While the children were cleaning themselves up, Ye Lan had already steamed the rice. Tonight, Jiang Zhaoyuan was the one manning the ladle. The moment he opened a few cans of tuna, an assault of savory aroma wafted over. The cub had been running around playing on the floor by herself, but upon smelling the fragrance, her short little legs could no longer move. She wrapped her meaty hands around Jiang Zhaoyuan's leg to act spoiled.
"Grandpa, what is that? It smells so good." The cub's chubby little finger pointed toward the cans.
"It's canned fish. You're hungry, aren't you? Let me give you a piece to taste first." Jiang Zhaoyuan picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and placed it into the cub's dedicated small bowl. He set her children's chopsticks and bowl onto the table, then lifted her onto the sofa, telling her to be good and eat first. The cub took just one bite, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Yummy!"
Knowing the little one had an excellent appetite, Jiang Zhaoyuan laughed and said, "In a little bit, Grandpa will use this to make fried rice for you. It tastes even better when it's fried up hot."
The cub nodded her tiny head, her face full of anticipation. "Okay~"
Jiang Zhaoyuan poured the canned tuna into the wok and began stir-frying, adding some diced pickled mustard tubers to flash-fry together. Because the canned fish itself contained a lot of oil, he didn't add any extra oil. Once the fish was fried until fragrant, he poured all the rice into the wok. The savory aroma of the fish mingled with the sweet fragrance of the rice, filling the entire RV with a mouthwatering scent.
The cub kept her eyes glued to the food over by the wok. It smelled so good; she felt like she could eat a massive bowl!
When Chen Wan and Jiang Yanxin came out after taking their showers, they caught the fresh aroma of the food. There was simply nothing better to eat than a combination of carbohydrates and meat. Furthermore, because their energy expenditure was so high, they didn't have to worry at all about gaining weight.
After the evening meal, Yiyi continued to drive while Shen Mingyan sat beside her to guide the way. Chen Wan and the others pulled into a gas station in the small county town to refuel. Fortunately, though the town was small, the gas station had rich reserves of fuel, which was more than enough for them to completely top off the RV's massive 11,200L fuel tank.
With all their supplies fully replenished, Chen Wan and her group hit the road once more. This time, they drove straight toward Heshang Village, the place Shen Mingyan had mentioned. After driving for another forty minutes along a winding mountain highway, the village houses gradually came into view.
Yiyi pointed toward the cluster of buildings with white walls and black tiled roofs in the village. "Look, we're almost there."
Chen Wan lowered the steel armor plates surrounding the RV and peered out through the window. A tranquil little village materialized before her eyes. A river ran along the edge of the settlement, cutting off the outside world's access to the village; any vehicles or pedestrians wishing to enter had to cross over via a bridge not far ahead.
As the RV drew closer to the bridge, Chen Wan noticed that roadblocks had actually been set up on it, and there seemed to be four or five adult male Alphas keeping watch.
Shen Mingyan hadn't expected to see familiar faces either. She rolled the vehicle's window down slightly. "Han Qi, do you still remember me? I'm Shen Mingyan."
"How did you end up back here? Hasn't everything gone completely chaotic out there?" The man named Han Qi was instantly stunned when he recognized Shen Mingyan, but he quickly asked with a smile.
"It is chaotic outside, so my friends and I thought about coming back to stay for a while. I didn't expect our place here to be completely fine," Shen Mingyan said, also somewhat surprised.
"Our area is quite remote, taking nearly an hour's drive from the county town. Besides, this is the only road leading into the village, unless someone wants to climb over several massive mountains in a row. Naturally, we haven't been affected much. Moreover, as soon as the apocalypse hit, we set up a checkpoint and have people patrolling every day; we won't let any zombies come over," Han Qi explained.
"Then can we enter the village?" Shen Mingyan asked.
"Of course you can, provided we can confirm that your friends aren't infected with the zombie virus. So, we might have to trouble you all to step off the vehicle for a moment," Han Qi said with a smile.
Shen Mingyan shifted her gaze toward Chen Wan. "Are we entering the village? I originally thought there wouldn't be anyone left here."
Chen Wan pondered for a moment and nodded. After all, they had traveled through so many places consecutively; if this little village had truly escaped the brunt of the apocalypse, staying here to live for a period of time would be an excellent choice.
The group of nine stepped off the RV. Han Qi and his men clearly hadn't expected Shen Mingyan to bring back so many people. They froze for a moment before smiling. "You have quite a crowd, and there's even a little baby. Alright, looks like there's no problem."
"Brother Qi, we need to inspect inside the vehicle as well," Li Zenan reminded from the side.
"Oh right, this is standard procedure for our inspections. If it's convenient, could you let us inspect the RV?" Han Qi asked with a smile.
"You can see what the inside of the RV looks like from the outside; it can't hide anyone. We cannot let you inspect the vehicle," Chen Wan looked at Han Qi, her voice turning cold.
Seeing the atmosphere turn icy all of a sudden, Han Qi patted Li Zenan's shoulder and reminded him, "Mingyan's grandparents belong to our village, so we're all family here. No need to be so distant. Alright then, since it's inconvenient to check inside, you all can head on in."
Shen Mingyan nodded and looked at Chen Wan; among their group, the person who truly called the shots was still Chen Wan. Chen Wan gave a nod, her gaze coldly sweeping over Han Qi. "Then thanks. We're tired too, let's drive in."
