The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 119

Chapter 119

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Nicole headed home and got straight to work, pulling together ingredients for ravioli.

She started by making the fillings: a classic ground pork mix, a ricotta and herb blend, and a simple mushroom filling. Once everything was prepped, all that was left was to start assembling.

Ten pounds of dough was a lot. At this rate, it felt like it would take all afternoon to get through it.

Zeph stood at the sink washing vegetables while Nicole cranked a manual meat grinder she had pulled out from her stash, working the fillings.

Once the dough was ready, she showed him how to roll out pasta sheets.

No surprise, Zeph was good with his hands. The only problem was he was way too particular. He kept frowning at the pasta sheets, insisting they weren’t perfectly square.

Somehow, he even found a copper cutter and started stamping each piece into exact squares.

Nicole just stared at him. Some dedication.

Once the fillings were mixed, they started assembling the ravioli.

Poppy came running over, eyes bright. “I want to help, too.”

Kids loved playing with food, so Nicole didn’t turn her away. She guided Poppy’s hands step by step.

At first, Poppy’s attempts were a mess. Pasta sheets tore, filling leaked out, and some didn’t even close properly.

Even so, Nicole didn’t criticize her.

“You’re doing great, Poppy. See? Each one’s better than the last. We’ll cook these up later and let Zeph try them.”

Zeph looked over and said nothing.

Cola hovered nearby, growing increasingly anxious. “Woof!”

The little kid’s ravioli looked terrible. He was sure he could definitely do better if he had hands. Unfortunately, he didn’t.

But Poppy wasn’t just playing around.

Zeph had told her that she had to earn her food. She was here to help.

Slowly, she got the hang of it. After a few tries, she finally managed to seal one properly. She held it up proudly. “This one’s for you, Nicole.”

Nicole raised a brow. “Why not give it to Zeph?”

“Because you taught me,” she said matter-of-factly. “The second one’s for him, then Cola, then me.”

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With two people working, the pace picked up.

By the time they noticed, they had already missed mealtime. Nicole tossed Poppy’s failed ones into a small pot of boiling water, then dropped two large trays of the regular ones into another.

“Let’s eat first. We’ll finish the rest this afternoon.”

The ravioli came out quickly. Nicole tossed it in a simple sauce, and the four of them dug in.

The dough had just the right chew, springy and satisfying. The fillings were fresh, bursting with hot juices the moment you bit in.

Poppy stuck out her tongue, fanning her mouth. “This-is so good!”

Watching her light up like that, Zeph smiled without even realizing it. “We’ll make it for you more often.”

“Thanks!”

Cola ate like he was in a race, finishing half a bowl in no time before nudging it forward.

More!

Nicole couldn’t help noticing the dog’s appetite was getting out of control. If they hadn’t stocked up so much food, he would’ve eaten them out of house and home by now.

Zeph seemed to really like it, too. He ate steadily, finishing a full bowl in no time.

He didn’t stop there. He went for the failed batch as well. Tossed in a bit of sauce, and it still tasted great.

Nicole watched him in disbelief.

Men really were bottomless pits. She almost wondered if they were even eating the same thing.

Once they were full, they got back to work.

The pasta sheets were rolled out quickly, and Zeph joined in assembling again.

Somehow, he was worse than Poppy.

Remembering the nail gun he had given her, Nicole forced herself to stay patient. “No, loosen your fingers a bit. Pinch it like this.” 1

Zeph tried to mimic her. “Like this?”

His fingers barely bent.

Even with her guiding his hands directly, it still didn’t work. Every single one he made fell apart.

Nicole felt a headache coming on. She honestly wished she could take her brain out and install it in his body.

The

guy

could hit targets from 100 feet away, but couldn’t seal a single ravioli. The worst part was, he

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didn’t look embarrassed at all.

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