A dozen minutes later, Bi Qiaoan chopped the vegetables and plated them. Shen Yanming took out an induction cooker from the cupboard, placed it on the coffee table in the living room, plugged it in, and then turned around and went back to the kitchen to take out a double-flavored hot pot. He put in the hot pot ingredients that Shen Yanming had bought from Qingcheng in the South Province, added water, and turned on the heat to cook.
Mmm, it smells amazing.
Bi Qiaoan placed the vegetables next to the induction cooker, including garland chrysanthemum, romaine lettuce, round lettuce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lotus root slices, and yams. Shen Yanming also took out taro noodles, bean curd sheets, mutton rolls, shrimp, and crab roe dumplings from his spatial storage.
Bi Qiaoan made two more trips to the kitchen, bringing back several small bowls, along with sesame paste, chive blossom sauce, crushed sesame and peanuts, chili oil, fermented bean curd, vinegar, and light soy sauce.
"I don't know what kind of dipping sauce they like. We'll just have to make it ourselves when they get here!" Bi Qiaoan scooped up a spoonful of sesame paste, added chive blossom sauce, chili oil, and crushed peanuts, and stirred it in.
"Okay, can you make me a copy, just like yours?" Shen Yanming said, taking out a bottle of red wine and opening it.
"Okay!" Bi Qiaoan picked up a bowl and mixed the dipping sauce again. "Do you think Zhang Heping's girlfriend will come?"
“They didn’t say, so they probably won’t come!” Shen Yanming said, raising an eyebrow.
“I only saw you once during the Chinese New Year. That’s the good thing about living in a high-rise; you only see each other a few times a year.” Bi Qiaoan said, chuckling like a little fox.
"I thought you were going to say that living on a high floor is bad!"
"No way, once we close the door, no one outside will know what we're doing inside. Even if we're having a good meal, no one outside can smell it, and no one will suddenly barge in."
Bi Qiaoan nodded as she spoke, "At least for people like us who have secrets, it's still very friendly."
Shen Yanming laughed when he heard this, "It's convenient for now, but living in an apartment building will be a nightmare in the second half of the year."
"Oh dear, why are you bringing up such interesting things? Really!" Bi Qiaoan immediately knew what Shen Yanming was implying and gave him a killer look.
"Besides, if there are power outages in the future, it will be inconvenient for us to go up and down the stairs. You know, we live on the sixteenth floor!"
“Each has its advantages. In winter, buildings like ours are even better at keeping the house warm.” Bi Qiaoan stopped talking when she heard the doorbell ring. “I’ll go open the door.”
Sure enough, there were three grown men at the door; there were no women.
After changing into slippers, Zhang Heping, Ji Kangyong, and Li Zhaozhao found seats on their own without needing Bi Qiaoan's invitation.
"Why did you come over today?" Shen Yanming poured a glass of red wine for the three of them. "Try it, it's something I brought back from the country of Ai."
"Old Shen, you're amazing! I only called you half an hour in advance, and you've prepared everything so thoroughly!" Zhang Heping couldn't take his eyes off the delicious food on the coffee table.
“We always keep some in the refrigerator. And, didn’t you notice?” Shen Yanming gestured with his eyes, “Now all the major media outlets are heavily promoting how to farm. What does that mean? It means that we will most likely have to farm in the future!”
Shen Yanming pointed to his guest bedroom and said, "Go take a look. I've turned the bedroom into a vegetable room."
Ji Kangyong glanced at the farming variety show playing on the TV screen and asked, "So, the higher-ups know about this?"
“Definitely, and I suspect the Zhang family reported the news.” Li Zhaozhao’s fat face twitched. “Let me tell you, the Zhang family has two martial arts practitioners living there. I heard they’re from the capital. I’ve observed them, and they’re always with the Zhang family’s little princess. It seems the news was given to them by Zhang Chenjun.”
"Let's just pretend we don't know anything. In a way, the Zhang family saved us from disaster," Ji Kangyong remarked.
"You can't say that. Our actions were small-scale, but the Zhang family really didn't try to cover it up." Zhang Heping shook his head. "It would have been better if we hadn't investigated, because once we did, we found out everything."
“Strictly speaking, the Zhang family hasn’t done anything heinous. In a way, they could be considered heroes. The information they provided could save countless families in the future. Compared to them, we’re just cowardly and afraid of being exposed.”
"But I think our Qinghua Kingdom is pretty good. It's just that the Zhang family reported the news, and I heard that the supplies and such still belong to the Zhang family. The two people left behind were only to protect Zhang Chenjun and to pass on any new information in a timely manner." Li Zhaozhao said a fair word.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go take a look at Yanming's greenhouse, oh no, I mean vegetable garden." Ji Kangyong interrupted the two with a smile, got up and walked towards the guest room.
"What are all these plants? Yanming, can you tell us?" Li Zhaozhao looked at the neatly arranged flowerpots in the guest room, some bare and some with lush foliage.
“The bare trees are all vegetables; the seeds were just sown and haven’t sprouted yet. The ones with leaves are fruit seedlings; they were planted last year.” Shen Yanming stepped forward and lifted a green leaf. “See? They’ve all borne fruit.”
"Damn, I didn't expect you to have this trick up your sleeve. I'll take this bowl!" Li Zhaozhao, swaying his fat, stepped forward and snatched the bowl of strawberries next to Shen Yanming.
Shen Yanming chuckled, "Alright, each of you pick one basin when you leave. Let's go eat first, the pot has been boiling for a while now."
The four sat down again at the coffee table. "You three make your own sauce."
Seeing that everyone had returned, Bi Qiaoan picked up some vegetables and mutton and put them into the pot. Looking at Zhang Heping, she asked, "Where's your girlfriend? Why didn't she come today?"
"She went back to her hometown, saying she hadn't been back in a long time," Zhang Heping said casually.
"Hey, Zhang Heping, you have a girlfriend now? Why haven't I heard you say anything?" Ji Kangyong asked, looking at Zhang Heping.
"I bought a house, and when my aunt heard about it, she insisted on introducing me to potential partners. I said no, but she brought them right to me. I couldn't refuse, so I figured I might as well give it a try. Anyway, I'm not the one who'll suffer!" Zhang Heping said with a smile to everyone.
"What's the situation with that girl?" Shen Yanming asked.
“She’s a relative from my aunt’s side of the family, and we seem to be quite distant. I don’t know what she was thinking, insisting on putting her next to me,” Zhang Heping said, pursing his lips.
"If you're not happy, just firmly refuse. What's wrong with you? Aren't you afraid that woman will cling to you?" Li Zhaozhao slapped Zhang Heping on the back, exasperated.
"How can she pester me? All I have now is a house and a job, but what do those things mean in the apocalypse? Besides, social order is still intact. Can she force me to marry her?"
Zhang Heping thought for a moment and continued, "If she really wants to cheat, she'll figure out a way when she can't afford to eat. As for my things, I will absolutely not tell her."
Bi Qiaoan swallowed the mutton in her mouth and said, "Don't be too pessimistic. Who knows, that girl might be nice."
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