He couldn't say this sentence aloud, as long as everyone understood. He also thought that the base leader was the base leader, and it wouldn't be a big deal to snatch something from him.
However, he clearly underestimated the base leader's thickening skin. He wanted a share of everything edible.
Back at the official headquarters, the base leader happily carried a large armful of food to please his wife and children, leaving a few people to grumble quietly as they returned to their quarters.
The quarters were not peaceful either. Those they usually talked to also shamelessly took away a portion.
Finally, after seeing this group off, Pang Dun darted to the door. "I'll lock the door. From now on, no matter who knocks, we won't open it. We won't open it even if they beat us to death."
"Mhm."
After locking the courtyard gate and closing the living room door tightly, everyone sat on the sofa, eating heartily in the darkness without any hindrance.
Yang Xinjie: "I never thought we'd be sneaking around eating food in the middle of the night."
Xiao Ai: "We have to thank Xinci. Otherwise, how could we eat such fresh grapes and pears?"
"These fragrant pears are delicious. I used to love eating this kind of pear the most. In the apocalypse, I thought I'd never be able to eat them again. I didn't expect Xinci to let me eat them again." Xu Ruyi ate the fragrant pears while shedding tears. In the darkness, her companions couldn't see, so it didn't matter if she shed a few tears.
She didn't know that all her companions felt the same way.
"Bang bang bang."
A knock on the door broke the somber atmosphere in the room. This time, Pang Dun reacted the fastest, his voice nasal as he instructed everyone, "Let's all stay silent. Let them knock."
Xu Jiacan's eyes still glistened with tears. "It's good that we're living in official dorms now. If it were our old courtyard, there would be many more people knocking than here."
"Maybe we'd be blocked at the door every day." Xiao Ai brought this up, and everyone's mood seemed to improve.
The captain suddenly remembered something. "Should we eat less? What did Xinci's note say?"
"Captain, I have the note here." Yang Xinjie said, and she took out the note from her pocket and handed it to the captain.
The captain lit a lighter, and the companions crowded around, looking at the handwriting on the note in the firelight.
Pang Dun was about to shout excitedly when Xu Jiacan quickly covered his mouth.
"If you shout like that, who knows how many people will come to block us at three in the morning."
"Brother Can, I was just too excited."
"Xinci is going to make us delicious food. Guess what delicious food Xinci will make for us?"
As soon as Xu Ruyi finished speaking, Pang Dun began to answer, "I guess Sister Xinci will make us braised pork, beef brisket stewed with tomatoes, and braised chicken wings."
"Three meat dishes, and you don't even find them greasy."
"Which are pure meat? Aren't there tomatoes too?"
Hearing Pang Dun mention eggs, Yang Xinjie thought of it. "I want to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
The captain's mouth watered listening to them, and he also started muttering, "I just don't know if Xinci can remember to bring me a bottle of Erguotou this time."
"Definitely," Xu Jiacan said with certainty. "Captain, look at what Xinci wrote on the note, to make us delicious food. That must be something we all like to eat. As for you, Captain, how could Xinci forget what you like the most?"
After Xu Jiacan finished speaking, he kept muttering in his heart, "Xinci, please don't let me down."
The group talked happily and decided to have a good sleep first, so they could go to the trading hall when they woke up.
However, Uncle Sun reminded them, "Should we bring the base leader with us?"
The captain didn't hesitate and said with a hint of reluctance, "Let's bring the base leader. We're going to the trading hall, and it's impossible for no one to see us. It wouldn't be good if rumors spread, especially since we're the base leader's close confidants now."
"Mhm." Everyone nodded in agreement, approving the captain's arrangement.
...
The night sky was silent. Fu Xinci felt that everyone in the courtyard was asleep. She quietly got up, put on a small padded jacket and warm long pants, then got out of bed and went into the clean room in the dark.
The clean room was connected to the east side room, and she opened the door from the inside.
The east side room of the small building was also a kitchen. However, after it was put into use, water was boiled every day without interruption, but no meals were cooked.
It was quite cold. Fu Xinci shivered and adjusted to the temperature before putting on an apron she found in her space.
Fortunately, it wasn't the dead of winter yet, otherwise, it would be more than just a shiver.
Fu Xinci didn't dare to use a flashlight, fearing that the bright light would attract unnecessary trouble.
She took out the candles she had prepared earlier from her space and lit them. The orange-yellow candlelight brought a hint of warmth and tenderness to the cold night.
The dishes she was going to make had already been secretly prepared.
First, she would make braised pork. This dish, if made tender, would take a lot of time.
After she finished all the steps for this dish, she covered the pot and began to wash rice to steam it.
She was very glad now that her kitchen had two stove openings and two large cast-iron pots, otherwise, she would have been very busy.
When the enticing aroma of braised pork wafted from the pot on the large stove, Fu Xinci felt smug for a moment about her foresight.
The closed doors and windows blocked the spread of the aroma, leaving the room filled with a rich fragrance.
After the braised pork sauce had thickened over a low heat, she transferred it to a steel basin with a lid, then closed the lid tightly and placed it in her space to keep warm.
Next, she made braised chicken wings. After this dish was cooked, it was also put into a stainless steel basin.
Then, she made stir-fried cabbage with shrimp.
It was worth mentioning that the few vegetables in her space were planted a few days ago after she had rummaged through the seeds left by her father. Today, they were all used.
Finally, she made a very simple yet appetizing dish: scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Four dishes were made. She didn't make soup, simply because she was afraid the soup would spill. If something went wrong, the loss would outweigh the gain.
She scooped two ladles of water into the large cast-iron pot, extinguished the fire in the stove here, and then opened the pot where the rice was steaming.
A rich aroma of rice was mixed with a faint fragrance.
Fu Xinci took a deep breath and muttered, "With this rice, Pang Dun could eat two bowls even without any dishes."
Fortunately, she had been careful when harvesting this time. She hadn't dared to use her consciousness. She had used her father's small harvester, thresher, and rice mill to complete the process.
Otherwise, she was afraid not even a seed would be left.
The rice filled a large wooden basin, very characteristic of that era.
Seeing the scorched rice at the bottom of the pot, she didn't skimp. She scraped it all down and placed it on top of the rice.
Actually, she quite wanted to save two bowls of rice, but she didn't want to eat secretly behind her family's back, and she hadn't figured out how to get her grandfather's approval, so she had to endure it.