Sunshine Residential Complex.
Room 603.
The air was filled with the smell of baby poop. Considerate Feifei helped out too, carrying the dirty laundry and trash downstairs.
Her mother and the two grandmothers were busy. The two grandfathers were getting on in years, so she took care of little chores like taking out the trash.
It smelled a little bad, but she didn't mind the work at all. Compared with studying, she actually preferred the stink.
Lin Fan, who was still a pure-hearted young man, wanted to help but didn't know where to start, so he could only watch them work.
He took the opportunity to learn from the sidelines.
No one was born knowing how to do everything. You learned as you went.
As she applied the medicine, Xu Guifen said, "Thankfully, we found her in time. If we'd been even a little later, she might not have survived. But we can't let our guard down now. Babies have weak immune systems, and she has an infection on her bottom and in a few other places. She'll need careful attention to recover."
Very few babies could survive in the apocalypse. They were too young. They cried when they were hungry, cried when they pooped, and cried when they felt uncomfortable. Their cries could attract zombies.
Survivors who had already suffered so much in the apocalypse wouldn't keep a bomb that could blow up their whole group at any moment. So if Lin Fan hadn't taken the baby in, she would have become another innocent soul lost to the apocalypse.
But now she was completely safe. Lin Fan had taken her in, so nothing would happen to her. They hadn't known him for long, but they knew what kind of person he was.
"Xiaofan, what's the baby's name?" Old Man Wang asked. Seeing this tiny new life in the apocalypse had lifted the weight on his heart. It reminded him that there was still hope.
"Mengmeng." Lin Fan smiled at the baby, who had finished her formula and fallen asleep with her eyes closed. As long as she survived, that was what mattered. If they took good care of her, she would surely grow up healthy.
The baby wasn't related to him by blood, but her situation was truly heartbreaking. She'd lost her parents at such a young age, and she'd survived only because her mother had sacrificed her life to protect her. No matter what, she deserved to live with hope and passion.
"What's her last name?" Old Man Wang asked.
Lin Fan shook his head. "I don't know. Her mother's diary only mentioned Mengmeng."
"Mengmeng... She doesn't have a last name. You're the one who rescued her. Why not give her your last name, Lin?" Old Man Wang suggested.
He'd once had comrades who, during combat, came across children who had lost their parents. Taking pity on them, they brought the children home after the fighting and raised them. The children all took their last names.
Lin Fan refused. "No. Let her just be Mengmeng. Her mother fought for her life and gave her the chance to live. When she's old enough to understand, I'll tell her what happened and let her know that she once had a wonderful mother."
At that moment,
Old Man Zhou didn't think there was anything wrong with Xiaofan.
"Let me take care of the baby from now on. I've raised Feifei all these years, so I have some experience," Li Mei offered. Lin Fan was still young and had no experience raising a child. The two grandmothers were old and couldn't handle sleepless nights. She was the only one who was still young enough to manage.
People who hadn't raised a child had no idea how exhausting it was.
Especially at night, when a baby cried nonstop. It was terrifying.
"Sister Li, could you help look after her during the day? I'll take care of her myself at night." Lin Fan didn't want to trouble anyone too much. Sister Li meant well, but he needed to find something to do during the day. At first, he'd still had a little money, and he could get by if he spent carefully. Now that he had a baby to care for, he needed to get to work as soon as possible.
He knew how hard it was to care for a baby at night. Sister Li and Feifei needed enough sleep, and the four older folks were definitely too old to manage.
Besides, he was the one who'd brought the baby back. He couldn't just bring her home and dump the responsibility of caring for her on someone else. He already felt a little embarrassed asking Sister Li for help during the day, let alone at night.
He'd seen plenty of movies where people let their sympathy get the better of them, brought home a burden, then, unable to care for it, casually handed it off to someone else—and passed the unknown danger along with it.
He wouldn't do that.
He'd brought baby Mengmeng home because he knew he had the ability, the means, and the confidence to take care of her.
Oh, right.
Confidence was often the first step toward getting yourself killed. So perhaps it was better to say he had the ability.
Mengmeng was already fast asleep.
Before they knew it, it was noon.
Li Mei invited Lin Fan to have lunch at her place. He'd planned to avoid making a fuss and just put something together at home, but Sister Li said that people needed to help one another in the apocalypse, so he agreed.
It wouldn't be right to refuse their kindness.
It was only a meal, nothing important. There was no harm in accepting.
He'd bought enough supplies for Sister Li and the others to last a while. When they ran out, he could go out and buy more.
At the dining table,
Sister Li was very hospitable and invited Old Man Wang and the others as well.
