While Ning Xuan was sound asleep, Wang Er Ya stealthily took out the milk bottle under the cover of darkness, shielding it with her sleeve before quickly placing it in Niu Niu’s mouth.
Before Ning Xuan could trade for more steamed buns, no matter how frugally Wang Er Ya rationed, the remaining buns were finished by Niu Niu in just two days.
Afterward, she tried soaking coarse grain biscuits in water to soften them, but Niu Niu still couldn’t eat them—only managing to sip a little of the soaked biscuit water.
It was Ning Xuan who realized that if even she couldn’t stomach the coarse grain biscuits, a baby certainly couldn’t. So, in between, Ning Xuan secretly saved a little porridge and traded it to Wang Er Ya.
Thanks to that small amount of porridge, Niu Niu barely survived, though she remained emaciated, her bones starkly visible beneath her skin. Whenever Wang Er Ya saw Niu Niu’s disproportionately large eyes, made prominent by her extreme thinness, she sometimes couldn’t bear to look.
Now, as soon as the nipple touched Niu Niu’s lips, the little one, who had been sleeping with closed eyes, instinctively began to suck.
Due to prolonged undernourishment, Niu Niu’s appetite remained small; she stopped after drinking just over 50 milliliters, not quite reaching 60.
Beside her, Da Niu, held close by Wang Er Ya, continued to sleep soundly. Wang Er Ya glanced around—aside from those on night watch, almost everyone was asleep. She hugged both children tightly and quickly dozed off.
She didn’t dare sleep deeply, so during this time, she had been resting against tree stumps or earthen mounds.
Today, word spread through the group that some greenery could be seen in the distance, suggesting the drought ahead might be easing.
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The next morning, Ning Xuan left the coarse grain biscuits behind as usual. With so many delicious foods now at her disposal, she simply couldn’t bring herself to eat the coarse biscuits.
She planned to continue trading the coarse grain biscuits to Wang Er Ya.
During the daytime work, Ning Xuan found herself noticeably less weak than before—likely a result of previous malnutrition and hunger.
The relatively light task of weeding would continue for about another week. After that, the brigade would grant a two-day break for everyone to rest and prepare for the wheat harvest.
In between weeding, Ning Xuan began messaging Lin Yuhan, asking her to prepare more nutritious items.
She also thought of compact, high-calorie compressed biscuits, mainly intending them for Wang Er Ya’s side.
After trading for this period, Wang Er Ya’s journey as a famine refugee was still ongoing, and Ning Xuan felt anxious on her behalf. She wondered when Wang Er Ya would find a suitable place to resettle and start a stable life.
In fact, Ning Xuan also felt grateful for her—thankful that they were fleeing a drought and not a war, as the latter would have been far worse.
Upon receiving the message, Lin Yuhan headed out to shop after breakfast.
She planned to save up a few more copper coins before trading again with the collector shop owner.
The previous night, she had already placed an online order for the clothes and quilts Ning Xuan requested. Delivery was quite efficient in her area, with an estimated arrival in two or three days.
First, she went to the pharmacy to buy calcium tablets and vitamins. The clerk reminded her that if she planned to take both, she should pay attention to the order and timing of consumption. Lin Yuhan carefully noted this down, intending to share the information with Ning Xuan later.
She also picked up some cold medicine, fever reducers, and a thermometer.
After leaving the pharmacy, she headed to the supermarket. Although supermarket items were a bit more expensive, shopping there was more convenient.
Lin Yuhan bought plain compressed biscuits, adult milk powder, red dates, and more.
The milk powder also needed to be prepared in advance before trading it to Ning Xuan.
Thinking about how the other party was buying so many nourishing items, Lin Yuhan asked Ning Xuan if she wanted chicken soup.
Ning Xuan nearly drooled just imagining it.
Of course she wanted it. Even though it was inconvenient to drink in the dormitory, she could always find an opportunity to sneak it later.
