Chapter 35: Arranging Breakfast

"In the woods outside the city, Old Lu, call more people. Either find two who are good at climbing trees, or bring a ladder.

Go early, don't let someone else beat you to it."

"No one is watching?"

"No one, it's hanging in the tree."

Tu Shan waved her hand and walked away. Old Lu panicked: "You stinky girl, why didn't you say so earlier? You're still sitting here eating so slowly—are you trying to be the death of me?"

Tu Shan was already far away. Lu Hongtao scrambled to change his shoes and clothes, grabbed his tools, and called for men, all while grumbling under his breath.

Old Mrs. Lu roared at him, and the old man went silent instantly and ran out.

After leading his men to the small woods outside the city, he searched for a long time before finally seeing the giant vine-wrapped bundle hanging between four large trees. His temples began to throb.

That stinky girl must have made things difficult for him on purpose. It weighed thousands of pounds—how did she get it up there? And how was he supposed to get it down?

Tu Shan pushed her cart to the unit; it wasn't even seven o'clock yet.

It wasn't time for work, and her colleagues, who had pulled an all-nighter, were slumped over their desks in a light sleep.

Old Man Man was already up, moving quietly as he cleared fallen leaves from the courtyard outside the unit, wiping down the comrades' bicycles, and fetching hot water.

The old man was so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

Tu Shan left her cart in the courtyard and went to find the Yang family to buy fifty catties of white flour, twenty catties of pork, and five large cabbages, which she sent to the cafeteria.

Only the staff on duty were in the cafeteria.

As luck would have it, it was that auntie who served the food.

"Auntie, you look radiant today. Something good must have happened."

The older woman squinted at her: "What good thing? Tell me, how exactly did you manage to get through the back door?"

Tu Shan smiled and pulled out ten yuan, waving it in front of the woman: "Is this a good thing?"

The woman froze for a moment, her eyes lighting up: "You gave our director money? How much? That stingy bald donkey—someone once gave him two hundred yuan to reserve a private stove for them, and even then, he didn't agree.

If you gave him money, it couldn't have been less than two hundred."

Tu Shan clicked her tongue: "You just said your director is upright and incorruptible. Would he let people point fingers at his spine for two hundred yuan?

That person was just stupid; they didn't even know how to butter him up.

Let me tell you, I didn't give a single cent. I just promised Old Lu that he would catch all the bad guys in the world, and he was so moved he begged me to let him provide extra meals."

The woman looked at her as if to say, "Do I look stupid to you?"

Tu Shan smiled and stuffed the money into her hand: "Auntie, please do me a favor. I have some flour, meat, and vegetables here. Could you help me make them into steamed buns and send them to the Criminal Police team across the street? My colleagues pulled an all-nighter and are exhausted. Could you help me out?"

The woman quickly tucked the money into her pocket: "Sure, why not? I'm idle anyway, and lunch prep doesn't start until nine, so there's plenty of time.

You're a true comrade of the people. Pulling an all-nighter is hard work. Don't you worry, I'll find the best cook among us to help out. It'll be done in less than an hour."

Anyone would do; Tu Shan didn't mind. "Thank you for your trouble. I have things to do, so I'll be going."

Tu Shan left, wandering around the area before work started.

The noise from the underground gambling den had quieted down, and the people on duty at the various units had all woken up.

Of the five units that were empty last night, three were still empty, but two had people in them.

Where had those two been last night?

The public housing courtyard was bustling, with men and women busy starting their day's livelihood.

The people living there were from the lower classes, but their lives were better than those in her area. At least they had proper jobs—whether temporary or permanent, it was a decent, long-term rice bowl.

Compared to the people in her area, who lived hand-to-mouth, they were much better off.

There were no children living in this courtyard.

Tu Shan didn't linger and wandered over to the abandoned courtyard.

The sound of the passage came from the dry well in the yard, which meant the exit was the well.

There were no signs of human activity here. Tu Shan guessed this might be the final retreat for those people.

