Chapter 140

The pork Yu Feng brought was not much, just a piece of fat and lean pork belly, probably a little over one kilogram. But in the current environment, let alone one kilogram of meat, there is no place to get even a few ounces of meat. The key is that it has to be fresh, not frozen. Therefore, the meat cannot be left there at all and must be cooked immediately, otherwise it will go bad before long even in an air-conditioned room at this temperature.

Qin Huai took the meat directly: "Let's make braised pork, Nannan, go home and get some rock sugar." Some other ingredients had been brought in before because they were going to roast the rabbit, but he didn't expect Yu Feng to bring pork belly, and naturally he wouldn't bring something like rock sugar.

Without waiting for Mu Nan to stand up, Jian Chu said, "No need to go back and get it. I have it at home. It's tightly sealed and has not been damaged by the flood."

One pound of pork belly can't make much braised pork. They now have twelve people. Qin Huai gestured to cut the meat into twelve equal-sized cubes. They really don't have the conditions for cooking wine. Even if they have it at home, it is not something they can take out now, so they can only make it less delicate.

In fact, the best thing would be to make dumplings, mash the meat into paste and wrap them in dumplings, so that everyone feels like they can eat a lot of meat, at least it is much better than only one piece of braised pork per person. But since it is an indulgent dinner, then indulge yourself. Eating ten dumplings is not as satisfying as a whole bite of braised pork.

Without going back to get rock sugar, Mu Nan squatted there and dug the potatoes. Seeing that there were quite a few potatoes, at least a dozen, he couldn't help but say, "Can you give me one of these potatoes? I want to go back and plant some." It was not easy to find a legitimate source of planting, so he had to seize it.

Yu Feng said: "It's up to you whether you want to eat them or keep them all for breeding."

Then he was worried that they would think potatoes were too precious and would not eat them. After all, potatoes were not available on the market. So he said, "There will be more potatoes soon. The farm has already harvested a small part of them before the flood. Although it's not much, at least there are conditions for planting. Now they are starting to plant potatoes in large quantities. After a while, I'm afraid you can only buy staple foods based on potatoes online."

Song Jia was somewhat surprised: "So it's not that there is no harvest at all, there is still some harvest?"

Yu Feng nodded: "Of course. Since we received the news of the flood in advance and mobilized to evacuate, we must rush to harvest some of it. It's just not much. At present, we can't afford the food consumption of the entire residential area. So before the new batch of crops grows, I'm afraid we will experience some difficulties, but we can get through it. It happens that you grow vegetables at home, so you can save some food when the time comes, which will be better than others."

Yu Feng's words made everyone feel more at ease, because he brought quite a few potatoes. In the end, he took out four potatoes, cut two into pieces to roast with the rabbit meat, cut one into strips to make French fries, and cut one into shreds to make potato pancakes. As for the rest, there were exactly two for each family, and because Xu Ming didn't want to bother with these things, he didn't take them, so he took two more into the kitchen and fried a plate of spicy and sour potato shreds. This dish went well with rice, and he hadn't eaten it for at least two years.

Poker cards came in handy again. Mu Nan didn't play but sat aside stroking a dog's head. Among the girls, Tu Juan, who had a straightforward personality, played Landlord with them. Seeing that the kitchen might still take a while to work, Xu Ming went upstairs to wash and change his clothes. He had just come back from the farm and had been in contact with animals, so it would be better to wash them.

Yu Feng followed him without hesitation. Xu Ming turned his head and smiled: "You can sit there and wait for your meal."

Yu Feng leaned in and whispered, "There is actually a secret in this house."

Xu Ming looked at him suspiciously. He had lived here for more than a year after all. Although he had not made any major changes in the house, what secrets could there be in moving into such a bare house?

Seeing Yu Feng looking at him seriously, Xu Ming felt his forehead twitching. Thinking back to when they first met on the farm, the serious look on his face when he introduced himself was really intimidating. In addition, before they met on the farm, they had seen each other before because of the incident where Mu Nan was attacked due to the explosion at Huang's house. A veteran who was brave enough to save others, this image was still very positive in his mind.

