After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 57: Chapter 55 Making Clothes

Chapter 57: Chapter 55 Making Clothes

Jiao Ming nodded with a sigh, “I heard about it. I patrolled those farms, and after being attacked by mutant animals, the soil was all churned up, not a single hair left. The farmers sat in the fields and cried, and seeing that, we felt terrible.”

“Pan’er’s superpower is the Star Tree. God looks out for the simple-hearted; the Star Tree has a Space Barrier, which really saved everyone. Otherwise, we would have lost everything too. Even so, we still lost a third of our grain and vegetables. The fields were gnawed at as if by persistent scabies.”

“It’s hard for everyone. We’re also struggling at the base. If the farms are hit by disaster, we suffer too. If we can’t bring in the harvest, everyone has to go hungry, including the orphanage and the slum. The Base Commander is scrimping and saving every which way. We even had a period of eating only one meal a day, with everyone’s stomachs rumbling, just filling up on water, and getting dizzy on hunting trips.”

Jiao Ming shook his head, helpless.

“The base wasn’t hit by disaster, was it?”

“We defended well, and the losses were negligible, but with so many mouths to feed, the base is only so big; there aren’t enough jobs for everyone. If you can’t find work, you can’t eat, and that leads to trouble.”

“Some people were egging on the higher-ups to shut down the orphanage and send the kids with superpowers to the front lines. The Base Commander was so angry he slammed the table and swore at them. He even made a special call to the higher-ups to report the situation, and thanks to the grain you provided for the orphanage, which counts as social aid, it was finally saved.”

“What about the future?”

“Do nothing, just drag it out. Actually, there aren’t many children in the orphanage. They’ll grow up in a few years, and they can’t even wait that long. I don’t know whose rotten idea it was; lacking in virtue, coming up with ideas that don’t help anyone. Why don’t their kids go to the front lines, damn bastards!”

Jiao Ming was so angry he felt like spitting on that person’s face.

Sending children under ten to the front lines, he’d never heard such a depraved idea.

In reality, there weren’t many children in the orphanage. After the disaster, animals, plants, and even humans mutated; eating too many mutant animals affected fertility.

Previously, people were afraid to have children, fearing that mutant animals might suddenly cause a stampede.

Later, when peace was restored and life stabilized, people found they couldn’t conceive. The fertility rate had plummeted to rock bottom, and every base had very few children.

With just those few kids in the orphanage, how much could they eat? Some people just kept a death grip on the orphanage. The Base Commander was furious, crying his complaint to the higher-ups, and finally got some peace.

With such limited resources, there’s always someone trying to take a bite wherever they can. It’s not a big deal, just irritating.

They chatted and ate. Li Pan and the others quickly finished their meal and left the table.

They made a few more dishes for them, as well as boiled salty peanuts to accompany their drinks.

Liu Qian and Li Pan lit a lamp for the children to recite their books, check their homework, and do some light chores.

She started making Xue Dong’s sheepskin coat, with a few sheepskins left to finish.

After completing the lining of the coat, it was already very late. They shooed the children off to bed, Liu Qian went back to No.7 Farm, and Li Pan went upstairs.

Tonight, Jiao Ming and Cui Yanjun would sleep in the big pit; tomorrow they would rest at No.7 Farm, mainly to keep an eye on things there.

The next day, Jiao Ming and Cui Yanjun got up early to work at No.7 Farm, and Li Pan noticed how thinly they were dressed.

“Brother, don’t they have cotton-padded jackets? Aren’t they cold wearing so little?”

“Oh! I didn’t ask; do they not have any?”

“I reckon not, I saw them with a bundle, not much in it.”

“Then I’ll quickly make them sheepskin coats. You can’t work outside in such cold weather without proper clothes. Brother Jianzhong, ask if they need anything else; I have some, and if it’s not enough, I’ll buy it.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast, Li Pan started preparing dough. The new year was approaching, and it was time to prepare for the holidays. After a year of hard work, they were waiting to relax and enjoy the few days of the new year, eat well, and rest.

They really had been busy the entire year, without a moment’s rest.

They planned to make some deep-fried goodies, like fried twisted dough sticks and oil cakes.

