Chapter 8 Qingming Tea

Taiping Town should be completely deserted. It was surprisingly quiet after sleeping all night. However, when I woke up in the morning, it was still raining. It wasn't as heavy as last night; today it was raining softly with a touch of shyness.

The air was unusually fresh, with a distinct earthy smell.

Lu An had already woken up. He selected three intact turbine generators, rewrapped them in cardboard, and moved them to the small tricycle on the first floor. Now he was searching through the other shops one by one. Small hardware items such as screwdrivers, nails, and nuts were everywhere. He selected some good ones and loaded them onto the tricycle. There were also water pipes and large coils of electrical wires. These plastic products remained intact after the apocalypse due to their excellent quality.

Zhao Xuan knew nothing about these things. After watching the excitement from behind Lu An for a while without understanding what was going on, she decided to wander around on her own.

Lu An emphasized that she was only allowed to shop inside the mall and absolutely could not go outside.

Zhao Xuan nodded in agreement. It was still raining outside, so she wouldn't go out.

This farmers' market is probably the largest in Taiping Town. After the outbreak of the major disease, this was the first place people thought of. The boxes of rice and grains on the first floor have long since disappeared. Of the few remaining seasonings, half were broken during the looting, and the other half had expired long ago.

No salt or vinegar could be found—if you're not too picky, these two seasonings are still edible even if they're expired.

Sure enough, people everywhere, unsurprisingly, went on a buying spree for salt and vinegar at the onset of the major disease outbreak.

Chili powder and bay leaves are prone to attracting insects. Zhao Xuan only managed to find some Sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon. The mixed seasoning powders had all clumped together into hard lumps, making them probably inedible.

Clutching a pitiful amount of seasoning and a few packets of seeds, she went back upstairs to the second floor.

The farmers' market was looted in the early stages of the major disease outbreak, which was both unfortunate and fortunate, because there were very few supplies left at the beginning. So, over the long five years, many survivors left with regret after seeing the devastation on the first floor and rarely went up to the second floor.

Whether it's machinery, hardware, or plastic sheeting for water pipes, there's a lot of these things left over.

Of course, the fact that they were inedible was also a major reason why they were left over, but these things were treasures in the eyes of Lu An and Zhao Xuan.

Lu An collected very heavy items. He tied the machine materials to the tricycle with rope until it was too full, then moved it to the tricycle Zhao Xuan was riding.

Zhao Xuan's tricycle was two sizes smaller than Lu An's, clearly the kind an old lady would ride for transportation. But Zhao Xuan could only ride this small size—once the tricycle was loaded with goods, the front of the vehicle would become heavy and uncontrollable. Zhao Xuan had never been able to find the knack to turn the front of the vehicle at will. If she were to force herself to ride a larger tricycle, she would only end up crashing into the fields.

Zhao Xuan found a lot of intact pesticides in the shop on the second floor. After thinking it over, she found a cardboard box, put all the pesticides in it, and carried out a sprayer.

The pesticide sprayer looks like a big backpack. The pesticide is diluted inside. You press the handle with one hand and pinch the nozzle with the other hand to spray the pesticide out.

She had seen her grandfather spray pesticides on crops like this before, but she didn't know if these bottles of pesticides were still usable.

Her tricycle was already half full of road debris, and with the things she had looted, it was exactly one cartload.

Later, Lu An found several relatively new shovels, hoes, and other farm tools, bundled them together, and tied them precariously to Zhao Xuan's cart.

The rain continued to fall outside the mall, and the two of them strolled around inside the mall all day, and the spring rain continued to fall all day as well.

They decided to sleep one more night and see how the weather was tomorrow. If the rain stopped by tomorrow, they would head back. If the rain didn't stop by tomorrow, they would definitely head back the day after tomorrow, since they didn't have much food with them.

Zhao Xuan was a little worried about her rice, hoping that the rain in the village wouldn't be too heavy and wouldn't damage her crops.

They hadn't expected things to go so smoothly; they had gathered all the necessary supplies in such a short time. In the remaining time, Lu An carefully studied the instruction manual and installation guide for the turbine generator, while Zhao Xuan, like an old man, inspected every corner of the mall with his hands behind his back.

