Chapter 34: A Fruitful Harvest

They separated the supplies to make sorting easier once they returned.

Song Yi came back with good news — he had found the storeroom. But unfortunately, there wasn’t much left inside.

“No food, just some daily necessities. Probably taken by the previous group.”

“Damn, they really didn’t leave us anything.”

“Don’t be discouraged. It’s getting colder — grabbing some clothes or supplies is better than nothing.”

“Right. Take whatever you think we might need.”

Song Yi offered a helpful reminder from the side:

“There’s still some alcohol and drinks left. Not a lot, but they count as resources. Let’s haul them out.”

“Nice!”

Zhang Kaiyang was clearly excited to hear there were drinks.

“Mianmian, let’s go check if there are any warm clothes.”

“Sure.”

The group split into two pairs and started working.

Jiang Yuan had only taken a quick look last time, but this time she found a lot more: towels, cotton socks, even plenty of heating pads — both electric and hot-water types.

“Yuan-jie, let’s take more of these. Everyone could use them later.”

“Yeah, focus on the hot-water ones. The electricity might go out later.”

“Got it!”

Ye Mianmian didn’t hesitate. They also found a bunch of woven nylon bags — the kind used for luggage.

Later, they even found electric blankets. They removed the boxes to save space and stuffed them into the woven bags.

“Mianmian, grab some of these slippers too. I’ll go check out the front.”

“Okay, be careful.”

Jiang Yuan nodded and moved out. Making sure no one was around, she went to the office supplies section.

There were quite a few notebooks and pens. She took a handful — not too many — just enough to avoid raising suspicion if discovered.

“Yuan-jie, find anything?”

“Yeah, come over here, Mianmian!”

“There are desk lamps, badminton rackets, and stuff. Could be used as weapons later, so grab them.”

“Okay!”

They packed the items into bags. Jiang Yuan also grabbed a couple of notebooks and pens.

“There’s a kid at home. She can play with these.”

She also grabbed a set of ping pong paddles and a few balls.

Meanwhile, Song Yi and Zhang Kaiyang had already moved supplies to the door.

“Let’s go help.”

The haul wasn’t huge: about a dozen boxes of drinks, a few boxes of laundry detergent.

Jiang Yuan and Ye Mianmian had packed four bags. Mianmian also took some clothes and skincare products, which she stashed in her own backpack to avoid using public resources.

At the first floor, Jiang Yuan saw most of the clothes were summer wear — not useful now, so she didn’t take any.

It was already 2:30 a.m., and they had been here for over an hour.

“There are still a few mini-marts downstairs. I know one that’s uninhabited — might get lucky.”

Since many people lived in shops near the community, what Jiang Yuan said instantly caught everyone’s attention.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Hold on — let’s unpack the boxes. Remove the foam so it won’t take up space. We have enough woven bags — use those.”

“Good idea…”

Everyone knew they’d have to sneak past the group upstairs, so less bulk meant less trouble.

They worked fast, even unpacking the laundry detergent.

Under cover of night, the group dashed to the mini-mart Jiang Yuan had mentioned.

It was more like a small convenience store than a real supermarket — but it hadn’t been looted yet, and it still had lots of snacks.

Everyone got excited and started their “zero-dollar shopping spree.”

While the others were busy, Jiang Yuan slipped over to the cashier counter. The drawer was locked, but the key was right there.

Obvious hiding spot, but convenient.

Sure enough, there was money in the register — her eyes lit up. Looked like several thousand yuan, likely from the last day of sales that never got deposited.

She stored it all in her space, leaving behind some loose change and coins.

“Yuan-jie, anything good?”

Zhang Kaiyang came over to grab some cigarettes from under the counter and noticed her.

“There’s cash. Want it?”

“What’s the use? I’d rather have spicy strips.”

“Still, better to keep it.”

She grabbed a small plastic bag, packed the money, and slipped it into the bag Zhang was holding, then helped him collect cigarettes.

Many items were soaked, but sealed ones could still be saved.

After this haul, the group decided to return.

They had too much stuff — even the inflatable boat couldn’t carry more.

Plus, there was still the issue of transporting everything back upstairs — one mistake and they’d be done for.

It was past 3 a.m., the perfect time while everyone else slept.

Still, no matter how careful they were, they ended up disturbing someone on the second floor.

Some residents, worried about flooding, were up checking, and they ran right into the four of them — fully loaded with supplies.

By now, floodwater had nearly reached the roof of the first floor.

It was easy to climb in from the second floor.

“You guys went out? What’s it like outside? You bought all this stuff?”

“Everything’s flooded. Many stores are open now, selling cheap. You should go too — lots of people buying.”

The second-floor resident looked skeptical:

“Open in the middle of the night? What kind of store?”

“Not opening now. They were already open yesterday.”

“The water’s already flooded the stores. They’re just trying to sell off stock. Believe it or not.”

While they talked, the team had already carried everything upstairs. Song Yi folded the inflatable boat.

“You guys even have a boat?”

The second-floor man was shocked again, then suddenly had an idea.

“Can I borrow your boat? I want to go out too, maybe rent a place since I live on the second floor.”

“No. I don’t know you. This boat is important.”

Song Yi shut him down immediately. It was his boat — no one else got a say.

But the man wouldn’t give up. He kept talking, but none of the group responded.

As his voice grew louder, Jiang Yuan frowned and pulled out a dagger from her space — pointing it directly at him.

She originally thought about using her Tang sword but figured it would be too hard to explain.

“W-What are you doing?”

“You’re too loud. This stuff is ours, and whether we lend it is our choice. Keep your mouth shut. Or I can’t promise what I’ll do next.”

She was worried he’d wake the people upstairs. That would be dangerous for them all.

“Smack!”

Before the man could respond, he collapsed. Behind him stood Song Yi, tall and imposing.