Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Extreme Heat, Blazing Sun

Jiang Linhai’s expression was hesitant. He glanced again at the father and daughter with their cracked lips and said, "Wait here a moment."

"Sisi, Lu Zhifeng wants to trade for water. Should I give him any?"

Jiang Si thought for a moment. "We can give him some, but water is precious. See what he’s willing to trade for it."

Just because almost everyone else was dead didn’t mean there weren’t still potential dangers.

Anyone who had survived this long was a tough character.

They had to be even more careful about hiding the true extent of their supplies.

Jiang Linhai returned Lu Zhifeng’s things to him, then said, "We barely have enough for our own family to drink. If you want to trade for water, what do you have to offer?"

Lu Zhifeng took some bullets from his bag and said, "Twenty rounds in total. For two buckets of water."

Jiang Linhai frowned. "No deal. One bucket of water, and you’ll have to give me another twenty rounds."

"Everyone’s dead now. Bullets are only good for hunting, and there’s no guarantee there’s any game to hunt. If you don’t want to trade, then forget it."

Lu Zhifeng hesitated for a second, then gritted his teeth and pulled another twenty bullets from his bag. "Fine, we have a deal!"

Jiang Linhai took the bullets and, after a moment, brought a bucket of water out from inside.

Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu’s eyes instantly welled up. They hurriedly crouched down, bending over like thirsty animals to gulp down the water, terrified of wasting a single drop of this hard-won bucket.

They didn’t dare to drink their fill. As soon as their thirst was quenched, they quickly stood up.

Lu Zhifeng asked, "Do you have any sealable containers for water?"

Jiang Linhai went back inside and found two large plastic containers for them, along with a ladle for scooping. Lu Zhifeng accepted them gratefully. He and Niu Niu carefully filled the containers, their faces beaming with hopeful smiles.

As a father himself, Jiang Linhai greatly admired Lu Zhifeng. He casually asked, "Are you two going to look for water?"

Lu Zhifeng’s expression froze for a moment, then he spoke, a little embarrassed. "We definitely have to go. When the time comes, could I trouble you to help me look after Niu Niu?"

Even before the apocalypse, the forest was full of unknown dangers. Lu Zhifeng didn’t want to take Niu Niu with him on such a risky trip.

Before Jiang Linhai could answer, Niu Niu quickly grabbed Lu Zhifeng’s leg and blurted out, "I want to be with Dad! I’ll go wherever Dad goes! I know how to use a gun, I can protect Dad!"

Lu Zhifeng met Niu Niu’s teary eyes and ultimately couldn’t bear to leave her in someone else’s care. He stroked her head. "Alright, then you can come with Dad."

Niu Niu’s tears turned into a smile. Lu Zhifeng then turned back to Jiang Linhai. "Niu Niu and I are going to look for water tomorrow night. If you want to come with us, I’ll come get you."

Jiang Linhai didn’t know what Jiang Si’s plans were. After all, they weren’t short on water for the time being.

Suddenly, Big Black and Little Black started barking wildly, baring their teeth and trembling all over.

Jiang Si pulled Jiang Linhai and the others inside, quickly locked the outer door, raised her pistol, and strained her ears to listen.

Aside from the barking of Big Black and Little Black, everyone held their breath.

"Anyone home?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted over.

Big Black and Little Black tucked their tails between their legs and hid behind Jiang Linhai’s legs, trembling uncontrollably.

They hadn’t even been this scared when the rat and mosquito swarms came.

Jiang Si’s whole family recognized the voice. It was their next-door neighbor, Qin Shen.

Jiang Si pressed herself against the back of the door and peeked through the peephole. She saw he was wearing a vest and pants woven from dried grass and was carrying over a dozen bamboo tubes on his back. She asked in a cold voice, "What are you doing here?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Qin Shen held up a bamboo tube. "Trade for water?"

’He actually has water!’

Everyone’s eyes lit up at once.

Niu Niu, even more excited, grabbed Lu Zhifeng’s arm and shook it. "Dad, he has water too!"

