Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Surprises Brought by Fruits Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Surprises Brought by Fruits Cheng Yang was practicing in the yard when he saw Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng return. He shouted excitedly, “Brother, sister, you’re back!” He rushed over to help Lu Ruisheng with the pushcart.
Chen Lang heard the noise and ran out to help Lu Ruisheng as well.
Gu Pan handed two bags of food and clothing from the cart to Cheng Yang and Chen Lang, instructing them to take it inside, while the rest could stay on the cart for now.
Inside the house, after setting down the items, Cheng Yang quickly picked up the walkie-talkie to call everyone, announcing that Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng had returned.
Chen Lang, overly eager, ran to fetch water for them, resembling a child whose ho is visited by distant relatives bearing gifts. Perhaps it was because such cheerful monts were rare in the apocalypse, so these activities excited Chen Lang particularly.
Gu Pan smiled at Chen Lang, “You and Cheng Yang better get everything out, or it’ll spoil. It’s all tasty stuff.”
Chen Lang, thrilled, began unpacking the bags. When he pulled out an apple, his surprise was so great he almost lost composure, “An apple?”
Cheng Yang, hearing these words, hurried over, “Let sll it.”
Gu Pan felt a pang of distress. In the apocalypse, this was how people survived. They occasionally enjoyed such fresh items only because they knew her, while others might have forgotten what these were.
Cheng Yang then found oranges, cabbage, potatoes, and at.
These items were chosen because they stored well. If they had brought tender greens over such a distance without spoiling, that would have been surprising.
The at was salted, so it wouldn’t spoil easily, though the taste might not be the best. But that was the only option, as bringing fresh at over such a distance wasn’t practical.
As Cheng Yang and Chen Lang unpacked, Chen Shaonan, Duan Shui, Feng Zhekai, and Lu Xuerong also ca in.
Seeing the items on the table, they were all astonished and rushed over to touch and sll the fruits and vegetables, reminiscent of old tis.
Gu Pan declared, “The fruit has been washed already, eat it quick before it goes bad.”
Because Gu Pan usually washed anything she ate in advance to avoid using rainwater or other types of water, ensuring her food was clean and safe since she wasn’t short of water.
Duan Shui, looking at the tempting fruits, suggested quickly, “We shouldn’t eat them just like this; it’s such a pity. Maybe we can make preserves? They’d last longer.”
Gu Pan urged, “Let’s all try the fresh fruits first. We haven’t had them for so long, have we?”
Then, leading by example, she bit into an apple, “Let’s not think too much today and indulge for once.”
Lu Ruisheng followed by peeling an orange and eating a segnt, “It’s delicious. You all should try it too.”
Seeing them eat and slling the tempting aroma, everyone couldn’t resist and started to join in.
As they ate, tears filled Lu Xuerong’s eyes, “I thought I would never get to eat fruits again in my lifeti.”
Gu Pan assured, “We must keep living well. The apocalypse will eventually pass, and even if it doesn’t, our country’s bases will have greenhouses cultivating fruits and vegetables to ensure we live well.”
Honestly, Gu Pan believed in her country, Huaxia Country, as it was a good nation dedicated to serving its people. Therefore, she trusted that things would get better.
Everyone felt the sa, full of confidence in Huaxia Country.
Although Gu Pan said they could eat freely, who could really bear it? Everyone just ate one and couldn’t bear to eat any more.
Gu Pan looked at the vegetables and said, “Let’s cook these while they are fresh; today, we shall celebrate like it’s New Year.”
Since these vegetables really couldn’t be stored—they had to be either pickled or dried—it was rare to have them fresh, so everyone agreed with Gu Pan’s idea and began to make preparations.
When Duan Shui saw Gu Pan offering to help cook, she said, “Xiao Gu and Xiao Lu must be exhausted from these past days outside. You two don’t need to do anything today, just go back, take a wash, and rest a while. When the al is ready, I’ll co to call you.”
Gu Pan thought about it, and since he hadn’t been ho to check yet, he didn’t refuse and said, “That works, we need to tidy up a bit too.”
Lu Ruisheng then added, “Right, we brought back so solar panels. Teacher Chen, could you check if they are usable? We brought back the accessories too.”
Chen Shaonan’s eyes imdiately lit up, and he hurriedly ran outside. It was dark now. When they had arrived earlier, everyone rushed inside to see Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng and did not notice these items next to them. Hearing Lu Ruisheng’s words, his heart was truly very excited.
Gu Pan and the others followed him out.
Chen Shaonan examined the solar panels on the vehicle, then looked at the box of accessories beside them.
After a while, he said, “It should work. I’ll study it for a few days. I’ve read literature and materials about this before. The accessories are complete; there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Cheng Yang asked, “Does that an if it’s set up properly, we could have electricity freely?”
Chen Shaonan replied, “Essentially yes. The lifespan of solar panels is over 20 years. As long as it can be assembled and used, we’ll continuously have electricity.”
Chen Lang’s eyes sparkled as he said, “Really? Dad, that’s great.”
Chen Shaonan directed his words to Chen Lang and Cheng Yang, “You two will help with this; learn to repair and the like. If there cos a ti when I’m not around to help, you should be able to complete it independently.”
These thoughts were actually quite normal for people at this ti. No one could guarantee the day they might die, and if an accident did occur, who wouldn’t hope their children could survive on their own?
But these words made everyone feel rather uncomfortable, for in the apocalypse, life and death really weren’t within anyone’s control.
It wasn’t that Chen Shaonan was being pessimistic and killing the mood, but it was just a normal ntality at that ti, so he spoke without thinking much about it.
Still, his words indeed weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.
Duan Shui had a knack for consoling others, and she lightened the mood by saying, “Even if we live to be a hundred, why not let these youngsters learn more and do more? Shouldn’t we rest? Later on, most of the work will need to be done by them, so they don’t just eat for free.”
With that said, everyone felt more relaxed, looking at Cheng Yang and Chen Lang and laughing. Those two, not to say anything else, did eat a lot—had it not been for their abilities, they probably would have started gnawing on tree bark.
Cheng Yang was very fortunate to be with these people. Although he was about the sa age as Gu Pan and the others, everyone treated him as they would the young Chen Lang, allowing him to experience so much warmth in the apocalypse, in a ti without family around. These people were like family to him in his heart.
He quickly said, “I and Chen Lang will learn everything and always serve you.”
As they joked and chatted, the mood lightened again, and they turned back to discussing the solar panels. Then Chen Shaonan, along with Chen Lang and Cheng Yang, moved the panels inside to clean them. Duan Shui and Lu Xuerong went to cook, with Feng Zhekai lending a hand to the two won. He really wasn’t interested in the circuit boards and rather helped with cooking.
Since the vegetables were all washed and Gu Pan had left them a large bucket of water, cooking was indeed much easier.
Reviews
All reviews (0)