Lin Yuhan went to buy several lunch boxes. She planned to buy a chicken and simmer the soup herself since she also needed nourishment—she had been eating too frugally lately and hadn't enjoyed a proper meal in a long time.
After buying the chicken, she also picked up a good number of eggs.
So when Ning Xuan finished her shift at noon, she received not only the items she had requested but also two lunch boxes of chicken soup, over a dozen boiled eggs, along with fever and cold medicine.
Ning Xuan felt that Lin Yuhan was incredibly thoughtful—truly an excellent trading partner.
When it was time to trade items with Wang Er Ya after dinner, Ning Xuan remembered that she still didn't have a proper water container.
The chicken soup smelled too fragrant; even hiding in the bathroom, she didn't dare take it out to drink, so the lunch boxes weren't free yet.
After trading the leftover cornbread, compressed biscuits, and water to Wang Er Ya, Ning Xuan immediately messaged Lin Yuhan to ask about buying several waterskins.
She first had Wang Er Ya scan and send a picture of the waterskin used on her side, then forwarded it to Lin Yuhan to see if a similar one could be purchased.
This would make it much more convenient for Wang Er Ya to drink water later.
Mentioning water reminded Ning Xuan that she still didn't have a thermos and always had to borrow Huang Xiaomei's, which was quite inconvenient, especially since the weather was hot and everyone drank more water.
She also asked Lin Yuhan to buy a thermos in a 1970s style and a military canteen. If her scumbag father sent a package or remittance later, she could use the opportunity to bring the canteen back for her own use.
Actually, both Lin Yuhan and Ning Xuan shared the same mindset: they felt that if they didn't make a trade through the System each day, it would be like wasting an opportunity.
So Lin Yuhan didn't mind the trouble at all. Since she wasn't working now, earning money by shopping every day was actually quite enjoyable.
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Wang Er Ya had been particularly curious when Ning Xuan introduced the compressed biscuits—how could such a small piece be so filling? After receiving the compressed biscuits from Ning Xuan, she took advantage of a break to secretly take them out and shared half with Da Niu. They didn't feel noticeably full, but they also didn't experience the weakness from hunger.
After eating a bit of the compressed biscuits, their energy slowly recovered. Moreover, these biscuits weren't as fragrant as steamed buns, melted in the mouth, and required little chewing. Wang Er Ya felt they were much safer than steamed buns. Although steamed buns tasted better, she now preferred this thing called compressed biscuits.
Da Niu was also curious about the biscuits, but she never got a good look at them. Every time they sneaked a bite during breaks, Wang Er Ya would quickly and precisely stuff it into Da Niu's mouth, and Da Niu would bury her head in Wang Er Ya's arms to eat discreetly.
Wang Er Ya sometimes sneaked a bite herself, but she mostly waited until everyone rested at night to eat a bit more.
During the day, when visibility was better, she worried about drawing attention and remained highly alert, watching for anyone's gaze.
Ning Xuan had long considered that it would be inconvenient for Wang Er Ya to open packaging on the escape journey, and it wasn't very convenient for her either.
So she had secretly opened several packages and traded them all to Wang Er Ya at once, so that when she wanted to eat, she could just take them directly from the Warehouse without worrying about the noise from opening the packaging.
Over the next few days, Ning Xuan and Lin Yuhan continued to trade items daily.
Whenever Ning Xuan remembered something she needed, she would tell Lin Yuhan.
After Lin Yuhan saved up 10 copper coins, she cashed them out again, earning a total of 50,000 yuan.
Although it wasn't a huge amount, Lin Yuhan was quite satisfied. Moreover, Ning Xuan told her that in a few days, when she had some money on hand, she would try to buy stamps. Then, Lin Yuhan could sell the stamps, and if they managed to acquire rare ones, they would be even more valuable.
Even though she had to buy things these days, she spent far less than she earned.
The items in Ning Xuan's Warehouse were also increasing. Fortunately, the storage fee was charged daily and not based on the quantity of items, otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to trade for so many things to stockpile.