Next to the bed was a wardrobe, half a meter wide and as tall as a man. The door was open, revealing some musty men's clothing that was no longer usable. Ningxia looked at the thick leather jacket covered in worm holes, and a look of regret was evident on her face.
Directly opposite the bed was a large solid wooden table, and in the middle of the room there was a collapsed small stove, the kind that could be carried by hand. Ningxia inspected it visually and found that the joints would fit the milk pot.
Ningxia turned around and opened the drawer of the wooden table. The drawer pulley had not been used for a long time and was welded inside. It took some effort to open it. A bigger surprise was waiting for her!
There was a large box of lighters, containing 100 pieces, with only a few holes in them. Although no more than 20 of them were still usable, Ningxia was still very happy. She also found half a cigarette next to the lighters, which was hidden under a pair of very thick leather gloves.
Ningxia took a closer look. It wasn't cheap before the disaster, it was mid- to high-end. The outer packaging wasn't damp, so the contents should be fine. This was a good thing. You have to know that although the Shuguang Base had salvaged a lot of supplies from the city in the early years, many of them could not be reproduced in a short period of time.
Although the top brass at the base aren't short of cigarettes, they haven't been seen in civilian areas for a long time. Ningxia plans to stay and see if he can exchange them for something in Qianzhou.
Even if Qianzhou's stuff is not hard currency, she can still keep it for herself to smoke. Ningxia was a little greedy, and the cigarettes she brought with her were expensive. She had used them up long ago, but thinking of the two skinny babies she had to raise, she reluctantly suppressed her thoughts for the time being.
To distract himself, Ningxia hurriedly opened another drawer, and a plastic-framed work ID card came into view.
Ningxia picked it up and looked carefully at the already blurred words on it. It was just as she thought, a forest ranger named Chen Xiang who was secretly smoking in the forest area. After all, they had just passed through a forest that was very valuable before the disaster. There was also a small wooden house in the deep mountains and old forests. Ningxia could not think of anyone else except the forest ranger.
Under the work permit was a certificate of outstanding forest ranger, and deep in the drawer was an exquisite dagger with the word "Xiang" engraved on it.
The lower cabinets were filled with food and debris that were so rotten that they were unrecognizable, and Ningxia Guanshan cabinet doors did not take the time to clean them.
Finding such a place was a pleasant surprise for Ningxia. It meant she could also sleep soundly at night, despite the walls being of little use. It meant the three of them had a place to stay that was infinitely better than camping in the wild. There was also a water source nearby, and with water, there was no shortage of supplies. Ningxia's tired features revealed a hint of life.
"Xia Xia! Treasure!"
"What did you find?" Ningxia turned her head to look at Sangsang on the other side of the bed, but only saw a sticking out little butt.
Sangsang didn't reply, so Ningxia simply walked over and found the child clutching a small bucket. A closer look revealed the bed frame was too narrow for the child to get out. Ningxia lent a hand and pulled it out. It was a large thermos bucket. Her two kettles held 1500ml each, so this bucket could probably hold three of them.
There was another unexpected surprise. Ningxia rubbed Sangsang's thorny head, and the little girl's millet teeth came out again and stood at attention.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Ningxia didn't care about resting and picked up the kettle and thermos. "There should be a water source in the valley. It should be okay for you to take Sangsang here."
Lin Yi was cleaning the room conscientiously. He looked up when he heard the words, a little hesitant, but still spoke firmly, "It's no problem, Sister Xia Xia."
Ningxia took out the exquisite dagger from the drawer and threw it to Lin Yi, then put the scimitar on herself and went out. She had to go out quickly and come back quickly, as it would be dark soon.
Sure enough, the water source in the valley had not dried up yet. Ningxia didn't walk far before he found a stream of water as thick as his little finger in a crevice of the rock. It looked quite clear.
Anyway, there were water purification tablets in the bag, so even if the water source was unclear, it wouldn't be a big problem. Ningxia didn't plan to go any further. After spending some time filling up the water bottle, she returned to the wooden house carrying the firewood she had collected halfway.
Lin Yi heard Ningxia's voice, unbolted the door, and opened it for her. The room had changed drastically. Although the dust was still there, the debris and dirt on the floor were gone.
The small stove in the middle of the room was burning, with a small pile of firewood beside it. Even the hole in the middle wall was blocked by branches and covered with leaves, leaving no gaps.
The bed was also covered with a thick layer of calla lily leaves, and the bedding in Ningxia's bag was neatly spread on it. Sangsang sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his uninjured leg and calling her with a smile.
Lin Yi beside her was busy taking the things from her hand. Ningxia suddenly felt an indescribable fatigue coming over her body, but in her heart she felt a sense of relief as if she had taken off heavy winter clothes in the hot summer.
For the first time, the three of them sat around the stove late at night, each holding a bowl and slurping the wild vegetable and multi-grain porridge. Ever since Ningxia discovered Lin Yi's amazing appetite, she took the initiative to give the pot to him, and she and Sangsang used the only two bowls.
"I'm planning to rest here for a while," Ningxia suddenly said. The two children looked up at her. "We don't have much to eat, and Sangsang is injured again. We really need to clean ourselves up. This place is not bad. If we walk into the valley outside and follow the riverbed, we should be able to find the source of the river."
"Sangsang, I didn't see it."
Ningxia patted Sangsang's head and said, "It's okay. I'll take you to see it tomorrow."
"Then how long will we stay?" Lin Yi asked.
"I don't know, maybe ten days at most, maybe five or six." Ningxia looked at him and answered. If they continued on their journey, the children's health would only deteriorate. Although they were sensible and hadn't complained, Ningxia could see that they were extremely tired, at the breaking point, and were just holding on.
Now that there is a ready-made place to recuperate temporarily and there is still plenty of time, Ningxia decided to take a break. Otherwise, if their bodies are damaged, she will be the one who suffers in the end.
The two children had no objections. On the contrary, Lin Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He could still hold on, but Sangsang's body really couldn't stand it, not to mention that she was injured now.
The three of them hadn't washed for a long time, and each one smelled worse than the other. However, as time went on, the smell in their nostrils seemed to fade away gradually. No one disliked anyone else, and they lay close together on the small bed. Ningxia hadn't been so far away from the ground for a long time, and she sighed comfortably.
Although the wooden house was a bit dirty, it was still well sealed after Lin Yi simply sealed the hole. Even if Ningxia opened a crack in the intact window next to the bed, the room was still cozy, probably because of the heat rising from cooking that had not dissipated.
The stove was not extinguished. Ningxia took a piece of firewood as thick as an ankle and put it upright. The fire burned for about an hour and then went out, but it was warm.
"Sister Xia Xia, why don't you put out the firewood and burn it on the charcoal? That way we'll be warm all night." Lin Yi lay on the bed and watched the flames flickering in the stove.
"Because it's firewood, not charcoal. If you put out the fire, the whole room will be filled with smoke. You can only burn it with an open flame." Ningxia was too lazy to answer.
The three of them lay on the bed, chatting idly, mainly Sangsang asking random questions and the other two answering randomly, and gradually there was no sound.
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