She originally planned to gather up the things she didn't have time to take and hide them somewhere so she could take them all at once next time she came, but Lu An said that this might give them away to the next wave of survivors who came to loot.

Now that the apocalypse has come to this, there must be quite a few survivors who know how to generate electricity. Everyone is scattered in every corner of the world, and it's hard to guarantee that there won't be others with the same ideas who come here.

The supplies that Zhao Xuan had gathered in a corner saved them the time of searching, which was undoubtedly the squirrel's hiding place for people in the famine.

Zhao Xuan thought it made sense, so he just pursed his lips and gave up.

As darkness fell, they decided to sleep where they were. While the light was still visible, Lu An sat by the tricycle, holding a notebook containing the equipment he had needed before coming. He was currently checking the notes with his head down.

Zhao Xuan had an upset stomach and wanted to go out of the mall to find a place to relieve herself. Lu An wanted to follow her, but she refused.

She wasn't going far; if she encountered danger, she could call out "Lu An" and be heard.

Perhaps due to the labor and the long-term consumption of coarse grains, Zhao Xuan quickly resolved the problem. As she was pinching her nose and walking back along the outer wall of the mall, she suddenly heard a series of light footsteps.

That wasn't Lu An's footsteps.

Lu An's footsteps were steady and familiar; she was very familiar with his stride rhythm. But the sound she heard now was very faint, indicating that the man's steps were not large.

She immediately stopped in her tracks, pressed her back against the wall, and squatted down.

The rain was still falling, and the surroundings were completely dark, except for a faint, deathly white light that shone through the edges of the thick clouds—the moonlight above the clouds.

Using that little light, she saw a figure walking towards her in the distance.

A woman, or perhaps not.

Zhao Xuan saw that the person was hunched over, wearing a dress, holding a tattered umbrella, and walking towards him.

The woman's clothes were dirty and tattered; her skirt had turned into a long, tangled mess of strands. Like many beggars before the apocalypse, she wore layers of clothing, thick and thin, regardless of the heat, simply covering herself with them. Her face was obscured, but her long, matted hair was clearly visible, stuck to her clothes.

Zhao Xuan could only deduce from the figure's appearance that it was a thin person; as for whether it was male or female, he couldn't tell without seeing its face.

It turns out there are still survivors in Taiping Town.

The person who came didn't see Zhao Xuan. She—let's call her "she" for now—was walking in the rain, her much-oversized boots splashing loudly in the puddles. She seemed quite happy, occasionally twirling her umbrella, her steps light and skipping. She didn't make a sound, but it was clear she was pleased with the rain.

All of this seemed very eerie in the deserted town.

Zhao Xuan huddled in a dark corner, motionless, like a stone.

But she watched without blinking as the man walked slowly across the water in the middle of the road...

Only after the figure completely disappeared did Zhao Xuan intend to slowly move back to the mall, but he had only taken a few steps when he bumped into Lu An.

Lu An, holding an axe, shushed her.

Seeing that Zhao Xuan hadn't returned for a long time, he decided to go look for her. Just then, he spotted the silent figure in front of the mall entrance. He immediately turned to pick up the axe, but then stopped, afraid that going out to look for Zhao Xuan now would lead to his discovery. He hadn't heard Zhao Xuan cry for help, so she must be safely hiding somewhere.

Judging from the woman's appearance, she seemed to be a madwoman.

Lu An took Zhao Xuan's hand, and the two quietly returned to the mall.

“She didn’t find us, don’t worry, this mall should still be safe,” Lu An said, then thought for a moment, “Perhaps, she’s the only one left in this town.”

If there were any other survivors in Taiping Town, this madwoman would not have survived.

The two tidied up quickly and planned to go to sleep first so they could leave earlier the next day.

"Don't be afraid," Lu An said gently, holding Zhao Xuan in his arms on the second floor of the mall, his hand covering the back of her head. "I'm here for you."

Zhao Xuan nodded. When it came to encountering strangers, Zhao Xuan always showed more fear than others because she always imagined things would develop in the worst possible way. This way of thinking saved her many times in the apocalypse, but it also tormented her into a frightened bird.

