Before they knew it, December had arrived.
Si Beichen went to the government supermarket every night to buy supplies-food, drinks, and daily necessities. He even bought quilts and military coats, things that were utterly useless in the extreme heat.
He often wrapped the food in a quilt and carried it home.
He had encountered robbers twice on his way back and beaten them half to death both times. After that, no one dared rob him again.
Afraid someone would follow him home, he went out fully geared up every time and made a couple of rounds outside, only daring to return after shaking off anyone tailing him.
He was certain he had not provoked any hungry wolves outside.
But two men on the seventh floor of their building often brought out stools and sat there, watching the people going up and down the stairs.
Si Beichen had encountered them several times already, and every time, he felt there was something strange about the way they looked at him.
In any case, their gazes were anything but friendly, and neither of them looked like a decent person.
What sort of decent people sat there watching others all day, seemingly unbothered by the sweltering heat?
They certainly had some ulterior motive.
Si Beichen put tonight's supplies on the dining table. Wen Qianyue would put them away later.
Jiang Ci was eating potato chips, while Si Jianhua and Wen Qianyue were eating five-spice peanuts.
The three sat on the rug, snacking and watching an over-the-top war drama about fighting the Japanese on the tablet on the little table.
Seeing Si Beichen return, Jiang Ci shifted closer to Si Jianhua and patted the space beside her, signaling for Si Beichen to sit next to her.
"Did you run into those two again?"
Si Beichen sat beside Jiang Ci and picked up the little fan nearby to fan himself.
"Yes."
Jiang Ci picked up another two chips and popped them into her mouth, crunching noisily.
"Those two are definitely up to no good. They've got their eyes on us for sure."
Si Jianhua shelled a small handful of peanuts and handed them to Wen Qianyue, nodding in agreement at Jiang Ci's words.
"Our girl's right. You carry supplies home day after day. It'd be strange if they weren't getting ideas."
Jiang Ci caught sight of the handful of peanuts Si Jianhua had shelled out of the corner of her eye. She reached over to take a couple, only for her mother to slap her hand away.
"Stingy," she muttered.
Turning her wrist, she grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bag beside her and stuffed them into Si Beichen's hand, smiling sweetly. "Big Brother, shell these for me."
Si Beichen took the peanuts and began shelling them without a word of complaint.
Wen Qianyue said, "Beichen, ignore her. You're spoiling her rotten."
Si Beichen smiled without speaking, and Jiang Ci deliberately said, "Mom, you'd better hurry up and eat, or I'll steal yours."
Jiang Ci took the peanuts Si Beichen had shelled and ate them. They were five-spice flavored, and the more she ate, the better they tasted.
A couple of sips of ice-cold beer would make this even better.
With that thought, she stood and pattered into the kitchen, returning with four cans of chilled beer and several packets of pickled pepper chicken feet.
She handed everyone a can of beer.
Without waiting for the other three, Jiang Ci opened her own can first and took a sip.
"Mm, that's the stuff~"
Wen Qianyue set her can on the little table. "I'm not drinking. You three enjoy."
With that, she stood, brushed off her hands, and went to put away the supplies Si Beichen had brought home.
Jiang Ci, Si Jianhua, and Si Beichen started drinking.
Halfway through, Jiang Ci suddenly said, "I'm sure now. It was those two on the seventh floor who were stealing fuel from the underground parking garage when the extreme heat first started. I suspect they stole Zhou Junming's generator too."
Si Jianhua let out a beer burp. "If those two dare come steal from us, you two beat them within an inch of their lives. Our family isn't afraid of them."
Jiang Ci nodded, thinking that she and Si Beichen certainly had the ability. But wasn't Dad Si putting a little too much faith in her? He made her sound so violent.
She was a gentle girl.
Luckily, Si Beichen had no idea what Jiang Ci was thinking, or he really would have been unable to resist making a comment.
She clearly lacked an accurate understanding of herself. By now, he was practically allergic to hearing Jiang Ci call him "Big Brother."
After all, when Jiang Ci called him Big Brother, she wanted both his money and his life.
Having stayed inside for several days, Jiang Ci volunteered to take the trash downstairs.
No one collected the garbage downstairs, either. In the extreme heat, it easily rotted and stank, even attracting swarms of greenbottle flies and unidentified little black flying insects.
The four large garbage bins had long since overflowed, and the trash had already buried the bins themselves.
The foul-smelling heap of garbage easily bred bacteria. Luckily, the garbage bins downstairs were in a separate enclosure specifically for trash.
Jiang Ci thought she might as well find a time to burn the whole pile.
If she burned it, the unpleasant smell would only be temporary. If she didn't, the flies, insects, and bacteria bred by the rotting, stinking garbage would persist.
These were their living conditions now, and they could hardly ask for much. As long as they didn't get sick and had enough food and drink to survive, that was good enough.
After throwing away the trash, Jiang Ci figured that climbing eleven flights up and down wasn't easy, so she might as well take a stroll while she was out.
She left the residential complex, intending to walk around nearby.
Unexpectedly, just as she left, she encountered people whispering in a secluded corner by a wall near the complex's back gate.
It was too dark outside, and those people weren't using any lights. Jiang Ci could only estimate their positions by their voices.
Afraid of being discovered, she quickly switched off her flashlight too.
She carefully stood still against the base of the wall.
Judging by their voices, there were quite a few of them.
"This was my wife's beloved dog. It took a lot of persuading to get her to offer it up. It's a little token of my sincerity."
"This is a small portion of the food I got when we split the haul on the fifteenth floor last time."
"My family really doesn't have anything left to eat. These are rats my wife caught and dried into jerky. They taste pretty good."
"You're all willing to share what you have at home. I can feel your sincerity, brothers."
"We've almost finished the supplies we got from the fifteenth floor last time. Meet here tomorrow at the same time. We're going to the seventh floor."
"Brother Wei, did you find something?"
"I've been watching these past two days. There are two brothers surnamed Zhang on the seventh floor. Even before the extreme heat, those two spent all day loafing around without any proper work. A couple of days ago, they actually went to the fifteenth floor to see Tian Jiakai. I saw them."
"These days, those brothers sit outside their door all day watching the neighbors going up and down the stairs. Who knows what they're plotting? We'll strike first."
"Who knows where Tian Jiakai ran off to? We probably scared him off with that beating. If we can get those brothers to reveal their methods, all the better. Even if we can't, we're taking their supplies."
"We'll follow your lead, Brother Wei."
"Let's divide up this meat, then hurry up and disperse."
Hearing that they were about to divide the meat, Jiang Ci quietly retreated into the complex and hurried home while no one was around.
As the saying went, it took a villain to deal with a villain. Retribution was coming for those two on the seventh floor.
Those brothers had been watching Si Beichen all day lately. They surely hadn't expected that while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole waited behind.
Someone else had their eyes on them, too.
She and Si Beichen wouldn't even have to lift a finger. Someone else would deal with them.
It was just that these people were no better themselves.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they came after her family too.