The Cat Who Farms in the Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland – CH87

Chapter 87: Bartering

It wasn’t a holiday or festival, and meat was hard to come by in the base.

Xia Lu Nong’s price was quite low—two pounds of rice for one pound of fish. Most households that knew how to cook quickly brought rice to trade.

In just over half an hour, aside from ten or so fish kept for themselves, all of Xia Lu Nong’s fish had been traded away.

What they got in return was a mixed bag—rice, cured meat, dried vegetables, candied fruits… all sorts of things. Xia Lu Nong gathered them up to be stored as shared community resources.

When Xia Lu Nong and his brother returned home after trading the fish, the smell of cooking fish wafted through almost every household in the base.

The rich aroma filled the air, and Xia Lu Nong sniffed the air, saying, “I’m so hungry.”

Xia Huo Qu replied, “We’ll have food ready soon when we get back.”

At home, Kong Zhi had already steamed the rice and prepared most of the dishes.

Seeing Xia Lu Nong enter the kitchen, Kong Zhi asked, “What else do we need to prepare?”

“Pickled peppers!” Xia Lu Nong rubbed his hands together. “We’re making steamed fish fillets with pickled peppers tonight. Can you slice the fish?”

“Sure.” Kong Zhi caught a relatively good fish from the water basin, placed it on the cutting board, knocked it unconscious, and began slicing the fillets.

Standing behind him, Xia Lu Nong peeked over his shoulder. “Keep the fish bones from the middle section. We’ll steam them together later.”

“Got it.”

Kong Zhi’s knife skills were exceptional, with each slice of fish fillet uniform in size and thickness. The pale, translucent fish fillets glistened on the plate.

Xia Lu Nong found a large flat plate, first setting aside the fish bones and mixing them with shredded ginger, soy sauce, black bean paste, cooking wine, and starch. Then, he added the fish fillets, seasoned everything again, and topped it off with some chopped pickled peppers before placing it all in the steamer.

In addition to the steamed fish, tonight’s menu also included stir-fried pork with dried bamboo shoots, stir-fried lettuce, stir-fried pumpkin, and a soup made from fish heads and loofah.

Xia Lu Nong worked quickly, and in just half an hour, all the dishes were ready and on the table.

Yan Xi Nian came over to serve the food, starting with the steamed pickled pepper fish fillets. He placed them on the table, took a deep breath, and said, “This fish smells amazing!”

“Freshly sliced fish, of course it smells good.” Xia Lu Nong came out with the stir-fried pumpkin, urging, “Hurry, I’m starving.”

With four dishes and one soup on the table, Kong Zhi brought over the rice pot.

The rice they ate now was mostly new crop rice from this year, naturally fragrant, and steamed over a strong wood fire, giving it a unique and refreshing aroma.

Everyone served themselves some rice.

The white rice in porcelain bowls, paired with long, dark chopsticks, with steam rising gently, gave a cozy, homely feeling.

Xia Lu Nong grabbed his chopsticks and immediately reached for the steaming fish. As he picked up a piece, he urged, “Eat quickly, or the fish will lose its freshness when it cools.”

Saying that, he picked up a piece of fish for himself.

The snow-white fish fillet, coated in pickled pepper and black bean sauce, melted in his mouth, with a burst of fresh, fragrant, and spicy flavors blooming on his tongue. The slight saltiness of the sauce completely masked any fishy taste. The fish meat was fresh and tender, with no bones at all. As Xia Lu Nong lightly pressed his tongue against it, the fish dissolved effortlessly.

He savored it carefully, his eyes brightening with satisfaction. “This fish is perfect with rice.”

Yan Xi Nian had already eaten several pieces. The spicy and flavorful fish had made him break into a light sweat. “I’ve had steamed fish, braised fish, and pickled pepper fish before, but this is the first time I’ve tasted fish this fresh, spicy, and delicious. Where did you learn to make this?”

