Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Interrupted Shifts
Due to frequent social interactions and having to deal with government officers over financial and tax matters, Hu Xiaodong naturally has a unique insight into the authenticity of these so-called "famous cigarettes and wines."
Otherwise, if he accidentally slipped a counterfeit into the hands of the "officers," it would spell big trouble for his shop in the future.
Based on a few obvious counterfeit details on the outer packaging, Hu Xiaodong patiently explained to a group of doubtful young people and advised them seriously to avoid touching those fake cigarettes.
Because these poorly regulated tobacco products contain far too many hazardous substances harmful to the human body.
Once these harmful substances affect the human body, in this medicine-scarce post-apocalyptic world, it would undoubtedly be a headache.
Wang Qiang stared reluctantly at the cigarette in his hand, feeling as frustrated as a man who practiced abstinence for years suddenly encountering a stunning young lady who got his blood pumping. He was all set, even took off his pants, only to hear an emotionless reply from the lady:
"Sorry, I’m not interested in men!"
"Damn it!" Rationality finally triumphed over emotion as Wang Qiang clenched his teeth and tossed the cigarette to the ground, angrily stomping on it twice.
"Hey, could the owner of this place be selling counterfeit goods?"
The speaker said it casually, but the listener picked up on it. Wu Chao’s offhand comment caught Tang Xiaoquan’s attention.
Indeed, if the homeowner were an ordinary household, there’d be no reason to have so many cigarettes in the house, especially fake ones.
Furthermore, considering the building’s location, Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t help but make a bold hypothesis in his mind: "Hu Ge, did you notice any signs or plaques on the outside of the rooms downstairs when you went to close the door?"
Not quite understanding what Tang Xiaoquan meant to convey, Hu Xiaodong frowned slightly, showing an indifferent expression.
However, Wang Qiang beside them pursed his lips and said, "There’s no plaque, just a couplet wishing wealth and a bunch of advertising papers! "
At this point, Wang Qiang seemed to recollect something and added: "Oh, right, one of the room’s doors downstairs was open. Originally, Hu Ge and I planned to go in and take a look, but..."
"What! What did you say! You said the door to the room at the bottom was open?"
"Yes, yes, it was—it was open. Why, what’s up?" Wang Qiang’s heart pounded fiercely as he was clearly startled by his brother’s sudden exclamation.
"Great!" Tang Xiaoquan, who had been leaning on his elbow in thought, suddenly sat up straight, hitting the wooden table hard with his palm: "If I’m not wrong, this homeowner should be running a supermarket. And one of the rooms on the first floor should be the front for the store!"
As Tang Xiaoquan finished speaking, Hu Xiaodong and the others were all silent.
After a moment of pondering, they all nodded thoughtfully, seemingly accepting the former’s theory.
"In that case, we definitely need to go downstairs and search the room!" Hu Xiaodong tapped his finger lightly on the table.
Undoubtedly, since it’s concluded there’s a supermarket downstairs, there seems no reason not to explore it.
After all, if this inference proves true and the open room happens to be that supermarket, it would undoubtedly be a huge boon for our resource reserves.
"Yes, the downstairs door is closed, so the zombies can’t break in. I agree to go down and check it out!" Wu Chao also gave a positive response.
After listening to the two’s replies, Wang Qiang stood up shakily, clearly still a bit tipsy, his flushed face resembling a ripe apple: "Alright, brothers, then what’re we waiting for! Let’s get to it, and go down now!"
Tang Xiaoquan smiled and waved his hand, indicating there’s no rush, in his view, action was necessary but not immediately required.
Especially in this pitch-black situation, it wasn’t worth the risk of going blindly after that cooked duck that couldn’t fly away.
"Haha, Qiang, why don’t you sit down first," well aware of his brother’s temperament, Tang Xiaoquan kindly gestured him to sit: "Regarding going downstairs to scout, I personally suggest we wait until tomorrow morning, after the sky lightens up. Tonight, let’s all rest and recharge. What do you all think?"
Sweeping his gaze over everyone, except Wang Qiang, who looked a little disdainful, the rest didn’t show too much opposition.
Jointly cleaning the table, the survivors also pulled out two bamboo mats from the storage room.
They spread them on the floor, complementing the sofa by the table, a solo bedroom without any sense of comfort was soon fashioned.
The night was deeply dark, and after some pointless chatting, the survivors gradually lay down on their "beds" one by one.
Meanwhile, as tonight’s night watch, Ah Cheng and Tang Xiaoquan tactfully moved to the storage room next door to avoid disturbing everyone’s rest with their movements.
However, the originally planned shift system was inevitably shelved due to Hu Xiaodong and the others being drunk.
Tang Xiaoquan didn’t mind; although he knew the importance of night watch shifts, ultimately, rules are dead, but people are alive.
After all, his companions, who endured a whole day of physical and mental stress, indeed needed a peaceful sleep to soothe their tired hearts.
Feeling bored, Tang Xiaoquan picked up his earlier life diary notebook, drawing and writing under the weak candlelight.
Though it was just a short day, to Tang Xiaoquan, it felt like a lifetime.
He had too many feelings and reflections needing to be documented; today’s actions by Lu Rui deepened his understanding of the apocalyptic harshness and the darkness of human nature.
Finishing all this, Tang Xiaoquan recalled the scenes he observed from the SUV involving several special zombies.
He clearly remembered that after being attracted to the area near the bus, those zombies occasionally glanced in the supermarket’s direction.
Yet at that time, except for the SUV they were in, nothing around the supermarket could have drawn their attention.
So, why did those beasts keep glancing at the supermarket? Tang Xiaoquan didn’t believe they had some ability to see through the SUV and detect living people inside.
Unless...
Could it be those few zombies still retained memories from their past lives?
Tang Xiaoquan’s fair forehead slowly furrowed...