Chapter 75 Chapter 75 There will be meat to eat in a few days

Su Qing and Lu Chen followed Secretary Zeng in the dim underground passage. They passed by tents, most of which were empty. Only the occasional crackling sound from the burning fires was heard, and the dim flames were swaying in the wind that came from nowhere.

Secretary Zeng walked with them for a while and then stopped. They were on the platform of a station. There was a subway car with about a dozen carriages parked on each side of the tracks.

There was some light coming from each carriage, and through the light, you could see many figures swaying inside. There were so many people here, but the surroundings were very quiet.

Secretary Zeng opened the door of an office in the center of the platform and invited Su Qing and Lu Chen in.

“Woo…”

When Su Qing was about to step into the door, he suddenly stopped.

She seemed to have heard a few sobs just now... Su Qing turned her head to glance at the subway not far away. Secretary Zeng stepped forward and blocked her view. "Ms. Su, please come in."

Lu Chen had already entered the house. Seeing that Su Qing hadn't come in, he turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay." Su Qing retracted his gaze and stepped in and said.

Maybe she heard it wrong?

"Chief Lu, Comrade Xiao Su, come and sit down." Zhang Jin, who was in the house, greeted them warmly when he saw them come in.

This room also has electricity, and there is a round table in the middle with dishes already placed on it.

After a few people sat down, Su Qing looked at the four dishes and one soup on the table. The dishes were all potatoes, fried potato pancakes, stir-fried potato shreds, stir-fried potato slices, and mashed potatoes. The soup was potato and kelp soup, and the small bowl of rice in front of each person was a little dark yellow in color and gave off a musty smell of stale rice.

"My conditions are limited, I hope you two can forgive me." Zhang Jin had a slightly worried look on his face. "Supplies are tight right now, so I'm giving them to the people at the base first. Don't worry if you laugh at me, but these are all my daily meals. I should have cooked something delicious for Chief Lu, but I'm really short of money."

Su Qing looked at Zhang Jin and Secretary Zeng, both of whom had rosy complexions and looked energetic. Compared with the thin and dark-faced people outside, there was a world of difference.

No one would believe you if you said they only eat potatoes every day.

Lu Chen knew exactly who he was. Seeing Zhang Jin's pretentiousness, he remained calm and said, "Secretary Zhang, what are you talking about? We are the ones who are causing you trouble."

"Alas, we're not as wealthy as your S City. Chief Lu, you've seen our situation. I can't afford the price you mentioned before. We've worked together many times before, so could we discuss the price?"

"Although it may be shameful for me to say this, please, for the sake of these ordinary people, please give way a little more. Our base is very short of food right now. Your arrival is like timely help. This batch of supplies can save the lives of tens of thousands of people here. It is a great merit."

Lu Chen showed a hint of relief, "Secretary Zhang... you put this hat on me, which makes me feel very embarrassed."

Secretary Zeng stood up and poured a cup of hot water for Su Qing first, then picked up a transparent wine bottle on the table and poured some of the yellow wine into the wine dispenser. He then filled the small wine glasses in front of Lu Chen and Zhang Jin, and then filled his own glass with wine.

Zhang Jin picked up the wine glass and said, "Chief Lu, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I am really out of ammunition and food here. This is the life of the people in the city. Today, if you give me a break, when the situation improves, I will report to the capital and record your great merit."

Lu Chen also picked up the wine glass and sighed softly, "Secretary Zhang, I also understand your difficulties. So, I will give up a little profit. It's difficult for you here, but tens of thousands of people in our base are also waiting to eat."

Zhang Jin drank the wine in his hand in one gulp. "Chief Lu, two points. Just this once, you help me through this difficult time. If you need me in the future, just ask."

Lu Chen drank the wine and was immediately surprised by the taste in his mouth. The liquor in the glass bottle was the national liquor that cost tens of thousands of yuan per bottle before the end of the world... He wanted to say a swear word but didn't know whether to say it or not.

