Chapter 46: Today’s Daily Special — Rice Porridge
Early in the morning.
Before the city bells had even tolled, a knock sounded at the door of Long Qian’s wooden shack.
Knock, knock, knock. Three raps, neither hurried nor heavy.
“They’re here.”
Long Ya, already awake and dressed, stood up.
Long Qian stepped forward to open the door, revealing an officer in a black uniform standing outside.
Conscripts bound for the Black Fields departed before the morning bells. That was the rule.
“Long Ya.” The officer checked off the name against his roster, his face expressionless.
“Present.”
Shouldering her travel sack, Long Ya stepped outside behind the guard.
Inside the pack were the supplies Long Qian and the others had prepared for her.
Warm clothes, a thick quilt.
And a pair of heavy-duty gloves that Long Shi had begged and pleaded for her to take until she finally gave in.
If she hadn’t taken them, judging by how distraught Long Shi looked last night, he probably would have died of guilt on the spot for jinxing her.
“I’m off. See you in two months.”
Long Ya turned back, waving to her companions in the room.
Two months was the standard term of service under normal circumstances.
“Sis, take care of yourself! Keep your guard up and stay safe out there!”
Long Shi leaned out the doorway to shout his farewells.
Long Ya rolled her eyes. Knowing full well that once she left, there was no telling when they might see each other again, she forced herself to answer with unusual patience: “Got it.”
“Go on.”
Standing in the doorway, Long Qian gave her a firm nod.
Watching Long Ya and the guard disappear into the morning mist, Long Qian finally turned back to the rest of the crew. “Let’s get our things together too. Head for the West Gate.”
Clang— Clang— Clang—
Just as the group reached the West Gate, the bells rang out across the city.
The crowds bound for the Chinese Restaurant began gathering before the massive doors in steady streams.
When Auntie Yun arrived, she pulled Long Qian aside and whispered, “I heard Long Ya got called up for labor service?”
Though those who drew blue slips were dismissed early from the lottery, anyone could guess who was picked simply by watching who stayed behind until the bitter end.
Last night, those two little girls, Lilin and Lina, had even rushed over with a handful of City Coins, insisting on giving them to Sister Long Ya for her journey.
Long Qian had gently turned them down with a bittersweet smile, telling them that City Coins were useless out in the Black Fields, so they should keep them for themselves.
Meeting Auntie Yun’s worried gaze now, Long Qian gave a quiet nod.
Auntie Yun sighed.
Everyone knew being drafted for labor service was an ordeal, but nobody could do a thing about it.
Knowing Long Ya’s temperament, she never would have let anyone take her place anyway.
Long Qian leaned in close, murmuring a few words into Auntie Yun’s ear.
Auntie Yun’s eyes went wide. “Of course!”
“Shh.” Long Qian pressed a finger to her lips.
…
A large wave of scavengers passed through the gate scanners, signed the register, and departed.
Moments later, another group—skulking with shifty eyes and quiet steps—finished registering and slipped out the gate as well.
“Aren’t there an awful lot of people heading out through the West Gate lately?”
One of the guards glanced down at the logbook, his brow furrowing.
“Been like this the past couple of days.” The guard beside him stood ramrod straight, turning his head slightly toward his newly reassigned colleague.
Both of their shoulders bore epaulets marked with two silver bars.
“Has this been reported up the chain?”
“It has. Command said the headcounts leaving and returning match up perfectly. Zero casualties, so we just maintain observation.”
“Doesn’t that make it even weirder? With so many people pouring out, not a single one ends up injured or dead. What the hell is out there past the West Wall?”
“No idea.” The rigid guard replied flatly, “I asked a few of them when they returned. Got a bunch of nonsense in response. Some claimed it was a divine miracle, others said there’s a restaurant out there, and one guy swore up and down there’s a demon slinging bizarre sorcery that can make floating words appear right before his eyes. Which of those sounds like the talk of a sane man to you?”
“That unhinged?”
“Unhinged as hell. But as long as no one dies, that’s what matters.”
“Fair point. We’re running critically short on manpower across the city as it is; nobody has the time to go poking around out here. Something’s gone wrong in the Black Fields—fifteen of our guards were reassigned to the overseer division just the day before yesterday. Who knows if they’ll pull more of us next.”
“Orders are orders. Just follow them.”
