Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 157 Troublemaking Aunt

Xu Xiaoyan watched the old woman throwing a tantrum on the ground, trying to gain sympathy with her cries, and felt nothing. She even found it a bit ridiculous and annoying. This wasn't the first time she had seen this kind of trick. When resources were scarce, moral blackmail and emotional blackmail were sometimes more annoying than direct robbery.

She knew very well that if she softened her stance, she would not only lose an important piece of warm clothing, but she might also be labeled as "easy to bully," which would bring even more trouble.

Seeing that the negotiation had failed and the other party obviously couldn't offer any points as compensation, she was too lazy to waste any more words or get entangled with them. There was no point in reasoning with this kind of person. She picked up the hen that was still flailing about in vain, turned around and left, intending to get away from this troublesome place as soon as possible.

The old woman was sobbing so intensely when she glanced at Xu Xiaoyan and saw that she was actually leaving. Her crying stopped abruptly! She scrambled to her feet, rushed forward, and grabbed Xu Xiaoyan's trouser leg tightly. Her cries resumed, louder than before: "You can't leave! Give me back my chicken! Otherwise, I won't let you go! Everyone come quick! Someone's stealing! Young people are bullying an old woman!"

Xu Xiaoyan's trouser leg was grabbed tightly with considerable force. She frowned and tried to break free, but the older woman held on firmly, and the two were locked in a stalemate on the street.

More and more people gathered around. Some were just there for the spectacle, while others started pointing fingers at Xu Xiaoyan. After all, on the surface, a young girl "holding" a chicken and an old woman sitting on the ground crying and pulling at her could easily lead to preconceived notions.

The situation became somewhat awkward and troublesome. Xu Xiaoyan didn't want to fight back, fearing things would escalate, but the other party clearly knew this about her and became even more unruly.

Just then, a series of somewhat orderly footsteps approached from afar, causing a small commotion on the periphery of the crowd, which automatically parted to create a passage.

A team of about five or six people, dressed in uniform dark gray uniforms and with eye-catching red armbands bearing the word "Patrol" on their arms, were conducting a routine patrol along the street when they passed by this place. They stopped to survey the chaotic scene.

The middle-aged woman sitting on the ground, clutching Xu Xiaoyan's trouser leg, suddenly brightened up! She hurriedly let go of Xu Xiaoyan's trouser leg and scrambled towards the patrol team, landing squarely on the leader. Tears streaming down her face, she began her accusations in a shrill voice:

"Sir! Patrol Captain! You must do me justice! You must uphold fairness!" She pointed at Xu Xiaoyan, her fingers trembling, and spoke rapidly, "It's this girl! She took advantage of her youth and strength to steal my chicken! That's a hen I've raised for over half a year, hoping it would lay eggs to exchange for salt! I tried to reason with her, but not only did she refuse to return it, she also yelled at me, saying I had to pay for some clothes! Look at her, isn't this bullying, robbing a civilian... robbing my chicken? This is thuggish behavior! I beg you, sir, to intervene and punish this evil, and give my chicken back!" As she spoke, she tried to squeeze out more tears, appearing extremely aggrieved and pitiful.

The patrol captain was a middle-aged man around forty years old, with dark and rough skin, clearly someone who had been working hard all year round. He didn't wear any extra badges, but there was an undeniable air of authority between his brows, clearly indicating that he was the leader of this patrol team.

He didn't immediately stop the old woman's crying and fussing. Instead, he stood straight with his hands behind his back, listening to her tearful and exaggerated accusations. His eyes would occasionally sweep over Xu Xiaoyan, who was standing a few steps away, holding the hen that kept flapping its wings, with a brand-new tear on the left sleeve of her down jacket that was unusually conspicuous. He would also glance at the onlookers around him with their various expressions.

After the woman finished speaking emotionally, the captain's face remained expressionless. He knew perfectly well that these kinds of disputes on the streets caused by trivial matters were almost always a matter of each party having their own version of the truth, making it difficult to resolve clearly.

The young woman was calm and collected, with "evidence" in her hand, while the old lady was clearly being unreasonable and trying to use her age and crying to gain public support. The patrol team's duty is to maintain basic public order and prevent serious crimes and riots, not to have neighborhood committee aunties mediate neighborhood disputes or property ownership issues.

