CH 87.1

Chapter 87.1 – Outbreak

As soon as Lu Tinghan opened the door, he smelled millet porridge and pork ribs soup.

“Lu Tinghan!” Shi Yuan suddenly sprang out of the kitchen and threw himself into his arms.

Shi Yuan’s head was iron-hard, even if Lu Tinghan was ready, he still felt that he had been hit by a small missile. For a while, there was only a cheerful tail in his vision, and a spatula stained with a few green onions.

Lu Tinghan’s expression couldn’t help but soften, and he asked, “What are you cooking today?”

“There are millet porridge, stir-fried kale, twice-cooked pork, lotus root peanut soup with pork ribs,” Shi Yuan counted over one by one, “I just made two, but I didn’t finish the others.”

“Why so many?”

“Colonel Lu came back early today, and he said he wanted to have a ‘warm family dinner full of love and pork ribs’, so we prepared a lot,” Shi Yuan said, “Touch my head!”

“My hands are dirty, wait for me to take off my gloves and wash my hands.”

Shi Yuan hugged him all the way and didn’t let go. Lu Tinghan took Shi Yuan with difficulty, took off his white gloves, washed his hands, and rubbed the soft black hair.

Shi Yuan: “Purr, purr, purr, purr.”

He stayed with Lu Tinghan with satisfaction for a while, until Yu Qingmei poked her head out of the kitchen: “Shi Yuan, the meat hasn’t been cut yet.”

Shi Yuan: “Coming!” He abandoned Lu Tinghan and ran back to the kitchen happily.

Yu Qingmei looked at Lu Tinghan, her tone changed: “Why did you come back so early? As soon as you come back, Shi Yuan will definitely be pestering you to play, the pork ribs are not even finished yet.”

—’ A son is not as important as pork ribs.’

Professor Yu thought so.

Lu Tinghan said, ‘Then, I am not welcome?”

“If you are half as capable as Shi Yuan.” Yu Qingmei mercilessly closed the kitchen door behind her.

Lu Tinghan smiled and sat on the sofa reading a book, listening to the sound of ping-pong-pong from the kitchen.

A voice came from the broadcast: [In December 244 of the Alliance, the ‘Deep Dive’ project was announced to be successful. Professor Guan Xun of the research center led the team to simulate the wavelength of infection of Abyss No.0. At the same time, the Empire provided a safe and perfect underground building… Please allow me to remind the audience that the day after tomorrow, it will be the fifth anniversary of the Alliance’s move to Elton, the capital of the Empire. The people of the two sides no longer have barriers, they are like one family, and they have overcome the end of the world with wisdom.]

[Here, we have to mention two characters: General Lu Tinghan and Shi Yuan. Their reputations are overwhelming, and no one knows their stories, but we still have to start from the beginning. At the beginning of the story, a newly graduated military student, regardless of the opposition of his elders and superiors, insisted on being the watcher of Abyss No.0…]

The kitchen was in full swing.

Shi Yuan followed Yu Qingmei to learn to cook, and he had been learning for a long time.

After the success of the “Deep Dive” plan, Yu Qingmei finally relaxed and no longer had to live in the research center. She was now getting old, she’d occasionally go to the project team to guide for two or three days, and stay at home other times, quarreling with Lu Zhun, or running to Lu Tinghan’s house to help Shi Yuan cook.

No one would have thought that Professor Yu and Academician Yu, who had studied for a lifetime, would be so talented in cooking.

Although she used a kitchen knife as if she was dissecting a white mouse, and putting soy sauce as if she was dripping an appropriate amount of solvent, it did not affect the color, flavor, and taste of the dishes.

Shi Yuan studied hard and improved his cooking skills.

At least he was better than Lu Tinghan, who could only chop green onion noodles.

The millet porridge was bubbling, and the iced kale with ice cubes was getting more crispy and tender. The taste of twice-cooked pork was mixed with the brine pork elbow, and it was served with pork ribs soup. Although there was no taste of mountains and seas, and they were all just home-cooked dishes, but just the smell alone could make people salivate.

The rice cooker “beeped”, and the white rice was cooked.

When the doorbell rang, Lu Tinghan got up and opened the door. As soon as Lu Zhun entered the door, he drank a whole glass of water and said, “The weather is too hot, won’t it be too hot to death?”

“The mind is calm and cool,” Yu Qingmei said lightly, “Who told you to go fishing in this weather? You are so bored, help serve the food.”

She slapped the garlic flat with a knife.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lu Zhun shouted, “Don’t any of you want to ask me what fish I caught?”

Three people, three pairs of eyes looked at him, without waves or expectations.

Yu Qingmei said, “Who has been in the air force for half a month, you don’t know it in your heart? Go quickly, don’t want to eat tonight when the meal is cold.”

Lu Zhun muttered, saying something like: “Those who are close to ink are black”, “Now Shi Yuan has been taught badly by you”, “a fisherman will never return emptyhanded”, and so on.

The dishes were set. The four of them gathered around the table and finished the meal in a lively manner. Lotus root peanut soup with pork ribs and millet porridge were well received. Yu Qingmei sandwiched vegetables for Shi Yuan, and Lu Tinghan also sandwiched vegetables for Shi Yuan. Shi Yuan’s bowl was piled up as high as a hill, and his tail was knotted with worry. Lu Zhun waited for a long time, his wife and son ignored him, and he was so angry that he even ate five pieces of ribs.