"Xiaofan, is something bothering you?" Old Man Wang asked. He'd noticed Lin Fan's brow was always slightly furrowed, as though he were thinking about something.
"A little," Lin Fan said.
"Tell us about it. Maybe we can think of a solution," Old Man Wang said with a smile.
Everyone looked at Lin Fan. The life they had now was all thanks to Xiaofan, right in front of them. Yet they sometimes felt he didn't take any of it to heart.
Li Mei understood. After the apocalypse began, getting someone to protect you came at a steep price.
It didn't matter whether you were a glamorous celebrity or the daughter of a wealthy tycoon. In the apocalypse, protection came at a price. Even the followers they'd once humiliated with money could turn the tables now that money was worthless, treating their former employers like pigs and dogs they could slaughter at will.
She was lucky. To keep her daughter alive, she would have crawled at someone's feet like a dog if that person had wanted to use her.
But Lin Fan hadn't asked that of her. He'd been so good to them, and living in Sunshine Residential Complex gave her a sense of security she couldn't put into words. He was the one who'd made her see a glimmer of hope.
"I was just thinking that I should find a job to make some money. Mengmeng is still little, and raising her costs a lot. We'll need to buy plenty of things," Lin Fan said with complete seriousness.
Everyone at the table stared at him, stunned.
It wasn't that they thought he was crazy.
They just needed a moment to process what they'd heard.
Feifei lowered her head and shoveled food into her mouth. This had nothing to do with her. This was how adults talked. She was a child; children shouldn't interrupt.
Li Mei was trying to understand why he'd think that way. Why did anyone need to spend money on things in the apocalypse? Being alive was already good enough.
Old Man Zhou wore a gentle, kindly smile.
The two grandmothers looked at Old Man Wang, as if to say, "Have a good talk with Xiaofan. Maybe you can change his mind. There's no need to keep insisting on paying for things in the apocalypse. Sometimes, taking things for free isn't your fault. It's just..."
"Ah, that's true. Prices are high now, and raising a child costs a lot. If you don't find a job, it'll be hard to afford it," Old Man Wang said.
As soon as he said that,
Everyone at the table except Lin Fan and Feifei looked at the old man in surprise.
Old Man Wang knew what they were thinking. He only wanted to say, "What do you know? When you understand, you'll be at my level."
Right now, you're still a long way from me.
"Right?"
Lin Fan felt helpless. Money was hard to earn, and life was hard to swallow. Even before the apocalypse, when he'd stayed up late at the company working on designs, he'd already felt that way.
"How about this? Why don't you become the security guard for Sunshine Residential Complex?" Old Man Wang came up with a good idea.
"A security guard?"
That was something Lin Fan hadn't considered. A security guard had important responsibilities: protecting the residents of the complex. He needed to be conscientious and dedicated.
"That's right. A security guard."
"Can I do it?"
"Of course you can. We're residents of the complex, so we have the right to hire a security guard. As long as we all agree, it'll be fine. I, Wang Zhongguo, agree, and so do the others. That's all it takes." Old Man Wang easily solved Lin Fan's problem for him.
Thinking it over,
Lin Fan felt Old Man Wang had a point.
"I think I can give it a try," Lin Fan said.
"Exactly. Whether or not it suits you, you have to give it a try. Security guards usually make around ten thousand a month nowadays, so let's set your pay at ten thousand." Old Man Wang laughed. Of course, that salary was made up. What nonsense was this about the usual monthly pay being ten thousand? That was complete bullshit. Even three thousand would have been good.
He knew Lin Fan liked to spend money when he bought things. As for the older folks, money was now the least valuable thing they had. Since that was the case, they might as well give Lin Fan the money he valued, little by little and in a way that seemed perfectly reasonable.
"Ten thousand?" Lin Fan's mouth fell open in shock. He shook his head. "What security guard earns ten thousand a month? The old guy who used to watch the gate here only made two thousand five hundred."
Old Man Wang said, "You're different. You're young, responsible, and capable. You even help us buy things from time to time. We'd have to pay someone else to do those things too. Ten thousand really isn't much."
Old Man Wang still had several million sitting in his bank account, more than he could ever spend.
Old Man Zhou had even more money in his account.
So money definitely wasn't a problem.
Lin Fan said, "Five thousand would be better. I wouldn't feel right taking ten thousand. What you get should be in proportion to what you put in. I know you want to help me, but I'm young and able-bodied. I'll be fine."
In the end...
After Lin Fan insisted, Sunshine Residential Complex's first security guard in the apocalypse officially came on duty.
A monthly salary of five thousand.
What a badass.
Before you continue