As a result, this man never seemed to be serious for more than three minutes, as could be seen from his previous behavior of catching three pigs even when fleeing. Discipline and rules probably have little to do with him, especially on the farm, where he secretly burned rice to eat and even had to share the spoils with him. If the heavy rice with a burnt aroma had not been stuffed into his pocket, he really couldn't imagine that this was the man who did the embezzlement.

Just when his impression of Feng fell from an extremely upright soldier to a gangster with no moral integrity, he risked his life to save more than ten lives in the surging flood, which really happened before his eyes.

You may say that he is not a decent person, but his majestic figure in times of crisis cannot be faked. You may say that he is upright, but he can do things that even the children with red scarves would not do.

So when Yu Feng told him seriously that there was a secret in this house, Xu Ming didn't believe it at all. He just thought he was playing a prank again: "If you want to say that someone died in this house or there are ghosts, then don't worry. I'm not afraid of these."

Yu Feng sighed softly, looking at him with a look of distrust and helplessness: "Am I such a boring person in your eyes?"

Xu Ming gave him a look that said "what's the matter?" He was not only bored but also shameless. He secretly saw him discussing a dinner with his friends in the compound in the group. At his age, he put on a burly face and acted cute to him to get a free meal. After being rejected, he didn't know how to get one from Qin Huai. It takes a thick skin to do such a thing.

Yu Feng walked forward, took Xu Ming's hand and walked upstairs. He was very familiar with this house. Even though two households moved into the same building and an additional floor was built, the general layout remained unchanged and he could walk there with his eyes closed.

Xu Ming shook off his hand: "Believe it or not, I will prick you with a needle."

Yu Feng was probably still frightened and quickly let go, and couldn't help but muttered softly: "The little veterinarian is a murderer."

Xu Ming subconsciously took a deep breath. Why can some people constantly challenge the bottom line of human frenzy? Wouldn't it be good for everyone to keep a distance and be good friends with moderate social interaction, just like him, Yu Zibai and Mu Nan. That is the correct way to get along with others.

Mu Nan brought out a plate of French fries sprinkled with cumin to satisfy everyone's cravings. They definitely didn't have the conditions to soak them in water to remove the starch. After all, water was limited every day and they probably had to wash dishes later, so they tried to save as much as possible: "Come and try it."

The first one to rush over was Jian Chu: "Cumin Xiang, I haven't eaten this kind of fried food in a long time."

Although Yu Zibai didn't want to spoil his fun, he was afraid that he would be the one who suffered in the end if he lost control: "Eat less." It was fried with cumin, chili, and heavy oil. After eating light food for such a long time, a normal person would not be able to tolerate it all of a sudden, not to mention that he was still recuperating his stomach.

Mu Nan put the plate in the middle of the coffee table: "If you want to eat, take it yourself. Where are Xu Ming and Yu Feng?"

Song Jia held one in each hand and ate it without fear of the heat, relishing the aroma: "He just went upstairs, I don't know where he went."

Mu Nan walked to the stairs and looked up, but after thinking for a moment he didn't call out, in case the other person had something important to say.

The game of Landlord was extremely lively, with those who were watching the cards more excited than those who were playing them. Mu Nan had no interest in cards, and it seemed as if he had not inherited this from his father at all. Others, after playing a round, could even remember what the cards looked like, and talked with regret about what they should have done at that time.

If it were him, he would have forgotten what cards he had in his hand after just finishing a game.

So Mu Nan couldn't quite understand the excitement over there. They were arguing over when to place the bomb, how to break up the connected pieces, and how to make pairs. He couldn't join in the excitement at all, so he could only go to the kitchen and watch his brother cook.

Wu Zheng can cook, too. Except for the rabbit, which was cooked by Qin Huai, all other dishes were cooked by Wu Zheng. Seeing Mu Nan standing at the door, Wu Zheng turned around and smiled: "How is it? Is it not worse than your brother's?"