Xia Lu Nong replied, “I don’t remember. Probably learned it while eating out at some restaurant. Ah, this dish is so good, but it can only be made with fresh, big fish.”

“When the water rises again, we can go fishing,” Yan Xi Nian said, serving himself another piece and offering some to Xia Huo Qu. “Eat while it’s hot.”

With such a big plate of fish, everyone ate to their heart’s content.

After the meal, a bowl of sweet loofah soup completed the dinner.

Leaning back in his chair to digest, Yan Xi Nian said, “While we were trading fish earlier, Xiao Tang told me they’ve already brought back the bricks. Tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain, shall we start building the pigpen?”

Xia Huo Qu replied, “That works.”

“I’ll go check tomorrow. I spoke with someone from the property management earlier, and the land for the pigpen should be approved. I even asked them to approve a little more space, so we might as well move the chicken coop over too.”

Currently, Xia Lu Nong’s chicken coop was next to Yan Xi Nian’s house, with chickens, ducks, and geese all mixed together and raised freely.

Feeding the poultry was convenient, but the fruit and vegetables in the yard were constantly being damaged by the chickens, ducks, and geese.

Since these animals relieved themselves wherever they pleased, no matter how diligently they cleaned, the yard couldn’t stay clean for long.

All four of them liked cleanliness, so living in such an environment was quite uncomfortable.

Xia Huo Qu said, “Yes, we should move it over. Maybe we can ask Aunt Zheng to help with feeding them.”

Yan Xi Nian agreed, “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”

With that settled, the four of them lined up to wash up.

Currently, Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi used the Xia family’s bathroom, while Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian usually took water to bathe at Yan Xi Nian’s house.

Xia Lu Nong, being slower, let Kong Zhi shower first. He scooped water and slowly made his way to the eaves to brush his teeth.

His brother carried hot water over to Yan Xi Nian’s house, and as he passed, Xia Lu Nong stepped aside to give him space.

Xia Huo Qu reminded him, “Go to bed early and don’t stay up playing on your phone.”

With a toothbrush in his mouth, Xia Lu Nong nodded vaguely, watching his brother leave for Yan Xi Nian’s house next door. He belatedly realized that something felt a bit strange.

With the four of them living together, shouldn’t Kong Zhi be staying next door, and he should be living with his brother?

Why was it the way it was now?

Standing under the eaves, Xia Lu Nong fell into deep thought.

As he pondered, Kong Zhi’s deep voice came from inside the house. “I’m done. Your turn.”

“Huh? Alright!” Xia Lu Nong snapped out of it, brushing his teeth quickly, and rinsing his mouth. “I’m coming!”

Kong Zhi said, “I’ve already scooped the water for you.”

Xia Lu Nong called back, “I want more hot water!”

“I scooped a full bucket for you. Mix it yourself.”

Xia Lu Nong, who was sensitive to the cold, liked his bathwater a little hotter.

Hearing that the water was ready, he hurried inside, put away his toothbrush, washed his hands, grabbed his underwear and pajamas, and rushed into the bathroom to shower.

After a long day of work, Xia Lu Nong quickly fell asleep. The next morning, while brushing his teeth, he suddenly remembered their odd living arrangement again.

A few days ago, when it was raining, someone from the base saw his brother staying at Yan Xi Nian’s house while they were harvesting peanuts, and there had been some gossip about it.

It was indeed a bit strange for them to be living separately like this.

Early in the morning, Xia Huo Qu and Kong Zhi got up and started processing the fish they kept in buckets, neatly arranging them in a basin. Xia Huo Qu saw Xia Lu Nong brushing his teeth slowly and called out, “Once you’re done brushing, come here and see how you want to handle the fish. Should we salt them to make salted fish?”

“No,” Xia Lu Nong quickly ran over. “Don’t make salt fish, nobody likes it. We’ll cut them into pieces, marinate them, and bake them into dried fish in the bread kiln.”

Xia Huo Qu handed him the knife. “You show us how big the pieces should be.”