“The overseer division has taken heavy casualties, you know.”
“A soldier’s first duty is absolute obedience.”
“Right, right, of course.” The first guard glanced at his taciturn partner, offering a dry, awkward chuckle.
“I just can’t shake this feeling that more and more strange things are piling up lately.”
The guard set down the roster and looked out beyond the towering walls. “Feels like… something big is about to happen…”
“What’s that smell?”
As the very first morning party neared the familiar boundary of white light, someone sniffed the air and asked aloud.
“Delicious food, what else? It always smells heavenly out here!”
“No… it’s not the usual smell. Doesn’t that smell like… cooked rice?!”
“Rice?!”
The moment the word was spoken, everyone stretched their necks, sniffing frantically.
A few even lifted a corner of their face cloths to get a better whiff.
They were about to step into the white light anyway; it was completely safe.
“It really is rice! Did the boss cook up something new again?!”
The crowd’s pace quickened into a brisk march.
Stepping past the barrier of white light, the sweet, comforting fragrance of boiled rice hit them in full force!
Wait.
They spotted the boss standing right outside her front doors.
The storefront looked different today… A table had been set up right by the entrance!
Resting on top was a large pot, flanked by a tall stack of disposable bowls.
A bold, prominent sign sat on the table.
[Today’s Daily Special: Rice Porridge — 20 portions available. 7 City Coins / portion. (For 1 hour, reduces blood toxicity concentration every 5 minutes by the volume of porridge consumed in milliliters divided by 2. Slows mutation and death caused by toxic overload. Cleanses one instance of Frenzy or Hallucination debuffs.)]
Rice porridge!
Real rice!
And it was limited edition?!
They hadn’t tasted real rice in years! In an instant, the crowd erupted into a feeding frenzy.
How did this boss manage to churn out something new every single day?!
And every single item was enough to drive them wild!
The morning crowd swarmed the table like a tidal wave.
“Boss, give me one!” “Boss, a bowl for me too!” “Save one for me, please!” Cries broke out one over the other.
The early bird catches the worm, and the early customer gets the porridge!
No one was about to play polite now.
Twenty portions of rice porridge were cleaned out in the blink of an eye.
140 City Coins in the bag.
Looking at the eager patrons still queuing up behind them, Ling Jing tilted the empty pot to show the bare bottom. “The rice porridge is completely sold out. Please come back tomorrow.”
“Aaaah—!”
“Noooo—!”
Right on cue, a collective chorus of tragic wails echoed across the clearing.
It couldn’t be helped; the rice Ling Jing had scavenged was limited.
Truth be told, after eating potatoes for days on end, she had been craving rice herself.
She hadn’t had the time last night, but Ling Jing intended to scout the surrounding area once night fell again.
Since that chimeric beast bore the traits of rice paddies, there had to be a sizable stretch of mutated wild rice growing somewhere nearby.
Ready-made ingredients—and genuine grain, at that!
There was no way she was letting that slip through her fingers.
“Whoa!”
Those who missed out on the porridge walked into the shop, only to discover in utter shock that the interior had expanded again!
And there were now two full Malatang tables!
Overnight, yet again! Sweeping renovations in a single night!
First rice porridge, and now an expanded dining hall—Boss, just how many more miracles are you hiding up your sleeve?!
Those who had missed out on the Malatang yesterday were practically jumping for joy.
“Boss, is the Malatang open right now?”
Carrying the empty pot inside, Ling Jing answered, “Yes. You won’t have to wait long today; the ingredients are fully prepped and ready.”
“Hell yeah!”
The quickest among them had already claimed their stools.
“Just a moment.”
Ling Jing carried the pot into the kitchen, then returned to clear an empty disposable plate off one of the tables.
Hm?
A few patrons blinked in confusion. Had someone already eaten Malatang here this morning?
That didn’t add up. They were the very first group to leave the city gates; theoretically, no other customer could have beaten them to the punch.
Must have been the boss’s own breakfast!
Otherwise, who on earth could be so hopelessly gluttonous that they’d run out here ahead of the entire convoy just to sneak an early bite of Malatang?!
Achoo—!
Hugging the base of the outer wall as he sprinted north, Hall sneezed violently.
He rubbed his nose, entirely bewildered.
Who was badmouthing him?
