[edited]

Jiang Ning, who had given her all, was instantly struck, “…” 

Doudou looked panicked, “Sister, m-my stomach hurts, I-I-I don’t want to eat anymore!” 

The usually composed Huo Yishen couldn’t hold back as well, “I’ll find some medicine for Doudou.” 

So, the siblings slipped away like that. 

It was one thing for outsiders, but when Jiang Ning’s gaze fell on the dog’s head, the dog shook its head repeatedly and backed away. 

Poop scooper, no way!!! 

Jiang Ning was angry, “Even if you don’t want to eat, you still have to eat. Do you really think you’re human?” 

They say a dog can’t change its ways, but what expression was that on its face! 

Not only did it have to eat, it had to eat what Huo Yishen and Doudou were having too. 

Didn’t it always like to carry her washbasin in its mouth? Now it could have the whole pot, “Eat, wasting food is shameful.” 

Only Jiang Ning’s bowl had pickled bamboo shoots. The dog still showed some face, but it couldn’t stand the smell, so it dragged the basin onto the balcony and chomped away. 

Eight rabbits came over to join in the fun and even fight the dog for instant noodles. 

Rabbits drinking too much water could get sick and wilt, but perhaps due to mutations, not only did they drink water, but also soup, and often competed with the dog for food. 

Now, they were even slurping noodles. 

Especially Xiao Bai, who was pregnant again and has a particularly big appetite. 

Jiang Ning, who was injured, couldn’t be bothered with them. She polished off the whole plate of pickled bamboo shoots with her instant noodles. 

Not only did she eat pickled bamboo shoots, she also had snail noodles at night, she proudly smoked others to death! 

Talk about it all you want but after eating, don’t forget to open the windows for ventilation, brush your teeth, rinse your mouth, and even change your clothes. 

Thinking Huo Yishen might have been smoked away, who knew he’d open the walkie talkie and rang in the afternoon, “Are we training today?” 

Training, why not? He wasn’t afraid of being smoked by pickled bamboo shoots. What did she have to be embarrassed about? 

… 

With careful care, the cold-resistant potatoes finally had a harvest. 

The branches and leaves weren’t dense, but there were plenty of large potatoes in the basin. 

Jiang Ning pulled up a plant, and there were actually more than twenty potatoes. She picked them and put them on a spring scale, and they weighed around three catties. 

The harvest from the other plants was also good, with most of them weighing between two and four catties. 

The three of them and the dog were busy, and they actually harvested 136 catties of potatoes, which was extremely surprising. 

They didn’t cook lunch that day and just steamed a pot of potatoes. 

With thick skin, tough flesh, and coarse fibers, it took nearly forty minutes to burst the skins. 

When they were served, they were eaten hot. 

As for the taste, it was quite starchy, but with a bitter taste, it was rather hard to swallow, and there was a lot of fibrous residue in the mouth after swallowing a bite. 

Honestly, it wasn’t delicious, but Jiang Ning had returned from the apocalypse; she had even eaten clay soil. For survivors who had been starving to the extreme, potatoes were definitely a food that brought them immense joy. 

She didn’t waste any and ate three in a row. 

The dog had a big appetite. Although it had been pampered by the poop scooper during this time, the life of a hungry stray was engraved in its bones. It wasn’t picky about potatoes. It chewed and swallowed them with skin and fibers. 

But Doudou couldn’t bear it and spat out the potato in her mouth, “Brother, it’s so hard to eat.” 

Although Huo Yishen doted on his sister, he was very strict when it came to food issues, “Doudou, many people outside can’t even get potato skins to eat. Do you want to go hungry?” 

His words seemed gentle, yet they carried an undertone that left no room for discussion. They seemed to trigger some unpleasant memories for Doudou, who instantly wilted. Nervously, she lowered her head and anxiously picked at her fingers. “Brother, I’m sorry.” 

“You must not waste food.” Huo Yishen gave her a lesson, “The potatoes you can’t swallow are lifesaving food for others.” 

Doudou hadn’t seen her brother so serious before, and she shrank back in fear, tears swirling in her eyes but not daring to fall. 