So, amidst the expectant or curious gazes of the surrounding crowd, the patrol captain slowly shook his head. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "This kind of dispute over private property, which does not involve violent robbery or threats to personal safety, is a personal matter between the two of you. According to the patrol team's regulations, we will not intervene in mediation. You'd better resolve it yourselves through negotiation."

After saying that, he ignored the old woman who was still trying to rush over and continue crying. He simply made a gesture to the patrol team behind him. The patrol team members, who were wearing the same uniforms, immediately understood, re-formed, and walked past the old woman in neat steps, continuing to walk along the established route, as if the little farce had never happened.

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyan's tense nerves finally relaxed. Sure enough, at times like this, the official authorities would only concern themselves with the most basic matters, which could be considered a kind of "order".

Without further ado, taking advantage of the precious moment when the old woman was still stunned by the patrol team's "indifference," she took off running in the opposite direction from the patrol team! Her movements were sudden and swift, without any warning.

She was young and eager to escape, so she was naturally fast. Although she was carrying a bag on her back and a chicken that was struggling and increasing in weight in her hand, it did not affect her speed at all.

The woman, still feeling suffocated with anger after being refused entry by the patrol team, looked up and discovered that Xu Xiaoyan had run away! She cried out "Ouch!" and, without even bothering to brush the dust off herself, scrambled to her feet, instinctively yelling, "Don't run! Stop right there! You're robbing me! Thief!" and took off chasing after her.

However, Xu Xiaoyan had already run more than ten meters away, and instead of running straight along the main road, she spotted a narrower alley with darker lighting and more forks and plunged into it!

The middle-aged woman chased after him to the alley entrance, panting heavily. She found it deep, winding, and dimly lit, but Xu Xiaoyan was nowhere to be seen. All she could hear was her own heavy breathing and the faint sounds of the marketplace in the distance.

She was both anxious and angry, pounding her chest and cursing under her breath, but there was nothing she could do. She could only watch helplessly as the "chicken that was about to be eaten" flew away. In the end, she walked back, cursing and swearing, her back view filled with resentment.

Xu Xiaoyan ran wildly, deliberately choosing to navigate through winding alleys with few pedestrians and dim lighting. The hen in her hand seemed to sense the drastic change in environment and struggled even more fiercely, its clucking sounding very abrupt in the quiet alley.

She slowed down after running out of the residential area and reaching the edge of a relatively open, abandoned square with scattered streetlights. She leaned against a mottled wall, panting slightly. A cold wind blew, and the fine sweat on her forehead brought a chill.

After confirming that she was safe and no one was following her, she looked down at the hen in her hand, which had brought her this trouble and was now restlessly wriggling its body, trying to peck at her hand with its beak, and sighed helplessly.

Today's outing was originally for cat litter, or at least sand, but neither cat litter nor sand was found. Then I received an urgent message from my friend, and after running back and forth, I was inexplicably "bumped into" by a chicken and lost a perfectly good down jacket sleeve. Although I "seized" the culprit chicken, this whole ordeal still feels a bit... absurd.

"But a hen that lays eggs?" She weighed the heavy live animal in her hands and began to consider the value of a stable and sustainable source of protein, especially in the face of extreme cold and potential long-term shortages.

But raising chickens? In her small yard, which she was reinforcing and planning to turn into a shelter? The thought immediately brought with it a series of practical problems: What to feed them? How to deal with their droppings and noise? How to keep them warm through the winter? Would it cause other troubles? Not to mention that she was currently busy preparing for winter herself, where would she find the energy and resources to care for a poultry?

Moreover, carrying such a live hen that was constantly flapping and clucking on the way back was too eye-catching; it was practically a walking "come and rob me" sign. She didn't want to get into any new or unnecessary trouble because of this unexpectedly acquired chicken. One should not flaunt one's wealth, especially live poultry.

So, she cautiously observed her surroundings, making sure no one was nearby. Under the cover of her backpack, she took out a slightly worn, light yellow burlap sack from her storage space, and then deftly stuffed the still struggling hen headfirst into the sack! The hen was startled and fluttered even more violently inside the sack, making muffled clucking sounds and the sound of its wings flapping against the burlap.

