Chapter 31 Chapter 31 You are the head of the family

*

The living room could barely accommodate thirteen people, but Zheng Yijie knew the difference between men and women, so he cleaned up the study and left it for the three grown men to live in alone.

There was no bed, they still slept on the floor. On the left side, there was the sound of steady breathing, and on the right side, there was loud snoring. Gu Mengran was sandwiched between the two people, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, not feeling sleepy at all.

He just rested and said he wanted to leave again. Gu Mengran felt a little tired.

Judging from what he knows now, it is right to leave as soon as possible and stay away from the disputes. He does not want his family and a group of children to wade into this unfathomable turmoil.

It is obviously not possible to just leave, they need transportation.

The continued high temperature made the zombie cars parked on the road almost unusable. When Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao were looking for a place to stay in the afternoon, they noticed that the tires of most cars had collapsed, not just one or two.

Where else can I find a car?

Gu Mengran was so worried that he turned over slowly.

"Not asleep yet?"

As soon as I turned my face to the left, Liang Zhao's deliberately lowered voice rang in my ears.

The distance was very close, and the other party's warm breath brushed against his face. Gu Mengran looked into Liang Zhao's gleaming black eyes and hummed softly.

"Thinking about the car?" Liang Zhao lay on his side with his arms as a pillow, staring at Gu Mengran under the cover of night.

Gu Mengran was unaware of what was happening, but he immediately laughed out loud when he heard Liang Zhao's words, "You can read my mind, right, Liang Zhao? You can always guess what I'm thinking."

"Your thoughts are written on your face. They show clearly."

"Your eyesight is pretty good, can you see in this dark?"

Liang Zhao raised his lips slightly, and a low laugh escaped from his lips. "We already have the ability to read minds, so it doesn't seem too much to have more night vision glasses?"

Chatting is a good way to relax. After just a few words, most of the depression in Gu Mengran's heart was relieved. Liang Zhao's lazy and casual voice was like a hypnotic whisper. Gu Mengran covered his mouth and yawned unconsciously.

"So do you have any good suggestions? Where should we find a car?"

Liang Zhao gave a standard answer without even thinking about it: "It's not hard to find a car. Shopping malls, hotels and residences usually have underground parking lots. The temperature underground is not as high as on the ground, so there should be a lot of cars that can be driven, but..."

"Just what?" Gu Mengran asked blankly.

Liang Zhao smiled meaningfully, "There is no car key."

Most of the cars parked on the roadside were abandoned by their owners when they fled, and many of them were not locked or had their keys removed. The cars in the parking lot were definitely locked up.

As if he knew something by mentioning this, Gu Mengran touched his nose unnaturally and said vaguely: "Well, I'll give it a try when the time comes. I'll tell you first, I may not be able to do it."

Liang Zhao smiled without saying a word, his deep eyes glowing in the darkness, as if he could see through everything.

Gu Mengran was frightened by his gaze and changed the subject abruptly: "Let's do the same as today and look in the buildings that haven't completely collapsed. We shouldn't go too far, just look nearby to avoid running into the group that Zheng Yijie mentioned."

"Are you going tomorrow? But aren't you tired after driving for such a long time with such concentration? Do you want to rest for two days?"

Gu Mengran was not very content and poked Liang Zhao's arm with his index finger.

Liang Zhao lowered his eyes to glance at the messy hand and shook his head gently: "It's not time to rest yet, we have to find a car and leave as soon as possible."

After saying this, Liang Zhao seemed to have thought of something again. He slowly raised his drooping eyes and met Gu Mengran's gaze again. "Have you considered it? Zheng Yijie, are you planning to take him with you?"

Gu Mengran frowned: "You and grandpa are always like this, not worrying about anything and letting me make all the decisions. Didn't we agree to be a family? You also tell me, do you want to take him with you?"

"You are the head of the family, you have the final say." Liang Zhao cleverly avoided the question.

Gu Mengran insisted: "Hurry up, you make the decision this time."

"Hmm... let me think about it."

In Gu Mengran's expectant eyes, Liang Zhao thought briefly for two seconds and gave the answer in a gentle voice: "Take him with you. We don't have much supplies, and if we don't take him with us, we will have to waste time collecting supplies. Moreover, he is a local and is familiar with the surroundings. He knows where there are hotels and shopping malls, which will help us find a car."

It's all about interests, not emotions. Liang Zhao added, "We should take him on the Wind Wing. We can send the kid to a regular base at the same time, so he can be taken care of on the way."

"Great minds think alike." Gu Mengran patted him on the shoulder excitedly. "See, it's not difficult to make a decision. You should make more decisions in the future and help me share some of the burden."

It's not that Liang Zhao has to make the decision. Gu Mengran wants Liang Zhao to take that step, not to consider himself an outsider, not to be hesitant and afraid to integrate, and not to always stay on the edge.

In fact, their identities have been exchanged. In his previous life, Gu Mengran was also so uneasy when he was "living under someone else's roof". It was Liang Zhao who pulled him back little by little, back to this not-so-beautiful but still caring world.

*

It was a rare opportunity to have a place where one could stretch out one's legs and sleep, and as expected, everyone woke up late the next day, sleeping until noon.

Gu Mengran was undoubtedly the last one to arrive. He glanced at the time and saw that it was already twelve o'clock. When he finished washing, changed his clothes and walked out of the study again, the others were already sitting at the dining table enjoying a delicious lunch.

"Are you up? Come on, I just finished eating, sit there."

As if knowing that Gu Mengran was the backbone of this group of people, Zheng Yijie was particularly enthusiastic. Seeing Gu Mengran coming out of the aisle, he quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks to greet Gu Mengran, and pointed to the empty seat next to Liang Zhao.

