Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 555 Robbers Break into the House?

Xu Xiaoyan carried the plate of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish to the dining table, put it down, ladled out a bowl of rice, picked up a piece of fish, and put it in her mouth.

The outer shell is crispy and crunchy, while the fish inside is tender and smooth, with a sweet and sour sauce coating every fiber of the fish.

The rich flavors exploded in my mouth, bringing a long-lost sense of satisfaction that soothed me from the tip of my tongue all the way to my stomach.

After finishing her meal, she let out a long sigh of relief, touched her slightly swollen belly, and felt as if she had come back to life.

Only a clean fish skeleton remained on the plate on the table, and she had used rice to soak up all the sauce, not wasting a single drop.

She carried the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen to clean up, the tap running as it rinsed the greasy spatulas and dishes.

Outside the window, the greenhouse in the courtyard stood quietly in the sunlight, its white plastic film swaying gently in the wind.

Xu Xiaoyan hummed a tuneless little tune as she dried and put away the washed dishes and chopsticks. Then she poured herself a glass of warm water and leaned against the kitchen windowsill, slowly drinking it.

After resting for less than half an hour, she got up and walked to the corner of the yard.

With a thought, he took out all the large fish from his spatial storage, went back into the house to get a kitchen knife, a thick cutting board, and several large plastic basins, and set up a makeshift cleaning stall in the yard.

I placed a basin of clean water nearby for later use, then picked up the first fish, pressed it onto the cutting board, and began to scale it.

This job is really tedious. The fish scales are fine and tightly attached to the fish skin, and you have to use a knife blade to scrape them off against the direction of the scales.

After scaling a fish, rinse it in a basin of water to remove any remaining scale fragments. Then wash the knife and cutting board with clean water before moving on to the next fish.

After all the large fish had their scales cleaned, she took the knife and deftly cut off the tail and tail fin together.

Next, gut the fish, cutting into its belly through the vent and along the midline down to below the gills. Then, use your hands to remove all the internal organs.

When cleaning the internal organs, be careful not to break the gallbladder, otherwise the bile will seep into the fish meat and make it bitter, ruining the whole fish.

Fortunately, she had handled this many times before and was already skilled at it.

You can easily find the gallbladder by gently inserting your finger into the fish's belly, carefully peel it out and discard it, and then clean out the remaining internal organs one spoonful at a time.

Pick out the fish roe and set it aside. It's a good thing; you can stir-fry it later or save it to make fish roe sauce.

The other internal organs were all stored in sealed bags for composting, just like the previous batch.

After cleaning each fish, she rinsed it thoroughly inside and out, dried it with kitchen paper towels, and then neatly arranged it in another clean basin.

The cleaned fish stood side by side, their silvery-white bodies gleaming moistly in the sunlight, looking clean and beautiful.

She handled it slowly, repeating the actions over and over again.

From initial dexterity to later mechanical movements, my fingers were scratched by fish scales, leaving several small cuts that throbbed slightly after getting wet.

But she didn't stop to rest, and finished processing all the big fish in one go.

There was a pile of scraped fish scales and cut-off fish tails on the ground, and several large sealed bags next to it were filled with fish intestines and entrails, bulging and tied up.

Xu Xiaoyan swept the broken scales and debris on the ground into a pile with a broom, put it into a separate garbage bag, and then carried a bucket of water to wash the ground clean.

The moment I stood up straight, my lower back made a "crack" sound, and the soreness spread from my lumbar spine all the way to my shoulders.

She couldn't help but gasp, clutching her lower back. She hadn't felt it while working, but as soon as she stopped, all the fatigue washed over her.

She rubbed her lower back, glanced at the bags filled with internal organs, and decided to put them back in her spatial storage for now, without burying them immediately.

We'll have to wait until the first batch of vegetables sprouts and grows to see how effective the four pits of fertilizer buried in the corner of the greenhouse actually are.

If the fertilizer is sufficient and the effect is good, she will consider putting this batch into the soil as well; if the effect is average, she will have to try a different method.

After storing the cleaned fish and its innards in her spatial storage, she dragged her tired body back into the house.

I boiled a kettle of water, sat on the recliner in the living room with a teacup in hand, and planned to go upstairs to rest after finishing this cup of tea.

She had just taken two sips when there was a sudden knock on the courtyard gate.

Xu Xiaoyan instantly became alert. She didn't move or make a sound, but just quietly looked in the direction of the courtyard gate and held her breath.

There was a few seconds of silence outside, then a man's voice, with a casual, appraising tone:

"There's no one here. It's been days, and I haven't seen a single person from morning till night. Is this place even occupied?"

Another voice followed, this one lower and deeper:

"Yes, I've been observing this place for several days. The door has been locked the whole time, but there's never been any movement inside."

No one was seen coming in or out. Logically, once a house is built, people should be living in it. I don't know where this family went.

Then a third voice broke in, with an unsettling arrogance:

"Why don't we just break down the door and go in? Nobody lives here anyway, it's just sitting empty. What's wrong with us guys staying for a few days?"

"I'll stay as long as I can and make a profit. When I leave, I'll close the door behind me, and only heaven and earth will know."

"Break down the door? Are you out of your mind? Breaking down someone's door in broad daylight, do you want to die?" The second voice clearly rolled its eyes.

The third voice chuckled dismissively: "How about we climb over the wall tonight? I've seen it; the wall is quite high, but it's nothing to us."

"Find a few long logs, build a ladder, climb over easily, and if there's anything valuable inside, it'll be enough for the three of us brothers to eat for several meals."

The second voice hesitated for a moment: "What if the master comes back?"

The third voice sneered, "That depends on whether it's a man or a woman. If it's a man, just kick him out and tell him we're the owners of the house and he should get lost. If it's a woman..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the malicious chuckle that followed said it all.

Xu Xiaoyan sat in the living room, holding a half-cooled teacup, and raised an eyebrow in the darkness.

It is true that people sit at home, and disasters come from heaven.

She hadn't even lived there for two days when she was already being watched.

Judging from the conversation of the three people outside, they had obviously scouted the location long ago, observed it for several days, and only made their move after confirming that "no one lived there".

She gently placed the teacup on the table, silently stood up in the darkness, walked to the second-floor window, leaned against the wall, and peeked out through the gap in the curtains.

Under the dim yellow light of the streetlights, the silhouettes of three men stood indistinctly outside her courtyard gate. One of them, tall and thin, was standing on tiptoe, peering into the yard.

One was short and stout, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed; the other was of medium build, pointing at the wall and gesturing as if estimating the height and difficulty of climbing over it.

If anyone tries to sneak in under the cover of darkness, she'll show them that the owner of this house isn't someone to be trifled with.