Chapter 22 Dried Plum Vegetable Pancakes
The four of them decided to look for Jiguang Warehouse at dawn the next day, and spend the night at the farmers' market.
Lu An was more familiar with Taiping Town than the others, so he took two empty buckets to a small river outside the town to fetch some water.
Yao Yuan found two chairs, split them with an axe, and started a bonfire in the open space on the first floor of the farmers' market. He also removed a few plastic partitions to cover some of the windows that let in light, so that the outside could not see the firelight inside. Zhang Xiaohe knelt by the bonfire and prepared dinner.
With nothing else to do, Zhao Xuan searched the second floor again, this time aiming to find some winter clothes, blankets, and plastic sheeting for hanging sheds. Winter clothes and blankets were definitely not available at the farmers' market, but plastic sheeting for hanging sheds was plentiful. These neatly packaged rolls of plastic film were common in various farm tool shops; some were white and transparent, others black, and there were also many sturdy striped sheets, which could be used to make poultry fences. Zhao Xuan picked and chose, carrying out several large bundles of well-preserved ones, intending to pile them up first and then carry them downstairs together. Then she peeked out at Zhang Xiaohe downstairs: "Sister Xiaohe, do you need hanging shed paper? For growing vegetables in winter. If so, I'll find you a few rolls too."
After obtaining Zhang Xiaohe's consent, she searched deeper and found several good rolls of supplies, which she piled together with her own.
After Zhao Xuan loaded several large bundles of plastic film onto the tricycle, Lu An returned with two large buckets of water, while Zhang Xiaohe prepared dinner.
The two buckets of water were fetched by Lu An from a small river outside the town. They were not for drinking, but they could be used to wet towels to wipe themselves. Lu An left one bucket for the Yao couple, and used the other with Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan found a corner and wiped her face and body with a towel, feeling much refreshed. She had been cycling all day and carrying supplies up and down the mountain for a long time, and was covered in sweat. When she returned to the campfire, Zhang Xiaohe handed her a warmed flatbread.
The preserved vegetable flatbread was large and golden-yellow. Slowly heated by the campfire, the oil inside had seeped out, and a considerable amount of the meat filling had also seeped out. Clearly, Zhang Xiaohe had used all the meat Zhao Xuan had given her to make flatbreads, hence the roughly equal ratio of preserved vegetables to meat filling.
Having been starving all day, Zhao Xuan took a huge bite. The crispy outer layer exploded in her mouth like a firecracker, perfectly complementing the sizzling, oily filling—it was simply divine. She tasted that the seasoning contained not only preserved vegetables and meat, but also scallions and chili flakes, making it both salty and spicy.
Zhao Xuan asked, "Sister Xiaohe, why is this baked flatbread so crispy?" She had eaten baked flatbread before after the apocalypse. Since it didn't require yeast and could be made by adding some water, she had made it before. The filling was naturally not as rich, but the flatbread she made was dry and hard, and not very tasty.
Zhang Xiaohe smiled and said softly, "You should put the rolled-out dough in water before baking it, then it will be crispy."
"That simple?"
Zhang Xiaohe nodded: "I learned this from some older women at the previous camp. They were really good at it. Some of them could make vinegar, preserved eggs, sausages, and some could even make soy sauce. It's just a pity..." At this point, she changed her tone and handed Zhao Xuan a bowl of water: "Eat slowly, don't choke. We'll be eating this for the next few days. You'll get tired of it after a few more meals."
The Yao couple not only prepared a lot of dried plum and vegetable pancakes, but also brought some plums. The four of them ate the pancakes and some fruit, then extinguished the campfire and went to sleep.
No one took the night watch, because Lu An and Yao Yuan both felt that Taiping Town was deserted at the moment. Besides, everyone was tired after a long day, and they would probably have to put in a lot of effort tomorrow, so it wasn't worth it for anyone to take the night watch now.
Zhao Xuan suddenly woke up in the middle of the night.
She felt someone was watching her.
This might be an absurd illusion. She and Lu An were sleeping in a corner of the market, and the Yao couple were sleeping not far away. She was certain that there was no one else on the empty first floor of the market, and this feeling of being watched was nonsense, unless someone was outside and peering through the glass.
But what normal person would do that? If they wanted to rob, they could have raided them while they were all asleep; if they weren't going to rob, they probably would have already run far away.
So it must just be my imagination.
Zhao Xuan moved closer to Lu An. It was hot, and they would inevitably sweat if they were close together, but Zhao Xuan only felt at ease when she was near Lu An. As if out of habit, Lu An reached out and gently hugged her while she was sleeping.
I spent the night in this anxious state, but nothing happened.
The next morning, Lu An helped Yao Yuan carry several coils of electrical wire and other odds and ends before setting off. Taiping Town wasn't large, and the four tricycles quickly arrived at Jiguang Street. Searching down the street, they soon found the entrance to the Jiguang Warehouse. The warehouse was quite large, consisting of three warehouses. As expected, this warehouse had been looted multiple times, with large holes smashed into the walls everywhere. They entered the first warehouse and found a large hole in the roof, with rainwater pouring down, soaking everything inside. The cardboard, after being soaked in rainwater and then baked by the sun, emitted a foul smell. Zhao Xuan didn't even know what was inside; there was a sticky black liquid everywhere. Fearing that these things would attract germs, Lu An covered himself with a towel and walked around a few times before coming out.
