Chapter 145: Date

"How did you suddenly think of this question?" Tang Jing said, quite amused.

"After no longer having to attend class, the concept of what day of the week it is becomes irrelevant, but I think, since our goal is to restore our previous life, we shouldn't neglect this either."

"Moreover, if none of us remembers the date, I even worry that we might forget it forever."

"That's not likely." Tang Jing laughed: "However, once timekeeping is interrupted, without the internet, reunifying it would indeed be troublesome."

"An organization like Qingbei, with a larger number of people, should probably have someone specifically recording these things."

"Maybe not." Tang Jing said: "At first everyone only cared about survival, with no time to think about other things; after a while, perhaps they would no longer remember, and moreover, sometimes the more people there are, the more confused the memory becomes."

"Really?" Chen Mu blinked.

"The more people there are, the more opinions there are; something that was once quite certain, once opposed by more than three people, will make one hesitate." Tang Jing said.

"So, what day of the week is it today, exactly?"

Chen Mu had merely happened to think of this; in fact, the exact month, day, and day of the week today are utterly irrelevant to people at this time.

He was also thinking that, just in case they really need to plant crops later, they ought to have a rough sense of time.

But being pulled this way and that by Tang Jing, his curiosity was instead aroused.

Tang Jing laughed: "Why do you think I would know?"

"Is there anything you don't know?" Chen Mu said with a teasing tone.

"Human strength has its limits; I'm not a deity, so of course there are things I don't know."

"So, you just happen to not know this?" Chen Mu asked in a low voice, feeling a bit smug inside.

Tang Jing didn't know why, but suddenly fell silent.

Chen Mu felt a bit worried, wondering if the academic ace, having been questioned like that, wouldn't become angry out of embarrassment.

However, Tang Jing showed no sign of anger; instead, she stared steadily at Chen Mu, her eyes becoming hesitant and complex.

"Chen Mu."

In the silence, Tang Jing suddenly spoke, startling Chen Mu.

"Huh?"

"Do you believe me?" Tang Jing asked, bewildered.

"I do." Chen Mu didn't hesitate much.

"If one day I ask you to do something you really don't want to do, would you listen to me?" Tang Jing's tone seemed like casual chatter, but the content sounded quite serious.

Chen Mu didn't understand; he was just asking about the date, yet Tang the academic ace was acting as if it were the end of the world.

"It depends on the situation; if it doesn't affect others and I'm capable, even if I don't want to do it, I'll still give you face as class monitor." Chen Mu felt the topic had become a bit heavy, so he deliberately lightened the mood.

Tang Jing's expression remained unchanged; she continued to look at Chen Mu's eyes, as if trying to discern whether he was telling the truth.

After a moment.

She smiled faintly: "Today is June 14, Sunday; the day the disaster struck was April 27, Monday; we have already experienced 48 days of the apocalypse."

Chen Mu blinked, having thought Tang Jing didn't know and was just diverting the conversation; after all, she is merely learned and clever, and it's normal not to be able to say something like that if one hasn't deliberately kept track from the start.

Who would have thought she actually knew it so clearly.

"Did you deliberately keep track of the date?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Why?"

"No reason, I just happened to remember it." Tang Jing spread her hands.

"All right."

……

After learning the date, Chen Mu felt…… it wasn't really useful.

However, afraid he might forget later, he still prepared to write it down.

He took off the weapon tied around his waist, fashioned it into the shape of a judge's brush, then walked to the wall, and not far from the stainless steel plaque engraved with the Qiming Charter, he carved a small line of text.

"June 14, Sunday."

The baseboard in the storage room is cement, still too rough for people now; to see it clearly, the characters must be written large.

Fortunately, there is plenty of space.

Wei Dalei saw him doodling on the wall and curiously walked over: "What are you doing, boss?"

"Have a look yourself."

"June 14? Sunday? Is this today's date?"

"Yeah."

"You still remember this?"

"Uh… of course, I've always been meticulous, with unmatched computational ability; I still remember that the day the disaster struck was April 27, Monday, making a total of 48 days up to today."

"Wow, impressive!" Wei Dalei looked admiring.

"No need to say that!" Chen Mu glanced around, saw Tang Jing wasn't nearby, and boldly started boasting.

"But, what's the use of knowing this?" Wei Dalei suddenly asked.

"Well… I can't explain it clearly to you; you'll find out later." Chen Mu kept a straight face, his heart unmoved.

"Oh."

……

In the evening, Tang Jing directed Wei Dalei to move a pencil down from the shelf.

This old-fashioned wooden pencil, aside from filling out answer sheets, is hardly used by anyone nowadays.

When Dong Junwei initially sorted the cardboard boxes, she found some items besides kitchen utensils.

Eight Great Wall brand 2H pencils.

65 sheets of A4 paper.

2 erasers.

The paper had already been used, and is now toilet paper, although only a small scrap was used.

However, the pencil eraser initially had no apparent use.

Since it was a waste to throw away, it was placed on the shelf; anyway, it didn't take up much space.

"What do you want to do with this pencil? Do homework?"

After Wei Dalei found the balance point, he could easily hold the pencil with both hands and walk down the shelf's slope, and incidentally made a joke he thought was humorous.

Tang Jing waved her hand, walked lightly beside him, and casually replied, "Yes."

Wei Dalei, who always found studying extremely troublesome, suddenly staggered.

"Come on, big sister, at this time you still want to torture me with homework?"

As the class study monitor, Tang Jing had often demanded homework from Wei Dalei, and the darkest moment of the day for the underachieving Old Wei was early morning when Tang Jing, with a righteous expression, urged him to turn in his homework.

Sometimes, thinking about not having to do homework or attend class, Wei Dalei felt the apocalypse wasn't so bad, and even wished it had come earlier; if it had arrived in his first year of high school, he could have avoided two years of suffering.

Tang Jing also seemed to recall the wonderful mornings of the past, smiling: "Live and learn."

"Then I'd rather die early." Old Wei wore a stubborn expression.

"Don't worry, this homework isn't for you." Tang Jing laughed.

"You scared me to death." Wei Dalei let out a breath and then said, "But this pencil can't write now; do you want to make it smaller?"

"Okay, I'll call Chen Mu over later, and we'll make some pencils and paper that can be used now."

"What do you want to write?" Wei Dalei asked.

"Hmm." Tang Jing nodded: "Make a calendar."