46: Chapter 44: Discipline 46: Chapter 44: Discipline Su Mo followed her into a small compartment in the back kitchen, which wasn’t the place where they cooked in large pots.
“This place is usually for Old Shen Du’s meals, you mustn’t tell anyone,” Su Niang still seemed a bit worried as she glanced at her.
Su Mo immediately put on a cute and harmless smile, “Don’t worry.”
The small compartment not only had an individual gas stove but also various types of meats and grains, which seemed a few levels better than what people outside were eating.
Su Niang was about to grab some potatoes from the basket on the shelf, but Su Mo was eyeing the strings of pork hanging next to it, “Su Niang, can I have some meat?”
absolutely not,” the woman’s hands loosened, and the potatoes rolled back into the basket, thinking to herself how this young lady had such a large appetite, asking for meat immediately.
“10 packs of sanitary pads for a small bowl of meat,” Su Mo didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated the price, “I believe with just a little missing, they won’t notice.”
Su Niang stood there, still very hesitant.
Old Shen Du’s kitchen was managed solely by her, and she organized everything inside.
What’s more, this was the last of the pork, and if it were really discovered to be missing…
“Su Niang, if you use it sparingly, 10 packs could last for over half a year.”
Su Mo pressed on, and sure enough, the woman’s expression softened.
After all, no one wanted to use the filthy rags every month, never mind the dirt, but the critical issue was the risk of gynecological diseases at this time, which could truly be disastrous.
“Alright, I can only help you this once, young lady.”
Su Mo smiled and nodded, “Where do you live?
I’ll bring it to you tonight.”
“I live in a small dormitory in the farm, a place that Li Qian specifically found for me,” Su Niang said as she took a piece of pork off the rack, measured it with a knife, and finally cut a small, inconspicuous piece of meat.
Mentioning Li Qian seemed to improve the woman’s mood a bit.
Su Mo closely watched her handle the meat and raised an eyebrow, “Are you and Li Qian on good terms?”
“Not really,” Su Niang continued cutting the meat, sighing, “He and I were both saved from a zombie siege in town by Old Shen Du, and his parents had all turned.”
She finished slicing the meat and added, “It’s also fate, he was a teacher just before doomsday, but his personality changed completely after the catastrophe.”
Su Mo nodded, no wonder his manner and speech seemed so refined yet insincere, even his smile appeared more false.
“So you’re his only family then?”
“I just live next door to him, my husband passed away early and my child is in another region, not really family, but we depended on each other for a while after the apocalypse.”
Mentioning this, Su Niang’s eyes reddened, sadness surging from her heart.
She wiped her eyes and placed the meat slices on a plate, then went to grab some seasonings.
Su Mo tactfully didn’t continue the conversation, but she had a guess.
Shifting the topic she said, “We’ll just simply fry some slices of meat, Su Niang, do you know how to fry meat?”
“Of course,” Su Niang’s tears were receding a bit in her eyes.
She sniffed her slightly reddened nose and smiled, “There’s not really any vegetables to stir-fry with anyway, so we can only simply fry it with some seasoning.”
Su Mo saw her pour some pepper, salt, and soy sauce into the plate with the meat and stir them with chopsticks.
“It tastes better once it’s marinated.”
Su Mo had stocked up on these seasonings during her last trip to the supermarket, and she still had plenty.
She carefully noted down Su Niang’s measurements and methods, comparing them to her own crude pan-frying methods, these were much more refined, and it was highly likely that this would yield better results, no wonder the system had hinted that her food tasted bad.
When the time was right, Su Niang wiped the stove clean with a clean cloth, heated the pan, brushed a layer of oil on it, and then evenly spread the meat slices from the bowl in the pan, issuing a sizzling sound.
This was even more tempting than the pure meat aroma of Su Mo’s own frying.
She swallowed saliva, watching the woman busily flipping the thin slices of meat which cooked quickly, turning tender with a slight char.
Su Niang then turned off the heat, and just like that, the meat was served.
Su Mo picked up some meat with her chopsticks, blew on it, and took a bite, immediately giving Su Niang a thumbs-up, “Delicious!”
It was just a few extra seasonings that made it so tasty.
“Call your brother in to eat,” Su Niang said as she took the pot out to wash.
Only then did Su Mo remember Jianxiong was still outside; as she stepped out, she heard Jianxiong snoring thunderously as he napped on the table.
“Su Niang, you eat that bowl of meat.
You’ve been unwell these days; have some nourishment.
I’ll bring you more stuff tonight.”
Su Mo leaned on the windowsill and spoke to Su Niang, who had sat back down to wash dishes, then she woke the deeply sleeping Jianxiong, and they left side by side.
Su Niang was slow to recover her senses, the drifting scent of meat moistening the corners of her eyes, “This girl, really…”
Jianxiong stretched, noticed Su Mo was walking fast, and quickly followed, “What were you doing in there for so long?”
“We’ll talk when we get back,” they passed a few people on the way, so Su Mo did not elaborate.
Back at the dorm, Zhao Xiwen’s door was ajar, and faint voices could be heard.
Su Mo and Jianxiong exchanged glances before she said, “Go to your room.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Jianxiong said with a slightly stern expression, then went back to his room.
Su Mo pushed open the door; Zhao Xiwen was sitting on the bed and Chu Mengyao was squatting in front of her.
Their conversation ceased as she entered.
“Carry on, don’t mind me,” Su Mo smiled at them, climbed to the upper bunk, organized her bag and the sleeping bag she had left there, then planned to head to Lu Chen’s place.
“How can you be so shameless?
Men and women living together in the same room!” Zhao Xiwen retorted with anger as she watched Su Mo pack her things.
Su Mo paused, her pretty face turned cold, and she threw her bag on the floor, then turned around and took steps towards them.
“Aren’t you done yet?”
Chu Mengyao had learned her lesson and backed away, quickly saying, “Xiwen didn’t mean it, Momo please don’t be .”
Zhao Xiwen, still not recovered from the day’s shocks, stubbornly retorted with a stiff neck, “Shameless!”
Su Mo pursed her lips, approached the bedside, looking down at Zhao Xiwen and suddenly blurted out, “I regret it.”
“What?” Zhao Xiwen frowned, her unwillingness evident as she stared up at her.
“You seem calmer lying down,” Su Mo lifted her leg high and mercilessly kicked at Zhao Xiwen’s nearly healed ankle.
A scream echoed through the second floor, and Chu Mengyao could almost hear the sound of bones cracking.
How could you do that!” She looked on in disbelief, hurried over, and helped up Zhao Xiwen’s now limp foot.
Su Mo smiled, tucked her stray hair behind her ear, retracted her foot, and cheerfully added, “See, now you can quietly recuperate in bed.”