Shen Yi neither agreed nor refused, but instead handed over one end of the clothes,
"Here, hold this end, let's wring it out together."
Cheng Jun was startled but instinctively began to follow Shen Yi's movements.
Working together, they quickly wrung out one piece of clothing after another, and Cheng Jun went to get some hangers.
Shen Yi had cleared away the clutter from the front door, creating a large open space.
A thin wire stretched from the doorframe all the way to the streetlight by the road.
Cheng Jun hung the clothes on the wire with spaces between them; with the abundant sunlight, they should be dry by afternoon.
This way of drying clothes would have certainly been considered an eyesore before.
But now there was no one around to enforce such rules.
"Work should be done gradually, don't overexert yourself. Alright, I'm heading out."
Shen Yi shook the water from his hands, opened the car door, got in, started the engine - all in one smooth motion.
Cheng Jun unconsciously waved,
"Be careful, come back soon."
Shen Yi didn't answer, just honked the horn in acknowledgment.
As she watched the car disappear, Cheng Jun stood motionless.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the hangers onto her face, creating a golden-red glow with gently swaying halos.
Suddenly, Cheng Jun smiled, as if remembering something.
The sunlight seemed to lose its color in that instant.
It was a shame no one was there to appreciate this breathtaking scene.
...
Three days later, in the afternoon.
Shen Yi parked the car and called out as soon as he got out,
"Cheng Jun, Cheng Jun, come quick and see what I found!"
Hearing his voice, Cheng Jun came down from upstairs, where she had been sorting through the vegetable seeds Shen Yi had found earlier, planning to plant them in a few days once the ground was prepared.
"What is it? What good things did you find?"
She asked with a smile as she descended the stairs.
"Come, look!"
Shen Yi enthusiastically opened the truck bed, revealing two black metal machines.
"They're diesel generators!"
Cheng Jun's eyes lit up with excitement as she rushed to Shen Yi's side.
Shen Yi chuckled and patted the machines,
"Yeah, took quite an effort to bring them back."
Over the past few days, besides looking for seeds, Shen Yi had visited all the locations Cheng Jun had previously marked.
Today, he finally discovered these two generators in a residential property's electrical room.
According to their labels, they were 220-volt generators.
Shen Yi estimated each one weighed at least eighty to a hundred kilograms, extremely heavy.
"Step back a bit, I'll move them to the basement. Whether we'll have power depends on these."
Shen Yi announced as he unfolded a four-wheeled cart from the truck.
Without this tool, he wouldn't have been able to bring them back no matter how hard he tried.
Then Shen Yi went to the back of the truck, flexed his arms with his muscles tensed, and with a mighty effort, lifted the generator.
Turning slowly, he carefully lowered the machine onto the cart.
Cheng Jun stepped back a bit, knowing she couldn't help much with this.
Although Shen Yi's movements were steady, the bulging veins in his neck showed just how strenuous this was.
Just these few movements had Shen Yi dripping with sweat.
If not for his gift of quick physical recovery, allowing him to rest between lifts, he would never have been able to get them out of the electrical room.
After much effort, they finally managed to move both diesel generators to the basement.
This had been the original plan.
These machines were extremely noisy, and keeping them below would muffle the sound.
In the dim basement, Shen Yi crouched in front of the machine, examining and tinkering with it.
Cheng Jun held a flashlight to provide light.
Neither of them knew much about generators.
They had grown accustomed to powerful search engines and had become lazy about learning and memorizing certain knowledge.
After all, whenever they had questions or needed answers, a simple search would suffice.
Shen Yi was slightly better off, as his neighbor had owned a generator when he was young.
He remembered it was simple: add oil, connect the battery, turn on the switch.
Before moving them, Shen Yi had checked that there was fuel inside.
But now, after pressing the switch repeatedly, there was no response; the machine wouldn't start.
Their entire power plan depended on these generators - if they couldn't figure this out, they'd be in trouble.
Fortunately, Shen Yi had brought back the instruction manual.
"Move the flashlight closer."
Using the flashlight's beam, their heads nearly touching as they studied the manual, they finally understood.
To start with the switch, the generator needed power from a battery, but the battery Shen Yi had brought back had been idle for who knows how long and was probably dead.
There was one other option: manual rope start.
After putting down the manual, $2hey suddenly realized how close they were, close enough to hear each other's breathing.
Shen Yi coughed and stood up, moving to the front of the generator,
"I'll try the rope start."
In the darkness, her expression wasn't visible, but she softly acknowledged and directed the flashlight toward Shen Yi's position.
Following the manual, Shen Yi added coolant and disconnected the mains power.
Then, taking a deep breath, he gripped the starter rope and pulled hard.
The machine made a muffled sound, as if awakening from sleep, but quickly fell silent again.
Shen Yi guessed the engine speed wasn't high enough and pulled the rope again without losing heart.
After several attempts, the speed finally picked up.
With a ding, the indicator light came on.
The generator roared to life, officially starting up!
Shen Yi and Cheng Jun exchanged glances, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes.
"Cheng Jun, quick, go get the power strip and camping lights."
"Oh, okay."
Cheng Jun quickly agreed, handed the flashlight to Shen Yi, and ran out.
She returned shortly with the items.
Shen Yi took them and connected the power strip to the battery.
Then he brought out the camping lights they'd found at the outdoor goods store.
All these lights needed charging, and none had worked when they brought them back.
With nervous anticipation, Shen Yi plugged in the lights.
Seeing the green indicator light up, he immediately pressed the switch.
"Click."
With a crisp sound, incandescent light filled the entire basement.
The sudden bright light made them squint.
But they hardly noticed this discomfort, their hearts overflowing with joy.
They spontaneously embraced, smiling happily at the bright light source.
Arms tightening, Cheng Jun felt her feet leave the ground as she was spun around.
The soft, delicate body in his arms made Shen Yi's heart race, his thoughts wandering.
Cheng Jun also sensed something unusual, and blushing, she avoided Shen Yi's gaze,
"Put me down quickly..."
"Oh."
Shen Yi immediately set Cheng Jun down, and they awkwardly separated.
The generator's hum marked a small step for humanity in this apocalyptic world.
But it was a giant leap for them into the electrical age.
This beam of light meant more than just electricity.
It was a ray of hope illuminating their future life.