Chapter 153: Life Lies in Movement

Almost every survivor coming and going had a heavy backpack strapped to their back.

But it wasn’t food inside.

Food was scarce. Aside from mercenaries, ordinary scavengers on the wasteland wouldn’t bring food into the city to trade for points.

These survivors, ragged and worn, entered the city only to exchange the supplies they’d scavenged for points.

When Ying Ruoying set out, she just wanted to get a feel for things, so she didn’t bring much food with her.

She didn’t dare take out too much ready-to-eat food either.

She watched as a grandfather and grandson entered through the city gate, both as black as the bottom of a pot, as if they’d just crawled out of a coal mine.

They seemed exhausted, carrying two heavy backpacks, and sat down to rest.

Ying Ruoying asked the paper airplane perched on her shoulder,

“Boss, it looks like they’re carrying something good.”

Shi Yuebai snorted, saying nothing.

As long as Ying Ruoying was doing proper business, she wouldn’t comment on what supplies Ying Ruoying wanted to collect.

Ying Ruoying walked over and chatted with the grandfather and grandson for a while.

Only then did Shi Yuebai realize that what they were carrying were actually solar panels.

The kind that fold up in pieces, can be spread out on a car roof, or used outdoors to charge phones and other devices.

“Trade for them,” Shi Yuebai urged Ying Ruoying.

Recently, Shi Yaoyao had been waking up in the middle of the night with leg pain. At first, she would cry.

Later, she somehow became more sensible, realizing it wasn’t good to wake everyone up at night.

So whenever pain woke her, she’d quietly slip out of the inflatable tent and hide in the vegetable patch behind to cry.

Shi Yuebai saw this but didn’t go comfort the little girl.

She wasn’t that kind-hearted.

Let her cry, Shi Yuebai didn’t care, as long as Shi Yaoyao didn’t disturb her, she could cry wherever she wanted.

But if they had a lamp at night, it would be easier for the Shi family to get up to use the bathroom or hide in a corner without bumping into supplies or rocks.

It would make things much more convenient for everyone.

Ying Ruoying avoided the crowd’s gaze.

She secretly took out a can of luncheon meat. “I’ll trade this for the solar panels you’re carrying.”

This wasn’t an ordinary can of luncheon meat.

It weighed 900 grams—if they rationed it, the grandfather and grandson could eat for several days.

The old man didn’t hesitate at all and immediately followed Ying Ruoying to Shi Yuebai’s shop.

He and his grandson unloaded their backpacks in the cluttered yard.

Holding the can of luncheon meat with both hands, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come.

If they sold these solar panels to the management, they wouldn’t even get 10,000 points.

But the price of meat in the wasteland—no need to say more.

Shi Yuebai’s paper airplane landed on Ying Ruoying’s head. She hummed softly,

“They’re all expired, and he’s still so moved?”

Ying Ruoying helplessly took the paper airplane off her head.

“Boss, you wouldn’t understand.”

Having food at all was already a blessing, let alone 900 grams of luncheon meat.

Who cared if it was expired or not?

The little grandson stared eagerly at the paper airplane in Ying Ruoying’s hand and timidly asked,

“Auntie, do you want more solar panels?”

He spoke clearly and was physically whole.

This was rare for a child in the wasteland.

Ying Ruoying looked at the paper airplane, waiting for Shi Yuebai’s instructions.

But Shi Yuebai said nothing this time.

She had a splitting headache.

Spiritual injuries are irreversible. Shi Yuebai’s soul had left her body, nearly exhausting all her strength.

From the moment her soul returned, she’d been enduring the pain.

Now, it was at its limit—she couldn’t even power the paper airplane anymore.

Ying Ruoying had to make the decision herself. “I’ll take them. If you have any other supplies, you can sell them to me too.”

Seeing the grandfather and grandson’s eyes light up, Ying Ruoying pretended to hesitate,

“We don’t have much food at home, so don’t tell anyone about this. If we get robbed, you won’t be able to trade for food anymore.”

The two nodded eagerly, hiding the can of luncheon meat and slipping out of the city.

Today was a good day for them.

Those solar panels might fetch a decent amount of points in the big city.

But not even enough to buy a small pack of crackers.

The grandfather was old, the grandson weak. Unlike teams, who could haul thousands of pounds of supplies at a time.

Even though the management wouldn’t take all those supplies, at least teams could bring a wide variety and always find something the management needed.

The grandfather and grandson could only carry a few dozen, maybe a hundred pounds at a time.

Every time they brought supplies to the city to trade for points, the management might not even accept them.

So they often had to abandon their supplies on the spot.

Life was hard, and they lived numb to it all.

Everyone at the bottom of the wasteland seemed to just be getting by.

One day at a time.

When the day came that they couldn’t carry on anymore, that would be the end.

That night, just before the city gates closed, the grandfather and grandson knocked on Shi Yuebai’s door again, each carrying another big backpack.

Ying Ruoying opened the door. This time, they’d brought two more big bags of solar panels.

And lots of light strips.

Ying Ruoying frowned. “I’ll still take the solar panels, but these light strips…”

She met their eager gazes and relented.

“Fine, fine, it’s only about 100 meters of light strips. I’ll take them this time and see if the higher-ups want them.”

“But let me be clear—don’t tell anyone about this, or there’ll be no more business.”

This time, Ying Ruoying gave them ten soy milk cream-filled buns.

Not as valuable as the luncheon meat, but she didn’t have a second can to trade.

Of the ten large bags of ready-to-eat food Shi Yuebai had given her, there was only one can of luncheon meat.

Ying Ruoying didn’t want to eat it herself.

She was afraid that if she tasted meat, she wouldn’t be able to resist the craving and would want it every day.

So she’d rather trade it away early than be tempted.

She was a disciplined person. She knew what she had to do.

Shi Yuebai was giving her a chance to climb out of the mire.

She had to do her very best.

Ying Ruoying was full of fighting spirit.

But Shi Yuebai was in a world of pain.

Enduring her headache, she found everyone annoying.

She only spared the Shi family from her scolding; everyone else, she snapped at.

Especially Pang Zhenggong and Captain Qiao—the two men could only avoid Shi Yuebai as much as possible.

“What are you hiding for? Did you exercise today?”

Shi Yuebai glared at Pang Zhenggong, who was trying to shrink himself into a corner.

“You’ve got time to skulk around here, but not to turn over a few more rocks?”

“Don’t you know life lies in movement?”

Pang Zhenggong felt bitter. So what if he was fat? What did he ever do to deserve this?

“I—I’ll go right now.”

Shi Yuebai shouted, “From today on, each of you will practice the Five Animal Frolics ten times a day!”

“Pang Zhenggong, if you don’t lose weight, I’ll eat you myself!”

I’m feeling inexplicably anxious and unsettled.

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