Mu Nan smiled and said, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Wu Zheng: "Usually when you ask this question, the truth will not sound good, but I still want to hear the truth."

Mu Nan: "My brother is the best in the world, no one can compare to him, hahahaha!"

Qin Huai looked back at him, the smile on his lips never faded.

Wu Zheng couldn't help but shudder: "Sweet things make my teeth hurt."

Yang Jing was also helping in the kitchen, peeling potatoes, shredding, kneading dough, and was busy all the time. It was rare for him to have a meal with this group of grown men like friends, so he couldn't help but ask with some curiosity: "I heard that you are neighbors. Do you have a group like that, where everyone has the same sexual orientation, so you know each other?"

Mu Nan said, "Are you asking about us and Jian Chu? No, we are just neighbors. We got to know each other because we were locked up at home during the smog period. In normal times, we were all busy with our own things and never said hello when we met. If we hadn't gotten to know each other during the time we were locked up at home, we probably wouldn't get along as well as we do now."

Yang Jing said, "I thought you had a resource exchange group. After all, your sexual orientation is considered a minority, but you can gather together and find someone who is so emotionally worthy. You are very lucky, right?"

Mu Nan touched his nose and said a little embarrassedly: "It's quite lucky."

As for sexual orientation, if his brother had not come back early in this life and teased him in various secret ways, he probably would not have known that his sexual orientation was male. Or, rather, his sexual orientation was only known by his brother, because he couldn't bear the thought of kissing and hugging other men, no matter if they were good-looking or ordinary.

Wu Zheng said, "This is fate, right? Jian Chu and Yu Zibai are schoolmates and have known each other for a long time. The two of them have known each other even earlier, since they were born. It is worth it to have such a relationship once in a lifetime."

It is because I have seen too much of the trivialities and enmity in these difficult days that I feel how precious the couples around me are. So what if their sexual orientation is minority? As long as they are happy, nothing else is better.

Yang Jing was quite curious about them. It wasn't that she was gossiping about other people's love lives. She wasn't that gossipy. She was just curious about how this group of people who had no relationship before the end of the world could get along like a family now. Although the girls generally didn't have any disagreements on major issues and could help each other, they always had a lot of small conflicts and would even quarrel over a piece of hair that fell on the ground. They were not like this group of men who got along so comfortably.

Qin Huai was concentrating on cooking and hardly spoke a word, unless Yang Jing called him by name, then he would respond out of politeness.

Then only Mu Nan, who had nothing to do, and Wu Zheng, who wanted to avoid a dull moment, responded to each other back and forth. In the end, Mu Nan's mouth was dry from chatting, so he transferred the entire social interaction in the kitchen to Wu Zheng. He was going to drink some water. He couldn't handle the girls chatting at all.

When he went out, he saw Song Jia and Jian Chu sharing the last two fries on the plate, and immediately said, "Wow, you two!"

Song Jia and Jian Chu turned their heads to look at him at the same time, and then stuffed the fries in their hands into their mouths tacitly. They are really good brothers.

When Yang Jing saw the two people making a fuss over a piece of French fry, he silently looked away. Well, actually, they were not that loving to each other. She was just being too superficial.

When the meal was almost ready, Xu Ming and Yu Feng came down from upstairs one after another. However, Xu Ming's face was very dark, while Yu Feng followed behind with a smile on his face.

The people who were playing cards didn't notice them. Mu Nan, who was wandering around the place out of boredom, saw them at a glance and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Xu Ming asked, "Do you think a normal person would put peanuts, dried red dates, and coins on the ceiling of the light tube?"

Mu Nan was full of questions, Yu Feng followed behind and said, "What's wrong? Isn't that my sister's wedding room? The peanuts, red dates and coins have such a good meaning. It's a pity. I thought it could be eaten after it was dug out. Isn't it dry food? It went bad so quickly."

Xu Ming only felt the veins on his forehead bulging, and he endured it again and again: "I will move to the farm tonight."

