[edited]

Jiang Ning remained aloof and indifferent, while Mother Zhong didn’t try to overly gain favor for herself, which may annoy others. “Alright, I’ll fry yours first to prevent the oil from frying for too long.” 

Surprisingly, Mother Zhong was indeed a frying expert. The fried fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and it was exceptionally delicious. 

Coke was so greedy that he came over and waggled his tail. 

Jiang Ning tossed quite a few pieces to it while also urging Mother Zhong to fill her stomach first. 

The fish was plentiful, and Mother Zhong stopped feeling hungry after eating almost the equivalent of two fish. 

How long had it been since she’d had a full stomach? It smells so good that she almost swallows her tongue. 

The 18th floor did have its merits; Mother Zhong worked even harder, hoping they could bring their family along in the future. 

After frying seven or eight batches, the sound of the motorboat approached. 

Huo Yishen and the others returned, they brought some salt, and other seasonings. 

Zhang Chao wore a big smile, his tone excited. “Anning, we’ve secured another deal.” 

After trading with the sharp mouthed monkeys, they realized that hoarding so much stock would eventually lead to spoilage, so they needed to find another solution. 

Zhang Chao was good at running business, so he suggested trying their luck at the department store. Who knew, they might find new customers there. 

When they arrived at the department store, they learned that the government had implemented a new policy: to help more citizens survive, they had launched a market. 

Any citizens in need could come to the market to set up stalls and exchange the necessary living supplies with each other. 

There was no admission fee for the market, but causing trouble was strictly prohibited, and serious violations would be dealt with severely. 

There were plenty of goods for exchange, and the market was bustling with people, but there was a shortage of food exchanges. Most of the items were idle goods like clothes, shoes, socks, bicycles, kitchen utensils, and so on, and everyone without exception wanted to exchange them for food. 

The crowd surged, and their group didn’t dare to take out the fish; they could only secretly search for targets. 

Unfortunately, except for Zhang Chao, who had keener eyes, the others were basically blind in this regard. 

The Zhong father and son were engrossed in technical matters, and Huo Yishen had a background in special forces, so it was really difficult for them to find potential customers. What if they brought back trouble? 

You see, while there were many people exchanging goods at the market, there were also gangs lurking around, ready to prey on unsuspecting victims. 

They mingled among the crowd, searching for potential targets to exploit. 

So, the three of them waited in a corner while Zhang Chao went in to explore potential customers. 

Half an hour later, he emerged with two ragged looking individuals. 

Father Zhong took a closer look and was dumbfounded; wasn’t this his colleague from work? 

“Lao Gao, you’re still alive?” 

“Lao Zhong, you’re alive too?” 

Comrades meeting comrades, their eyes brimming with tears. 

After all, they had mistaken each other for dead. It’s a small world indeed. 

However, even though Father Zhong and Lao Gao were acquaintances, Huo Yishen and the others remained vigilant. In times of disaster and apocalypse, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. 

“We have fish, and they have dog food.” 

Zhang Chao grabbed Jiang Ning and hurriedly reported the good news, “Coke won’t go hungry anymore.” 

The residential area where Lao Gao lived was allocated by the government, so while it was old and dilapidated, it was home to familiar neighbors, mostly middle aged and elderly people, with quite a few young adults. They had formed groups and ventured out together to search for supplies. 

Having acted early and with luck on their side, they had stumbled upon a dog food factory and brought back tens of thousands of catties of dog food. 

For the past few months, they had survived on dog food. 

While dog food was nutritious and sustained hunger, eating it too often made them nauseous. They had no choice but to try their luck at the market. 

The older generation in the community was wise and discerning; they were carefully evaluated all the traders and wouldn’t easily make a move. 

As luck would have it, they found each other, established mutual trust, and weren’t expecting to encounter old colleagues. With this encounter, their anxieties were eased. 

After some bargaining, they agreed to exchange three catties of fish for one catty of dog food. 