Xia Lu Nong took the knife, estimated, and cut the fish into small pieces about one centimeter wide. “This size will do.”

“You go start the fire at the bread kiln; we’ll handle the cutting.”

Xia Lu Nong was sent to start the fire.

Once the fire was going, he returned to marinate the fish pieces, slowly taking his time, and before he knew it, the whole morning had passed.

The bread kiln used the heat absorbed by the kiln walls to bake the fish, so there was no need to watch over the fire, making it very convenient.

After stuffing the fish pieces into the bread kiln, Xia Lu Nong could move on to other tasks.

That morning, he joined his brother and the others to check the red bricks that Xiao Tang and his group had brought back.

Since they only needed to build a pigpen and a chicken coop, they didn’t need many bricks, and the ones Xiao Tang brought were more than enough.

The weather had also cleared up, so Yan Xi Nian called on Xiao Tang and his crew to help build the pigpen.

Building a pigpen required using stones for the foundation, and moving those stones wasn’t easy. Mixing in cement and building the walls was also hard work, so Xia Lu Nong and his group had to prepare a good lunch.

Among the four of them, Xia Lu Nong was the best cook, so the task of cooking fell on him.

He pulled Kong Zhi along to the market to see if they could trade for some meat.

There were no wild boar or buffalo available today, just a small muntjac deer.

Xia Lu Nong looked at Kong Zhi and asked, “How about red-braised muntjac?”

Kong Zhi nodded. “Sure!”

“Then we’ll make red-braised muntjac for lunch. If we make the flavors strong, it shouldn’t taste bad,” Xia Lu Nong said. “We’ll also do spicy fish pieces and stir-fry a couple of vegetable dishes, and that should be enough.”

“Mm.”

Xia Lu Nong didn’t know how to butcher the muntjac, and neither did Kong Zhi.

So they took the muntjac to the base’s cafeteria and asked someone there to handle it for them.

They wanted to keep the hide, and after dropping off the deer, Kong Zhi went back to help build the pigpen, while Xia Lu Nong stayed to watch how the cafeteria staff handled the deer.

Outside the cafeteria, people were coming and going, many bringing items to trade for food, and others taking food with them.

Xia Lu Nong had a thought and asked the cafeteria staff, “Do you guys accept peanut sprouts?”

The cafeteria worker didn’t hesitate. “Yes, we do! Do you have some?”

“We have some peanuts that got wet in the rain a few days ago and have started sprouting in their shells. We can’t eat all of them ourselves. Do you want some?”

“Of course, we do! The cafeteria takes everything,” the worker said with a smile. “We haven’t had peanut sprouts in a while.”

Xia Lu Nong said, “Then I’ll go get some for you.”

Peanuts were precious at the base, and everyone was reluctant to eat them, let alone let them sprout. That would be a waste.

Since the muntjac hadn’t been fully prepared yet, Xia Lu Nong went home and used his powers to speed up the sprouting process, then brought the peanut sprouts to the cafeteria.

The peanut sprouts from his home were tender and plump. One of the workers pinched a small piece, tasted it, and a burst of sweetness spread across their mouth.

After tasting it, the worker immediately gave him a small jar of braised meat in exchange.

Xia Lu Nong took the jar of meat and the muntjac back home.

The muntjac weighed just over 20 pounds once cleaned. Xia Lu Nong cut half of it, first red-braising it in a large pot, then simmering it until the meat was tender and the bones soft. He added half a winter melon as well.

The muntjac had a rich flavor, and with the addition of the winter melon, the dish gained a light sweetness.

The winter melon soaked up the meat’s essence, becoming soft and tender, tasting just as good as the meat.

At noon, everyone who had helped build the pigpen gathered around, drinking large bowls of wine and eating chunks of meat, all wearing satisfied expressions.

In just one day, they had finished building both the pigpen and the chicken coop. However, the cement hadn’t dried yet, so they would have to pour the roof in a few days.

