Actually, when Huo Xiao spoke earlier, he didn’t mean to blame her—he was just a little worried seeing her like that.

Just as Zhuang Xiao was starting to recover, she suddenly remembered the culprit responsible for putting her in this state.

She set her bag on the table with a flourish and animatedly said, “Look, the rabbits…”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Huo Xiao, clearly expecting praise.

But the baby rabbits that had been lying quietly in the bag suddenly began wriggling around restlessly the moment they were separated from her.

Huo Xiao grabbed Zhuang Xiao’s arm, and plop plop plop, the baby rabbits fell out of the bag.

The five baby rabbits were stunned—what just happened?

Huo Xiao, however, looked alarmed. Mutated animals? This close?

And Zhuang Xiao had just casually brought them home!

“Did you find them nearby?” he asked, disbelief in his eyes.

Zhuang Xiao chattered on, recounting her entire morning in one breath like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, touching her face and looking down at herself.

Everything seemed normal.

Huo Xiao didn’t answer but instead instructed, “Don’t go out this afternoon. Just rest at home.”

Truthfully, Zhuang Xiao didn’t want to go out anyway.

Though the burning sensation on her skin had faded, the ache deep inside still lingered.

Besides, she’d brought back meat and vegetables this morning—a huge harvest! What’s wrong with taking the afternoon off?

“Did you test them all? Are they safe to eat?” Huo Xiao asked.

Zhuang Xiao: ……

She’d forgotten. Not all animals here were edible.

She had been so excited that the thought had completely slipped her mind.

On the wasteland, not only were plants wildly mutated, but animals too were vastly different from what she remembered. These rabbits were a prime example.

Everything—plant or animal—had to be tested with the wristband before being considered safe to eat.

Zhuang Xiao scratched her head and gave a sheepish chuckle.

Seeing her reaction, Huo Xiao instantly understood.

He took out a knife, pricked one of the rabbits’ paws to draw a bit of blood, and dropped it onto the wristband scanner.

Beep beep — Highly radiated mutation. Not edible.

Second one:
Beep beep — Highly radiated mutation. Not edible.

Third:
Beep beep — Highly radiated mutation. Not edible.

At this point, Zhuang Xiao’s face darkened. She’d gone through all that trouble carrying back a bunch of inedible junk?

Fourth:
Beep beep — Moderate radiation mutation. Edible.

Fifth:
Beep beep — Moderate radiation mutation. Edible.

Hearing the results for the last two, her expression finally lightened a bit.

Huo Xiao, on the other hand, was speechless.

On the wasteland, mutated animals had a much lower probability of being edible compared to plants. Yet of the five baby rabbits, two turned out to be edible. That was a huge surprise.

Then Zhuang Xiao remembered the plant she brought back. “Let’s plant this! The whole thing is edible!”

Thanks to the edible rabbits softening the blow, Huo Xiao was no longer surprised at her claim.

“Alright,” he replied easily, taking the plant from her hands.

On the wasteland, scavenging for food was hard, but growing edible plants was even harder.

First, you had to find plantable soil—soil was classified into grades, just like animals and plants.

Then, the soil had to be sterilized. Who knew if it contained mutated insect eggs?

After that, you had to ensure enough water and nutrients.

If all those conditions were met, sunlight became crucial. You also needed radiation-blocking panels that allowed light through while shielding from radiation.

Even then, once a plant sprouted, there was still the risk of secondary mutation.

Still, seeing Zhuang Xiao’s recently revived spirit, Huo Xiao decided not to tell her any of that for now.

He took out a wooden crate, placed the five baby rabbits inside, and planned to bring them to the safe zone’s trade center that afternoon to sell them all.

He stored the plant in a cool, shady spot.

As Zhuang Xiao watched Huo Xiao busily moving around, her stomach let out a loud growl. She was hungry again. “What’s for lunch?”

For her, the day’s tasks were over-achieved. Now it was time to eat and sleep.

Unfortunately, reality is always harsher than dreams.

Half an hour later, a bowl of nutrient porridge with a grassy aroma was placed in front of her again.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of sadness.

She stared at Huo Xiao with eyes full of grievance. “Rabbit… can we eat them tonight?”

Huo Xiao shook his head. “I’m selling them this afternoon.”

Zhuang Xiao: ……

She silently picked up the green porridge and gulped it down.

It still tasted as bad as ever.

But at least it was filling.

Perhaps wounded by the porridge, she put down the bowl and quietly crawled back into her grass nest.

She didn’t even notice that there was only one serving of lunch today.

Lying on the straw, she mumbled to herself, “You don’t know the cost of daily necessities unless you run the household… I’m not from this world, so I shouldn’t give random advice… I should learn to listen to others…”

Basically, she was trying hard to convince herself.

The rabbits were gone, but so what? Sometimes you lose to gain.

But…

It was still depressing. When would this miserable life end?

Why couldn’t she transmigrate into a palace drama, a farming novel, or even prehistoric infrastructure building? Anything would be better than this!

Her mind was soon a chaotic swirl of complaints and fantasies, and before long, she drifted off to sleep.

Huo Xiao saw she was asleep, took a photo of the rabbits, and sent a message to Yan Ming, asking him to come pick them up when he had time.

He could also bring the repaired fan to Old Yu’s general store.

It would cost a bit of points, but it was safer.

Right now, Huo Xiao was barely able to protect himself, let alone safeguard a valuable find.

It was like a child walking through a marketplace carrying gold.

After making arrangements, he lay down fully dressed on the bed.

He had to earn more points. With another person now in the house, and summer approaching, the house would need to be rebuilt.

Everything burned through points.

A sharp pain like needles stabbed through his body. Huo Xiao clenched his teeth tightly, sweat pouring from his forehead onto the pillow, his whole body curled up in agony.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Xiao lay sweetly asleep in her pile of straw, smacking her lips.

In her dream, the table was filled with drumsticks, grilled meat, and steak.

She had a chicken leg in one hand, a soda in the other, and was enjoying herself immensely.

Truly, dreams had it all.

Especially daydreams.

She slept all the way until four in the afternoon.

Voices came from the courtyard.

Zhuang Xiao lazily raked a hand through her messy hair, rubbed her eyes, and walked out of the house.

Aside from Huo Xiao, there was now a big, burly man standing in the courtyard.