Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 131 Firewood

Thinking of her private space that she absolutely could not expose to anyone, she turned to the two men who had just returned carrying sacks and said, "The situation at this base is unclear. It would be inconvenient for the three of us to move around together. I'll split up with you; it'll be more efficient." She paused, then continued, "We'll meet on the military vehicle at six o'clock sharp the day after tomorrow. See you there."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao became anxious. His brows furrowed tightly, his face filled with disapproval and worry. "You alone? How can you do this!" He blurted out unconsciously, his voice rising slightly. "This is a strange place, and it's getting dark. You're a girl, carrying such a big bag of stuff. It's too dangerous! Absolutely not!" He took a step forward, almost reaching out to grab Xu Xiaoyan.

Just as Wang Xiao was about to continue trying to dissuade her, Xie Yingtang reached out and tugged at his arm, saying in a deep voice, "Let her go. Xiao Yan knows what she should do and is aware of the risks involved. Don't worry about her."

Xu Xiaoyan met Wang Xiao's gaze, which was still filled with worry and unease, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Wang Xiao, I know what I'm doing. You all need to be careful and stay safe." After saying that, she didn't linger and turned to join the flow of people heading towards the city gate.

Wang Xiao looked in the direction she disappeared, opened his mouth, but could only let out a helpless sigh, "Let's go, Lao Xie, we need to hurry!"

Xu Xiaoyan followed the crowd to the city gate of the Starlight Base, which was roughly constructed from large logs and heavy steel plates. The city was brightly lit, with several high-powered searchlights illuminating the entrance area as if it were daytime. There was a checkpoint at the city gate, where uniformed staff were collecting "entry fees".

She stopped and listened carefully to the conversation between the crowd and the staff in front of her. To her slight relief, she learned that the entrance fee to the base was quite low. Perhaps in order to maintain basic order and filter out completely worthless people, each person only needed to provide half a kilogram of easily stored dried goods or two kilograms of fresh goods to obtain a simple certificate that allowed them to stay at the base for three days.

The price was still within her budget, so she didn't hesitate any longer. She put the sack off her shoulder, quickly untied the rope, and, using her body as cover, swiftly picked out about two pounds of oranges that were still relatively fresh and plump.

She handed the oranges to the staff member sitting behind the table. The staff member raised his eyelids, gave them a cursory inspection, and confirmed that they were fresh, edible, and not rotten fruit. He then casually grabbed a simple, rough-edged piece of cardboard from the side, stamped it with an ink-stained stamp with a blurry mark, clearly indicating the expiration date, and then stuffed it into her hand.

"Next!" the staff member called out impatiently.

Xu Xiaoyan tightly gripped the flimsy piece of paper that represented temporary access, quickly picked up the sack, squeezed through the open wire mesh door, and officially stepped into the interior of the Starlight Base.

Having successfully entered the base, Xu Xiaoyan did not relax or look around aimlessly like many others around her after arriving at the "safe zone." The first thing she did was to quickly move to a slightly more open area inside the city gate, where she was less likely to be bumped by the crowd. Then she quickly and carefully observed the rough wooden road signs standing by the roadside, while concentrating on discerning the direction of the main flow of people.

After initially determining the direction, she didn't rely entirely on the road signs. Instead, she stopped two local residents who appeared relatively calm, dressed in clean but worn clothes, and seemed to have lived there for some time. She politely bowed slightly and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the trading market in the base?"

One of the middle-aged women, carrying a basket, glanced at her. Perhaps seeing how difficult it was for a young woman to carry such a large bag alone, she enthusiastically pointed out the direction. "The trading market? Look, just keep going straight along this widest main road, don't turn. Go through that densely packed area of ​​temporary tents, and you'll see a really big, cement-paved square! The place with lots of colorful, tattered flags stuck around the edge of the square is it! It's very lively, easy to find!"