“For the next few days, if you don’t eat potatoes, you’ll go hungry.” 

“Brother, I’ll eat.”

Doudou took the potato but scalded herself and dropped it on the table.

Huo Yishen picked it up, peeled it off, and handed it to her.

Little Doudou lowered her head and ate slowly, “Thank you, brother.”

After all, the child was only six years old, and coupled with the harsh environment, it wasn’t easy to raise children well.

Jiang Ning sighed, fortunately, her dog was sensible and not picky, which was much less troublesome than raising a child.

Sensing Little Doudou’s sadness, Coke came forward and offered its ears, rubbing her head against hers to comfort her.

After trying her best to eat the potatoes, she ate another one and wiped her mouth, promising, “Brother, I won’t waste food anymore.”

Huo Yishen comforted her for a few words, and Doudou became happy again and took the dog into the room to draw.

Jiang Ning discussed with him about replanting. The soil could be dug from her space which was fertile and loose, but there was no more cold-resistant solution.

The cold-resistant solution was developed by the Agricultural Science Institute, and they had no way to get it, so they could only see if the Zhong family had any way.

In addition, both the seeds and the solution were given by the Zhong family. Jiang Ning planned to return 10 catties of potatoes as compensation.

As for the remaining potatoes, both of them didn’t lack food now, so they could all be used for planting.

If managed well, they could harvest at least over a thousand catties next time.

“I want to keep 10 catties and give them to Doudou every three days.”

Before the natural disaster, it didn’t matter if children were pampered appropriately, but now it was the end of the world. Huo Yishen worried that by providing her with good food and drink, she might not know that the outside suffering and might even harm his sister.

Jiang Ning had no objection, “I’ll keep 10 catties for Coke too.”

Although there were only 100 catties of potatoes left, with so many sprouts, it was a problem wherever they were placed.

Huo Yishen thought for a moment, “Zhang Chao and the others are not here. They can be placed in the corridor, as well as the stairs, and if it’s really not possible, they can be put on the rooftop.”

Jiang Ning had no objection and took 10 catties of potatoes to go find the Zhong family.

“Anning, I want to talk to you.”

Talk? Jiang Ning was puzzled.

There was a height difference between the two, with him standing tall and straight in front of her, his eyes deep and gentle, giving Jiang Ning a sense of inexplicable pressure.

Too close, she subconsciously stepped back two steps.

“How long are you going to be wary of me?”

Huh? Jiang Ning was shocked and reacted quickly, “Did you misunderstand something?”

Huo Yishen countered, “What do you think?”

Yes, he was a special police officer whose eyes could penetrate people’s hearts. He was even proficient in lip reading and interpreting microexpressions.

But Jiang Ning couldn’t help it. At times, she even doubted herself, let alone being caught with secrets she couldn’t share with him.

For the past few months, Jiang Ning hadn’t relaxed at all, her nerves were very tense.

She knew she had post-traumatic stress disorder, and she was trying to adjust her mindset, but sometimes she just couldn’t control herself.

Huo Yishen’s words were astonishing, “If I tell you my secret, will you be able to let your guard down?”

Jiang Ning was stunned.

No, she didn’t want to know. Curiosity killed the cat.

Who knew, Huo Yishen suddenly grabbed her hand and without another word, led her to the master bedroom.

Jiang Ning was about to struggle, but he opened the bedroom door.

Unexpectedly, the whole room was filled with supplies, piled up to the ceiling.

The master bedroom with a bathroom and a dressing room had a layout of about 50 square meters, or 150 cubic meters, filled with survival supplies.

Rice, flour, oil, grains, medicines, gasoline, and gas tanks—all neatly stacked in large cardboard boxes, wrapped in bags.

She couldn’t see it clearly, but it was definitely good stuff.

“You…”

No wonder he took risks to go out on typhoon days. He really was risking his life to stock up on supplies.

Huo Yishen pulled her into the master bedroom and closed the door with a casual hand.

Instantly, it was pitch black.

“Anning, do you believe in rebirth?”