“We’re slaughtering a pig today, and also that other cow. I bought two wild oxen and two wild pigs from the base to have for the new year feast; let’s have a rich celebration.”

Xue Dong had agreed to this yesterday.

“Alright. I’ll make the fried twisted dough sticks.”

“Sis, I’ll help you. I want to learn,”

Sun Wenwen and Zhang Yu immediately ran over, with Xie Ling watching her with eager eyes.

“Alright, you guys help me out.”

Li Pan began working on the lining and the outer cover of the coat, one set would suffice, as sheepskin coats are quick to assemble.

These tasks were learned on the base; with practice, everyone could master them.

After making two sets of linings and coverings, the sheepskin coats were tailored according to their size, all in large since they were both tall. It was enough to make them on the larger side.

She slipped the sheepskin coat over the lining, sewing on elastic loops; one side had buttons, which could easily be attached or detached by hanging the lining and covering.

“That’s done, we’ll have them try it on when they come back to see if it fits. These are cotton shoes, lucky I bought plenty, and this is the largest size, I reckon they should fit.”

“Okay.”

Li Pan took the kids to make fried pastries next, planning to make some crispy sesame snacks as well. She had planted two clumps of sesame, fried some sesame paste, and sesame oil—sesame paste being quite good for calcium, and a favorite among the kids.

The crispy snacks definitely needed sesame. She crushed the sesame and Sichuan peppercorns, frying them up to mix into the dough, then made thin slices with a cut in the middle, threading one end of the dough through the cut to create a crispy snack.

She also prepared sweet and savory fried pastries, as well as twisted dough sticks in several flavors.

The layered middle of the fried pastries contained crispy dough, making it flaky and aromatic. If there was plenty of food at home, she’d make it nice so everyone could enjoy it to the fullest.

Zhang Yu, Wenwen, and Xie Ling followed along to learn, twisting the dough sticks and making the crispy snacks on the other side.

They began by frying the pastries, made small enough for a bite-size, crisp, soft, and sweet—very delicious.

“If you’re hungry, have some to fill your stomachs.”

Li Pan stuffed a pastry into Xie Ling’s mouth, ate one herself, and urged the two kids to help themselves.

“So fragrant.”

“So tasty.”

The two kids couldn’t stop expressing their joy; they had almost never eaten something so rich in oil. Life had only improved for them since arriving at the farm. Back in the orphanage, they had to be frugal, with not much to go around.

They continued frying the twisted dough sticks and crispy snacks. Xie Ling loved the crispiness, with the aroma of sesame and Sichuan peppercorn. Zhang Yu was fond of the twisted dough sticks, particularly those with a savory, spicy chili powder flavor, which were deliciously hot and savory.

Jiao Ming, Cui Yanjun, and others finished their work and came back, instantly smelling the fragrant fried goods filling the house.

“Wow! It smells amazing.”

“You’re back, go wash your hands and try the fried pastries I made. Brother Jiao, Brother Cui, the clothes and shoes on the sofa are yours, try them on to see if they fit, especially the shoes. I’m worried they might not fit; I can exchange them at the base if need be.”

“All right, thank you, sis, for all the trouble.”

Jiao Ming smiled, somewhat embarrassed.

They tried them on, and unexpectedly, the shoes fit perfectly, as did the clothes.

Li Pan had prepared two sets of everything from the inside out, including overcoats, vests, undershirts, and long johns, all in pairs for easy washing. Since they had arrived late, she didn’t have much prepared for them; she planned to buy more later if needed.

“Mm! These pastries are really fragrant; we could have them for New Year’s.”

“Eat them now; we’ll make more after you finish. Have you finished butchering the pigs?”

“All done, we did it over there since Liu Qian said you needed this pot and it’s too cold outside. We butchered them in the shed.”

“Then let’s have some offal later.”

“I’ll take some baking soda; we’ve run out over there, I’m going to clean the intestines.”

Jiao Ming and Cui Yanjun had come to fetch things.

“Good timing, I’ll pack some fried snacks for you; if you get hungry in the evening, you’ll have something to eat.”

Actually, they also had a kitchen over there and could cook, but the men were too lazy to bother and usually just brought leftovers, heating them up if they got hungry at night.