Chapter 41
After dinner, they couldn''t bear to waste the leftover broth from the stew. They decided to use it
again the next day for some pasta.
Times were tough. They were just grateful to have vorful food. Who cared about eating healthy or
not?
The fatty meat had been rendered down into oil. The cracklings were golden and crispy. It was
enough tost a good long while.
Ang took out the remaining meat, asking, “Ste, how much salt should we use for all this?”
Salt was precious, just enough tost the year if used properly. Using too much was wasteful, but if
too little was used, the meat might be spoiled.
They were fortunate to have gotten their hands on a pig. In this post-apocalyptic world, the scent of
fresh meat was a rare luxury. But they couldn''t just indulge. They had to n for the future.
Everyone wanted to preserve the meat, so Ste finally spoke up, “Thendlord''s car has a huge
fridge. I''ll go back and render the fat. We should be able to fit everything in.”
She wanted to fetch another fridge from Arcadia but their sr charger would have trouble handling
it.
Cody and the others were thrilled and wanted to help render the fat. In front of her, they were all
domestic novices, but they all offered to help. They didn’t want to be a burden to her.
Ste wouldn''t let them help. “No need. I can manage it by myself. You guys should go clean up
and rest.”
Back home, she threw the meat into the fridge in Arcadia. Then she took out her multifunctional
massage bathtub. She filled it with warm water, plugged in the sr energy storage box, turned on
some soothing music, and closed her eyes to rx.
Cooper, her dog,y beside her, gnawing on a bone-filled bowl. Cooper had been epted by a
new owner, so he seemed particrly excited, gnawing on his bone with gusto.
Protectiveness over food is a dog''s instinct, but Cooper liked Ste. He had deliberately saved half
a bowl of bones for her. “Woof!”
Ste was grateful. “You eat it.” She tossed him a sausage.
The next day, she woke up naturally. Jasper, together with Cody and Lukas, had gone to the
department store to trade for grains. It was a simple task that didn''t require Ste''s presence.
After a breakfast of delicious toasts with Cooper, Ste not only brushed her own teeth but also
brushed Cooper''s. Then, she took the pig offal to 1803. She brought a stool and started to process
the offal with Ang. Rosie ran over to join them. “Hi, I can help.”
Ste didn''t want her to get dirty. “You y with Cooper.”
Since Cooper arrived, the atmosphere on the 18th floor had be much livelier. If anything
happened downstairs, it wouldn''t escape his ears.
Whatforted Ste more was that Cooper was a principled dog.
Rosie secretly put a piece of fried crackling into Cooper''s mouth. He drooled but didn''t eat it, staring
at Ste with pleading eyes. “Woof.”
Ste yed a trick. “It''s poisoned!”
Scared, Cooper dropped the crackling from his mouth.
Ste chuckled, “Just kidding, it''s not poisoned. Go ahead and eat.”
Cooper was cautious, sniffing it for a while before wolfing it down.
Ang didn’t stoppedughing until she felt pain in her belly. “Cooper is so smart. He can resist
even the most tempting food unless you give him the okay.”
This was an alertness born from harsh life experiences. The stray dogs not only had to face human
persecution, animal control capture, but also a variety of dog thieves. If he didn''t have some skills,
he wouldn''t survive this long.
But Cooper was indeed very clever. He seemed smarter than before. He fully understood human
language, and even started to help discipline others.
Smoky and Snowy were less intelligent. Their eating and excreting habits frustrated Ste. Cooper,
however, was dominant. He would bite down and pat them vigorously with his paw.
‘That''s the punishment for relieving yourself anywhere!’
Then he would grab them by the neck and drag them to the toilet. ‘Go ahead. Do it in front of me!’
Perhaps animalsmunicated with each other better. After being disciplined by Cooper a few
times, Smoky and Snowy really learned their lessons.
Today, when Ste woke up, she found them using the toilet.
She also had ten baby rabbits, and Cooper had a way to deal with them as well. Whoever relieved
themselves anywhere, he would catch Smoky and Snowy and give them a good beating. ''Are you
going to manage them? If no, I''ll eat them!''
Cooper would discipline the rabbits, and the rabbits would discipline their babies. There was nothing
they couldn''t learn. Cooper became the leader of the pack in no time, with twelve underlings under
his paw.
Jasper, Lukas and Cody returned around noon. By then, Ste and Ang had finished cleaning
the pig offal. The intestines, liver, and some lean meat were all prepared. Then they marinated it all
with some seasonings. The fat intestines were stewed and cut into pieces.
She had nned out the day''s meals.
For lunch, each person would get a bowl of offal stew and fried pork intestines with pickled
cabbage.
For dinner, they would have fried onions with pork heart, and stewed pork tripe with peppers.
The rest would be used the next day.
The vegetables and onions were Ste''s, and Ang offered the grains, pasta, oil, gas, and other
ingredients.
Jasper was also generous, always bringing arge supply of food every time, but they also kept
track of everything in their minds. None of them were calctive or scheming, which was why they
could get along so well.
Cody was satisfied with the meal. “Ste, why don''t you do the cooking from now on? We''d just ruin
the food.”
Ste refused firmly. “No way. I''m not bing the housekeeper. Maybe just once in a while.”
“Why did you guys return sote from the grain exchange?” Ang asked, concerned, “We thought
something might happen to you guys.”
“The exchange went smoothly. We thought we had time so we checked out a nearby office building.
But we found nothing.” Cody shared the day''s events, “The price of rice at the department store has
gone up again, and the quantity is decreasing. Monkey''s gang, who we traded with, didn''t take
advantage of the situation or follow us. They seem to have some principles.”
“Rice at 2000 dors a pound. Ordinary people can''t afford it. They can only sell so much a day
while risking being caught. We are their big customers.”
Ste checked the grains they brought back. The quality was simr to yesterday''s.
None of them had any experience. “Ste, how do we eat this rice?”
It was salvaged from underwater. Who would dare to eat it? They were unsure of what to do.
“Seal it in a bag and save it for when we really run out of food. Also, keep an eye out if anyone gets
sick from eating this kind of grain. If not, we can mix some into our meals.”
Lukas agreed, “Ste, you always think ahead.”
“By the way, Monkey''s gang doesn''t just sell grains. They also buy things. They ept tea, alcohol,
and medicine in exchange.”
They had collected a lot of these items, especially medicine. They heard that hospitals were running
out of medicine. Even if there was any left, it would be sold per pill at an exorbitant price.
They had valuable resources, which no doubt opened up more possibilities for survival. This
relieved Lukas and the others. “How about we trade for some premium rice?”
Ste disapproved, “We already spent 500,000 dors, which is already conspicuous enough. We
don''t want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. Surely, food is scarce, but medicine will be
scarcer. By then, we can trade for more food. There''s no need to rush.”Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
After dinner, Ste and Jasper left together.
Jasper asked, “Can we start the deal today?”
Apparently, he was eager to get started on the dog training.
Ste had no objections. She squatted down to discuss with the dog, “Cooper, would you mind if
this gentleman here starts training you every day?”
Cooper squinted his eyes, full of alertness and resistance, and retreated two steps in
dissatisfaction.
The strong aura of 1801 was not a hit with Cooper.