[edited]
To defeat the other party before sitting down to talk properly, Huo Yishen suggested an idea to Coke.
“You don’t need to rush to refuse me, and you certainly don’t need to deny yourself. You’re important to her, even if I’m with her, it won’t affect your position in her heart in the slightest.
Moreover, I have an agreement with Anning. If there comes a day when I treat you badly, she will absolutely not stand by me.
If you can’t even defeat me, how can you protect her for a lifetime? Instead of that, give me a chance. Let’s protect her together, okay?
Furthermore, I’ll treat you and Doudou equally. Don’t worry that she’ll abandon you once she has a man, that won’t happen.”
The dog, “…”
“Don’t believe me? Let’s pinky promise.”
Saying that, he picked up its paw, and they completed the pinky promise.
The dog who was forced to make the promise, “…”
“Eat well and exercise properly.” Huo Yishen patted its head, “If you starve, only I will be left to take care of her alone, and then you won’t have a chance.”
The dog’s pupils shook, taking three steps back in succession.
Huo Yishen left, giving it space to contemplate alone.
He walked to Jiang Ning’s side, “Coke is very clever, just a bit jealous, and it extremely lacking in a sense of security due to its past. Take it slow, it will come around.”
“What if it still doesn’t agree?”
Huo Yishen didn’t want to trouble her, “There will always be a solution.”
After waiting in the corridor for more than ten minutes, Jiang Ning opened the door and entered the room.
The dog came up to her, eyes filled with an unbreakable sadness.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Ning chuckled. “Didn’t all the dog meat restaurants already close down? Besides, am I that kind of person?
She poured dog food for it, adding a chicken leg.
The dog ate heartily, occasionally looking up at her, as if afraid she would run away.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you with me wherever I go.”
At night, the walkie-talkie rang, “Anning, bring Coke over for dinner.”
Jiang Ning covered the walkie-talkie and discussed with the dog, “There’s food next door, shall we go?”
The dog hesitated but ultimately picked up the food bowl.
Jiang Ning smiled, “Be right there.”
They had wax duck, two duck legs, one for Doudou and the other for Coke, all served by Huo Yishen.
As they ate and chatted, Huo Yishen spoke up, “The neighborhood committee will distribute anti-cold potatoes tomorrow. There won’t be enough, so we need to draw lots. Shall we go?”
“Not going.”
Jiang Ning had bad luck, having bought lottery tickets consistently for ten years without winning. Besides, the second batch of potatoes would be harvested soon, and there already have enough antifreeze solution for the next planting.
By the time the next batch was harvested, the extreme cold would be almost over.
After dinner, they sat on the sofa and watched TV.
The dog insisted on squeezing in between Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen.
It couldn’t move much; whenever it touched Jiang Ning even slightly, its paw would stretch out.
Jiang Ning chuckled helplessly, hugging the jealous dog and watching the drama.
When it was almost time to leave, unexpectedly, Huo Yishen stopped her.
He opened the door to the master bedroom, “Anning, you can take these with you.”
Jiang Ning was puzzled.
“I hope it can make you feel at ease.”
Jiang Ning was taken aback, taking a moment before speaking, “I can’t accept things you risked your life for.”
“I know,” Huo Yishen understood, “but I hope it can give you a sense of security.”
“It’s what you risked your life for, I can’t take it.”
“It’s not for you, it’s just for you to keep.”
He said it gently, but Jiang Ning understood, “If I take them, you won’t have anything left.”
“Anning, I trust you,” Huo Yishen’s gaze was deep, “Besides, it’s hard to preserve supplies in extreme cold, some things will spoil if frozen for too long.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I really take them?”
“Sure.”
While talking, Jiang Ning couldn’t possibly take everything, but she was indeed curious about his supplies, especially those wrapped in layers of thermal insulation film.
Her gaze fell on a few things in the corner, “What are those?”
“Engine parts, compressors, and some components taken from the car.”
Jiang Ning was surprised, “Your car is still there?”
“It’s in the parking lot.” Only the fragile and easily damaged parts were dismantled.
Thinking of his armored vehicle, Jiang Ning almost drooled; unfortunately, there wasn’t enough space at the time, otherwise, she would have stocked up on several more vehicles.
“It’s almost seventy degrees below zero, won’t the car freeze in the parking lot?”
“I did some special treatment in advance, hopefully, it won’t be damaged.”
Jiang Ning stored the car parts in her space, let them return to room temperature on the balcony, and then put them in the room.
She only took two-thirds of the rice, flour, oil, seasonings, and snacks, after all, she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t encounter danger. She couldn’t put all her eggs in one basket.
The same went for medicines; she took all the infrequently used ones and left one-third of the commonly used ones.
Jiang Ning discovered that not only did he stockpile a lot of gasoline, but he also had solar generators and battery storage boxes that could hold up to 50 degrees of electricity, no wonder he could charge the fish trap.
She took them all away.
Seeing the magic of the poop scooper’s owner, Coke gave Huo Yishen a crooked smile of triumph.
Hmph, these are all owned by poop scooper’s!
Huo Yishen chuckled at its antics, “So, can you let go of your hostility towards me?”
The dog turned its head, absolutely not!
With all sorts of things, when Jiang Ning saw the acid-resistant protective clothing, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is there an acid rain?”
“Yes.”
Not just acid rain, but also thick fog, polar day, polar night, ancient glacier viruses, continental plate collisions, and so on.
Jiang Ning felt anxious; she hadn’t expected the challenges to become increasingly difficult, and her preparations were far from sufficient.
“It’s okay, we’ll figure out a way to collect them.”
Huo Yishen woke up later; the retirement process took time, and most of the items in the room were pre-purchased online. He had risked going out during a typhoon to stock up, but who knew how long the natural disasters would last; these supplies were far from enough.
Jiang Ning counted his gas cylinders, “Are these the ones at the entrance of the community the ones you took?”
Huo Yishen smiled, “You’re really smart.”
With so many things, the second-floor room of the space was stuffed to the brim, it seemed they needed to find a way to expand; they were lacking too many things.
The second batch of potatoes was harvested, and the three humans and one dog didn’t slack off.
The dog kept digging and biting into the soil, putting each mouthful into the basket.
With over a thousand catties harvested, they were exhausted, but it was enough to eat for quite some time.
In addition, the corn, peanuts, and wheat in the space matured one after another and needed to be harvested soon.
Jiang Ning liked to eat fresh food, so she threw the corn into the space after picking it, and the peanuts and wheat needed to be threshed. In order to save time, she had to take them out.
The weather was too cold, and they froze quickly once taken out.
There wasn’t much planted, only a hundred square meters each, but it still took Jiang Ning a whole day; her mental and physical energy were overused, and she lay in bed motionless.
Huo Yishen brought over the food, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Jiang Ning worried, “What if Doudou finds out?”
He had taught her well, but she was only six years old after all; who could guarantee that she wouldn’t let it slip?
Huo Yishen thought for a moment, “You don’t need to tell Doudou. If she can’t resist her curiosity one day, I’ll tell her that the space is mine.”
Jiang Ning thought it was okay; after all, compared to him, she was just an outsider.
There was a difference between one’s own home and someone else’s.
So, while Doudou was napping, Jiang Ning unloaded all the peanuts and wheat in the living room of 1801.
When Doudou woke up from her nap and opened the door, she couldn’t stop rubbing her eyes…
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