NOVPUB49: Chapter 37 Aunt Flo
49 -37 Aunt Flo
Gu Yanzhi’s body had always been in good shape, and she rarely suffered from menstrual cramps.
This time, however, it might have been the continuous strain on her nerves combined with extreme cold exposure, plus she had eaten hotpot today, which likely led to the discomfort.
Song Zhao thought to himself and made a mental note: pay attention to staying warm and avoid getting chilled.
Eat less spicy food, rest more.
Seeing Gu Yanzhi’s pale face from the pain, he felt incredibly compassionate.
He filled two hot water bottles and placed them under Gu Yanzhi’s feet.
Then, he turned off the lights, climbed into bed, took Gu Yanzhi into his arms, and gently massaged her lower abdomen with his large hand.
Gu Yanzhi felt the warmth spreading from her belly, and the pain began to subside.
Gradually, her breathing became steady as she drifted off to sleep.
The next day, when Gu Yanzhi woke up, the pain was gone.
She was still in the same position as last night, with Song Zhao’s large hand continuously radiating warmth to her.
Gu Yanzhi moved her feet and noticed the hot water bottles were still warm, which meant Song Zhao must have changed them.
“Awake?” Song Zhao’s slightly hoarse, deep voice reached her ears.
As Gu Yanzhi stirred, she startled Song Zhao awake.
He bent his head and kissed the top of her head.
“Did I wake you?” Gu Yanzhi turned over, and the two lay face to face, eyes meeting.
“No, I’ve been awake for a while, just didn’t get up,” Song Zhao replied, unable to resist giving Gu Yanzhi another gentle kiss on her forehead.
They lay there quietly, not moving.
By the time they got up, the blizzard outside had stopped, and Gu Yanlin, along with everyone from Building 10, had already left.
Only Gu Yanzhi and Song Zhao remained at home.
After getting up, Gu Yanzhi looked at the thermometer out of habit.
It was minus 60 degrees; the temperature had hit the extreme cold’s lowest point.
After washing up, instead of sitting at the dining table, they settled on the sofa and found a variety show about food to watch while eating.
The couple’s breakfast consisted of a piping hot bowl of century egg and lean pork congee for each, fluffy steamed buns, and a dish of salty pickles to accompany the congee.
There was also a cup of brown sugar ginger tea that Song Zhao had brewed that morning especially for Gu Yanzhi.
Looking at the ginger tea, Gu Yanzhi frowned.
Like Gu Yanlin, she really disliked the taste of ginger.
Still, thinking of Song Zhao’s consideration for her health, she pinched her nose and gulped it down.
After the brown sugar tea had settled in her stomach, Gu Yanzhi quickly spooned several mouthfuls of the congee to suppress the unpleasant taste in her mouth.
The flavor of the century egg and lean pork congee was delicious, with the meat tender and flavorful, and the century egg soft and melty.
Paired with the salty pickles, it was extremely satisfying.
Alternating between bites of congee and steamed bun made for a perfect combination.
The steamed buns were ordered from a century-old brand in C City for Gu Yanzhi.
She had requested over a thousand buns in various flavors, carrying the unique taste of C City, which Gu Yanzhi had always loved since childhood.
The sheer quantity had the old store hustling for a whole day just to fulfill her desired amount.
After their meal, Gu Yanzhi and Song Zhao went up the stairs inside the house to the 17th floor to deal with the ginger seeds they had soaked the day before.
Seeds needed to soak in 50-degree Celsius water for 10-12 hours, but now the time had already exceeded, and it was uncertain if they would still be viable.
With nothing to lose, they filled the planting pot with soil, dug holes, placed a few seeds in each hole, covered them up, watered, and then added a few drops of nutrient solution.
After a short while, all of the ginger seeds were planted.
They placed the planting pot in a spot by the window where sunlight could reach and checked the hydroponically grown ginger from yesterday, adding a bit more nutrient solution.
They confirmed that the current temperature in the planting room was between the ginger’s favorite range of 20-25 Celsius degrees.
With nothing else to do, the two exercised in the 17th floor’s gym for a while.
Gu Yanzhi, due to physical reasons, didn’t engage in any exercise; instead, she practiced archery for a while to improve her accuracy.
Considering Gu Yanzhi was still on her period and it wasn’t suitable for her to do strenuous activities, Song Zhao watched the time and didn’t let her practice too long.
The two then returned upstairs to continue watching the variety show they were enjoying during breakfast on the couch.
For a whole week, Gu Yanzhi’s life consisted of waking up, eating, planting ginger on the 17th floor, exercising, watching variety shows, and eating without going out.
Gu Yanlin went out early and returned late every day, only encountering Gu Yanzhi at dinner to briefly chat and update each other on their day.
In the meantime, Song Zhao also went out only once, to pick up the family’s supplies which they received once every five days.
Perhaps because the first supply wasn’t sufficiently prepared, the second supply they received not only included compressed biscuits and steamed buns but also two boxes of self-heating boxed meals and instant noodles.
Having been lying at home for so long, Gu Yanzhi was finally clean from her period and was allowed by Song Zhao to go out.
The day after Mrs.
Zhang and her son and daughter-in-law tried to smash the window, everyone from Building No.
10 came over to express their thanks, feeling a sense of after-fear upon learning about the incident.
Especially Sister Li, Xiao Lin, and the couple Gao Zhi were relieved that Gu Yanzhi and Song Zhao were there; otherwise, with only three elderly, two infants, and one not-so-familiar sick resident in the building, their prospects might have been grim.
At this time, when there were not many valuable things, knowing that Gu Yanzhi’s family didn’t lack food or clothing, people came to express their gratitude with the firewood chopped the previous day.
However, Gu Yanzhi didn’t accept it, as a bundle of firewood might mean the life of a family at that time.
She didn’t lack those things and, after stating that it was her duty, she returned the gifts one by one.
The day after the snow stopped, the task for everyone in Building No.
10 shifted from chopping wood back to the original plan of ice-breaking and collecting supplies; the fire they had used for heating and daily life came only from what they had collected together on the second day of extreme cold and the distributed government supplies.
For everyone in Building No.
10, wood was an extremely precious resource.
Gu Yanzhi asked everyone to help look after Gu Yanlin, who was as young as Zhang Qian and was the youngest aside from Zhuang Nanyang.
Both Zhang Qian and Zhuang Nanyang had their parents to guide and remind them, whereas Gu Yanlin only had himself.
Gu Yanzhi, although she felt sorry for her brother, couldn’t always keep him tied to her belt.
In a post-apocalyptic world, relying on anyone was untenable; who knew when they might be forced to separate.
While society was not too chaotic in the early days of this post-apocalyptic world, Gu Yanzhi thought it was crucial to seize the moment to learn and improve oneself; this was also why she wanted to let her brother go out on his own.
The people of Building No.
10 had decent character, and by acting together with them, not only was their safety ensured, but they could also gain some experience and training.
Deputy Captain Lin Cheng from Squad 532 also came to express his gratitude with some items.
That day, the squad had a sudden operation, and they had called back the person who was left to care for Chu Guodong, nearly causing a disaster just within those few hours.
Gu Yanzhi likewise refused the things brought by Lin Cheng.
Whether Chu Guodong was present or not, she wouldn’t have stood by indifferently.
These military men faced life and death on their missions, and it wasn’t easy for them to accumulate things.
After lunch, Gu Yanzhi and Song Zhao went back to take a short, one-hour nap and, having nothing else to do, thought about going out to have a look and see the current situation outside.
