Chapter Ninety-Seven: Tremors

The tremor brought a slight sensation of weightlessness. Most people leaned against the walls or pillars, or simply sat down; some knelt to make it easier to stand back up.

Grains of sand and small stones trickled down from outside the air-raid shelter, the shaking growing increasingly intense.

One hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three hours still without stopping.

The tremors eased for about ten minutes at one point. The braver ones ventured outside to take a look and reported that the icy ground outside had completely cracked open.

A cluster of people huddled together, the mixed odors making Jiang Huan feel slightly uncomfortable as she edged toward the entrance.

Someone asked if they would eat today.

“Who can think about eating right now? Even if we wanted to cook, can we even make a fire in this situation?” she said, trembling so much it seemed like the water would be shaken dry.

Jiang Huan moved closer to her younger brother and whispered, “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Xi rubbed his stomach and shook his head. “I don’t feel hungry. Sister, are you hungry? I have candy and two chocolate energy bars in my pocket.”

This was something Jiang Huan had insisted he carry every day for emergencies.

“I’m not hungry. You don’t need to take them out.” The earlier comment was right—at the moment, there was truly no time to worry about eating.

Nearly four more hours passed. Some people drifted into drowsiness amid the shaking, and finally, the trembling ceased. After waiting about ten minutes with no further tremors, everyone cheered and began making their way outside.

Seeing that the impact of the shaking wasn’t too severe, they started calling for everyone to pitch in and cook.

Jiang Huan stepped out of the shelter and glanced through her binoculars at the area below the mountain. The apartment buildings still stood tall—no wonder she had insisted on choosing this icy refuge place in the first place.

If it weren’t for the glass not quite holding up and the sudden continuous earthquakes unavoidable on higher floors, she wouldn’t have left that place.

Suddenly, the binoculars were blocked by a hand.

Mei Juanshuang brought over a bowl of soup. “Miss Jiang, you haven’t eaten for a long time either. Here, have some.”

Jiang Huan found a spot to sit and slowly sipped the soup.

Mei Juanshuang suddenly spoke up beside her, “Back then, I’m glad you were recruiting people in Building Six.”

Jiang Huan looked at her curiously. What was wrong with that decision?

“I trusted others too much at first and got pushed aside. For my safety, I had to listen to him, not expose his secrets. Later, when he started using my family’s place as a base and began deceiving inexperienced girls...”

“Remember that time we all went fishing by the big river? I wasn’t glaring at you or caught up in love—I just felt everyone was eyeing the men around me and wanted to keep you away from him to prevent you from being deceived.”

“But I guess I worried too much. You’ve always been rational. There’s no way you’d become a doormat for a man.”

Jiang Huan set her empty bowl beside her. “You wouldn’t say that without reason. Has something happened concerning me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mei Juanshuang looked startled, then composed herself. “I’ve noticed that whenever Xie Congzhou has free time, he looks your way, mostly at your back. Though he seems reliable now, I hope you, Sister Jiang, keep your old style and don’t let anyone lead you by the nose.”

So it was a little fan worried she might be attracted to Xie Congzhou and get hurt.

“Thank you. Though I don’t often trust that good men will appear nearby, don’t let that stop you from living. At least the men in Building Six have always been quite decent.”

“Any relationship guarded by suspicion is doomed to endless doubt. You have to move past it soon.”

If Jiang Huan kept drowning in pain from past heartbreaks, she wouldn’t be who she was now.

She dealt with scoundrels, whether cheaters or villains—anyone who harmed her was swiftly handled. But there were still beauties in this world, good people, or at least those who could resonate with her.

Mei Juanshuang smiled bitterly and shook her head. “This blow has taught me too much. I doubt I’ll ever get over it. Anyway, it’s the end of the world. No one’s pushing me to date or marry or have kids. Being alone isn’t so bad.”

The meaningless chatter lasted about twenty minutes before someone came to collect the bowls and chopsticks for washing. Jiang Huan stretched her limbs. After hiding in the shelter for so long, her whole body was stiff.

Watching everyone busy with their tasks, she realized that panic couldn’t last long in a group. After the initial shock, people preferred to focus on what they could do rather than blaming this or that or the whole world. Jiang Huan smiled knowingly and joined in the work.

They kept busy until dusk. Jiang Huan took two smoked sausages from her room and handed them to Mei Juanshuang, who was cooking that day. “A personal treat, to give everyone a bit of a boost.”

“Perfect, everyone’s been craving meat.”

That reminded Jiang Huan of the livestock in the breeding zone. She took some time to check on them and saw they hadn’t grown much faster—at least, not at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The plants, on the other hand, could be harvested and regrow quickly.

Before dinner, Jiang Huan gave her brother a snack of half a pound of braised beef, then let him go eat.

At this age, teenagers tend to have big appetites. Since she had the means, she made sure to consider his needs.

After the meal and some tidying, it was eight o’clock at night. Jiang Huan and her brother took turns washing their hair and bathing. She lay on the sofa, a silent hair dryer overhead freeing her hands.

Nearby, her brother was dismantling several cash registers and two mobile phones, busy with some project.

Jiang Huan didn’t interfere with his hobbies. Once her hair was dry and simply combed, she went to bed.

Perhaps due to poor sleep and the lingering effects of the tremors, she was unusually tired and slept nearly eleven hours before waking.

Her brother had already eaten and brought back a large bowl of food for her.

Though the food had cooled, Jiang Huan’s heart burned with warmth.

This kid really understood how to put on a full show.

She praised him for his cleverness and thought, since they hadn’t gone outside, there was no need for pretense. She finished the big bowl of soup noodles, nibbled on some ready-made taro cakes, and that was her meal. The leftover broth and rice were fed to the pigs—nothing wasted.

As she stepped out of her bedroom, she collided with a large group returning.

Their faces were bright with joy, as if they had received good news. They surrounded Xie Congzhou in the center and gradually made their way toward the shelter.

Jiang Huan’s eyes fell to the waist of Xie Congzhou.

There, slung and lifeless, hung a bundle of small furry animals from the forest.

Beside him, Uncle Kui carried a bulging bag, which, upon closer approach, they heard contained snakes.

It turned out Xie Congzhou had gone out earlier to inspect the roads, caught some small animals, and on the way back managed to dig out the last nest of snakes left in a pit.

Jiang Huan thought to herself, no wonder everyone was so cheerful—it was because they would finally have meat to eat.