Chapter 129: Cumin Sliced Meat

""All inner circle residents, please come downstairs to collect your meals!""

""All inner circle residents, please come downstairs to collect your meals!""

They even provide meals at this base?

An Nan quickly got dressed and headed downstairs, running into Gu Zhiyu on the way. The two nodded at each other in greeting, then walked together to the entrance to take a look outside.

A few middle-aged women were pushing food carts, delivering meals door to door.

Soon, it was their building’s turn. One of the women, moving briskly, checked her list and handed them two small meal buckets.

""There are only two people in this building, right?""

An Nan nodded, taking the meals from her while curiously asking, ""Auntie, do they hand out meals here every day?""

The woman, sweating profusely in the heat, grunted an affirmative and looked eager to move on. The weather was sweltering, and pushing those heavy carts to every house was no easy task.

Seeing her impatience, An Nan quickly pulled a chocolate from her pocket and handed it over. ""Thank you for your hard work!""

The woman’s expression changed instantly. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then happily tucked the chocolate into her pocket. ""You’re such a pretty and thoughtful girl,"" she said, then shot a glance at Gu Zhiyu. ""And your boyfriend is handsome too.""

Boyfriend?

An Nan was momentarily stunned and instinctively glanced at the man beside her.

Gu Zhiyu just curled his lips into a faint smile, took the two meal buckets from An Nan’s hands, and said nothing.

An Nan didn’t bother to explain her relationship with Gu Zhiyu to a stranger. Taking advantage of the woman’s good mood, she quickly asked, ""Auntie, I’m new here and don’t know much. How many times a day do we get meals at the base?""

This time, the woman was more talkative and patiently explained, ""Just once. Things aren’t like before the disasters—resources and manpower are limited. Meals are delivered once a day, at dawn. But don’t worry, even though it’s only once, the portions are big—enough to fill up an adult man twice. And the food is good too. Today’s meal is cumin sliced meat over rice!""

Cumin sliced meat over rice?

An Nan was shocked.

She’d expected maybe some steamed buns or potatoes at best—hot food with meat was beyond her imagination.

Since the apocalypse began, aside from what she could get from her own stash, she hadn’t seen anyone else eat proper meals in a long time. Most people survived on simple dry rations or instant noodles—people would fight over a single packet of noodles. Meat, seasonings, and fuel for cooking were all precious commodities. Having a plate of cumin sliced meat was no simple feat.

No wonder so many people were willing to hand over ten jin of grain just to join the base. Life inside was a world apart from outside.

No wonder those two armed bodyguards yesterday were so loyal, always praising the leadership. With benefits like these, who wouldn’t be devoted?

An Nan asked, ""Do the residents in the outer circle get the same treatment?""

The woman waved her hand. ""Of course not! Door-to-door meal delivery is a special privilege for inner circle residents. The outer circle gets coarse grain porridge, and they have to line up for it themselves.""

She grinned. ""The leaders really value you all. Even us kitchen workers get to enjoy some of the perks!""

Although they still drank porridge themselves, whenever they cooked for the inner circle, they could save a little meat or flavor to add to their own bowls.

She handed over two 1-liter bottles of water. ""Almost forgot—here’s your water. One bottle each.""

An Nan took the water and glanced at it. The bottles had been opened before, but were now full. The water inside was a bit cloudy. They must have collected empty bottles and refilled them.

Sure enough, the woman reminded her, ""Don’t throw the bottles away. When we deliver meals the next day, we’ll collect the meal buckets and water bottles.""

An Nan nodded. ""Okay. Does the base supply water every day?""

The woman nodded, so An Nan asked, ""I saw the supermarkets and warehouses outside have been looted clean. Where does the base get so much water for us?""

The woman smiled. ""It’s no secret—you’re new, so you don’t know yet. The base has a well.""

A well?

An Nan asked, ""How could there be a well in the villa district?""

She hadn’t seen one when she wandered around yesterday.

""It’s not in the villa district, but nearby. The well is for the whole base,"" the woman explained, pointing to a villa not far away. ""The old man who lives there is good at finding water. He led a team to dig a well for the base. I hear they’re planning to dig a few more soon!""

An Nan nodded. As expected, everyone living in the inner circle villas had some skills.

She asked again, ""Do the bosses eat the same food as us? Do you deliver their meals too?""

The woman shook her head. ""No need. The big boss has his own private chef who cooks just for the two bosses in their villa.""

An Nan smiled. ""Makes sense. Leaders wouldn’t eat the same as us.""

So much for trying to get close through food. Hou Jianming was really cautious, leaving no openings for enemies. He was even more guarded than Sun Peng—no one could get close except a few trusted aides. With someone so shrewd at Zhu Dazhuang’s side, it would be tough to make a move.

After chatting a bit more, the woman hurried off to the next house with her cart.

An Nan said goodbye to Gu Zhiyu and carried the food and water upstairs.

Back in her room, she curiously opened the meal bucket to check the food. It really was cumin sliced meat, and there was quite a lot of it. But on closer inspection, it didn’t look like pork or beef. She sniffed it—there was a faint sour smell, masked by the cumin aroma, so it wasn’t too obvious.

The rice underneath wasn’t plain white rice, nor the usual mixed grains she ate. It looked like they’d just thrown together whatever rice they had—good grains, moldy grains, all mixed in.

She definitely wasn’t going to eat food delivered from outside. After a quick look, she dumped it into a plastic bag and stored it in her space. She didn’t waste the water, though—instead, she used it to mop the floor.

After cleaning, An Nan cooked herself a simple bowl of noodles and poured some food for Fugui, her dog. Just as she was about to eat, there was a knock at the door.

It was Gu Zhiyu.

He stood at the door, over 1.8 meters tall, his cool presence seeming to keep the heat at bay. In his slender hands, he held two small bowls and asked An Nan, ""Did you eat the food they delivered?""

An Nan thought for a moment and decided to be honest. ""Not yet. Why?""

Gu Zhiyu handed her the two bowls. ""Don’t eat it. Eat this instead. For you and...""

He glanced down at the dog wagging its tail at his leg. ""...Fugui. One for each of you.""

Fugui barked excitedly."