After dinner, Su Han reminded the old couple, "I'm just staying here for a night, I can take care of my own needs so you don't need to go out of your way to prepare anything for me."
Old He wanted to say something but was interrupted by Su Han," If you're being too courteous, I'd feel bad about staying here."
…Old He choked back what he was going to say.
To avoid causing inconvenience to the old couple, Su Han locked herself in the bedroom after dinner. She had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, after drinking some porridge, old He set out on a tricycle. Su Han followed behind, riding a bicycle.
Before leaving, old lady Jiang was still chattering, "Sister Wang from next door is so smart! When the inflation started, all she bought was rice and pickled mustard. She could survive with just those for more than a year! I'm going to look for a chance to talk to her today, to see if she's willing to exchange some of her food with our tofu."
'Rice and pickled mustard?' Su Han thought while sighing, 'Those things are very filling and easy to store. Sure enough, the master is among the people.
*****
The two were moving along the road when old He froze, he muttered shockingly, "What is that person doing?! Did he want to die?!"
Su Han also stopped and looked around. On the other side of the road, a person had climbed to the narrow space on the edge of a work shed's roof. She vaguely recalled, "If I remember correctly, there should be a bird's nest up there, he might be trying to take the eggs inside."
The reason why she noticed the bird's nest was because she also considered hunting birds before. But since her fishing career was sailing smoothly, there was no need for her to hunt birds or collect eggs anymore.
"That's too dangerous…." After speaking, old He fell silent. If he didn't meet Su Han by chance, right now, there would be nothing left to eat at home. For his granddaughter, he also wouldn't mind risking his life. Thankfully, he was not forced to that point.
After contemplating about it, old He looked sad. Shaking his head, he whispered, "Never mind, let's go."
Before leaving, Su Han glanced at the man who didn't care about putting himself in danger to get a few eggs. She had a feeling the world may be descending into chaos soon.
*****
After pedaling for a long time, she finally saw the perfect fishing spot old He talked about. It was in a valley in the suburbs and was deserted. Su Han felt relieved to fish here.
Although there were fewer fishes in the valley than in the lake back at the park, Su Han still caught 14 fish in one day. Although she caught fewer fish, she felt much safer fishing here than in the park. All in all, Su Han was delighted with this fishing spot.
Old He was elated. He put the iron bucket full of fishes in the back seat of his tricycle and said happily, "If we bring these to the black market for trading, then we wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing! We might be able to persist till the end."
Today he specifically rode out on a tricycle to transport the fishes easier.
'You can wait this out as long as you have food and drink?' Su Han didn't think so. But she didn't want to discourage him, so she just said, "Let's go back first."
"Let's go!" Old He was in a great mood.
It was a safe journey home. Old lady Jiang had already prepared basins to put the fish in the water when they got home.
Old He took the initiative to ask, "You should know the way to the valley now, right? I will go to the black-market tomorrow morning to trade these fish and then come pick you up in the afternoon. You want instant noodles for your share, yes?"
"That's right." Su Han nodded.
*****
On the 9th day, they got another bountiful harvest. A total of 10 fish were caught. Just when old He felt that fortune was smiling upon his family, something terrible happened.
Others discovered their fishing spot. When they got to the valley the next morning, they found hundreds of people gathered around the lake fishing madly.
Old He broke down when he found out, he agitatedly said "No!!!How could this be? How did they find this place? It's obviously very well hidden!"
Su Han was silent for a long time. She then asked the old man, "Are you sure no one followed you from the black market to this place when you picked me up yesterday?"
Old He froze immediately.
Su Han shrugged, "That's how it should have been discovered."
Old He was very distressed, "I should have been more careful, aye…."
"It's okay. The fact that we had this place to ourselves for three days was already a miracle. at this point, people might have caught almost all fish from the lake inside the park. Those who don't want to wait around to die will, of course, find other fishing spots. They would've discovered this spot sooner or later." Su Han said with a shrug.
"But still, one less day they knew about this place meant one more day we have this place to ourselves." Old He is still blaming himself.
Su Han smiled helplessly. The fishing spot has already been discovered. What else could she do besides cheer herself up?
On the 8th day, the price of goods rose by 100%.
On the 9th day, the price of goods rose by 100%.
On the 10th day, the price of goods rose by 100%.
The price of goods soared faster than rockets.
One would have to pay more than 3,000 coins for a bowl of noodles now.
Hungry people have gradually lost their minds. According to news reports, all the animals in the zoo have been hunted and killed by lawbreakers. The government system is not far from collapsing.