"Thank you!" Xu Xiaoyan thanked her sincerely and immediately followed the directions, hurrying towards the location of the market. The sack on her shoulder was heavy. She had to race against time, before most people in the base had fully recovered from the shock of the military's notification, or rather, before the deadly news of "severe cold" spread like wildfire and caused panic buying, she had to use the food she had, which had not yet depreciated significantly, to exchange for as much cold-weather supplies as possible as quickly as possible!

Xu Xiaoyan carried a sack and stepped into the trading market area of ​​the Starlight Base. It was even larger and noisier than she had imagined. The market managers seemed to have used simple bamboo sheds, tattered tarpaulins, or even crooked squares drawn directly on the ground with lime powder to make up the so-called stalls.

She forced herself to calm down and quickly scanned the layout of the entire market. The food trading area was undoubtedly the most popular place, bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder, with almost every stall surrounded by layers of thin, pale-faced people.

For half a pound of yellowed rice, a few withered vegetable leaves, or even a small handful of unknown wild vegetables, people argued until their faces turned red and their spittle flew. The sounds of bargaining, complaining, and the occasional cheers of exhaustion after a deal were struck mingled together, creating a creeping, unsettling buzz, like a swarm of bees trapped in a desperate situation.

In contrast, the trading areas selling non-food items appeared unusually quiet and desolate. In front of the stalls selling old clothes, broken tools, scattered hardware, and even some books and papers, only a few seemingly idle people were wandering around aimlessly, or the stall owners themselves were squatting behind their stalls, dozing off with their heads down, not even bothering to shout out their wares. This stark contrast further solidified Xu Xiaoyan's judgment—her opportunity lay here!

She slowed her pace, deliberately avoiding the crowded food area, and began to carefully and patiently search the quiet non-food areas. She scanned each seemingly useless item, her mind racing, assessing their potential value in the impending cold.

As she walked, her gaze was drawn to something in a corner: a rusty but still relatively intact supermarket shopping cart. She had one in her storage space, but it wasn't convenient to take it out right now. If she could trade in this shopping cart, it would undoubtedly make moving supplies much easier for her in the future.

The owner of the handcart was a fat middle-aged man with a prominent beer belly and an unusually ruddy complexion. He was leaning against the wall, looking bored. When he saw Xu Xiaoyan stop in front of his stall and glance at the bulging sack on her shoulder that was obviously full of "hard currency", a shrewd glint flashed in his small eyes, as if he had spotted a fat sheep.

He immediately put on a seemingly honest smile and took the initiative to speak, his voice carrying a deliberate enthusiasm, "Hey, young lady, you have good taste! You've got your eye on this cart? This is a good thing, sturdy and durable! Cheap, only five pounds of fresh goods, you can just push it away!" He held up five short, thick fingers and waved them.

Upon hearing the outrageous price, Xu Xiaoyan immediately sneered inwardly. Five catties of fresh goods? In this world where food is king, five catties of fresh goods are enough for an adult to eat sparingly for several days, or to exchange for several thick old clothes, or even some self-defense tools.

The fat man clearly saw that she was a stranger and young, and thought she was a sucker he could take advantage of. She was too lazy to waste her breath haggling, and didn't even bother to give him a second glance. She turned around and left, her movements swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

The fat man hadn't expected her to be so decisive. His smile froze instantly. He paused for a moment, and just as Xu Xiaoyan was about to disappear into the crowd, he finally reacted and hurriedly raised his voice behind her, calling out, "Hey! Hey! Don't go, little girl! The price is negotiable! Four catties! Four catties of fresh goods is fine too! Three and a half catties! Three and a half catties should be okay, right?!" Xu Xiaoyan ignored his calls and didn't stop walking at all; instead, she walked even faster.

Encountering such dishonest businessmen in a place like this, spending even a second longer is a waste of her precious time. She must focus her energy and resources on what is most needed and worthwhile.

She continued walking through the market and soon came to an even quieter, almost deserted area—the firewood stall. There were seven or eight stalls side by side, each stall owner guarding a mountain of chopped firewood and neatly bundled dry branches in front of him. They all looked worried, sighed, and their eyes were filled with despair for their business.

