44 Chapter 44

Tong Shu stayed home for half a month, and her re-injured ankle finally healed completely. The next day after dinner, she dressed up and went to the small square with great enthusiasm.

There were quite a few people in the small square. The area used for training was thoughtfully paved with sand brought in from outside, so that the trainees wouldn't slip and fall on the smooth ice.

"Auntie, when are the soldiers coming?" Tong Shu asked a woman next to her.

"Almost there, almost there, they'll be here in a quarter of an hour." The woman clearly had been training with the soldiers for a while and knew their schedules very well.

Tong Shu rubbed his hands together and stretched his muscles in the corner, his joints, which hadn't been used for a long time, making a cracking sound.

"Everyone, get ready! Line up as before, from shortest to tallest." A deep male voice came from the front. Tong Shu immediately peeked out and saw that it was Liu Wanqi, Wen Shaocheng's adjutant.

"Ah...it's Lieutenant Liu..." Tong Shu was a little disappointed.

“It’s always Lieutenant Liu,” the woman next to Tong Shu said with a smile as she stood in line.

"Ah~ it's Lieutenant Liu~" Wang Jie had come down at some point and stood next to Tong Shu, mimicking Tong Shu's tone in a sarcastic manner.

"You!" Tong Shu stepped on Wang Jie's shoe, but Wang Jie nimbly dodged it.

Tong Shu was about to stomp again when Liu Wanqi, who was in front, spotted them and called out, "Alright! Stop fooling around, we're starting now!"

Tong Shu had no choice but to give up, withdraw her foot, and obediently follow the instructor leading the training to do the warm-up exercises.

On the supply ship, Wen Shaocheng stood at the stern, where he could see Tong Shu at the end of the line. Watching her move her arms and legs rather clumsily, Wen Shaocheng suddenly found leading the training quite interesting.

Appropriate activity does help with sweating. After less than ten minutes of practice, Tong Shu's head, hidden under her hat, was already covered in sweat. The others, after practicing for a while, didn't struggle as much as Tong Shu. Tong Shu felt that she would be out of breath if she continued practicing, so she secretly retreated to the outer edge and rested against a wooden boat for a while.

Tong Shu loosened the drawstring of her hat slightly, revealing a bit of her forehead to let in some fresh air. Damp sweat clung to her bangs, causing her once straight bangs to clump together and stick up haphazardly, giving her a somewhat playful look.

"Can't you even last that long?" A man's voice suddenly came from behind, startling Tong Shu.

Turning her head, she saw Wen Shaocheng walking towards her with his hands in his pockets. Tong Shu cried out in her heart, thinking of her current state, and hurriedly tightened the ties of her hat, covering her eyes as well.

Wen Shaocheng asked, amused, "What's going on? Don't you want to see me?"

"...No." Tong Shu carefully peeked out from under her mask and asked in a muffled voice, "Are you very busy? Why don't you come to coach?"

A hint of amusement flashed in Wen Shaocheng's eyes: "Waiting for me to bring you here?"

"...No way!" Tong Shu denied it.

Seemingly sensing her insincerity, Wen Shaocheng didn't call her out on it, and said, "Our team hasn't practiced this kind of basic military boxing for a long time, and I'm not as good at leading it as the current instructor."

"ah?"

"When we carry out special missions, we practice killer moves."

No wonder his expression was so frightening when I first saw him; he seemed to exude a murderous aura. It seems Wen Shaocheng really has killed people. Tong Shu thought to herself.

It wouldn't be appropriate to ask any further, so Tong Shu decided to stop while she was ahead and changed the subject: "I haven't asked you about the situation outside yet. How are things in other parts of Z City?"

Thinking of the corpses strewn all along the way, Wen Shaocheng fell silent. He had a feeling that if he told Tong Shu directly, she might be heartbroken for a long time. After considering it for a moment, Wen Shaocheng simply said, "The situation is not as good as in the north of our city. There is a shortage of food and supplies, and life is very difficult."

"...We sent out a lot of supplies from us before, but was it still not enough?"

Wen Shaocheng shook his head slightly: "It's just a drop in the ocean."

Tong Shu fell silent and squatted on the ground, lost in thought.

Wen Shaocheng felt the topic was a bit heavy and was about to change the subject when he asked, "Would you like me to take you...?"

"I've made up my mind!" Tong Shu stood up, her energy restored.

Wen Shaocheng stopped talking and gestured for her to continue.

"Open a few more workshops! Produce more supplies! We must ensure that more people survive in this apocalypse!" Tong Shu put her hands on her hips and glanced at Wen Shaocheng: "By the way, what were you about to say?"

"It's nothing." Wen Shaocheng smiled and shook his head. He had originally wanted to personally teach her boxing, but since she had her own ambitions, he would let her do it first.

"I have to go back and change my clothes. I'll come again next time I have time." Tong Shu said goodbye to Wen Shaocheng and ran off in a hurry.

...

"Major, have you finished with the report?" Liu Wanqi had already seen the two talking, and now that Tong Shu had left, he went up to find Wen Shaocheng.