Xu Xiaoyan ignored it, quickly gathered the bag opening together, and tied it tightly with the attached hemp rope several times to ensure that it could not break free. The sack immediately turned into a package that kept wriggling and making slight noises.

Now that's great. From the outside, no one would guess that this unassuming old burlap sack contained a live hen. She took a deep breath and walked quickly toward room 12567.

When she finally saw the courtyard wall of her house, which was covered by a silver-gray steel frame, she felt truly at ease. Outside, the construction of the two-story steel frame shed seemed to be nearing completion. The hammering sounds were much less frequent than before, but there were still workers on it doing the final finishing touches.

She had just entered the house, put down her backpack and the still slightly wriggling burlap sack, and before she could even catch her breath, she saw Manager Chen pacing back and forth in the backyard, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking about something. When he saw her return, he gave her a "just in time to see you" look.

"You're finally back! There's something I need your approval for," Manager Chen said, leading her to the doorway leading to the backyard. He pointed to the two-story steel structure shed, which was already taking shape and gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the winter sunlight, and asked, "Regarding the staircase to the second floor, there are two options. Which one do you prefer? One is to build an external metal staircase directly up from the backyard, against this wall; the other is to drill a hole above your kitchen and build an indoor staircase that leads directly up. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and it's up to you to decide."

Xu Xiaoyan was taken aback by the question. All she had been thinking about was building this "shell" as soon as possible to store supplies and protect it from the wind and snow. She had never really considered the specific form of the stairs. As far as she was concerned, as long as it was safe and convenient to go up and down the second-floor warehouse, that was fine. "What are the specific differences between these two types?" she asked humbly, after all, Manager Chen was a professional.

Seeing that she was willing to listen, Manager Chen explained in detail, "The differences are quite obvious. The advantage of building an external staircase in the backyard is that the construction is convenient and quick, without damaging the existing wall structure and internal layout of your first-floor house. We can complete the foundation and main frame of the staircase today, and the steps and handrails can be installed by tomorrow morning at the latest, without affecting your life on the first floor at all. The second option is to drill a hole in the interior to build the staircase, which makes it convenient to go up and down the stairs, but the disadvantage is that it requires damaging the walls and part of the ceiling structure of your kitchen. There are more procedures, and the construction period will be extended by at least one day. In addition, it will take up part of your interior space on the first floor."

After listening, Xu Xiaoyan made a decision almost without hesitation. What she needed most right now was time!

"Choose the first option, just build an external staircase in the backyard," she urged. "Manager Chen, please hurry up and finish as soon as possible, I still have many things to arrange here."

"No problem!" Manager Chen readily agreed. "The materials for the stairs are all ready, and we've also done the foundation work while the scaffolding was being erected. At this pace, it should be completely finished by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest!"

He recalled the cabbage deal he had mentioned before and added, "By the way, about the cabbage we agreed on, once the project is finished, I'll have my old man bring it over for you. How much do you need? I'll have him prepare it in advance."

"I'm prepared to use 20 points." Xu Xiaoyan had already planned it out. According to the previous agreement, 1 point could be exchanged for 100 catties of processed high-quality bok choy, which is a full 2000 catties of Chinese cabbage. This is enough for her to store a considerable amount of fresh vegetables in her space.

At this point, a thought struck her, and she remembered the "unexpected windfall" in her hand. She bent down and picked up the burlap sack that was still moving slightly, loosened the opening of the sack a little, and revealed the hen inside. Although it had been cooped up for half a day, it immediately perked up as soon as it saw the light, its little eyes darting around.

"By the way, Manager Chen, you're so knowledgeable, could you give me some advice? How many points would a hen like this that lays eggs be worth if we traded it for something? I checked the forum on my way back, and it seems like not many people are trading live chickens or ducks. I wonder if they've all been eaten, or if people are just keeping them hidden and too lazy to put them up for sale online?"

When Manager Chen saw the live hen in the sack—its feathers were a little messy, but it was plump and had bright eyes—his eyes lit up instantly! In today's world, a hen that can lay eggs normally is far more valuable than ordinary consumables.