Jian Anping and Xiao Lingfeng weren't idle either. Each of them grabbed a large bag, threw in whatever they thought was suitable, and handed it to Jian Ning to put away when it was full.
The three of them were busy when suddenly two legs appeared in front of them. Jian Anping, who was at the front, was caught off guard and almost got kicked in the head. Startled, he immediately threw a punch.
It landed squarely on a leg. "Holy crap, who hit me?" The two legs snapped back, and then a head popped down. It made eye contact with Jian Anping.
Both of them stepped back more than a meter. This guy was tough; he dared to come down without a diving suit but wearing a helmet. He must have some special ability to breathe underwater.
Jian Ning didn't want to have direct contact with him, so she grabbed Xiao Lingfeng and Jian Anping's arms and instantly changed positions.
Because they didn't judge the distance well, all three of them bumped into the overturned shelf. Luckily, they were wearing wetsuits, otherwise they would have been in quite a bit of pain.
The man was terrified and dared not stay in the water, so he swam straight out.
Clinging to the side of the boat, still shaken, he said, "Boss, there's a water ghost down there! I saw it just now, and it was still alive! It punched me just now, and it was really strong!"
"Nonsense, it's definitely a person. Where would a water ghost come from these days?"
"But we've been watching from here the whole time, and we haven't seen anyone go down," said the man who spoke. He had a muscular face, was shirtless, and had tattoos all over his arms and back.
"If no one went in, then it must be a water ghost. I was so scared that I dropped all the food I had just picked up."
"Boss, let's go somewhere else, this place is too scary." The young man in the water refused to go back down and grabbed the side of the boat to climb up.
"Look at you, so spineless. You really deserve the nickname 'Rat,' your courage is less than a mouse's." The one called the leader cursed.
They reached out and pulled the young man nicknamed "Rat" up. There was no other way; of everyone, he was the best swimmer. He could hold his breath for over ten minutes at a time, unmatched by anyone else.
However, we've caught quite a bit of edible stuff today. That should be enough for the group for a while.
"Let's go up there and take a look. Even if we don't find anything to eat, we can still get some other things. Who knows when this awful weather will end?"
After the leader gave instructions, the people rowing the boat quickly grabbed their oars and started rowing. This time they were going to the stairs. They should take the stairs up, because the elevator was out of power. If they missed a step and fell, they wouldn't be able to be rescued.
"There are sausages all over here!" Jian Anping was initially in pain from the bump, but when he touched the bag and found a bag of sausages, he immediately became happy.
These things have a long shelf life, basically a year, so it's good to take more home. He's a carnivore and wants to eat meat with every meal, otherwise he feels it's tasteless. These sausages are perfect for him.
So he gestured to Jian Ning for an empty bag and quickly filled it with stuff.
This place has not only ham, but also all kinds of chilled and fresh products. You can't keep the frozen food in the freezer. But the room-temperature milk is fine to drink. There are also various vacuum-packed braised eggs, braised chicken feet, and the like.
Jian Ning wasn't idle either, collecting whatever she saw. The three of them busied themselves for over an hour before finally emerging from the water.
They took a lot of things and put them on the inflatable boat, instead of putting them all in Jian Ning's space. After all, it was impossible for them to have found nothing after being out for so long; their neighbors were watching them from their windows.
The three of them went back through the downstairs window and had just carried their things inside when a surprised voice rang out.
"Anping, you really are here. This must be Xiaoning. It's been a long time."
Oh no, I forgot about my uncle and the others while I was busy. They've been waiting downstairs the whole time! Jian Ning regretted taking the stairs.
"Hey, Auntie, when did you get here? Why didn't you come over?" Jian Anping and Jian Ning exchanged a glance, scratched their heads, and asked with awkward smiles.
"Why didn't you go up? Your uncle is still waiting for you on the fifteenth floor. You know, why did you put a door on the staircase? Did you not want people to come up to find you?"
Li Cuilan was furious when she talked about it. She had been waiting there all day. No matter how she called out in the stairwell, no one answered. Now she had finally seen someone.
"Big brother, can you give me something to eat first? I haven't eaten for two days." Jian Jian's eyes were fixed on the bag the three of them had brought up, which contained sausages and biscuits.
"Here'll have some milk first. You've been hungry for a long time, so you can't eat too much at once." Jian Anping opened the bag and gave each person a bottle of milk and a bag of biscuits.
Jane took it, not even bothering to say thank you, tore open the milk carton and poured it into her mouth.
“Anping, look, your uncle and cousin are upstairs too, they don’t have anything to eat either.” Li Cuilan’s eyes lit up as she looked at the contents of the bag, wishing she could grab everything for herself.
"Aunt, is there something you need today?" Jian Ning asked from the side.
Jian Anping looked embarrassed. But she was different. Seeing Li Cuilan reminded her of being kicked out of the house in the dead of winter, and she was so angry that her teeth itched.
If it weren't for Jian Anping's sake, she would have thrown Li Cuilan into the water right now. Trying to get food from her? Dream on!
“Xiao Ning, you can see the situation now. Although we live on a high place, we have no food reserves. We have also finished the government relief. That’s why we wanted to ask you for help.”
"Look at you living in such a high-end neighborhood! Anping even said he bought a lot of food before the typhoon hit. We've been starving for days. Please, for the sake of our family, give us something to eat!"
As Li Cuilan spoke, she began wiping away tears. Jian Anping quickly glanced at Jian Ning, feeling rather guilty. It was all his fault for being so talkative and showing off. Now that they had come to him, how could he not help?
"Aunt, my brother is just a braggart. If we had food at home, would we risk our lives to go out and find it? You saw it for yourself."
After a whole day out, the three of us only managed to salvage this little bit of food from the water. Divided into three portions, it wouldn't last each person more than a few days.
"My sister-in-law also needs to eat at home. My brother is a grown man; he hasn't even married her yet, and it's not right to let her go hungry."
Upon hearing Jian Ning's words, Li Cuilan immediately understood. This stingy girl didn't want to give them anything to eat. How could that be? Although the family hadn't reached the point of having no food at all...
But it won't be long. Otherwise, their whole family wouldn't have come. They even gave away two bags of instant noodles when they borrowed the boat, so they have to get some food to take back today; they can't afford to lose money.
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