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This deal was incredibly profitable, and his boss had praised him heavily yesterday after bringing their goods into the elite wealthy circles.

The once-arrogant rich kids now lit up with joy at the sight of umbrellas; they paid several times the original price without haggling.

Hahaha, who would have thought these spendthrifts’ second-generation rich kids would one day fret over umbrellas? It was just too satisfying!

A whole cow? Jiang Ning was instantly tempted but maintained her calm demeanor. “Alright, but we need to trade in batches.”

“No problem.”

Over the next few days, they finally completed the transaction for the whole cow.

Just as she was about to leave, the sharp-faced man made another surprising offer, “Miss, we also have a sheep.”

The sheep weighed around 150 pounds. Jiang Ning couldn’t resist the temptation and gritted her teeth to agree.

After these two major transactions, she was left with only a bit over a thousand large umbrellas. She decided not to sell any more for now, knowing their value would increase significantly in a few years.

Jiang Ning reminded him, “I don’t want anyone to know about our transactions.”

The sharp-mouthed monkey understood instantly, “Rest assured, Miss. We are professionals. We only ensure the goods are genuine and never pry into personal deals.”

In fact, he too dealt in private trades; otherwise, how could he support his wife and kids? They would have starved by now.

Though the mutton was less, she had enough pork, beef, and fish, along with the meat she had previously stockpiled and collected, to last her and the dog for a long time.

Thanks again to the bounties of nature.

Huo Yishen went out for a while, leaving Jiang Ning at home with the two pets. With Doudou around, she didn’t dare use the electric heater and instead used charcoal for warmth. She made mashed potatoes mixed with minced meat, which the two pets enjoyed immensely.

Zheng Weili and her two companions spent five days at the halfway villa, exerting all their effort to drag back several hundred pounds of charcoal.

They were covered in black from head to toe, looking like they had crawled out of a coal mine, and were visibly exhausted.

Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen helped move the charcoal. The feisty Coke bit the sack’s mouth and kept dragging it upstairs.

Survival was truly difficult. Many people were chopping wood in the halfway villa area. The three took turns guarding the place, day and night, but still caught the attention of others.

If not for their sufficient combat skills and the makeshift “bulletproof vests” made from steel plates they wore, they would have been ambushed.

They finally had to pull out a gun to scare off those with ill intentions.

The three collapsed on the couch, too tired to speak.

Jiang Ning lit a stove for them, made a large serving of noodles with meat sauce, and they felt slightly more refreshed after eating.

They heated water on the charcoal stove, washed up from head to toe, and then fell asleep in their beds.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that they fully recovered.

Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen hadn’t gone out to work, but they had guarded the home, so Zheng Weili gave them 50 pounds of charcoal each.

Neither of them wanted to take advantage and initially refused.

The Zhong family also didn’t want it, but Zheng Weili insisted, “Grandma, if you hadn’t told us how to make charcoal, we wouldn’t have been able to bring it back.”

Unable to refuse her kindness, Grandma Zhong accepted the charcoal.

Jiang Ning brought out the New Year’s supplies they had exchanged, “These were traded with gold necklaces, rings, and watches, along with a pack of cigarettes.”

Nowadays, although gold and jade were still collected, they were far less valuable than before. It was surprising to get so many supplies in exchange.

Zhang Chao was astonished, “In this dreadful weather, there are still potatoes and tomatoes, and the beef is fresh. It’s incredible.”

“Don’t act so surprised.” Jiang Ning shot him a look, nipping any inappropriate thoughts in the bud, “We may be ordinary people without means, but those rich and powerful ones have their ways.”

“They sure do.” Zhang Chao agreed, “In such a major disaster, those people probably got the news early. Even if they don’t, they are the primary targets for protection. They must have planned everything out from the start of the disaster.”

“That’s right, some people were well-prepared for the apocalypse. They traded money and food for power, establishing rescue bases early in the disaster. Survivors had to hand over supplies to get in.

At first, it was manageable, but soon it became chaotic with infighting and power struggles. Bases also fought among themselves, playing a game of big fish eating small fish, and ultimately, the survivors suffered the most.

Initially, Jiang Ning wanted to get into one of these bases but couldn’t afford the entry fee. As time went on, the entry fees were abolished, but then they started recruiting people for their ‘big fish eating small fish’ game.

Jiang Ning didn’t want to be a pawn, so she continued wandering outside.

Thus, she genuinely wasn’t interested in private bases.

Compared to private bases, the official bases were relatively better, with the best military bases. If survival conditions continued to worsen, military bases would be the last resort, but not everyone is qualified to enter.

For now, they would keep observing, as the opening of military bases was still far off.

On New Year’s Eve, the residents of the 18th floor put up Spring Festival couplets.

They didn’t just put them up at each door but also at the entrance to the 18th-floor staircase.

The Zhong family’s father and son, who were on vacation, were also putting up couplets given by Jiang Ning. They greeted each other as they worked.

After a quick lunch, they were about to start preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner when Grandma Zhong and Zhong Ping came up to pay an early New Year’s visit.

Zhong Ping brought something, saying it was to thank the 18th floor for taking care of Grandma Zhong and his mother.

“This is a benefit from the unit. You can grow them in flowerpots.”

A benefit for planting?

Curious, everyone opened the package to find potato-sized tubers, about the size of eggs.

They hadn’t been damaged by the cold and had particularly thick skin.

Zhong Ping explained, “These are cold-resistant potatoes, which were newly developed by the Agricultural Science Institute. Mixed with a solution, they can be planted in pots without being damaged by the cold.”

These were freshly tested experiments. The rooftop greenhouses had been planted with them, but it wasn’t certain if they would succeed when given to survivors, so they hadn’t been publicly announced yet and were only distributed as internal benefits.

The quantity was limited, with only one pound per person.

The Zhong family had three people working in the system, so they gave one pound to the 18th floor.

In the extreme cold without sunlight, for the potatoes to grow well, they would need supplemental lighting, meaning the 18th floor would have to pedal the generator even more diligently.

“Can they really survive?”

Zhang Chao and the others were excited, thinking this might mean another way to survive.

Zhong Ping nodded, “They can survive, but how well they grow and how much they yield depends entirely on the growing conditions. Without proper lighting, the yield will be poor.”

It took three months to harvest a crop. These potatoes were not only cold-resistant but also high-yielding; a well-grown crop could yield four to five pounds of potatoes.

As he spoke, Zhong Ping detailed the planting method to the 18th floor, “First, mix the antifreeze agent into the soil, cut the potato buds and soak them in the solution for three hours…”

While everyone was delighted, Jiang Ning suddenly asked, “Potatoes take three months to harvest. If the extreme cold ends halfway through and another disaster comes, what then?”

In her previous life, Jiang Ning had received the second batch of cold-resistant potatoes, but before they matured, an extreme heatwave arrived, and the potato plants couldn’t withstand the high temperatures and withered.

Zhong Ping thought for a moment, “You’re right, that’s possible. The weather stations have been destroyed, so no one knows what the climate will be like in the future. However, based on the extreme weather we’ve experienced recently, meteorologists predict a global disaster.

This disaster is unprecedented and related to the century-long human destruction of the environment. No one knows what will come next, but it’s expected that the disaster won’t end anytime soon.”

Zheng Weili was shocked, “If it won’t end anytime soon, how long will it last?”