Coke perked up its ears to listen but didn’t hear any noise, so it lowered its head and continued gnawing. 

Jiang Ning glanced at Huo Yishen lying beside her, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. 

After some thought, she leaned over to chat with him. “Do you still want to continue selling water?” 

If not, they would have to offer food or tea, tobacco, and alcohol in exchange. 

“It’s not easy to get a large amount of fresh water now, and the cost of purifying seawater is too high. Let’s wait a few days and see what’s happening on Qin Chuan’s side.” 

Jiang Ning also thought so, relaxed, and laid down for a nap. 

Huo Yishen didn’t leave, and he gently hugged her. 

Jiang Ning was a little nervous. Was he going to play poker? If he really wanted to play, should she tease him? 

Luckily, this guy was quite sensible and didn’t make any inappropriate moves. 

So, she slowly fell asleep. 

A man who didn’t want to play poker wasn’t a good man, but Huo Yishen felt she wasn’t ready yet, and some things couldn’t be rushed. 

After making up his mind, the two didn’t go out again. 

Just staying in the villa was indeed boring. 

Jiang Ning thought for a moment, took out a pig from the space, and smiled at Huo Yishen. “This is your task.” 

With a pig-killing knife and a boning knife, this task was straightforward. 

The pig was thrown into the space right after it died, and it was still warm. 

Jiang Ning quickly found a large basin. She doesn’t even want to waste the pig’s blood. 

The two squatted in the toilet and got busy. 
 

Huo Yishen was the main force at work. After busy work for more than two hours, he successfully killed and cut the pig into small pieces, categorizing them neatly. Just as he was about to stretch his muscles, Jiang Ning took out another pig’s head. 

Seeing him pause, Jiang Ning smiled. “Just kidding, we’ll kill this one tomorrow.” 

With that, she put the pig back. 

Suddenly realizing he was being teased, Huo Yishen reached out to hug her. 

Jiang Ning dodged, “Stay away from me; it stinks.” 

Actually, it was fine. After being hungry for so many days, the pig’s intestines were relatively clean. 

But this guy was meticulous in his work, handling both the large and small intestines beautifully. 

They couldn’t afford to be idle at night without killing pigs. 

The villa’s location was too good; nothing they did would be noticed. Unlike the Jinrong community, where even chopping bones made loud noises that could be heard upstairs and downstairs,. 

Jiang Ning took out a meatball-making machine, cut the pork into pieces, and put them into the machine, selecting the “pounding” mode to let the machine do the pounding. 

The pork was pounded until tender, then mixed with water, salt, and potato starch and beaten into meat glue. 

Using her hands, she rolled the meat glue into meatballs, put them in a pot, added water, simmered them over low heat until cooked, and then skimmed them off the surface. 

The production was straightforward, and Doudou also came over to help. 

Throughout the night, they made over a hundred catties of meatballs, all of which were stored in the space after cooling. The broth used to cook the meatballs was delicious and tasteless, so they stored it as well, leaving it for later to drink as clear soup or to cook noodles, both of which would taste excellent. 

The next day, Huo Yishen and Jiang Ning cooperated to slaughter three pigs. 

Doudou took charge alone, making meatballs until her waist and back ached, but she didn’t utter a single complaint. 

After slaughtering ten pigs, Jiang Ning stopped appropriately, letting Huo Yishen start slaughtering fish. 

Huo Yishen, who had just been promoted to master pig killer, “…” 

Doudou switched modes and headed towards the goal of making fish balls. 

The dog, feeling idle and anxious, blinked its dog eyes and asked Jiang Ning for something to do. 

“Guard, guard, guard.” 

“Important things,” Jiang Ning repeated three times. 

Just as she finished speaking, the dog instantly bristled up, alertly looking outside the villa, growling softly. 

Jiang Ning became vigilant. 

After two or three minutes, a car stopped at the villa’s gate. “Sis.” 

Sharp-mouthed monkey brought Qin Chuan along. 

Only then did Jiang Ning realize that they had long since expanded their business to the villa area. Today, they came here to deliver goods and pay a visit. 

“Sis, isn’t this the solar panel I got for you?” Sharp-mouthed monkey had sharp eyes. “Wow, you even installed solar energy. Sis, you’re really something!” 

Doudou turned on the exhaust fan and quickly removed the smell from the kitchen. Everything that needed to be hidden was hidden. 

Master fishkiller Huo Yishen washed his hands, changed his clothes, and got rid of the fishy smell all over his body. 

Qin Chuan came with gifts, but the gifts were quite interesting—they were all seafood products from the Tang family, guaranteed to be fresh and of superior quality. 

He came to discuss cooperation, and his goal was clear: he wanted water. 