"Okay," Yiyi hopped onto the RV first after receiving Chen Wan's response, and everyone else boarded sequentially. Chen Wan brought up the rear, and before stepping onto the vehicle, her gaze swept over this little village with white walls and black tiles once more.
Han Qi ordered Fatty, Erdan, and Li Zenan to move the roadblocks aside, and told Fatty to move the truck blocking the entrance from the bridge into the village so that the RV could pass through. Only after the RV drove into the village did Han Qi's gaze leisurely drift back toward the vehicle.
To be safe, they had specially stationed men to guard the path and even set up two layers of defense to ensure outside zombies couldn't get in.
"Brother Qi, they brought so many people this time. This is absolutely wonderful," The smile on Li Zenan's face hadn't faded at all.
"No, among those people just now, I noticed quite a few Omegas and Betas. We can't let them go to waste. What's more, even the two female Alphas inside are incredibly beautiful. These city folks must be elites from various industries—people you wouldn't even have been able to latch onto before the apocalypse. We can't let this go to waste," Han Qi smiled as he looked at the three men.
"We'll follow your lead, Brother Qi," Fatty immediately voiced his loyalty.
"Exactly! Brother Qi has always worked out of town, so he definitely knows far more than us farmers. And now that Brother Qi is the village chief, we all listen to him," Erdan said with a smile.
"Don't worry, when have I ever treated my brothers poorly? We're in no rush, let's take it slow," Han Qi smiled as he spoke. Among that group just now, the ones who gave off the heaviest sense of oppression were those two Alphas. Han Qi figured they absolutely mustn't act too hastily.
Furthermore, half an hour later, this little village—which usually only encountered travelers once every four or five days—welcomed another wave of people driving in. They looked like they had fled from the city. Among them were two male Alphas and two female Omegas, likely two married couples or pairs of lovers.
Han Qi stopped them and asked, "Where are you guys from? How did you manage to find our Heshang Village?"
The tall male Alpha replied, "We risked our lives to escape from the Funan City Base. Originally we wanted to head to the Capital, but seeing that there were fewer zombies around here and noticing a village, we thought we'd come take a look. We're all good people, and none of us are injured. Can you take us in and let us enter?"
Han Qi smiled and said, "I'm the village chief here, my name is Han Qi. Taking you in is no problem, but please cooperate with our inspection. Step off the vehicle first so we can ensure none of you are infected with the zombie virus before we bring you into the village. Because of this river, our village hasn't encountered any zombies yet."
"No problem, absolutely no problem," The two male Alphas and female Omegas stepped off the vehicle separately to let Han Qi and his men inspect them. They were residents from District B of the base and would have been considered middle class before the apocalypse. After the base fell into chaos, they randomly grabbed a car inside, drove like mad out of Funan City, and finally managed to keep their lives. However, they were all thoroughly exhausted. Now, hearing that this small village hadn't been infested by zombies, the joy on their faces couldn't be contained.
Han Qi only gave the four of them a cursory look. Once he confirmed they had no injuries, he smiled and said, "There are still several uninhabited courtyards in the village. If you don't mind, I'll have Fatty lead the way for you so you can settle down over there for the time being."
Hearing Han Qi say this, the man's tears almost spilled over. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you so much. To think you'd still take us in at a time like this, you really are good people."
"Don't mention it. Since you've come here, everyone is family. Don't be polite," Han Qi comforted him before turning to speak to Fatty behind him. "Fatty, lead them over to settle down first. It's enough to have the few of us holding down the fort here."
"Alright, Brother Qi! I'll go move the truck out of the way so they can drive their car in first," Fatty replied.
"Okay, go ahead," Han Qi smiled politely at the four newcomers.
Once the private car drove into the village, Li Zenan said to Han Qi, "Brother Qi, these few look like their guard isn't quite as high, but these two Omegas don't look like much. How about we..."
"We'll talk about it when the time comes. There are over forty bachelors in the village who can't find a wife; if absolutely no one wants them, we'll handle it according to what you guys said. As for those two Alphas, they're bound to be useless. I didn't expect so many people to arrive all at once today; this time, our little village is really going to get lively." Han Qi chuckled.
"Yeah, it's bound to be very lively. It's just that those people with Shen Mingyan all seem to listen to that woman wearing the military green shirt. That woman's gaze could freeze a person to death; she doesn't look like she'll be easy to deal with," Erdan reminded.
"No rush. It's like boiling a frog in warm water. They've had such a hard time surviving outside, while our place here is so comfortable; those people will eventually let their guard down. Let's start with the four people we met today," Han Qi said after some thought. He had naturally sensed that Chen Wan and her group wouldn't be easy to provoke.
"Erdan, notify the night watchmen to be careful. Also, we can't just let the newcomers leave like that; we haven't even shown them proper hospitality yet. We have to keep the guests here and entertain them well no matter what," Han Qi instructed with a grin.
"Don't worry, Brother Qi! It always has to be you; with you around, we all have a pillar of support," Erdan immediately went to notify the night watchmen according to what Han Qi said.
Their village's routine was for Alphas and Betas to participate in guarding the village entrance. The daytime was split into morning and afternoon shifts with four people per shift, while the nighttime had two shifts with six people per shift guarding the lock. Combined with the natural barrier of the river, zombies truly wouldn't appear here very often.
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