Chapter 637: The Fair Convoy’s First Lesson
The Fair Convoy, abandoning its usual laziness, got up especially early today.
While other convoys were still asleep, the convoy camp had already begun to bustle.
Of course, that bustle came from only part of the group.
Those responsible for the daily affairs of the Superhumans had already started working.
Wanting the horse to run but not wanting it to eat—such a thing was almost impossible in the Fair Convoy.
Since they came so early, naturally they had to take responsibility for a meal.
When Wu Zehui and Number One from the Skeleton Convoy arrived, both still yawning, the looks they gave Chen Ye were full of grievance.
Who in their right mind makes decent folks start work at four in the morning?
In this camp, aside from the Fair Convoy, no other convoy rose this early.
That made Wu Zehui quite displeased, but there was nothing he could do—the Fair Convoy had already handed over the supplies.
Besides, everyone was neighbors; the sunshine-filled cheerful big boy couldn’t save face and figured getting up earlier was fine—it was only one day after all.
Number One from the Skeleton Convoy was also young.
Young people’s biggest trait is that they can’t save face, but at least they had some sense of contractual obligation.
If it had been a few old timers, they might have taken the money and done nothing.
The one consolation was that the Fair Convoy was responsible for the camp’s meals all day today, so breakfast was naturally included.
They had to know that supplies were scarce for every convoy; although some supplies had been brought back from Xi City the day before yesterday, it still couldn’t ease the severe shortage.
“Hey… here’s your bowl!”
Little Fish handed each of Wu Zehui and Number One a huge sea bowl.
Wu Zehui stared at the bowl, which was bigger than his head, and was momentarily stunned.
Number One was silently astonished as well.
That bowl… is normally used for soup, right!!!
Little Fish yawned, looked at the two dummies, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Judging by their looks, if they were in the Fair Convoy, they probably wouldn’t last long.
Unable to bear it, Little Fish couldn’t help but remind them: “When you eat later, remember—there are only three words you need to know in our convoy!”
“What three words?”
Number One finally couldn’t help but ask.
He was already murmuring to himself, wondering why this convoy felt so weird.
Little Fish gave a cheeky laugh and struck a pose like an experienced senior: “Don’t be ashamed!”
Saying that, she hopped off clutching her sea bowl.
Number One and Wu Zehui exchanged bewildered looks.
Actually, the Post-Apocalyptic Opera Troupe and the Skeleton Convoy were neighbors of the Fair Convoy.
Logically, they should know something about how the Fair Convoy operated.
But the Fair Convoy’s Superhumans’ Small Canteen was tucked between Bus Number Five and Bus Number Six.
So whenever the Fair Convoy held a feast, they didn’t get all the details.
After all, when the Fair Convoy ate, most of the time their convoy was eating too.
Hearing Little Fish, the two of them had nothing but question marks in their heads.
Don’t be ashamed?
How did that have anything to do with eating?
Number One had some faint guesses brewing in his mind.
Sunshine-filled cheerful big boy Wu Zehui couldn’t imagine—the youth’s mind was pure and naturally wouldn’t be tainted by such messy things.
However, they would soon know what was going on.
Other convoys also had small kitchens for their Superhumans; it wasn’t anything unusual.
Superhumans’ meals were generally much better than ordinary survivors’ meals.
Some convoys went further and assigned a private cook to each Superhuman.
Wu Zehui and Number One were surprised, but they followed Little Fish toward the Fair Convoy’s small kitchen.
This was the busiest time in the whole camp.
Several survivors in charge of cooking were coming and going.
At the Fair Convoy’s small kitchen, over a fire burning orange flames, a blackened large pot was hung by iron wire.
That pot looked like the kind of big pot used on wood stoves in the countryside.
The pot made huffing and puffing noises.
It was filled to the brim with dried noodles.
Occasionally ash from the bonfire fell into the noodle soup.
Everyone was used to such situations.
Just fireplace ash…
Before the apocalypse, many people wouldn’t touch noodles cooked under such sanitary conditions.
They might even post about it online and attack whoever served it.
But now was the apocalypse…
Ash from the fire is not poison—it’s edible!
Wu Zehui and Number One did not show any disgust.
Number One even swallowed hard a little.
The Skeleton Convoy’s strength was relatively weak in this base.
Their supplies were also scarce.
Only recently had these young people, thanks to good connections and quick wits, made some money by helping sell Gong Yong’s Revitalization Stove on commission.
Even a simple food like dried noodles had been rare for Number One for a long time.
That was today’s breakfast.
Before the apocalypse, some places didn’t eat dried noodles.
If you served such food to guests back then, the guests might spit it back in your face.
But now, this was the apocalypse—having anything to eat was fortunate.
Dried noodles were almost a delicacy.
