Lan Jin turned and began rummaging through the other offices.
In the rest of the rooms, she managed to find a few supplies here and there, but nothing compared to what they had already uncovered.
Ten minutes later, Lao Gao made short work of the small safe, swinging the door open with ease.
Lan Jin stared at him in disbelief. "So, this thing is basically decoration to you?"
Her hands didn't stop moving as she spoke. The moment the door opened, her sharp eyes spotted several large, glittering jewels inside. "Oh my—these are huge!"
Lao Gao chuckled. "Women and their useless shiny things. Right now, you can't trade these for a single coin. Gold is worth more."
As soon as he finished speaking, he popped open the larger safe. Inside, row after row of neatly stacked gold bars gleamed under the light.
"Whoa, now this is huge," Lao Gao announced, mimicking her earlier tone.
Honestly, he was just asking for a smack.
But either way, whether it was usable or not, they weren't going to leave a single thing behind.
While she and Lao Gao were practically sparkling with greed, Huang Jinghe called out from the lounge. He had found a massive stash of Maotai under the bed. By the time they finished packing up the gold and jewels and went to check, Huang Jinghe had already counted everything.
"There are fifty-four bottles scattered under the bed. The lounge has its own bathroom, and the bathroom is crammed full of liquor—eighty whole crates. There's also a walk-in closet with over two hundred watches, plus some clothing."
Lan Jin let out a low whistle. "Seriously, whose office is this? Looks like some CEO's private palace. How could he feel safe keeping all this here? Don't tell me he actually lives in the office."
"To a big boss like that, this is nothing," Lao Gao said with a shrug. "But to us? We take it all home."
Lan Jin didn't argue. She was the first to haul two bags downstairs, then began the back-and-forth trips to bring everything home. They worked until after dark before finally stopping to rest. By then, Lao Gao's place was completely packed. With no space left, the extra supplies had to be moved to Huang Jinghe's home.
For several more days, they came back with full loads. The later office buildings didn't have quite as much, but they never returned empty-handed.
By the end of the sixth day, the entire industrial park's office buildings had been picked clean.
…
Once they stopped going to the park, they had no need for the vehicle. Back home, Lan Jin found an excuse to quietly store the car away in her space.
After a night of good rest, it was time to divide the supplies evenly.
They would split them into four shares.
Even though Ling Jiang hadn't gone out with them, she had guarded the supplies at home and helped carry loads back and forth. That was just as important.
Still, Lan Jin had not only helped but also provided a vehicle—the Hummer. By logic, she deserved more than one share.
But Lan Jin shook her head. "Even split is fine. The car was borrowed, didn't cost much to get."
Everyone knew there was no such thing as borrowing for free. That was exactly why they insisted on giving her an extra share.
In the end, after some discussion, they decided to count the freeze-dried duck heads—only edible for the dog—as a whole extra share. That would balance out the cost of the vehicle.
The next two days were spent sorting the goods. Food was divided into categories: snacks, staples, drinks, and water. The food got the most detailed sorting; everything else was grouped more broadly.
Once the categories were set, they split them into four piles. Each family took their share home as soon as it was sorted.
When only the gold, jewels, and watches were left, they divided them the same way—one for you, one for me—until the last pieces couldn't be evenly split.
Lan Jin gave a small smile. "That big blue jewel caught my eye from the start. I'll just take that one. The rest of the small ones, I don't need."
In truth, there was a white jewel even larger than the blue one, but it didn't matter. As long as the split was fair in the end, it was fine.
The last items were the medicines.
There wasn't much in the way of antibiotics, so they stayed with Lao Gao for everyone to use as needed. Twenty boxes of fever medicine were split evenly, and all the blood pressure medicine went to Ling Jiang. She traded for them with supplies the others wanted.
Once that was done, the distribution was complete.
…
To be honest, dividing the supplies was more tiring than gathering them.
Fairness mattered. If things weren't split evenly, resentment could build over time. So they went item by item, keeping everything transparent.
But even that wasn't the end of it.
Lao Gao and Ling Jiang still had to repay what they had borrowed from Lan Jin and Huang Jinghe.
That was easy enough—just dog food for Lan Jin.
No matter what they traded or with whom, all Lan Jin wanted was dog food.
Even though dog food could be found in other places, once they did the math, Lao Gao and Ling Jiang felt she was getting the short end of the stick.
Lan Jin didn't see it that way. "Dog food is great. You don't know how much he eats at once. Fills him up and keeps him going. If you still want to trade for other food, just save your dog food and trade it to me."
Hearing how unconcerned she sounded, Lao Gao and Ling Jiang finally relaxed.
…
With all debts cleared, Lao Gao and Ling Jiang counted their stores.
"This is enough to last us six months," they both said.
And that wasn't even rationing—just normal meals. As long as the food was stored properly—and in this weather, it would be—six months or more was no problem. Of course, in true Chinese fashion, having a stocked pantry meant peace of mind. With food secured, their next concern turned to charcoal.
After six days of scavenging and two days of sorting, they hadn't made charcoal for eight straight days. Even though they only burned it at night, the supply was running low. If they used more today without replenishing, tomorrow night they would be freezing.
"Let's start tomorrow morning," Huang Jinghe suggested. "We can burn those clothes Sister Lan found. They'll make good kindling."
The three of them had no objections, but Ling Jiang had other plans.
"I want to go out tomorrow. We have enough supplies now, so I want to try the market. See if I can trade for some calcium tablets or other supplements for my grandma."
"Didn't we bring back that camel milk powder? That's for the elderly, isn't it?" Huang Jinghe asked.
"Yes, but milk powder isn't as nutrient-rich as tablets. Pills work faster. If I can't find them at the market, I'll try the black market."
Seeing she was set on going, Lan Jin said, "I'll go with you. The market's not far, and we can take the dog and Qiao Qiao along. Good to get out for a bit. Come to think of it, my dog hasn't really been outside much. He should see a bit of the world too."