Taking off the pen cap and opening her notebook, she continued:
"First, we need to keep accounts. From now on, I'll record all the supplies we gather."
"What we find, what we use up - we need to keep track of our remaining inventory. This way, we'll have some resilience when facing unexpected situations."
It was an excellent suggestion, exactly what Shen Yi had been thinking about.
When he was in middle school, being young, he couldn't manage money well.
He would spend his allowance carelessly at the start of each semester, splurging without restraint, causing his quality of life to deteriorate steadily.
By the time the holidays approached, he'd basically be living meal to meal.
Since then, he had learned the importance of keeping accounts and saving money.
"Let's take out the food we just brought back. You call them out, and I'll record," Cheng Jun suggested.
"Alright," Shen Yi nodded, standing up to pull items from his bag.
"Twelve compressed biscuits..."
"One bottle of honey, a handful of candy..."
"Four cans of luncheon meat, one can of kidney beans, two cans of dace with black beans, two cans of eight-treasure congee..."
Shen Yi called out each item one by one, with canned goods making up the majority.
In terms of shelf life, canned food was the safest option, so he had collected every undamaged can he could find.
While other foods spoiling might be a minor issue, getting sick from bad food was serious. In these times, falling ill would leave you helpless, with no choice but to risk going out again to find medicine.
After recording everything, Cheng Jun pushed the notebook over and said:
"If we're careful, this backpack of supplies should last us both for a week."
Her elegant handwriting filled the page, clearly listing each item and its quantity.
Though it seemed like a lot of supplies, they wouldn't last long, leaving little sense of security.
Shen Yi looked at the daylight outside and said to Cheng Jun,
"While it's still light out, I'll make a few more trips. We're still short on many things."
Cheng Jun was hesitant upon hearing this.
She wanted to acquire more supplies but worried about Shen Yi's safety, feeling conflicted.
If anything happened to Shen Yi, she would struggle to survive alone in this unfamiliar environment.
Seeing her concern, Shen Yi reassured her:
"Don't worry, I've already made this trip twice and am familiar with the surroundings."
"You can clear out the spare rooms so we'll have places to rest tonight."
They had only cleaned the living room so far, leaving the master and secondary bedrooms untouched. Without clearing them, they'd have nowhere to sleep.
Seeing Shen Yi's determination, Cheng Jun could only agree,
"Alright, just... come back quickly."
Shen Yi took his bag and left, not wanting to change his route.
For now, safety was the priority, and since the convenience store area was danger-free, he planned to return there.
This time, Shen Yi wasn't just looking for food and drinks but gathered many daily necessities.
"Cups, toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels..."
These personal items were also his targets - even in this post-apocalyptic world, he didn't want to let himself become unkempt.
Besides, current conditions allowed for it, and no one would come asking for payment.
He packed items one by one, finding joy in collecting even these inexpensive things.
Shen Yi suddenly understood the pleasure of getting things for free - freeloading truly brought happiness.
He skipped over cooking oil, salt, and condiments for now, as they had no means to cook yet, making these seasonings useless.
Every convenience store had a storage room, and Shen Yi quickly found a door behind the freezers.
After opening it, he cautiously waited a moment to ensure there was no movement before slowly entering.
The storeroom was packed with merchandise, though it was hard to see clearly without lights.
He grabbed two boxes of mineral water from nearby and left.
Water was currently the most important thing; everything else could wait, as there was no competition for supplies.
Carrying his backpack and two boxes of water, Shen Yi walked back steadily.
After returning to their shelter and putting things down, he immediately headed out again.
Over the next two hours, Shen Yi made three trips like an industrious ant, constantly moving back and forth carrying supplies.
Meanwhile, Cheng Jun stayed home taking inventory and keeping records.
The two worked together efficiently until their tasks were completed by evening.
Cheng Jun sat exhausted in her chair catching her breath, looking with amazement at Shen Yi, who still seemed energetic.
She was tired just from staying at home, while Shen Yi, who had done all the carrying, appeared completely normal.
Little did she know that this level of activity barely consumed more energy than Shen Yi could recover, requiring no rest at all.
Shen Yi was now admiring his handiwork, seeing the corner of the room gradually filled with supplies.
Just looking at it gave him a sense of security and accomplishment.
It felt like playing a post-apocalyptic scavenging game, filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
As the sun set, the temperature began to drop.
The two sat at the dining table for dinner, with portions allocated by Cheng Jun.
She divided the food into two piles, one large and one small, pushing the larger portion toward Shen Yi and keeping the smaller one for herself.
"You've used more energy, so you should eat more..."
Cheng Jun opened a can of eight-treasure congee for Shen Yi, explaining softly,
"I'm a girl, and I haven't moved much today, so I don't need to eat as much."
Shen Yi frowned at her, unsure if she was being deliberate or truly couldn't eat more, and tried to persuade her:
"There's no need to starve yourself. Supplies are everywhere - if we run out, I'll just go get more."
Hearing this, Cheng Jun just shook her head and insisted:
"I've recorded everything in the ledger. With the current uncertain situation, we should save where we can, and I'm not eating too little."
Cheng Jun had given Shen Yi plenty while not shortchanging herself, calculating that the caloric intake was sufficient.
Under these conditions, she wouldn't ask for more.
She was intentionally trying to develop habits to overcome her own delicateness.
Their meal consisted of instant foods combined with snacks and candy, trying to maintain some nutritional balance.
None of the food was hot, so it couldn't be called particularly tasty.
But because they were both hungry from their activities, everything tasted relatively good.
Now, without food delivery services, just having a full meal was fortunate.
They finished dinner in silence, cleaned up briefly, and then fell quiet again.
The sky gradually darkened; they estimated it was not yet seven o'clock.
Shen Yi carefully drew the curtains before lighting candles for illumination.
Candles had been hard to find - convenience stores didn't stock them, so he'd found these in a nearby gift shop.
They were small glass jar candles that didn't give off much light.
Based on post-apocalyptic movies he'd seen, Shen Yi reasoned that the peaceful quiet of daytime didn't guarantee the same for night.
Even a small light at night might attract unknown dangers, so maintaining silence was a good strategy.
Both being modern young people, they weren't used to going to bed early.
Now, without electricity or phones, they couldn't play games or watch videos.
Shen Yi was fine, but Cheng Jun, being a regular internet user, found it quite difficult.
Earlier, when they were busy, she could force herself not to think about it.
Now that it was dark and things had quieted down, her chaotic thoughts came rushing in like a tide.
With nothing else to do, they could only sit down and chat.