"Company Commander He, here to deliver the vegetables."

"Yes, the vegetables just came out, and your kitchen is in a hurry to cook them, so we're bringing them to you right away."

He Guiqi greeted the head chef in the kitchen with a smile.

Yu Lianhai was promoted to deputy battalion commander, his deputy was promoted to company commander of the planting company, and He Guiqi was promoted to deputy company commander.

There was no need for him, the deputy company commander, to do the job of delivering vegetables. Everyone in the planting company knew that his favorite job was delivering vegetables to the kitchen, so naturally no one would compete with him for it.

The head chef deftly turned on the stove. "Please have a seat, it will be ready soon."

The troops eat two meals a day, and the evening meal is still a while away, so now is the time when the kitchen is least crowded.

He Guiqi waved his hand, "No rush, no rush."

He pulled a tattered cigarette case from his pocket, took out most of a cigarette, lit it on the stove, and took a satisfying drag.

The cigarettes had been stored for too long and had become damp, so they tasted raw and astringent when smoked.

He Guiqi exhaled a smoke ring contentedly. He was already grateful to have any cigarettes at all, and this half-pack was something he had swiped from that old guy Zhao Hongyi.

While cooking, the head chef glanced enviously at He Guiqi, licked his lips, and thought that he used to smoke a couple of times before the apocalypse, and now he was grateful to even smell the smoke.

The dishes were quickly cooked: stir-fried dried fish with scallions and two dark, mixed-grain steamed buns.

The fish are caught from the deep sea, where no vegetation grows. The wild animals on the mountain either starve to death or are eaten by humans. Everyone is reaching for the sea, and if this continues, the fish will probably become extinct soon.

Scallions are grown in various places, but the yield is not high, and not everyone can afford to eat them.

He used very little oil, just a couple of drops to wet the pan, but even so, He Guiqi was already very satisfied.

I couldn't bear to throw away the cigarette butt, so I stubbed it out and left it on the table to cool down before putting it in the cigarette pack. I can still take a few puffs next time.

The head chef, unfazed, chuckled and said:

"The mixed grain buns aren't too cold, so I didn't heat them up. Please eat them first, and I'll make you a bowl of hot soup later."

Firewood was scarce, but things improved somewhat after the biogas digester was built at the base. After living in such a tight economy for so long, everyone became frugal and avoided using fire if possible.

It's already a great honor that He Guiqi was given special treatment by the head chef.

Rubbing his hands together, He Guiqi looked greedy, but said something he didn't mean:

"Don't bother, have a bite to eat with us."

He delivers food to the kitchen just for this one bite; there is no greater happiness than this.

"I've already eaten, I've already eaten. You can eat now, it'll be ready in a little while."

He Guiqi didn't show any humility; no one could possibly starve, not even the head chef.

He picked up a grain bun, took a big bite, and chewed for a long time, but couldn't tell what it was made of. He Guiqi didn't ask, afraid that if he did, he wouldn't be able to swallow it.

The dried fish was very salty, so salty it was almost bitter. It wasn't that too much salt was added, but rather that the salt was crudely refined and was inherently bitter. Yet, He Guiqi still ate it with great relish.

The head chef placed a bowl of hot soup in front of He Guiqi:

"Have something hot to drink, to warm yourself up."

The base provides hot water uniformly, half a kettle per person per day. All places that need hot water can only use that half kettle.

If we want to think of anything else, we can only find a solution ourselves. The mountain has been stripped bare by everyone, so there are limited options available. Even getting a hot drink is not easy.

Taking a sip, He Guiqi nodded repeatedly: "Mmm, fresh, fresh, delicious."

It's called soup, but it's really just a bowl of hot water with a few scallion rings floating on top.

The head chef looked smug:

"That's right, I used some shrimp oil and added a couple of drops to the soup, how could it not be delicious?"

The head chef is a smooth operator. A smooth operator must tell the leader what he has done, otherwise, how will the leader know what he has done?

He took out his cigarette case, tossed a cigarette to the chef, and said, "Thank you."

The head chef looked delighted and exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh, I can't accept this!"

She tucked the item into her ear as she spoke, without any hesitation.

"What's there to be embarrassed about with me? I'm so grateful for your help."

One was grateful, and the other was good at handling things; they quickly hit it off.

As we chatted, we talked about recent happenings. The military canteen was bustling with people, and everyone was well-informed.

"Hey, there really is something new, Company Commander He. How many years has it been since we've seen anything other than a human?"

He Guiqi looked up: "What do you mean?"

The head chef looked excited:

“I heard that yesterday, some of them saw a big dog, a wolf, and a fat rabbit.”

Rabbit? The image of Sister Zuo's little one flashed through He Guiqi's mind.

"The soldiers who came back said the big dog was this big..."

The head chef gestured to indicate its size, "It's huge, with shiny fur like satin. The young soldiers are so envious."

Sister Zuo's big dog is very well cared for; its fur is shiny and smooth...

Rabbit, big dog? He Guiqi seemed to have been struck by lightning, could it be...?

He jumped up, grabbed the head chef, and demanded, "Who saw them? Where are they now?"

The head chef was startled and stammered, "It's...it's...it's a young soldier from the base."

Where are they?

The head chef blinked and asked, "Where's the big dog? Why is Company Commander He asking about people? What's going on?"

"I... I don't know either. They said the three men with the big dog got into a conflict with the young soldiers in the base and then left."

He Guiqi hurriedly walked out, but halfway there he remembered that he hadn't finished eating. He turned back, shoveled the remaining dishes into his mouth, drank the soup in one gulp, and stuffed the remaining cornbread into his pocket.

"Thanks, I'll come see you again next time."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already run far away.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!