They had another person they could trade with for water.

Wary of a trick, Jiang Si opened the outer door and held a bowl out through the fence. "Pour some out and let me see."

Qin Shen pulled the plug from the top of the bamboo tube and poured. The water quickly filled the bowl.

Jiang Si looked closely. It was clean water.

’Judging by his wild-man appearance, he must have gotten this from somewhere recently. It’s not from his old reserves.’

The underground water source she knew of was a six-hour round trip at the fastest.

’There’s no way Qin Shen could be that fast. Could there be another underground spring nearby that he discovered?’

A flicker of joy appeared in Jiang Si’s eyes. She said to him, "We’ll trade for the water. Can the location of the water source be part of the trade?"

Lu Zhifeng also clenched his fists in excitement.

Qin Shen’s expression was serious. "The place is very dangerous."

Not having water to drink—that was the real danger.

Lu Zhifeng said impatiently, "It doesn’t matter, we can handle it!"

Qin Shen seemed to be thinking. Then he said, "There are seven of you in total, plus two dogs. If you want to know the location of the water source, what will you trade for it?"

Lu Zhifeng quickly offered, "I can give you clothes and shoes."

Qin Shen shook his head immediately. "I want food, weapons, and medicine."

Putting a gun in the hands of someone whose character couldn’t be trusted was a more dangerous decision than facing a water shortage.

Besides, Qin Shen was a strong, able-bodied man.

Anyone who could survive alone until now was certainly no ordinary person.

A gun would make him even more formidable. Lu Zhifeng was torn.

But he didn’t struggle with the decision for long. "I’ll give you a hunting rifle," Lu Zhifeng said, "and two boxes of ammunition."

He had been hoarding these weapons for the sole purpose of ensuring Niu Niu could survive.

He was afraid he would regret it later if he passed up this chance to learn the location of the water source.

"But you have to personally lead me to the water source. I’ll give you the bullets when we get back."

Qin Shen was decisive. "Deal."

The only things Jiang Si could offer Qin Shen were food and medicine.

"Five hundred catties of unhusked rice."

Five hundred catties of rice would be enough to feed a single person like Qin Shen for a very long time.

’Though she was deliberately lowballing him.’

’Still, he should be grateful that someone was willing to give him food at a time like this.’

Qin Shen glanced at her, his deep eyes involuntarily reminding her of the scene from earlier that day.

Jiang Si suddenly felt a little guilty and relented, raising her offer. "How about a few sets of clothes, too? I really can’t give you any more food. We have so many people in our family."

Satisfied, Qin Shen looked away. "Alright." Then he said to everyone, "I’ll wait for you here tomorrow night." He swiftly took all the bamboo tubes off his back and offered them to Jiang Si. "Can I trade these for a pot?"

Lu Zhifeng wanted to say he would make the trade, but then he remembered he would be able to get his own water tomorrow, so he held his tongue.

It was just a pot. Jiang Si had her mom bring over a pot used for cooking noodles, then opened the fence to barter with him.

The dozen or so bamboo tubes filled with water were heavy, and Jiang Si couldn’t carry them all. Qin Shen, knowing they were still wary of him, simply placed them by the courtyard gate for her, picked up the pot, and turned to leave.

’That decisive, no-nonsense personality is actually quite charming.’

After Qin Shen left, Lu Zhifeng took two trips to move his things before finally leaving with Niu Niu.

Jiang Si poured the water from the bamboo tubes into their water tank and tossed the empty tubes aside to be used as firewood.

Jiang Linhai crouched down curiously. He suddenly picked up one of the bamboo stalks and exclaimed to Jiang Si, "Sisi, come look! The claw marks on this bamboo are huge!"

Jiang Si leaned in for a closer look. Near the spot where the bamboo had been cut, there were claw marks larger than a bear’s paw. What’s more, every single tube had them.

Jiang Linhai guessed, "Qin Shen said it was dangerous. Do you think there’s a ferocious beast guarding the water source?"