Father Zhong secretly cursed his colleague as an old fox of a thousand years, deeply saddened as he said, “Lao Gao, you weren’t like this before. Your conscience has been completely buried.” 

Lao Gao felt uncomfortable in his heart, his voice choked with emotion. “Alas, it’s all because of this disaster.” 

Exchanging three catties of live fish for one catty of dog food might sound like a big loss, but in reality, it wasn’t. 

Dog food could withstand hunger and if its sealed well, you can preserved it for a long time, while fish would start to smell bad if not processed within two days. 

Zhang Chao took out half a bag of dog food from his bag. “We’ve all tried it; the taste seems fine.” 

Jiang Ning didn’t want to eat it herself; she called Coke over to taste it. 

Coke felt disdainful, but out of gratitude for being fed by its master, it savored the food especially. 

The dog food bags are particularly well sealed. I guess there are too many preservatives added, but the shelf life is actually as long as three years. 

Mother Zhong was also very excited to hear about the dog food. If they were to exchange fish for it, it would be enough for the family to eat for a long time. 

Everyone wanted it, including Jiang Ning, especially when she heard about freeze dried canned food for cats and dogs. 

Her dog deserved the best. 

So, everyone agreed to exchange live fish for dog food. 

The old colleagues danced around each other, testing the waters. Knowing that each side had a large quantity of goods, they ultimately decided to exchange 1500 catties of live fish for 500 catties of dog food. 

With this exchange, there wasn’t much fish left. 

But there were plenty more in the reservoir; they could just catch more! 

So, they immediately packed up their belongings and hid away the gas stove, and so on. 

After enjoying the crispy fried fish, they divided up the remaining fish. 

Jiang Ning pulled Huo Yishen and Zhang Chao aside. “The Zhong family has contributed a lot. How should we divide this batch of goods?” 

The Zhong family wasn’t a member of the 18th floor group. Although Father and Mother Zhong were purely laborers, the fish catching device was made by Zhong Ping, and without him, they wouldn’t have caught so much fish. 

Zhang Chao quickly came up with an idea. “How about giving them one fifth? One fifth goes to him, and half of a fifth goes to his parents.” 

Being too harsh wasn’t acceptable, but being too generous wasn’t good either. 

Jiang Ning had no objections. “Then let’s give them one fifth.” 

Jiang Ning had no habit of enslaving others; she preferred to address things directly. 

Learning that they could receive one fifth, the anxious Zhong family of three was overjoyed. They thought getting one fifth would already be good enough. 

Since they were trading 1500 catties, they estimated there wouldn’t be much left, so they decided to take it all. 

In the darkness, the motorboat towed the rubber boat, moving through the floodwaters. 

Both parties agreed to meet for the transaction in a secluded suburban area in the flooodwaters. 

Despite having their old colleagues present, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. Jiang Ning reminded everyone to wear life jackets and hide their weapons. 

Approaching the designated meeting point slowly, Coke barked alertly. 

Jiang Ning took out a powerful flashlight and indeed spotted a motorboat and three rubber boat not far away. 

There was an agreement for the transaction: Lao Gao’s side couldn’t have more than six people— one motorboat and three rubber boats. Any exceeding of this number would be a violation and they would automatically cancel the transaction. 

Jiang Ning signaled that the number was correct. There were two middle-aged men and four young men, all holding iron rods and looking vigilant. 

The powerful flashlight swept the surrounding water surface, but no suspicious activity was found. 

The 1500 catties of fish were noticeable, but the 500 catties of dog food, being heavier and more compact, weren’t as visible. 

The Zhong father and son paddled the rubber boat closer, confirming that it was all dog food. They gestured for Huo Yishen and the others to come over. 

The goods were weighed, and the exchange was made. 

There were over 1600 catties of live fish, but Lao Gao only took 500 catties of dog food. However, they also brought along 20 cans of freeze dried pet food. “You can try them. Next time, we can trade with these cans if we have them.” 

Father Zhong was more inclined towards the dog food, cursing Lao Gao for being so cunning.