Chapter 58: Isn't it Strange?

Zhao Zhengwu's excitement and enthusiasm left Nie Erlong confused.

"Director Zhao, what do you mean? Gao Yuan... what happened to him?"

"You don't know?"

Zhao Zhengwu appeared even more surprised than Nie Erlong, exclaiming in disbelief, "You don't know who Gao Yuan is?"

Nie Erlong looked towards Gao Yuan, wondering if it was strange that he didn't recognize this person.

"What... what happened to him?"

Zhao Zhengwu waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Nothing much, it's not clear to explain right now. Just make sure you entertain them well, no, I'll do the entertaining."

Zhao Zhengwu looked at Gao Yuan with concern and asked, "Are you hungry?"

Gao Yuan nodded absentmindedly.

"What would you like to eat?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Gao Yuan replied incredulously, "Of course, it's whatever's available, can we actually choose?"

"Choosing the menu is definitely out of the question, but... well, we'll try our best to accommodate."

Having said that, Zhao Zhengwu again lifted the walkie-talkie and urgently called out, "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, prepare a three-person survivor welcoming meal, and make two more dishes, deduct it from my rations quota."

"Three-person survivor welcoming meal, no problem, but what's this about preparing two more dishes and deducting it from your quota? What do you have left?"

"I've still got two entitlements to vegetables I haven't used! Use them all this time! It's a private treat, deduct it from mine."

"Director Zhao, who's come? A relative of yours?"

Zhao Zhengwu glanced at Gao Yuan, his face alight with excitement, "It's Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu! Oh, and a high-ranking officer. In any case, prepare the best you have."

"What! Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu? The ones on the broadcast?"

"Yes! The Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu from the broadcast! They've come to our place! I've just reported it to Commissioner Li; he'll certainly have arrangements, but you go ahead and start preparing. It's in the officers' mess hall, I'm bringing them over for the meal, we'll be there soon!"

Zhao Zhengwu was elated as he spoke, while Nie Erlong looked utterly baffled.

Nie Erlong finally got a chance to interject after Zhao Zhengwu finished speaking, grabbing Zhao Zhengwu's arm, "How come we're going to the officers' mess hall? Isn't that against the rules? And who is he, exactly?"

Zhao Zhengwu laughed heartily, "You're really out of the loop, everyone knows now. On New Year's Eve, there was a… there were Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu, ah, it's spread through all the major shelters, in short, they are celebrities, stars, big stars!"

Nie Erlong looked at Gao Yuan, then at Luo Xingyu, and said, "Stars? Are they movie actors or singers? But that's not right, I don't recognize them."

Zhao Zhengwu replied with a helpless look, "It's normal for you not to know since you don't have a radio. I only found out recently, and it's weird indeed, being so close yet we never received the signal? Definitely the person on radio watch was slacking off, or they fell asleep, anyway, there's no way we didn't catch the signal."

Xiang Weiguo cleared his throat, interrupting their conversation, and said, "Director Zhao, I want to ask, is our place on a rationing system?"

"Of course, it is," he replied. "We have a grain warehouse and a pantry, but with so many people, we can't deplete our resources. Now, we differentiate rations by military officers, soldiers, volunteers, and survivors. The main food ration for survivors is one jīn of grain per person per day, but soldiers and volunteers get two jīn of grain and one liǎng of meat daily, with a vegetable supply once a week. Officers receive two liǎng of meat per day and vegetables twice a week."

Xiang Weiguo furrowed his brows and asked, "Is it necessary, or are you giving preferential treatment?"

Zhao Zhengwu offered a wry smile and responded, "This certainly isn't about favoritism. Commander, things are different now from the past. The environment outside is extremely complex and harsh. Our shelter, Stonegate, is under great defensive pressure. The soldiers can only maintain the minimum level of training, then they have to guard the entire shelter and clear out zombies. Without enough food, they really couldn't hold up. Volunteers also have a significant workload. You can see that. In fact, these survivors have nothing to do all day. Their only task is to obey the management. They don't expend much energy, so one jīn of grain per day is definitely enough for them. It's just the vegetables that are in real shortage. They are too scarce."

Xiang Weiguo nodded and said, "In that case, there should certainly be a distinction. Those doing heavy physical work should eat more to keep up with the nutrition they need."

Just then, another officer ran out, calling from a distance, "Hey Zhao, where are Gao Yuan and Xiaoyu? Oh, Gao Yuan!"

Now, Gao Yuan understood what it meant to receive celebrity treatment because that's precisely what he was enjoying.

"You're Gao Yuan? Hello, hello, I'm so glad to meet you. Wow, I didn't expect to find you in the nearby mountains. When I heard the news, I thought, 'Taihang Mountain, could it be the one near us?' And it really was!"

The officer rushed to Gao Yuan, took his hand, and gave it a firm shake, continuing to do so while looking jubilant and then turned his attention to Luo Xingyu.

"This must be Xiaoyu, right? In person, you're indeed very beautiful. I initially didn't believe the stories about you; who would during these times? But here you are in front of me, it's really... fantastic!"

After finishing his enthusiastic greeting, the officer turned to Zhao Zhengwu and asked, "Is everything set up at the canteen?"

"Yes, it's arranged."

"What's there?"

"In addition to the normal welcome meal, I added two dishes from my own ration."

"How could that be enough? What kind of job is that? Notify Old Zhang, come... Four dishes, one soup! We need meat, vegetables, egg, and fresh vegetables, not dehydrated! Take it from my ration and Commander Wang's, just let him prepare it. The rations from Commander Wang and me will be more than enough!"

Gao Yuan said in a low voice, "This... Sir, you don't need to go to such trouble. Just having enough to eat is fine."

The officer waved his hand emphatically, "How could that be okay? Now that you've come to Stonegate Shelter... look, isn't that the old commander? Hello, commander!"

Xiang Weiguo had been discovered once again. The officer immediately saluted, then said loudly, "I'm Li Zhidong, the battalion commander of the third battalion stationed at Stonegate Shelter, in charge of duty tonight. Seizing the opportunity of an external patrol, I've come out specially to welcome the old commander, and of course, Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu as well."

Xiang Weiguo returned the salute with a smile, "Welcoming me is just an excuse; you really came to see these two. But you are abandoning your post, aren't you?"

"Reporting to the commander, no, it's not. We have regular patrol and inspection protocols. But I have finished the inspection. Commander, I shall return to my post now," he replied.

After answering Xiang Weiguo with a smile, Li Zhidong looked at Gao Yuan with a face full of satisfaction from meeting a celebrity and said, "I have to go back to duty now. You guys enjoy your meal and drink. We will have a chance to meet again, a chance to meet again."

Li Zhidong ran back as quickly as he had come, leaving Gao Yuan to turn to Zhao Zhengwu and ask, "Director Zhao, are we really that famous?"

Zhao Zhengwu took a deep breath and answered, "Yes, you really are. You have no idea how famous you are now. Let me put it this way, these days you are far more popular than any celebrity!"