Yu Feng: "The living environment on the farm is so uncomfortable. I'll clean it up for you. It will be quick. I'll clean it up for you after dinner."

Xu Ming glanced at him and said, "No need, I can clean it up myself." Although the thing above was done by this guy, the house belonged to someone else at that time and they could do whatever they wanted. He couldn't occupy someone else's house and ask the original owner to clean up the mess.

He felt like he was on the verge of exploding, but this person never knew when to stop and just put his arm around his shoulders and said, "We're all friends, why are you being so formal? I'll clean it up for you tonight, but it's a pity that it's soaked in water. If it weren't, the red dates and peanuts would still look like they could be eaten."

Xu Ming felt that he had been quite polite. He did not lose his temper or get angry, and he was able to speak to him in a nice tone. He felt that his patience over the past twenty or almost thirty years had finally reached a limit today.

Mu Nan looked left and right, still confused: "So...what happened?"

Yu Feng was still smiling, and kindly explained, "Didn't my sister buy this house to prepare for her wedding? The house was ready for renovation, and when it was handed over, it was already fully furnished, with floor tiles and ceilings already ready. I saw there was an empty space on the ceiling spotlight, so I sprinkled some peanuts, red dates, and a one-dollar coin on it. It meant to bring in a son soon and make a lot of money, right?"

Mu Nan nodded in confusion. The meaning was good, but could these things be placed on the ceiling? It would be so dirty and difficult to clean.

Yu Feng said, "Isn't this for the sake of good luck? Besides, this house was originally planned to be renovated, and my sister doesn't like the unified matching fine decoration style. When the time comes to re-do the ceiling, won't the things on it be cleared out? Who knows what will happen later."

Mu Nan asked curiously, "What's the situation up there now? Is it only on the third floor?"

Yu Feng: "It's in the bedroom on the third floor. After all, it's the master bedroom of the wedding house. I didn't think of it before, but as soon as I remembered it, I rushed over to take care of it."

Yu Feng indeed didn't remember that he did such a thing just for fun. After all, he had to reinstall everything later. Of course, he couldn't leave the peanuts and red dates on the roof all the time. That would attract mice, right? He still had some common sense, but he forgot about it because of a bunch of other things. Then one day he suddenly remembered what he had done before, but that was after the flood. There was food on the roof, and it might even be water that got in. The moldy things were soaked in water. Just thinking about Xu Ming's mysophobia, he felt like he had offended someone again, so he hurried to clean up the mess.

Xu Ming looked at him and said word by word: "Thank you so much for remembering that you did this."

Yu Feng showed his white teeth: "You're welcome."

Mu Nan smelled a hint of gunpowder and saw that the rabbit his brother had cooked was out of the pot, so he quickly withdrew from the battlefield and decided that after returning home, he must climb up to see if there was anything inside his ceiling. Who could have thought that such a strange thing would happen.

The table was filled with dishes. Although there was no wine or drinks, and the varieties of dishes were not many, after all, the main ingredients were only those. But a pot of potato rabbit cubes and braised pork were enough to enrich the bland taste of the food that lacked oil and salt.

Everyone raised a glass of boiled water and toasted. There was no need to say the official opening words. After Chef Qin said "Let's eat", everyone started to pick up their chopsticks.

A mouthful of spicy and sour potato shreds can be paired with a bowl of white rice, not to mention braised pork and tiger-skin peppers. In addition to these, there are also cold-mixed tomatoes, which are both fruits and vegetables. The taste after being chilled in the refrigerator is even more delicious.

Fortunately, tomatoes and green peppers are both durable. Although they knew that all his tomatoes and peppers had been pulled out, it was possible that there were still a few left at home, so Mu Nan directly took a few ripe ones to supplement the meal.

Everyone was eating and chatting, talking about how they had spent the past few days and what might happen in the future. One was serving in the Qin army, and the other was employed at the Yu Feng farm. They knew much more than the few of them locked in the room. Together with Yu Zibai, who was meticulous and detail-oriented, and Qin Huai, who was far-sighted, they chatted so hard that they were almost drunk.