This Zhang would not treat himself badly in the apocalypse. He brought out this wine. Did he think that he didn't know the value of it and couldn't taste it?

"This wine must be quite old...it's really good." Lu Chen looked at the bottle of wine and said meaningfully.

Secretary Zeng quickly stood up and poured wine for the two men, saying as he did so, "This is something my men found while searching for supplies. It's loose liquor from somewhere, and it's not even packaged. Our secretary smelled it delicious but has been reluctant to drink it, so today he urgently asked me to bring it out to entertain Chief Lu."

Lu Chen shook the wine glass, watching the yellow liquor swaying in the glass. "Hehe... Since you have such a good wine, I can't help but give Secretary Zhang face. I will give back three-tenths of the profit, just as a way of giving back to society. The things are all on our helicopter, you can pick them up anytime."

"Chief Lu is truly generous. We at the N City base are all indebted to you for this favor!" Secretary Zeng raised his glass and emptied it. "We need to sort out the money. This way, we can exchange the money and the goods tomorrow."

Su Qing ate silently on the side. She couldn't join in the conversation on the table and was confused by it. The official language was terrible. The only thing she could understand was that the deal was done and she had a lot of money again!

The price Lu Chen offered was several times higher than before, and even if he gave up a few cents, it was still a good profit. This price was also what the two of them had discussed on the plane before, so this trip was not in vain.

Watching Lu Chen and his friends clinking glasses with each other, they quickly finished the bottle of wine. Secretary Zeng then took out two more bottles of wine, which were also quickly emptied.

Su Qing saw that Secretary Zhang and the secretary's faces were flushed and their tongues were stammering when they spoke. Then he saw that Lu Chen's eyes were also blurry. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, men... the drinking culture is really speechless.

After a few rounds of compliments, Lu Chen suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, before coming to City N, I went to City T first. Chief Liang there said he had sent someone here, but then lost contact. When he heard I was coming, he asked me to find out if Secretary Zhang had met anyone from City T."

"Oh? There's this? How come I didn't know Chief Liang sent someone here?" Zhang Jin seemed to have drunk too much, and his reaction was much slower. He turned his head to look at Secretary Zeng, "Xiao Zeng, has anyone from T City been here?"

Secretary Zeng shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of anyone coming. I'll ask my staff tomorrow."

"Secretary Zhang, I think it's getting late. Why don't we stop here today? You should go to bed early." Lu Chen glanced at Su Qing sitting there yawning in boredom, so he simply spoke up to end the dinner.

Zhang Jin stood up and swayed, but Secretary Zeng held him up. "I'm so happy today! There aren't many people as righteous as Chief Lu these days! On behalf of the people of all N City, I thank you."

Several people walked out of the room. Su Qing looked around and found that there was no one in the carriages.

Lu Chen's steps were a little unsteady, and his expression was vague, showing that he was drunk. He asked Secretary Zeng to accompany Zhang Jin, and he and Su Qing could go back by themselves.

Secretary Zeng looked at Lu Chen and said, "Chief Lu, I see you're a little tipsy. How about I take you there first?"

Lu Chen pulled Su Qing over with one hand and said casually, "I have her here, you can send the leader back first."

Secretary Zeng smiled upon seeing this and stopped refusing. He turned around and helped his leader, who had half-closed his eyes and was drowsy, away.

Seeing the two of them walking away, Lu Chen immediately let go of the hand that was holding Su Qing's wrist, "Sorry."

Su Qing was still a little confused. Seeing Lu Chen suddenly return to normal after the two men left, she was curious, "Are you... okay?"

"It's okay." Lu Chen replied in a steady voice, "Don't worry, those two were just pretending."

Su Qing was incredulous after hearing this! What kind of magical performance art is this?

The two of them didn't talk much along the way. Halfway through, Su Qing saw that the people from the N City base were sitting around the fire again.

She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt the atmosphere was extremely suffocating. Su Qing took a wrong step and walked towards those people.

