Aside from New Western Bank, similar incidents had occurred at New Rural Bank, New Farmer Bank, and Descendants of the Dragon Bank. The money in the accounts had all become mere numbers. The reason given for the inability to withdraw funds was "the blizzard," and the time when withdrawals would resume was "to be announced."
Chen Momo turned off her phone and asked, "Xiao Bao, what should we have for dinner?"
"Mommy, Xiao Bao wants tomato noodles," he replied.
"Okay, Mommy will go make some noodles for you," Chen Momo said.
She took out some dried noodles and two tomatoes from her spatial dimension. The tomatoes were still completely fresh. Following an online tutorial, Chen Momo prepared the tomato noodles using three different methods.
After a few days of deliberate practice, her cooking skills had greatly improved. Now, whenever she cooked, a highly tantalizing aroma would fill the air. Even with the doors and windows shut tight, the smell could not be concealed. This was especially dangerous in an apocalypse where food was scarce, as people's taste buds were even more sensitive to the smell of food.
"Xiao Bao, time to eat," Chen Momo called out, bringing out three portions of noodles.
Chen Xiaobao immediately and obediently ran out of his room to eat. The mother and son had formed an unspoken understanding: every time Chen Momo served the food, Chen Xiaobao would patiently determine which cooking method yielded the most delicious results.
"Mommy, this one." After tasting them, Chen Xiaobao pointed a small finger at the third bowl of noodles.
"Alrighty." Chen Momo immediately jotted down the recipe for the third bowl in her notebook. She then took out two braised eggs from her spatial dimension, giving one to her son and keeping the other for herself.
Xiao Bao ate with great relish, quickly devouring the entire bowl of noodles until it was completely clean.
After finishing the meal, Chen Momo took out a small watermelon from her space. She cut it in half and put the rest back into the dimension to keep it fresh. She diced the remaining half of the watermelon into small cubes, stuck forks in them, and enjoyed the post-dinner fruit with her son while watching TV. On the television, an expert was spouting nonsense that even he didn't believe, doing a great deal of harm to the public.
Once they finished the fruit, her son went to his room to do his own thing, while Chen Momo distractedly browsed the internet out of boredom.
Shocking reports of conflicts breaking out over supplies in multiple areas were appearing online. The most severe incident occurred in a large supermarket, where two people clashed while panic-buying, resulting in one stabbing the other to death. At first, these posts were blocked by moderators under the pretext of "spreading rumors." Later on, however, there were simply too many similar posts popping up one after another. It seemed the internet censors could no longer suppress the news, so they simply stopped trying.
Chen Momo looked at the bloody photos and the pictures of the massive sea of people swarming shoulder-to-shoulder inside the supermarket. It was a shocking and gruesome sight. Seeking comfort, she took a Gannan navel orange out of her space, eating a bit of it to calm her nerves.
While she was eating the orange, a sudden KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK echoed from the door.
That's right—it was a direct knock on the door, rather than someone ringing the doorbell. In Chen Momo's eyes, knocking directly was a very abrupt and rude gesture.
She immediately put away her half-eaten orange, took a Swiss Army knife from a drawer, and hid it behind her back. She quietly walked over to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw the woman from across the hall standing outside. The woman's door was open, and her husband was leaning against the doorframe, staring in the direction of Chen Momo's home with a greedy glint in his eyes.
"Open the door, open the door!" the middle-aged woman shouted, pounding forcefully on the door.
Chen Momo frowned, feeling highly repulsed by this ill-mannered family.
"What is it?" Chen Momo asked through the door. While doing so, she checked the latches on her side; all three latches were properly secured without any issues.
"Give me a handful of dried noodles, will you? I'll return them once the snow stops! You have noodles in there, right?" the woman shouted from outside. She sounded completely entitled, acting as if Chen Momo owed her the food.
Chen Momo refused without hesitation. "No."
The woman frowned and raised her voice. "You clearly do! You just don't want to give me any, right? Three meals a day, right at mealtime, there's always a delicious smell wafting out from your place. You definitely have some! Just lend me a handful of noodles. It's not like I won't pay you back. I'll return them when the snow stops."
Chen Momo stated firmly, "I really don't have any."
Angered, the woman said sharply, "You just don't want to give me any! So stingy. We live in the same building—what's wrong with neighbors helping each other out?"
Gripping the fruit knife tightly in her hand, Chen Momo coldly repeated, "I really don't have any left. Sorry."
She had long been annoyed by this woman, but for now, she was restraining herself so as not to make things too tense with anyone.
"Fine, don't give me any then. Geez, what a cheapskate." After saying that, the woman angrily kicked Chen Momo's door, turned around, and returned to her own apartment.
The short, chubby man glanced toward Chen Momo's home. "She won't give you any?"
"No."
After speaking, he cast another look at Chen Momo's place, his expression unreadable. Then, the man closed the door and went inside with his wife.
Chen Momo kept her eye on the peephole. Only when she saw the two of them return to their home did she lower the Swiss Army knife in her hand. Those two living across from her were a bit dangerous. She didn't know if they would come knocking on her door again later. Just to be safe, she decided it would be best to carry the Swiss Army knife on her at all times from now on.
Chen Xiaobao came pattering out of his room. "Mommy, what happened?"
Chen Momo shook her head. "Nothing, Xiao Bao."
Xiao Bao said angrily, "Someone was bullying Mommy. Xiao Bao will protect Mommy!"
Hearing such words from her young son, Chen Momo couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion wash over her. She crouched down, stroked Xiao Bao's head, and said softly, "Then you need to eat well and sleep well so you can grow tall and become a Zhuangzhuang. Only then can you protect Mommy, okay?"
Xiao Bao nodded vigorously. "Mommy, Xiao Bao will definitely eat well, sleep well, and grow up to be a tall Zhuangzhuang!"
Chen Momo nodded in gratification. "By the way, what have you been doing in your room lately?" she asked. She had been focused on the group chat updates and learning how to cook recently, so she hadn't had much time to check on her son.
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobao ran back into his room. A moment later, he emerged with an Ultraman action figure in his small hands.
Chen Momo asked, "Is that the Ultraman I bought for you at the mall when we came back from the amusement park the other day?"
Chen Xiaobao tilted up his innocent little face and smiled. "Mommy, Xiao Bao modified the Ultraman!"
With that, Chen Xiaobao placed the Ultraman on the table and pressed a switch on the top of its head. The Ultraman let out a mechanical WHIR, and then, astonishingly, it began swinging its arms and walking across the table like a robot.
Chen Momo looked on in sheer disbelief. "Son, you actually modified a stationary Ultraman into a walking one?"
The Ultraman she had bought for Chen Xiaobao was a static model. She never expected that after tinkering in his room for a few days, her son would manage to convert it into a mobile one.
Chen Xiaobao nodded. "Mommy, Xiao Bao learned how to do it all by himself by watching videos online."