[edited]

Waking up naturally and without having any breakfast yet, Zheng Weili came knocking on the door, “Anning, what are you planning on doing with your fish?” 

Jiang Ning replied casually, “I plan to make some salted fish. I’ll ask Aunt Zhong about it later.” 

1803 had received two portions, and they couldn’t finish so much. She’s thinking of taking half of the fish to the market at the department store to join in the fun and exchange for some useful supplies. 

Jiang Ning wasn’t interested in joining the hustle and bustle. “I plan to take Coke back to the villa halfway up the mountain and see if he can catch rabbits or something.” 

The collapsed reservoir was too dangerous, and Zhang Chao and Lu Yu are exhausted these past two days, so they didn’t want to go there. 

They went to knock on the door of 1801. Huo Yishen agreed to go to the market, but it was for Doudou to experience and to let her have more exposure to the cruel world outside. 

The unfortunate Zheng Weili had to stay behind to continue guarding the place. 

Just as they were about to leave, Grandma Zhong came up and asked quietly if they want to dig some wild kudzu roots. 

Taking advantage of the ride from the 18th floor, the Zhong family had acquired quite a bit of supplies, but who would complain about having too few supplies? 

This time it was a stroke of luck from heaven; there might not be another chance next time. 

The aged wild kudzu roots were as thick as tree roots, and ten pounds of roots might not yield a pound of powder. 

Even if they managed to dig some up, there was still the problem of smashing and turning them into powder. 

Kudzu powder was good for skincare, but its texture was like paste, and it hardly filled you up when eaten. 

All the members of the 18th floor, who had plenty of grains, were unwilling to participate in this unattractive project. 

Unfortunately, the Zhong family had to do it themselves. 

After breakfast, Jiang Ning set out with Coke. 

They returned to the reservoir in their motorboat and then climbed towards another hill. 

On the other side of the mountain. There was a dense grove of bamboo, which Jiang Ning had inadvertently discovered two days ago while observing with her binoculars. 

Bamboo shoots grew in the winter, and they are commonly known as winter bamboo shoots, and now was the season for them to sprout. 

Climbing along the slope, as soon as they crossed over the mountain pass, they saw a large expanse of bamboo in front of them, with many winter bamboo shoots already poking their heads out of the ground. 

Bamboo shoots, real bamboo shoots! 

Jiang Ning took out her binoculars and made sure there was no one around, she then took out a hoe from her space and reminded Coke to go play. 

Swinging the hoe, she dug and dug, then shoveled them up. 

The bamboo shoots were very fresh, with shells weighing about three to four catties each. 

She digs and digs, and never stops. 

During the process, Coke was causing trouble and its using his paws to help her dig. 

“Go away, be careful not to hurt your paws.” 

Coke didn’t listen and kept coming to where Jiang Ning was shoveling. 

Jiang Ning intentionally put on a stern face, “Coke, be careful or I’ll hit you!” 

Only then did Coke behave, drooping his doggy face and going back to play. 

Not long after, it slipped away again. 

That’s how mastiff was, they are always picking fights and catching small animals. There was never a moment of idleness. 

After about fifteen minutes, Coke came back with a bloody mess in his mouth. 

Good dog, there’s a fat wild rabbit with several holes bitten into it. That must have taken quite a vicious bite. 

After cleaning the rabbit and shaking off the water, Jiang Ning tossed it into her space and threw in two wild boar bones for Coke to gnaw on. 

Jiang Ning didn’t slack off in her work. In the morning, she dug up over a thousand winter bamboo shoots. 

That’s right, she had completely harvested all the bamboo shoots in the entire grove. 

With several thousand catties of bamboo shoots, she could make so many delicious dishes. 

Stir-fried bamboo shoots with preserved meat, pickled bamboo shoots with wild peppers, spicy bamboo shoots with red oil, pickled sour bamboo shoots, and sun-dried bamboo shoots. 

Just thinking about it made one’s mouth water. 

After resting for a while, Jiang Ning took out an electric saw and started cutting down the mature bamboo. 

Soon, the old bamboo fell down in pieces. 