As for the waste treatment plant's courtyard, it was in a very remote location on the edge of the area.

A middle-aged couple was guarding it.

They had built an incinerator that constantly emitted pungent odors and dust, so few people ever came by.

This was likely another fallback in case of emergency, known to very few.

That meant only the passage in the public housing was a well-known entrance and exit, and possibly the door used by those who came to play.

The public housing wasn't in the center of the area, there weren't many people living around it, and the residents inside were very mixed, with people coming and going constantly. No one would notice anything strange; it was a perfect cover.

She had a rough idea of the situation; the whole circuit took her over half an hour.

It was still early, so she ran to the nearest park, just behind the unit, not far away.

The two-kilometer radius wasn't a residential area, mostly office buildings, so the park was empty in the mornings and evenings, with only a few people coming to rest during their lunch break.

Tu Shan found a secluded spot and took out the old roots she had left over from forcing the grapes earlier, and forced them again.

Generally, plants with roots consumed less alien energy than pure seeds.

In less than two minutes, the old roots sprouted new shoots, grew new leaves, blossomed, and bore fruit. Ten large bunches of grapes grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, crystal clear and fragrant.

She cut the grapes, wove a basket out of the vines to hold them, and wrapped the small piece of rooted stem to put in her bag for next time.

When Tu Shan returned carrying over a hundred pounds of grapes, her colleagues were already eating the large meat buns.

"Third Sister is back! Come eat a bun, they taste great."

"Thanks, Third Sister, these buns are delicious."

"Thank you, Third Sister."

A group of men surrounded Tu Shan while munching on their buns.

Tu Shan's temples throbbed: "Those who call me Third Sister get grapes."

"Third Sister."

"Third Sister."

...

A group of grown men, for the sake of a bite to eat, had no shame at all; young and old alike were all calling her Third Sister.

Tu Shan was satisfied: "Eat up. Picked them from the mountain, they're free."

"We can tell. You even ripped up their vines."

Tu Shan chuckled, then tucked six large buns away to find He Jiahuan.

He Jiahuan had also pulled an all-nighter here last night and hadn't gone home.

He had just been woken up by the shouts that the buns had arrived and had just finished washing up.

Tu Shan stuffed four buns into his hands: "Eat."

He Jiahuan didn't stand on ceremony: "I'll pay you for the buns later. The whole team is eating; it's not right for you to spend your own money."

Tu Shan thought for a moment: "Captain, how about this? I'll sell you grain at a low price, and you send it to the cafeteria to ask them to help make breakfast.

I have a good relationship with Old Lu; he'll definitely agree. Our unit is always pulling all-nighters; it's miserable not having breakfast."

He Jiahuan scrutinized Tu Shan: "Yesterday at noon, Director Lu came to me to complain about you."

Tu Shan didn't care: "Our relationship started getting better yesterday afternoon."

He Jiahuan... He was also curious about how Tu Shan had managed to get through the back door.

Lu Hongtao was as stubborn as a rock in a latrine—that wasn't an exaggeration. He didn't give anyone face. The only reason their unit had unlimited meal tickets was because countless predecessors had exhausted their breath arguing for it, and because their unit was indeed dangerous and exhausting.

He didn't show any other favors.

Seeing him hesitate, Tu Shan added: "You saw it yourself—everyone outside is eating so happily. They've been up all night and can't even get a hot meal. They're so pitiful, and you, as the leader, don't even care about them."

He Jiahuan was speechless: "You're the one caring about them, but this meal couldn't have cost less than ten or twenty yuan. Do you know how much an average worker makes a month? Our unit doesn't have that kind of budget."

Tu Shan: "Thirty-eight yuan and fifty cents, ten of which was a tip for the auntie making the buns."

He Jiahuan clutched his chest. He knew it—they couldn't afford it.

What a spendthrift woman! Who gives a ten-yuan tip?

"You, you, you..."

(End of chapter)