Chapter 20
The fruit on the island was growing at an incredible speed, and the vegetables in the fields had piled up again, so Tong Shu's family could go out to sell vegetables once more.
Even though Tong Shu had exchanged as many small island brand vegetables as possible last time, the faith points she had collected seemed pitiful and insignificant in the face of the long string of zeros after the 1 in the task bar.
Fortunately, Tong Shu's family's vegetables gained a good reputation in the neighborhood, and residents told their friends and relatives in the vicinity. A large area in the north of the city now knew that their neighborhood sold fresh vegetables, and that cash was even accepted. Because of this, many people started looking for their lost cash. Previously, residents wouldn't even glance at cash when going out to find supplies; after all, readily available food was far more effective than currency with its diminished purchasing power. While Tong Shu's family was busy growing fruit on the island these past few days, many people even rowed over by boat to buy vegetables. Tong Shu earned a considerable amount of faith points without leaving home.
Tong Shu led a group out several times, always finding a secluded, deserted spot to load vegetables and return. On one occasion, Wang Jie noticed someone following them. This person was particularly alert, seemingly wearing a diving suit and hiding underwater to track them. If Tong Shu and the others hadn't been wearing infrared goggles for nighttime use, they wouldn't have been able to spot him.
However, manpower couldn't keep up with the speed of the fuel-powered assault boat. They increased their speed and circled the city a few more times, quickly shaking off the man. After that, Tong Shu and her family became even more cautious when going out. Since they wanted to earn these faith points, they had to expose themselves to the public. Right now, they were just following him; they didn't know what other situations they would face in the future.
Tong Songming and Zhu Cheng discussed it and rented the top floor of the community office building for the price of one basket of vegetables per week. It used to be a large, open warehouse that was used to store some unused office supplies. Now that it was empty, it was of no use. Tong Shu's family decided to rent it to store the vegetables they had "purchased".
Zhu Cheng readily agreed to the suggestion, praising Tong Songming for his ability to secure a stable supply of vegetables even under the current circumstances. However, he didn't inquire further, knowing that someone who had become a community director should have some discernment. Zhu Cheng immediately found the keys and handed them to Tong Songming, telling him to contact the community for help if he encountered any difficulties.
One of the main reasons Tong Shu's family chose the top floor of the office building as their warehouse was because both the office and their home were on the top floor, connected by a corridor with two doors. These doors were usually locked, and the community kept the keys. This time, Zhu Chengyi handed the keys to both doors to Tong Songming, so they wouldn't need to row a boat around the building to move their goods.
According to Tong Shu's idea, she plans to make a sign and hang it on the wall of the community office so that residents, whether near or far, can use the sign to go to the top floor of the office to exchange vegetables. There is a very sturdy iron door at the top of the stairs, which Tong Songming has modified by adding a window for exchanging goods. It can be locked at any time when not in use to prevent malicious people from attacking and stealing goods during the transaction. In Tong Shu's view, no matter how generous the task reward is, the personal safety of her family is the most important thing.
The top floor of the office is now filled with baskets of vegetables, and the baskets that Tong Shu exchanged with the elderly residents of Building 6 have also been put to use.
Since Sun Xiaolong's incident, Tong Shu's family has been very wary of Hao Dadong and his two companions. Tong Songming even installed an iron gate at the entrance of the corridor, completely separating his home from the passage leading to the top floor of the office building and other residents on the 12th floor. Zhu Cheng also strongly agreed with this, after all, this was a large amount of supplies, and losing it would not be a good thing for either the Tong family or the community.
Of course, Tong Shu also greeted the residents of 1202 and 1203 and delivered some vegetables. Zhang Ming and his group, needless to say, were very supportive of the Tong family. The residents of 1202 were the previous owners of the second floor of the building. After registering with the community, they moved into 1202. They were a couple in their forties, and they were very easy to talk to. After accepting the vegetables, they thanked her politely. Originally, Tong Shu also planned to tell Hao Dadong's family, but they wouldn't open the door no matter how much she knocked. She didn't know if they weren't home or if they were deliberately refusing to open the door, so Tong Shu ignored them. The matter of installing the iron gate was thus settled.
"Dad, you and your uncles go to the office to sell vegetables today. I'm taking Mom to Q City to make a transaction. She hasn't been out for so long and she's been cooped up for ages," Tong Shu said to Tong Songming as she carried the vegetables.
"Okay, then you guys be careful. Ah Jie, please take good care of us."
Wang Jie nodded: "Don't worry, Uncle!"
The three boarded the speedboat and headed out of the residential area.
"Huh? It's not raining anymore?" Shu Hua poked her head out from under the awning and said in surprise.
That's really true!
Tong Shu was overjoyed and put away the folding rain awning. Sure enough, apart from the gentle breeze, not a single drop of rain fell.