"Let's go, there should be some food stored in here," he said, walking towards warehouse number two.
Warehouse No. 1 stored food with a very short shelf life. Some of it was looted at the beginning of the apocalypse, and the rest quickly spoiled and rotted, turning into a pile of garbage that no one wanted to go near again.
Warehouses number two and three were slightly better from the outside, and they mainly stored supplies that humans would not need for the time being after the apocalypse. Zhao Xuan saw many electrical appliances, electric fans, washing machines, and the like, some of which were still in their packaging and covered in thick dust on rusty shelves.
Compared to Warehouse No. 1, this place is noticeably cleaner, but there is still rotting matter everywhere, smashed boxes, overturned shelves, and a complete mess.
Lu An found a ladder, climbed up to the top of the shelf to check. The warehouse goods were stored in a regular way, and soon he heard him shouting from one side: "Brother Yuan, over here!"
Yao Yuan and Zhang Xiaohe immediately ran over, and Zhao Xuan followed. They saw Lu An pointing to a corner with a flashlight and saying, "One, two... a total of five units."
The five turbine generators had never been touched and were in perfect condition. If it weren't for the dust, one would think they were just some of the machines that had recently been put into storage.
Zhao Xuan looked up at the relatively intact tall shelves. Sure enough, they contained some hard items, such as iron wire, water pipes, and steel bars. Even now, they wouldn't use these things much. If they needed them, they could just go to any empty room and take them out. There was no need to come here specifically to get them.
Zhao Xuan also saw some plastic products, such as plastic gloves and rain boots. Unfortunately, many of the outer packaging had been chewed up by rats. These things, exposed to an uncontrolled warehouse, had melted after a few years, and the remaining ones crumbled at the slightest touch. She picked out a few umbrellas; they were badly rusted, but applying some oil should make them usable.
As Zhao Xuan was closing his umbrella, he suddenly turned around for no apparent reason and glanced at the four tricycles parked not far away. He heard Lu An whispering in his ear, saying that the turbine generators were well preserved and should be usable.
Zhao Xuan didn't know why she turned back; it was a sign of her insecurity.
Perhaps she was just being too sensitive. Shaking off those strange thoughts once more, her eyes were quickly drawn to a cluster of gleaming objects beneath the shelf.
Because of the limitations of human vision, the first supplies taken are always those at eye level, followed by looking up. Looking up is a relatively easy action, and people rarely bend down to look at things at their feet when they are frantically looting supplies. This also led Zhao Xuan, who likes to scavenge, to develop the habit of looking down and bending over to find things.
Most people who survive the apocalypse are still somewhat intelligent.
There was a row of beautiful glass jars with sealed lids. Some of the cardboard packaging had been chewed up by rats, revealing the glass inside, which reflected a not-too-dazzling brilliance in the sunlight streaming in through the holes in the warehouse.
Even covered in dust, Zhao Xuan could still tell how beautiful the glass jar was.
She squatted down, carried out the large cardboard boxes, tore open the dusty outer packaging, revealing the translucent vessels inside.
The inventory numbers marked on the boxes were roughly the same as the plastic products she had seen before, indicating that some small supermarket had stocked up here. Inside one large box were eight glass jars of the same model, so there were eight different sizes but identical shapes. The larger ones could be used to make liquor, while the smaller ones could be held in one hand and were perfect for storing sugar or salt.
Zhao Xuan really liked these jars, mainly because they all had airtight lids, making them extremely convenient for storing food.
Lu An appeared out of nowhere. He crossed his arms and watched Zhao Xuan squatting there, grinning foolishly as he wiped the jars clean with the corner of his clothes. After admiring them in the sunlight for a while, he finally put the jars back in their original places with a satisfied look.
He asked, "Aren't you taking them with you?"
Zhao Xuan was startled and turned around. She narrowed her brown eyes and said casually, "No, there are still so many glass jars. It's not easy to transport them back."
“I’ll find some hay to wrap them all up, that will bring me good luck, and then…” He rolled his eyes, “when I see a small supermarket, I’ll go and take down a few aluminum shelves, and I can put them out when I get home.”
Zhao Xuan nodded instantly.
Then Lu An added, "Perhaps we don't need hay bales; cotton blankets and clothes will do, right? Weren't you planning to find some winter clothes to take home this time?"
The winter clothes they needed were in a residential building near the warehouse.
Indeed, in the early days of the apocalypse, the Jiguang Warehouse and the farmers' market were like torches in the darkness, attracting wave after wave of survivors. The areas near these conspicuous torches were like the darkest parts of the light, and were often easily overlooked.
Because Taiping Town is not large enough, it did not separate a commercial area from a residential area. Therefore, there should still be some supplies left behind in the residential buildings next to the warehouse.
These were things that Lu An had noticed long ago.
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