Chapter 169


    Cooper perked up his ears and listened for a moment but heard no sound. He shrugged and


    returned to his shell.


    Ste nced at Jasper, who was lounging next to her, wanting to speak but uncertain of what to


    say. Finally, she turned to him and asked, "Are we still nning to sell water?"


    If not, they would have to trade their food or alcohol for it.


    "Getting fresh water isn''t easy these days, and purifying seawater costs too much. Let''s wait a few


    days and see what Austin decides," Jasper suggested.


    Ste agreed, and feeling reassured, she settled down for her afternoon nap.


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    Jasper didn''t leave. Instead, he gently wrapped his arm around her. Ste felt a bit nervous. Was he


    going to do something to her? If he did, should she scratch him?


    Fortunately, he proved to be a gentleman and made no untoward moves. Eventually, she fell


    asleep.


    Which man didn''t like sex? But Jasper felt Ste wasn''t ready for that yet. Some things couldn''t be


    rushed.


    After making up their minds, they didn''t go out anymore.


    Staying in the vi all day was rather dull, so Ste thought for a moment, then pulled out a pig from


    the Arcadia and smiled at Jasper, "This is your mission."


    With a butcher''s knife and boning knife, the task was straightforward.


    The pig had been thrown into the Arcadia just after it died and was still warm. Ste quickly found a


    large basin and didn''t even waste the pig''s blood.


    Both of them squatted in the restroom, busy with their tasks. Jasper was the mainbor force. After


    more than two hours of hard work, he sessfully ughtered the pig and cut it into small pieces.


    Just as he was about to rx, Ste pulled out another pig.


    Seeing his stunned expression, Steughed, "Just teasing you. We''ll deal with this one


    tomorrow."


    With that, she put the pig back into the Arcadia.


    Jasper, who had been duped, suddenly approached Ste, reaching out to hold her.


    Ste dodged him, "Stay away from me. You stink."


    Actually, it wasn''t that bad. The pig had starved for so many days that its intestines were rtively


    clean. But Jasper was meticulous in his work, and he handled therge and small intestines


    beautifully.


    In the evening, they didn''t ughter pigs but they weren''t idle either.


    The vi was in an excellent location, so whatever they did wouldn''t be noticed, unlike the Sunrise


    Sanctuary where even chopping bones would cause a noisy racket that could be heard upstairs and


    downstairs.


    Ste took out a machine that imitated the process of hand-beating meatballs. She selected some


    pork with a good bnce of fat and lean meat, cut it into pieces, and put it into the machine, setting


    it to meatball mode.


    After beating the pork into a pulp, she added water, salt, and potato starch and mixed them evenly.


    Then she shaped the mixture into balls, put them into a pot, added water, and simmered them until


    they were cooked. As soon as the meatballs floated to the surface, they were ready.


    The process was simple, and Rosie also came to help.


    By the end of the night, they had made over 220 pounds of meatballs. After they had cooled, they


    were all stored in the Arcadia. The delicious broth left over from cooking the meatballs was also


    saved for future use in soups or noodles.


    The next day, Jasper and Ste worked together to ughter three pigs. Rosie worked alone,


    making meatballs until her back ached, but she neverined.


    After ughtering 10 pigs, Ste decided to move Jasper to butchering fish.


    Jasper, who had just been promoted to senior pig-ughtering engineer, was speechless. Rosie


    also switched modes, setting her sights on bing a fishball expert.


    Cooper, with nothing else to do, blinked his doggy eyes at Ste and begged for a job.


    "Guard the house. Guard the house. Guard the house," Ste repeated three times.


    Just as she finished speaking, Cooper immediately became alert, his fur standing on end as he


    growled softly and looked out of the vi. Ste became alert as well.


    After a few minutes, a car pulled up to the vi, "Ste."


    Monkey had arrived with Austin.


    Only then did Ste realize that Monkey had long since expanded their business to the vi area.


    They were here to deliver goods and also pay a visit.


    "Wow, isn''t this the electrical grid I got for you?" Monkey had sharp eyes, "Wow, you even installed


    sr panels. You''re really something!"


    Rosie quickly turned on the exhaust fan to clear the kitchen of the lingering smell and carefully hid


    anything that should be hidden. Jasper, the master fish butcher, washed his hands and changed his


    clothes to get rid of the fishy smell.


    Austin came bearing gifts, all of which were high-quality seafood products from Odeberg


    International.


