The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

They all sat down to figure out what to do with the wild boars.

Without a fridge, there was no way to store that much meat.

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“What if we make jerky?” Hughie suggested. “We brought back a few boxes of charcoal last time.”

Nicole shook her head. “That would burn through tee-much charcoal. And with five whole pigs? How long would. that take? The whole neighborhood would smell like barbecue.”

“Remember the guy we traded with before?” Jeremy said, thinking it through. “They don’t just sell stuff; they buy, too. We’re short on food right now. What if we trade the pork with them?”

They had done five trades before, and those guys had been reliable.

It wasn’t a bad idea.

They had already stuffed one butchered pig into a water tank, cut into four large sections. When they pulled the meat out, it was dark red, lean, and tough, with almost no fat.

Nicole didn’t agree with bringing a whole pig. “Start with a few pounds and feel them out. Don’t tell them how much we have. If it works, we do it in batches.”

Two of them were injured, so Jeremy and Hughie volunteered to go.

In times like this, no one could rely on anyone forever. How far you made it depended on yourself.

Nicole didn’t stop them, just told them to be careful.

Poppy had been shaken earlier. After Zeph calmed her down, she fell asleep, and he carried her back to his place.

Beatrice filled Nicole in on what they found at the hillside houses.

They had taken apart six water tanks, gathered a lot of solid wood furniture, and even found two partially used propane tanks. They needed to move everything back as soon as possible, or someone else would take it.

“The boars are hidden up in the hills. Should be safe for now.”

An hour later, Jeremy and Hughie came back.

“We checked it out,” Jeremy said. “Their leader’s last name is Lindberg. They’re willing to trade food for the meat, but they’re definitely taking advantage of us. One pound of pork gets two pounds of broken rice. If we want good rice, it’s one for one.”

They had brought five pounds of meat and came back with five pounds of rice.

Nicole checked it. They were good quality long-grain rice.

“No one followed you?” she asked.

“No. We took the motorboat and made a few detours,” Jeremy said.

“They really want the meat,” Hughie added. “Said if we trade for good rice, it’s all vacuum-sealed, fresh stock.”

They called Zeph over and talked it through.

Nicole agreed to the trade. It looked like they were getting the short end, but Beatrice’s group had no way to store the meat. And these days, people couldn’t even get rice, let alone afford meat.

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Chorter 84

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Rice filled you up and lasted longer.

Five boars, once cleaned, would give them about 200 pounds each. That was a lot of food to work with.

Still, they decided to keep some and only trade four of the boars.

The meat was divided into four shares. Hughie’s group took two, Zeph took one, and Cola’s share went to Nicole.

Wild boar was tough. They were good for grilling or turning into something like a seasoned meat spread that could last a long time.

However, both options took time and made a strong smell. It wasn’t something they could do on the 18th floor. The smell alone would be a problem, and sealing the place up would make it unbearable.

“The hillside houses are empty. We could process it there and come back after,” Zeph suggested.

Nicole had been thinking the same thing.

No one disagreed.

The three men packed the meat into large bags, stuffed them into backpacks, and set off in the boat to trade. They brought Cola along, too.

They met up at the shopping center, keeping away from the crowds, and made the trade quietly in the still floodwaters.

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