Lǚ Liu smiled warmly and said, "Jing Shu, thanks for the eggs. Hong Bin said he has never eaten anything that good before. None of us can cook, so we just brought these pastries to fill our stomachs. They are imperial snacks from our hometown, the capital. Very special. Try this. This one is a tuckahoe cake, and this honey pastry is also great."
No wonder they never cooked. Who could possibly get full just eating pastries?
As she spoke, Lǚ Liu tossed a few of the wrapped treats to Yang Yang and Hao Yunlai too.
Jing Shu's eyes lit up as she examined the delicate shapes. They really did look delicious, and she had never tasted anything like them before. If she didn't try them now, especially in the frozen wasteland of the apocalypse, wouldn't that be one of life's biggest regrets?
She took a small bite of the white cake, then couldn't stop. "Oh god, how could something taste this good?"
The tuckahoe cake had a paper-thin, snow-white crust that flaked against her lips, stuffed with a rich mixture of crushed nuts, osmanthus, and sweet honey mixed with fine tuckahoe powder. It melted the instant it hit her tongue, sweet and fragrant, opening her eyes to a whole new world of desserts.
Xiao Dou clucked twice nearby, its head cocked to the side. Hmph. Just a moment ago, its owner was mad that it ate someone else's food, and now look at her, stuffing her face like there's no tomorrow. What was that human saying again? Oh right, "The boss can set fires, but the hen can't light a lamp."
Jun Bao, meanwhile, was forcing himself to chew a small piece of the tuckahoe cake. He was trying not to gag as his stomach rolled like the sea in a storm. It was definitely not the taste he wanted. He thought he was finally getting some appetite back after the smell of the rice, but no, that was just wishful thinking.
Lǚ Liu kept piling on more snacks from the boxes: yellow pea cakes, sticky sachima, and soft glutinous rolls. Before long, Jing Shu had eaten every last one. She had literally finished their entire dinner.
A loud gurgle echoed in the quiet bus.
Two people's stomachs growled in unison, the sound impossible to ignore.
Jun Bao looked at Jing Shu's healthy appetite with a tinge of envy in his tired eyes. He even envied that chicken's ability to eat so much without a second thought. "People with good appetites are blessed," he sighed.
"Then again," he thought, "maybe I should just eat one of those awful energy bars and get it over with."
"I still have some rice left in the pot. Do you want me to share?" Jing Shu asked softly. She felt a little embarrassed now. She had just eaten someone else's fancy food, after all.
Lǚ Liu nodded eagerly, pecking her head like a chicken. Finally, this girl understood the situation.
But then she nearly dropped her jaw. Jun Bao ate a full bowl of the savory rice, and even she herself wolfed down the rest. It was good, though not quite as refined as what their old chefs used to make. It was just a bit short of that level of perfection.
Jing Shu didn't bother hiding in her tent anymore. She lifted the heavy pot and, in just a few big bites, cleared the whole thing. Maybe it was the hunger from the journey, or maybe it was just the effect of watching others eat, but everyone had a satisfying meal that night. Except Jing Shu, who still wasn't quite full and had to secretly have another snack once she was back in her bunk.
After practicing with the Rubik's Cube Space for two hours, focusing on the circulating energy, she fell into a deep sleep. She slept so soundly that when the minibus stopped twice during the night, she didn't even stir. Driver swaps and technical checks weren't her concern anyway.
When she woke up, it was already morning. Even the high-end suspension of the minibus couldn't hide the rhythmic shaking now, meaning the road was rough and broken. Who knew how far they had traveled overnight?
Getting up and stretching her stiff limbs, she found Jun Bao crouched by Xiao Dou's litter box in the dim light. He had dark circles under his eyes and was examining the chicken's droppings with a magnifying glass like a man possessed.
Jing Shu just stood there speechless for a moment. Well, it's not like she could stop someone from studying poultry reproduction. If he actually found something useful in his research, she would benefit most from it anyway.
Fine. As long as he didn't drag the poor bird into a sterile lab somewhere, he could stare all he wanted. Though seriously, what was there to study about chicken poop?
"Can I take a bit of this?" Jun Bao asked, his voice raspy.
Jing Shu immediately refused. "No. I'm keeping it for fertilizer."
He looked genuinely disappointed, his face appearing even more haggard in the morning light.
"You look awful. Didn't sleep well?" she asked. She was finally familiar enough with the new team to sound casual.
Lǚ Liu yawned, her hair a bit messy, and said, "Jun Bao had diarrhea twice last night. He basically flushed out everything he ate. It was freezing outside too; he almost caught a cold."
"Huh? Then why are we fine?" Jing Shu asked, startled. It couldn't have been her cooking that made him sick, right?
Jun Bao sighed, leaning back against the seat. "I haven't eaten oily or heavy food for a long time. My stomach wasn't ready for it."
"Oily? That was considered meaty?" Jing Shu blinked. For someone of his background, a little bits of sausage and scallop were enough to upset his stomach? She had only seen things like that online, reading about malnourished folks in distant lands eating too much fish and meat after a famine.
"For me, yeah. I usually eat energy bars," he explained.
"Then have some milk tea. It helps cut the grease," she offered, feeling a bit embarrassed for his suffering.
She boiled a pot of strong brick tea, mixed in plenty of milk powder, and poured the dark filtered tea into the milk. She sprinkled in a pinch of salt and topped it with bits of rich milk skin from her glass jar. Just like that, a mug of Wu City style milk tea was ready, the steam swirling in the cold air.
"This is milk tea?" Jun Bao and the others were intrigued by the salty, savory scent. One sip later, they all sighed in bliss. The rich milk and tea aroma warmed their chests, perfect for the biting cold weather outside.
Breakfast was simple: a bowl of milk tea each with a few of Grandma Jing's crispy fried twists. Jing Shu, of course, wasn't full and had to add ten boiled eggs and several thick pancakes on top of her own portion.
The trip went surprisingly smoothly, almost too smoothly, which made Jing Shu feel uneasy.
Even after they reached their destination that afternoon, her guard didn't drop.
Hong Bin, who had driven all day through the rough terrain, was out cold in his bunk. The minibus parked amid silent, towering mountains. Lǚ Liu told everyone to bundle up and scout around the immediate area, since the signal they had been tracking was supposed to come from nearby.
Jing Shu wrapped herself in layers of wool and fur until only her eyes showed. She slipped on her thick rubber boots and got off the bus with Xiao Dou.
"This used to be the Tianshan Mountains! But just a few months ago, it was the canal region," Lǚ Liu said as she sketched on the new map. They had even brought a small satellite radar this time to submit fresh geographical data.
"We are already deep in the mountains. I toured Tianshan with my parents for a week about three or four years ago," Jing Shu said, staring at the familiar, jagged landscape in disbelief. "The whole range stretches thousands of kilometers. Don't tell me it's all been relocated here. If we go in without navigation, we might never find a way out."
Lǚ Liu sent a drone circling the area for ten minutes. When it returned and she checked the footage, her face turned pale.
"We have to move right now. These are all winding mountain roads. Most of the highway is still intact, but some sections are bound to be cut off by the shifts. Once that happens, rerouting will waste a ton of time. And most importantly, this mountain road is way too long. Judging by this, the fleet couldn't have possibly passed through here."
In other words, they had missed the fleet entirely.