Taking a basket of sweet potatoes out to clean up.

Pulling out the sweet potatoes, carrying the soil with them.

Although this bit of black mud no longer has the effect of speeding up growth time, there’s no doubt it’s still very fertile soil.

With such soil as a bonus, Yu Xifeng had great success planting things like green onions and garlic shoots outside the space.

These leaves were too old for Yu Xifeng to eat, so after a little processing, they became a delicacy for the livestock.

Yu Xifeng grabbed a sieve and started cleaning out the decayed leaves inside.

Dabai was already enjoying the buffet.

It would pick out the tender leaf cores to eat.

It messed up the vegetable stems and leaves Yu Xifeng had carefully arranged.

It even tried to push Yu Xifeng aside to occupy the best feeding spot.

It was outright rebellious.

Yu Xifeng, unable to handle both, simply released Little Ju.

The orange one and Dabai quickly started fighting.

Thanks to agile movements and larger size, Little Ju had the upper hand.

It held back just enough—not showing claws—but it was enough to annoy Dabai.

Dabai kept squawking loudly.

Yu Xifeng watched amusedly while continuing to handle the vegetable leaves.

The mud and small debris brought out were added to the flower pots as fertilizer.

The other greens were handled similarly.

The tender ones Yu Xifeng kept, the bad ones thrown away, and the neither-bad-nor-good ones were washed and chopped up.

Most went into the pig trough, the rest into the bowls for chickens and ducks.

As for Dabai, no matter who ate, it always ate the most, so Yu Xifeng didn’t bother managing it.

For Little Ju’s help in guarding, it happily received a can of minced meat.

Next, Yu Xifeng started processing fruit, mainly cherries, mangosteen, watermelon, and red grapes.

Durian was left alone for now, piling up inside the space—several boxes already accumulated.

The others that needed peeling were peeled, those to be cut were cut into pieces, and arranged into boxes of fruit slices, ready to eat.

No need to worry about spoilage inside the space.

As for coconuts, Yu Xifeng had originally planned to chop them open with a knife, pour out the water, and scoop out the meat.

Coconut meat is a good thing—fragrant, crisp, sweet, and very high in oil content; it’s said oil can even be extracted from it.

But the coconut shell was just too hard.

Yu Xifeng first used a kitchen knife, which got chipped, but the coconut remained whole and round.

Yu Xifeng tried several other knives before finally switching to a Tang sword.

Yes, the same sword that was just used to stab someone.

This time it worked smoothly, though it felt a bit strange in an indescribable way.

The coconut water was poured out, but Yu Xifeng got stuck at the step of scooping out the coconut meat.

She wanted to scoop it out whole, preferably perfectly round.

She overestimated herself.

The end product was spoonful after spoonful, with the coconut shell scratched like a wall with patches missing here and there.

Yu Xifeng gave up and, along with the durians, piled them into a box, planning to open them when she wanted to eat.

The door was knocked.

Yu Xifeng sent Little Ju into the space, and swept the leftover vegetable leaves and stems inside as well.

After ensuring the room was clear, Yu Xifeng opened the door.

It was He Yuan again.

He really… was very patient and persistent.

Didn’t he have any important business to attend to?

“This is your post,” He Yuan handed Yu Xifeng the notice posted at her door.

Yu Xifeng said, “You can just leave it there.”

He Yuan had already flipped through it and seen the names of the inviters listed.

All were big shots from underground shelters.

He and his father had been desperate to get in.

The entry passes he wanted were piled in stacks here with Yu Xifeng, with dates showing they had been kept for quite some time.

He Yuan smelled the aroma wafting through the house—it was hard to describe.

Mixed with fragrant herbal scents and sweet fruity aromas, fresh, elegant, refined.

He had sprayed himself with perfume on purpose.

Before the apocalypse, a single drop was worth gold, an exclusive luxury.

But compared to this natural scent, his perfume seemed utterly vulgar.

Yu Xifeng also thought the scent was a bit strong.

But she was reluctant to spend time on trivial chores in the space, and since it was so late, she figured no one else would come looking for her.

She regretted a bit that she hadn’t sprayed some floral water to tone it down.

He Yuan said, “I’ve found out about your father’s situation. I already had someone redeem him. After the procedures are done over there, your father should be able to come home in two or three days.”

Yu Xifeng thought: …Thanks, I guess.

The excuse she casually tossed out to fool Xu Qingrou, He Yuan actually went and made it happen.

For the first time, Yu Xifeng felt so stifled.

“You wander around every day. Didn’t your father find you something to do?”

He Yuan thought he finally made some progress.

Yu Xifeng was starting to care about her own future now.

“Positions in underground shelters aren’t easy to get. Good departments are watched closely, and you need resources to open the doors.”

As He Yuan spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at Dabai the big white goose behind Yu Xifeng.

If he could get this goose sent in,

there’d be no position he couldn’t get.

Yu Xifeng saw his look, and even his thoughts were clear as day.

He thought he was doing Yu Xifeng a favor?

Yu Xifeng didn’t want to say a word to He Yuan—not even to explain.

His greed and short-sightedness were as clear as ink on white paper.

Yet he still thought he was clever.

Yu Xifeng lowered her eyes: “Don’t come looking for me again. If I see you once more, I’ll hit you once. You know what Cai Old Man can do, even he might not beat me. Or do you want to test my skills?”

He Yuan’s face went pale.

“W-why?”

“When you went to redeem Yang Rong, didn’t you ask how he got in?”

Yu Xifeng shut the door.

He Yuan left in a daze.

He wanted to find out, but why would they tell him such inside information?

To redeem someone, all you need is resources.

He had borrowed bits and pieces from many people, even asked Zhang Qiu.

Zhang Qiu’s family had plenty of medicine but was stingy even with a bit of rice.

Yu Xifeng had so many passes, she could’ve easily taken him in.

You’re cruel, so don’t blame me for being unkind.

He Yuan left, and within a few days, Zheng Weiyang came again.

He tried to say something but got grabbed by Dabai on the inside of his thigh.

He wanted to cover himself but felt it was too disgraceful, so with a constipated expression, he left.

After Zheng Weiyang left, Yu Xifeng patted Dabai’s head.

“Well done.”

Dabai, praised, held its neck high, took a big dump in the corner, then strutted around the room proudly.

Yu Xifeng resignedly took a rag to clean up.

Yang Rong finally got out of prison.

Though he still had to go to the search-and-rescue team, he no longer had to endure inhumane torture in prison.

He returned to his own home.

There was nothing inside; everywhere he looked, it was other people’s stuff.

“Qingrou, Zhu’er,” he called out once, then lost his strength.

Seeing Yang Rong, the neighbors reluctantly gave him a place to stay.

Every family had grabbed Xu Qingrou’s things; they cobbled together a tattered thin blanket and half a piece of insect powder biscuit to settle the score.

Yang Rong didn’t argue about those who had occupied his land; he was too tired.

He wolfed down half a piece of insect powder biscuit, wrapped himself tightly in clothes and blanket, and finally slept a peaceful sleep.

When he woke, the neighbors mockingly said without restraint, “You can still sleep? Your wife took your daughter and ran a long time ago.”

Yang Rong slowly turned his head: “What did you say?”