They were both cautious, fearing the other might double-cross them; the wide-open floodplain was the safest place for such an exchange.

202 jin (about 101 kg) of wild boar meat was traded for 202 jin of fresh rice, with an agreement to trade again at 7 p.m.

The three of them carried the rice back, and Jiang Ning had already prepared everything: a frying pan, salt, seasonings, crushed chili, and overnight supplies.

Worried about Zheng Weili’s safety, they also asked Lu Yu to stay behind.

When a few people came downstairs, He Zhian smiled warmly and blocked the stairway. “Where are you all going? Running around is tough. How about we give you a hand? We can bring you back in one trip.”

They had followed with several rubber boats in the morning, but still got lost.

They went out every day, but the supplies they found kept decreasing. The team grew increasingly dissatisfied, often teasing him by comparing their finds to those on the 18th floor.

“Just a few bundles of firewood, no need to trouble Captain He about it.”

Jiang Ning gave a forced smile, “Our place is small; even if we bring back a few bundles of firewood, I doubt one piece each would be enough for you.”

“Look at what Xiao Jiang says. Lending a hand between neighbors doesn’t mean we want your stuff.”

“Then we won’t dare to accept,” Jiang Ning said bluntly. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? You’ve already borrowed the rubber boats; you’re not planning to borrow firewood too, are you?”

He Zhian was speechless, his face turning green.

This group of stubborn folks must never fall into his hands!

The mid-mountain villa was quite far; the speedboat took over an hour to get there, close to the city boundary.

Ignoring the raging floodwaters below, it was indeed a beautiful natural oxygen bar.

The lush green forest concealed elegant and tasteful villa complexes.

The lower grounds were already submerged, and the floodwaters had reached the front yards of the slightly higher areas; everyone had evacuated.

All the collected supplies were gathered in the tallest villa — furniture, water tanks, a few unused gas cylinders, scattered boxes of charcoal, and so on.

Huo Yishen and Zhang Chao went up the mountain to carry wild boars; Jiang Ning cleaned the kitchen and prepared the brine.

Roasting raw meat was too slow, so they first boiled it in a pot to remove moisture, then grilled it over charcoal for easier cooking.

After bringing back the wild boars, Huo Yishen cleaned and cut the meat into thin strips as Jiang Ning requested.

When the time was right, he carried one boar and took Zhang Chao to trade.

After the two left, Jiang Ning had Cola stand guard at the door and took out from her space solar power storage, a meat grinder, induction cooker, and other tools.

She used the induction cooker to braise the meat; the minced lean meat was put into the pot with seasonings and chili, then continuously stir-fried on the gas stove.

To extend shelf life, the meat sauce was cooked very dry, smelling especially fragrant.

By the time the two returned near 9 p.m., two large pots of meat sauce were ready, and thinly sliced meat had all been braised and drained in a basin.

Upon hearing Cola’s warning, Jiang Ning quickly put away anything that shouldn’t be out.

Zhang Chao, seeing most of the hard work done, nearly dropped his jaw. “A Ning, your efficiency is just too high!”

“Of course, haven’t you seen who I am?”

Jiang Ning started a fire to grill the meat. “How was your trade?”

“At the place where we slaughtered the pig last time; we hope to finish trading the remaining two boars by tomorrow morning.”

They received several hundred jin of fresh rice. Zhang Chao sighed in relief, “Once this batch is done, we won’t have to worry for the next year or two. Hopefully, order will be restored by then?”

Jiang Ning nodded, “Maybe.”

After enduring the extreme cold and waiting for the flood to evaporate, the country’s base would be established.

If they wanted to go, there would still be a way to survive.

The three sat around the charcoal stove, putting the drained braised meat on the grill.

To be honest, since the meat lost most of its water, it grilled really fast.

Zhang Chao tasted some and said, “So salty!”

“The weather’s too humid; salt helps preserve it longer.”

After teaching the two how to grill meat, Jiang Ning prepared braised pig trotters, pig’s face, and skull, which just needed reheating back at the 18th floor before eating.

Smelling the aroma, Zhang Chao couldn’t help swallowing his saliva and grabbed a trotter to start gnawing.

Finally, the whole pot was brought down; the three and the dog happily ate with steamed buns.

Zhang Chao, a greedy yet cheeky guy, joked, “With cooking skills this good, I wonder which lucky guy you’ll hook up with someday.”

Jiang Ning glanced at him calmly and said, “Definitely not you.”

Huo Yishen quietly ate without speaking but glanced at her subconsciously.

“Woof!” The dog, unwilling to be left out, ran over to join the fun.

“Look at me, owner!”

Jiang Ning petted its head, “No one gets lucky; it’s just me and Cola.”

“Don’t mess around,” Zhang Chao teased, “That’s cross-species!”

Jiang Ning gave the order, “Cola, scare him.”

The dog immediately lunged, baring teeth as if to attack.

Zhang Chao quickly begged for mercy, “Ah! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again! Please spare me, Dog Bro!”

Huo Yishen cleared his throat coldly.

The dog didn’t back off and even scratched him with a paw.

After the playful feast, they continued grilling under the night sky.

One jin of raw meat roasted became half a jin of jerky — a big bag weighed several dozen jin, plus several dozen jin of meat sauce, braised trotters, pig’s face, and big bones with sauce.

By the time they finished, it was already past 3 a.m.; they had to trade again in the morning, so they stayed at the villa.

The beds were still there; they just changed to their own bedding and clothes.

With the dog on night watch, everyone slept especially soundly.

When Jiang Ning woke up, Huo Yishen had already finished the trade — four wild boars exchanged for more than 800 jin of fresh rice.

They cooked a pot of noodles, ate their fill, then left.

Back at the 18th floor, Jiang Ning called Huo Yishen over, “Let me check your wound.”

He was the flag bearer but hadn’t made a sound about it.

Huo Yishen followed her inside; Jiang Ning wanted to examine the wound but he was too tall.

“Sit down.”

Before he could sit back down, the dog took the spot first.

Huo Yishen sat on the sofa; Jiang Ning looked down to examine and found the wound bleeding again.

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

“It’s not serious.”

“Dou Dou (the child) is still young; don’t take it lightly.” With limited medicine and frequent water exposure, infection and fever could easily be fatal.

Jiang Ning disinfected and re-bandaged it, “Don’t get it wet for the next few days.”

One sitting, one standing, they were a bit close.

The dog’s eyes stared deeply, tilting its head left then right, then suddenly squeezed over and stretched out a paw.

Its paw needed bandaging too!

Jiang Ning laughed, “Go away, stop causing trouble.”

860 jin of rice, 72 jin of jerky, 30 jin of meat sauce, and other miscellaneous items.

Jiang Ning took the dog’s share and stopped involving herself with matters at the mid-mountain villa, focusing on reading and exercising at home.

Zhang Chao and Lu Yu had been running around for days, bringing back the water tank and firewood.

The mid-mountain villa had ongoing construction projects; the two also brought back many water pipes, researching how to install the water tank on the rooftop.

Dou Dou was frightened and sulky at first, but as kids forget quickly, he was cheerful again after a few days.

Huo Yishen’s wound hadn’t healed but he came every day to spar.

He used only one hand, so Jiang Ning didn’t exert full strength, not wanting to be unfair.

Young and strong, after just five days he reached the standard for stitch removal.

Zheng Weili’s wound was more serious; she didn’t get stitches removed until the tenth day.

After the wild boar incident, Zheng Weili no longer thought about sparring with Huo Yishen — his skills were beyond her.