18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 131

At age six, she was already catching on, especially when she kept her brother's words in mind and ended up not asking any questions. She saw her brother shelling peanuts and promptly brought over a folding stool, "Let me help."

"It's cold, wear a couple more layers of mittens."

The dog showed his competitiveness by biting with his teeth.

Stella felt awkward just sitting there, but Jasper wouldn't let her help. "You rest. Don't wear yourself out."

He wasn't sure about the specifics of what she did, but he knew it wasn't easy dealing with these things.

The garden soil was fertile, with about 160 pounds of peanuts harvested from 100 square meters. Stella seasoned them with salt and spice, boiled them in several pots until they were flavorful, and ate some while they were still hot. The remainder were stored in the pantry in Arcadia, ready to be taken out whenever they wanted some.

They boiled half of the corn to use for breakfast or snacks.

The wheat yielded a good harvest, but without a threshing machine, they had to resort to the most primitive method-rubbing the grains out by hand.

Thankfully, the force required to separate the grain from the chaff was weak, and with Jasper's hard work, it was all done in a day. Stella then collected the grains and stored them in Arcadia to dry.

After several days of hard work, they were feeling worn out. Stella felt justified in taking it easy.

Rosie hadn't asked any questions and seemed even more calm, as if she had accepted the inexplicable abundance of food, so Stella took out several bundles of vegetables from the pantry-lettuce, spinach, kale, and so on.

As she looked at the sudden appearance of the vegetables, Rosie's eyes flashed with surprise, but she still didn't ask any questions. She obediently helped her brother prepare the vegetables.

After they finished, Stella praised her. "Rosie, you're so good. Go play with Cooper and the bunnies."

Rosie stared at her brother with eager eyes and only ran off excitedly when he nodded in approval.

Once Rosie was gone, they shut the windows and doors, and cooked several pots of vegetables. Stella stored all of it in the pantry in Arcadia.

With the fresh green vegetables, Rosie's appetite improved significantly. She smiled contentedly, "This is so good."

a walk, Jasper called Rosie over to the couch.

She didn't

with us

"Really? I like

liked Cooper and the bunnies,

looked at her, "We would have to share our food with

"Okay."

Jasper asked, "Did you like the vegetables, corn, and peanuts we had these past few days?"

you want more in

"Yes."

want to know where

then shook her head vigorously. "No." She didn't ask

us by Mom

eyes slowly

be scared. Even though Mom and Dad aren't with us anymore, I will take care of you. They are watching us from heaven. And they also gave us these vegetables, corn, and peanuts to make sure I could take good care of you. There will be more good things in the future. But we have to keep this a secret. Nobody else can know, not even our friends like

and scared. She wished she could sew her mouth shut. "I won't tell." As long as she kept this secret, her brother would be safe, and she wouldn't go hungry. Without realizing

third round of potatoes, Stella used her consciousness to

she had stored would last her and Cooper a lifetime,

and it was uncertain what might happen in the future. For instance, what if Cooper's appetite grew larger, or due to the freezing weather, they'd need to consume more food to

they were lacking many things. She needed

so she needed

potatoes, as they not only

about 100 pounds. The rest were stored in Arcadia, ready to be sold

Jasper sat together, Cooper would forcibly wedge himself in between

Stella could sense his intense unease. Whether it was being sold to the butcher's shop or living a vagrant life, these were

mournfully and his body would twitch uncontrollably. When he woke up, he would be in a terrible mood, especially when he saw Jasper, his face

wasn't harsh with him; he just intensified his training.

training, perked up immediately. He got