It was those two little guys again.

Zhuang Xiao trailed behind them from a distance, showing no intention of going up to greet them.

The construction of their house was progressing much faster than Zhuang Xiao had expected.

By the afternoon of the fourth day of the wheat collection event—after Zhuang Xiao had spent another whole afternoon gathering purslane seeds—the frame of their house had already been fully built.

When Zhuang Xiao got home that evening, Yan Ming and Yan Hu had long since left.

The supplies she had ordered earlier that afternoon from Old Yu had also been delivered ahead of time.

When she returned, Huo Xiao was in the courtyard, moving things into the house.

The courtyard was now divided into three sections, arranged in a square layout: the courtyard wall, the yard itself, and the main residence.

The front yard housed the kitchen and storage areas; the backyard was designated as the planting area for crops that didn’t require special anti-radiation care, such as water hemlock.

The living quarters consisted of bedrooms, a living room, a storage room, and a bathroom. There were two bedrooms, one on each side—Huo Xiao kept his original room, and the other now belonged to Zhuang Xiao. Aside from a bed, her room was completely bare.

Between the two bedrooms was a living room and a storage room. The living room was in front, the storage room behind it. To reach either the bedrooms or the storage room, you had to pass through the living room.

The bathroom was located behind the storage room, and there was a backdoor from the bedrooms that led directly to it. On either side of the bathroom—essentially the area behind the two bedrooms—was an indoor planting section, already fitted with transparent anti-radiation panels.

All the roofs were equipped with anti-radiation panels, and the roof of the bedrooms had four solar panels installed.

The total indoor space added up to around 25 square meters. Including the courtyard, it was just under 40 square meters.

For a shantytown, that was an impressively large space.

Fortunately, Huo Xiao had chosen to build on the outskirts of the shantytown. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to freely modify the house like this.

Given the summer humidity and frequent rain, Huo Xiao had even bought moisture-proof mats to place under the wooden floors.

The wiring inside the house had already been installed.

Once inside, Zhuang Xiao turned on all the lights.

Huo Xiao’s bedroom wasn’t much to look at—it was just his everyday sleeping space, except now it had a new door facing the courtyard. Zhuang Xiao’s bedroom was more like a suite, with a window on the wall facing the front yard.

At the moment, her room had nothing but a bed, making it feel rather empty.

Their old table and stools had been moved to the living room.

In the storage room, a tall shelf reached all the way to the ceiling. All their current food supplies were placed there, but even one shelf wasn’t filled, so the room looked rather sparse as well.

Zhuang Xiao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: This household is still pretty poor.

The two of them moved the remaining insulation panels and other items from the courtyard inside. With some now stored in the storage room, the once-empty space suddenly felt quite cramped.

Dinner was very simple—just one bottle of nutrient fluid each.

Now that most things were in place, Zhuang Xiao was eager to officially move into her room, and she was visibly excited.

Aside from her personal belongings, her room was only missing the insulation panels. As for furniture like tables and cabinets—forget it for now. There was still wood in the courtyard, and Huo Xiao planned to build furniture later when he wasn’t out collecting.

As he hammered the panels onto the wall, he updated Zhuang Xiao on the expenses.

“You still have 160 points left from what you gave me last time,” Huo Xiao said.

Then he remembered the mutated mantis meat he sold yesterday. “It went for a good price—620 points total. After paying Feng Ziyang and Old Yu, I still have 540 points left.”

Adding the 40 points he already had, his total now stood at 740 points.

As he spoke, he put down his tools and started to transfer the points to her.

Zhuang Xiao waved her hand dismissively. “No need, no need. I’ve still got 3,700 points.”

Richer than you, she thought smugly.

Besides, she was planning to buy a fan, refrigerator, and oven soon. Huo Xiao’s points wouldn’t be nearly enough.

And don’t forget—he was still a medicine case.

He would still need gene stabilizers.

“About those stabilizers—how are they working for you?” Zhuang Xiao asked with concern. “Feeling any better? Should we buy another dose?”

No way she was letting this guy drop dead just when life was finally starting to improve.

A faint smile appeared on Huo Xiao’s face, and a strange glint flickered in his eyes. “Much better. No need for now.”

Zhuang Xiao nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

“But if you really want to heal completely, won’t you still need energy stones?” she asked, sighing dramatically. “We’ve only got two… This house is still too poor.”

Supporting a family was tough…

Supporting a sick person was even tougher.

Hearing her say this house, Huo Xiao’s mood lifted inexplicably. With a soft voice, he replied, “But this house still has 28 pearls, 26 low-radiation and 39 medium-radiation mutated mantis eggs, about 30 kilos of wheat, assorted river dried meat, and little green vegetables…”

Huo Xiao listed everything the house owned since Zhuang Xiao had arrived.

Unknowingly, with the girl’s presence, their home had grown rich.

As she listened to his list—each item closely tied to her efforts—Zhuang Xiao marveled at her own capability.

Wow, I’m pretty impressive, huh? Supporting two people on my own…

Still, she acted modestly. “I have to keep working harder. This house is still too poor.”

Seeing the joy in her eyes that she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried, Huo Xiao chuckled and played along. “Mm, our house is still poor—totally relying on you.”

Wait, what? Totally relying on me?

Zhuang Xiao looked up to see the teasing look on the young man’s face, and couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Her laughter even drowned out the sound of hammering on the wall.

The two of them worked all the way until 11 p.m., finally finishing the insulation panels for both bedrooms. The rest could wait until later.

The bathroom was already functional.

Unable to stand her own body odor any longer, Zhuang Xiao took the opportunity to shower and wash her hair.

That night, lying in bed with the scent of shampoo clinging to her, Zhuang Xiao felt blissfully content.

Those points had been so worth it.

This was the most human she had felt since coming to the Wasteland.

But later that night, she was awakened by the heat. When she glanced at her wristwatch, it was only 2 a.m.

She had barely slept for two hours.

But seriously—why was it this hot?

She got up and opened the window, only to be met with still, unmoving air.

The sky was pitch-black without a single star in sight, and the atmosphere was oppressively humid.