Chapter 105 - 103: Sour Soup Fish

When Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu saw Shen Baoying come out with the tomatoes, their eyes instantly lit up.

The others also put on expressions of pleasant surprise, playing along.

"Where did these tomatoes come from?"

A flicker of guilt crossed Shen Baoying’s eyes, but she calmly explained, "Sisi found them in a hidden compartment in a crew member’s room. There was a large refrigerated chamber, and there were also some guns and ammunition."

This provided the perfect excuse to openly bring out the guns and ammunition Jiang Si and Qin Shen had found in Lis’s room.

Lu Zhifeng said excitedly, "That’s wonderful! Having this Icebreaker is just fantastic."

It really was great. The whole ship was warm from top to bottom, and most importantly, it had a greenhouse for everyone to grow vegetables.

Jiang Si decided that if the greenhouse could produce enough fruits and vegetables for them to eat, she would plant more grain in her space.

After all, grain stored well, and she wouldn’t have to enter her space constantly to tend to it.

Managing so many vegetable plots by herself, even with automated watering, was quite laborious when it came to just harvesting and planting seedlings.

Shen Baoying chuckled. "It really is. Besides the tomatoes, there are a lot of other crisp vegetables. We need to hurry and eat them these next few days, or they’ll go bad."

Niu Niu smiled. "This crew member was really something else."

Everyone else snuck glances at Jiang Si. She was the one who was really something else.

Otherwise, in this godforsaken weather, they’d be lucky to eat a few bean sprouts.

A small plate of tomatoes with sugar was gone after everyone had two pieces each.

Jiang Si said, "Mom, give Niu Niu another big one."

Niu Niu shook her head. "I don’t need one. I’ll wait for dinner."

Shen Baoying said, "I baked egg tarts for everyone. Let’s have these first. We’ll eat more tomatoes tonight. If you eat too many, you’ll get an upset stomach, and we’re having sour fish soup in a bit."

Niu Niu nodded eagerly. "Okay, Niu Niu will eat an egg tart. The egg tarts Auntie makes are delicious."

Jiang Si patted her head. "Good. If you like them, eat a few more. We definitely have enough supplies, and they’ll go bad if we don’t eat them."

"You got it!" Niu Niu chirped, a far cry from the cautious and reserved girl she was when she first joined them.

The sour fish soup was the main course. Jiang Si asked, "What kind of fish are we using? Should I go get it from the cold storage?"

Shen Baoying shook her head. "I already had your dad bring it over. I don’t need your help. Why don’t you and Xiao Shen take everyone to the second-floor hall to watch a movie? Your grandmother and I are enough for the kitchen."

’She’s specifically emphasizing me and Qin Shen. It’s so obvious how badly she wants to set us up.’

’Not long ago, she swore up and down that I didn’t need to find a partner, that in the apocalypse, it was better to be single than with someone unreliable.’

’How long has it been, and she’s already changed her tune?’

’But then again, Qin Shen has been nothing short of perfect.’

’If I were in her shoes, I’d probably think he was a great potential son-in-law, too.’

Qin Shen, seemingly not reading into it, simply nodded. "Okay."

His obedient and sensible attitude made Shen Baoying smile even more brightly.

Jiang Si felt helpless, but she took Niu Niu and went to the second floor with Qin Shen.

Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng made an excuse that watching movies was for young people. They claimed they were going to till the soil, planning to get the greenhouse ready right away to plant vegetables and raise some poultry.

They had experience hatching chicks before and were planning to raise another brood.

The movie theater on the Icebreaker was different from the one on the yacht; it was much more basic by comparison.

The seats were the hard kind you find on train station waiting benches.

Fortunately, Jiang Si had plenty of high-tech equipment in her space.

The projector she had swiped from the cruise ship immediately came in handy.

It was all so that everyone could have some form of entertainment in the apocalypse.

The movies, variety shows, documentaries, anime, TV series, and educational films she had downloaded were enough to keep them entertained for a lifetime.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen conferred and chose an animated movie suitable for Niu Niu. While Qin Shen adjusted the screen, Jiang Si turned to the eagerly waiting girl. "Once we’re a little more settled, how about big sister helps you with your studies? My grades were just average, but we still have to finish our basic compulsory education, right?"

’Education can be passed down. It develops children’s minds and helps them find their own path in life.’

’Maybe one day, if the world returns to normal and humanity rebuilds civilization, she hopes Niu Niu can have a distinct and powerful life of her own.’

Niu Niu loved school and was thrilled at the thought she could continue. She nodded immediately and smiled sweetly. "Thank you, big sister! I’ll definitely study hard."

Even the usually reserved Qin Shen spoke up. "I can teach you medicine, too."

’That was a critical survival skill in the apocalypse. If Qin Shen was willing to teach, countless people would be desperate to learn.’

’In her past life, right before she died, she knew that a doctor with excellent medical skills never had to worry about food or drink; people would provide for them.’

’Survival in the apocalypse was just too difficult. Getting injured was a daily occurrence, and having a good doctor was like having an extra life.’

’Powerful factions would even go so far as to capture doctors, establish medical stations in the wasteland, and have people voluntarily offer supplies in exchange for treatment.’

’Jiang Si knew some basic surgical skills, all of which she’d picked up by secretly watching others and through trial and error.’

’In this life, she had downloaded numerous medical training videos, just in case.’

For the sake of his family, Jiang Chengwu, despite his age, would watch them on a tablet every night, hoping that one day he might be able to help in an emergency.

’If they could learn medicine systematically from a real teacher, it would be an incredible stroke of luck.’

Jiang Si asked cautiously, "Could I maybe sit in on the lessons with Niu Niu?"

Qin Shen suddenly smiled, like a glacier melting in the spring sun. "Alright."

His handsome profile was sharply defined, his deep-set eyes crinkling at the corners. Jiang Si stared for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. A somewhat conceited thought surfaced.

’It was like Qin Shen knew she wanted to learn and had said it on purpose just for her.’

The movie started to play, and Qin Shen turned his face away. It made her wonder if she was just imagining things, lost in a moment of infatuation.

Jiang Si shook her head and gritted her teeth. ’I’ve lived an extra ten years, I can’t let myself fall for this so easily.’

’I can’t be charmed. My family’s lives are in my hands.’

Halfway through the movie, Shen Baoying came up to call them for dinner.

She felt a pang of regret when she saw the two of them sitting far apart with a clear line between them. So, no progress yet.

But when she heard Niu Niu say that her big brother and big sister were going to teach her together, Shen Baoying’s face instantly lit up with a smile.

’Slow and steady,’ she thought. ’No need to rush. A love that flows like a gentle stream is the most beautiful kind.’

Shen Baoying loved to experiment with cooking in her spare time. The sour fish soup was a specialty from the Yunnan-Guizhou region, but she made it even more delicious than the locals. It was tender, refreshing, and whetted the appetite. Served with white rice, Jiang Si could polish off a whole bowl just by mixing it with the broth.

A large, enticing basin of sour fish soup sat on the table. It contained not only three types of tender sea fish and tomatoes but also an assortment of side ingredients: enoki mushrooms, soybean sprouts, bok choy, tofu... Everyone’s appetite was instantly piqued.

Jiang Linhai said with a smile, "Well, I’m curious to taste what sour fish soup made with sea fish is like."