Chapter 19: Look at how handsome your father was when he was young.

Shi Yuebai cast a glance at the faces of the family, which were twisted into greedy, cunning smiles. She reckoned they must think of her as the biggest fool in the world. They had pushed over a hundred packs of diapers in one go—enough to cover all the diapers the unborn Shi baby would ever need in its lifetime.

Someone nearby immediately took offense. "Hey, how can you people do this?"

"This kind of behavior is nothing but blatant cheating."

Everyone knew how scarce food was. No one knew how much had been left in the two large crates given to the Shi family by the Xiangcheng Mercenary Group, but the "idiot" Shi Yuebai had only put a hundred or two small bread rolls on her stall. If the Zhou family traded for a hundred packs of diapers at once, they would instantly wipe out half of the stock. That would leave nothing for anyone else waiting in line.

Shi’s second sister-in-law, who was currently dragging a carved pear-wood cabinet, stopped in her tracks. She turned around, revealing a pair of hollow, sightless eyes. She called out softly to the people arguing, "Yuebai, Yuebai!" She was afraid that the survivors would come to blows and cause a chaotic scene.

Shi’s mother, a chain tied to her wrist, was constantly trying to bolt. With her massive belly, she tugged at the chain, circling the perimeter of the crowd. However, Shi Yuebai’s weight was immovable; no matter how much her mother ran, Shi Yuebai remained rock-solid.

Shi Yuebai sat on the flatbed cart, watching the survivors squabble over her bread without the slightest intention of intervening. The dispute had started because of her bread, but so what? She hadn't forced anyone to fight. Receiving no response from Shi Yuebai and sensing her indifference, the second sister-in-law said nothing more, her heart heavy as she continued to drag the pear-wood cabinet.

"What’s so excessive about it? Shi Yuebai hasn’t said a word, so what business is it of yours to flap your jaws?" the woman from the Zhou family shouted, her voice shrill and piercing.

The woman arguing with her, surnamed Zhong, immediately turned to Shi Yuebai. "The Zhou family is treating you like an idiot, Shi Yuebai! If it were me, I wouldn't sell to them at all."

Shi Yuebai remained indifferent. While watching the show, she took the time to trade with another survivor for a few children's elementary math books. Seeing the simple, pretty math problems inside, she tossed them to Shi Yaoyao. The argument between the Zhou and Zhong families grew increasingly heated, eventually erupting into a physical brawl.

The two families fought—women against women, men against men, and eventually men against women and women against men. It turned into a scene of utter pandemonium. Anyone who wasn't careful got dragged into the fray. The spectators moved back, only to realize that, at some point, their ankles had been tangled in chains.

"Ah, what is this?"

"Oh, I'm going to trip!"

Several people were sent sprawling by the chains, some even chipping their teeth on the ground. Amidst the chaos, Shi Yuebai couldn't help but reveal a peaceful smile. She slowly pulled the chain back, reeling in her mother, who was still running around with her large belly. "Mom, it’s not safe here. Stay away from these people. If they bump into you, they won't be able to pay for the damages. Let's close the stall for today."

Shi Yuebai had originally intended to sell two hundred bread rolls, expecting it to take all morning, leaving the afternoon for the family to go scavenging. She hadn't expected the team to start fighting after only half an hour of business. Since trade was impossible, the family might as well head out to scavenge for a living.

The mentally unstable mother helped her daughter pack up the stall. By the time the people fighting outside the tarp had finally settled down, Shi Yuebai was ready to lead her family out. The woman from the Zhou family, disheveled and bruised, had the gall to approach her. "Uh, Yuebai, are we still trading diapers for bread?"

"We are, but the price has gone up!" Shi Yuebai retorted. Since they treated her like a fool, she decided to demand a heavy price. "Ten packs of diapers for one bread roll. Take it or leave it, otherwise we're heading out. A friendly reminder: this is just today's price. Tomorrow, who knows?"

The Zhou woman, having just finished a fight, didn't even hesitate. "Trade, trade, we'll trade!" To her, those diapers were like garbage; it would be a waste not to trade them.

Shi Yuebai exchanged ten small bread rolls for them. She inspected the mountain of diapers: fifty packs of baby diapers, enough for the baby's immediate needs, and fifty packs of adult incontinence briefs. These would be perfect for her mother. After giving birth, she would have lochia, and since she was mentally unwell and the second sister-in-law was blind, they couldn't afford to change regular clothes constantly. These briefs were the best solution.

The Shi family—a collection of the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant—stumbled off to scavenge. Along the way, the bruised survivors watched the family with schadenfreude. Between the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the pregnant, the mad, and the fool, they had gathered all seven "Dragon Balls" of the wasteland. It was the ultimate human tragedy.

It was nine in the morning, and the sun hadn't fully emerged. The temperature was mild. Shi Yuebai directed her second sister-in-law, who carried Shi Yaoyao on her back while pushing Shi Yuebai. Shi Yuebai sat on the cart, holding the chain tied to her mother, who was constantly wandering off.

"Yuebai, Yuebai, look!" Her mother, having climbed onto a pile of rubble, smiled and pulled out a photo. She waved a picture of a panda-faced meme, dancing with joy. "This is your dad. Look at how handsome your dad was when he was young."

Shi Yuebai: "..."

Passing the collapsed house with the open-air toilet from yesterday, Shi Yaoyao, clutching her math book on her mother's back, cried out, "Mom, I need to use the bathroom!"

The second sister-in-law stopped abruptly and looked back at her daughter. Before she could react, her mother started fussing, "I need to go too, I need to go too!"

Last night, Shi Yuebai had placed a bucket by the bridge pier and collected a large basin of clean water. After the previous ordeal, the second sister-in-law felt somewhat numb. She said nothing, following Shi Yuebai's instructions to wash four water bottles. Along the way, Shi Yaoyao and her mother had been drinking. The water in the four bottles should have been... finished by the two of them. But perhaps the second sister-in-law had miscalculated, as Shi Yuebai had handed them water several more times while they were scavenging.