“This… this is the paradise that grandpa talked about, right?”
“Grandpa wasn't lying, paradise really has endless food.”
The meal didn’t even last half an hour.
Food was precious in the apocalyptic city. They rationed their daily intake, eating only small amounts. The long-term dietary habit had shrunk their stomachs.
Though they wanted to eat more, they truly couldn't fit another bite.
Both girls slumped back in their chairs, hands rubbing their bellies.
Xiao Yu felt like she was dreaming. She pinched herself, yelping, “It hurts, it’s not a dream. Xiao Qian, is this… is this what it feels like to be alive?”
Xiao Qian was also contemplating life. Since they were kids, they’d been constantly searching for food, wandering everywhere. They found supplies, then moved on, never knowing where they were going or what awaited them.
They hadn't encountered anyone else in a long time.
But today, they received a strange recruitment notice. After applying, they opened the door and found themselves here.
A clean room, with ceilings and walls to block out the cold wind and rain. Most importantly, there was an abundance of food they’d never seen before.
This boss was such a good person!
They wished to stay in this place forever.
“Hey, Xiao Qian, help me up. I can still eat.”
The aroma of food lingered. After making sure the two girls were full, Xia Tian was still eating. Xiao Yu sniffed the air, her stomach rumbling as she tried to get up.
Xiao Qian, interrupted from her thoughts, shook her head and made a sudden decision. “Xiao Yu, let's not leave. Let's find a place near the boss's house to live. Find a… find a ‘home’ to stay in.”
“Stay? We won’t travel anymore, Xiao Qian?” Xiao Yu was stunned. She looked at her companion in confusion.
“We'll find guns nearby and trade them with the boss for food. If we leave, I’m afraid we won’t be able to find our way back.”
“Right, right! You’re so smart, Xiao Qian. There’s so much food here. This place is paradise. I don’t want to leave.” Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up. Food was hard to find in the maze city, but there were tons of guns. They could definitely trade those with the boss for food.
Seeing Xiao Yu’s agreement, Xiao Qian nervously asked Xia Tian, “Boss, can we trade weapons for food in the future?”
Xia Tian smiled at Xiao Qian but shook his head.
Xiao Yu panicked, “What? You mean there’s only this much food? Or are the guns we gave you not enough? Right, a mere rifle can’t compare to food… How about two, three? Or maybe ammunition, we even have tanks…”
Xia Tian interrupted, “You don’t need to go back. You’ve passed the interview. You two will be working here as helpers.”
“We passed the interview? Great, great, great! Boss, whatever you say we’ll do.” Xiao Yu jumped with joy, but she’d eaten too much. The movement almost made her puke. She quickly patted her chest to calm herself.
Xiao Qian, however, was worried. “What kind of work is it, boss? We don’t know how to cook.”
“You don't need to cook… for now, just help clean the house.”
“Oh, cleaning! Okay!” Xiao Yu pondered for a moment, then said, “This is good! This is simple! I can do this!”
Xia Tian pursed his lips, “It’s not just cleaning. When I’m too busy, I'll teach you how to help with food preparation, skewering, washing vegetables, cashier work, etc.”
“It sounds…” Xiao Yu paused, “like it’s getting a bit more complicated.”
“It’s easy once you start doing it. These little 備長炭 can do it, you can too.”
“For this helper job, will you give us food every day, like what we ate just now?”
“Yes, it’s all-inclusive. You’ll get 60,000 Dan a month. You can rest with me on your days off. I’ll take a break if I’m not setting up my stall.”
“Boss, I have a question. You seem to have a lot of food here, but… ” Xiao Qian raised her concern, “with one refrigerator's worth of food, how long can you eat like this?”
“Oh, I’ll tell you about the situation of this world later. Don’t worry, the food here will never run out.”
“Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian.” Xiao Yu looked at Xiao Qian expectantly.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Qian nodded.
“Great! Boss, we’ll do as you say!” Xiao Yu was about to roll up her sleeves. “We’ve been travelling for years, I’m great at manual labor!”
#@#
Having persuaded the two into becoming his cheap labor force, Xia Tian showed them around the house.
“That’s a bookshelf! So many books!”
As soon as they stepped out of the guest room, Xiao Qian’s gaze landed on the wall to their left, unable to tear herself away. She lost her composure and screamed.
“Xiao Qian, look, look! There are fish, 1, 2, 3, 5, 9… so many! They’re so beautiful.” Xiao Yu was even more excited. She rushed to a two-meter long fish tank, her face almost touching the glass. She was shouting and making a fuss.
Xia Tian rolled his eyes, “Xiao Yu, control your drool. You just finished eating, stop staring at those feng shui fish. If you like them, feeding the fish will be your job later.”
“They’re not for eating?”
Xiao Yu’s face fell in disappointment. Feeding fish wasn’t interesting. She was interested in fish feeding her.
“Don’t worry. If you work hard, you can eat as many fish as you want, buy as many books as you want.” Xia Tian said, “But for now, you need to rest. Should I take you out for a walk, and buy some necessities?”
Stinky tofu needed to marinate for 24 hours. He wouldn’t be able to set up his stall today, and was forced to rest another day.
“Go out for a walk!” Xiao Yu and Xiao Qian said in unison.
However, before leaving, Xia Tian had them change into new clothes. Their thick winter clothes would make them sweat to death in the Tokyo of May.
Xia Tian led the two girls out of the villa district —
A familiar yet strange, bustling and shocking world unfolded before Xiao Qian and Xiao Yu!
They instinctively held their breath!
It was like the streets of an apocalyptic city, except under the warm sunshine, the greenery along both sides of the streets was lush.
But what really shocked them were the people — groups of three or four, cars coming and going on the road, people everywhere near and far.
Xiao Qian was deeply shocked!
They hadn’t seen this many people in years.
Xiao Yu instinctively reached for her weapon. In the apocalypse, not all humans were comrades. They would kill for a little food.
Her hands found nothing. She was stunned.
Xia Tian patted her shoulder, saying softly, “Don't be nervous, nobody here will rob you.”
At this time, Xiao Qian caught up to him. “Boss, is this your world?”
“I guess so. Let’s go.” Xia Tian nodded calmly, pulling Xiao 備長炭 towards the supermarket.
“Oh.”
Xiao Qian followed closely behind Xia Tian. She felt uncomfortable in the crowd, feeling safe only with Xia Tian. “Boss, what are those kids doing? Are they traveling too? Why does everyone have a backpack?”
Xiao Yu’s focus was different, “What’s that little fat guy holding? It’s smoking. Is it food?”
Xia Tian glanced over, saying, “That’s ice cream. It’s pretty refreshing in this weather. Come on, I’ll treat you.”
Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up again. She said with a silly smile, “How can we accept that? Otherwise, I’ll go back and get a box of bullets to trade with you.”
…..
Xia Tian had a black line across his forehead, “It’s only a few bucks! I’ll treat you.”
He walked a few steps and bought four ice creams from a street stall. One for each person, even Xiao 備長炭 had an ice cream. She’d never had one before.
“Thank you… Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian, this is so sweet and delicious.”
The four of them walked and ate.
Along the way, the two girls had a ton of questions. For example, what were all the green plants called, what was a supermarket, what was fried chicken, where did the fruit store get so much food, was Yellow Crane Tower taking his little sister away a song…
If Xiao 備長炭 knew the answer, she patiently explained. If not, they’d look to Xia Tian.
Finally, they arrived at the supermarket. Xiao Yu widened her eyes once again.
As far as she could see, it was all food!
This truly was paradise!