Chapter 41 - 37: The Beaked Eagle’s Small Backpack
Since he was usually out from early morning to late night, Qin Ziwen rarely interacted with his upstairs and downstairs neighbors.
Today’s commotion, however, gave him the chance to finally meet them.
His upstairs neighbors were a middle-aged couple. The man had short hair and was slightly overweight; his wife, standing beside him, wore glasses and had a refined look. A little girl clung to the man’s back, peeking her head out to timidly stare down at the floor below.
Perhaps the harsh tone Qin Ziwen had just used with his brother scared her. After their eyes met, the little girl fearfully ducked behind her father’s back.
His downstairs neighbor was a man of medium build with salt-and-pepper hair. His son stood next to him, about the same height but with the youthful face of a high school student. When he met Qin Ziwen’s gaze, his eyes darted away nervously.
The door to 501, the apartment opposite his, remained shut, with no sound coming from within.
The downstairs neighbor then led his son back inside. From the sound of the closing door, Qin Ziwen guessed they were in 401.
Just as Qin Ziwen was about to close his door, the upstairs neighbor suddenly spoke up. "Uh... hey, man, do you have any extra food? I can trade for it."
Qin Ziwen shook his head. "Not much left."
The man’s voice dropped, turning pleading. "When you all killed the crocodile the other day, I was right there. If I were younger, maybe I would have joined in, but I’m older now, with a wife and kid at home..."
"What are you offering in trade?"
The man asked hopefully, "Toilet paper, do you need any? I also have some common medicines at home—cold medicine, anti-inflammatories, styptic powder, whatever you need."
Qin Ziwen didn’t understand. "You can trade these things downstairs, can’t you? Medicine like this is basically hard currency."
The man gave a bitter smile. "It is hard currency, but it’s not an urgent need for healthy people. Few are asking, and those who are demand outrageous prices. Most people think a cold is a minor illness you can just tough out for a few days with some hot water. Besides, a lot of them already have a small stash of their own medicine at home."
Qin Ziwen glanced at him. "My price won’t be cheap, either."
A smile squeezed onto the man’s pudgy face. "I know, I understand completely. As long as it’s not too outrageous, I can accept it."
Qin Ziwen asked, "Do you have a thermometer?"
The man nodded hurriedly. "I have a mercury thermometer."
"I’ll also take two boxes of cold medicine and two boxes of anti-inflammatories. What are the expiration dates?"
The man said, "They all have at least a year left before they expire."
"Three pounds of meat."
The smile on the man’s face turned strained.
His wife’s expression faltered. The price was higher than they had hoped.
Although fresh meat was a rare commodity in the Gated Community now, it wasn’t impossible to obtain if one was determined.
After all, there was a river nearby for fishing. People could catch crabs and shrimp along the banks or, if they were lucky, find snakes and eels in the rock crevices. The grassy areas around the Gated Community held field mice and insects. The braver residents even formed teams to venture further out, setting traps and hunting.
And as long as one could get over the mental hurdle, many cooked insects were also a source of high-quality protein.
The real problem was the Gated Community’s large population. With so many mouths to feed, the amount of meat available per person was minuscule.
It wasn’t that the couple hadn’t tried to find food outside. But with a growing ten-year-old and two adults with healthy appetites, they were consuming far more than they could gather. In just a few days, they found themselves on the verge of running out of food.
"Could you give us a little more?" He was a husband and a father. In front of the two people he loved most in the world, the man was practically begging.
The little girl grabbed her father’s arm and whispered, "Daddy, I’m not hungry..."
Qin Ziwen glanced at the man. "Four pounds. I don’t have much fresh meat left myself. Xiaowu, go get that piece of meat."
Qin Ziwu knew what his brother meant. When they killed the alpha crocodile a few days ago, the two of them had split more than ten pounds of meat.
Between what they had eaten and traded over the past two days, they only had four or five pounds of fresh meat left. They still had plenty of smoked meat, though.
Carrying the reddish meat, Ziwu used a bathroom scale to weigh out four pounds in front of the family from upstairs.
Looking at the four pounds of meat, the man was in a bit of a daze. Before the transmigration, buying four pounds of meat at the supermarket was easy; his family would finish it in two days.
But now, this was the only way they could trade for it.
Qin Ziwen said, "You need to eat this meat quickly. It’s been over a day since it was butchered. It’ll spoil if you wait any longer."
The man nodded quickly. "Got it."
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
After the trade, Qin Ziwen put the medicine and the mercury thermometer away.
Products of modern industry like these were now irreplaceable. Unless he got lucky in the daily settlement drawing, every item used was one less in the world. It was a good idea to keep some on hand. Having moved in only a few days ago, he hadn’t had the chance to stock up on medical supplies.
After finishing the trade, Qin Ziwen returned to his bedroom. The Beaked Eagle, having finished its fish, was preening its feathers.
"Bro, are we going to draw the map today?"
"Yeah."
Qin Ziwu raised a finger. "I actually have a good idea."
"Let’s hear it."
Qin Ziwu stuck his hands in his pockets. "Hehe, this eagle can fly, right? We can hang a camera around its neck, let it fly a circle around the area, and we’ll have a video recording, won’t we?"
"Huh... you’re actually using your brain for once," Qin Ziwen said, pausing to consider. ’At first blush, the idea seems feasible. It would drastically reduce my workload and risk, since I wouldn’t have to venture into the wild myself.’
But there were two key problems.
One, he didn’t have a video camera.
Two, how to attach the camera to the Beaked Eagle so it wouldn’t fall off.
The first point wasn’t hard. Qin Ziwen thought of his cell phone.
He could use his phone to record. It wasn’t much use for anything else anyway, so this was a good way to put it to use one last time.
The second point: how to secure the phone so it wouldn’t fall off.
Qin Ziwen wondered, ’How do I keep the phone from falling...?’
Qin Ziwu made a wild suggestion. "How about we just have it hold it?"
Qin Ziwen was speechless. "...I think it would be more reliable to have it carry *you*."
Qin Ziwu gave a sheepish grin. He had just been talking off the top of his head.
He glanced at the Beaked Eagle’s massive talons.
They were long and sharp, definitely not stable enough to grip a smooth phone, not to mention it would have to deal with strong air currents and changing positions while flying.
’We could make an X-shaped harness for it, with a small pouch on its chest. We’d leave a small round hole for the phone’s camera. Mmm, that should work. It would be best to sew it with a needle and thread.’
The more Qin Ziwen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. But he didn’t know how to sew, so he’d have to find someone who did.
But that wasn’t a major hurdle. He didn’t need a masterpiece, and aesthetics weren’t important. As long as it was the right size and made of sturdy material, it would be fine.
He then went upstairs to Deng Guang’s family’s apartment. After asking, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that Deng Guang’s wife knew a bit about sewing and even had a needle and thread at home.
Qin Ziwen explained his request.
Xiao Xuemei agreed without hesitation. She then came to Qin Ziwen’s apartment and saw the Beaked Eagle in the living room.
Although Xiao Xuemei was surprised by the Beaked Eagle’s presence, she didn’t make a big deal about it. She simply followed Qin Ziwen’s instructions, cutting up an old pair of jeans and other scrap clothes with scissors to sew a small pack the Beaked Eagle could wear on its chest.
"It’s done. See if it needs any adjustments," Xiao Xuemei said, standing up and wiping the fine beads of sweat from her forehead.
"Move around a bit." Qin Ziwen patted the Beaked Eagle. The bird flapped its wings a few times in the cramped living room, but the phone in the chest pack remained firmly in place.
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