Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 443 The Little Worker

Old Wang added from the side, "If you want some, we brothers can make a few for you when we have time. We won't pay you too much, just a meal will do."

He glanced at the remaining wood ear mushroom soup in the pot and smiled sheepishly.

Lan Yue had been squatting to the side without saying a word, but when she heard this, she finally couldn't hold back anymore. She leaned forward and raised the plastic bowl in her hand, shaking it.

The plastic bowls reflected a cheap, pale light in the firelight, creating a stark contrast with the two warm, smooth wooden bowls.

"Do it!" Lan Yue's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "Make a batch, we'll buy it, and when we sell wood ear soup later, we'll serve it in wooden bowls."

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at Lan Yue, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Blue Moon had guessed her thoughts perfectly, even anticipating them before she did.

She didn't say much, but turned her head and nodded seriously to Lao Wang and Lao Li.

"Thank you both, let's make ten to test the waters first. You can name your wages, and we'll use compressed biscuits to dry them."

Old Wang and Old Li exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time.

Old Wang picked up the bowl of wood ear mushroom soup, which had cooled down a bit, gulped down more than half of it, and then put the bowl on the ground.

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his forearm that was so covered in wood dust and muddy slurry that its original color was unrecognizable.

"Let's get to work!" Old Wang stood up, bent down and crawled out from under the tarpaulin. Raindrops fell on his shoulders and head, but he didn't care. He strode towards the pile of timber.

As they walked, they discussed with Old Li, "Is there any elm wood left?"

Old Li, holding his wooden bowl engraved with the character "Li," slurped up the last mouthful of soup, shoved the bowl into Lan Yue's hand, said "I'll come back for it later," and then crawled out of the waterproof tarpaulin.

The sounds of their conversation, turning over wood, and the occasional judgment of "this piece is fine" could be heard through the drizzle.

The space under the waterproof cloth suddenly became much more spacious, and Lan Yue turned the stove fire down a bit.

Before the two could catch their breath, several wet heads peeked in from the edge of the tarpaulin.

"What smells so good?" A middle-aged man wearing a gray-blue raincoat bent over, sniffed a few times, and stared straight at the iron pot that was still emitting smoke.

He was followed by three or four people, some of whom were covered with plastic sheets.

Some people wore their coats on their heads, drawn in by the rich aroma of thirteen spices and wood ear fungus.

"What are you selling here? It smells so tempting."

Another, younger man leaned forward, and raindrops dripped from the brim of his hat, landing right on the edge of the pot with a soft "sizzle".

Lan Yue put down her spoon, looked up at the group of people, and then at Xu Xiaoyan.

Xu Xiaoyan put the bowl in her hand aside, stood up, and said in a low but clear voice, "Fresh wood ear soup, just cooked, one bowl and one compressed biscuit."

The group of people looked at each other.

The middle-aged man in the gray-blue raincoat pursed his lips and shook his head.

"A compressed biscuit in exchange for a bowl of wood ear mushroom soup? That's too expensive. The compressed biscuit is much more substantial and filling. This soup is just for the novelty."

As he spoke, he began to back away, and the others hesitated as well, some of them already turning around to leave.

Xu Xiaoyan's gaze swept across their faces, but she didn't rush to stop them.

But just as those people turned around, he suddenly spoke, his tone much lighter than before, "Anyone willing to be a laborer? Help build a small wooden hut, it's over there—"

She gestured with her chin toward the construction site and said, "After the job is done, everyone will receive a bowl of wood ear mushroom soup."

The footsteps that had already turned around stopped.

The first person to turn around was the middle-aged man in the gray-blue raincoat. He turned his neck and his gaze lingered on Xu Xiaoyan's face for a moment.

He then turned to the construction site where pillars and door frames had already been erected, seemingly weighing the options between "a bowl of wood ear soup" and "doing his part."

He quickly turned his whole body back, and the expression on his face changed from doubt to happiness.

"It's just a matter of exerting some strength, I have plenty!" he said, already rolling up his raincoat sleeves twice to reveal a section of his muscular forearm.

"Building a wooden hut won't take long, and it will be faster with more people. I'm willing to lend a hand."

"Yes, yes, yes," the younger man next to him also turned back, taking off his soaking wet jacket and draping it over his shoulder as he walked. "Anyway, we're just killing time now."

The other two didn't say anything, but their feet had already honestly moved back.

One of them picked out a suitable wooden lever from the pile of timber next to them, while the other went directly to the edge of the construction site, squatted down, and helped straighten a wall panel that had been blown askew by the wind.

Old Wang was squatting by the door frame chiseling holes for the door hinges when he suddenly saw four or five more helpers appear. He was stunned for a moment.

He then stood up, dusted off the sawdust from his hands, and glanced at Xu Xiaoyan.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded to him, and Old Wang didn't ask any more questions. He turned around, waved to the newcomers, and began assigning tasks:

"You two go and move that pile of planks over there, yes, that stack—"

"Come here and help me hold this door frame while I drill this hole."

"Old Li, take him to replace that short plank in the back wall. That piece of material is no good; it has wormholes and won't last long."

The sounds on the construction site suddenly intensified: the hissing of sawing wood, the clanging of hammers hitting nails, voices, footsteps, and the muffled thuds of planks colliding.

The four people who originally came to ask about the price of soup are now working harder than anyone else.

The middle-aged man in the gray-blue raincoat took it off, revealing his bare chest as he carried timber, rainwater streaming down his back.

He made trip after trip between the lumber pile and the construction site, taking large, steady steps, delivering the wet, heavy planks one by one to where they were needed.

The younger one climbed onto the roof, which was still partially nailed, squatted on the crossbeams, and started attaching planks, laying them one by one.

The other two were helping Old Wang chisel the door hinges and nailing wall panels with Old Li.

Under the waterproof tarpaulin, Xu Xiaoyan and Lan Yue were also busy.

Lan Yue reheated the wood ear mushroom soup in the pot, added a few ladles of rainwater, stirred it, and kept the soup boiling hot.

Xu Xiaoyan squatted by the pot, poking the fire with a stick, keeping the flames neither too strong nor too weak, steadily licking the bottom of the pot.

"Tell me, are these people really after that bowl of soup, or are they just bored?"

Lan Yue squatted down beside him and asked in a low voice, her gaze falling on the few figures who were working hard on the construction site.

"Yes, I have them all." Xu Xiaoyan didn't look up. She poked at the fire with the stick in her hand, and a piece of red-hot charcoal rolled to the side, which she then pushed back with the stick.

"But it doesn't matter. We can afford the soup, and they can do the work, that's enough."

Lan Yue thought for a moment, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.