After carrying all that water, Ning Yu’an was already exhausted, but she did not rest.
There was no light in the house. As the light outside gradually faded, Ning Yu’an could only rely on the dim yellow glow of the stove to take apart the quilt and pull out all the cotton that had clumped together inside.
It was extremely uncomfortable to sleep under a quilt full of lumps.
According to the original owner’s memories, cotton was an extremely expensive resource. Buying a new one was out of the question. Ning Yu’an could only remove the parts where the cotton had hardened into lumps and set them aside, then spread out the parts that could still be pulled apart and placed them over the opened quilt cover.
The quilt cover was made of coarse cotton cloth. It had been used for many years, and so many places had worn thin enough to let light through. There were patches sewn over it as well.
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Ning Yu’an was glad that she had watched her grandmother make quilts back in her hometown. At least she would not have to stare blankly at it without knowing what to do.
Her handiwork was not particularly good. The cotton was somewhat unevenly distributed, and her stitches were not very fine or dense, but it was still much better than leaving it in its original lumpy state.
The quilt was not large. In less than two hours, Ning Yu’an had more or less finished fixing it.
Ning Yu’an raised her head and squinted her dry, irritated eyes. She got up and checked the door before locking it from the inside with the small lock. Although the wooden door looked as though it could be kicked open with a single kick, something was better than nothing.
After washing up, Ning Yu’an made sure there was nothing flammable around the stove, placed her small knife beside her pillow, and climbed into bed.
A full day of scavenging had left her extremely tired. It was not long before the small bed was filled with the sound of her steady breathing.
The reed stalks were still spread out against the wall. The fire in the stove flickered inside the cramped room, casting a faint, trembling reflection across the walls.
She slept through the night without dreaming.
When Ning Yu’an woke up the next morning, she felt slightly congested.
The temperature at night was not particularly high, and with the draft coming through the ceiling, Ning Yu’an felt that she had caught a chill.
She boiled the remaining piece of arrowhead. After eating it and drinking the hot broth, Ning Yu’an felt much better.
After breakfast, she placed the reed stalks upright against the wall beside the house to dry.
There were no other houses near the mountain where she lived. Although there was still a risk that someone might take them, she did not have time to keep watch over them.
After locking the door, she shouldered her gathering basket and set off to collect resources.
It was not yet six in the morning.
Most people in the poor district had already left their homes and gone out scavenging.
In this era where people could barely guarantee their next meal, lazy people did not live long.
Moreover, mutated beasts were extremely likely to appear at night and during the early hours of the morning. People generally left around five-thirty in the morning to begin gathering and returned to the poor district before nightfall.
The gathering groups did not move particularly quickly.
Strictly speaking, the line stretched for a very long distance.
Most of the people at the front and in the middle were able to eat at least some food. Their mobility and physical strength were therefore somewhat better.
Those at the very back were all skin and bones, swaying with every step.
Many had patches of rotting flesh on their bodies, while some could not stop coughing.
These were all signs of excessive consumption of highly radioactive food.
People who consumed highly radioactive food for long periods experienced a reduction in platelets and weakened resistance. Their wounds healed slowly, and they had little chance of recovering from illnesses on their own.
Although most of the people walking at the front were also pale and emaciated, their mental state was much better.
The condition of people today was already the result of a century of genetic selection.
The weakest among them had not even had the chance to be born.
Everyone who could stand here now was a native of the Wasteland who had never seen modern civilization.
Ning Yu’an quietly observed the condition of the people around her and carefully concealed herself among the crowd.
Having eaten her fill that morning, Ning Yu’an felt that she was in fairly good condition.
The map showed two tasks: “Collect five edible plants” and “Explore 10 kilometers.”
She wanted to complete them as much as possible today.
After reaching the gathering area, Ning Yu’an first continued westward.
She walked and stopped along the way, occasionally changing direction as she watched the edge of the map gradually expand.
One blue dot after another lit up.
By the time she obtained the exploration point, Ning Yu’an had almost reached Gathering Area No. 13.
