“What are you thinking, going out in this heat? Aren’t you afraid of getting heatstroke?!” Ji Hua frowned upon hearing that his wife had gone back to her parents’ house again. He waved at Ji Yin. “Daughter, come help me carry things inside. I had someone bring back a truckload of supplies.”

“It’s so hot out there. The moment I move, I’ll be drenched in sweat,” Ji Yin grumbled, reluctant to go.

“Hurry up! There are chips and Coke in there for you. If you don’t help carry them, you don’t get any.” Ji Hua frowned. He really ought to take Ji Yin outside and show her what it was like out there. She was too pampered—complaining just about moving some supplies.

The mention of Coke cheered Ji Yin up a little.

She had been dieting before, so their fridge rarely had any sugary drinks. The past few days, she had only been drinking water—her mouth was practically tasteless.

Seeing that she finally got up, Ji Hua didn’t say anything more and led the way outside.

The moment Ji Yin stepped out of the air-conditioned room, the heat hit her like a brick wall, making her roll her eyes in discomfort. Sweat poured down instantly, and her dress clung to her skin, sticky and unbearable.

But seeing that her father’s clothes were completely soaked with sweat and he was still working, she didn’t dare slack off. She grumbled the whole time but still helped carry things inside.

It took them over ten trips to move everything, and by the time they were done, they sat at the entrance, panting heavily.

Ji Yin squatted down to check the supplies. “Dad, why is it all instant noodles and biscuits? I want meat and vegetables.”

“You should be grateful you have food at all.” Ji Hua didn’t indulge her complaints. “Do you have any idea how expensive things are out there right now? Even getting these supplies took a lot of effort and connections. Don’t waste any of it.”

Ji Yin grabbed a bottle of Coke, twisted it open, and took a big gulp. “Dad, I still want beef jerky and duck snacks.”

“Hmm.” Ji Hua wiped the sweat off his forehead. “I’ll see what I can do. The government is requisitioning most of the supplies, so getting anything extra is really difficult.”

—

At 3:00 PM, Ji He was woken up by her alarm.

Thanks to Pulalan, she hadn’t been woken up by the heat and slept soundly until now. She felt pretty good.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, making the room bright. Ji He lay in bed, listening—it was completely silent outside. Unlike before, when there was always noise, it felt like she was the only person left in the world.

It was probably too hot outside. If people weren’t hiding in their homes, they were down in underground shelters.

She had seen videos of the underground shelters in the past few days. The environment inside was decent at best, but it wasn’t that much cooler—if it wasn’t 40°C, it was still at least 38°C. It wasn’t exactly comfortable.

But compared to staying at home, the benefit of the underground shelters was that if someone fainted from heatstroke, there were doctors available to help.

Ji He unlocked her phone.

As usual, she checked the news first. Experts were analyzing the cause of the Extreme Heat Disaster and discussing ways to survive it.

They advised people to drink plenty of water, watch out for heatstroke, and learn emergency first aid measures.

After listening for a while, Ji He switched to the next video.

This one featured agricultural experts, encouraging people to grow desert-friendly plants like wild chives and cacti.

They pointed out that people in desert regions manage to survive, so if people adapted to the heat, they could eventually resume food production and return to normal life.

Besides desert plants, the experts also introduced several vegetables that could be grown at home using just water—such as garlic sprouts, mung bean sprouts, and soybean sprouts.

Ji He found the information quite useful.

She remembered that she had bought a cactus and an aloe vera plant. Maybe she could try growing them at home.

If a cactus could survive in the desert, it should be fine here.

Once she was fully awake, Ji He opened the marketplace app to check how the items she listed before bed were selling.