352: We are back

Two emaciated survivors walked towards Jiang Fei, their faces beaming with happy smiles.

They were old customers of Ping An Small Mall.

"I just thought he was mistaken, but it really is you, Boss Jiang."

"I don't know if you still remember me, but I used to frequently visit Ping An Small Mall to buy instant noodles in the capital."

"Boss Jiang, when did you arrive at Huaxia Base?"

"This afternoon." Jiang Fei seized the opportunity to ask:

"Do you know where Ping An Grocery Store is?"

Both of them nodded in unison.

One of the shorter men said:

"The grocery store is just on the back street. I'll take you there."

"You've just arrived here, so you're not familiar with the way."

Jiang Fei and her four companions followed the short man to the back street he mentioned.

There weren't many shops open here, only a scattered two or three.

In front of one of the shops stood a wooden sign.

It read "Ping An Grocery Store."

The main door was open, and Jiang Fei walked in.

Lu Yu and the others followed closely behind.

The two survivors dropped them off and then left.

The shop wasn't large, about twenty square meters, with two rusty shelves and a wooden counter.

On the shelves were plastic bags of stale rice, loose-packed noodles, compressed biscuits, expired ham sausages, wrenches, screws, candles... The shop was empty, but faint sounds of conversation could be heard from the back lounge.

"Eat more... you're not well..."

"No... save it for the child..."

Jiang Fei followed the sound to the lounge.

She gently pushed open the wooden door.

Jiang Zhengkang, Cao Xiuhong, Jiang Xiaoshi, and Yao Jin were squatting around a low table, eating.

On the table was a pot of plain noodles in clear broth.

Various scars, both light and deep, remained on their rough, darkened skin.

Some were from frostbite, others were burns left by acid rain.

The weight they had gained under Jiang Fei's care was now gone; they were all skin and bones.

Jiang Fei felt a pang of sadness.

"Uncle, we're back."

Upon seeing Jiang Fei suddenly appear at the doorway, all four froze.

Jiang Zhengkang forgot to slurp his noodles, which slid back into his bowl.

"Fei Fei?"

"It's me."

Bang—!

Jiang Zhengkang stood up too quickly, his knee hitting the low table.

Yet, he seemed to feel no pain, limping to Jiang Fei's front, scrutinizing her closely.

Confirming it wasn't a dream, he raised a hand to roughly wipe his eyes.

"Now if I die, I'll have the face to see your mother..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Cao Xiuhong came over and slapped Jiang Zhengkang's arm, helping him sit down:

"Your feet aren't well, don't stand too much."

Only then did Jiang Fei notice Jiang Zhengkang's feet, which were abnormally swollen and deformed.

The skin on both feet was dark, as if necrotic.

"Uncle, your feet..."

"They were damaged by frostbite during the second extreme cold. The bones were affected."

Jiang Zhengkang's tone was light: "I've seen the base's doctors; they said I was lucky to keep my feet and not need amputation. They told me to walk and stand less."

"Enough about me, tell me about yourselves."

Lu Yu and the other four also entered the lounge.

Su Liuyuan, Ling Zhaorui, and Xiao Chuxia recounted their experiences over the past six months.

Jiang Fei and Lu Yu occasionally added a detail.

They also learned about Jiang Zhengkang and the other three's past six months.

When the tsunami struck last year, the four were separated by the seawater.

Jiang Zhengkang found Cao Xiuhong, and the two survived by relying on supplies floating on the sea.

After an unknown period of drifting, Jiang Zhengkang and Cao Xiuhong reached a small island.

The island had supplies left behind after the seawater receded, barely enough for the two to live, but then the extreme cold arrived.

Jiang Zhengkang gave all the limited warm items to Cao Xiuhong, suffering multiple frostbites himself.

His feet were damaged then.

Luckily, the two encountered military personnel transporting supplies from a logistics warehouse and followed the team back to Huaxia Base, where they also reunited with Yao Jin and Jiang Xiaoshi.

Yucai Academy had a lifeboat prepared by Cheng Pingwei previously, which allowed Jiang Xiaoshi and several classmates and teachers to survive the tsunami.

While drifting, they also rescued three or four survivors, including Yao Jin.

They met the military forces before Jiang Zhengkang and Cao Xiuhong did and went to Huaxia Base.

Thanks to Xu Qianyao, the four were prioritized for resettlement housing and received free medical treatment.

They also coincidentally met Crippled Wang at the base.

Crippled Wang, knowing they couldn't find work, helped them open this grocery store.

Having a shop to do business meant they wouldn't starve.

Two-thirds of the supplies in the shop were sent by Crippled Wang.

As for Cheng Pingwei, Mother Xiao, Xiaos Father, and Gu Yunshan, the four had never seen them.

Ling Zhaorui asked, puzzled: "What about Niu Er?"

Yao Jin unconsciously clenched his hand: "He committed suicide."

"At that time, we found a wooden board in the sea, but the combined weight of two people was too heavy; the board could only hold one person."

"Initially, Niu Er and I took turns on the board, while the other was in the seawater."

"But prolonged immersion in water made our skin wrinkled, caused blisters, and even brought us close to death due to hypothermia."

"Niu Er didn't want me to suffer anymore, so he secretly broke off a wooden splinter and pierced his own throat."

"It was also that afternoon that I encountered Xiao Shi and their lifeboat."

"Just a little while longer, and Niu Er wouldn't have had to die."

By the end, Yao Jin's voice became choked.

Niu Er was the personal bodyguard his father had found for him.

He was simple-minded but quite capable.

He had been by his side since he graduated from junior high.

Until last year, when he died protecting him.

Niu Er had done it; he had always protected him well.

Jiang Fei and her four companions felt a heavy heart.

Just as they were about to offer comfort, Yao Jin forced a smile and said,

"You don't need to comfort me, I'm fine."

"My life was exchanged by my father and Niu Er; I must live well."

"Crippled Wang opened a hardware and building materials store on the main street. Dead pauper, do you want to go see him?"

Suddenly hearing the address "dead pauper," Jiang Fei was stunned.

After realizing, she felt a bit helpless.

"Is this 'pauper' thing never going to end?"

Yao Jin snorted: "I won't forget all the gold you swindled from me."

Jiang Fei: "..."

She highly suspected that Yao Jin would remember this even as a ghost.

Lu Yu and the others stayed to chat with Jiang Zhengkang and the three others, while Jiang Fei went alone to the hardware and building materials store on the main street.

It was half the size of the grocery store.

Though it claimed to sell hardware and building materials, it actually just had a pile of scrap metal inside.

Crippled Wang sat on a faded, paint-chipped chair, coughing softly, folding paper ingots in his hands.

He was already thin and small, but now he was even skinnier, his bones clearly visible.

His face was crisscrossed with wrinkles; although only in his thirties, he already looked like a little old man.

Noticing someone pushing the door open, he lazily said without lifting his head or opening his eyes:

"If you want to exchange something, go find it yourself."

Jiang Fei teased him: "Exchange for a little brother."

That voice... Crippled Wang suddenly looked up.

"Holy crap! Boss!"