This is understandable. The weather has not yet turned completely cold. Although the nights are cool, they are still bearable. Most people are still racking their brains to fill their stomachs every day and struggling on the brink of starvation. Where would they have the spare time and precious food to prepare fuel that they will not need for the time being?

Xu Xiaoyan's arrival instantly roused the previously listless and almost asleep firewood vendors. Their eyes snapped to attention, and they sprang to their feet, scrambling to surround her, eagerly announcing their prices. Each voice more impatient than the last.

"Girl! Buying firewood? Look at mine! My firewood is dry, all hardwood, burns well and lasts a long time! One pound of fresh firewood for fifty pounds of firewood!" a gaunt old man shouted.

"Don't listen to him! Girl, look at this! This is pine wood, very oily, it burns brightly! And it smells good! One pound of fresh wood for fifty-three pounds!" A middle-aged woman squeezed forward.

"I'll trade it for 55 jin! My firewood is of uniform thickness, easy to chop!"

……

The price competition instantly intensified. To secure this rare customer, vendors were pushing prices to the absolute limit. Amidst the cacophony of bids, almost drowning out everything else, a slightly weak but desperate voice suddenly shouted, even drowning out the others: "Me! I'll trade! One pound of fresh goods for sixty pounds of firewood! My firewood is all top-quality dry wood, burns well, and has no moisture! Pick whatever you like! Inspect it as you please!"

Upon hearing this price, the other vendors were instantly speechless, exchanging bewildered glances with expressions of disbelief and struggle.

Clearly, this price had completely crossed their psychological threshold, and might even mean that they would make almost no money from the deal, or even suffer a small loss. They opened their mouths, but ultimately couldn't offer a higher quantity. They just looked at the person who had offered such an exorbitant price with complicated expressions.

Xu Xiaoyan looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person making the offer was a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion, high cheekbones, and tattered clothes covered in patches. He looked extremely malnourished, with chapped lips, but his eyes were unusually bright because of his eagerness.

Next to him was a dilapidated tricycle with half its tires flat and rusty. The tricycle was neatly piled with uniformly chopped and seemingly very dry firewood, which looked quite substantial.

His gaze toward Xu Xiaoyan was filled with an almost humble longing and a strong sense of unease. His hands wrung nervously, as if afraid she would reject him because of his disheveled appearance.

Xu Xiaoyan did not agree immediately. She stepped forward, picked up a few pieces of firewood from the tricycle, carefully examined their quality, tapped them with her fingers, and listened to the sound to confirm that they were indeed dry, sturdy, and good firewood.

She quickly calculated in her mind that with the approaching cold winter and the sustained low temperatures, the importance of fuel would rise sharply, and might even surpass food itself at times. Locking in a large amount of high-quality fuel with relatively "cheap" food now would be an extremely worthwhile strategic investment.

She quickly made a decision, looked up to meet the man's tense gaze, and said in a calm but firm tone, "This price is acceptable, and your firewood is of good quality."

Upon hearing Xu Xiaoyan's affirmative answer, the man's face instantly lit up with a look of joy, as if he had been given a chance at life. His previously hunched back straightened involuntarily, and he nodded vigorously, his voice trembling with excitement, "Good! Good! That's wonderful! Thank you, young lady!" He adopted a posture that suggested he was ready to make a deal at any time.

Xu Xiaoyan did not immediately make the transaction in front of everyone. As a young girl, exchanging a large amount of food for firewood that currently seemed "useless" was already likely to attract attention. If she were to publicly display the stock in the sack, it would be like a child carrying gold through a busy market, which was too risky.

She gestured for the man to push his tricycle and leave the relatively crowded firewood trading area with her. She led him to a relatively inconspicuous, dimly lit but easy-to-find and recognizable corner near the market entrance.

"Wait here for a moment," she said, stopping in her tracks. "I'll be right back to complete the transaction."

Although the man was anxious, he understood that conducting the transaction here was inconvenient. He nodded frantically, gripping the handlebars tightly to bring the tricycle to a stop. His eyes never left Xu Xiaoyan for a second, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "Okay, okay! I'll wait here! I promise I won't move!"