283: Chapter 283 Ordinary

Qin Lin let her hug him, and the three people became four.

They soon left the small space, entered the Void Storage Room, and returned to the interior of the The Ark.

The kitchen was on the east side of the first floor of the new The Ark, more than three times larger than the kitchen in the old RV.

The countertop was a single piece of black artificial stone, embedded with a smart touch panel.

The stove was induction-based, with no open flames, but its heating speed was four times that of a regular stove.

The storage cabinets were temperature and humidity-controlled, so vegetables wouldn't wilt even after being kept inside for a week.

The dishwasher was silent; you couldn't even hear the sound of water while it was running.

Han Qing stood in front of the countertop, with a large bowl of kneaded dough in front of her.

She was wearing a dark blue apron, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and her hands were covered in flour.

Seeing Qin Lin enter, she pointed to a bowl of meat filling ingredients nearby: "The pork belly is already chopped. You mince it, and I'll roll out the wrappers."

Qin Lin washed his hands, walked to the countertop, picked up two cleavers, and began to mince the filling.

The "thump, thump, thump" sound echoed in the kitchen, steady in rhythm, like a stable heartbeat.

Su Yuling and Li Ran also washed their hands and came over to help.

Su Yuling stood next to Qin Lin, helping him add seasonings to the meat filling.

Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, sugar, minced ginger, and chopped green onions were added one by one according to Han Qing's instructions.

Li Ran was struggling to chop cabbage nearby, simply because her chest was so large that it blocked her view, making it inconvenient to work.

"Mom, don't chop anymore, be careful not to cut your hand." Su Yuling looked at Li Ran, envy in her eyes.

Li Ran laughed: "You talk too much."

The kitchen gradually became lively.

Han Yurou didn't know how to make dumplings, but she volunteered for the role of "transporter."

She carried the wrapped dumplings from the kitchen to the table in the living room.

She ran back and forth in the hallway carrying plates of dumplings, her footsteps "pitter-patter," like a little pony.

She didn't look like someone who was pregnant at all.

Xu Xue and Xia Qiuyan also arrived.

Xu Xue knew how to make dumplings, and she made them very beautifully; each dumpling had neat pleats, like little works of art.

Xia Qiuyan didn't know how to wrap them, but she could roll out the wrappers; the wrappers she rolled were round, thick in the middle and thin at the edges, very standard.

The two sat together, working in tacit cooperation; one rolled and one wrapped, neither saying a word, yet their efficiency was incredibly high.

Lin Wanwan and Wang Xiulan sat on the living room sofa wrapping dumplings.

Lin Wanwan had limited mobility and her belly was already very large, but she said, "Wrapping dumplings doesn't require moving my legs, I can do it."

She wrapped them very slowly, but she did each one very earnestly. The pleats she pinched weren't very neat, but they had a rustic beauty.

Wang Xiulan sat beside her, occasionally helping her pass the wrappers or wiping the flour off her hands.

Zhou Lingling and Zhou Yueyue sat by the coffee table, their styles of wrapping dumplings completely different.

Zhou Lingling wrapped them quickly and neatly, one per second, stacking them up perfectly.

Zhou Yueyue wrapped them slowly and crookedly; the shape of each dumpling was different—some looked like ingots, some like crescent moons, and some like round balls.

But she didn't mind, and even said proudly: "These are called artistic dumplings; having each one be different makes them unique."

Li Ying was the last to arrive.

She carried her five-month-pregnant belly, walking slowly, like a moving fortress.

She walked into the living room, scanned the area, and seeing everyone busy, found a less crowded corner to sit down. She picked up a dumpling wrapper, scooped a spoonful of filling, folded it, pinched it twice, and a dumpling was finished.

It was fast and good, even faster than Zhou Lingling.

Everyone looked at her.

Li Ying looked up, looking innocent: "What's wrong? I ran a dumpling restaurant before the apocalypse."

No one believed her.

Qin Lin brought out the minced meat filling, and Han Qing brought out the rolled wrappers. Everyone sat around in the living room; twenty-something people, packed tightly.

Laughter, chatter, the sound of rolling wrappers, and the sound of pinching dumplings mixed together, lively as if it were the New Year.

Su Yuran did not wrap dumplings.

She held a camera, standing at different angles to take pictures.

Capturing Qin Lin mincing the filling, Han Qing rolling the wrappers, Su Yuling and Li Ran working together, and the scene of everyone sitting together.

After taking a photo, she would flip back to look at it, a satisfied smile on her face.

The dumplings were boiled.

Han Qing and Han Yurou brought out the first pot together, the plump, white dumplings steaming in the plates, the aroma filling the entire living room.

Han Yurou put the plate on the table and shouted: "Dinner's ready!"

Everyone started moving.

Some got bowls and chopsticks, some prepared dipping sauce, and some poured drinks.

Qin Lin sat in the main seat, with Su Yuling and Li Ran on either side of him.

Su Yuran sat opposite, and Han Qing sat next to her.

Others found seats as they pleased; some sat, some stood, but no one minded.

Li Ying picked up a dumpling, took a bite, chewed it, and then looked at Qin Lin: "Brother Qin Lin, to be honest, your mincing skills are pretty good."

Qin Lin looked at her: "You ran a dumpling restaurant, your evaluation standards should be very high."

Li Ying blinked: "So, to get a 'pretty good' from me, you should be secretly happy."

Qin Lin laughed.

Su Yuling picked up a dumpling, blew on it first, and then ate it in small bites.

She ate very slowly and earnestly, as if savoring something precious.

After lunch, everyone dispersed.

Some went for a nap, some went for a walk in the Flower Garden, and some went to sing in the KTV.

Qin Lin returned to the Bridge.

He sat in the command chair, and the holographic screen in front of him lit up, displaying the environment around the The Ark.

Qin Lin set the automatic cruise in the System, adjusted the speed to the lowest, and set the direction north.

The The Ark vibrated slightly and then slowly rose.

On the holographic screen, the outside world was a dark snowy plain.

Temperature display: minus sixty-seven degrees.

The surface of the protective shield glowed with a faint golden light, resisting the bitter cold outside.

But inside the The Ark, one couldn't feel any change.

The temperature was constant at twenty-three degrees, humidity at forty percent, and the air was as fresh as spring.

Qin Lin leaned back in his chair, watching the apocalyptic scene on the holographic screen.

The snowy plain was boundless, and occasionally some buildings could be seen, mostly covered by ice and snow.

In the distant sky, auroras were flowing, green and purple; it was beautiful, beautifully cold.

The The Ark continued to fly north.

Passing through the snowy plain, it entered an Acid Rain Zone.

Raindrops hit the protective shield, making a "sizzling" sound; the acid was neutralized on the surface of the energy shield and then slid off.

The light of the protective shield changed from gold to pale green, very stable.

Qin Lin looked at the System data, feeling very reassured.

The Lv7 protective shield was indeed much stronger than before.

After passing through the Acid Rain Zone, there was a fog zone.

Visibility dropped to less than ten meters, the radar image on the holographic screen was blurry, and the interference was strong.

The The Ark's automatic navigation System issued three consecutive "signal interference" warnings, but the V3 autopilot was still steadily controlling the direction, bypassing one obstacle after another.