After eating, Lu Tinghan and Lu Zhun were responsible for washing the dishes.

The housework robot at home was broken and scrapped.

However, the military factory and high-tech development zone in Elton had returned to normal.

After simulating Abyss No.0, no monsters would approach this underground city, and humans had been given sufficient time for development. Soon, there would be new robot chips, and after the big robots returned to operation, housekeeping robots would surely return to the home.

Lu Zhun brushed the cauldron and said, “Why don’t you have any cooking talent? You’re reduced to cleaning the pot with me.”

Lu Tinghan took a sponge cloth and wiped it across the sink, as if he was wiping his gun.

He said, “Who do you think I inherited?”

Lu Zhun laughed.

In the evening, there was a live broadcast of a football game.

After playing this small game for half a month, it finally reached the final. It was the Elton team vs. the Gleaning team. This was the first ball game after the end of the world. There was no green grass, only a dirty piece of turf. There were no professional athletes, but all veterans and amateurs, and they played well.

Yu Qingmei left a sentence: “I do not do this kind of time-wasting things.” And went to the balcony.

Leaving Lu Tinghan, Shi Yuan, and Lu Zhun, the three of them sat on the sofa, set up juice and snacks, and watched the TV.

They turned off the lights and turned up the sound, the atmosphere was just right.

Shi Yuan watched the game for the first time, nestling in Lu Tinghan’s arms, watching carefully while eating mung bean cakes.

The players ran hard, and the commentary was impassioned. Lu Tinghan explained every rule to him. Shi Yuan was still stunned and asked blankly, “Why did the referee blow the whistle?”

Or “Who broke the rule and why? What is a sliding tackle?”

Or “Why do humans chase a small ball and run? Ah! The ball is in!”

Shi Yuan was full of questions while watching the humans chasing the small ball. Although it was fun, his tail bent around in confusion, it was straightened by Lu Tinghan, but after two minutes, it bent again.

And Lu Zhun was lying on the sofa, hugging a pack of melon seeds, watching and eating with relish. He said that a small gamble was fun. He poured all his private money on the Gleaning team, a total of 20 yuan and 50 cents. He hoped to make a comeback and earn two packs of cigarettes.

Lu Tinghan watched the football game with an expressionless face, but Lu Zhun’s emotions were all displayed on his face. The Gleaning team scored the first goal, and he was so excited that he almost spilled melon seeds.

—Everyone thought that this goal was the beginning.

Unexpectedly, it was over.

In the next 60 minutes, the Gleaning team never scored a goal again, and finally lost 1:3.

Lu Zhun was heartbroken and sighed.

Shi Yuan comforted him: “It’s okay, there will be another game next year, right?” He looked at Lu Tinghan as if seeking confirmation.

Lu Tinghan affirmed: “Yes, they plan to hold another game next year, and there will be a Fengyang team at that time.”

Only then did Lu Zhun ease up a bit: “Yes, yes, I’m going to start saving private money again.”

Lu Tinghan asked, “Didn’t you save a few hundred last time?”

“Don’t remind me!” Lu Zhun poured the leftover melon seed shells into the trash can, “Your mother found it all! She confiscated everything!”

After watching the game, it was already late, and Lu Zhun and Yu Qingmei slept in the guest room on the first floor overnight.

Lu Tinghan cleaned up the desktop and went to the bedroom on the second floor. Shi Yuan was waiting for him on the bed. As soon as he went to bed, Shi Yuan arched into his arms.

Lu Tinghan asked, “How was your day?”

Shi Yuan told him about his work at the food distribution office, and then said, “I feel that there have been fewer and fewer guests recently.”

“Maybe they all went to the restaurant to eat.”

“Yeah, the distribution office is always made of canned food, which is not delicious.”

Shi Yuan continued to babble about what he had seen and heard, and Lu Tinghan listened intently.

Shi Yuan said again: “Wolfgang and Mr. Cheng are preparing for the troupe. Soon, I will be able to go back to acting.”

“What’s the play?”

“Continue to play “The Martyr”, as well as the new script “Unattainable”.” Shi Yuan raised his head and asked him, “They are all very good scripts. Will you come and see them?”

Lu Tinghan did not answer.

Under the light, his expression was still gentle.

He said, “No, Shi Yuan, I won’t.”

Shi Yuan’s tail bent into a question mark.

Lu Tinghan looked at him and said, “Because I am here to say goodbye to you, now is the time.”

“What goodbye?” Shi Yuan asked.

“I’m leaving.”

“Ah, now? Is there a situation in the army?” Shi Yuan’s eyes widened, “When will you be back?”

Lu Tinghan: “I won’t be back.”

He got up, put on the windbreaker he had already prepared, and walked downstairs.

Shi Yuan was stunned and chased him downstairs: “Lu Tinghan!”

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**TN

Fishermen Air Force – meaning they didn’t get any fish but will still take something back home, like crabs, snakes, or a bottle of mineral water, etc. / Go fishing and never come back empty-handed! This is their last dignity. As long as they don’t come back empty handed, they can preserve their dignity. LOL