Chapter 13: Now We Should Add “Foolish” to the List

Second Sister-in-law Shi was nowhere near as optimistic as Shi Yuebai.

She really wanted to tell Shi Yuebai that right now, the only food the three of them had left was that small bag of potatoes on Shi Yaoyao’s back.

Thinking of this, Second Sister-in-law Shi suddenly realized that ever since she’d received the terrible news about the men of the Shi family, up until now—

She, Shi Yaoyao, and Shi Yuebai hadn’t eaten a single thing.

The sky was already bright, though the sun was still hidden behind thick, gray clouds.

But visibility was much better than it had been a few hours ago.

On the newly opened wasteland, many scavengers had gathered—

Some of them were even from their own team.

When these people saw the sickly, weak, and disabled members of the Shi family, they greeted Second Sister-in-law Shi with ambiguous smiles:

“Hey, Second Shi’s wife, if you need any help, just come find us.”

“If you’re hungry, don’t hesitate to come over.”

“As long as you’re willing, you’re always welcome with us.”

After saying this, those men in the distance gave Second Sister-in-law Shi a look that needed no words to understand.

Shi Yuebai’s face darkened, and Second Sister-in-law Shi furrowed her brows tightly.

She didn’t respond—didn’t dare to.

A pretty woman in the wasteland was dangerous. A pretty woman with no man to rely on was even more dangerous.

Second Sister-in-law Shi still had to look after Shi Yuebai and Shi Yaoyao, and she didn’t dare talk back to those men.

Luckily, it was broad daylight, so those men who teased her didn’t dare go too far.

Second Sister-in-law Shi forced herself to stand still for a while, calming the anger and fear in her heart.

“Yuebai, maybe we should move somewhere else?”

“Why? This place is fine.”

Shi Yuebai looked down at the long stick in her hand, then waved at Shi Yaoyao, who was nearby.

“Do you remember what Auntie told you, to look for stones?”

Shi Yaoyao nodded obediently.

“From now on, you have a new task: find as many stones of that size as you can.”

“No matter how many, bring them all here.”

Shi Yaoyao immediately put away her precious little mirror and began searching through the rubble for stones of the size her aunt wanted.

Second Sister-in-law Shi privately thought there was no food to be found in this area.

But since Shi Yuebai refused to move, she had no other choice.

She could only ask, “Yuebai, do you want something to eat?”

Shi Yuebai shook her head. “Not hungry.”

Alright, Second Sister-in-law Shi didn’t feel hungry either. She looked at Shi Yaoyao.

By any normal reckoning, Shi Yaoyao should be hungry by now.

Maybe it was because Second Sister-in-law Shi had been lost in grief over her husband these past few days and hadn’t paid attention to Shi Yaoyao’s hunger.

Had Shi Yaoyao gone so long without food that she was past hunger?

“If you’re worried, just take out those two moderately radiated potatoes from your backpack and eat them,” Shi Yuebai said, turning to sit on the flatbed cart, using her stick to keep rummaging through the stones in front of her.

She didn’t find any food, but she did turn up a lot of odds and ends—bottles, jars, and the like.

Second Sister-in-law Shi hesitated for a long time before finally taking out a moderately radiated potato from her pocket.

[Scan result: 0% radiation contamination.]

The radiation detector on her wrist suddenly announced.

Second Sister-in-law Shi looked down in surprise, though she couldn’t see anything.

“Yue... Yuebai, Yuebai...”

She’d clearly checked before—those two potatoes in her pocket were moderately radiated.

How had they become zero-radiation potatoes overnight?

She was so shocked she could barely get the words out.

Shi Yuebai turned back impatiently. “What’s there to be so surprised about?”

“Food can become more or less radiated over time. Isn’t that common knowledge?”

Everyone on the wasteland knew that.

Second Sister-in-law Shi opened her mouth. “But...”

But all they’d ever seen was food left in sunlight or exposed to the air, gradually becoming more radiated.

She’d never heard of food becoming less radiated.

Especially not in such a short time.

But she didn’t dare ask any more questions—Shi Yuebai was clearly unwilling to answer.

She was afraid that if she pressed further, Shi Yuebai would lose her temper.

Now that the potato in her hand had become zero-radiation, there was no way she’d let Shi Yaoyao eat it.

Second Sister-in-law Shi took out the other potato and scanned it—also zero radiation.

She couldn’t figure it out, so she decided not to think about it.

Second Sister-in-law Shi quietly suggested to Shi Yuebai, “Why don’t we go to the big city tomorrow and sell these two zero-radiation potatoes?”

“We could trade them for 200 medium- or low-radiation potatoes.”

“Maybe even more.”

Shi Yuebai just grunted, pulling a towel from the rubble.

It was still in its packaging, unopened.

“Do as you like.”

With Shi Yuebai’s approval, Second Sister-in-law Shi happily put away the two precious potatoes.

She turned and patted Shi Yaoyao’s head.

“Yaoyao, eat this.”

Second Sister-in-law Shi, heart aching, took a highly radiated potato from Shi Yaoyao’s backpack.

As a mother, she knew giving her daughter highly radiated food was extremely harmful.

But there was no other way. People had to survive.

At least until the day they simply couldn’t go on.

Maybe on that day, they’d all be freed.

Shi Yaoyao obediently took the potato.

She wasn’t actually hungry, and didn’t want to eat the bitter potatoes.

But since her mother told her to, she said nothing and opened her mouth to take a bite.

Shi Yuebai reached out. “Wipe the dirt off before you eat.”

She took the highly radiated potato from Shi Yaoyao, purified it in her hand, and then handed it back.

Shi Yaoyao obediently ate the now-purified potato, bite by bite.

Second Sister-in-law Shi’s heart ached so much she couldn’t bear to stay there any longer.

She wiped her tears away and kept searching through the ruins.

She swore to herself that she would use those two zero-radiation potatoes in her pocket to trade for as many medium- and low-radiation potatoes as possible.

That way, her daughter wouldn’t have to eat highly radiated potatoes for a long time.

That day, the three women of the Shi family came back from scavenging with no food at all.

Instead, they brought back a pile of household goods.

From a washbasin big enough for an adult to squat in, to porcelain cups for drinking, to towels.

Yuebai even found a box of brand-new, unopened toothbrushes.

The three women huffed and puffed, hauling all these things back to the team.

The others nearly laughed their heads off.

“These three sickly, weak, and disabled women—now we should add ‘foolish’ to the list.”

“What’s the use of all this stuff you can’t eat or drink?”"