Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Extreme Heat, Shelter Camp

Lu Zhifeng’s heart skipped a beat. "It’s been hot for so long, the chance of a torrential downpour is definitely high."

"I’m going to go back and pack right now. Niu Niu and I will move back to the village."

’He actually wanted to live with Jiang Si’s family, but they hadn’t given any indication of wanting that, so he was considerate enough not to say anything and put them in a difficult position.’

He had guns and ammunition stashed under the floorboards of his house. If he truly ran into danger, he’d have the means to protect himself.

Jiang Si nodded. "Yes, if the winds get strong, the watchtower will be very dangerous. It’s better to move down."

That very night, Lu Zhifeng and Niu Niu moved back into the village. It then took him several more days to gradually move all their things from the watchtower down to the village.

He did everything he could, searching the village for useful materials to reinforce his doors, windows, and attic. Following Jiang Si’s family’s example, he also set up a temporary drainage system on the first floor.

The house hadn’t been renovated in many years and they rarely lived in it. Worried about severe water leakage on the first floor, Lu Zhifeng moved all their important belongings to the second floor.

He also gathered some light wooden planks to make life preservers for himself and Niu Niu, while also training Niu Niu on how to react in a water emergency.

In his spare time, he also followed the example of Jiang Si’s grandmother, using woven bags to plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms, and to sprout chives.

However, his house didn’t have insulation panels, nor did he have Jiang Si’s occasional supply of ice for cooling things down. Other than the giant mushrooms sprouting some mycelium, there were no other signs of growth.

Lu Zhifeng wasn’t discouraged. He planned to ask Qin Shen where he had found the cactus fruit. If that stuff could be cultivated, planting some cacti would be a good option.

Not only were the Cactus Fruits edible, but the cactus pads themselves could be peeled and eaten as vegetables. They were full of water, and the plant bloomed, fruited, and had a high yield.

Jiang Si also told Qin Shen her prediction about the potential for heavy rain.

’This life was different from her last one, so she couldn’t make exact predictions anyway. She wasn’t afraid of Qin Shen getting suspicious about how she knew.’

Qin Shen’s reaction was similar to Lu Zhifeng’s. He actively repaired his house and would occasionally venture into the forest, bringing back foraged mutated plants, small game, salt stone... which he would trade with Jiang Si’s family for daily necessities.

After confirming that the water source here was drinkable, Kuang Jiaying began to gradually relocate the people from the shelter to Longquan Village.

Longquan Village had over 120 households. Aside from the houses belonging to Qin Shen, Lu Zhifeng, and Jiang Si, people were continuously moving into the other houses every day.

Each household had to accommodate at least twenty people.

Strangers and acquaintances alike all slept on large, communal beds.

The weather was already hot, and the smell inside a single house was a mixture of everything imaginable.

Lin Zuquan’s family was crammed into the shelter. They only got two meals a day, had to wait in long lines for the toilet, and couldn’t even stretch their legs out when they slept.

They had finally received the notice: a water source had been found, and there was a solution for the solar flare radiation.

Everyone was thrilled they could relocate and start a new life. They followed the group for several hours, only to end up back in Longquan Village.

With the village now serving as the shelter’s base, the house that originally belonged to their family had also been requisitioned by the authorities.

They clearly had a home, yet they had to continue squeezing onto communal beds with everyone else, every breath filled with the stench of shit, piss, and farts.

Although the conditions were slightly better than before, it wasn’t much of an improvement.

Luo Yong’s family was also stunned.

They never expected that the village they had desperately fled would become the shelter’s base.

They all went to Song Hui to explain their situation, demanding to be allowed to return to their own homes.

That way, they wouldn’t have to be crammed in with others, nor would they have to follow the authorities’ orders to dig irrigation channels and build houses in exchange for food.

The base had water; couldn’t they just figure out a way to grow something themselves?

Before them, quite a few people had already approached Song Hui.

He stated bluntly, "From the moment you left this place and accepted the shelter’s help, everything here no longer had anything to do with you. The state has found a new place for everyone to live."

"If you don’t accept the state’s arrangements, you can leave the shelter right now."

Leave the shelter!

Without water, without food, and without a place of refuge, how could they survive!

Recognizing the warning in Song Hui’s words, everyone temporarily gave up on the idea of getting their houses back.

If they insisted on making trouble and got their houses back, they would end up with no one looking out for them. They probably wouldn’t even be able to protect the few belongings they had.

Everyone slunk away dejectedly.

In the following two days, because Lin Zu was a veterinarian, he was given a job looking after the shelter’s livestock. It paid ten points a day, which was just enough for him to feed himself. But the work wasn’t tiring, and it was in the coolest place in the entire shelter.

It was said that in order for the few remaining chickens, ducks, and rabbits to breed properly, several thick layers of insulation panels had been installed.

On his first day of work, he moved directly into the chicken coop and didn’t go back, feeling extremely lucky.

’Maybe there’d even be a chance to steal an egg to satisfy his cravings.’

Until one night, he happened to see the glow of a fire coming from Jiang Si’s house.

He asked Jiao Kuangwen if Jiang Si’s family also had twenty people living with them.

Jiao Kuangwen, who had been publicly humiliated by Jiang Si and had unilaterally started a feud with her, sneered. "Her family isn’t like you people. They don’t have to do a thing and still get to eat and drink well, living in their own private villa."

Lin Zu’s eyes widened, his face filled with rage. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Why should they!

’We’re all from the same village, and Jiang Si’s family are murderers! How can they get to act like the Jade Emperor in the shelter?’

"This isn’t fair!"

Jiao Kuangwen scoffed, "What’s not fair about it? They never left Longquan Village in the first place, they performed a meritorious service, and they’re under the protection of our camp commander. They received thousands of pounds of grain. They’ve just got good fortune."

He was telling Lin Zu this on purpose, hoping Lin Zu would go and cause trouble for Jiang Si’s family.

’If Jiang Si and her family made a mistake, they could be punished.’

Thousands of pounds of grain!

To everyone right now, that was an astronomical figure.

Lin Zu was practically dying of jealousy and envy. He immediately ran back to tell Lin Chenghua.

Lin Chenghua couldn’t even lift the arm that Jiang Si had shot.

Hearing how well Jiang Si’s family was living, he was so angry he ground his teeth. "Let’s go! Get some people together! We’ll all move into their house and live the good life!"

Lin Zu was a little hesitant. "I heard the camp commander is protecting them."

A sinister look appeared in Lin Chenghua’s eyes. "Protect them, my ass! Why should they get special treatment when we’re all human? If we can’t move into their house, then they have to give our house back to us!"

"That was originally our house!"

The more Lin Chenghua thought about it, the angrier he got.

Even though there were people patrolling Longquan Village, keeping watch and maintaining order, Jiang Si still didn’t dare to lower her guard. Every day, she and her family took turns watching from the windows.

Jiang Si was teaching her mother how to break free from someone’s grasp when Jiang Linhai’s voice suddenly came from upstairs, "Alert!"

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, got dressed properly, and grabbed their weapons.

Even Little Black and Big Black ran to the door, baring their teeth fiercely as they stood ready.

After a short while, Jiang Si heard a commotion outside the door.

Lin Zu was shouting outside. "Your house is so big, but there are only a few of you living here! What a waste of everyone’s resources! We’re all from the same village, let us move in!"