Lu An could guess her thoughts. Most of the survivors of the apocalypse had some kind of mental illness. All he did was try his best to give Zhao Xuan a sense of security.

As Lu An had expected, the night passed quietly.

The next day, the sky cleared up.

Lu An was still worried that it might rain halfway through, so he carefully wrapped the machine with their raincoats.

The ground, softened by the rain, absorbs sound. This time, even though the tricycle was creaking under the weight of the vehicle, it didn't make me as uneasy as when I arrived.

The road was washed clean by the rain, as if no one had passed by the mall last night.

After leaving the farmers' market, Zhao Xuan looked around the town, which remained eerily quiet.

Taiping Town was truly abandoned.

The two or three people they saw last year must have either left or died somewhere here, and the madman who suddenly appeared on the rainy night was probably just passing by.

Or perhaps, that shadow was just a collective hallucination of her and Lu An.

After leaving industry, humanity needs to return to nature to survive, relying on the mountains and rivers for sustenance. These human-built forests of bricks and steel have become nothing more than laughable testaments to the existence of civilization.

"Taiping Town welcomes you back again!"

As he was leaving, Zhao Xuan noticed the following message written on the back of the welcome message.

"Lu'an, let's come back here again next time when farming is less busy. We still have a lot of things to take." Zhao Xuan's tricycle was much lighter than Lu'an's, so she rode in front this time. At this moment, she turned her head slightly to the person behind her and said.

"Okay, next time I come I'll see if they have any clothes or blankets."

The clothes they were wearing were mostly found in the village, primarily in the style of the elderly: long sleeves and trousers, and some loose, cool shirts. Zhao Xuan could manage to wear them, but for the tall and thin Lu An, most of the clothes were too short. He could barely wear the summer clothes, but the heavy winter coats were no good.

Zhao Xuan nodded. They should come again before winter.

The journey back was easier than the way there—even carrying heavy supplies, Zhao Xuan was filled with anticipation. With electricity, they wouldn't have to walk a long way to wash clothes, and the electric lights would give them more time to do other things at night, like mending. Most importantly, with a refrigerator, they wouldn't have to keep eating dried food.

The winding path, made even more lush by the rain of the past two days, and the absence of sun made their journey much more comfortable. Sometimes, when they encountered a steep slope, Zhao Xuan would ride up first, then get off and help Lu An push the tricycle up.

As they walked and stopped, it was evening when they arrived at the tea garden pavilion where they had stopped on their way there.

The two men parked their two small tricycles close to the pavilion and decided to make do with sleeping there for the night.

After the apocalypse, the number of wild animals increased dramatically. Lu An had seen wild boar droppings and footprints more than once deep in the mountains, as well as wild rabbits and pheasants. As for other more ferocious beasts, not seeing them didn't mean they didn't exist. Zhao Xuan's attention was now completely focused on her crops. Her only fear was that wild boars would come down the mountain and destroy her rice. She didn't think much about it as the two of them slept in this lonely pavilion. The day's work made her fall asleep quickly. Lu An, however, dared not sleep soundly. He was worried that wild animals might suddenly appear.

With the axe beside him, he embraced Zhao Xuan, closed his eyes, and listened intently to all the sounds of the wilderness.

He has spent many nights like this over the past few years.

But perhaps not many animals would eat this tea. The night was quiet, and he finally fell into a deep sleep when the first light of dawn appeared in the east.

There was a peculiar unspoken understanding between him and Zhao Xuan. Over the past five years, if one of them fell ill or was injured, the other's potential would be harnessed to maintain a relatively healthy state. This was a subconscious recognition of each other, a characteristic that allowed them to support each other and survive in the apocalypse.

To put it simply, if Zhao Xuan woke up late yesterday, Lu An would definitely wake up early and do everything he could. But today, if Lu An wakes up late, then Zhao Xuan will wake up very early without warning.

Lu An woke up when the sun was high in the sky. He found himself covered with a blanket and next to him was a bowl of sweet porridge with an egg.

Springtime is humid, and even after the sun has risen, you can still see white mist rolling over distant mountains, and dew still clings to shady spots nearby.

The blanket was a little damp after being exposed to the elements overnight. He lifted the blanket, carefully folded it, and put it back in the car. Then, his gaze swept around and he saw a small figure standing not far away.