They were chatting animatedly. Mu Nan, Song Jia and Jian Chu were chewing the rabbit meat happily. Afraid that the girls would be too reserved to let go, he poured half of the rabbit meat over to the girls' side.

Song Jia: "It tastes good, but the bones are too thin, there is not much meat."

Jian Chu: "If you want to eat meat, you can raise pigs. They don't have many bones, but are full of meat."

Mu Nan turned to Yu Feng and asked, "Are you selling pigs from the farm? Live piglets."

Yu Feng shook his head: "No, it's not easy to raise animals now. We're afraid they'll die. The ranch has hired farmers and experts from various professions to look after them, and even has a veterinarian to monitor their health. How can we sell them to ordinary people to raise? We don't have the conditions to do so now."

Mu Nan looked at Song Jia and said, "It's a pity that we can't raise them. You should just grow some grass and eat some rabbit meat with thin bones."

Song Jia rolled his eyes: "Even if I can sell it, I won't raise it. Where can I raise it? At home? Can people live in that house?"

Tu Juan said, "You can raise pigs on the first floor. Dig a stone trough and build a pigpen by your back door. As long as you clean it regularly, raising pigs is not that dirty."

Song Jia and the others turned to look at her: "Can you?"

Tu Juan smiled and said, "Why can't I do that? My family has always raised pigs, but not on a farm scale. We only raise one or two pigs at home, and when they grow up we kill them for meat. I've cooked all the pig food since they were little."

Jian Chu's business sense immediately came into play: "We can raise pigs in the future. How about we buy some piglets and you raise them? We'll donate our front yard and install a ceiling and air conditioner. When they grow up, we'll give you the fattest one."

Yu Zibai touched Jian Chu's head and said, "Eat more meat and have fewer wild thoughts."

Jian Chu immediately responded to him: "People still have to have dreams, just in case they come true."

After eating and drinking, everyone went home. It had been a long time since they had eaten such delicious food. In the end, the broth from the braised pork was mixed with a large bowl of rice and shared.

It has definitely been decided that Qin Bing will return to the base, but no one knows when he will leave. It is estimated that he will leave as soon as he says he will leave. They did not say that they would see him off. After all, there is no public transportation now and they don’t have a car. They just said to keep in touch and find a chance to come back and get together when there is something delicious in the future.

As Mu Nan followed Qin Huai upstairs, rubbing his bloated belly, he said, "I have put an end to the planting plan caused by raising pigs."

Qin Huai followed his words and asked, "What's the matter?"

Mu Nan: "Before, when eating meat, he said that rabbit meat is not tasty and there is not much meat on the thin bones. Jian Chu suggested raising pigs, but he was not allowed to do so. Jian Chu casually said that if he was allowed to do so, he could do things in the yard. When Song Jia heard this, he thought that our yard cannot be left vacant. If there are no pigs to raise, then we can grow vegetables. He thought about building a roof, installing an air conditioner, controlling the temperature to grow vegetables, and the site is large. He could also let the girls help take care of it occasionally, which would be equivalent to the property of the compound. But I refused."

Qin Huai smiled and said, "Why refuse?"

Mu Nan quickly explained to him: "It's too unsafe. You see, food is getting more and more scarce in the future. If no one is in our backyard, it's fine to plant crops, but the front yard has people coming in and out, so we have to open the door. What if someone sees us one day? We'll be hungry. We live in a small house with a yard, and we grow a yard of vegetables. If they don't come to rob us, we'll be sorry for the vegetables in the yard."

Qin Huai rubbed Mu Nan's head and praised him, "Not bad, you think long-term and comprehensively. There is really nothing you can do with the front yard. It can only be left empty, unless the whole environment gradually improves in a year or two, and everyone has enough food, then anything can be done."

Mu Nan was so excited when he walked back to the room after being praised. He did have a brain, but Qin Huai was always with him in everything, so he was too lazy to think. Once he thought about it, he could still use his brain.