Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Lively
Qin Shen’s performance was masterful. He gave Zhang Aihua a long, deep look, and the usually calm and collected man couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
Just as everyone’s anxiety reached its peak, Qin Shen nodded. "You are not to enter the two-kilometer radius around the Icebreaker. As for anywhere else, you are free to choose a place to stay."
Hearing this, it was like music to their ears. Even the grown men couldn’t help their eyes from welling up.
They could finally settle down.
’We can finally survive, right?’
No one answered, but they believed it to be true.
From a distance, Lei Hu and his men spotted a group of figures. He was about to have everyone fall back and hide when the sound of footsteps drew nearer and nearer. They were so close that the hands of those holding guns began to tremble.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out, "Is that Hu Zi? It’s us!"
Lei Hu’s eyes lit up. "It’s President Zhang!"
He was about to stand up but was pulled back by someone behind him. "Careful, it could be a trick!"
Lei Hu nodded and peeked out cautiously.
He saw not only Zhang Aihua, but also Lao Er, Brother Qiu, and everyone else.
’They’re all still alive!’
Lei Hu led his men out, rushing over and asking excitedly, "President Zhang, what happened to you?"
Lao Er jumped in to answer, "Guess who we ran into?"
How could Lei Hu possibly know? "Hurry up, don’t leave us in suspense!"
"Yeah, we were all worried sick just now."
Worried that Song Yufang and Zhang Yiwen would be frantic, Zhang Aihua explained happily as they walked, "We ran into Jiang Si, the one who resigned from the club. She must be with an exceptionally capable man, because we can settle down nearby. What’s more, Jiang Si said she can even teach us to grow radishes in the snow, so we won’t have to worry about a lack of vegetables."
Everyone’s eyes widened. "Jiang Si? She came to the Northern Country too!" they exclaimed, then hurriedly asked, "What kind of radishes can possibly grow in the snow?"
Zhang Aihua guessed, "It’s probably a type of mutated radish they discovered by chance and managed to cultivate successfully."
Suddenly, Brother Qiu added, "They must have used radishes and other food to make that troop of monkeys so obedient."
Zhang Aihua looked at him and said, "Never mind how they tamed the monkeys. The guns those monkeys were carrying are enough to prove their capabilities."
"We’ve only just been allowed to stay. Everyone needs to watch what they say and do. We can’t have someone overhearing or seeing the wrong thing and getting us kicked out. Understand?"
With vegetables to eat, fish to catch from the sea, and houses to build, who would want to leave?
At Zhang Aihua’s reminder, everyone took it to heart and readily agreed. "Yes, President Zhang!"
Suddenly, Zhang Aihua added, "And be respectful when you see them. Don’t enter the two-kilometer radius around the Icebreaker. There will be monkeys patrolling at all times, understand?"
"God, patrolling monkeys? What in the world did you people run into?" Lei Hu was completely shocked.
Zhang Aihua said, "We’ll talk about the details when we get back. The point is, we can stay here now. There are even hot springs to soak in, and we’ll have homes to live in soon!"
A happy smile spread across his face as he spoke. After everything they’d been through, being reunited with his wife and child was the greatest blessing of all.
They had been gone for no more than half an hour, but Lao Er’s girlfriend and Song Yufang were already too restless to wait and wanted to go look for the men.
Suddenly, they heard Zhang Aihua and his group shouting from up ahead.
Song Yufang charged out, throwing herself into his arms with all her might, even casting Zhang Yiwen aside in the process.
"What took you so long to come back!" she sobbed.
Seeing her cry made Zhang Aihua’s heart ache. He quickly soothed her, "Don’t cry. I have wonderful news for everyone."
Song Yufang sniffled. "What wonderful news?"
Zhang Aihua grinned. "We can stay here! We can even build houses by the hot springs, and this area is safe from other dangers."
It took a moment for Song Yufang to process this. "Did we need someone’s permission to stay here?"
Zhang Aihua’s gaze shifted toward the Icebreaker. "Yes. There are some very powerful people here, but we have their permission now. There’s even someone we know with them. Since they remembered our old connection, our lives might be about to get much better."
Song Yufang froze. "Who?"
"Jiang Si," Zhang Aihua said. "You’ve probably met her."
"Jiang Si?"
An image of Jiang Si’s vibrant, healthy, and beautiful face instantly flashed through Song Yufang’s mind.
"Didn’t she quit to go back to her hometown?"
’Her hometown was supposedly in the mountains, so how did she end up here?’ Song Yufang grew even more confused.
’Could it be? Did she leave her job before the apocalypse because she’d already snagged this incredible big shot?’
In that instant, it was as if she’d uncovered the truth.
Her thoughts then shifted, and she became excited. "Well, that’s wonderful! As long as we have someone on the inside we can talk to, we’ll be fine!"
After hearing the news Zhang Aihua brought back, everyone was overcome with joy. But right after, the previously ignored Zhang Yiwen started clamoring, "Dad, can you take me to catch fish now?"
He’d been on edge for ages and was starving.
Everyone else was just as hungry. After such rare good news, nobody wanted to eat chicken feed. Their minds were filled with visions of the plump, juicy radishes Zhang Aihua had described.
’If only they could take a bite of a radish or a piece of fish right now... how wonderful would that be!’
Zhang Aihua patted his son’s head and smiled. "Alright, Dad will take you fishing!"
Hearing he was taking their son, Song Yufang dropped any pretense and asked excitedly, "Can I go too?"
She was an expert angler, after all.
The immediate danger had passed, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be other unforeseen incidents.
Zhang Aihua initially didn’t want her to go, but when he saw the eager look in her slightly red and swollen eyes, he relented. "Alright. But you have to listen to me. If there’s any danger, you run immediately, you hear me?"
He had heard from Lei Hu earlier that she had said she wanted to die with him, and the memory made his heart ache fiercely.
Song Yufang nodded happily. "Mmm, I’ll listen to you, honey."
She turned and quickly began rummaging for the spare fishing gear she had set aside.
Leaving a few people behind to guard the camp, the majority of the group went along, eager for a taste of fish.
When they got to the shore, they had no power drill, so they had to start by hacking at the ice with shovels before they could slowly pry it open.
After about half an hour, they had managed to open four separate holes in the ice.
The water had been frozen over for so long; any fish still alive were probably starving.
Zhang Aihua took out a precious can of corn and baited a hook with a single kernel.
The moment he lowered the hook into the water—SPLASH!—a heavy fish took the bait.
The crowd instantly erupted with excitement. Their joyous shouts were so loud that even Jiang Si and her group could hear them from far away.
Shen Baoying remarked, "They sound pretty lively."
Jiang Si smiled. "Yes, they do. I hope things can always be this peaceful and lively."
’As long as they’re content with what they’ve been given,’ she thought, ’having them as neighbors might not be so bad.’