Jiang Ning waited for him to take the initiative, looking slightly troubled. “We do have water, but it’s harder to get now with the increased security. At most, I can provide you with one truckload a day.” 

There were many wealthy people here, and one truckload of water was far from enough. However, Qin Chuan also knew that it wasn’t easy to obtain high-quality fresh water. “No problem.” 

When it came to exchanging goods, Jiang Ning, who had tasted the sweetness before, couldn’t forget about it. She prioritized getting top-grade raw stones, followed by dried seafood and salt. 

After bargaining, they agreed on exchanging one truckload of fresh water (20 tons) for 500 catties of dried seafood, 1200 catties of fresh seafood, and 2000 catties of coarse sea salt. 

Jiang Ning could choose freely, but she had to notify them in advance. 

So, the two sides cooperated again, conducting transactions day and night. 

At night, Huo Yishen drove the water tanker into the villa area. Around two in the morning, they set out on time. Jiang Ning followed behind in a beaten-up car. 

They circled around to avoid crowds outside, then found a place to rest. At around five in the morning, they arrived at the designated location to deliver the goods. They loaded 500 catties of dried goods onto the truck and returned to the villa. 

To avoid suspicion, Huo Yishen would occasionally drive out as if he were trading seafood. 

After getting enough sleep during the day, they continued to stock up on delicacies. 

In half a month, they stocked up on over 1000 catties each of fish balls and squid balls, cooked in various ways like steamed, braised, garlic-flavored, and salt and pepper spare ribs. Fish was prepared similarly, with dishes like boiled fish, fish with pickled vegetables, fish from across the river, and fish heads with chopped peppers. 

Seafood was no exception, with dishes like celery stir-fried with squid, various shrimp and crab dishes, and a cold seaweed salad. 

They stocked up on as much as they could, as there might not be such suitable opportunities for cooking in the future. 

At night, Jiang Ning felt like having a barbecue. “Mr. Huo, you’ve worked hard these days. How about having a barbecue today to treat you?” 

Huo Yishen saw through her intention but didn’t expose it. “Sure.” 

The other two had no objections; they were both gluttons. 

Oysters, squid, ribs, pork neck, chicken wings, chicken kidneys, chicken hearts, chicken feet, leeks, enoki mushrooms, corn, eggplant, and so on—whatever they wanted was available, no less than at a barbecue stall. 

Jiang Ning marinated the meat, while Huo Yishen set up a grill on the rooftop. 

Doudou was very diligent and helped to skewer the meat, and Coke was drooling at the side. 

Red charcoal flames rose, and the aroma of cumin spread in the dark night. 

It was still quite hot at night, but the three humans and one dog were all wearing temperature-regulating clothes. Moreover, it cooled down faster by the sea, with temperatures dropping below 45 degrees. 

With temperature-regulating clothes protecting them, it was really comfortable. 

Jiang Ning was skilled, and with Huo Yishen’s help, the barbecue progressed quickly. 

The freshly grilled food was incredibly fragrant. 

Whenever Doudou wasn’t paying attention, Jiang Ning would occasionally put some into the space. Barbecue had to be eaten hot; once it cooled down, it wouldn’t taste the same. 

Poor Doudou had been waiting for over an hour, and the chicken legs grilled by his brother weren’t ready yet. 

When they were finally done, they were served. 

The three humans and one dog sat on the rooftop. Huo Yishen drank beer, Jiang Ning had pineapple beer, and the two drank soda. 

The sea breeze blew gently, and the starry sky in the distance was shining. 

Jiang Ning, who had been busy making a living before, couldn’t remember the last time she had admired the nighttime scenery by the sea. 

In the darkness, the cruelty of natural disasters was concealed, and the starry sky was as brilliant as in a prosperous era, as if the sun would rise tomorrow, bringing prosperity. 

Suddenly feeling a bit complicated, Jiang Ning took a few sips from Huo Yishen’s beer bottle and said, “Imagine how good it would be if the natural disasters never came.” 

However, in this world, there are no “what ifs.” 

Huo Yishen held Jiang Ning’s hand. “With you and Doudou by my side, I’m no longer afraid.” 

In the darkness, a dog’s head suddenly popped up, staring at him quietly. 

Huo Yishen chuckled and patted its head. “And Coke, our most important family member.” 

The dog squeezed into the middle, occupying the prime spot. 

In the darkness, two hands reached around the dog’s back, holding each other tightly. 

Jiang Ning looked at him from the side. “With you all here, I’m not that scared either.” 

They ate to their hearts’s content, and Huo Yishen wanted to stock up again. However, Coke suddenly looked alert and let out a low growl of warning. 

After a while, car headlights lit up in the darkness. 

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