Chapter 357: Thinking Far Ahead

"Um… can Xiaojue and I stay behind to keep Xiaoya company?"

When Yi Xiaoling saw Zhang Su lighting incense to pay respects, she learned the general situation from Wang Xin and Chen Hanzhou, and couldn't bear to let Su Xiaoya be alone.

"Fine. With you two watching over her, it's at least safe."

Zhang Su didn't object, then walked toward Lei Youliang's house.

"Brother Zhang, if this happened again, would you still do the same thing?"

Around the corner, Chen Hanzhou asked softly.

Everyone knew what he meant and turned to look at Zhang Su.

Zhang Su took a deep breath, memories flashing in his mind, then nodded: "Without hesitation. I wouldn't hold back at all."

"Then, Brother Zhang, what if I'd been taken hostage back then?"

Wu Lue asked like an idiot.

Zhang Su glanced at him sideways and said: "If you were taken hostage, what you should think about first is how to coordinate from inside and take out those bastards holding you!"

"Oh, right, right."

Wu Lue thought Zhang Su's words made perfect sense.

Not just him—the others also took Zhang Su's words to heart: never passively wait for rescue, never forget self-rescue in any predicament, and even consider striking back.

The group turned to the front of Lei Youliang's house. The courtyard gate was half-open; judging from the scene, Yang Liehuo and his men had already ransacked it—everything inside was clean, nothing left. They walked straight into the house. Aside from immovable furniture, they found nothing of real value.

Outside, the sun blazed high. Rural houses had excellent natural lighting; the interior was brightly lit, no flashlight needed. They split up to search.

"Hey, we hit the jackpot! This bastard really knew how to hide stuff!"

Wang Xin stood before a wardrobe, holding up a soft Zhonghua cigarette and calling to Lu Yubo, who was rummaging through another cabinet: "Zhonghua—over ten packs, plus over ten Yuxi cigarettes—all hidden in the wardrobe's false panel!"

"Damn, let me see!"

Lu Yubo sprinted over, peeked inside, and beamed: "Brother Wang, we've got to split this haul evenly!"

"Of course we will. Heh—heh. We'll have smoking freedom for a while!"

Wang Xin was thrilled. According to the rules, he could take ten percent—but he dared not claim it all. Even if split four ways, each person got nearly a full pack. Finally, they could enjoy some comfort during the cigarette rationing.

"Pack it up and go. This place has nothing else valuable."

Zhang Su and Wu Lue walked over from another building. They hadn't come back empty-handed, but they hadn't found anything substantial either.

The weight of over thirty packs of cigarettes was trivial for adults. They used leftover clothes from the wardrobe to make a sack, slung it over their shoulders, and carried it all away.

"Wait—there's something under here!"

As the four stepped out of the house, about to leave the courtyard, Zhang Su's gaze landed on a cellar entrance covered by broken corrugated steel sheets.

"I'll check it out!"

Wu Lue eagerly went over, yanked off the steel sheets with a clatter. Below was pitch black. When he switched on his flashlight and shone it down, he turned back, delighted: "Brother Zhang, there's a door down there!"

"A door inside the cellar? Go down and see!"

Zhang Su walked to the cellar edge and peered in. The depth was about two meters, with stairs for easy access.

"I'll go, I'll go! Heh-heh, if you find something good, make sure I get a bigger share!"

Before Zhang Su could move, Wu Lue quickly shrugged off his backpack, hung the flashlight on his chest, and descended the stairs.

"Damn, it's locked!"

"Catch!"

Zhang Su had already seen the padlock on the door latch and tossed down a steel rod.

Though not a professional crowbar, and the lock wasn't high-end, it snapped open with a loud crack.

But when Wu Lue carefully opened the hidden door, he sighed, dejected: "Damn it, Lei Youliang was a real miser. Brother Zhang, there's cash, gold and silver jewelry, some watches, and stamps down here."

Before Wu Lue, in a space less than two square meters and about a person's height, stacks of cash were neatly piled in the corner—too many to count, at least several million yuan. Beside them stood a dedicated jewelry display case filled with gold ornaments and fine watches.

"Damn…"

The three at the cellar's edge all gave him the middle finger.

"Ha, Brother Zhang, these gold bars are all from banks. This guy probably looted several banks after the disaster broke out—they're worth a fortune… damn."

Wu Lue roughly counted them, sighing heavily. If he'd suddenly gotten this wealth before the disaster, he'd never have to study from his computer again—he'd need real human interaction!

"Damn, this guy really planned ahead—he even saved money for restarting his life after things returned to normal. Too bad he didn't foresee how bad things would get…"

Zhang Su shook his head helplessly. Gold wasn't useless, but at this stage, there was nowhere to use it. Considering global gold reserves and today's population, even if industry recovered, supply would far exceed demand.

"So what do we do, Brother Zhang? Take anything?"

Wu Lue felt wealth was within reach—but utterly powerless.

"Take the watches and gold up. Leave the rest down here." Zhang Su said, then tossed a spare bag down with a puff—he'd brought plenty of bags for searching.

A few minutes later, Wu Lue climbed out of the cellar and shook his heavy backpack in front of everyone—inside, gold gleamed brilliantly.

"Each of you pick a style you like to give your wife. The rest go into the camp warehouse—might be useful later."

As days passed, after the initial struggle, humans slowly began forming order. Beyond basic survival needs, other demands would emerge. Things useless now might one day become prized.

Zhang Su spoke, and the others didn't hesitate. Everyone present except Wu Lue had a wife. Chen Hanzhou moved fastest, grabbing a diamond ring. Wang Xin picked a ring too. Lu Yubo rummaged for a while, then took a necklace.

"I don't have a wife. Can I just take a watch for myself, Brother Zhang?"

Wu Lue held the backpack awkwardly, wearing a miserable smile.

"Sure, no problem!" Zhang Su agreed readily. He wasn't idle either—he picked out a pair of earrings for Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan.

Life on Tianma Island was now stable. People were beginning to pursue spiritual fulfillment. A little personal adornment was fine.

"Heh, earlier I was telling Xiao Ya about getting married—I wanted ice cubes, now I've got a ring. Hey, Xiao Chen, aren't you planning to propose to Pei Lan too?"

Wang Xin admired his solid gold ring.

"I was… uh, Brother Zhang, I just remembered something."

Chen Hanzhou held up the ring. The small diamond sparkled brightly in the sunlight. He hesitated: "If Pei Lan wears this ring in camp, won't it draw too much attention? Might cause trouble?"

Tianma Island was no longer the small group of twenty-some. With two satellite villages, it now approached a hundred people—men and women alike. Chen Hanzhou feared gossip would spread.

Zhang Su smiled faintly: "We found this stuff through our own strength. Everyone should see it. If you want it, work for it. Envy and jealousy won't get you anything. But I'll warn you: camp population's growing. We can't distribute supplies like before. I'm discussing with Old Yu a points-based exchange system—we need to formalize it."

The group nodded. As core members, none wanted Tianma Island to falter. They trusted that if they didn't slack off, Zhang Su would never let them down.

Leaving Lei Youliang's courtyard, the group found more supplies in nearby former homes—mostly food, some daily necessities.

Half an hour later, three vehicles slowly drove out of Kuangzhuang. In the passenger seat of the FJ Cruiser, Su Xiaoya's eyes were red, hugging a large book bag filled with her past memories.

(End of Chapter)