Chapter 45: With Fire Comes Hope

Clothes: 4. Yan Yu only dared to sell one piece.

The door curtains she pulled down from her uncle, elder brother, and Big Sister Da Ya’s rooms—each sold for 3.4.

The candlestick from Da Ya’s room sold for 19.

The small straw hat borrowed from the Hu family’s youngest daughter only sold for 1.4. So pitifully little—she would have to go back and tell a kindhearted lie.

Just as Yan Yu hesitated over whether to sell the small straw mat her mother had laid on the ground, time was up. The free market began flashing again.

She clicked in, and the sister from the Disaster Channel appeared on the video feed.

“Cough, cough…” The moment the connection was established, a fit of uncontrollable coughing sounded.

“Sis, what’s wrong? Are you sick?” Yan Yu’s heart clenched.

“The wind has been strong these past few days… I got chilled… cough, cough…” The woman’s complexion was terrible; she was wrapped up tightly in Yan Yu’s family’s cotton quilt, shivering.

“I already took some medicine, but it’s not working that fast.” She forced a weak smile.

“I have medicine here too, for colds! Switch over now!” Yan Yu hurriedly showed the medicine packets in her hands.

“Chinese medicine… cough, cough… It needs to be boiled. My lighter… won’t light… cough, cough…” The woman spoke with difficulty.

Yan Yu was at a loss, stomping her feet, unsure what to do.

“Xiaoyu, what’s wrong? What happened?” Li Xuemei, seeing her daughter’s anxious face, asked worriedly.

“That sister from the Disaster Channel is sick. She looks terrible—her face is deathly pale. She said she already took some medicine, probably Western medicine, but I wanted to switch my medicine packet with hers. Taking both should be fine, but she said her lighter is broken, and she can’t start a fire…”

“That won’t do! You need hot water when you’re sick. How can she go without fire? And her environment is damp—she needs warmth!” Li Xuemei looked at the brazier burning hot and bright, an idea forming.

“Sweetheart, do you think we can trade this charcoal?” She wasn’t referring to the uncollected charcoal still buried in the earth but the glowing red embers in the brazier.

Trade burning embers?

Yan Yu, treating a desperate situation with a desperate solution, said, “Let’s try.”

“Sis, find something—see if I can trade over some burning embers.” She spoke loudly, afraid the weak woman wouldn’t hear clearly.

“Okay…” The woman, though frail, managed to hold on.

Li Xuemei, using two long wooden sticks, carefully tried to pull some embers from the brazier. After several failed attempts, she finally managed to extract a few large ones.

The fire licked up the sticks, and she quickly let go, not minding the burning pain in her hands.

“Xiaoyu, come here!”

Yan Yu ran over. The woman on the other side grabbed two packs of sausages.

Trade confirmed.

The charcoal on the ground disappeared, leaving only two unpackaged sausages lying there.

At this point, there was no time to worry about cleanliness.

Yan Yu quickly asked, “How is it? Do you have fire?”

“The fire… went out… sob sob…” At that moment, the woman couldn’t hold back anymore, covering her mouth and crying.

It was too hard! Living was just too hard!

Li Xuemei, unable to see the video, anxiously asked, “Yu, did it work?”

Yan Yu, deeply empathetic, eyes brimming with tears, said in a choked voice, “Mom, the charcoal went over, but the fire died out…”

“The fire died out…” Li Xuemei sighed in regret but then suddenly brightened. “Quick! Blow on it! Oh, stop crying! We’re not at the end of the road yet. Try again! Blow on it and see if there are any sparks left!”

Yan Yu quickly forced back her tears and relayed her mother’s words.

The woman on the other side seemed to sense hope, summoning all her strength to blow.

Tiny sparks flickered, dimming and brightening.

“There is! There really is!”

Yan Yu saw it too.

At that moment, Yan Laosan returned from answering nature’s call.

When you have to go, you have to go—there’s no controlling it.

“What’s up?” He jogged back, looking for excitement.

“Quick, get some dry grass!” Li Xuemei ordered urgently.

“Dad! Hurry! It’s urgent!” His daughter pressed him.

Yan Laosan frantically yanked at the grass around them, wondering, Who are we helping now? Even grass is this scarce?

What’s so valuable? Ha! We have plenty!

When the dry grass and another small pile of charcoal were traded over, Yan Yu received four more sausages.

This time, Li Xuemei reacted quickly, placing a small basin on the ground.

She wouldn’t let the sausages touch the dirt again.

The woman struggled, blowing and fanning with whatever she could find.

Finally… through sheer effort, she lit a fire.

She found two small metal buckets, dividing the embers between them and placing them on either side of her.

The firelight illuminated her face, banishing its pallor.

“Thank you!” she choked out. She had almost given up.

When the flames rose, it was as if hope was rekindled as well.

She brought out a tin kettle and a small clay pot, placing them over the flickering fire.

She unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, pouring it in one by one.

“We still have the medicine! How did I forget to trade it earlier?” Yan Yu regretted. “Sis, let’s do another trade. This time, I’ll give you the rest of the charcoal too.”

In their rush, they had only traded part of the charcoal.

They could make more anytime, but the woman clearly needed it more.

“Cough cough… Little sister… what do you want in exchange?”

“Sis, if you have extra water, trade some to me. If not, something else. Oh, did your store change? Any new stock?” Yan Yu lifted the four medicine packets for the woman to see.

“Two packs for colds, two for diarrhea. I think you need both.”

The woman, full of gratitude, said, “My store… now has barrels of water and… cough cough… inflatable rafts, plus canned fruit.”

“Canned fruit!!!” Yan Yu gasped, envious beyond words.

At that moment, she finally understood how the uncle from before had felt hearing about her store’s stock.

Uncontrollable drooling.

The woman said, “There are two barrels of water… I can trade them both to you, plus a can of fruit.”

She looked a little embarrassed. There were two cans total, but she wanted to keep one for herself—she hadn’t had canned fruit in so long.

When she was sick as a child, her mother would always buy her canned fruit. It made the medicine taste less bitter…

But Yan Yu wasn’t really a child—inside, she was an adult who could read the room.

And the woman’s I want to eat it expression was way too obvious.

“Forget the canned fruit for now. I just traded for juice from the uncle before,” Yan Yu said, gathering the items. “These medicine packets have been stored for a while, so their effectiveness might be slightly weaker. I marked the ones for diarrhea, so you don’t mix them up. This is all the charcoal we have for now—my dad just made them today. If you need more, we can supply it long-term.”

“Two barrels of water… I wonder if that’s okay.” Yan Yu muttered.

Li Xuemei quickly directed Yan Laosan to line up buckets, jars, and bamboo tubes.

Water was their top priority. They had made thorough preparations.

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