Stockpiling Supplies&Raising a Child in a Post-Apocalyptic World by DrawingCards

Chapter 73

For dinner, Lin Ran and Mo Shuyu prepared a hot pot. Although they didn't have fresh vegetables, Lin Ran had soaked plenty of dried vegetables.

She soaked wood ear mushrooms, dried tofu, and dried shiitake mushrooms in advance, and prepared luncheon meat, shrimp paste, and a lot of meatballs. Lin Ran also brought out some noodles. She made two kinds of broth: one tomato-based and one spicy.

Soon, a hot pot feast was ready. Ruan Ruan sat in her high chair, eyes wide, staring at the shrimp paste already in the pot.

Lin Ran added some shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and dried tofu to both sides of the pot, along with some meatballs. Soon, the aroma filled the air.

Wei Qingxue was amazed. Despite the chaos outside, Lin Ran and the others still had so much food and could enjoy a hot pot.

"It's almost ready. Everyone, dig in," Lin Ran said, taking the little girl's bowl and filling it with shrimp paste, wood ear mushrooms, and dried shiitake mushrooms from the tomato pot, filling her small bowl.

Ruan Ruan's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lin Ran, "Thank you, Auntie~"

"You're welcome. Eat up like a good girl," Lin Ran said, setting Ruan Ruan's bowl down before starting to eat herself.

The soaked shiitake mushrooms were delicious, more flavorful than fresh ones. The wood ear mushrooms were crunchy and smooth. Along with the luncheon meat and meatballs, Lin Ran quickly finished a bowl.

After they had eaten most of the meatballs and vegetables, Lin Ran added noodles to the broth. Once they were cooked, she served Ruan Ruan half a bowl, as it wasn't good for children to eat too much at night.

Lin Ran filled herself a large bowl. After dinner, the adults played with the little girl in the living room. Ruan Ruan, holding her stuffed cat, alternated between jumping into Mo Shuyu's arms and running to Lin Ran, keeping herself busy.

While they were playing with the little one, the living room light flickered and then went out.

Lin Ran quickly stood up and looked outside, seeing that the few occupied apartments in the community were also dark. After over a month, the inevitable had happened—Jiangbei City had lost power.

Ruan Ruan, afraid of the dark, shrank into Mo Shuyu's arms and asked, "Mommy, why is it suddenly dark?"

"Don't be scared. We will have the light again soon," Mo Shuyu said, holding the little one and using her phone to illuminate the room.

Lin Ran sighed, "The power's out. You wait here. I'll switch us to the solar power system."

When reinforcing the house, Lin Ran had anticipated this and had two circuits installed: one for the municipal power grid and one for the solar power system. Switching between them was simple, just a matter of pressing a few buttons.

Lin Ran went to the balcony and operated the controls. Soon, the living room lights came back on.

Returning to the living room, Lin Ran said, "We have solar panels, so our daily life should be fine. But once the power is out, it means the apocalypse is truly here."

Cheng Yanhong, alarmed by Lin Ran's words, asked, "Does that mean we'll be in more danger?"

"I can't say for sure what will happen, but don't worry. I'll do my best to keep everyone safe. Tomorrow morning, we'll go out and see if we can get more supplies." Even though they had power, Lin Ran felt a bit uneasy. Power and water outages meant they were moving further away from industrial civilization.

The power outage dampened everyone's spirits. "Let's all go to bed early. It's getting late," someone suggested.

"Alright, I'll take Ruan Ruan to bed now. It's about time," Cheng Yanhong said, carrying the little one to her room.