Seeing Su Qing like this, Lu Chen reached out to load the gun on his waist, then pulled his clothes and followed him.

"Hello, sorry to bother you." Su Qing walked towards a campfire and gently greeted the people sitting there.

Swish!

Su Qing's voice made everyone around look over. Everyone's eyes were bloodshot, looking extremely scary with their bloodshot red.

Su Qing subconsciously took a step back when being stared at and bumped into Lu Chen behind him.

Lu Chen raised his hand and gently touched Su Qing's back, then stood in front of her.

"We are from the S City base. Secretary Zhang told us that supplies are very scarce here right now?" Lu Chen's voice sounded faintly.

Those people didn't react to Lu Chen's words and continued to stare at the two of them.

"Secretary Zhang just made a deal with us and bought a batch of food. I think it can last for a while." Lu Chen continued.

When the people on the ground heard the word "food", their eyes rolled.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out, "Food... We'll have meat to eat in a few days... Haha, there's meat to eat!"

"Meat...eat meat..."

“Hahaha…eat meat!”

There were people in the crowd talking and laughing, but that laughter was extremely creepy...

Lu Chen looked at the groups of people who suddenly became agitated, and took Su Qing back a few steps.

Su Qing walked out from behind Lu Chen, looked at those people and said softly: "If... you are not having a good time here, do you want to leave with us?"

The crowd instantly quieted down, and everyone stood up and stared at Su Qing.

"Leave... here?"

"Yes! If you want to leave, we can take you away!" Su Qing continued to encourage.

"you……"

"Chief Lu! What are you doing here?"

Secretary Zeng's voice sounded from behind. When the people in City N heard Secretary Zeng's voice, they all shrank and quickly hid in the tent.

Su Qing looked at the empty space in front of him and was a little surprised. Are the people here afraid of Secretary Zeng?

The two turned around, and Lu Chen said, "I just chatted with the people here for a while. Is Secretary Zhang okay?"

"The secretary has gone to bed. I was afraid you couldn't find the place, so I came to check."

Lu Chen smiled faintly, "Oh? Secretary Zeng is thoughtful. We should go back."

Secretary Zeng walked in front to lead the way, and Lu Chen and Su Qing followed behind him.

Su Qing looked at Secretary Zeng's back and suddenly said, "Secretary Zeng, I just heard them say that there will be meat to eat in a few days. It's really not easy to eat meat now..."

Secretary Zeng was startled for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Miss Su, you misunderstood. It's called meat, but it's actually a few cans of meat boiled into several large pots of soup. Everyone gets some meat residue soup. It's a weekly benefit at the base, just to satisfy people's cravings."

“It’s actually like this…”

Secretary Zeng escorted the two to the door of the room and left.

Su Qing was very tired that day. She said good night to Lu Chen and returned to her room.

After a quick wash, Su Qing lay down on the bed. The unfamiliar environment made it difficult for her to fall asleep even though she was very sleepy. She regretted not bringing Fuguier with her. She would feel more at ease if he was there.

bite……

The bracelet suddenly sent a message, and Su Qing sat up and picked up the bracelet beside him.

It was a message from Lu Chen.

[I'll keep watch tonight so you can sleep peacefully. Put the gun next to your pillow just in case.]

Su Qing hurried back.

[You guard the first half of the night, and I'll guard the second half!]

After a while, seeing that Lu Chen didn't reply to the message, she sent another one.

"How can we let you guard this place all night alone? Everything here is strange. You're our main combat force, and if you don't get enough rest, you'll affect our strength!"

In the next room, Lu Chen finished washing up and picked up the bracelet on the table. When he saw the message from Su Qing, the corners of his mouth curved up and he moved his fingers slightly to reply to the message.

[Okay, go to sleep. I'll call you later.]

Seeing this, Su Qing fell back on the bed and swiped the information of the base with the bracelet. He originally thought that he could just hold on until the time to change shifts as he was not sleepy. However, after just two swipes, his eyelids became heavy and he soon fell asleep in the darkness.