    He was here to discuss cooperation, and his target was clear: he wanted water.


    Ste had been waiting for him to make the first move. She appeared hesitant, "We do have water,


    but it''s getting harder to obtain now with all the strict checks. At most, we can give you a truckload a


    day."


    There were many wealthy people in the area, and one truckload of water was far from enough. But


    Austin knew that high-quality fresh water was hard toe by, "That''s fine."


    When it came to what they would get in return, Ste, who had gotten a taste, insisted on top-


    quality gemstones first, followed by seafood and salt.


    After some haggling, they agreed that a truckload of water, 20 tons, would be exchanged for 500


    pounds of dried seafood. Fresh seafood would be 1200 pounds, and coarse sea salt would be 2000


    pounds.


    Ste could choose freely, but she had to notify them in advance.


    At night, Jasper drove the water truck into the vi area. At around 2 a.m., they set out on their


    journey, with Ste following in an old car.


    They took a detour outside to avoid people, then found a ce to rest. At 5 a.m., they arrived at the


    designated location to deliver the goods and loaded 500 pounds of dried goods onto their truck to


    take back to the vi.


    To avoid arousing suspicion, Jasper asionally drove out to make it appear as if he was trading


    seafood.


    After getting enough sleep during the day, they continued to stock up on food.


    In half a month, they had umted over 2200 pounds of fishballs and meatballs, various


    steamed, braised, garlic, and spicy pork ribs and fish, etc.


    Seafood was no exception, with stir-fried squid with celery, various shrimp and crab, and kelp sd,


    among others.


    They tried to stock as much as possible, as they might not have such an opportunity to cook in the


    future.


    One night, Ste craved barbecue, "Mr. Jasper, you''ve been working hard these past few days.


    How about we have a barbecue tonight as a treat?"


    Jasper saw through her ruse but agreed regardless, "Sure."


    Neither Cooper nor Rosie objected. They were both food lovers.


    Oysters, squid, pork ribs, pork neck, chicken wings, and so on. They had everything they could


    possibly want, rivaling any barbecue stand.


    Ste marinated the meat, while Jasper set up a charcoal grill on the rooftop. Rosie was very


    diligent, helping to skewer the meat, while Cooper drooled in anticipation.


    The red charcoal fire rose, and the scent of spice spread into the night.


    It was still hot at night, but the three of them and the dog were all wearing temperature-regting


    clothes. The seaside cooled down quickly, with temperatures dropping below 45 degrees. Wrapped


    in a thermal jacket, it was really top-notch.


    Ste sure knew her way around the grill, and her barbecuing speed with Jasper was quite swift.


    The freshly barbecued meat was mouth-watering.


    Whenever Rosie wasn''t looking, Ste sneakily threw a piece to Arcadia. Nothing like hot barbecue,


    it lost its charm once it cooled down.


    Poor Rosie had to wait for over an hour, and her brother''s homemade chicken drumstick still wasn''t


    done.


    Finally, when it was all grilled to perfection, it was served. The three of them, along with Cooper, sat


    on the rooftop. Jasper sipped his beer, Ste enjoyed her pineapple cider, while Cooper and Rosie


    stuck to soda.


    They basked in the gentle sea breeze, with a star-studded sky in the distance.


    Ste, who used to be caught up with making ends meet, couldn''t remember thest time she


    enjoyed a seaside night view. The darkness of the night concealed the harsh reality of the disaster.


    The brilliant starry sky was like picture, as if when the sun rose tomorrow, it would still be a thriving


    scene.


    Feeling a sudden wave ofplexity, Ste took Jasper''s beer bottle and chugged a couple of sips,


    "Imagine how great it would be if the disaster never happened."


    But s, there were no ''what ifs'' in this world.


    Jasper took Ste''s hand, "As long as you and Rosie are with me, I''m not afraid anymore."


    Suddenly, out of the darkness, a dog''s head popped up, staring at him intently. Holding back a


    laugh, Jasper petted his head, "And of course, Cooper, our most important family member."


    Cooper, asserting his dominance, squeezed himself into the center.


    In the darkness, two hands reached around Cooper''s back, holding each other tightly. Ste titled


    her head and looked at him, "With you guys, I''m not that scared either."


    After they had eaten to their heart''s content, Jasper was thinking about hoarding some more, when


    suddenly, Cooper''s expression shifted to one of alertness, letting out a low warning growl.


    Then after a while, headlights illuminated the darkness.