Chapter 12: Now, an Extra Fool Should Be Added

Second Sister Shi was far less optimistic than Shi Yuebai.

She desperately wanted to tell Shi Yuebai that the only food they had left among the three of them was the small bag of potatoes on Shi Yaoyao’s back.

Thinking of this, Second Sister Shi suddenly realized that from the moment she received the devastating news about the men of the Shi family until now, she, Shi Yaoyao, and Shi Yuebai had barely eaten anything.

Though daylight had fully arrived and the sun was hidden behind layers of dark gray clouds, visibility had improved significantly compared to a few hours ago.

Many scavengers had arrived at the newly cleared land, some even from their own group.

Seeing the sickly and disabled members of the Shi family, a few men greeted Second Sister Shi with an ambiguous tone.

“Wife of the Second Shi household, if you need any help, come find us.”

“If you’re hungry, don’t hesitate to come.”

“As long as you’re willing, we welcome you anytime.”

After saying this, the men from afar gave Second Sister Shi a smile that was more felt than spoken.

Shi Yuebai’s face darkened, and Second Sister Shi furrowed her brows tightly.

She neither replied nor dared to respond.

In the wasteland, a beautiful woman was dangerous; a beautiful woman without a man’s protection was even more so.

Second Sister Shi still had to take Shi Yuebai and Shi Yaoyao back under the bridge pier and dared not retort to those men.

Fortunately, it was broad daylight, and those teasing men didn’t dare to go too far.

Second Sister Shi stood still for a while, calming the anger and fear swelling in her heart.

“Yuebai, maybe we should move somewhere else?”

“Move where? This place is fine.”

Shi Yuebai lowered her gaze to the long stick in her hands, then beckoned to Shi Yaoyao sitting beside her.

“Remember when Auntie told you to find stones like these?”

Shi Yaoyao obediently nodded.

“From now on, you have a new task: find many stones of this size.”

“No matter how many, bring them all back.”

Shi Yaoyao immediately put away the precious little mirror in her hand and began searching through the rubble for stones of that size, as her aunt had asked.

Second Sister Shi thought this area probably held no food.

But since Shi Yuebai refused to move, she had no other choice.

She could only ask, “Yuebai, do you want something to eat?”

Shi Yuebai shook her head. “Not hungry.”

Alright, Second Sister Shi wasn’t hungry either. She looked toward Shi Yaoyao.

By normal standards, Shi Yaoyao should have been hungry by now.

Perhaps in the days since losing her husband, Second Sister Shi had been so consumed by grief that she hadn’t paid attention to Shi Yaoyao’s hunger.

Had Shi Yaoyao pushed past hunger?

“If you’re worried, just take out the two moderately irradiated potatoes in your backpack and eat them.”

Shi Yuebai turned around and sat on the flat handcart, picking up the long stick to sift through the stones in front of her.

She found no food, but quite a few scattered bottles and jars.

Second Sister Shi hesitated and struggled in her heart before taking out one of the moderately irradiated potatoes from her pocket.

[Detection: 0% radiation contamination potato.]

The radiation detector on her wrist suddenly beeped.

Second Sister Shi looked down in surprise, though she couldn’t see well.

“Yue, Yuebai, Yuebai…”

The two potatoes in her pocket had been moderately irradiated when checked.

How had they become zero radiation overnight?

Second Sister Shi was at a loss for words.

Shi Yuebai turned impatiently, “What’s the big deal?”

“Food’s radiation contamination can increase or decrease over time. Isn’t that common knowledge?”

Everyone in the wasteland knew this.

Second Sister Shi opened her mouth to say, “But…”

But what they had seen before was food left exposed to sunlight or open air, where radiation contamination only deepened.

They had never encountered food whose radiation contamination actually lessened.

Not to mention, it hadn’t even been that long.

But she dared not ask further; Shi Yuebai’s reluctance to answer was clear.

She feared asking too much would anger Shi Yuebai.

Since the potatoes had become zero radiation contamination, they couldn’t feed them to Shi Yaoyao.

Second Sister Shi took out the other potato from her pocket and tested it—it was also zero radiation contamination.

Unable to understand it, she gave up trying.

Second Sister Shi quietly suggested to Shi Yuebai, “Why don’t we go to the big city tomorrow and sell these two zero-contamination potatoes?”

“That way, we could get two hundred moderately contaminated potatoes in return.”

“Maybe even more.”

Shi Yuebai hummed softly, digging out a towel from the rubble.

It was still sealed inside its packaging, unopened.

“Up to you,” she said.

With Shi Yuebai’s consent, Second Sister Shi happily stored the two precious potatoes.

She turned and placed her hand on Shi Yaoyao’s head.

“Yaoyao, eat this.”

Second Sister Shi bit back her pain and took out a highly irradiated potato from Shi Yaoyao’s backpack.

As a mother, she knew giving her daughter food with high radiation contamination would severely harm her health.

But there was no choice—people had to survive.

Until the day they could no longer live.

When that day came, perhaps they would all be freed.

Shi Yaoyao obediently took the potato.

She wasn’t really hungry nor did she want to eat the bitter potato.

But since her mother told her to, she said nothing and opened her mouth to bite.

Shi Yuebai reached out, “Wipe the dirt off before you eat.”

She took the highly irradiated potato from Shi Yaoyao’s hands and purified it carefully.

Only then did she hand it back.

Shi Yaoyao obediently ate the purified potato bit by bit.

Second Sister Shi’s heart ached deeply, and she dared not linger.

Biting her lip, wiping away tears, she continued rummaging through the ruins.

In her heart, she vowed to use the two zero-radiation potatoes in her pocket to trade for many moderately irradiated potatoes.

So her daughter wouldn’t have to eat highly irradiated potatoes for a long time.

That day, the three women from the Shi family returned from scavenging with no food at all.

Instead, they brought back a large pile of daily necessities.

From a basin big enough for an adult to squat in, to small porcelain cups for drinking water and towels.

Yuebai even found a box of brand-new, unopened toothbrushes.

The three women carried these items back to their group with great effort.

The others in the group nearly burst out laughing.

“These three sickly and disabled fools should add a ‘dumb’ to their name.”

“What use are these things that can neither be eaten nor drunk?”