[edited]

Just as the Zhong family father and son were resting, they entrusted the two to their care. Jiang Ning didn’t forget to remind them: ‘Grandma Zhong, the temperature has been rising recently; it has already risen by more than ten degrees, have you noticed?’

Grandma Zhong nodded repeatedly, ‘I was just about to tell you, the weather station over there detected it and said the extreme cold might end soon.’

Jiang Ning pretended to inquire, ‘Did they say what the weather will be like next?’

‘It’s hard to say, but if the weather warms up, the ice will definitely melt. We can’t afford any more typhoons or floods. We can’t handle the hassle.’

Jiang Ning had a guilty conscience, ‘Why do I feel like the snowflakes have been smaller these days?’

Grandma Zhong, who was afraid of the cold, hadn’t left the house for several days in a row, but Jiang Ning’s words reminded her, ‘With the temperature rising, the snow could stop at any time. It will be difficult to fetch water then. Little Jiang, we need to be prepared and store some water in advance.’

‘What Grandma said is right. We’ll stock up when we come back.’

After the two left, Grandma Zhong reminded her daughter-in-law, ‘See if there’s any way to exchange the water tank or water container. Who knows what might happen later. We need to make plans in advance.’

Food shortages were undeniable, but the Zhong family had harvested three batches of potatoes, so their days were much better than ordinary people’s. She made the decision, ‘If it really comes down to it, we’ll trade with potatoes.’

At the same time, Grandma Zhong didn’t forget to remind her father and son, ‘Don’t just focus on work. With the change in temperature now, pay attention to the news. Knowing a day or half a day earlier than others might give us a chance to survive.’

Zhong Ping readily agreed, ‘Meteorological researchers predict it might be a heatwave, but it’s not finalized yet, so it hasn’t been announced publicly.’

‘A heatwave?’ Grandma Zhong’s heart trembled with fear, ‘Uncertain matters definitely can’t be made public, or chaos will ensue among the lower levels.’

But there were traces to follow. The Agricultural Science Institute worked day and night to research heat-resistant crops, indicating they had some predictions.

Knowing how many supplies they had at home, Grandma Zhong said to her daughter-in-law, ‘With the temperature constantly rising, you can’t continue your work. In these days, try to inquire more and see if you can bring back some cooling items, especially sterilization and disinfection ones.’

Once the ice melted, under the scorching heat, the bodies in the water and household garbage would ferment faster, greatly increasing the possibility of an epidemic.

Thinking about it made Grandma Zhong shudder. Life was getting harder day by day.

She had to strive to survive. If one day she closed her eyes, what would happen to these three wooden sticks?

The things she needed were quite miscellaneous. Jiang Ning made a list for Sharp-mouthed Monkey. ‘Do you have these things?’

‘Sister, whatever you need, I’ll get it for you, even if it means going through fire and water.’

Sharp-mouthed Monkey smiled confidently at people, but when he saw the list, he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded, ‘Sister, why do you need these? They’re useless.’

Jiang Ning looked at him and smiled without saying a word.

Oh dear, he was doing it again, talking too much with someone he knew well.

But second-hand fans, second-hand USB car refrigerators, saltpeter, stainless steel wire mesh, mosquito coils, insecticides, and water towers?

What on earth!

‘Sister, we have everything you need, and we can even give you brand new electrical appliances.’

‘No need, I just want second-hand ones.’

‘Alright.’ Sharp-mouthed Monkey reacted quickly, ‘Although these things aren’t valuable, they’re hard to find scattered around. We need to spend time searching for them, and bartering isn’t cheap.’

Jiang Ning nodded, ‘Trade with potatoes.’

Skinny Monkey held up two fingers, ‘At least this much?’

‘2 pounds?’

Sharp-mouthed Monkey almost spat blood, ‘Not less than 200 pounds.’

Even blood-sucking vampires wouldn’t be like her!

Jiang Ning teased him, “100 pounds.”

Sharp-mouthed Monkey felt defeated, “Okay, you’re the boss, sis.”

It would take some time to receive the goods, so they agreed to meet for the transaction in three days.

With time still on their side, the two went to the trading street in the department store to see if they could find what they would need in the future.

Despite the rising temperature, they still shivered at minus fifty degrees Celsius, and the occasional passersby hurried along the road.

Huo Yishen wore thick gloves and held Jiang Ning’s hand as they walked forward.

Still not used to such intimacy, she subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but he held on tight.

So, Jiang Ning didn’t struggle anymore.

At the trading street, the two carefully browsed around. Unexpectedly, they found a small threshing machine about half a person tall, which could thresh wheat, mung beans, soybeans, corn, and about ten other crops.

Jiang Ning was immediately interested in not wanting to hand-thresh the wheat anymore.

Huo Yishen inspected the threshing machine, making sure the belts were intact and not frozen stiff.

Each machine could process 20 pounds of rice or flour, and there were a total of 2 machines.

Such small machinery cost just over a thousand yuan before the apocalypse, so they were even less valuable now.

Jiang Ning wasn’t short of grain, but if she gave it away indiscriminately, she would soon be targeted by unscrupulous people.

Without electricity, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to use it either.

Jiang Ning put on the airs of a second-hand dealer, shaking her head disdainfully without a strong desire to buy.

Seeing that she was about to leave, the stall owner panicked, “How much are you offering?”

The threshing machine was something he had picked up while searching for supplies. It wasn’t very useful to begin with, and setting up a stall was just a matter of luck. He couldn’t let this fish slip away now that someone was interested.

The second-hand dealer bargained hard, using various gestures and jargon with the stall owner, and finally settled the deal at 10 pounds of potatoes per machine.

The threshing machine wasn’t heavy, so they could carry it by hand.

Avoiding the crowd, they went to a secluded corner and made sure there was no one around, and with Huo Yishen’s height providing the cover, Jiang Ning stored the machine in her space.

Continuing to browse around, she stopped in front of a calligraphy and copybook stall.

An old acquaintance, the one who sold couplets during the New Year.

His calligraphy skills were excellent, but with survivors barely having enough to eat, who had the mood to appreciate these?

The prices were ridiculously low. A piece only cost one or two pounds, yet there were still no takers.

Jiang Ning had just glanced at it and was about to leave when the stall owner called out to her, “Little girl, I see you also have an interest in calligraphy. Why not buy a few pieces?”

“You write very well, but they’re not very valuable.”

The man’s expression was complex. He forced a smile and said, “I have some good stuff here. Would you like to take a look?”

“Collector’s items?”

The man lowered his voice, “Ming Dynasty copybooks.”

Jiang Ning suddenly became interested. She wasn’t interested in these per se, but her space could accommodate them.

The man picked up a bag, unwrapped the heavily wrapped cloth, and carefully unfolded the yellowed copybooks.

Jiang Ning didn’t have an artistic bone in her body, so she couldn’t make heads or tails of the copybooks, but judging from the paper and handwriting, they were indeed old, but one could still doubt since there’s capable people before the apocalypse that could counterfeit.

She turned to the person beside her and asked, “What do you think?”

Huo Yishen also examined them carefully and replied after a while, “I think they’re good.”

Her grandfather had a passion for calligraphy and had collected quite a few pieces in his early years. He had also made many friends with similar interests. When he was young, he was influenced by them, so while he couldn’t claim to be an expert, he knew more than the average person.

Considering it carefully, Jiang Ning asked the man, “How much grain?”

“Miss, I bought these copybooks for five million a few years ago.” He took out the appraisal certificate, his tone both excited and pained. “They are definitely worth it.”

Jiang Ning smiled and said nothing.