Chapter Twenty-Nine: Flaunting Supplies

The door creaked open, and Mu Chen appeared in the doorway, his two bags bulging and clearly heavy.

Chen Jiahe, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up at the sound, the slight awkwardness on her face not yet fully faded.

Mu Chen acknowledged her with a grunt and tossed the bags onto the coffee table with a dull thud. "I brought you some things."

The bedroom door opened a crack, and Chen Si poked her head out. Her eyes went wide the moment she caught sight of the familiar packaging peeking out from the bags on the table.

"These..."

She rushed out in a few steps, her voice wavering. Her fingers trembled as she touched one of the bags labeled "Premium Rice." "Are—are these real?"

Mu Chen didn't waste words; he reached into the bags and began pulling items out.

Clatter, clatter—

Two ten-pound bags of polished white rice, a whole dried salted duck wrapped in oil paper, several large vacuum-sealed packs of golden, translucent cured meat, and rows of neatly stacked canned goods filled half the coffee table in the blink of an eye.

Chen Si’s fingers shook, and her voice was filled with disbelief. "My god, so much stuff... how much must this have cost!"

"Money is just waste paper now," Mu Chen said tonelessly.

"But, these things..." Chen Si picked up a pack of cured meat, examining the intact plastic seal, and muttered to herself, "Out there... supply must have been cut off long ago, right?"

Nearby, Chen Jiahe watched Chen Si’s stunned, unrefined display with a slight curl of her lip. She interjected coldly, "Don't be so dramatic. We eat just as well as this all the time."

The meat almost slipped from Chen Si’s hand. She froze, then slowly turned her head to look at Chen Jiahe in disbelief. "All the time? You... you eat like this every day?"

"Of course," Chen Jiahe said, lifting her chin with a hint of pride. "Mu Chen’s ability to scavenge supplies is something most people can’t match."

"I thought..." Chen Si’s lips trembled. She didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear—she had assumed all survivors were struggling on the brink of starvation just like she and Chen Xiaoxiao.

Mu Chen noticed her change in expression. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Chen Si forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "It’s just... it’s such a surprise. I never imagined you could live so... comfortably."

Yet, her heart felt as if it had been viciously pinched, leaving a sour, bitter ache.

She and Chen Xiaoxiao had been huddled in that dilapidated rental, surviving on one bowl of watery porridge a day just to save a morsel of food, starving until they were dizzy and lightheaded.

And yet? Mu Chen and the others were here enjoying rice and cured meat!

Why!

A surge of undefinable resentment and frustration rushed to her head.

"Um... let me cook!" Chen Si took a breath, her gaze hardening as if she had made a major decision, and looked at Mu Chen. "I can make fried rice with this cured meat. I guarantee it’ll taste great!"

Chen Jiahe frowned and immediately countered, "No need, I’ll do it."

"You?" Chen Si arched an eyebrow, retorting without hesitation. "You know how to make fried rice? I seem to recall someone who couldn’t even manage to fry an egg back in the day."

The air seemed to freeze; the tension between the two women was palpable.

Mu Chen looked between them and finally made the call. "Let Chen Si try. It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper meal of fried rice."

Chen Jiahe’s face dropped instantly, looking miserable.

A triumphant curve appeared on Chen Si’s lips, her voice turning light. "Alright! I promise to make it worth your while!"

She rolled up her sleeves with practiced ease, grabbed the cured meat and rice, and headed into the kitchen. Soon, the sounds of rhythmic chopping and the hiss of a spatula in a hot pan drifted out.

Chen Jiahe sat back on the sofa, pouting, turning her face away to look at no one.

"What’s wrong?" Mu Chen sat down beside her, asking despite knowing the answer.

"Hmph, nothing," Chen Jiahe said sullenly, her voice thick with congestion. "I’m just useless. I can’t do anything right; I’m just a burden."

"Talking nonsense again," Mu Chen patted her hand.

"I am not!" Chen Jiahe’s grievance flared, her eyes reddening. "I can’t cook as well as her, I can’t fight, what use am I at all?"

"Mu Chen, do we have any light soy sauce?" Chen Si’s crisp voice drifted from the kitchen, sounding quite familiar with the place.

"Check the fridge door," Mu Chen called out.

"Found it! Thanks! We’ll be eating soon!" Chen Si sounded absolutely delighted.

To Chen Jiahe, the back-and-forth felt like needles pricking at her skin.

Half an hour later, the rich aroma of meat mixed with the toasted scent of rice wafted from the kitchen, making one’s mouth water.

Chen Si walked out with a large plate, her steps light and a confident smile on her face. "Here we go! Freshly made cured meat fried rice—everyone, taste my handiwork!"

She set the plate down on the coffee table with a clatter. Golden rice grains were dotted with red, glistening bits of meat and flecks of vibrant green scallions, the fragrance hitting them head-on.

Mu Chen picked up his chopsticks, took a large bite, and chewed. His eyes lit up. "Mmm, not bad! This flavor is incredible!"

"Really?" Chen Si’s eyes curved into crescents, her tone full of small-scale pride. "I told you, my cooking is still top-notch!"

Chen Jiahe took a silent bite. The rice was perfectly separated, the meat savory and well-seasoned; the taste was indeed flawless. But the better it tasted, the more stifled she felt.

"Right," Mu Chen suddenly slapped his forehead, pulled out his phone, and snapped a photo of the fried rice. "I have to post this in the residents' group and make them jealous."

Chen Si was stunned. "Post it in the group? Is that... really a good idea?"

"What’s wrong with it?" Mu Chen’s fingers flew across the screen as he edited the post without looking up. "Let them open their eyes and see what a quality of life is. Maybe it’ll even motivate some of them to survive."

He chuckled and clicked send. The caption read: [Dinner time, simple and plain.]

Before the notification sound even faded, the residents' group exploded.

[Brother Wang]: Holy crap! Mu, you’re just begging for hate! That meat! That rice! I’m starving just looking at it!

[Sister Li]: @Mu Chen, little Mu, do you need someone to wash the dishes? I’ll do it just for a meal!

[Master Zhang]: This is too much! We’re gnawing on compressed biscuits every day, and you guys are living it up with fine meat and rice! Is there no justice?

[Little Liu Next Door]: [Drooling][Drooling] Brother Mu, please keep me, I can warm the bed!

Chen Si looked at the messages of envy, jealousy, and hatred on the screen, her heart a whirlwind of emotions.

A few days ago, she was the pathetic wretch in that group crying about having no food, begging for scraps. Now, she had become the object of everyone’s envy, even if only for a single meal.

The shift left her feeling dazed.

"It seems..." she murmured softly, "everyone is having a hard time."