Jiang Ning couldn’t exactly say what she would do with the bamboo, but she felt that she would use it in the future, maybe for building houses or sheds. 

With the extreme cold coming, all the vegetation on the mountain would freeze to death, and it wouldn’t be so easy for them to grow back again. 

After cutting down hundreds of bamboo and digging up over a dozen old bamboo roots, Jiang Ning planned to plant them in her space during her free time. 

Not only bamboo, but she also pulled up wild grass, wild fruit seedlings, and various medicinal herbs from the mountain. 

Seeing that it was still early, she started cutting trees again. 

Trees crashed to the ground, and she used the electric saw to cut off the branches before tossing the whole trunk into her space. She could always cut them into pieces later when needed. 

After cutting more than a hundred of trees, Jiang Ning would have continued if it hadn’t been for the darkness setting in. 

Exhausted but feeling satisfied knowing she had everything she needed in her space, she picked up half a bundle of firewood for appearance’s sake and took Coke back home on their motorboat. 

As soon as they reached the 18th floor, Doudou opened the door and rushed over, her face full of pride. “Sister, I went to sell fish today.” 

Jiang Ning opened the door and let her in. “Did you sell the fish?” 

“Yeah, I sold three fish,” Doudou said happily. 

Jiang Ning praised her, “Wow, our Doudou is amazing.” 

Doudou dug her fingers into her pockets, jumping up happily. “Brother also praised me.” 

After changing out of her wet clothes, Jiang Ning found scratches on Doudou’s face. “What happened to your injury?” 

Doudou looked a bit aggrieved. “When I was eating candy, someone suddenly rushed over and tried to snatch the candy from my mouth.” 

Jiang Ning frowned. “The candy was snatched away?” 

“Yeah, they took it from my mouth,” Doudou said, her tears swirling. She couldn’t help but complain, “That person’s hands were so dirty, and they smelled bad. They even knocked Doudou down.” 

Rubbing her buttocks, she added, “It hurts so much.” 

“Where was your brother?” 

“Brother was watching nearby.” 

Jiang Ning didn’t understand. “And then?” 

“That person shoved the candy into his mouth, and my brother told me to snatch it back.” 

Doudou didn’t want to snatch it back, but she didn’t want to make her brother angry either. So she pounced to grab the candy. 

When the boy didn’t give it to her, he even raised his hand to hit Doudou. Angered, Doudou fought back, beating him up quite easily and bruising his face. 

It was the first time Doudou had ever hit someone, but she finally managed to get the candy out of his mouth, which was covered in saliva, and handed it to her brother. 

Huo Yishen didn’t take it but instead patted her head. “Doudou, you did great. In the future, you have to protect your things and not let others bully you.” 

She seemed to understand but was afraid at the same time. Unexpectedly, He was also praised by his brother. 

“Remember, brother can’t protect you forever. If you don’t protect yourself, not only will your candy be snatched away, but all the good things you have will be taken away as well. Then, you’ll end up like them; hungry, with a big head and a small body, dirty, and smelly and begging on the streets.” 

Although those children didn’t want to do it, the apocalypse was cruel. 

Huo Yishen made Doudou look into the eyes of the boy who she had been beaten up. 

The boy who had been beaten up had red eyes and seemingly filled with self-hatred. 

Doudou didn’t understand. Clearly, he was the one who snatched her candy, which was wrong, so why didn’t he apologize and instead acted so fiercely? 

“Doudou, when people are starving to death, there’s no right or wrong anymore. If they think they can beat you, they will snatch things from you.” 

Huo Yishen took his sister away, patiently explaining to her, “Do you know why he was so fierce to you?” 

Doudou shook her head. 

“Because you have new clothes to wear, good things to eat, and you don’t have to go hungry, while he has nothing. So he feels jealous of you and wants to take your things.” 

“Brother, are they all like that?” 

Entering the market, Doudou felt the gaze of many pairs of eyes like that, which made her inexplicably nervous and uneasy. 

“Most of them are, but you can use the techniques brother taught you to protect yourself. Then, no one will dare to bully you.”