I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 140 - 138 Qin Lan’s Room

Qin Lan spoke as she and Chen Xin passed through the corridor and entered the area where the special police unit was located.

"This is my room, the hallway outside is somewhat noisy, but it’s okay when the door is closed at night. I’m not here during the day, so it’s not much of a bother." Qin Lan let Chen Xin into her room, her face showing slight embarrassment.

Chen Xin didn’t mind much. On their way here, although the residents were all families of the special police unit, the noise from children running in the hall and the ropes stretched out to dry clothes were unavoidable.

Even in the apocalypse, the faces of children were marked with worry, their cries exceeding their laughter, so Chen Xin didn’t mind Qin Lan’s so-called "slightly noisy."

Before the apocalypse, Chen Xin would have disliked such a noisy environment due to his profession and personality, which made him especially averse to noise. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have moved from the city center to the suburbs.

But now it’s the apocalypse, everyone is crowded into shelters, and noise is unavoidable.

Moreover, Chen Xin had been cooped up in his own shelter for months, with no one to interact with or disturb him. After months, he found his shelter too quiet.

Listening to the sounds around him, Chen Xin felt a sense of life.

"It’s okay, given the current circumstances, having such conditions is already good." Chen Xin entered Qin Lan’s room and only looked around after she closed the door.

The room wasn’t big, just about ten square meters, roughly equivalent to a university dormitory.

There was a desk and a vertical single bed against the inner wall, with two chairs by the desk, one facing the desk and the other near the bed. At the foot of the bed were two double-door cabinets also against the wall.

Besides that, there was a folding round table and several folding stools in the room, all folded against the wall, making the room look fairly spacious.

Chen Xin was surprised to see a washstand that seemed outdated in the corner of the room, with two basins and two towels on top, and four lined-up thermos bottles nearby.

Qin Lan took off her coat and hung it on the hook behind the door, then took off her heavy military and police boots and put on slippers, offering a pair to Chen Xin as well: "Change into slippers, feel free to sit, even on the bed."

Chen Xin obligingly changed his shoes.

Having left his shelter, he had worn a pair of heavy boots. Outside they were fine, but indoors, with heating, they were a bit hot for his feet.

While Chen Xin was changing his slippers, Qin Lan picked up a thermos from the floor, poured some hot water into a basin, and said to him after he had changed shoes, "Come wash your face, did Ah Xin bring a face towel? If not, you can use mine."

Since deciding to stay for a few days, Chen Xin naturally wouldn’t make the mistake of not bringing a towel and toiletries. He took out his toiletries bag from his backpack and retrieved his face towel, smiling as he went to the washstand, "The last time I used this kind of washstand to wash my face was when I was in elementary school."

"Stop joking, wash your face and I’ll take you to eat." Qin Lan knocked Chen Xin lightly, urging him to hurry up.

Chen Xin smiled at Qin Lan, said nothing more, wet and wrung the towel, and wiped his face.

"Wash properly! Just wiping doesn’t count as washing your face!" Seeing Chen Xin merely wipe his face, Qin Lan was a bit displeased.

Faced with Qin Lan’s dissatisfaction, Chen Xin smiled and said, "You told me to wash my face, why aren’t you washing yours? Are you going to use my wash water? So why don’t you wash first; I just need a wipe, men aren’t that particular."

After speaking, Chen Xin put away the towel and tidied up his belongings.

Qin Lan looked at Chen Xin, slightly helpless but with a hint of pleasure, and said no more.

After tidying up, the two left Qin Lan’s room, wearing slippers, and headed to the canteen of the special police unit.

"Earlier, you said the city bureau’s shelter has five floors, but this is the fourth floor. What’s the fifth floor used for? Is it a greenhouse?" Entering the canteen, Chen Xin curiously asked Qin Lan.

Qin Lan nodded, admitting, "Yes, the fifth floor was excavated during the transformation of the shelter before the disaster. It didn’t exist before. The space is used for growing mushrooms, raising mice and earthworms, and housing oxygen machines. However, because these facilities are critical, access to the fifth floor is generally restricted."

"Oh, I see." Chen Xin showed a look of sudden realization but then had another question, "Didn’t you tell me that the official shelter distributes monthly rations? How is there food in the canteen?"

As Chen Xin asked this, he also looked at the food serving window in the canteen, where the aroma of food made him swallow a little.

"We do receive rations, but the shelter prohibits cooking or heating food in rooms to prevent unnecessary risks, so meals are heated and supplied centrally in the canteen during dining hours." Qin Lan explained to Chen Xin, seemingly worried he’d misunderstand, adding, "This isn’t an extra food allocation from the government; it’s just centralized supply.

However, each shelter’s greenhouse can retain part of its produce, which allows the canteen to offer additional dishes depending on what’s available from the shelter’s production."

Chen Xin raised his eyebrows indifferently, saying nothing further, and simply followed Qin Lan to the canteen window.

"Master, two meals, please." Qin Lan quietly spoke to the chef at the serving window, who then nodded and handed over two trays of heated meals.

Qin Lan handed one tray to Chen Xin, then joined him in carrying their trays to an empty table nearby, ready to eat.

Chen Xin looked at the contents of his tray, surprised.

The food wasn’t different in ingredients from the shelter’s standard foods, but the chef in the canteen had obviously reprocessed them, making them look much more appealing, and the side dish of mushroom stewed mouse meat made the meal seem more enticing.

A feeling of hunger creeping in, Chen Xin didn’t hesitate any longer, picked up his chopsticks, and began eating.