Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: A Man’s Tears Are Not Easily Shed

This low-alcohol sake, about forty degrees, usually costs just a few bucks a bottle, typically used for pickling vegetables.

The sealing of the packaging, of course, couldn’t compare to that of the premium brands costing thousands.

In Jiang Yan’s “Space,” there were drinks of all colors—red, white, yellow, black—ranging from high to low grade.

Unfortunately, there was no justified reason to bring any out.

Especially since she wasn’t familiar with Tian Jiliang, and she was much more guarded around him than around Su Dai and Ye Qing.

“This…” Sun Jingtao also tasted that something was off and smacked his head, saying,

“Cough, I forgot about the many days of high temperatures. The alcohol must have evaporated! No wonder the drink smelled so mild just now.”

Tian Jiliang, a refined-looking man, upon hearing this, promptly took a big gulp:

“Well, that’s fine. We’ll just have to drink water instead! Nowadays, even pure water is scarce!”

He laughed heartily after speaking and even held the paper cup up to his nose to sniff.

Although the alcohol taste was weak, there was still a trace amount of alcohol in it.

After sniffing, Tian Jiliang put down the cup, took off his glasses, exhaled, and wiped them with the corner of his shirt, saying:

“I saw on the news before that in Russia, it gets extremely cold. There was a time people couldn’t buy vodka, and some actually bought shower gel to drink and ended up poisoning themselves.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴοѵǤο.сο

“What? How could they drink that? Why would they drink shower gel? That’s crazy!” Su Dai expressed her shock.

“Sister Dai, the shower gel they bought contained methanol, also known as industrial alcohol, which is what we use in our stoves now. But methanol is toxic and should only be used as antifreeze or fuel, not for consumption. What’s usually added to beverages is ethanol, which is safe to consume,” Ye Qing patiently explained to her.

Su Dai listened to his explanation, her face full of disbelief.

“There’s also this interesting snack in Space City called explosive fried pebbles which became quite popular online for a while,” Jiang Yan mentioned.

She was originally a food blogger and had nearly decided to fly to Space City at the time.

There, the array of unique snacks was extensive.

Su Dai looked at Jiang Yan with astonishment and said, “What? Explosive fried pebbles? What on earth is that…”

“It’s actually just pebbles cleaned and stir-fried with various seasonings. Just savor the flavor from the surface and discard them. This dish, as it turns out, was invented by fishermen who failed to catch fish and ran out of food on the ship,” Ye Qing continued, building on Jiang Yan’s remark.

Having heard this, Su Dai looked at him with admiration and said, “Wow, Xiao Ye, you know so much!”

“My wife, it’s not that he knows a lot; it’s that you lack common sense, haha.” Sun Jingtao rarely embarrassed his wife in front of others like this.

Su Dai couldn’t help but retort, “Really, Sun Jingtao, you’ve grown bold because Jiang Yan and the others are here, daring to criticize me like that. You’re on dishwashing duty tonight!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, as long as I don’t have to kneel on the keyboard or durians and be banished from bed, it’s fine.” Tian Jiliang quickly chimed in with a laugh.

Sun Jingtao cheerfully served Su Dai a piece of fish, saying kindly:

“Alright, alright, wife, have some fish. People who eat fish are smart.”

“Enough already, why do you keep nagging and poking at my sore spots?” Su Dai put down her chopsticks and playfully reached out to pinch Sun Jingtao.

Sun Jingtao twisted his body and dodged to the side, accidentally bumping into Tian Jiliang who was raising his arm.

Tian Jiliang quickly pinched his nose and repeatedly said, “Ouch, Jingtao my little brother, your little sister-in-law is still here. You throwing yourself at me like that just won’t do!”

His effeminate expression and the exaggerated gestures made everyone burst into laughter.

Jiang Yan and Ye Qing joined in the fun, laughing along from the side.

“Ah, speaking of which, not only is this the most delicious meal I’ve had in months, but it’s also the happiest moment I’ve had in months,” Tian Jiliang chuckled before his eyes suddenly moistened.

A man doesn’t easily shed tears, only doing so at the depths of sorrow.

After the heat wave hit, his parents succumbed to sudden heart attacks one after the other.

Then the Blood Mosquitoes emerged, taking his wife and son too.

A happy family, now reduced to just him, all alone.

The mortgage was gone, so was the car loan.

But so was a normal, respectable life, leaving only endless uncertainty about the future.

Sometimes he thought about ending it all with a tie.

But he never could go through with it.

Humans are social creatures, always needing emotional interaction.

Sitting together today, having a happy conversation, was truly precious to him.

But after eating, drinking, and chatting, one still has to return to a life of dreariness and utter bleakness…

The smiles on the remaining people’s faces suddenly froze, and they simultaneously put down their chopsticks.

Since the heat wave began, everyone had experienced or witnessed different things.

They could all empathize with Tian Jiliang’s current state of mind.

The happiness and calm displayed recently were, to some extent, forced—self-soothing, self-comforting.

They were indeed somewhat at a loss about the future.

When considering some matters, they acted like desperate patients seeking cures, hasty and incomplete.

Like just a day before when it hadn’t rained, many had gambled on hunkering down, self-sufficient at home, dismissing those who wanted to head to the official base.

But a day later, with the storm hitting again, they pinned all their hopes and future on the official rescue effort.

“Do you think the rain will keep going and end up flooding our 32nd floor too…” Su Dai glanced at the pouring rain outside the floor-to-ceiling window and sighed.

Tian Jiliang wiped his eyes, put his glasses back on, and said,

“It’s hard to say. Look, the official boats still haven’t come. They must have a lot of resources to mobilize, but if they can’t manage, what can we, the small folks, do?”

“I guess it’s not that they can’t manage, but maybe there are other places that need help more urgently than here, and they were probably sent there on a temporary basis,” Xi Ye said, then stood up.

His mood remained stable, unaffected by Tian Jiliang’s words.

Ye Qing took out several bags of instant noodles from a bag nearby, tore them open, and placed the noodle cakes into the pot.

He added a bit of water as well.

Jiang Yan agreed with what Ye Qing said.

The official transportation capabilities were indeed limited.

If the second wave of severe storms turned out to be worse than expected, they would surely prioritize those in the lower, smaller areas first.

Shallow Bay, although the remaining buildings had only 24 stories, at least there were six floors of livable space left.

Other areas had long run out of any living space.

“Do you think they’ll also take the elderly and children who don’t meet the criteria when they go to those places?” Tian Jiliang asked.