The next exploration task required twenty kilometers.
Ning Yu’an was no longer in a hurry to complete it.
Looking at the blue dots around her, Ning Yu’an chose the nearest one.
The location marked by this dot was a large patch of purslane.
After mutating, the purslane had developed extremely thick leaves. Each one was about half the size of a palm.
It had a slightly sour taste and a rather tender texture. Ning Yu’an actually liked it quite a lot.
Her luck was pretty good this time. Before long, she found two Level 3 leaves.
There were not many people nearby.
Ning Yu’an quietly put the leaves away, then stood up and stretched her back.
As the two leaves disappeared into her collection, the blue dot on the map also dimmed considerably.
Seeing the shadow beneath her feet grow shorter and shorter, Ning Yu’an found some mutated Ula grass.
She cut several large handfuls and sat beneath a large tree to begin testing them.
The difference between day and night temperatures here was enormous.
At night, the temperature remained only a few degrees above freezing, while at noon, the sunlight could easily cause sunburn.
Sunlight itself already contained radiation. On the Wasteland, that radiation was several times stronger.
Without sufficient medicine, sunburns were difficult to heal and could even develop into large areas of ulceration.
People here, including Ning Yu’an, tried their best not to expose their skin.
They also wrapped their heads in gray, dusty cloth.
Fortunately, the sunlight was only unbearably hot for a little more than two hours around noon. The surrounding hours were uncomfortable, but still tolerable.
Ning Yu’an wiped away her sweat while sitting in the shade of the tree, then lowered her head and began testing the Ula grass.
In her original world, Ning Yu’an had seen this plant, which was famous as one of the “Northeastern Three Treasures.”
After mutation, its leaves had become longer and thinner. Once dried, they were extremely tough and flexible.
People on the Wasteland used it to weave curtains, backpacks, straw shoes, and other items.
Ning Yu’an planned to weave some curtains.
She could hang them beside the bed as a partition or hang them on the walls.
The walls of the house were currently coated with a layer of mud, which crumbled away at the slightest touch.
Since she would be living here for a long time, Ning Yu’an still wanted to make the place as comfortable as possible.
The wooden bed was quite hard, so Ning Yu’an planned to make a mattress from reed stalks and lay dried Ula grass over it.
There were still many things that needed to be added to the house.
There were no chairs, mattress padding, cabinets, or anything else of the sort.
But the most urgent task was to patch the hole in the ceiling and repair the roof.
Otherwise, Ning Yu’an was always worried that after she finished arranging everything, the dilapidated house might collapse on her while she was sleeping…
As she thought about all this, her hands continued working without stopping.
Even though she was not slow, testing three large handfuls of Ula grass still took quite a bit of effort.
After finishing the tests, Ning Yu’an had obtained less than one handful of Level 4 radioactive Ula grass.
She tied the grass into a bundle and placed it in her gathering basket.
Ning Yu’an felt a little hungry.
She rummaged through her space and took out the two wild fruits about the size of plums.
The wild fruits were somewhat astringent, with only a tiny hint of sweetness. Their texture was similar to unripe hawthorn-like mountain berries and they were not very tasty.
Ning Yu’an forced herself to eat them anyway.
Food was precious now. Not a single bit could be wasted.
Seeing that the sunlight was no longer as harsh, Ning Yu’an got up and headed toward the next gathering point.
The location marked by the blue dot was a patch of lamb’s quarters.
There were already two people gathering there.
Ning Yu’an grunted and worked at testing the plants for nearly an hour.
Then she watched helplessly as the blue dot on the map disappeared.
She happened to glance at the person beside her and saw the unmistakable look of delight on their face.
Ning Yu’an immediately understood.
It seemed that all the edible plants here had already been gathered.
Ning Yu’an did not dwell on it. She studied the map again.
Most of the map that had already been illuminated was covered with blue markers, some bright and some dim.
There were only three green ones.
After considering the time, Ning Yu’an chose one of them that was on her route home.