Rebirth before Apocalypse: My Whole Family are Bigshots!

”Uncle, would you like a plate?”

Bai Yifan immediately knew the old man’s mouth was watering.

If it were someone else, Bai Yifan might not be so generous as to offer dumplings, but this old man was different.

His intuition told him this was a hidden senior!

”I want to buy them, not take them for free! I don’t eat or drink without giving anything in return. I’ll exchange something with you instead! In times like these, good food is hard to come by, and I wouldn’t want you to lose out!”

Uncle Li grinned, showing his teeth, and finally fished out a round pearl from his ragged clothes.

The pearl looked large and smooth, but it didn’t emit a faint glow; it was an ordinary pearl.

”I’ll give this to you, can it get me two plates of dumplings?”

As he spoke, Uncle Li swallowed quietly, his face showing a hint of guilt.

Pearls and gold used to be precious, but now they’re not much; crystal cores are the most valuable nowadays.

”Sure!”

Bai Yifan glanced at Bai Xiqin, and seeing her nod, he responded, then brought out the two plates of dumplings from the kitchen that Bai Xiqin hadn’t had a chance to eat.

He couldn’t let Uncle Li eat on the ground, so he invited him onto the bus to enjoy his meal sitting on a chair.

Uncle Li casually placed the pearl on the table and quickly picked up the chopsticks, eating dumpling after dumpling.

Delicious, truly delicious!

He didn’t bother to say a word, just kept eating with his mouth nonstop, not even using the dipping sauce. From the first dumpling to the last, Uncle Li only took five minutes!

After Uncle Li entered the bus, a seafood aroma filled the entire bus.

It wasn’t a strong fishy smell, but a fresh ocean scent, as if it belonged to the sea.

”Really tasty! Your dumplings are so good. Lucky I’m clever, saw the bus and knew people were here, didn’t expect to snatch a meal!”

Uncle Li contentedly patted his full belly, a smile on his face.

This family is really nice; he wondered how long they’d stay here, hoping to join them for meals if possible!

”Uncle, do you live nearby? Did you see a guy who looks like him around this morning?”

Bai Xiqin pointed at Leng Yebai’s face.

Leng Yebai’s face showed no particular expression, but upon hearing Bai Xiqin’s question, his eyes rested on Uncle Li’s face.

In his clear eyes, there was a hint of hope.

”I live near here, my family has been fishing for generations, but since it became a tourist area, we stopped. So I sell seafood in the tourist spot now, but with the situation now, I’m just a stinky fish seller.” Uncle Li glanced at Leng Yebai and added, ”It’s the first time I’ve seen a living person today, no one else, just saw a pesky zombie I dealt with!”

Upon hearing Uncle Li’s answer, Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai felt slightly disappointed.

After all, in such a vast area, it’s unlikely Uncle Li would encounter the Base Commander sneaking this way at midnight.

”Uncle, is there a safety base nearby? Why are you here alone?”

Bai Yifan curiously sniffed the ocean scent from Uncle Li, looking at the vast beach, wondering what kind of safety base was here.

”There is a safety base, but it’s not close by. You have to go quite a distance to find it. Here, it’s impossible to build one. Zombies are fewer, but it’s too close to the sea. Those rotten fish are washed ashore, too small to clear out, unexpectedly dangerous, so no one builds a base here.”

Besides small zombie fish, there might even be large zombie creatures like zombie whales washed ashore.

This poses a greater threat to a safety base than a horde of zombies.

Even if a base were built here, no one would want to join it.

Human encounters are rare here, resources are scarce, fishing easily nets zombie fish, and no one dares to eat fish caught alongside zombie fish.

Uncle Li rarely encounters humans; he’s mostly alone here.

Uncle Li talked while observing the bus interior.

Wow, truly luxurious. From the bus décor, it’s clear these people aren’t to be underestimated.

”Uncle, why don’t you go to a safety base?”

Bai Yifan looked at Uncle Li’s tattered clothes, a bit curious.

Uncle Li didn’t seem like an unkempt person; his face was clean, just his clothes were worn.

”My home is here; I don’t go elsewhere.”

Uncle Li sighed, his gaze resting on a small house not far away, a touch of sadness in his eyes.

Alone.

Yet unable to leave this ”small house.”

It’s his home, even without family; it’s still his home. He doesn’t know where else he could go and doesn’t want to go elsewhere.

He just wants to stay at home.

Seeing Uncle Li’s world-weary look, Bai Yifan naturally stopped asking.

Everyone has their struggles; asking would hurt, not asking gains some goodwill.

”Why else are you here apart from looking for someone? I’ve lived here nearly all my life, perhaps I can help!”

Uncle Li savored the memory of the pork and green onion-filled dumplings, smacking his lips.

They were a lot better than raw fish or crabs.

It’s been a long time since he had cooked food.

With no restaurants open now, and not knowing how to cook, he survives on raw seafood.

”We’re just here to find Uncle Leng, nothing else.” Bai Yifan shook his head lightly.

”Oh, it’s probably hard to find him then. This area’s too big, and if he went into the sea, it’s even more dangerous. I wouldn’t dare to go!”

Uncle Li glanced at the blue sea, his pupils slightly contracting.

Since the world turned upside down, sea creatures have become increasingly ferocious.

He’s no longer the young man casting nets and catching fish!

He doesn’t dare to cast nets anymore, fearing something might drag him away!

”What happened in the sea?”

Bai Yifan observed Uncle Li’s slightly serious demeanor, curious.

It’s his first time at a post-apocalyptic seaside, eager to know what changed in the ocean.

”Of course, something happened. Something big! It might even relate to the person you’re looking for!”

Uncle Li widened his eyes, with an earnest expression.

Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai were drawn in by Uncle Li’s earnestness, listening intently to the happenings nearby.

It might provide clues to find the Base Commander.

Bai Xiqin noticed mutant animals resembled those in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Perhaps various folklore tales could relate to now!

They could only listen to Uncle Li’s recent stories here to deduce why the Base Commander came.

”What’s the big deal?” Bai Yifan asked.

Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai sat closer to Uncle Li to hear better.

”The big deal is, back then, Li Nezha skinned the third prince of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea here, causing havoc, turning everything upside down! The Dragon King was furious, flooded the place, forced Nezha to return bones to his father and flesh to his mother. Heh, guess what happened afterward?”

Uncle Li said.

Everyone: ...

”...Then Taiyi True Man resurrected him with a lotus body,” Bai Yifan replied.

”Wrong!” Uncle Li wagged a finger, seriously stating, ”Then he just died!”

Bai Yifan: ...

Childhood ruined series.

Thankfully, he didn’t hear Uncle Li tell this story as a child, or he would’ve exploded.