Chapter 220: The Water Sellers

An Nan cleared her throat lightly, getting ready to head out.

Fugui glanced at his owner, then at Gu Zhiyu, who was tying on an apron and heading into the kitchen, his face full of inner conflict.

An Nan found it a little funny. “Silly dog, just stay home. Once the food’s ready, you can eat first.”

The dog rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and obediently stayed home.

The outside world was free, but he’d already taken a stroll earlier.

Most importantly…

He wiggled his butt and sauntered into the kitchen.

Whenever Gu Zhiyu cooked, he’d always toss him scraps—bits of meat, duck tails, bread crusts, and so on. He couldn’t miss out on that.

Leaving the man and the dog at home, An Nan went out alone to meet up with Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei.

The three of them returned to the entrance of the neighborhood, only to find it even livelier than before.

Various stalls were scattered about, but all the stall owners had gathered a little ways off.

Chu Peipei stood on tiptoe to look into the crowd. “What’s going on over there?”

Zhao Ping’an craned his neck. “I can’t see.”

An Nan thought for a moment. “There weren’t any stalls there earlier. Must be a new vendor.”

Whatever they were selling must be popular—business was even better than when someone was selling banlangen before. The crowd had all been drawn over.

The three of them moved closer.

Chu Peipei said, “Huh? That looks like a truck, doesn’t it?”

The crowd was packed tightly together, but the top of a large truck was just visible.

Zhao Ping’an squinted for a while, then his eyes lit up. “That’s a water tanker!”

Selling water?

No wonder it was such a hot commodity.

Only then did An Nan vaguely recall that, in her previous life, there really had been someone selling water around this time.

The reason she hadn’t remembered right away was because she’d never seen it with her own eyes.

The water truck had only come to their neighborhood once. That day, she’d been unlucky—out scavenging for supplies. By the time she got back, the water sellers had already left, and they never came again.

She’d had to pay double to get a little water from a neighbor.

Seeing it was a water truck, Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei wanted to squeeze into the crowd.

After all, their stored water was running low too. It was rare to have a chance to buy water—they couldn’t miss it.

An Nan quickly stopped them. “Wait, be careful not to get trampled.”

With so many people packed together, it would be easy for a stampede to happen if someone fell.

Just then, a shout came from the center of the crowd:

“What are you all pushing for? Line the hell up!!”

An Nan froze.

Why did that voice sound so familiar?

Right after, a gunshot rang out—“Bang!”—and the area instantly fell silent.

“I said, line! Up! Now!”

The crowd immediately dispersed and obediently formed a line.

Only then did An Nan see the water seller standing by the tanker, holding a pistol.

“Jiang Weiming? Jiang Tian?”

Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei looked at her in surprise. “You know them?”

An Nan nodded. “We’ve crossed paths before.”

Weren’t they selling medicine before? Now they’re selling water?

The Jiang brothers hadn’t noticed An Nan yet and were still shouting:

“Don’t just stand there like idiots—go home and get your buckets!”

“How are you going to carry water without a bucket? You think I’m giving it to you for free?”

“And get your food ready. One bucket of water for one jin of grain—no credit!”

The water truck had just arrived, and most of the people gathered were stall owners from the market—who would have brought a bucket?

Hearing the Jiang brothers’ shouts, everyone hurried home to fetch their buckets.

Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei also planned to go back for theirs.

Chu Peipei looked at An Nan. “Nannan, aren’t you going to get yours?”

An Nan glanced ahead. “I’ll wait here. You two go ahead.”

Chu Peipei followed her gaze to the two men selling water.

Nannan knew them—she probably had something to say.

So she left with Zhao Ping’an.

With the crowd mostly gone, An Nan stood out.

Jiang Weiming quickly recognized her. “Miss An?”

An Nan walked over to greet them. “Long time no see.”

His younger brother, Jiang Tian, noticed her too. “Miss An! What a coincidence!”

Then he asked, “Are you here to buy water too?”

An Nan shook her head. “No, I live nearby.”

Jiang Weiming nodded. “With your abilities, Miss An, I’m sure you’re not short on water.”

He smiled. “Fate really brings people together. Who’d have thought we’d end up setting up shop near your place?”

An Nan nodded. “It is quite a coincidence.”

Jiang Tian chimed in, “Thanks to you last time, Miss An, we made a tidy profit and took a break from selling for a while—just happened to avoid the acid rain!”

An Nan smiled. “You were just lucky.”

Then she glanced at the water tanker behind them. “So you’re selling water now?”

Jiang Tian replied, “We’ve always been selling water. It was only when the plague broke out that we switched to selling banlangen. Now that both the plague and the acid rain are over, of course we’re back to selling water.”

Always selling water?

An Nan was a little surprised.

These brothers were impressive—not only could they get hold of medicinal herbs, but they also had enough water to sell.

Never mind the herbs, but where did they get such a steady supply of water?

She looked curiously at the tanker. “Can I see your water?”

Jiang Weiming nodded. “Of course.”

He sent his brother to fill a bucket.

An Nan looked down. The water was full of unidentified floating debris and had a strange, indescribable smell.

“Why is this water so murky?”

Jiang Tian said, “It’s a bit dirty, yeah. But water’s hard to come by these days, and with the heat, people are just glad to have something to drink. No one’s picky.”

An Nan’s sharp eyes spotted a few strands of hair floating in the water. “Is that...?”

Jiang Weiming took a look, then leaned in and whispered, “Miss An, I’ll be honest with you—this is wastewater from rich people’s homes.”

“Wastewater?”

An Nan was shocked. “How can there be a whole truckload of household wastewater?”

Even with her own endless supply of water in her space, she’d never produced that much wastewater.

Jiang Tian pursed his lips. “You have no idea. The wealthiest people all have secret private reservoirs. Don’t be fooled by the water shortage in the city—over in the villa districts, people are still throwing pool parties!”

“Pool parties?”

Even An Nan, who’d seen a lot, was stunned.

That was just too extravagant—especially in this extreme heat!

But speaking of the super-rich, she suddenly thought of Gu Zhiyu.

Could some of this wastewater be from him too...?

By now, many people had fetched their buckets and were lining up to buy water.

An Nan thought for a moment, then quietly said to the Jiang brothers, “I can get you cleaner water, but the price will be double. Are you interested?”"