Zhao Xuan is less than 1.6 meters tall and has a slender frame, which means she is destined not to do heavy work. However, she has an extraordinary talent for farm work that does not require strenuous effort. Now, Lu An watched this little figure wandering among the rows of tea bushes, swaying her head and humming a song, picking something up and down with her arms.

She is picking tea leaves.

She tied the sleeve of a garment around her neck, and the hem was tied into a pocket, hanging it in front of her chest. She worked with both hands at the same time, tossing the tea leaves she picked into the pocket.

This move made Lu An realize that she was a talented person.

Zhao Xuan had never picked tea before, but common sense told her that picking tea required picking the tender tips. Picking tea didn't seem to be a technical job, but the yield was low. After picking for two hours, she only managed to pick one bundle. However, her arms were already very sore, and her fingertips had turned black, whether from dust or tea alkali, and she couldn't remove the blackening even after careful wiping.

Zhao Xuan had made dried vegetables in the winter, so one could roughly estimate how pitiful a small clump these fresh tea leaves would become after drying.

This is far from enough for them to drink for a whole year.

She remembered her grandmother saying that tea from the mountains is best picked around the Qingming Festival. The tea has a sweet taste and is good for the body; even in winter, Qingming tea tastes more fragrant and mellow than other teas.

Unfortunately, Qingming Festival has already passed for a few days, but after rounding up, Zhao Xuan felt that picking tea now could still be considered Qingming tea.

Wipe the dew off the newly grown tea leaves and chew them directly to clean your mouth. The new tea has a slightly bitter taste and a slightly fibrous texture, but if you taste it carefully, you can taste the aroma of the tea.

Lu An came to her side, and after observing for a while, he also began to pick tea, but his technique was a bit clumsy compared to Zhao Xuan, who was self-taught.

They spread out their raincoats in the pavilion to hold the tea leaves they had picked.

Another long silence followed, occasionally broken by Zhao Xuan humming a few lines of a song. The songs she hummed were in various languages, and after humming one song until she couldn't remember the lyrics, she would immediately switch to the next one. Sometimes Lu An could even hear her humming a famous anime theme song, the melody very familiar, but the lyrics flying around incoherently. It was clearly a strange product of her humming without understanding the lyrics, imitating the Japanese pronunciation.

When doing repetitive tasks, people's thoughts often wander far away. Zhao Xuan was tired and would occasionally steal a glance at Lu An, only to find him expressionless and lost in thought.

As the temperature gradually rises, the tea leaves that looked fresh and tender in the early morning are now covered in a deep green color. The bundle made from two raincoats is also stuffed full of tea leaves.

The tea leaves weren't heavy, so they hung them on the side of the tricycle and set off again.

Four days in total, Zhao Xuan calculated exactly. On the evening of the fourth day, after they had finished eating the sweet porridge and eggs, she and Lu An finally arrived at that familiar village.

Pushing open the large iron gate, 460, who had been dozing on the sofa, suddenly sprang up, its black fur standing on end. Upon seeing that the visitors were its owners, it calmed down, but still perked up one ear and barked at them.

That tone seemed to say: So you know how to come back? Where have you been gallivanting off to?!

While calling to it, it walked to its empty food bowl and continued calling, "Do you know I'm starving to death?!"

Before leaving, Zhao Xuan confirmed that she had fed 460, but she immediately realized that, given the dog's temperament, it probably ate all the food on the first day and then went hungry for the next three days.

Lu An thoroughly inspected the house, inside and out. The house was undamaged, and the doors to the rooms where supplies were stored were completely untouched. The chickens next door were also intact; in fact, they had laid three eggs.

It seems 460 has been taking good care of its home these past few days.

Reach out and touch its head.

460 bared its teeth and growled in dissatisfaction, while unconsciously lowering its body slightly to enjoy the petting.

Zhao Xuan washed his hands and prepared to rinse the rice and cook. Lu An was in charge of moving all the supplies into the house and sorting them one by one. 460, unaware of what they had brought back this time, wagged its tail and watched curiously beside him.

After cooking something simple to satisfy their hunger and feeding 460, the two of them went to bed early.

Nothing was said that night.