Sister Yun looked at Old Cai: “Is this your master? He’s in really good shape.”

That cart was clearly the fat man’s lifeline.

Letting the fat man leave the cart at the door—he’d rather not come inside at all than leave the cart unattended.

The tent felt even more cramped.

But with more people, it seemed a little warmer.

Five people, plus the cart. Everyone could only squat, legs curled up.

Sister Yun busied herself adding more honeycomb coal.

The fire flared up again, and Sister Yun’s pale, blue-tinged face finally gained some color.

With the tent, at least the wind didn’t blow in.

After sitting by the fire, everyone looked a bit ridiculous in their own way. Zhang Qiu did some simple wound cleaning for the fat man and Sister Yun.

Seeing that they were about to reuse their tattered cloth strips as bandages,

Yu Xifeng couldn’t stand it and took some bandages from his backpack, handing them to Zhang Qiu.

Everyone had some sort of white cloth hanging on their bodies.

The wheezing sounds rose and fell continuously.

Yu Xifeng and Old Cai surprisingly weren’t badly injured—only some ash stuck to their clothes when they left the underground shelter.

After the wounds were treated, Sister Yun used the makeshift stove to boil some hot water, soaking some flatbread which she shared with the fat man.

The fat man said, “I don’t think the underground shelter will be usable again anytime soon. I wonder if we’ll be able to get in tomorrow.”

Old Cai was the oldest and sat closest to the fire.

Yu Xifeng was next to Sister Yun; the fat man squeezed close to Zhang Qiu, whose legs could only curl up.

It was freezing; whoever got too cold would go outside to run a few circles around the tent before coming back in.

Near the underground shelter’s exit, people gathered in neat rows, setting up tents in a very orderly fashion.

The disaster’s impact on the underground shelter was huge.

Though the fire had been put out, there was still a risk of flare-ups.

After such a big fire, not only was ventilation needed, many facilities required repair.

Some survivors had been relocated by truck to nearby buildings.

Tents would also take in some survivors.

The tents were about the same size as Zhang Qiu’s.

But one tent had to hold at least twenty-five survivors.

Packed inside like human pyramids.

The fat man went over to ask around, then squeezed back into the tent. “Forget it, let’s just stay here.”

Daytime temperatures had risen considerably, and Zhang Qiu went outside to reinforce the tent.

Outside, more people were circling, hoping to get inside for shelter.

The official tents, to put it bluntly, were even tighter than pigsties.

That person refused to leave, looking at Zhang Qiu with hopeful eyes.

Zhang Qiu called out, “Yu Xifeng.”

Yu Xifeng wiped his knife.

Blood seeped out, and the noise outside quieted down. After a while, they left.

After finishing his tasks, Zhang Qiu returned to the tent, lowered his voice, and coughed quietly.

Old Cai took a bottle of cough syrup from his pocket.

Zhang Qiu poured a capful and swallowed it.

After he drank, he noticed everyone was watching him.

He glanced at Yu Xifeng, then at the others.

Some looked hesitant. “It’s sweet, do you want a sip?”

Yu Xifeng turned his head away.

The fat man shyly said, “You drink, you drink.”

Sister Yun smiled slightly.

Lunch was prepared by Zhang Qiu and the fat man.

They talked for a while, discussing cooking times and the possibility of using medicinal herbs as seasoning.

In the end, Zhang Qiu was the main chef.

He used the lamb soup Yu Xifeng gave him, diluted it twice, then cooked a pot of noodles, sprinkling in a small handful of goji berries.

He added diced cured meat to enhance the salty flavor.

The fat man fished a bottle of beer out from the bottom of the cart. “Look what I found — ice-cold beer!”

Zhang Qiu said, “Better warm it up.”

The noodles tasted pretty good—soft yet firm, with a good texture.

The fat man and Old Cai shared the cold beer.

Zhang Qiu didn’t drink: “This counters the medicine’s effect, so I’ll skip it.”

Yu Xifeng had a cup. Bitter, but after swallowing, his body warmed up, which felt quite nice.

He poured a second cup, which seemed less unpleasant.

The fat man, Sister Yun, and Yu Xifeng shared the beer.

Zhang Qiu got a cup to keep for later to help with the meat’s smell.

Zhang Qiu added a piece of honeycomb coal to the pot: “Alcohol warms you up, but it’s a false heat. You can’t face the wind. We probably won’t get back to the shelter today, so you three stay inside the tent.”

The fat man thought Zhang Qiu was no fun.

He hooked an arm around Old Cai’s shoulders and went off.

Somehow, he pulled out a cigarette and made Old Cai’s face light up.

The fat man looked at Old Cai with much more fondness than at Zhang Qiu.

Old Cai squatted by the tent zipper, savoring the cigarette, taking a small puff then hurriedly putting it out.

He carefully wrapped the rest in a handkerchief.

Yu Xifeng propped up her head, blinking.

So sleepy, wanting to sleep.

Reason told her she couldn’t.

At this temperature, once you lie down to sleep, whether you can open your eyes again is another matter.

By now, everyone had basically been awake for a full day and night.

The fat man returned beside Sister Yun, who yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.

Yu Xifeng looked at Sister Yun and the fat man thoughtfully, then suddenly said, “I have condoms.”

Old Cai, who was squatting and about to stand, staggered and almost fell.

Zhang Qiu was stunned.

The fat man shyly and happily said, “How embarrassing! So shameful, ahh.”

Sister Yun kicked the fat man’s butt: “Yu Xifeng!”

Is that something to say in public?

Yu Xifeng’s eyes were already closed.

Zhang Qiu found a blanket and wrapped Yu Xifeng up, then pressed down the tent’s edges firmly.

“Take a nap, I’ll wake you in fifteen minutes,” Zhang Qiu said.

Yu Xifeng let him do as he wished, her cheeks flushed.

They left the spots closest to the fire for Yu Xifeng.

The fat man chuckled, “Three beers down, that’s some real drinking capacity.”

Sister Yun and Zhang Qiu chuckled quietly.

Old Cai couldn’t keep a straight face and laughed too.

Although he said fifteen minutes, it felt like only a blink before Zhang Qiu woke her.

Yu Xifeng frowned at Zhang Qiu.

“The temperature’s too low, you can’t sleep too long,” Zhang Qiu said.

What a pain.

Yu Xifeng wrapped in the blanket rolled over, back to Zhang Qiu, face pressed into Sister Yun’s lap.

Sister Yun was sleepy too, groggily stroking Yu Xifeng’s head.

The fat man let out a thunderous burp and got up: “I’m going to get some water.”

When he left, a cold breeze blew in, waking Sister Yun and Yu Xifeng.

Yu Xifeng yawned and quietly took the hot tea Zhang Qiu handed her, asking Sister Yun, “Do you want to go to the bathroom?”

Sister Yun said, “Go ahead.”

The two went out, one after the other.