Chapter 86: Craving Wine

“Dude, gross! We’re trying to eat here. Can we not talk about your nasty rain adventures?” Zhang Heping interjected, his face contorting into a grimace.

Ignoring the protest, Li Zhaozhao shot back, “No way, man! You gotta hear this. Okay, so after getting completely soaked in that crazy energy rain, I felt like a brand new person. And get this—when I hopped on the scale, I was down two whole pounds!

“At first, I thought it was just a fluke, but then, every single day after getting caught in the rain, I’d feel all slimy and gross. But once I hit the shower, it was like magic! I felt amazing, and the scale kept showing me two pounds lighter each time. Before I knew it, I was rocking this lean, mean physique!”

Ji Kangyong nodded approvingly. “Fatty, you hit the jackpot. Look at you, all slim and handsome now.”

“You bet! And it’s not just me. My sister and dad have slimmed down too. Mom was already pretty thin, but after getting caught in the rain, she’s looking even younger and more gorgeous,” Li Zhaozhao added with a grin.

Ji Kangyong chimed in after swallowing a mouthful of food, “No kidding, this rain is something else. My old scars are gone, and I feel way more agile.”

As someone who didn’t talk much, Ji Kangyong often faded into the background when he fell silent, causing people to forget he was there.

Shen Yanming glanced at him and asked, “So, what’s with the sudden call today?”

“I just bought an apartment in your building. Went to handle the paperwork today, so I thought I’d give you a heads up.”

Zhang Heping’s eyes widened with excitement. “No way, Old Ji! You got a place here too? Which floor?”

“9th floor, 901. Must be fate. The family happened to be selling just when I’d been hoping to snag a place in this community.”

Shen Yanming grinned. “Congrats, man! Now we can all keep an eye out for each other.”

“Thank you!” Ji Kangyong smiled, his voice filled with an indescribable relief, as if he’d been given a new lease on life.

“Man, you’re all gonna be living together now, and I’m the odd one out. I’m so jealous. By the way, when are you planning to move in?” Li Zhaozhao complained, but he was already mentally preparing to help out on moving day.

“I checked out the family’s place. It’s fully furnished, so I can just move in with my bags. I haven’t told my family about the apartment yet, though.” Ji Kangyong hesitated for a moment before continuing, “When my family starts being stingy with the water, they’ll probably tell me to leave. That’s when I’ll take the opportunity to move out.”

Zhang Heping patted Ji Kangyong on the back reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve got us, your bros. And when you find yourself a wife, life will be even better.”

Ji Kangyong managed a wry smile. “Yeah, better days are ahead.”

“Damn right! No matter how great they’ve got it now, it won’t last. Just wait, our good times will have them green with envy!” Li Zhaozhao turned to Shen Yanming. “Hey, Yanming, can’t you see Kangyong’s feeling down? Time to break out the good stuff, don’t you think?”

Amused and annoyed by Li Zhaozhao’s shameless request, Shen Yanming replied, “What, you’re using Kangyong as an excuse now? I think you just want to get your hands on my wine!”

With that, he kicked Li Zhaozhao playfully, but still got up to fetch a bottle of red wine he’d bought from France.

As Shen Yanming poured everyone a glass, he asked, “Didn’t you stock up on quite a bit of wine yourself? How come you’re still eyeing mine?”

Inhaling the aroma greedily, Li Zhaozhao responded, “The stuff I bought isn’t as good as yours. Damn, this smells amazing. Must’ve cost a pretty penny, huh?”

“Got it from Bordeaux^[1]According to the CN source, a literal translation would be “Geller Manor,” which obviously doesn’t exist. So, I turned to Google-laoshi and searched for the most famous red wine … Continue reading in France. What do you think?”

Li Zhaozhao gave a thumbs up and whistled appreciatively. “Bordeaux’s red wine is world-famous. Got any more bottles? Spare me a couple, will you?”

“I swear, you’re shameless. That’s the only case I’ve got. Why don’t you just take the whole thing home?” Shen Yanming realized that this greedy bastard would take advantage of any leeway given.

Rubbing his nose sheepishly, Li Zhaozhao conceded, “Fine, fine. If you won’t share, I’ll just have to keep coming over to mooch off you. By the way, aren’t we supposed to register our population info next month? Think they’ll find our stashes?”

Ji Kangyong mused, “Hard to say. Our unit will be helping with the investigation and registration, but we haven’t gotten any specific instructions yet. Not sure how they’ll handle warehouses.”

Frowning slightly, Shen Yanming added, “Same for us. This investigation is mainly focused on residents and their real estate. No idea how they’ll deal with warehouses and stuff like that, but I think they should be registered.”

The others at the table looked worried. “Then, our supplies…”

“The stuff stored with me should be safe. The warehouse I found is hidden and not easily accessible. Only a handful of people know about it, and I’ve set up some anti-theft measures after buying it. It shouldn’t be discovered.”

Shen Yanming’s serious tone instilled a sense of confidence in everyone.

Li Zhaozhao sighed, “But we’ve got a ton of stuff left in the warehouse. It’ll take at least a year or two to use it all up. I’ll be pissed if someone takes it away. Plus, there are so many people in my family.”

Zhang Heping weakly suggested, “Maybe I should move the stuff to my place? I’d feel better if it was right under my nose.”

Ji Kangyong immediately shot down the idea. “No way. If you’re constantly moving things home, people will definitely notice. Besides, a lot of supplies are purchase-restricted now. Do you want people to start asking where you got all that stuff?”

“Then, what should we do?”

Ji Kangyong looked at Shen Yanming, his meaning clear.

However, Shen Yanming shook his head. “No can do. For safety reasons, I’ve already sealed that warehouse. Plus, someone’s been snooping around lately. It’s not safe for me to be linked to your supplies right now.”

He stood firm this time. They’d be using these supplies frequently, and he couldn’t risk exposure no matter what. Moreover, he couldn’t be sure if Qiu Man was still on him or not.

Zhang Heping found this hard to believe. “Wait, Yanming, you haven’t even made any big supply purchases. How can you be under investigation?”

“I should have been implicated.” Shen Yanming thought about Qiu Man’s attitude that day and connected it with Zhang Chenjun’s social circle, piecing together a rough idea of the situation.

After some thought, Ji Kangyong said, “Well, if that’s how it is, let’s just see what happens. For now, take home the essentials, bit by bit, as much as you can manage. As for the rest, we’ll just have to leave it to chance.”

Li Zhaozhao complained, “Man, if I’d known earlier, I would’ve had Yanming store more of our supplies back then.”

Glaring at Li Zhaozhao, Shen Yanming retorted, “Think about it, dummy. The stuff you left behind is what you use often. If I’d moved it all for you, where would you get your canned meat?”

Li Zhaozhao laughed awkwardly, not daring to meet Shen Yanming’s eyes.

Shen Yanming tried to reassure them, “But don’t stress too much. Even if they register the warehouse info, they can’t just take your supplies, right? Besides, didn’t we handle all the paperwork properly back then?”

“Alright, let’s go with that plan!”

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Translator’s Notes:

All the locations the author has used so far have vague names. In fact, to better convey the context, I might consider changing “France” to “Frans,” a fictional country that still feels deceptively familiar. (Lol. It seems the author is clearly referencing certain countries but is hesitant to name them directly.) 

Anyway, just sharing a bit of my translating journey.

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