Chapter 148 The Perfect Neighbor
Zuo Shan remembered that Aunt Zhou had once told her that this Aunt Wang was a person who loved to take advantage of others, so the neighbors didn't like her very much.
When Zuo Shan first moved in, Aunt Wang had inquired about her, and Aunt Zhou, in order to save Zuo Shan unnecessary trouble, made her sound very pitiful.
She was said to be a pregnant woman who had been cheated out of her money and her virtue. She couldn't make a living in District 47 anymore, so she moved to District 48 with her sister. All her savings went to rent, and the two sisters lived a very difficult life.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang would avoid her whenever she saw her from afar, fearing that she would take advantage of her family.
Why is she suddenly knocking on her door so early in the morning for no reason?
I wanted to ignore her, but then I thought that since she was my neighbor, I couldn't pretend I didn't hear her.
Zuo Shan got up, yawned, and went to the door. He asked through the door, "Aunt Wang, what can I do for you so early?"
"Miss Zuo, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep. It's just that my whole family is dying of thirst and we'd like to get some water from your house."
"You have no idea, yesterday's devastating earthquake collapsed my house and burst my water pipes. I had to turn off the main valve, otherwise the leak would have kept going on and I wouldn't have been able to pay the water bill!"
Hearing her say that, Zuo Shan felt that the request was not excessive, so he opened the door and let her in.
Aunt Wang was carrying a plastic water bottle of about 10 liters. After entering the house, she looked around first, and then slowly walked to the water pipe, turned on the tap, and started filling the bottle with water.
After filling the kettle, she picked it up and was about to leave when Zuo Shan coughed lightly and said, "Ahem! Aunt Wang, you haven't transferred the water bill to me yet!"
"What? You want to charge me for such a small amount of water? I'm not trying to be mean, Miss Zuo, but we're neighbors, shouldn't we help each other out?" Aunt Wang's expression immediately changed.
Zuo Shan also frowned and said, "Aunt Wang, I only know one saying: even brothers should keep clear accounts, let alone us, who are just neighbors who don't usually have any contact."
The tap water in District 48 has two pipes: one for moderately radioactive water, which costs 5 silver coins per ton, and the other for low-radioactive water, which costs 500 silver coins per ton.
Normally, Zuo Shan and her family are reluctant to use low-radiation water. She only used low-radiation water when she was making peanut milk for the baby just now.
After Aunt Wang came in, she pretended to be casual and turned on the low-radiation faucet.
Zuo Shan originally wanted to speak up and stop her, but she held back. This kind of person who likes to take advantage of others must be made to feel sorry for her once and for all, otherwise she will never stop.
The ten liters of water that Aunt Wang collected were worth 5 silver coins, but she wanted to deceive Zuo Shan into thinking that she had collected water with moderate radiation. Among neighbors, she was naturally embarrassed to ask for 5 cents.
"You can't talk nonsense! How could I possibly use your low-radiation water? You're framing me!" Aunt Wang raised her voice.
"Whether it's low-radiation water or not, we can find out by testing it with a detection knife, right?"
"Good heavens! Aren't you blatantly bullying us? The testing knife is covered in wild vegetable juice. After testing this clean water, it all turns into dirty water."
"You won't let me test you? No problem, I even recorded a video of you on my wristwatch. Do you want me to show it to all the neighbors?" Zuo Shan said calmly, raising his wristwatch.
Aunt Wang's face immediately fell, and she muttered, "What a stingy person! He charges money even for fetching water. I think you're obsessed with money!"
“Auntie is right. I only care about money and not people. From now on, you’d better stay away from neighbors like me and never see each other again!” Zuo Shan said coldly.
Aunt Wang, still looking pained, transferred five silver coins to her, then left grumbling and carrying the kettle.
Zuo Shan thought of Uncle Wu's family, who might also have a cracked water pipe, so he told Mao Li to watch the house, then filled a bamboo tube with water and carried it to the small shop.
She got back late yesterday, and with the injured and the baby on her side, she couldn't think of anything else. Now, while Lele and the baby are still sleeping, she'll go check on them.
When we arrived at the convenience store, we found that the walls there were also cracked, but luckily, they hadn't collapsed.
Uncle Wu and Aunt Zhou had slept at the convenience store the night before. When they saw Zuo Shan carrying water over, they quickly thanked him.
The convenience store didn't have water pipes installed. Their water pipes were cracked, and the main valve was shut off. Yesterday, they had to travel a long way to the public water tap in the central square to get water.
You have to scan your wristwatch to fill the water tap there, and the water fee will be automatically deducted after you finish filling the tap. Although the water fee is not high, it is tiring and time-consuming to carry it back from such a long distance.
Even so, they didn't have the heart to bother their neighbor, Zuo Shan, because they heard a baby crying in her house and knew that she had just returned from the hospital after giving birth and would definitely need to tidy up her house, which had been a mess due to the earthquake.
Wastelanders are not used to visiting each other's homes. They would only greet each other if they met outside. Once they knew that she had given birth safely, the old couple were at ease.
"Little Fan, baby... is he still healthy?" Aunt Zhou asked hesitantly. She wouldn't have asked this to any other neighbor.
Most pregnant women in the wasteland suffer from malnutrition, and their babies either miscarry prematurely or are born weak or disabled; truly healthy babies are rare.
Many families abandon their children in the wilderness after receiving the childbirth subsidy, which is one of the reasons why the population of Green Algae Star is getting smaller and smaller.
Normally, when someone has a baby, people pretend not to know and don't ask.
But Zuo Shan was a kind-hearted and generous girl who could cook delicious food, so the couple had a very good impression of her and were not afraid of offending anyone by asking her.
"The baby is doing well, but I don't have any breast milk, so he can only drink porridge for now," Zuo Shan said with a generous smile.
"I've heard that wealthy families raise a mutated female beast that can produce milk after they have a child. It's a pity that we don't have one for sale in our District 48. Sigh!" Aunt Zhou sighed.
"Next time I go to District 46 to buy supplies, I'll see if I can get some mutated wild duck eggs. The steamed egg custard you made last time seems quite suitable for the baby," Uncle Wu said.
Zuo Shan remembers that babies on Blue Star are usually over six months old before they can start eating solid foods, but the children in the wasteland are tough, so maybe they can eat them?
Thinking of this, she casually sent a message to Xiaobai: "Do you know where I can buy mutated wild duck eggs? Other kinds of eggs are also fine. I can make steamed egg custard to supplement the baby's nutrition."
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