The topping was made from potatoes, lettuce, and minced meatworm, stir-fried with special post-apocalyptic sauce.
Not extremely tasty, but quite distinctive.
Since the apocalypse, many convoys developed their own unique foods during long nomadic life.
For example, the Fair Convoy’s desert lump meat was made by burying camel meat in hot sand for a while and then taking it out.
It had a unique taste, giving a real taste of the desert.
Not long after they sat, a few figures arrived one after another.
The newcomers were none other than Chu Che, Chen Ye, Sun Xixi and their group.
Chu Che smiled apologetically at Wu Zehui and Number One.
Seeing Captain Chu’s apologetic smile, Wu Zehui felt slightly relieved.
He thought: maybe Captain Chu felt it was excessive to call them over so early, and felt a little guilty.
Looks like this Captain Chu is a decent person after all!
Next to him, Number One—the punk girl with ear-length hair—also nodded slightly.
That was her response to Captain Chu’s apologetic smile.
She was probably thinking the same as Wu Zehui.
The two of them felt a little more forgiving toward Chen Ye’s flashy move.
They glanced at the one-armed woman standing beside him and saw she seemed a bit apologetic too.
Noticing the two looking over, Ding Dong gave an awkward smile and then avoided their gaze awkwardly.
Wu Zehui and Number One exchanged a look.
It seemed that aside from that One-eyed Guy, everyone in this convoy was easy to get along with.
Gong Yong also got a sweep of their gazes and looked embarrassed.
Iron Lion just grinned his stupid grin when facing their looks.
Sun Xixi simply kept her head down and stared at her bowl.
As for Little Fish—well, that kid looked at the two of them like they were idiots!
That baffled the two of them.
They felt the Fair Convoy was odd in certain ways.
Xu Lina remained silent the whole time, acting as if she knew nothing.
The One-eyed Guy Chen Ye, however, openly met their gazes and smiled in a very friendly, harmless way.
“All right, you may eat!”
At that moment, the survivor cooking the noodles announced it, then quickly backed away using all his limbs.
It seemed to him that finishing this breakfast was a very dangerous task.
Wu Zehui held the oversized sea bowl, ready to line up and scoop noodles.
Then… he froze.
Number One likewise stopped.
The two of them witnessed a spectacle they would not forget for the rest of their lives.
They stood there like wooden carvings.
The ever-smiling Big Fool now looked like a different person—four arms working in unison. Two arms held a pair of chopsticks each, while the other two each grabbed a sea bowl.
The two pairs of chopsticks moved like lightning, scooping a huge clump of noodles and stuffing it into the bowl without spilling a drop.
The pink-haired girl’s right-hand chopsticks were like a sword—fast and precise.
She looked like a peerless swordswoman, scooping noodles while simultaneously striking at and blocking others’ chopsticks.
The one-armed woman was even more exaggerated. While others fought outright, she seized an opening, scooped a big bowl of noodles and withdrew.
The full-bearded youth gnawed his teeth with a grimace; the first set of noodles he tried to scoop was knocked away.
He showed no sign of discouragement and stubbornly thrust his chopsticks back into the pot to attack again.
The quiet, graceful girl had already deployed her tail; it curled around a pair of chopsticks, moving as nimbly as a hand.
When the chopsticks in her hand were knocked away, the tail’s chopsticks made a diversion and returned fully loaded.
Most amusingly was the One-eyed Guy.
He paid no attention to grabbing noodles from the pot; instead he targeted noodles already in others’ bowls.
The pink-haired girl had a strand stolen, Iron Lion had a strand stolen, and even the full-bearded youth had a strand filched from his bowl!
Thus he sat back and watched the tigers fight, and in no time his sea bowl was piled high.
Captain Chu, the bald man, had already scooped his bowl and squatted aside to eat.
Even Little Fish—well…
This little girl clutched her sea bowl. It was hard to imagine how someone so small could survive among a group of Superhumans.
During the whole process, teammates who had seemed friendly transformed into mortal enemies, showing no sign of comradeship.
How could this be?
The two of them remained stupefied.
Yet the entire noodle-grabbing process didn’t spill a single drop of soup or waste a single noodle.
Inside the pot there were flashes like swords and chaotic battle.
Outside the pot, everyone was still brothers, still friends, still teammates.
Wu Zehui and Number One looked at each other.
They finally understood, finally saw why Captain Chu and the one-armed woman had looked apologetic.
This was the Fair Convoy’s first lesson for them.
And inside that great pot…
there were only a few stray noodles left and a whole pot of noodle soup.
Plus Little Fish’s look that said, “You guys are idiots.”
They finally understood!
Why Little Fish had said before that when you eat in the Fair Convoy you must learn: “Don’t! Be! Ashamed!”