Chapter 16: Extreme Heat, Rat Plague

As Lu Zhifeng approached, Jiang Si finally saw his face and hands were bitten by rats, but he hadn’t even bandaged them.

The girl on his back, Niuniu, was shielded by a sun-protection suit. It was unclear if she was injured, but her little face was flushed, her spirit weak—she could barely keep her eyes open and kept yawning.

Even like this, she stubbornly lifted her head, giving Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu a sweet smile and greeted them:
“Big sister, Grandpa, hello~”

After the greeting, she drowsily buried her head into Lu Zhifeng’s shoulder again.

Lu Zhifeng explained his intention:
“Niuniu is sick. I want to trade with you for some medicine, and also for some food and clothes.”

Jiang Si warned him about mosquito prevention, but hadn’t expected that during last night’s rat outbreak, he had survived only by hiding with Niuniu in a cramped armory room.

However, all their supplies at home were completely devoured by the rat swarm. They didn’t even have decent clothes left.

He had a gun and could’ve stolen supplies by force—but his health was already deteriorating, and he didn’t want to risk Niuniu’s safety. After weighing his options, he figured it was better to trade with Jiang Si’s family. A gun, he thought, should be worth all the essentials he and his daughter urgently needed.

He was also thinking ahead: in case anything happened to him, the supplies and weapons in the armory room could at least ensure Jiang Si’s family would take Niuniu in.

So, he decided to first trade a pistol with the Jiang family to establish trust. Bullets deplete over time, so further interaction would be inevitable.

Jiang Si looked at him meaningfully.
“What are you offering in exchange? At this point, food, water, and medicine are extremely valuable.”

Her tone clearly showed that she was the one in charge in the Jiang household.

Lu Zhifeng pulled out a Colt pistol from his coat and said,
“I’ll trade this.” He popped out the magazine.
“There are ten bullets inside.”

Jiang Si had long wanted a gun, but the early arrival of the apocalypse left her totally unprepared.

Now that Lu Zhifeng was offering one voluntarily, she couldn’t hide her eagerness.
“Let my grandfather inspect the gun first.”

Lu Zhifeng was surprised at her caution but remained prudent.
“I won’t give you the bullets just yet.”

“Fine.”

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the pistol in an arc. It landed steadily in Jiang Chengwu’s hands.

Jiang Chengwu disassembled the gun, inspected it, then reassembled it and nodded to Jiang Si.
“No problems.”

Now that the goods were legit, it was time to negotiate what exactly to trade.

Owning a gun meant holding absolute power in this region. For Lu Zhifeng to give it up meant he and his daughter would be even more vulnerable in the future.

He didn’t want to be greedy and risk making Jiang Si’s family resentful, which might only draw trouble to them. Plus, the armory room couldn’t store too much anyway.

After thinking carefully, he said,
“I want 1,000 jin of rice, 100 jin of soybeans, two sacks of flour, one sack of salt, four sets of clothes and shoes for each season for both me and Niuniu, two sets of bedding, some medicine for wounds, colds, fevers, diarrhea, and some penicillin.”

In ordinary times, these wouldn’t cost much.
But this was the apocalypse.

What he was asking for was potentially more valuable than a weapon.
Moreover, their family had only harvested three acres of crops. With so many mouths to feed and no idea when the disaster would end, giving away this much in the open would signal to others that their family had surplus supplies.

Jiang Si frowned.
“Uncle Lu, you’re asking for too much. We can only give you 300 jin of rice. We only have one bag of flour—we’ll give it to you. Some medicines, once given to you, we’ll have none left. I can give you cold/fever medicine, disinfectant alcohol, and band-aids. Also, ten bullets isn’t enough—you need to give us at least twenty.”

Lu Zhifeng firmly replied:
“This is the deal. Take it or leave it.”

Jiang Chengwu gave Jiang Si a subtle signal—his way of suggesting they accept.
Lu Zhifeng could’ve taken the supplies by force but chose to barter instead. That meant he was someone with principles.

Jiang Si also felt sympathetic because of Niuniu and was inclined to help, but she couldn’t make it easy—especially considering that in the city, this much could possibly trade for military protection.

She noticed pink rashes on Lu Zhifeng’s skin—signs of rat-bite fever—and said,
“We’ll use potatoes and sweet potatoes to make up the 300 jin. We’ll also give some toiletries for Niuniu and one bottle of antibiotics. How about that?”

Lu Zhifeng, a forest ranger, recognized his symptoms—weakness and itchiness from the wounds. Timely antibiotics could suppress the infection. Staying alive was the only way he could protect his daughter.

Also, Jiang Si’s firm stance made it clear they didn’t have much medicine stored.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes could still last for a while. So he nodded.
“Alright.”

Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu returned home. Jiang Linhai had just opened the bathroom door and was cleaning out the waste, sealing the toilet with cement to block another rat entry point.

High temperatures helped with sterilization, and cement hardened quickly.

Seeing Jiang Si and Jiang Chengwu return, the mother and grandmother finally relaxed.
“How’s it outside?” They saw Jiang Si suddenly produce Lu Zhifeng’s requested items from thin air and asked,
“What’s all this for?”

Jiang Si revealed the pistol.
“Traded it with Lu Zhifeng. His supplies were ruined by rats. Niuniu has a fever, and he was bitten by rats. He had no choice but to come trade a gun with us.”

Grandma was thrilled they now had a firearm for better protection, but sighed:
“He gave us his gun… Can he and Niuniu even hold onto all that food when they bring it back?”

Jiang Chengwu, who knew a bit about forest rangers, said:
“He likely seized a bunch of hunting rifles every year from poachers. Don’t worry. He wouldn’t trade unless he had backup plans. Staying on good terms with him won’t hurt.”

Grandma nodded in relief.
“Good. But won’t carrying all that stuff openly get noticed?”

Jiang Si said,
“I told Lu Zhifeng to wait until nightfall after the rat swarm settles down to come move the supplies. Grandpa will take a basket over to him now. We’ll cover it with firewood so it won’t look suspicious.”

“Be careful.”

“Of course.”

Jiang Chengwu arrived at Lu Zhifeng’s watchtower. The metal ladder had been pulled up.

He rang a bell a few times, and the hollow tower gradually lowered a sturdy basket. Lu Zhifeng asked him to place the items inside so he could pull them up.

Too weak to crank the rope properly, Niuniu climbed off the spring bed and used all her strength to help her father.

As they removed the top layer of leaves, the full basket of supplies came into view. Both father and daughter beamed with joy.

But on Jiang Chengwu’s way back, several young men blocked his path.