บท 17: Chapter 17 The Flea Market in the Neighborhood
"What do you want to do? I haven't wronged you; stop trying to bully people."
The woman was all bark and no bite, not truly intending to hit anyone.
However, with so many people watching, she didn't want to lose face.
"I should be the one asking you, which building are you from? Why are you causing trouble here?
The weather is so hot, and there's a lot of virus outside, hasn't it been said not to go out unless necessary?
Are you infected with the virus yourself, deliberately coming over here?"
As soon as she said this, the people around them took several steps back.
"No, sister, you've got it wrong..."
"Ptui, who's your sister? Drop that sly fox act and fess up."
Faced with such an obstinate person, even if one had a point, it couldn't be made clear, and Jhiang Yuan enjoyed watching the drama unfold.
"Really, I don't have it, bi—, beautiful lady, I'm from Building 9, just here to find someone."
Jhiang Yuan appeared completely at ease, spreading her hands: "Don't look at me; I didn't ask her to come. Carry on, I won't interrupt..."
As she spoke, she took out a bottle of insecticide from behind her and sprayed it a few times in front of her.
She turned around, closed the door, all in one go.
Bai Mengmeng was interrogated for a while longer until the woman finally let her go, cursing under her breath.
Jhiang Yuan had seen all this through the surveillance feed, she thought Bai Mengmeng got what she deserved, bringing it upon herself.
Today wasn't entirely without gain, confirming that Bai Mengmeng indeed lived in Building 9.
She thought that she would have to keep a closer eye on her going forward.
Jhiang Xingzhi and Qin Yue were also worried about her, so Jhiang Yuan consoled the old couple for a while before heading back to her bedroom to check on her daughter.
The extreme heat was estimated to last another 20 days.
During this time, the government would still implement emergency measures; without saying anything else, at least supplies were available for purchase.
But after the torrential rain and the arrival of extreme cold, that would be a real disaster.
Most importantly, Jhiang Yuan hadn't lived too long in a world of extreme cold.
She was completely clueless about what might happen next.
At nine o'clock, the neighborhood surprisingly had electricity.
The weather remained as hot as ever, and the transformer was unstable. The news said that it had been treated.
They could withstand temperatures of 800 degrees, but the temperature of the high-voltage lines themselves was already higher than the ambient air temperature.
As they were still in the trial run, the building manager kept urging over and over not to turn on air conditioners, or the power would trip.
Jhiang Yuan could only feel the irony. Human nature was so hard to define—who wasn't a self-preserver?
As expected, less than 10 minutes after the power came, it tripped again.
Many household electrical appliances were fried, and the owners' chat group was full of grievances.
In Jhiang Yuan's house, things were still okay; they didn't have too many issues.
They only turned on two small fans. During the day when there was nothing to do, everyone would sit together, either reading books or tablets.
At night, they would still go out as usual.
As per the routine, she and her father went out to shop, while her mother stayed home to watch the child.
With yesterday's experience in mind, Jhiang Yuan took a dagger with her today, and her father also carried a small hammer as a weapon for self-defense.
Upon stepping out, they were hit by a wave of heat.
They were wrapped up even tighter than usual, making them feel considerably hotter.
"Jhiang Yuan, Uncle, are you going out?"
Song Yi was fully geared up too, with only his eyes showing.
"Yeah, we're off to buy some things. What about you?"
"Me too, let's go together..."
After some thought, Jhiang Yuan agreed.
Going together, the more people there were, the safer it would be, especially with someone of high combat power.
Although the order has not completely collapsed now, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Though you can't fully trust 2102, he's still much better than most people, isn't he?
"Drive my car~"
Once they arrived at the underground garage, Song Yi immediately invited the two of them.
Jhiang Yuan glanced at the car, it seemed to be an SUV, very sturdy.
Seeing her hesitate, the other party quickly said, "My car has great air conditioning, we can cool off a bit."
"Alright, that would be great, thank you..."
In this weather, every little bit of coolness counts.
Although she didn't want to take advantage of him, making herself a bit more comfortable wasn't something to refuse.
As the car left the underground garage, there were quite a few people at the entrance of the residential complex. Jhiang Yuan looked outside.
Jhiang Xingzhi also noticed something unusual and asked with some surprise, "Daughter, do you think those people are setting up stalls?"
"It does look like it, but something seems odd."
Song Yi, who had been focused on driving, spoke up with a calm expression, "They are residents of the complex, organizing spontaneously.
They are bartering for daily necessities. You might want to take a look if you're interested."
This, too, might be considered a bright spot in the apocalyptic environment.
You might actually find some useful things.
Jhiang Yuan was tempted. When they got to the supermarket, the place was still extremely crowded.
They were the fifth group to enter, and today's prices were even scarier—one could only get 2kg of rice for two hundred yuan, compared to 5kg yesterday.
One hundred yuan for one kilogram of rice—even thinking about it, aren't these prices ready to skyrocket?
Jhiang Yuan didn't give it much thought. She wasn't interested in buying staples like rice and flour yet.
Instead, there were still some instant noodles on the shelves.
It might be because no one knows when these days will end, so rice, oil, flour, and dried noodles have become popular.
Instant food like cup noodles is secondary—after all, you only have so much money.
If you buy this, you can't buy that. You must make choices.
Instant noodles weren't cheap either, thirty yuan a pack. Jhiang Yuan bought three packs, and with the rest, she bought a kilogram of potatoes and half a cabbage.
That's right, just half—every little bit more than a kilogram is too much.
Jhiang Xingzhi still bought vegetables, as more of these are always beneficial.
Song Yi bought dried noodles, truly preparing for the apocalypse.
Jhiang Yuan could now confirm that even if this man wasn't reborn, he definitely knew some inside information.
By the time the three of them came out, it was already 10:30 PM.
Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any troublesome people today.
At the entrance, she lingered on the security guard's stun baton for a long time. If such a thing were given to her for self-defense, it would be more than ideal.
Song Yi also noticed her gaze, but didn't say anything.
In the apocalypse, no one is completely trustworthy, especially not a neighbor you've just met a few times.
When they reached the entrance of the residential complex, she had Jhiang Xingzhi go back, while she herself got out of the car early.
She wanted to check out the makeshift flea market, in case she could find something useful there.
This was at the main entrance of the complex, by the roadside, with roughly twenty stalls.
Calling them stalls wasn't quite accurate—it was just a piece of cloth laid down with items placed on top.
Bartering items for food, vegetables, other forms of sustenance, as well as water, medicine, and the like.
As Jhiang Yuan walked by, she saw a lot, but few were buying.
Some did approach to ask, but most were trivial items.
Among them, a girl's figure caught her attention; she wasn't wrapped up very tightly.
Even though she wore long pants and sleeves, her face was exposed.
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