Lan Jin spoke while glancing at Brother Zhang. Seeing Brother Zhang nod, she continued, "You can stay with Grandma Ling. It is the uncle in uniform carrying two meals. You open the door for him. Listen to Grandma Ling. Don't decide yourself. Mama is busy. I will hang up now."
"Okay, Mama come back soon," Qiao Qiao replied.
After hanging up, Lan Jin sighed. "We rushed out this morning. I really forgot these. Brother Zhang, can we still store contribution points now?"
Brother Zhang said, "Yes. The contribution points from the creatures at the base entrance can still be exchanged. Better wait until this is done. We can put some points on their residence cards. If you have none, you might go hungry when not together."
"This time I was careless. Won't happen again."
Afterwards, Brother Zhang called the food delivery. With meals arranged, Lan Jin had nothing to worry about.
…
Lan Jin and the others first handled the building nearest the cafeteria. This building had twelve floors. By the time they cleared all the ice from the corridors, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Seeing the sky darken, Brother Zhang said, "You go back first. Tonight I will call more people to move everything from this building. You can rest. Tomorrow, the mall and dormitories still have long passages needing your work."
Lan Jin looked toward the direction of the mall. "That passage looks blocked by ice too. Should we open a new path?"
Brother Zhang hesitated. "The protective shield is damaged but not badly. Some parts of the passage aren't buried. We only need to open the narrow entrance."
"In that case, we might as well open it now. Even if fully blocked, we just open to the mall. Otherwise, how will you reinforce and move things?" Lao Gao said. "The cold tonight will help. We can pour water on the ice to make the overhead ice harder."
Brother Zhang agreed. "Alright. Thanks for helping us this time."
Lan Jin and Lao Gao again used their morning method to break through the passages. It went smoothly. They even cleared the dormitory passage without much effort.
With work done, they relaxed. Ling Jiang stretched her stiff body. "This tired me out more than fighting mutated creatures."
Huang Jinghe agreed. "Yes. Killing mutated creatures is dangerous but not as tiring as this."
Ling Jiang ran up and down carrying things. Huang Jinghe had little labor, so Lao Gao said, "We just stomp ice. How are you tired?"
Huang Jinghe lifted his foot. "My feet are swollen. Heel worn off."
He had worn hiking boots, which have heels. It was his own problem. Lao Gao wore the same boots, his heels were fine. "Still, my feet hurt and are swollen," Huang Jinghe added.
"Go back and soak feet in hot water." Lao Gao said.
With the task finished, dinner wasn't needed there. Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe grabbed their meals and slowly walked back to the dormitory.
At home, Grandma Ling saw the four exhausted faces. "What happened? You look like you worked all day."
"Exactly labor," Lan Jin said. "Before the apocalypse or after, never this tired."
Lan Jin flopped on the sofa. The others followed suit. She regretted rushing out this morning. "We forgot water cups. If we brought spirit spring water, we wouldn't be this tired."
Normally, they carried spirit spring water to replenish energy. Today, they brought nothing, not even bags for cover, so they were exhausted.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow can forget everything, but never forget water cups," Lan Jin said.
She continued, "Grandma Ling, Qiao Qiao, after we finish these days of work, we will store some contribution points on your residence cards. The base is busy now. If unnecessary, they wouldn't do this. At noon, meals will be delivered. If we come back, we will bring them. If not, someone else will. I will also leave snacks at home."
No one at home would go hungry again.
Grandma Ling smiled. "Alright, you focus on work."
…
The next day brought rare good weather. Even the sun peeked out. It was not very warm but improved spirits.
When Lan Jin and the others arrived at yesterday's building, everything was moved. Familiar faces were absent, likely on a shift.
Brother Zhang quickly led the four to the mall.
At the mall, smaller and lighter supplies were being moved out. Heavier ones could be lifted but were laborious. They waited for Lan Jin and her team to help. They did not need to move supplies far. Just to the mall entrance to the transfer cart. The main goal was saving time.
"The mall doors are small. Our people can carry, but get stuck at the entrance too long. Waste of time and energy. You have strength. That is why we need you here."
In detail, inside the mall didn't need them. Moving outside didn't either. They just lifted at the door. Helping onto carts was better.
A simple task they could not refuse. "Okay."
The four stood at the door. As supplies reached the entrance, they quickly lifted them onto the transfer cart. Several rounds of cooperation went smoothly. The mall, though small, had all supplies cleared in one day.