Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 439 The Idea to Build a House

Xu Xiaoyan walked past them expressionlessly, her hat brim pulled low, her mask covering most of her face, revealing only a pair of eyes staring straight ahead.

Turn the corner of the wall next to the row of warehouses on the east side of the trading point, and the stalls will come into view.

Blue Moon was squatting next to the waterproof tarpaulin, idly poking at the pile of black fungus with a small twig.

They were turned over and left to air dry, probably because they were afraid that if they were left out for too long, the bottom layer would become sticky due to lack of ventilation.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and immediately saw the dark iron pot above Xu Xiaoyan's head. Her eyes lit up, and she dropped the tree branch and stood up.

"We actually managed to rent one!" Lan Yue quickly went over and offered a helping hand.

She looked the pot up and down, then tapped it on the rim. "This pot is nice, quite big. Is the rental fee expensive?"

"Not bad, one point can rent for ten days," Xu Xiaoyan said as she squatted down and began cleaning the iron pot. Lan Yue immediately came over to help.

Lan Yue squatted by the pot, her hands gripping the rim, her chin resting on the back of her hands, looking at the empty iron pot, and suddenly laughed.

"Xiao Yan," she turned her head, her eyes sparkling, "Do you think this counts as...opening for business? A proper opening, with pots and pans, the kind of opening?"

Xu Xiaoyan squatted down next to the pile of wood ear mushrooms and tidied up the mushrooms that Lan Yue had messed up on the waterproof cloth.

Upon hearing this, she paused, looked up at the pot, then at Lan Yue's excited face, and smiled.

"I guess so," she said, her voice not loud, but with a certainty in her tone.

She pushed the gathered wood ear mushrooms into the middle of the waterproof cloth, then scooped out two handfuls, preparing to cook a pot to try later.

The fresh wood ear mushrooms felt slippery and damp in my hands, some still had bits of bark clinging to them, so I had to pick them out again before cooking.

"I'll go find some stones to build a stove," Lan Yue said, patting the dust off her hands. Before Xu Xiaoyan could respond, she turned and walked towards the scattered stones by the roadside.

Soon, she returned carrying a pile of stones of varying sizes, which she dumped onto the side of the pot with a splash, raising a small patch of mud.

Xu Xiaoyan also squatted down to help build the stove. The sound of stones colliding was crisp and real. A simple stove slowly took shape under the hands of the two of them.

The rain seemed to be getting heavier.

At first, it was just a fine drizzle. The two were busy arranging the wood ear mushrooms and fiddling with the iron pot under the waterproof cloth, and neither of them paid much attention.

But soon the rain intensified, pelting down and making a dull, dense sound as it hit the tarpaulin.

There was only one waterproof tarpaulin on the stall, which Lan Yue had taken off the tent that morning. It wasn't very big, just enough to cover the wood ear mushrooms and the pot.

Rainwater streamed down the brim of the hat, dripping onto the mask, making it wet and stuffy, almost suffocating.

Xu Xiaoyan wiped the water off her face, looked up at the sky, and saw that the rain showed no signs of letting up.

She lowered her hand and turned to look at the pile of wood ear mushrooms covered with a waterproof tarpaulin.

Fresh wood ear mushrooms naturally contain a lot of water, and with the air humidity nearing saturation, if they continue to soak like this, they'll probably become sticky and spoil before they can even be sold.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to start a fire today," Lan Yue said, squatting down beside him, clutching a half-whittled wooden stick in her hand.

The stick head was soaked by the rain, and the wood shavings it produced were damp and wouldn't spark properly.

She tried several times, but not a single spark came out. Instead, her hands were covered in wet, sticky sawdust that she couldn't shake off.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't speak, her gaze quickly sweeping around through the rain.

Under the porch facing the trading point, several people sheltering from the rain were looking this way with their arms crossed.

On the mountain road in the distance, scattered figures were running towards the campsite. Some had their coats over their heads, while others cursed the awful weather as they ran.

Rainwater gathered into trickles on the ground, flowing from higher to lower elevations, leaving the ground around the stall pitted and uneven, with some areas already flooded.

"We can't keep going like this," Xu Xiaoyan said, standing up.

The tarpaulin arched up her shoulders, and rainwater slid down its surface, splashing mud at her feet.

She bent down and gathered the pile of wood ear mushrooms in the center of the waterproof cloth, pressing the four corners down firmly, then straightened up and turned to Blue Moon.

"Go to the trading point and get a large waterproof tarp," Xu Xiaoyan said quickly, but every word was clear.

"The bigger the better, the kind that can cover our entire stall. I'll go find someone."

Without saying a word, Lan Yue threw the half-shaved stick on the ground, stood up, and was about to leave.

He took a couple of steps, then turned back, glancing at the empty iron pot and the pile of waterproof tarpaulins pattering in the rain. He frowned. "Is it alright to leave these things here?"

"It's okay, I'm nearby." Xu Xiaoyan had already pulled her hat brim down and her mask up, covering herself up completely except for her eyes.

"I'll find someone to build a small wooden hut. It doesn't need to be big, just big enough to shelter us from the wind and rain and to put a stove and start a fire. We can't be exposed to the elements like this every day."

Lan Yue nodded, asked no more questions, and turned to run towards the trading point.

Her scarf, soaked by the rain, hung heavily on her chest, swinging as she ran.

Xu Xiaoyan walked along the dirt road outside the trading point, heading towards where the crowd might gather.

She knew that at this time of day, loggers would choose a place to rest, and there would be more people at the entrance of the trading point than usual, as there were always some idle people looking for work.

Sure enough, before they had gone far, they saw several people under the porch on the east side of the trading point.

A few people huddled under the small eaves, some squatting, some standing, their faces showing the kind of listless laziness that only comes with rainy days.

They saw Xu Xiaoyan walking over, and their eyes all fell on her. A woman carrying a bulging backpack, she was clearly not there to take shelter from the rain.

Xu Xiaoyan stopped in front of the porch, her gaze sweeping over the faces of those people, quickly making a selection.

The four men were all wearing the kind of durable work clothes that you only wear when you're working. Their trouser legs were covered in mud, the soles of their shoes were worn white, and the muscles on their forearms were well-defined.

She didn't waste any words and went straight to the point:

"I need to build a simple wooden hut near the trading point. It doesn't need to be big, just enough to shelter me from the wind and rain, and a place to cook and make a fire. Can you build one?"

They all nodded.

Xu Xiaoyan continued, "You can cut the timber yourselves, and bring your own tools. My payment is two compressed biscuits per person, plus—"

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the four faces in turn. "Each person gets an extra bowl of fresh wood ear mushrooms every day, cooked to order."

There was a moment of silence under the porch, and the four men looked at each other.