18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 254

Jasper, who wanted to take his time and do a meticulous job, had no choice but to passively accept. "Alright, we'll cover the meals. We'll pay you a salary in provisions when the time comes."

"Let's not spoil them," Austin warned, "They are under contract after all."

He called them over for a break and asked excitedly, "How do you plan to renovate the place?"

Stella shared her plans of reinforcing the outer walls, building a greenhouse on the rooftop and in the backyard to grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks.

Austin nearly dropped his cigarette in surprise, "Everyone else is putting in swimming pools and you're planning a farm?"

"We've spent everything on this house, and we can't afford any extra luxuries," Stella said bluntly, "I can live without swimming, but I can't live without food."

Austin laughed heartily, "You've got the right idea. Growing your own food is way more practical. Once you're done, I'll take a leaf out of your book."

They were both savvy people, especially Stella. She was not one to be taken advantage of. Despite the struggles of the past three years, she was doing better than ever. So, following her lead was a no-brainer.

However, Austin was a bit hesitant about the idea of installing broken glass on top of the high walls, "Why bother? It's not enough security. I could get you some electric fencing instead."

Stella wasn't against simplifying things, but an electric fence around the entire property would require a lot of materials. After three years, those were not easy to come by.

But when it came to finding supplies, there were very few things Austin couldn't handle.

Stella smiled, "I'll leave it to you then, Austin."

The height of the electric fence was a crucial factor. Too high and it risked collapsing, too low and it wouldn't offer sufficient protection. They calculated the correct height and asked Austin for help, planning to barter the materials with food.

Austin readily agreed, "Just let me know what else you need and I'll sort it out."

They had most of what they needed, except for assembling the greenhouse which neither of them had experience with.

"No problem," Austin assured, "Rob knows his stuff. He can help you out."

Seeing that the construction crew was still hard at work, Stella decided to start cooking, "I'll whip up something for dinner. Don't expect anything fancy though."

Having tasted her cooking before, Austin was looking forward to it. He rolled up his sleeves and joined in.

Stella started cooking with Rosie and Cooper assisting. The meal was simple: sweet potato and rice, dried beans with bacon, dried radishes with pork belly, dried cabbage salad, and a large pot of sweet potato leaves.

Despite the simplicity of the meal, everyone enjoyed it, including Austin.

Monkey and others brought their own bowls and forks. They were blunt peasants with no sense of etiquette. They would scoop up a good amount of rice, grab a bunch of vegetables, and crouch down on the ground to eat.

"Mmm, the food you made is delicious, Stella!" said Monkey, eating a lot because he was famished.

Though Monkey made good money, he had a wife and child at home to provide for. They could not afford to eat till they were full at every meal. The food cooked by Stella was wondrously aromatic. In comparison, his wife's cooking, on the other hand, tasted worse than pig feed, and he still had to compliment her for it.

The others, including Austin, were in the same situation. Austin did not lack food, but he could not cook. Most of the time, his crew cooked for him. Compared to Stella's cooking, it was barely edible.

"Jasper, you've struck gold with Stella," Austin complimented.

Jasper agreed, "Indeed, I must've done something right in my past life."