Her space could hold a lot more than an ordinary bag, but it was still not endless. A few boxes of instant food, some frozen meat, vegetables, medicine, water, batteries, tools, and a bit of gun ammo already took up a lot of room. If she kept trying to collect everything, it would fill up faster than she wanted. So she had to think carefully about what was truly useful and what was just nice to have. In the early days, people always thought they could just buy more later, or go out and get more later, but later never came the way they wanted. Things that felt cheap and normal now could become the kind of thing people would fight over in a week or two. Bai Li knew that very clearly. That was why she had been so serious about storing food, water, medicine, and anything that could keep them alive longer. She had no interest in carrying useless stuff that would only make her space cramped. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that living with Yan Cijin might really be the smartest thing to do. Not just because it was warmer here, but because they could use the space better together. A family home always had more room for daily life than someone living alone and trying to carry everything by herself.

While Bai Li was thinking, Yan Cijin and Yan Laojin also sat down, and the four of them began to eat wontons. The little dumpling sat in her chair with both hands holding her spoon tightly, and every few bites she would tilt her head up to look at Bai Li, as if she was worried the food might disappear if she took her eyes off her for too long. Bai Li found that both funny and soft. She ate a few spoonfuls, then looked at the little girl again and asked, "Is it good?"

"It is, Auntie made it?" the little girl asked with round eyes.

"Your grandma made it."

The little dumpling immediately turned and praised Yan Laojin in a very sincere voice, "Grandma is amazing too."

Yan Laojin laughed so hard her eyes crinkled. "This child, she knows how to talk to people."

Yan Cijin sat nearby and looked at the way Bai Li and the little dumpling were acting toward each other. It was impossible not to smile. Bai Li had a way of dealing with children that was not fake or too careful. She just naturally treated the little one like someone important, and because of that the little girl also trusted her very quickly. Yan Cijin had seen a lot of people around LiLi before. Some were kind for a little while, some were just trying to be polite, and some were only around because they wanted something. Bai Li felt different from all of them. She was calm, but not cold. She was gentle, but not weak. She would tease the child and let her cling, but she also knew when to step back and take care of the adults around her. It was a very rare kind of steadiness. Yan Cijin had noticed it before, but every time she noticed it, she could not help feeling more sure that Bai Li was someone worth keeping close.

Bai Li was truly hungry, and she devoured a large bowl of wontons in no time. The broth was hot and fresh, the shrimp paste was chewy, and the cuttlefish balls had just the right bounce to them. She had almost forgotten how good a normal bowl of food could taste when she had been busy hauling supplies and thinking about the disaster outside. After being tense all day, her shoulders slowly loosened up as she ate. She could feel the heat moving through her body, and that made her think of how badly a person could be thrown off by simple things once life got hard enough. A warm meal, clean water, a safe room, a child laughing nearby.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!