The night passed just like that.

The next day, Shen Yanming got up early as usual, drank a bowl of thin porridge, and then gathered to dig for supplies.

Bi Qiaoan couldn't sleep after Shen Yanming left. She picked some fruit from her spatial storage and ate it, then grabbed a handful of corn kernels to feed the goose.

Lately, the goose has been barely noticeable. Because it has to protect Bi Qiaoan, its activity range is basically limited to within five meters of the tent. Moreover, since it's outside, we don't dare to feed it anything good. It's just a handful of corn kernels and a bowl of water every day, which has made the goose very depressed.

Even so, Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan were still worried, afraid that people would say they were wasting food to raise pets, or that one day when they ran out of food, they would turn their attention to the geese.

These were things the two of them hadn't considered before coming to Suzhou. But even if they had, Shen Yanming would probably have brought his goose with him, since it was acting as a bodyguard.

After feeding the goose, Bi Qiaoan, with her big belly, walked around for a while. When she got tired, she went to the temporary restaurant to chat with the guards.

Because they had eaten all the fresh vegetables a couple of days ago, Bi Qiaoan hadn't come to help pick vegetables anymore. Today, preoccupied with something, she sat down for a few pleasantries before getting to the point.

“I’ve noticed my husband is eating less and less food. Is there no food left?” Bi Qiaoan asked.

The guard was taken aback at first, but then he remembered that Bi Qiaoan belonged to the same unit as them, so he didn't hide anything. "There's not much left. I don't dare to eat as much as I want. I'm afraid that if I finish eating, I'll run out of food."

Bi Qiaoan exclaimed, "It's that serious?"

The guard nodded. "Think about it, how long can tens of millions of people be fed with the guard's meager food reserves?"

We weren't afraid of going hungry before because everyone had surplus grain. But now, that grain can't be harvested anytime soon, so we have to eat sparingly, hoping to balance our income and expenses a bit.

But don't worry too much, everything will be fine once all the grain has been dug up.

Bi Qiaoan nodded after hearing this and did not ask any further questions.

Meanwhile, Shen Yanming was listening to Li Gangtie's motivational speech to everyone.

"Everyone did a great job yesterday, and I hope you can keep it up today. As usual, after the excavation is finished, each person can take away one piece of spoils besides food. It can be gold and jewelry, or even blankets and clothing, it's up to you."

As soon as Li Gangtie finished speaking, everyone sprang into action, as if they had inexhaustible energy.

Shen Yanming, as always, neither fell behind nor stood out, maintaining a roughly the same level, neither exhausting himself nor holding others back.

Li Gangtie breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the bustling scene of people working.

Last night, he reported that he had given the team members a reward without his consent. He thought he would be criticized, but instead, he was recognized.

The other captains of the guard team had already noticed this problem: the team members weren't eating well and weren't getting enough to eat, which led to low morale. They didn't know what to do about it. Li Gangtie's suggestion was a good idea; they could try it out in their own teams to see if it worked.

Li Gangtie breathed a sigh of relief too soon. Because of his incentive policies, some people disregarded their own physical condition and worked up a sweat, only to faint under the scorching sun.

"Hey, Jiang Zeli, what's wrong with you?" Ye Qingxiong saw Jiang Zeli, who was 5 meters in front of him, stumbled and fell to the ground.

He rushed forward and saw a wound on Jiang Zeli's forehead, about 3 centimeters long, but not deep. It was obviously caused by a fall when he was cut by a piece of gravel.

Ye Qingxiong nudged Jiang Zeli twice, "Are you alright? Wake up!" But the other party didn't move at all.

Ye Qingxiong panicked and shouted into the distance, "Help! Something's happened!"

Hearing someone shout, Shen Yanming threw down his tools and ran towards the source of the sound. He was startled when he saw the person lying on the ground.

"What happened? What happened?" Li Gangtie, who arrived shortly after, pushed through the crowd, knelt down, and checked Jiang Zeli's breathing. Seeing that he was still breathing, he said, "Quickly take him to the medical staff and see what's wrong."

"Sigh!" Ye Qingxiong agreed and was about to carry Jiang Zeli to the car, but he was either frightened or too tired from working, and he almost fell down before he had taken two steps.

Shen Yanming, who was not far away, saw this and quickly helped the two of them up. He turned to Li Gangtie and said, "I'll take them there. I'll come back as soon as everything is alright!"

Li Gangtie nodded. "Go ahead. If the situation gets serious, you can stay there and take care of him."

Shen Yanming nodded to indicate that he understood, then picked up Jiang Zeli in his arms and walked steadily toward the vehicle.

Li Gangtie's eyes flickered when he saw this. He chuckled, surprised that there was such a capable person in the team who had almost fooled him.

However, he didn't intend to expose them. After all, they completed their work on time and in full every day; you can't assume they weren't working diligently just because they held back. Nobody's a fool, right?

When Shen Yanming and Ye Qingxiong carried Jiang Zeli to the doctor, they startled him. The patient's face was covered in blood, and they thought something serious had happened.

The checkup revealed it was just low blood sugar and a bit of heatstroke. Basically, it was from eating too little and doing too much work; his body couldn't handle it, and then the intense sun exposure caused it to flare up. It's nothing serious; he just needs some good food and rest.

However, the wound on his forehead needs to be treated. The doctor suggested that he get two stitches, otherwise it will heal slowly.

Shen Yanming and Ye Qingxiong had no objections, after all, the wound wasn't their own. They did want to ask Jiang Zeli's opinion, but he was still unconscious and couldn't make a decision.

So Shen Yanming told Ye Qingxiong to stay there while he went to find some food for Jiang Zeli.

Because the medical ward and the living quarters of the refugees were adjacent, Shen Yanming could directly observe the sallow complexions, emaciated bodies, and dejected spirits of these refugees.

Shen Yanming felt a pang of sadness; compared to them, the guards looked much stronger. He didn't linger, asked someone for directions to the restaurant, and then headed there.

When he explained his situation to the chef and asked for a bowl of porridge, he was refused. The reason was simple: they were afraid Shen Yanming was there to scam a meal, and he needed a doctor's certificate before they would serve him porridge.

Shen Yanming understood this approach, but he didn't want to waste time. So he pawned his documents to the chef, asking him to make him a bowl of porridge first, and he would come back to redeem his documents after he got his proof of identity.

The chef thought about it and agreed.