"Um."

Liu Wanqi looked at Tong Shu's retreating figure, wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Speak your mind."

“That’s right.” Liu Wanqi said with some hesitation, “I’ve been paying special attention to the Tong family’s workshop recently. Although they have exchanges with various parties, I’ve done some private calculations and found that they get far more raw materials than they do through trade.”

"Whether it's cotton or flour for making instant noodles, it's highly suspicious that they can continue to be produced even after being exported to other urban areas in large quantities."

Wen Shaocheng stared at Liu Wanqi for a long time before asking, "So, what do you think is the source of their raw materials?"

"...I don't know," Liu Wanqi said dejectedly. He had really observed for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out where the Tong family's inexhaustible supplies came from. Sometimes he really wanted to run into the Tong family's house and search every nook and cranny to see where those supplies were hidden.

"Major, didn't you stay at their house for a while before? Didn't you notice anything?" Liu Wanqi asked.

"Hmm." A short, curt response.

"Huh?" Liu Wanqi was completely confused.

"Old Liu."

"Speak, Major," Liu Wanqi said, all ears.

"The Tong family's supplies and raw materials..." Wen Shaocheng spoke softer and softer, and Liu Wanqi leaned closer with a wary look on his face.

“We provided it,” Wen Shaocheng said.

"...Huh?!" Liu Wanqi was completely bewildered: "What? What do you mean 'we provided'? Where would we get the raw materials to provide to them?!"

“Old Liu, the north of the city is under our jurisdiction. As long as we stick to our guns, no one will come after the Tong family to ask us. Do you understand?” Wen Shaocheng stared intently at Liu Wanqi.

Liu Wanqi swallowed hard and replied softly, "...Understood."

Even Liu Wanqi could see something was wrong. There were so many people in the north of the city, and there must be quite a few watching the Tong family's supplies coming in and out. Since Tong Shu's goal was the same as his, no matter how she achieved it, he would protect her for as long as he could within his capabilities.

Liu Wanqi was an honest man. The major forbade him to ask any more questions, and he would never ask a single more word. The major said that they provided raw materials to the Tong family, so the raw materials for the Tong family were provided by them.

The person who was constantly making mistakes was currently at home, biting his pen and deep in thought.

They could only rely on their small plot of land at home, waiting for others to come and exchange goods. At most, the market could only cover the entire city of Z.

If all else fails, we can only do what we did during the previous floods: take people out to sell supplies in the surrounding cities.

If Wen Shaocheng can help, entrusting him with the delivery of some supplies would be a good option.

While Tong Shu was still thinking, Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly appeared from the side: "Shu Shu—"

"What's wrong?" Tong Shu glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

"It's so boring at home! All we do all day is move water, move water, move water," Qin Xiaoxiao complained. "At first, no one went to the back mountain to dig for ice, but now a lot of people have made boats like ours, and there are quite a few people selling water outside. Maybe we should just stop making so much water to sell."

Tong Shu thought about it and realized it made sense. After lending out their boat, many people on the road saw it, and some quick-thinking people made similar tools based on the design. Ice is a free thing, and with a little effort, they could sell it in the surrounding neighborhoods and even deliver water to their door. Recently, there have indeed been far fewer people buying water from convenience stores.

"Alright, then tell my uncle and the others that we don't need to go up the mountain to dig for ice anymore. We'll just take as much water as the boat rental company provides each day."

"Okay, okay!" Qin Xiaoxiao was overjoyed that she wouldn't have to do boring work all day long anymore. She then asked Tong Shu, "Can we go out? Brother Jie and I want to go out and sell things."

Tong Shu had indeed been thinking about this, so when she heard her ask, she agreed: "Okay, in a couple of days when we've recruited enough people for the small workshop, we'll take the supplies and head south."

Qin Xiaoxiao was satisfied. Staying at home was safe, but it was too boring. She had almost finished watching all the variety shows she had saved.

Tong Shu made a list on paper of the supplies she would bring on her trip. She definitely needed plenty of cotton quilts and cotton-padded coats, and dried vegetables were also a good choice as they were lightweight and bulky. She also needed lots of instant noodles; by the time she left, the small workshop would have accumulated quite a few...

The next day at dinner, Tong Shu told her family about the plan. Apart from Shu Hua, who had some concerns, no one else objected.

"It's time to get some exercise. I've been out and about quite a bit lately. Getting out and about more often helps me get used to temperatures below minus fifty degrees Celsius," Qin Jiaqiang said.

“Then we’ll head to W City the day after tomorrow and see if they have any extra cotton. We should also bring back some new cotton,” Tong Shu said.

"Then Shushu, Jie, and I will go the day after tomorrow!" Qin Xiaoxiao said impatiently.

Wang Jie had no objections, and the personnel were finalized.

...

Early in the morning before setting off, the three packed their supplies and, before dawn, rowed their modified wooden boat out of the neighborhood.

"Whoa!" Facing the biting wind, Qin Xiaoxiao raised her arms and shouted happily.