Chapter 62: I Want Only Clean Water for Flushing the Toilet

The inflatable tent had a zippered door.

But even with the zipper opened all the way, Shi Yuebai still couldn’t squeeze inside.

If she tried to force her way in, she’d probably end up tearing the tent door apart.

This thing looked sturdy enough—probably designed by survivors before the apocalypse for outdoor recreation.

Waterproof, windproof, and fireproof.

But it definitely couldn’t withstand Shi Yuebai’s brute force.

She stewed over it for a while, then decided to let it go. Whatever.

She left the tent for Shi Yaoyao, Shi Mother, and Shi Xiangrui to sleep in.

Shi Yuebai took Shi Second Sister-in-law and Nong Yasi, and the three of them slept under the tarp as usual.

After a night passed, the wasteland greeted a bright sunny day.

Early in the morning, the ground temperature was already 36°C.

Even though Shi Yuebai stayed in the shade,

her weight still started to climb uncontrollably.

Under these circumstances, Shi Yuebai had to find a way to burn off some of her body fat.

She began to push herself.

First, she poured spiritual energy madly into the dizziness array, so much so that when Nong Yasi got up, she was stunned.

She asked Shi Yuebai, “Why is it so foggy today?”

The sun blazed in the sky, but thick white mist drifted along the ground.

Such a strange phenomenon—was another disaster about to happen?

Nong Yasi felt uneasy.

But Shi Yuebai didn’t answer her.

She just turned away and had Nong Yasi and Second Sister-in-law use scavenged brooms to sweep all the trash and rubble from inside and outside the tarp, as well as the yard.

The whole place looked much cleaner.

Though there was still a pile of rubble behind the pool,

the stones under the bridge had been cleared away, revealing the original stone piers.

The piers were smooth—before the apocalypse, the bridge construction here must have been quite advanced.

You could even vaguely see the neatly stacked embankment beside the piers.

Looking at this flat area, Shi Yuebai could imagine that, before the wasteland, there used to be water in this river.

When the water level was low, there must have been plenty of fishing enthusiasts sitting on the piers and embankment, casting their lines.

Shi Yuebai looked up. Not far from the mattress was a patch of earth.

A field of potatoes was growing there.

The potato plants were lush and crowded, packed so tightly they were almost pushing against each other.

Shi Yuebai fell silent for a moment.

It was time to clear away more rubble and expose more of the riverbank.

Second Sister-in-law stood on a high spot, waving in Shi Yuebai’s direction, delighted.

“Yuebai, we’ve cleared the path to the toilet!”

Even the pile of stones blocking the public restroom entrance had been completely removed.

Nong Yasi, sweating profusely, pushed over a cart full of rubble.

“Yuebai, we want to use some water to clean the restroom.”

Shi Yuebai nodded and followed Nong Yasi up the slope to check out the public restroom they’d gradually dug out.

It was a public toilet built from bluestone slabs.

Before the apocalypse, this must have been a nice scenic spot—a swimming pool for people to enjoy, and a place for fishing enthusiasts.

So the public restroom was large and modern.

So modern, in fact, that a whole row of screens hung above the sinks.

The roof was covered with solar panels.

Though many of the screens were cracked and broken,

you could still make out which stalls were occupied and which were free.

Occupied stalls showed red.

Unoccupied ones were green.

Shi Yuebai stared at the screen at the restroom entrance for a long time, struggling to figure out what use it could possibly have.

“Yuebai, there’s so much toilet paper here.”

Nong Yasi, who was cleaning the restroom floor, had opened a utility room next to the building.

Half the room was filled with big, white rolls of toilet paper, stacked high.

There were also several boxes of cleaning supplies, a dozen mops, buckets, and so on.

Everything was well preserved.

Probably because the restroom had been half-buried in the ruins,

no other survivors had managed to get into the utility room.

Nong Yasi said happily, “Now we don’t even have to worry about finding toilet paper.”

She carried out a big roll, tore off the clear plastic wrap, and loaded it into the wall-mounted dispenser.

She cheerfully pulled off a strip and went to use the toilet.

Shi Yaoyao and Shi Mother also climbed up excitedly to check out the restroom.

Curious, they each tore off a strip of toilet paper and picked a stall.

Shi Yuebai wheeled herself inside, bored, and looked up at the electronic screen.

The stalls occupied by Nong Yasi, Shi Yaoyao, and Shi Mother all showed green—unoccupied.

Shi Yuebai snorted.

See, this thing was useless.

She turned on the faucet.

A stream of blackish-yellow water came out, reeking of rot.

“The drainage and water supply systems in this area are still working,”

Shi Yuebai said to Second Sister-in-law, who was feeling her way inside, then shut off the tap.

Unlike the Shi family, she didn’t need to use the toilet every day.

After satisfying her curiosity, Shi Yuebai left the restroom.

Sitting on a high spot and looking down, Shi Yuebai realized

that after clearing away the rubble, their sleeping area was very close to the potato field.

Judging by the terrain, the potato field used to be part of the riverbank.

It was much lower than where the mattress was.

The small pool was just above the mattress.

Further up was the old bridge, and the restroom was by the riverbank.

In fact, if they just dug a channel, water from the pool could flow straight to the potato field.

Shi Yuebai hurried down from the restroom to find Guai Guai.

She described what she needed.

Guai Guai was silent for a long time before asking, in a dazed voice,

“You guys have a public restroom now?”

“What? You want to use your bathwater to irrigate the potato field?”

“Bathwater? Bathwater? Hahaha…”

Guai Guai was about to lose it.

Such a familiar yet foreign word—was there really such a thing as bathwater in the wasteland?

Wasn’t all clean water supposed to be for drinking?

After mumbling to himself, Guai Guai looked at Shi Yuebai with a crazed expression.

“Let me take a bath, and I’ll build you an automatic irrigation system.”

“Hahaha, ahhhh, Shi Yuebai, you’re such a waster!!!”

He was both pleading and exasperated,

looking like someone with a split personality.

Shi Yuebai actually used water for bathing!

No wonder the Shi family all looked so clean lately.

Well, Guai Guai wanted in, too!

Shi Yuebai looked at him coolly.

“My family is all women and children. If you dare try to bathe here, I’ll kill you.”

She wheeled herself away, rolling over the trash Guai Guai had piled under the tarp.

“I’ll let you bathe, but go use the public restroom. Figure out your own water tank.”

Finally, Shi Yuebai made the most of her resources. “Both the men’s and women’s restrooms need one—make a super-sized tank.”

“I want only clean water for flushing the toilets.”

Today’s six thousand steps are done."