Ch95 Meng Ci, Who Do You Like Best?
"You two... are really something!"
To get pregnant at a time like this? They can barely take care of themselves, let alone a child.
That's why Meng Ci was utterly shocked upon learning Zhang Mingtian's wife was expecting.
How could a pregnant woman get proper nutrition at a time like this?
And prenatal checkups? Finding a doctor for future births would be nearly impossible.
These two are incredibly bold.
Aren't they afraid of complications during delivery, or giving birth to a deformed child? It's no wonder Meng Ci imagined the worst-novels had depicted post-apocalyptic scenarios where malnourished pregnant women or those who consumed mutated substances gave birth to deformed children.
Zhang Mingtian sighed. "My wife and I are both in our late thirties. After all these years of marriage, we still haven't had a child."
"We figured maybe one of us had an issue."
"But our relationship is strong, and we didn't want this to damage it, so we never got checked."
"Who knew my wife would actually get pregnant this time?"
When Zhang Mingtian first learned of his wife's pregnancy, his immediate reaction was to urge her to terminate it.
After all, in this post-apocalyptic world, how could they possibly raise a child?
But Zhang Mingtian's wife and mother didn't see it that way. They believed a child arriving at this time must signify good fortune.
So they persuaded Zhang Mingtian to agree to keep the baby.
And deep down, Zhang Mingtian also harbored a little hope of having a child with his wife, so he agreed to this seemingly absurd decision.
Since it was their family affair, Meng Ci couldn't say much and simply let the matter drop.
He then began inquiring about the refugee settlement.
Zhang Mingtian shared everything he knew with Meng Ci.
The villa complex Meng Ci had purchased was originally built with only one hundred units.
The occupancy rate of this villa complex was barely one-fifth.
The government occupied villas numbered 51 to 100. Subsequently, the government arranged for the occupants of these villas to relocate to the unoccupied villas numbered 1 to 50.
After demolishing most of the villas, they began constructing new housing along the mountainside, ascending the slope.
Each new dwelling measured only about ten square meters, furnished with a metal bunk bed.
At least eight people shared each room.
Larger rooms were reserved for those with exceptional skills.
Migrant workers skilled in brickmaking or masonry were prioritized for resettlement.
Doctors, scarce in the post-apocalyptic world, also received preferential treatment.
Urban white-collar and blue-collar workers like Zhang Mingtian, once glamorous before the apocalypse, became utterly useless afterward.
They couldn't lift heavy loads or perform manual labor, being unaccustomed to physical work and ignorant of farming.
They were relegated to the lowest rung of society.
Digging earth, shoveling snow-they performed the most grueling tasks daily yet received the scantest rations.
Thus, upon learning they could leave, Zhang Mingtian and his companions departed without hesitation.
Meng Ci nodded upon hearing this.
The villa Meng Ci had purchased was Number 8, built with Impenetrable walls-certainly not overrun.
Meng Ci felt relieved. Once the blizzard ended, they could move In..
Back in the house, Meng Ci briefly explained the situation to Shen Que and revealed he owned a villa there.
Once the blizzard ended, if this house had any issues, the two of them could stay there.
Shen Que raised no objections to this arrangement.
The Meng family had once been M City's wealthiest clan. Owning a villa in such a prime location, where every inch of land was precious, was perfectly normal.
During dinner, Meng Ci prepared a bowl of meat mixed with rice for the white wolf, generously topping it with leftover dishes and soup.
The white wolf, never picky, ate with gusto.
Meng Ci was pleased with the wolf's lack of fussiness and began pondering a name for it.
"Shen Que, any suggestions?" Meng Ci asked hopefully.
Shen Que considered it and proposed, "When naming animals, you can base it on things you like."
"For example, if you like drinking Coke, you could call it Coke."
"If you love braised eggplant, you could name it Braised or Eggplant."
Meng Ci initially thought Shen Que's suggestion was decent, but when he mentioned braised eggplant later, it struck him as absurd.
So Meng Ci propped himself up, deliberately saying, "What I love most is a person named Shen Que."
"Then can I call the white wolf Shen Que?"
Shen Que heard this and fixed his gaze intently on Meng Ci.
Meng Ci blinked. He was just joking around-Shen Que couldn't possibly be taking this seriously, could he?
"What did you just say?" Shen Que suddenly asked.
Meng Ci couldn't possibly repeat what he'd said earlier. His eyes darted around. "I didn't say anything."
Oh my god, he'd just accidentally confessed to Shen Que! How embarrassing!
"You said I was your favorite person," Shen Que stated.
Well, what's done is done. Too late to be shy now.
"Mhm." Meng Ci nodded, clearing his throat to admit it.
Shen Que was so handsome, and she cooked and cleaned for him -of course he was her favorite.
Though, Meng Ci silently added in her mind, the person she loved most of all was herself.
Shen Que didn't even bother checking if his hands were still wet from washing dishes. He grabbed Meng Ci and kissed her.
Meng Ci's eyes widened in shock.
This... this was the first time Shen Que had ever made the first move.
Too bad there was no camera to capture this moment.
When they finally pulled apart, breathless, a sliver of silver glistened between them.
Meng Ci quickly wiped the drool away, pretending nothing had happened.
But Meng Ci had only suggested calling the white wolf Shen Que to tease him.
Once the heat in his face subsided, Meng Ci resumed pondering a name for the wolf.
Coke? Eggplant? Latiao?
No matter how he racked his brain, Meng Ci couldn't find a suitable name for the white wolf.
He could only give up.
Forget it, forget it. Names are meant to be left to fate.
Bai Lang rolled off the tongue nicely.
That evening, after re-dressing Bai Lang's wounds, Shen Que left.
Meng Ci, however, entered the space pocket.
Arriving on the third floor, he checked if the characters on the wall had changed.
They hadn't. After guiding Meng Ci to store endless water within the space, the inscription remained unchanged.
Disappointed, Meng Ci exited the spatial realm.
Lying in the now-warmed bedding, Meng Ci sighed comfortably. The bitter cold had lasted nearly a month by now.
Snow fell intermittently, not as heavy as imagined.
But the temperature had plummeted drastically, now nearing minus forty degrees Celsius.
For Meng Ci, who had lived in the south before entering this world and had scarcely seen snow, this was unbearable.
Thus, he avoided going out whenever possible.
But now, too many people had returned.
If they didn't go out to gather supplies, they'd live comfortably, likely assuming their home was stocked with ample food and firewood.
Then they might turn on them en masse.
These were all people who had survived brutal battles. Meng Ci and his group might not stand a chance against them.
Therefore, even though Meng Ci was reluctant, he would still follow Shen Que out to gather firewood in the coming days.