"Wow, such a rich feast!" Smelling the complex aroma of food in the air, Gu Mengran walked quickly towards the dining table which was not very big but was almost piled high with delicious food.

Eggplant with fish sauce, braised pork with preserved vegetables, curry chicken, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, seaweed egg drop soup... more than ten different dishes, both meat and vegetarian, all delicious and tasty. Compared with yesterday's two dishes and one rice porridge, it was simply a state banquet!

Gu Mengran stared at the table in a daze, and with difficulty turned his gaze to Zheng Yijie. He was silent for nearly half a minute before pointing at the table and slowly speaking: "No, where did the dishes come from, where did so much meat come from?"

Did you go out to look for supplies while he was sleeping?

That's not true. If the temperature continues to be high, fresh meat will have turned into a pool of rotten water.

"You don't understand this."

When Gu Mengran was puzzled, Zheng Yijie smiled proudly and said mysteriously: "The advancement of technology is to help humans be lazy. I declare that the greatest invention of the 21st century has been born, and that is - pre-prepared meals."

Pre-prepared meals? Gu Mengran had heard of this.

There was a lot of noise online some time ago, saying that unscrupulous businesses were selling inferior products as good ones and using pre-prepared dishes instead of freshly cooked ones for takeout.

"I ordered takeout because I was lazy, but I didn't expect the store owner to be lazier than me."

There were more negative reviews than positive ones, but Gu Mengran never paid attention to this thing and didn't even think about it when he was stocking up on supplies.

Now looking at the table full of hot dishes, Gu Mengran couldn't help but sigh: What a great invention.

As for whether it is hygienic or not, whether it is nutritious or not...it's the end of the world now!

Seeing that Gu Mengran frowned and didn't speak for a long time, Zheng Yijie really thought he was worried about health issues. He put down his chopsticks and explained: "I stock up on pre-prepared meals from big brands. The prices are not low. They are not made by those unscrupulous small workshops. You don't have to worry about hygiene issues. Children can eat them too."

"I know. I was just wondering why I didn't buy some at the beginning. This thing is really convenient." Gu Mengran smiled, pulled out a chair and sat next to Liang Zhao.

Zheng Yijie burst into laughter. "Really? I looked up a lot of stocking guides. There's still some in the refrigerator. I bought two large refrigerators to store pre-prepared meals. I can eat for a long time by myself. But the generator power is not enough. With two refrigerators, I can only turn on the lights, and the air conditioner is useless."

It's useless to install it even if you can carry it. In such a hot day, if you put the outdoor unit of the ordinary air conditioner outdoors, it will be scrapped in no time. Gu Mengran smiled and didn't say this out loud.

The delicious meal made people happy. Perhaps it was because they hadn’t had a real meal for a long time. The eight children squatted on the mat and ate their food around the tea table.

The two teachers picked up food and poured water for them from time to time. The chewing sounds were accompanied by the children's laughter. It somehow felt like a team-building activity in a kindergarten.

Happiness is always short-lived. After adding a bowl of rice and sitting back in his seat, Gu Mengran looked at Zheng Yijie who was eating rice and broke the happy atmosphere by asking, "Zheng Yijie, is the underground parking lot in your community still accessible?"

"Underground parking lot?" Zheng Yijie swallowed the food in his mouth, "Our community is an old one, it's been around for many years, and there is no underground parking lot at all."

Gu Mengran took a piece of curry chicken and asked, "Are there any shopping malls, hotels, or other places that haven't collapsed completely? Are there any nearby?"

"Yes." Zheng Yijie nodded heavily. "Are you going out to find a car today? I know where there is an underground parking lot. Just go out of our community. There is a crossroads in front. Follow that road--"

"Wait wait, you're not going with me?" Gu Mengran asked.

Zheng Yijie paused for a moment while picking up the food, and looked hesitant. "I, I... Hey! Well, actually I haven't decided whether I want to go with you guys."

"Don't you want to leave as soon as possible?" Meng Gaoyang looked at him in surprise.

Zheng Yijie put down his chopsticks and lowered his head. "I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but, but there were too many of you. I thought about it again last night, and I still feel a little conflicted."

He said it very tactfully, and others understood what he meant.

No one spoke for a while. Wei Qianlan put down her bowl and chopsticks, pursed her lips and looked at Zheng Yijie, "Don't worry, we won't fall behind. The children have been very well behaved along the way, we..."

"That's not what I meant." Zheng Yijie looked embarrassed.

That's what you mean! Gu Mengran complained silently.

Whether to go or not is entirely up to your own will and cannot be forced.

After finishing his last bite of rice, Liang Zhao put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, "Then you think about it again and tell us the exact location. We will look for it after dinner."

"I'll go with you." Zhou Qin, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

Wei Qianlan quickly raised her hand: "I'll go too."

"Then who will take care of the children? Me?" The old man was dumbfounded.

Gu Mengran chuckled, "What are you doing? People told us to be careful. Are you afraid that others might see you when you go out with so many people? You all stay here and rest. Liang Zhao and I will go."

"You've been driving for so long, it's you who should take a break."

"Teacher Wei, Teacher Zhou, we don't know how to take care of children. We should deal with professional matters professionally. You are the only ones who have to bear this hardship."

Emotions are contagious. A group of survivors who had just met each other helped and supported each other and overcame difficulties together. Zheng Yijie's eyes were inexplicably warm, and the thought of retreating disappeared.

Just looking for a car! Zheng Yijie gritted his teeth and said, "I'll take you there!"