Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The officer raised his hand to stop the adjutant from speaking.

He told Xu Xiaoyan and the others, "You can follow us, but there are a few rules you must abide by:

First, absolute obedience to orders;

Second, we will only provide limited protection; you will have to find your own food and water.

Third, in case of an emergency, we must prioritize our mission and cannot guarantee your safety. Can you do that?

"Yes! We can do it!" Xu Xiaoyan quickly agreed, and Wang Yuming and the others nodded vigorously as well.

"Alright," the officer pointed to the end of the line. "Follow the line, keep quiet. Old Wang, give them a place."

An old soldier walked over and gestured for them to follow. The four men felt a weight lifted from their hearts and quickly jogged to the back of the group.

Old Wang, who led them, was a man of few words. His face was etched with the wrinkles of time, but his eyes were calm. He simply told them, "Stay close, don't fall behind, and don't make any noise."

The procession moved on in silence.

Xu Xiaoyan noticed that the soldiers' equipment was indeed rudimentary, and their steps were somewhat unsteady due to exhaustion, but their backs remained straight, and their vigilant eyes constantly scanned their surroundings.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually darkened.

Officer Li, the team leader, ordered the troops to set up camp and rest on a relatively open, leeward slope near a water source. The camp was quickly and orderly established.

The soldiers had a clear division of labor: some were responsible for guarding, some for fetching water, and others for preparing food with their small stoves and limited rations. The whole process was efficient and silent, with a sense of oppression.

Xu Xiaoyan and the other three dared not be idle. Weng Beiyan and Wang Yuming sorted out the supplies, while Xu Xiaoyan and Weng Nanque learned to filter the water they had just drawn from the stream with a clean cloth.

She pondered for a moment and then said, "Bei Yan, Yu Ming, Nan Que, I have an idea."

She pointed to the persimmons in her backpack and said, "Let's each take out about half and give them to Captain Li and the others."

Upon hearing this, Weng Nanque subconsciously let out an "Ah," a hint of reluctance showing in her eyes.

These persimmons were painstakingly picked and will be an important food reserve and source of vitamins for the next few days.

Wang Yuming pushed up his glasses, seemingly lost in thought, and did not immediately express his opinion.

Weng Beiyan looked at Xu Xiaoyan, signaling her to continue.

Xu Xiaoyan explained, "I know these persimmons are important to us, but think about it, Captain Li and the others are willing to take us four strangers of unknown origin, which is tantamount to them taking on the responsibility of protecting us."

"This is not the peaceful era of the past, and we cannot simply take the sacrifices of the People's Liberation Army comrades for granted."

"In the past, we could deceive ourselves by saying we were taxpayers, but now that money has become worthless, they are still ordinary people, even though they are still People's Liberation Army soldiers."

"I think the friendship we're sharing is far more valuable than these persimmons," she paused, her gaze sweeping over the weary-looking soldiers patrolling the camp not far away.

"And it seems that they are having a really hard time getting supplies. We sent these persimmons, which are not many, but at least it is a token of our appreciation. It shows that we know how to be grateful and are not a burden who only wants to take and is unwilling to give."

She looked at Weng Nanque and said gently, "Nanque, sometimes sharing is for a longer journey together."

Wang Yuming nodded and was the first to express his opinion: "Xiaoyan is right. In this environment, building trust is more important than hoarding supplies. It is worthwhile to exchange half a persimmon for a more stable relationship and possible support."

He rationally analyzed, "Besides, if we keep half, it will be enough for the few of us to eat for several days."

Weng Beiyan patted his knees readily. "I have no objection! It was an unexpected windfall anyway, so it's good that it can be put to use. If it weren't for them, we would still be anxiously looking for a place to spend the night."

Looking at everyone, Weng Nanque's reluctance turned into agreement. She nodded vigorously, "Yes! I was too stingy. Then I'll give half to Captain Li and the others, hoping they can also taste the sweetness."

Once they reached a consensus, the four of them immediately took action.

By the moonlight, they carefully emptied half of the persimmons from the bag.

They didn't pick and choose carefully, but rather divided the persimmons roughly equally, putting the portion that represented their goodwill into a cloth bag, which contained about thirty or so.

"Xiaoyan, you should go," Wang Yuming handed the bag to Xu Xiaoyan. "You're better at talking."

Xiao Yan took the bag, took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards the slightly larger campfire where Captain Li was.

Captain Li was sitting with his adjutant, Lao Wang, and others, discussing something in hushed tones, with a map spread out in front of them.

As Xu Xiaoyan approached, the group stopped talking and all eyes fell on her and the bag in her hand.

"Captain Li," Xu Xiaoyan bowed slightly, handing over the cloth bag with both hands, her tone sincere:

"This is a small token of our appreciation. We picked quite a lot of wild persimmons before, and the team was having trouble with supplies. These things aren't worth much, but maybe they can give everyone a little change of pace."

Or give it to someone who needs it more. Thank you so much for letting us join the group. We will definitely follow the rules and never cause trouble.

Captain Li looked at Xu Xiaoyan, then at the heavy bag of persimmons in her hand, a complex emotion flashing across his resolute face.

He paused for a few seconds, not immediately taking the money, but instead asked, "Have you kept enough for yourselves?"

"We've left enough, Captain, don't worry," Xu Xiaoyan nodded quickly.

The adjutant and Lao Wang, who were standing nearby, also watched this scene. Their eyes were less businesslike than before and more relaxed.

Captain Li then reached out and took the bag, and the weight of it moved him slightly.

He opened the bag and looked at the green and yellow fruits inside. His voice was gentler than before. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness." He paused, seemingly considering whether to reveal more information.

"We really need any food we can find. Starting tomorrow, you will follow the foraging team. Pick and keep any edible things you encounter along the way. Old Wang will guide you."

"Thank you, Captain!" Xu Xiaoyan responded excitedly, her voice filled with undisguised joy.

This arrangement not only meant that they were formally incorporated into the team's division of labor, but more importantly, they were granted permission to collect and store food on their own.

She hurried back to her companions and whispered the good news to them. Their eyes lit up instantly in the firelight.

Weng Nanque couldn't help but clench her fist slightly, suppressing a low gasp.

Wang Yuming pushed up his glasses and calmly analyzed, "This means we at least have a stable source of food."

Weng Beiyan, meanwhile, was already rubbing his hands together, eager to find something to eat in the mountains tomorrow!

That night, the four of them slept much more soundly by the campfire than in the previous days.

Listening to the rhythmic footsteps of the soldiers patrolling around me, the feeling of being sheltered by the group greatly relieved the tension and fear from days of running around.