[edited]

After dinner, they couldn’t bear to discard the hot pot broth, so they decided to add noodles to it the next day. 

During this special period, having a source of tasty food was regarded as a blessing. Who cares if the salt amount is higher than the standard?  

The fatty meat has been turned into oil and the leftover oil is fried until it’s golden and crispy. There was easily five or six kilograms of it, which could last for quite a while. 

Zheng Weili took out the remaining dozens of kilograms of meat and asked, “Anning, how much salt should we sprinkle on these?” 

There isn’t much salt, so they had to use it carefully to make it last for just over a year. Sprinkling too much at once would be wasteful, but using too little could cause the meat to spoil.  

They were fortunate to catch pigs this time. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even have the scent of fresh meat in the last days. However, they couldn’t indulge recklessly; they needed to think ahead for their future. 

Seeing that the three of them wanted to preserve the meat, Jiang Ning spoke up, “The landlord’s car refrigerator is quite spacious. I’ll go back later and render the fat. I think I can fit yours in there too.” 

She did consider borrowing an extra refrigerator from her space for them, but their solar charger couldn’t handle it. 

Zhang Chao and the others were pleased and they wanted to help in cutting the fat and refining the oil. 

In front of her, they all appeared to be clueless, yet despite this, they were willing to lend a hand out of concern that they would one day be turned away. 

Jiang Ning couldn’t bear to let them help. “No need. I’ll handle it myself. You guys should wash up and rest early.” 

Back home, she stored the dozens of kilograms of meat in the space and took out the multifunctional massage bathtub and filled it with hot water. Plugging in the solar power box, she turned on some soothing music and closed her eyes to relax. 

Coke dragged the bowl filled with bones and lay down beside her to chew on it. 

Perhaps after gaining approval from the other two legged creatures, it seemed particularly excited and it’s eagerly crunching on the bones. 

It’s a dog’s instinct to protect food, but Coke liked this poop scooper officer and intentionally left half of the bones for Jiang Ning. “Woof!” 

Jiang Ning genuinely thanked it. “You can eat it yourself.” 

She also tossed a piece of ham sausage over. 

The next day, she slept until she naturally woke up. 1801, along with Zhang Chao and Lu Yu, went to the department store to trade for rice. The task was simple, so they didn’t bother Jiang Ning. 

After eating chive flavored fried dumplings with Coke in the morning, not only did Jiang Ning brush her own teeth, but she also brushed the dog’s teeth. Then, she carried the pig next door to 1803. 

She brought a stool and helped Zheng Weili handle the pig. 

Doudou ran over to join in the fun. “Sister, let me help you.” 

Jiang Ning was afraid that she would get her hands dirty. “You can play with Coke.” 

Once Coke arrived, the atmosphere on the 18th floor became much livelier. As long as there was any movement downstairs, it wouldn’t escape its ears. 

What made Jiang Ning even more relieved was that Coke was a dog with principles. 

Doudou secretly tried to stuff oil residue into Coke’s mouth, but despite being tempted, the dog refused to eat it, staring at her with watery eyes. “Whimper.” 

Jiang Ning teased, “It’s poisonous!” 

Coke got scared, and the oil residue fell out of its mouth. 

Jiang Ning suppressed a laugh. “It’s not poisonous. I was just teasing you. Go ahead and eat.” 

The dog was angry and it took its time to cautiously start eating after sniffing around for a while.  

Next to her, Zheng Weili laughed. She laughed until her stomach hurt. “Coke is really clever. As long as you don’t nod, it can resist temptation.” 

This vigilance was learned from being beaten by life. Stray dogs not only faced being expelled by humans and captured by urban management but also had to deal with various dog thieves using all sorts of tricks. 

If it weren’t for it’s skills, who knows how many times it would have died. 

However, Coke was indeed cunning. It seemed much smarter than before and it fully comprehens the human speech and it even assist her with the discipline. 

Da Hui and Xiao Bai were not very bright, they ate and defecated a lot, which annoyed Jiang Ning. 

Coke, on the other hand was always imposing. It would bite down, press its paw down firmly, and rub them hard. “I’ll teach you not to defecate everywhere!” 

