Chapter 174: Subtle care.
My hand is still injured, and they’re about to spoil. I’ll take them to your house. LiLi also needs to eat more vegetables to supplement her nutrition. The situation outside will only get worse, and it will be difficult to eat meat and vegetables in the future."
She said it carefully, choosing her words in a way that sounded natural and considerate. In truth, Bai Li had already thought about the vegetables at home before coming over. She could not finish them all by herself anyway, and if she left them sitting there too long, they would waste away. Since Yan Cijin was already inviting her to lunch, taking some supplies over could help balance things out. More importantly, Bai Li also wanted to make sure LiLi got enough to eat. The little girl was still growing, and the world outside was only getting harsher by the day.
"Not need. Keep those for yourself. Vegetables are very precious now. Eat them when your hand is better." Yan Cijin invited her to eat purely because she was worried about Bai Li, not because she was after Bai Li’s food.
Yan Cijin said this with a seriousness that made Bai Li feel a little warm inside. Even now, after all the fear and stress of the apocalypse, she still thought about other people’s needs first. Bai Li looked at her for a moment longer than she normally would, and that made Yan Cijin’s ears turn even redder for a second. Bai Li felt another tiny flutter in her chest. It was subtle, so subtle that she almost mistook it for the leftover tension from before. But it was there, a small quick beat that made her sense the room more sharply than before.
Bai Li smiled at her and said, "By the time my hand heals, these vegetables will have spoiled. How about this, for the next four or five days, I’ll come over for lunch every day, and even when I need to change my dressing, I’ll bring all the vegetables and meat from my house to your place."
She put the idea forward in a very calm way, but this time there was a little bit of strategy behind her tone. Bai Li understood that Yan Cijin would feel better if she did not see the vegetables as a gift that had to be repaid immediately. Turning it into a few days of shared meals made the whole thing feel more reasonable. It also gave Bai Li a legitimate excuse to show up again. That thought sat quietly in the back of her mind, and even though she did not say it out loud, her fingers tightened faintly before relaxing again.
Yan Cijin thought about it and agreed. She was indeed out of vegetables, and Bai Li’s hand wouldn’t heal anytime soon, so it would be a waste not to eat them. "Okay."
"Mm." Bai Li smiled slightly at her, then found a large food bag in the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and put all the vegetables she could find inside.
The kitchen was cooler than the living room, and the refrigerator door opened with a low hum. Bai Li bent down and started looking through the shelves with the same calm focus she had when checking a weapon or cleaning supplies. She was efficient, but not careless. She took out leafy greens first, then the sturdier vegetables, grouping them in her mind by what would keep and what would spoil quickly. Yan Cijin watched from the side, and the more she watched, the more she had the odd feeling that Bai Li was the kind of person who could make even grocery packing look serious.
"Alright, Bai Li, just take a few things. Keep some for yourself." Yan Cijin was a little scared seeing Bai Li emptying the refrigerator.
Her words came out quickly because she really did not want Bai Li to leave herself short. The refrigerator was important now. Every piece of food in the apocalypse was important. Yan Cijin could not just stand there and watch Bai Li pack everything like she was moving house. She stepped closer, her hand half raised, then stopped because she did not want to interfere too much. Bai Li looked up at her and gave a very small, calm smile that somehow made Yan Cijin’s heart skip a beat for no proper reason.
"These leafy greens don’t keep well. I’ll keep one cabbage and some potatoes." Bai Li said, continuing to pack.
Her tone was matter of fact, as if this was the most ordinary thing in the world. Still, she was not being cold. She was simply practical. She knew exactly what would spoil fast, what could sit a few more days, and what would be useful later. She had already learned that in times like this, wasting food was one of the dumbest things a person could do. She left behind enough for herself to get by, but she also made sure to take the things that would otherwise rot. That balance was important.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Li went back and got two more plastic bags. In one smaller bag, Bai Li grabbed twenty eggs and put them in. She put the bag aside and opened the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to look for meat.
Because it was a double door refrigerator, one side had beef and lamb, and the other side had pork and chicken. Bai Li pulled out a bag of pork, a bag of frozen chicken drumsticks, and a bag of chicken wings.
The amount of food on the counter slowly grew larger and larger. Yan Cijin stood there watching, and the feeling in her chest got more and more complicated. She knew Bai Li was not pretending. Bai Li was really willing to take these supplies and share them with them. Even in this kind of world, when people were starting to guard food like gold, Bai Li still acted like it was natural to help.
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TO BE CONTINUED.
