18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 41

After dinner, they couldn't bear to waste the leftover broth from the stew. They decided to use it again the next day for some pasta.

Times were tough. They were just grateful to have flavorful food. Who cared about eating healthy or not?

The fatty meat had been rendered down into oil. The cracklings were golden and crispy. It was enough to last a good long while.

Angela took out the remaining meat, asking, “Stella, how much salt should we use for all this?”

Salt was precious, just enough to last the year if used properly. Using too much was wasteful, but if too little was used, the meat might be spoiled.

They were fortunate to have gotten their hands on a pig. In this post-apocalyptic world, the scent of fresh meat was a rare luxury. But they couldn't just indulge. They had to plan for the future.

Everyone wanted to preserve the meat, so Stella finally spoke up, “The landlord's car has a huge fridge. I'll go back and render the fat. We should be able to fit everything in.”

She wanted to fetch another fridge from Arcadia but their solar charger would have trouble handling it.

Cody and the others were thrilled and wanted to help render the fat. In front of her, they were all domestic novices, but they all offered to help. They didn’t want to become a burden to her.

Stella wouldn't let them help. “No need. I can manage it by myself. You guys should go clean up and rest.”

Back home, she threw the meat into the fridge in Arcadia. Then she took out her multifunctional massage bathtub. She filled it with warm water, plugged in the solar energy storage box, turned on some soothing music, and closed her eyes to relax.

Cooper, her dog, lay beside her, gnawing on a bone-filled bowl. Cooper had been accepted by a new owner, so he seemed particularly excited, gnawing on his bone with gusto.

Protectiveness over food is a dog's instinct, but Cooper liked Stella. He had deliberately saved half a bowl of bones for her. “Woof!”

Stella was grateful. “You eat it.” She tossed him a sausage.

The next day, she woke up naturally. Jasper, together with Cody and Lukas, had gone to the department store to trade for grains. It was a simple task that didn't require Stella's presence.

After a breakfast of delicious toasts with Cooper, Stella not only brushed her own teeth but also brushed Cooper's. Then, she took the pig offal to 1803. She brought a stool and started to process the offal with Angela. Rosie ran over to join them. “Hi, I can help.”

Stella didn't want her to get dirty. “You play with Cooper.”

Since Cooper arrived, the atmosphere on the 18th floor had become much livelier. If anything happened downstairs, it wouldn't escape his ears.

What comforted Stella more was that Cooper was a principled dog.

Rosie secretly put a piece of fried crackling into Cooper's mouth. He drooled but didn't eat it, staring at Stella with pleading eyes. “Woof.”

Stella played a trick. “It's poisoned!”

Scared, Cooper dropped the crackling from his mouth.

Stella chuckled, “Just kidding, it's not poisoned. Go ahead and eat.”

Cooper was cautious, sniffing it for a while before wolfing it down.

Angela didn’t stopped laughing until she felt pain in her belly. “Cooper is so smart. He can resist even the most tempting food unless you give him the okay.”

This was an alertness born from harsh life experiences. The stray dogs not only had to face human persecution, animal control capture, but also a variety of dog thieves. If he didn't have some skills, he wouldn't survive this long.

But Cooper was indeed very clever. He seemed smarter than before. He fully understood human language, and even started to help discipline others.

Smoky and Snowy were less intelligent. Their eating and excreting habits frustrated Stella. Cooper, however, was dominant. He would bite down and pat them vigorously with his paw.

‘That's the punishment for relieving yourself anywhere!’

Then he would grab them by the neck and drag them to the toilet. ‘Go ahead. Do it in front of me!’

Perhaps animals communicated with each other better. After being disciplined by Cooper a few times, Smoky and Snowy really learned their lessons.

Today, when Stella woke up, she found them using the toilet.

She also had ten baby rabbits, and Cooper had a way to deal with them as well. Whoever relieved themselves anywhere, he would catch Smoky and Snowy and give them a good beating. 'Are you going to manage them? If no, I'll eat them!'

Cooper would discipline the rabbits, and the rabbits would discipline their babies. There was nothing they couldn't learn. Cooper became the leader of the pack in no time, with twelve underlings under his paw.

Jasper, Lukas and Cody returned around noon. By then, Stella and Angela had finished cleaning the pig offal. The intestines, liver, and some lean meat were all prepared. Then they marinated it all with some seasonings. The fat intestines were stewed and cut into pieces.

She had planned out the day's meals.

For lunch, each person would get a bowl of offal stew and fried pork intestines with pickled cabbage.

For dinner, they would have fried onions with pork heart, and stewed pork tripe with peppers.

The rest would be used the next day.

The vegetables and onions were Stella's, and Angela offered the grains, pasta, oil, gas, and other ingredients.

Jasper was also generous, always bringing a large supply of food every time, but they also kept track of everything in their minds. None of them were calculative or scheming, which was why they could get along so well.

Cody was satisfied with the meal. “Stella, why don't you do the cooking from now on? We'd just ruin the food.”

Stella refused firmly. “No way. I'm not becoming the housekeeper. Maybe just once in a while.”

“Why did you guys return so late from the grain exchange?” Angela asked, concerned, “We thought something might happen to you guys.”

“The exchange went smoothly. We thought we had time so we checked out a nearby office building. But we found nothing.” Cody shared the day's events, “The price of rice at the department store has gone up again, and the quantity is decreasing. Monkey's gang, who we traded with, didn't take advantage of the situation or follow us. They seem to have some principles.”

“Rice at 2000 dollars a pound. Ordinary people can't afford it. They can only sell so much a day while risking being caught. We are their big customers.”

Stella checked the grains they brought back. The quality was similar to yesterday's.

None of them had any experience. “Stella, how do we eat this rice?”

It was salvaged from underwater. Who would dare to eat it? They were unsure of what to do.

“Seal it in a bag and save it for when we really run out of food. Also, keep an eye out if anyone gets sick from eating this kind of grain. If not, we can mix some into our meals.”

Lukas agreed, “Stella, you always think ahead.”

“By the way, Monkey's gang doesn't just sell grains. They also buy things. They accept tea, alcohol, and medicine in exchange.”

They had collected a lot of these items, especially medicine. They heard that hospitals were running out of medicine. Even if there was any left, it would be sold per pill at an exorbitant price.

They had valuable resources, which no doubt opened up more possibilities for survival. This relieved Lukas and the others. “How about we trade for some premium rice?”

Stella disapproved, “We already spent 500,000 dollars, which is already conspicuous enough. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. Surely, food is scarce, but medicine will be scarcer. By then, we can trade for more food. There's no need to rush.”

After dinner, Stella and Jasper left together.

Jasper asked, “Can we start the deal today?”

Apparently, he was eager to get started on the dog training.

Stella had no objections. She squatted down to discuss with the dog, “Cooper, would you mind if this gentleman here starts training you every day?”

Cooper squinted his eyes, full of alertness and resistance, and retreated two steps in dissatisfaction.

The strong aura of 1801 was not a hit with Cooper.