Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 952 - 466: Life (Part 8)_2

Xia Mubing smiled bitterly, knowing that time waited for no one and she couldn't delay any longer. She took two steps, looking back three times, finally waved to the three: "Master, Ping'an, Chen... junior brother, I'm leaving first. You must take care of yourselves in Beiping and wait for my return."

Then she ran towards the darkness without looking back, afraid that if she slowed down even a bit, she would want to turn back.

Zhao Cheng was still waving foolishly, but after a few waves, he realized something was wrong and complained, "Hey, why did Xia Mubing call me Chen's junior brother? I didn't take Master Chen as my master, how am I his junior brother?"

Chen Qiusheng, who was originally in the sadness of parting, knocked Zhao Cheng'an on the back of his head without any good humor: "You're even picking on me now. Luckily, I didn't take you as a disciple. Your skills over the years with Mubing's are not just a little bit different. You're always thinking about when to get paid and what to eat. If I really took you as a disciple, my reputation would be ruined."

Zhao Cheng'an repeatedly pleaded his innocence: "Master Chen, isn't everyone thinking about when to get paid and what to eat? To me, these are the two most important things in the world."

Chen Qiusheng was speechless with anger at Zhao Cheng'an and shook his head: "Ping'an, let's go back. The wind is strong at night; don't catch a cold."

Chen Ping'an smiled helplessly, quickly changing it into self-mockery. His voice was low, sounding very lost and guilty: "Father, it's me who's dragging you down."

"If it weren't for me, you and A sheng could have left, you could have gone with Master Jiang's family."

"It's because of me that you and A sheng have to stay in Beiping to accompany me."

Chen Qiusheng patted Chen Ping'an's shoulder soothingly: "There's no such thing as dragging down or not dragging down. I'm your father, and I'm proud to have a son like you who got into university. Plus, I'm already at this age; even if I leave, where could I go? Originally, I thought about going back outside the border in a few years, but now I can't go back. I don't like going south either, so it's better to stay in Beiping."

"Anyway, we're not some big wealthy family; there's nothing to be stolen, we won't die."

"It's just that we've dragged down A sheng, who has to stay in Beiping to look after the two of us."

Zhao Cheng'an widened his eyes: "How is this dragging down? Now the university moved away, so Ping'an doesn't have a university to go to. When the university moves back, Ping'an will finish and graduate, and work for the government. Later, Ping'an is supposed to support me for life."

"What do you say, Ping'an, you promised me. Once you graduate from university and get a government job, you'll support me. You can't break your promise; I've supported you for many years!"

Chen Ping'an laughed: "I won't break my promise, I'll support you then."

"Alright, let's go inside now. A sheng, wake up early tomorrow and go line up at the grain store to buy corn flour and sorghum flour."

"Can we steal it?"

"Not now, it's not the right time."

"Alright." Zhao Cheng'an went back inside, disappointed.

Qin Huai: ...

For some reason, what should have been a very sad farewell scene appeared like the scene of a hero thief without a place to use his talents.

The three of them each returned to their own rooms and went to sleep.

Zhao Cheng'an, who initially slept in the woodshed at Chen Qiusheng's house, has now upgraded to sleeping in the former servant's room. The room has also changed; the bed now has a layer of woven straw mat, there's a cabinet inside the room, which contains a thin quilt and some clothes.

There is a small stool by the wall, with a small parcel wrapped in oil paper on it, most likely containing food.

It's clear that Zhao Cheng'an has been living comfortably at Chen Qiusheng's house over the years, with even his own cabinet now.

As soon as Zhao Cheng'an returned to his room, he fell asleep, clearly not taking Xia Mubing's departure as a big deal. The father and son pair of Chen Qiusheng and Chen Ping'an were different, both carrying worry and guilt, and basically stayed awake all night with dark circles the next day when they awoke.

Zhao Cheng'an, seeing their dark circles, was taken aback and exclaimed it wasn't that serious. Xia Mubing just left one night; was it necessary to miss her so intensely?

Chen Qiusheng couldn't endure anymore, and while cooking porridge gave Zhao Cheng'an a good slap on the back of his head, his favorite.

