"She doesn't remember," said Liu Wei and he and the rest of the men carried boxes upon boxes of solar panels up the final flight of stairs and onto the roof.
"Maybe it's better that way," suggest Liu Yu Zeng as he balanced four boxes on his shoulder.
"Is it?" asked Wang Chao as he too carried four boxes of the massive solar panels that Li Dai Lu had requested they put up and install.
"I think it is," replied Chen Zi Han from the rear. "The way she was screaming our names, demanding to know why we left…" he shuddered at the thought. "Maybe her mind is protecting her from something by not letting her remember," he added as Liu Wei opened the door to the roof.
Putting down his load, he looked at the flat surface in front of him. The roof was huge, and except for all of the air conditioners and a few vents, there was more than enough room for them to install all of the panels Li Dai Lu asked for and still have room left over. The biggest issue was how to actually go about doing it.
"I think it is a good thing," Liu Wei said quietly as he watched the rest of the men put down their boxes. "She seemed so much brighter and happier this morning, almost like a completely different person. There is no need to bring up an unpleasant nightmare that we know will never happen. Unless you guys are planning on leaving her?"
The remaining three men simply grunted like the very idea was too stupid to even consider.
"Exactly," said Liu Wei as he opened one of the boxes and pulled out the instructions. "Now, there are about 300 of our men currently in this building," he pointed out, completely changing the subject. "Let's get the majority of them up here and help with this. I don't know about you, but I feel uncomfortable being even this far away from her."
Chen Zi Han simply turned around and left the rooftop, intent on going to get their men. They were basically free to laze around the naval base for the past few days so they should have more than enough energy to get this project done. Besides he was looking forward to some fresh bread, yogurt, and butter.
-----
I had just taken the last batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when my alarm went off to tell me that the bread had just finished its second proof and was now ready to be baked. Bobbing my head to the song "Cinderella's Dead", I quickly took the cookies off of the cookie sheet and onto the island to cool.
"When did we have an island there?" asked Wang Chao as he and the other four men walked into the penthouse. I looked at them confused.
"Already done?" I asked, not sure how they could be done installing all those units in just under two hours.
"No," admitted Wang Chao, "But that doesn't answer the question of how this island appeared in the middle of my kitchen."
"That's cute," I said with a smirk, the right side of my mouth twitching. "You think this is still your kitchen."
Chen Zi Han sat down at one of the stools I had taken out along with the long island with a butcher block countertop. Grabbing a cookie, he took a bite and moaned. "Good?" I asked, the self-satisfied smirk on my face not moving. I knew I could make a damn good chocolate chip cookie and I had no doubts that those were among some of the best.
"So good," the man groaned again as he took another bite. Hearing him, Liu Yu Zeng quickly grabbed a hand full of his own cookies before finding a seat beside Chen Zi Han. I laughed as I watched them fighting like kids over who got more cookies. Wang Chao and Liu Wei stood behind them, both of their arms across their chests and small smiles on their faces.
It felt like home, I realized. I could picture our children running around the island playing together as the others tried to sneak cookies when they thought the adults weren't paying attention. Realizing where my thoughts had gone, I froze, looking wide-eyed at Wang Chao, wondering if he knew what was going on in my head.
'I always know what is going on in your head,' said the man as he looked at me over the heads of Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng.
Worried that the idea of kids would send him out the door quicker than you can say zombie invasion, I was startled when he walked around the island and gave me a kiss on my temple. 'I liked that idea,' he whispered in my head, "Your bread is ready to go into the oven I believe," he said out loud looking at the four bread pans on the counter.
Realizing that he was right, I quickly turned to do just that. "But seriously," I started as I put the first loaf pan into the preheated oven. "Aren't you guys supposed to be installing my solar panels so I can get all this stuff off of the generator?"
"What's the point of having so many men if you aren't going to put them to use?" asked Liu Wei as he stole a cookie while his little brother and friend were arguing.
Fuck, I had completely forgotten about the men including Huang Tian Kuo and Hua Chan Juan. Realizing that my small world of only having the five of us to worry about expanded exponentially, I began to think about what our next step would be.
I took the mixing bowl out of the stand mixer I was using to make butter (because I had like five different stand mixers on my counter all for different purposes) and began pouring out the buttermilk into a clean jar to put in the fridge. From there, I pulled out another bowl and started to wash out my butter.
I began to consider the logistics of what I wanted to do versus what needed to be done, because let's face it, as much as I wanted to, I probably couldn't spend all my time in the kitchen. I absently watched as the butter began to run clear and I took out a paper towel in order to dry it off.
Sprinkling some salt onto the fresh butter, I started to knead it in. The only way to get everything done would be to turn this whole building into a safe zone and then go out for supplies. But would we keep it just as a safe zone for us or bring other people in? Because I know what side of that equation I was leaning towards.
I pinched off a small piece of butter and tasted it. It was perfect; rich and creamy with just a hit of salt to enhance its flavor, it will be even better once the breads were out of the oven and had rested.
I had enough solar panels and batteries to be able to supply power to the whole building, especially once the batteries were fully charged, but I didn't want to go through all that work to have outsiders benefit from it.
My mind was made up and I got started on my double chocolate mint cookies, the perfect cookie for a cold winter night.
"You have decided?" asked Wang Chao as he took a bite of his third cookie.
"Yeah," I said nodding as I began to measure my dried ingredients. "Tomorrow we will get started clearing out this building of everyone and everything. Supplies will be brought up here to be processed and distributed and then the men can figure out their own living arrangements. There should be more than enough apartments in this building to allow for each man to have his own and then some."
Liu Wei grunted as he went to the fridge and got a glass of milk for himself. Coming to stand behind me, he looked over my shoulder and watched me work. "And the people still here?" I scoffed as I turned my head away from measuring the baking soda and looked at the man.
"Do you really have to ask? Or are you trying to make me the bitch by saying it out loud?" I asked. I was not squeamish about kicking the people out of their homes. There were more than enough buildings around for them to find some other place to live. Those that didn't want to leave… well… Step One and all that.
"More like trying to make sure that we were on the same page so that we didn't upset you," clarified Liu Wei as he gave me a brief kiss on the back of my neck and walked back over to the island where the others were.
"Take what you can; give nothing back," I smirked as I turned on the stand mixer.
The four men simply looked at me with a big smile on their faces. It was always better to find like-minded people than to try and make a go of it with people that did not share your thoughts and views.
"Then we will get started tomorrow," said Wang Chao as he got his own glass of milk. "I'll let the men know. But for now, what are your plans?"
"I'm thinking peanut butter cookies, what do you think?"
"Anything dinner related?" he asked with a weary smile. I pointed to a second stove that I had pulled out from my space and put in a corner out of sight.
"There is a pot roast in there with potatoes and carrots roasting along with it. Once those are done I'll make some gravy and Yorkshire puddings to go with it," I said with a giant smile on my face. I had been too busy, too tired, or too upset to be able to get into the kitchen and do the type of cooking that I wanted to do, but that changed as of now.
"Sounds delicious," said Chen Zi Han.
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