Since Xiao Tang’s group had brought back more bricks than expected, Xia Huo Qu traded for more bricks, cement, and steel rods, asking them to help build a second floor on their house.

Xiao Tang and the others had no objections. Working inside the base was safer and easier than scavenging outside. Xia Huo Qu provided enough supplies to match what they could get from an outside trip, and since the food at his place was so good, Xiao Tang and his group were happy to oblige.

Xia Lu Nong, whose health wasn’t great, didn’t participate in the construction.

The work was too tiring, and if he overworked and got sick, the cost of treating him would far exceed the cost of hiring people, so it wasn’t worth it.

For the next few days, Xia Lu Nong just cooked meals and went out to check on the crops.

The effects of the heavy rain had faded, and Xia Lu Nong noticed that their carrots, radishes, and mustard greens had grown about an inch tall, and the eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers had mostly recovered.

The wheat was still flattened on the ground but seemed to be slowly straightening out.

After inspecting the crops, he found that the wheat was starting to produce heads, and the heavy rain didn’t seem to have caused too much damage.

As for Kong Zhi’s rice fields, they hadn’t been affected much by the rain, and now there was no impact at all.

Xia Lu Nong walked around the fields for a while, discreetly using a bit of his powers, then checked on the fish growing in the rice paddies. Satisfied that everything was fine, he carried a basket of vegetables back home.

In just four days, Xia Huo Qu and his team had finished building the pigsty, chicken coop, and the second floor of the house.

When Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian had chosen their houses, they had picked two adjoining ones. So, when they added the second floor, they added it to both houses.

From halfway up the mountain, looking down at the base, besides the main white building, Xia Lu Nong’s and Yan Xi Nian’s houses were the only two with second floors. They looked the most beautiful and stood out the most.

Xia Lu Nong loved the newly added second floor of his house.

With an extra layer above, the sun could no longer shine directly on the roof, making the house much cooler and more comfortable.

And because they now had an extra floor in the house, they finally had space to store the grains and other miscellaneous items that had been piling up. Xia Lu Nong dragged the other three to tidy up, and the house finally became neat and orderly.

With the house now bright and tidy, Xia Lu Nong felt a sense of physical and mental comfort just looking around.

“Now this feels nice,” Xia Lu Nong said, glancing at the pile of peanuts in the corner. “In two more days, we can take these peanuts to be pressed for oil. Without these random things lying around, the house won’t feel as cluttered.”

“Sure,” Xia Huo Qu said. “I’ll check tomorrow to see if we need to line up.”

“No need,” Yan Xi Nian replied. “I already gave them a heads-up. We can just take them straight there for oil pressing.”

Speaking of this, Xia Lu Nong became curious. “Last year, there was no electricity, so you couldn’t use an oil press. How did you press oil?”

“Last year, the base wasn’t even fully built, so there was no need for oil,” Xia Huo Qu explained. “It was only last winter that the city walls were completed, and the land was divided. In fact, this year is the first year the base started large-scale crop planting. Haven’t you noticed the difference in the food served at the cafeteria?”

Xia Lu Nong shook his head; he hadn’t really paid attention. His family hadn’t been eating at the cafeteria lately, and when he did go, he never took note of what basic meals the cafeteria was serving.

Xia Huo Qu was about to explain further when Kong Zhi chimed in, “When I first arrived, the cafeteria’s staple grain was mainly sweet potatoes, but now it’s mostly rice. Everyone’s eating better.”

Xia Huo Qu nodded. “Exactly. You’ve been observant. After the summer harvest, the cafeteria’s basic meal plan changed. It used to be more vegetables, but now there’s more starch, and occasionally, they even serve meat.”

Xia Lu Nong hadn’t expected that and paused in surprise. “If things keep going this way, in a few more years, won’t everyone at the base be eating white rice regularly?”

Wouldn’t that mean nobody would go hungry anymore?

Yan Xi Nian casually added, “Isn’t that how it should be?”