Then it would grab their necks and drag them to the toilet. 

Defecate right in front of me! 

Maybe animals can communicate easily. After being sternly taught by Coke a few times, Da Hui and Xiao Bai indeed became obedient. 

When she woke up today, she found them using the toilet. 

There were also ten baby rabbits, but Coke had a way to deal with them too. 

Regardless of who defecated anywhere, it would catch Da Hui and Xiao Bai and give them a beating, showing its teeth and threatening them: “Do you dare or not? If you don’t, I’ll make you regret it!” 

Coke beat the rabbits, and the rabbits beat the babies. There was nothing they couldn’t learn. 

Impressively, the dog became the leader of the territory in an instant, gaining twelve underlings. 

1801 and the others didn’t return until around noon. By then, Jiang Ning and Zheng Weili had already cleaned the pig intestines. They made sausages and pork liver, and cut some lean meat, marinating it with spices to make mixed pork. The pork intestines were also braised and cut into pieces. 

She had today’s meals also planned out. 

For lunch, everyone would have a bowl of mixed pork soup and stir fried pork intestines with pickled vegetables. 

For dinner, there would be stir fried onions with pork heart and peppered pork stomach stew. 

The remaining miscellaneous things will be left for tomorrow. 
 

Jiang Ning was responsible for the vegetables and onions, while the rice, flour, oil, and firewood came from 1803. 

1801 was equally generous. Every time he brought something over for a meal, it was always more than enough, but they also had their own considerations. 

None of them were calculative people, so they could get along well. 

Zhang Chao ate to his heart’s content. “Anning, you might as well be the cook from now on. We just ruin everything when we try.” 

Jiang Ning firmly refused. “I’m not going to be a housewife. Occasionally cooking a meal or two is fine.” 

“Why did you guys come back so late from exchanging grains?” Zheng Weili asked with concern. “You made me and Anning think something had happened to you.” 

“The grain exchange went smoothly. We saw there was still time and went to nearby office buildings, but we didn’t find anything.” 

Zhang Chao recounted today’s events. “The rice at the department store has increased in price again, and the quantity is getting less and less. The people we trade with, including the sharp mouthed monkey gang, didn’t take advantage of the situation or send anyone to track us. They should still have some moral principles.” 

“Ordinary people don’t have the money to buy rice at 2,000 yuan per kilogram. Considering the risk of being caught, how much can they afford to sell in a day? We are their biggest customers.”  

Jiang Ning inspected what they brought back today, and the quality was similar to yesterday’s. 

None of them had experience. “Anning, how should we eat this rice?” 

It was retrieved from underwater, and no one dared to eat it right away. They were not sure whether to consume it or not immediately. 

“Seal it in bags and save it for later when we’re really short of food. At the same time, pay attention to whether there are any issues with eating this type of grain. If not, we can mix it in with our regular cooking.” 

Lu Yu deeply agreed. “Anning, you’re so considerate.” 

“By the way, the sharp mouthed monkey not only sells grains but also collects other items in exchange. They’ll trade for tea, cigarettes, alcohol, or medicine.” 

They had collected quite a few of these items, especially medicine. They heard that hospitals were running out of medicine now, and even if they had some, it was sold per pill, and the price had skyrocketed. 

They had important supplies in their hands, and there were undoubtedly many ways to survive. This made Lu Yu and the others breathe a sigh of relief. “Why don’t we exchange for some good rice?” 

Jiang Ning disagreed, “Our involvement already stands at 500,000, which is already enough to attract attention. Let’s not invite trouble upon ourselves. While food is scarce, medicines will only become scarcer. When the time comes, we can exchange for more food. There’s no need to rush.” 

After finishing their meal, Jiang Ning left with 1801. 

1801 spoke up, “Can we start the training today?” 

It seemed that he really couldn’t wait to train the dog. 
 

Jiang Ning had no objections. She squatted down and discussed with the dog, “Coke, would you be okay if this big brother will trains you every day from now on?” 

The dog squinted its eyes, filled with wariness and resistance, and unhappily took a few steps back. 

A king doesn’t recognize another, Coke couldn’t quite warm up to the aura of 1801.