Chapter 33 Rat Droppings

A week later, Lin Xi had almost used up all the fresh fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, leaving only a few Fuji apples.

The balcony is already full of crops. The first batch of water spinach has grown to about half its original size. The tender green leaves are tinged with a pale yellow, and they look even fresher and crisper after being watered.

Next to it, on a plot of land that covers about a third of the area, are even smaller sprouts, which will mature about a week later than the first batch of water spinach.

The adjacent plot, about a third of the way across, was entirely brown and hadn't sprouted yet. It would mature in about two weeks.

Thin vines have already climbed the upper trellis, and the small green cucumbers are only the size of a finger. They are not growing well, and they are only a few days away from maturity. I'm afraid they won't grow well.

Lin Xi comforted herself, saying that cucumbers are not as easy to grow as water spinach, so she could take it slow and that her vitamin supply would not be interrupted.

She picked the most mature water spinach, preparing to cook a pot of snail rice noodles.

After being cooped up at home for almost a week, it's time to eat something with a strong flavor.

Soon, the house was filled with a delicious aroma. The bright red broth was topped with slices of dried bean curd soaked in the broth and yellow shrimp dumplings. A few slices of green water spinach added a touch of health to this bowl of oily and spicy junk food.

Water spinach with snail rice noodles, one word: absolutely amazing!

The snail rice noodles were piping hot and spicy, and Lin Xi couldn't finish them in one go. She usually liked to watch videos while eating, but after watching dramas and variety shows for several days in a row, she was getting a little bored.

I don't want to open my eyes wide to watch the live news.

On a sudden inspiration, Lin Xi pulled the surveillance monitor to the side of the table.

In the stairwell, Gu Lanjuan and her two grandchildren were found collapsed on the ground, barely alive.

They hadn't been home for almost five days. They had no food, no water, and no bed, forced to sleep on the concrete floor. Even Gu Lanjuan, who doted on her grandson, couldn't bear being Lei Bao's mattress every day.

They look rather pitiful.

But Lin Xi didn't intend to sympathize with them. After all, this family was still clueless in the apocalypse, doing disgusting things that harmed others and themselves all day long, and they didn't deserve sympathy.

After the commotion they caused, Lin Xi regretted installing a security door to ensure the safety of the stairwell. Without the door, these people would have stayed home and wouldn't have dared to cause trouble in the stairwell.

With things escalating like this, these neighbors have become hidden dangers.

However, from a moral standpoint, Lin Xi couldn't lock them out while they were out collecting supplies.

Gu Lanjuan only needs to hold on for a few more hours to wait for the supply team to arrive. At that time, she may be temporarily out of trouble, or she may die at the hands of zombies.

After going out to collect supplies in her previous life, Gu Lanjuan never appeared again.

Lin Xi glanced at the other two neighbors' doors. She expected to see filth everywhere, but surprisingly, only Fu Minjun's door still had dried excrement marks; the excrement on the ground was gone.

Did Li Rong and Fu Minjun's wife come out to clean up the mess?

Since witnessing that farce, Lin Xi has been annoyed and hasn't paid attention to what's happening in the hallway for several days, unaware of what has transpired.

Out of curiosity, she turned on the reverse playback function of the surveillance footage.

However, each time the video was played in reverse, it opened Lin Xi's eyes wide, and this time was no exception—

She smelled the "fragrance" of the snail rice noodles in the bowl and suddenly gagged.

On the screen, Gu Lanjuan, supporting her back and looking dejected, climbed up to the third floor, picked up the things on the ground in front of Fu Minjun's house, and ate them.

have eaten.

While chewing slowly, he squeezed his face together in disgust and gagged twice.

Hearing the vomiting sound and watching the footage, Lin Xi deeply regretted taking the surveillance camera back to put down her food.

Well, I guess I won't be able to finish this bowl of "delicious" snail rice noodles.

Since she couldn't eat anymore, Lin Xi simply replayed the events that happened in the hallway at 8x speed.

After the three families had that fight that day, Gu Lanjuan obediently stayed on the first floor, lying on the cold, hard cement floor.

Unfortunately, Li Rong had a long-standing grudge against her, and finally seized this opportunity to make her look bad. Seeing that she had nothing to eat or drink while she was away, Li Rong enthusiastically cooked a meal for her.

The aroma wafted into the hallway, making Gu Lanjuan, who was both hungry and thirsty, swallow hard. Unfortunately, the sound of cooking attracted a bunch of zombies who banged on the door. Gu Lanjuan was separated from the zombies only by the door, covering her ears and trembling.

I finally understand the disastrous consequences of attracting zombies by insisting on cooking regardless of other people's lives.

Her little Lei Bao fussed for two days, but after all, he's just a child, and after not eating or drinking for so long, he calmed down.

By the sixth day, Lei Bao was almost starving to death. Seeing her dying grandson, Gu Lanjuan felt heartbroken and went to Lin Xi's house again to beg for food.

However, Lin Xi had already blocked the doorbell, and the knocking was not loud, as it was masked by the noise from the projector in Lin Xi's room.

Even if Lin Xi heard it, she wouldn't open the door to deliver the things.

Having witnessed the wickedness of people in the apocalypse, she was determined not to let wolves into her newly built safe haven.

Seeing that Lin Xi didn't respond, Gu Lanjuan had no choice but to try her luck with the other two families. She had already fallen out with them, and it wouldn't be good for her to lower herself to ask for things again; not only would she not get anything, but she would likely be ridiculed as well.

So she asked her husband, Yang Hua, to ask his chess friend, Fu Minjun, for help, but Fu Minjun was kept under his wife's watchful eye and couldn't give her any food.

Gu Lanjuan couldn't bear to watch her grandson starve to death, so she steeled herself and went upstairs to collect the poop he had produced. The poop had been drying for several days and wasn't sticky on her hands. As she collected it, she muttered to herself:

"A boy's excrement doesn't smell bad, and there are even places that use it in medicine. It's fine for my little Lei Bao to eat his own excrement."

She comforted herself while coaxing Lei Bao, "These are the same dried plums you like. You used to love a dried plum called 'rat droppings,' and this is a big 'rat droppings.'"

She was completely unaware that she had just compared her grandson to a "big rat".

The "big rat" weakly lifted its eyelids, thought that what Grandma said made sense, and its stomach was aching from hunger. It opened its mouth and ate the "rat droppings", but spat them out as soon as they entered its mouth.

"It doesn't taste like anything! Grandma's lying! 'Rat droppings' are definitely sweet and sour!"

Gu Lanjuan held Lei Bao in her arms and comforted him for a while, feeling sorry for Lei Bao's hunger and also for the vomit he had spat out.

In her eyes, a boy's excrement was already relatively clean, and she didn't even eat it herself, giving it to Xiao Lei Bao, only to be rejected.

Just as Lin Xi was about to turn off the monitor, gunshots rang out outside, startling the three people in the hallway into huddling together.

Immediately, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Dear citizens, relevant departments are currently clearing out the zombies in the vicinity. Afterwards, security personnel will lead you to collect supplies. Please prepare to go out. Each person will receive one supply; no more than one. During this critical period, armed forces will be available to assist at the supply distribution points."

Gu Lanjuan and Yang Hua exchanged a glance, seeing a glimmer of hope for survival. Both of them stared intently at the monitor screen, observing the movements outside. As soon as they saw the security guard wearing a red armband, they opened the door and followed him out.

They left earlier than in their previous life, since this time they were forced to live in the stairwell, and if they didn't leave, they would starve to death sooner or later.