A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

Early in the morning, Han Caiping returned home carrying a vegetable basket that contained only half a rotten cabbage. As soon as she entered the door, she couldn't help but complain, "Old Zhang, I couldn't buy any vegetables today. What should I do? Our son is growing up!"

"Another price increase? Didn't you already have a month's salary? This is ridiculous!" Zhang Lei looked up from his computer and asked. He was chatting with his colleague, Lao Wang, who was Zhang Lei's colleague, superior, and longtime best friend. Lao Wang also had relatives in the city government. Zhang Lei was trying to get information from him.

Han Caiping said with great concern, "Don't even mention it. The supermarket's vegetable and meat shelves are all empty. You can't buy anything even with money. This half-rotten cabbage was bought from a kind auntie in the same trade who told me about a small, spontaneously formed vegetable market nearby. The stall owner told me that he probably wouldn't be able to buy even rotten cabbage tomorrow because he couldn't get any more stock. I bought the last cabbage he had."

"Sigh, these days..." Zhang Lei stopped mid-sentence. As the head of the family, he couldn't say anything discouraging, lest it affect his wife and children. He changed his words, saying, "Old Wang told me that it's all because of those monsters."

"Weren't the monsters wiped out by the army a few days ago?" Han Caiping asked hurriedly, "They've reappeared?"

"The ones in the city have all been wiped out, but there are still rural areas and sparsely populated places that the army can't take care of. Now no one dares to harvest the vegetables in the fields, and even if they do, no one dares to transport them. Only some daring people who are particularly short of money are still running vegetable transportation. Pingyuan City has a population of 20 million, and the consumption is too great, so the supply can't keep up." Zhang Lei shared the news he heard from Lao Wang with his wife.

Han Caiping nodded and said, "Didn't the government and the army think of a solution?" As she spoke, she walked over to Zhang Lei and went to look at the computer.

“Well, take a look too. This is a document Lao Wang sent me; it contains a lot of information.” Zhang Lei stepped aside and continued, “The army has already taken action. They’ve protected several large grain farms and are patrolling major transportation routes. But even that probably can’t guarantee supplies. Lao Wang said the municipal government is preparing to distribute relief grain. We’ll probably have to eat relief grain until we completely wipe out these monsters.”

Zhang Xi overheard the elderly couple's conversation, opened his bedroom door, and came out, saying, "Mom, don't worry about the food. Look." He then dragged out a large pile of food from the kitchen, all of which was still frozen meat, vegetables, and fruit.

"Where did this come from?" Zhang Lei and Han Caiping asked in surprise.

Zhang Xi said, "I've told you before about that dream I had, right? There was a food shortage in the dream, so I secretly took some money from your card, and combined it with the living expenses you gave me for the past six months, I bought food and saved it all." Zhang Xi told a white lie.

He went to the window, pointed to the building next door, and continued, "It's on the third floor next door. I went and got some this morning before everyone woke up. Mom and Dad, don't tell anyone about this, or we'll get into trouble."

“Silly child, of course we won’t tell anyone. If no one else has it, and only your family does, it will attract jealousy from petty people. Your mother and I understand this, so you don’t need to remind us. But your dream was really strange. Find some time to talk to your mother and me about it.” Zhang Lei was very happy that his son had solved the food problem.

Han Caiping had already started getting busy. While cleaning the vegetables, he said, "We still need to be careful. Who knows when the monsters will end?"

Zhang Xi also ran over to help, pouring water as she said, "No need, Mom, I've saved up a lot, enough for our family to eat for two years."

The raccoon also came over, its mouth watering as it looked at the beef, and said, "No need to skimp." Han Caiping looked at the raccoon and couldn't help but pinch its little face, saying, "raccoon, I went to the police station to help you find a husband, but the police can't care about these things right now. I'm sorry to trouble you to stay at my house for a while longer."

The raccoon seemed oblivious to the fact that its face had been pinched again. It stared at the beef, drooling, and said, "I'm not upset, I'm not upset." Its greedy look amused the family of three. The family then happily chatted and laughed as they cooked together. This is how ordinary people live; they don't ask for much. As long as their basic needs are met, and the family is together, they can find comfort in each other even in the face of great hardship.

After busying herself for a while, Han Caiping suddenly remembered something and looked up to ask Zhang Xi, "Son, is all this meat frozen in the freezer?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Zhang Xi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That won't do. What if the power goes out? Bring some tomorrow and I'll make them into cured meat. That way, we won't have to worry about a power outage."

Zhang Xi suddenly realized that he rarely cared about daily necessities and hadn't considered things so carefully. "Okay," he said.

The family ate with particular relish during this meal, and even Amber was affected. It seemed to know that the beef in front of it was a rare treat, so it ate more than usual.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Lei's phone suddenly rang. He took it out and looked at it, saying, "It's a message from Teacher Ouyang. He said that school will start as usual the day after tomorrow, which is why Zhang Xi was late. He also said that the city is very safe now, so school will continue as normal. Moreover, the school will provide meals for the children during school hours."

While washing the dishes, Han Caiping said, "That's right, no matter what, the child's studies can't be neglected."

……

On September 1st, summer vacation ended, and all schools in Pingyuan City, from elementary to high school, reopened as normal. However, many out-of-town students from universities were unable to attend. Clearly, the monster problem on the city's outskirts remains unresolved. Traffic safety cannot be guaranteed.

Zhang Xi refused her parents' request to take her to school and went to school by bus as usual.

The bus traveled smoothly and quickly on the empty highway. The driver was much more relaxed than usual because there were significantly fewer private cars on the road.

The bus stopped at a station, and a pleasant announcement sounded: "Western Baikal has arrived. Passengers who have arrived, please disembark. The police remind you that there is a curfew this week. For your safety, please do not go out at night."

Zhang Xi was surprised to see Wang Ruilong and his mother among the passengers boarding the bus. It was the first time he'd seen the chubby boy on a bus. He smiled, stood up, and called out, "Wang Ruilong! What brings you to the bus?" Then he greeted a young-looking woman behind him, "Hello, Auntie!"

Ruilong's mother also liked her son's good friend who was good at studying. She thought, "Like attracts like." She said, "Zhang Xi, Ruilong will go to school with you every day from now on."

Before his mother could finish speaking, Wang Ruilong interrupted, "I know, Mom. I already said I'm with Zhang Xi, you don't need to see me off." With that, he pulled Zhang Xi to the back of the car, keeping a distance from her mother.

Ruilong's mother wasn't angry and didn't follow him. She found a seat in the middle of the car and sat down. She knew very well that teenagers could be rebellious and didn't like being with their parents all the time, so she let him be.

;