"The rain has stopped, will things return to normal soon?" Although her home was not much different from before the disaster, Shu Hua still missed the ordinary days of the past.
"Let's see if the water recedes. If all the water is drained, then we won't be far from returning to normal life and production," Wang Jie said.
In short, no matter what happens in the future, this batch of vegetables still needs to be exchanged. Thinking about the mission on the island and the astronomical number of faith points, Tong Shu's thoughts were not so optimistic, but she did not want to discourage her mother, so she could only nod and remain silent.
Fresh vegetables are popular everywhere. Tong Shu and her friends replenished their supplies while moving on to different places, exploring all of Q City. Before it got dark, they quickly returned to their neighborhood.
As soon as they entered the residential area, Tong Shu and her two companions noticed something different. In the small square where they had first exchanged vegetables, a large passenger ship was moored. Lights were hanging on the mast of the passenger ship, and under the yellow light, soldiers in combat uniforms were busy distributing supplies.
A flashlight beam shone on Tong Shu's face, startling her. She squinted and looked away. When the light moved away, Tong Shu looked again and saw Wen Shaocheng standing by the handrail at the bow of the ship, arms crossed, scrutinizing her.
Tong Shu had already sold out of vegetables on the assault boat and, feeling confident that she hadn't given anything away, steered the boat over and boldly greeted the major: "Major, you've brought the boat out?"
"Hmm," Wen Shaocheng responded, raising his chin. "Where did you come from?"
"I... I just went outside for a walk. It was too stuffy at home," Tong Shu stammered.
"Oh? Didn't you go out to sell vegetables?" Wen Shaocheng chuckled.
"Huh? You already know?" Tong Shu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and realized that it must have been Director Zhu Cheng who told him. Every time Wen Shaocheng came, he would fawn over him and report everything.
"Why did it take you so long to bring the boat over? I've seen H City using boats as supply depots for ages," Tong Shu preemptively questioned Wen Shaocheng before he could speak.
"Large ships have a deep draft, so they couldn't get in before. Our city is at a higher elevation than H city."
Tong Shu understood and nodded, then asked, "But the rain has stopped now, hasn't it? If we bring the boat in, won't we be unable to get out once the water recedes?"
Wang Jie stood there speechless, then tugged at Tong Shu, gesturing for her to look at the residential buildings nearby.
In just one day, the water level had risen to the 8th floor! Tong Shu looked incredulous.
"Yes, the rain has stopped, but the water level has risen sharply again. It's not just our city; the whole country is flooded." Wen Shaocheng said with a solemn expression. "We need to prepare for a long-term disaster relief effort."
"Oh, well, you've worked hard." Tong Shu stopped trying to get information out of him, reached into her pocket, pulled out a tomato, and tossed it forcefully to Wen Shaocheng. "Here you go!"
Wen Shaocheng was caught off guard, but he still reflexively caught the bright red tomato quickly.
"You're welcome~" Wen Shaocheng was still in a daze when Tong Shu had already instructed Wang Jie to drive the assault boat more than ten meters away. The girl's voice floated in the air, clear and distinct.
"Shushu, why are you trying to get close to this major? He looks like someone you don't want to mess with." Shuhua frowned and tapped Tong Shu's forehead with her finger.
“Oh, Mom, you don’t understand,” Tong Shu said. “If we relied on selling vegetables, we wouldn’t be able to accumulate that many faith points even if we sold them our whole lives.”
Tong Shu turned her head: "I'm thinking, is there any way to get on the government's good side and open up sales channels for our vegetables through official channels? That way, we won't have to worry about faith points!"
"Wow, what a brilliant idea." Wang Jie released the control lever, slowly clapped for Tong Shu, and had a look on his face that said, "My cousin must have lost her mind."
"Wang Jie! Are you trying to sabotage me?!" Tong Shu pretended to hit him.
"No, no!" Wang Jie quickly dodged. "I just wanted to say that such a high-ranking official couldn't have gotten there by sheer force of will. You just put all these vegetables right in front of him like that, do you really think he's a fool? He'd be lucky if he didn't arrest you for helping him sell them."
"Big, vegetable, owl."
"You!" Tong Shu lunged forward and pinched Wang Jie's arm.
The assault boat rocked violently, wobbling as it moved forward.
"Alright, alright, you two stop fooling around. Let's talk about it when we get home!" Shu Hua was exasperated. "You're all grown up, yet you're still fighting like you were kids. Don't you know what time it is? Let's go home!"
Tong Shu finally gave up. Wang Jie made a face at Tong Shu and obediently drove the speedboat back to the apartment building.
The water level rose suddenly, and the residents on the 8th floor either moved or ran upwards. Now there is no one left on the 8th floor.
Tong Shu and her group smashed the floor-to-ceiling window on the 8th floor, drove the inflatable boat inside, parked it where the living room used to be, waded through the water to the stairs, and went home.
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