Chapter 59: Busy Farming in the Last Days

Jun 23 2023

Ji Cha fed the chickens in the morning and then went to the warehouse to take out the apples.

Although he had already decided to make apple jam, Ji Cha was still hesitant to use all the ingredients at once. He first picked three apples that had relatively lost their freshness, peeled and cored them, and cut the rest into small, fine pieces.

The information Ji Cha found stated that he also needed some lemon juice, but he couldn’t find any lemons at the moment, so he had to use a little white vinegar instead, hoping it would have a similar effect. In addition, although the apples were already sweet, he still took out some white sugar. Adding an appropriate amount of sugar can increase the shelf life of the apple jam.

Those were basically all the ingredients he needed. Ji Cha then took out a milk pot, added some water to it, and slowly boiled the apple pieces and sugar over medium heat. After about half an hour, the apples had become soft and slightly translucent and sticky, but still not enough. Ji Cha lowered the heat and continued to cook for another fifty minutes or so. He used a spoon to press down, and the apple pieces were easily crushed into small, transparent pieces mixed with the sticky syrup.

Ji Cha tasted a small spoonful of the apple jam, and the added sugar did not increase the sweetness of the apples, probably because the apples were already very sweet. In terms of results, the apple jam was indeed successful, which made Ji Cha relieved.

He spent the rest of the morning making the remaining apples into jam, and then put them in sealed jars and returned them to the warehouse. Although there was a lot of apple jam, it was enough to finish them in three months.

Ji Cha had just finished washing his hands and was about to go see the little chicks when he bumped into Liang Jincheng at the stairwell, who had just returned from outside with a big bag.

Liang Jincheng often went out, but it was rare to see him carrying such a big bag when he came back. Ji Cha couldn’t help but ask, “What did you bring back?”

Liang Jincheng pinched his fingers that were hanging by his side, loosened them before Ji Cha could grab them, and then shook his head with a smile, “Nothing.”

Grandma Ji was cutting vegetables in the kitchen nearby, so it was not appropriate to say anything.

Ji Cha was a little afraid when he saw his eyes, and then he guessed what was probably in the bag. His face changed slightly, and he turned and walked away without saying anything to Liang Jincheng.

Liang Jincheng was in a good mood, smiling to himself as he went upstairs and placed his things in Ji Cha’s room.

In the afternoon, Ji Cha finished his daily chores and spent some time in the chicken coop. Watching the energetic and chirping little chicks running around made him happy, and he couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

He thought the day would pass uneventfully until someone suddenly came looking for him.

It was the familiar soldier named Zhao Tiankuo, who frequently came and went.

“Hey Ji Cha, do you have any food to spare? There’s someone outside who’s starving and the army canteen is too far away.”

“Yes,” Ji Cha stood up quickly. “Who’s starving?”

He didn’t usually pay much attention to what was happening outside, and he didn’t know that people came to the base every day trying to get in. But as soon as Zhao Tiankuo spoke, he understood. From past experience, he knew that the base was still relatively easy to get into, but it would be much harder once more people showed up.

“He looks pitiful, but we can’t just let anyone in,” Zhao Tiankuo said. “The standards were too loose in the beginning, and we almost had a big problem in the south corner. After they got in, they even tried to rob us, and three people died in the fight…”

“I heard about that, but I didn’t know it started like that,” Ji Cha said.

He ran to the kitchen, where there were still plenty of things. Zhao Tiankuo followed him in and was amazed. “Hey, your food is really good.” He then reminded Ji Cha, “Just take a little bit, don’t make it too obvious, or people will remember and come back for more.”

“Okay.” Ji Cha nodded and took out the steamed buns and baozi that his grandmother had made in the morning. He thought for a moment and took out the remaining nine, putting them in the microwave to heat up. He also took some pickled vegetables to go with the porridge and put them in a container. “Let’s go together.”

He wanted to see what was happening outside.

Zhao Tiankuo smiled and said, “It’s perfect that you’re going there. I have to go for a shift change, so I’ll give you the documents. I’ll come back to get them tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Ji Cha took Zhao Tiankuo’s documents, tidied up a bit, and prepared to leave.

Just as he left the factory gate, Liang Jincheng appeared out of nowhere. Although the road outside was almost deserted, Ji Cha took a step back when he saw Liang Jincheng, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s not safe outside. I’ll accompany you,” said Liang Jincheng.

Ji Cha was surprised, “Did you hear our conversation just now?”

He remembered that Liang Jincheng was taking a shower upstairs just now.

Liang Jincheng’s hair was still dripping with water, but he didn’t feel cold in the almost December weather. “Of course, I heard it clearly,” he said.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Ji Cha had always known that Liang Jincheng’s five senses were evolved, but he didn’t expect them to have evolved to this extent. Before he could say anything, Liang Jincheng continued, “So every time you breathe next to my ear, your voice is the only thing I hear in the whole world… It drives me crazy.”

Ji Cha blushed and wanted to slap the lunch box in his hand on Liang Jincheng’s face.

They were about two kilometers away from the guard post gate. Ji Cha rode the small electric scooter from home with Liang Jincheng to the gate.

With Liang Jincheng there, it seemed unnecessary to show the documents to the soldiers at the guard post. Ji Cha carefully put away the documents, took the lunch box, and followed the soldier’s directions outside. There were four small groups gathered together outside, probably four small families. Except for a man and a woman with a child, all the others were couples.

Zhao Tiankuo was not exaggerating when he said someone had fainted from hunger. The child in the group of three was tightly closing their eyes, and the others were not much better. All of them had a pale complexion and obvious malnutrition.

Ji Cha stepped out of the door and immediately received everyone’s attention. The lunch box in his hand was too conspicuous.

However, with Liang Jincheng and the soldiers with guns standing beside Ji Cha, no one dared to approach him.

Ji Cha sighed in his heart and opened the lid of the lunch box, distributing a steamed bun and a stuffed bun to each person. The stuffed bun was filled with meat, but the steamed bun was even larger. Everyone who received them wolfed them down regardless of what was inside.

Ji Cha then divided the pickles into four portions and gave each person a share.

“Thank you, thank you,” the woman in the group of three, whom Ji Cha guessed was the mother, kept thanking him. She then carefully woke up her child and opened the stuffed bun to feed him the filling.

Ji Cha turned his face away, feeling uneasy about the scene.

Later, he inquired with the soldiers at the gate and was relieved to learn that these people had all been admitted to the base after inspection. A few days later, Ji Cha even saw the father of the group of three at the construction site nearby. The man recognized Ji Cha at a glance and came over to thank him personally.