That morning, the three ate bacon and white porridge for a very sumptuous breakfast, which was clearly an exception for the Chen family. As war loomed, the Chen family, due to Chen Ping'an's poor health, couldn't escape, so they stayed in Beiping City. Chen Qiusheng's many years of survival wisdom told him that if they didn't eat the good things at home now, they would only be robbed later, so it was better to eat them first.

And indeed it was true that after breakfast, Chen Ping'an and Zhao Cheng'an ate lots of snacks and preserved fruits. Chen Ping'an, due to his health, couldn't eat much, while Zhao Cheng'an ate cheerfully.

After the rich breakfast and snacks, it was barely dawn. Chen Qiusheng led Zhao Cheng'an to line up at the grain store to buy grain. After they went out, Qin Huai followed them around a bit and found that the nearby residents in Chen Qiusheng's neighborhood who could escape had mostly left. By now, those still in Beiping City, like Chen Ping'an, were either too frail to escape or were impoverished civilians who couldn't afford to flee.

The grain store was still open, but the shopkeeper had already run away. Only the diligent and stubborn assistants were still there, selling some mixed with mud and damp and spoiled grain.

Chen Qiusheng didn't buy much, partially because there wasn't much grain to buy. He bought a bag and a half of sorghum flour, with Zhao Cheng'an carrying one bag and him carrying the half bag. Then they went to the pharmacy to get a full two months' worth of medicine for Chen Ping'an before heading back.

Even back home, they weren't idle.

The house where the Chen family currently lived had a small cellar.

Chen Qiusheng split the grain at home in two, putting half of it in the current house's cellar and the other half in the cellar of the house the Li family left for them.

The house the Li family left them was on a relatively prosperous street. It seemed that before fleeing, the Li family heard of Chen Ping'an's condition and knew Chen Qiusheng would stay in Beiping, so they deliberately left them a relatively safe place to stay.

The house has five rooms, and the cellar could house four or five people and store enough supplies for several months of survival.

With such a good house, Chen Qiusheng didn't intend to move in. As Chen Qiusheng said, this house was meant for refuge in times of desperate situations. Usually, everyone knows no one lives in this house, and since the Li family has already left Beiping, there would be no one to notice. If they moved in, it would be like telling the neighbors that someone lives there now, making the originally safe house unsafe again. It's better to stay at the old place for now.

These words were Chen Ping'an explaining to Zhao Cheng'an why they didn't move in. Qin Huai didn't know if Zhao Cheng'an understood, as he felt Zhao Cheng'an didn't care much about these things.

It can be understood that for ordinary people, encountering war without fleeing is a matter of life and death, requiring caution in everything. But for a spirit, death is but a small step, a necessary part of tribulation.

Judging by Zhao Cheng'an's current manner, he probably hasn't failed in any tribulations yet. His attitude towards death would be more about a little reluctance rather than fear and worry.

As Chen Qiusheng rambled on to Zhao Cheng'an about being careful in the future, not to wander about with free time, not to be reckless, to keep a low voice when talking, to hide when necessary. If it truly came to the worst, if the family was starving, and he needed to steal, not to steal too much at once like before as it would be hard to carry back and would expose them, to steal a little at a time, and not to be picky when stealing.

Zhao Cheng'an's reply after listening was: "Master Chen, what are we having for dinner tonight? There's still a smoked chicken in the kitchen; are we having smoked chicken tonight?"

Zhao Cheng'an lived by the code: "Eating is the greatest matter of all."

Chen Qiusheng nodded helplessly: "Okay, smoked chicken it is."

"Remember what I said and from tomorrow, avoid going out aimlessly. Stay at home; if you get bored, let Ping'an teach you to write. It's really unsafe outside now."

"I understand, Master Chen," Zhao Cheng'an nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "Should I learn to recognize Ping'an's medicine for these two months in case we run out, and I have to steal some for Ping'an?"

Chen Qiusheng: ...

"Yes, you should recognize them. I'll have Ping'an teach you to identify them when we return tonight."