Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sauerkraut and Pork Bones

The two adults paused, then gave awkward laughs. One explained that it was called a whisper, not a secret talk, while the other reached out and offered a piece of milk candy.

“Thank you,” Ren Minmin accepted the candy, her opinion of Jiang Huan soaring even higher.

“Since you know what that is, I won't look,” Jiang Huan said. “By the way, Ren, didn’t you say you had some supplies hidden away? Bring some to the compound with you. These days, even the survival points are collecting goods. Besides, you’ll be living there from now on. Following protocol will be in your best interest. Oh, and I drove here today—planning to gather some things myself. We…”

Jiang Huan checked her watch. “Let’s meet in an hour in the alley behind the barbershop on North Slope Street.”

They synchronized their watches and parted ways.

Jiang Huan searched a few nearby houses, but since there weren’t many supplies, she didn’t take everything. Arriving early at the alley behind the barbershop, she brought out the car. With more than ten minutes to spare, she went into the barbershop, grabbed a few bottles of shampoo, a stack of oversized towels, and took a few decent-looking chairs.

She stowed everything in the back of the RV. There were few passengers, so the front seat would do.

“Huff, huff…” Ren Minmin hurried over, burdened with bags and looking utterly disheveled. Jiang Huan quickly stepped forward to take the large bag from her.

Ren Minmin, now off her guard, let her help. “Thank you! Oh, it’s really heavy.”

Everything was loaded into the living area of the RV. Jiang Huan took the driver’s seat, Ren Minmin climbed into the passenger seat with her son in her arms, and with a press of the accelerator, they headed for the compound.

On the way, Jiang Huan gleaned some basic facts about Ren Minmin. She was a designer who, after having a child, worked from home on contract jobs. She was lucky—just before the freeze, it had rained, and she happened to be a guest at a new building materials expo. Her family, worried about the heavy rain, insisted on delivering supplies to her, fearing she wouldn’t be able to buy much. That saved her from immediate starvation when the freeze hit.

But after a few days, her husband suddenly took in a local classmate to live with them. The details were bittersweet, but it was clearly not a good thing.

The backpack she brought was mostly filled with her child’s things.

Jiang Huan mentioned that rescuing a person would earn her ten points, and Ren Minmin was even more grateful that Jiang Huan had said she’d only save two.

She was about to say more when the wheels slowed and the car came to a stop.

“We’re here,” Jiang Huan announced, poking her head out the window. “Open the gate.”

“Alright! Sister Jiang, you’re back with a full haul again! Brought someone along this time?”

Jiang Huan nodded. “Met a mother and son on the way—see to their accommodations. She brought her own supplies, so help them out. Give them a good room. I’ll message Captain Wu the details.”

“Got it!” The two young men climbed aboard to help carry things, teasing the child a little as they went. “Let’s go, ma’am, we’ll help you register.”

Ren Minmin followed a few steps, then hurried back to thank Jiang Huan and ask where she lived.

One of the young men laughed. “Our Sister Jiang owns seven floors.”

A tycoon?

Ren Minmin’s look made it clear she thought Jiang Huan was a pre-apocalypse millionaire who bought out seven floors at once.

The two young men chuckled—the story was a long one.

Jiang Huan told them not to tease. “I live in this building. The fifteenth floor and up are mine for now. If you need to exchange gold, silver, or other goods, go to the fifteenth floor and see Liu Ling.”

“Really? You set up an exchange point, Sister Jiang? Got any size forty-five shoes? I’m stuck with this one pair, and I need socks too.”

“I’m hunting for food—meat, hot sauce, anything to spice up a meal.”

“There should be some. Go check later. Bring some of these things to management, and the rest to the fifteenth floor.” She handed them a handful of milk candies.

They cheerfully agreed, already calculating what they could trade for things they needed.

Ren Minmin watched Jiang Huan head upstairs, hugging her child a little tighter. Once inside, she asked the management staff, “Can I also live in Miss Jiang’s building?”

“Ah, that building…”

Because Jiang Huan was known for her strength and wasn’t the easiest person to approach, and because the keys couldn’t be found, survivors were usually assigned to other buildings.

But Ren Minmin insisted, so the only option was to break the lock and install a new one. “We have professionals for that, but it costs five kilos of rice or equivalent goods as a service fee.”

“That’s fine, I accept.” And so, they moved into the vacant seventh floor.

Jiang Huan was unaware of all this. Upon reaching the fifteenth floor, she saw her brother wasn’t in the exchange room, so she headed up to the twentieth instead, where he opened the door in advance.

“Hm? Xiao Xi, you knew I was back?”

“Yeah, I recognized the sound of your car.”

“Well, aren’t you clever.” Jiang Huan walked in, closing the door behind her.

The newly organized bedroom was far more spacious, and even their dining table was now a large, European-style affair.

Jiang Huan rubbed her hands together. “What’s for dinner tonight, Jiang Xi?”

“Bones, with pickled vegetables.”

Ah, then pickled vegetable and bone stew it is.

She didn’t have anything of that volume in her stash, so she had to make it herself. Luckily, the ingredients were all there, and she managed to pull it off.

Jiang Huan figured that wasn’t enough—her cooking skills weren’t great—so she added a plate of garlic ribs, a dish of crispy potatoes, and plenty of rice.

But watching her brother, he kept reaching for the pickled vegetable and bone stew she’d made.

What a compliment—blood really is thicker than water.

After a hearty meal, Jiang Xi went down for a nap, while Jiang Huan lounged on the sofa, messaging Wu Gang.

Her request to arrange better accommodations for Ren Minmin wasn’t just out of sympathy for a struggling mother; she messaged: [Captain Wu, the woman I brought back today, Ms. Ren, attended a special building materials expo and has a stockpile of supplies. Take good care of her—she might be useful in the future.]

Wu Gang replied with a thank you, and also sent news that piqued Jiang Huan’s interest: [We’ve secured a gold store, but most of the gold and silver have been taken. We only found a few overlooked pieces. The management wants to exchange some for food and warm clothing—how much can you exchange on the fifteenth floor?]

Jiang Huan replied at once: [I checked the books yesterday—there’s plenty of rice, grain, and oil, enough for a single person for months. The style isn’t important; I want what’s valuable.]

Her exchange machine could automatically screen for high-value items.

[Alright, I’ll come up with them right away.]

As things stood, Jiang Huan had to go down to the fifteenth floor. She grabbed two ten-kilo bags of rice, their vacuum packaging making the white grains stick together, minimizing the space they took up.

On her way down, she received another message, this one long enough to require scrolling.

This time, it wasn’t from Wu Gang, but from someone named Xiao Yi—a younger member of the technical team. Jiang Huan opened the lengthy message to read.