Chapter 22

Perhaps because people are too isolated from the outside world and have more free time, more and more people are becoming obsessed with cooking. This can be seen from the increase in group purchases of various flour and baking ingredients in their community in recent times. When people have free time, they start to tinker in the kitchen, which proves that the tension shrouded in death is gradually loosening.

Although the smog has not dissipated, as more and more people go out of their homes, many people are gradually not so afraid of the smog carrying poisonous fungi. Although there is no specific medicine to treat this virus, they have safe protection methods and do not have to passively wait for death. Human beings can always find the most suitable way to survive in various adversities.

Although the death toll is still growing slowly, the number of new infections is decreasing. The data has not changed for nearly half a month. This data has given people more confidence in facing the future. In this virus that has swept the world, their country has made the most correct decision from the beginning. Looking at other countries that are still struggling with death and despair, they feel sincerely fortunate and even feel that the day when they can go out, resume work and study is not far away.

Death seemed to be slowly moving away from them, and the order of life seemed to be getting back on track. If Mu Nan had not experienced those futures, he would not have been able to imagine that when the haze dissipated and the sun came back to the world, there would be even more desperate disasters waiting for them.

Recently, more people have been buying flour and other things, so Mu Nan naturally followed suit and bought a lot. So in recent times, his oven has hardly ever stopped, and the sweet aroma has been filling the house. He has made batch after batch of soft cakes. Naturally, he would prepare as much of this kind of sugary and filling thing as he could.

Qin Huai also took over some of the things that required physical strength at home. For example, making kimchi only required Mu Nan to move his mouth. The first time he made kimchi was a few months ago when the haze just started. Up to now, Qin Huai has made it three times. There was no other way. Mu Nan bought too much cabbage. There were dozens of boxes of pickled kimchi placed in the space.

Qin Huai took out several boxes of kimchi from the refrigerator and chopped them up again. This was also convenient for the future. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome to take them out and chop them up when you want to eat them later. As the kimchi boxes were opened, the sweetness in the air was instantly dispelled by a sour and spicy smell. Mu Nan, who was following behind Qin Huai, sniffed and reached out to take a piece of the kimchi that Qin Huai had just cut and put it directly into his mouth. It was sour, spicy, and crisp.

After eating, Mu Nan sighed: "I feel like I've become a master. The food I made with this recipe tastes much better than the food you buy outside."

Qin Huai also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. It tasted really good. Although the ingredients were a bit heavy, this thing was originally used to go with rice or stir-fry as a soup base. It was just right to eat it together: "Then you can grow cabbage in the future, and then process it into kimchi and sell it exclusively."

Mu Nan smiled upon hearing this and said, "This is also a path we can consider taking in the future."

Qin Huai was cutting the food over there while Mu Nan helped to repack the cut pieces into small boxes. He customized many food-grade packaging boxes, both large and small, with a small size of 500ml and a large size of 1000ml. This was to make it easier to take them out in the future. Anyway, those small packaging boxes were not expensive, and thousands of them could be customized for a hundred yuan.

After finishing everything and cleaning up the kitchen, Qin Huai asked Mu Nan to put a small box of kimchi outside: "How about making kimchi beef today? And make some oyster sauce mushroom slices, and lettuce for the greens. What else do you want to eat?"

Mu Nan took out the dishes Qin Huai mentioned from the refrigerator and put them outside, saying, "That's enough, three dishes. Brother, there's still a big bag of lamb chops that haven't been cooked yet. They were bought in a group last month. They can't be left there any longer. When will they be cooked?"

Qin Huai looked at the whole lamb chop that Mu Nan took out from the freezer, thought for a moment and said, "Do you want to eat rice with your hands?"

Mu Nan knew about pilaf, which was a mixture of mutton and radish. It seemed that some places would also put raisins in it, but he had never eaten it, only seen it, so he asked, "Is it delicious?"

Qin Huai: "I'll cook it once for you to try. If it tastes good, I'll make more. It has rice and meat. It will be convenient to take it out and eat it when you can't cook in the future."

Mu Nan nodded: "Then I'll put this outside to thaw. I'll see what else is in the refrigerator, clear out the stock, and buy some fresh ones to put in."

Although he has a space, Mu Nan is not the kind of person who would put everything into the space. Even though this space has never had any problems since he owned it in his previous life until his death, what if something unexpected happens? So it is better to store some things outside, such as the things he bought with the community group later. Those that can be put in the refrigerator and consumed bit by bit will be put in the refrigerator, and those that cannot be put in the refrigerator will be put in the space first. Therefore, their refrigerator is always full.

When Mu Nan was cleaning the refrigerator, Qin Huai looked out the kitchen window and said, "Nan Nan, look at the sky outside. Is it brighter now?"

Mu Nan turned his head and took a look. It had been gray for several months, but it did seem to be getting brighter recently. Some people said that because the mycelium poison could not withstand high temperatures, when the weather started to get hot, the poison outside became less and less, so the haze was also dissipating little by little, so many people had the courage to wear protective clothing and go out. It was also because the light outside was getting brighter day by day that more people felt that the disaster seemed to have passed. The sun, which had not been seen for several months, seemed to be coming out soon.

However, Mu Nan knew that the smog was indeed about to pass. In the previous life, heavy rain began to fall around mid-April and continued for nearly half a month. Smog fell in early May. The virus swept the world, and the chaos in foreign countries and the closure of the country lasted for nearly three months. Around the beginning of August, the situation in the country was under control to a certain extent. Gradually, people walked out of their homes wearing protective clothing, and people's lives were getting back on track little by little, until the end of August and the beginning of September. Suddenly one day, the smog dissipated, just as it came without warning and dissipated without warning. The next day, the scorching sun was high in the sky again.

At that time, people were still a little afraid to go out. Only those who could go out were still wearing protective clothing. However, experts took samples again and again and found that there was no trace of toxic bacteria in the air. However, even so, after a nationwide disinfection, more people went out of their homes. But for safety, many people still wore masks and disinfected in and out. Even though there was no virus in the air at that time, people were still a little cautious.

Just when everyone thought that the disaster was over and everything could be restored, the hot weather became the next topic. But it was September and October, and according to the climate, it was in the autumn tiger stage, so the heat was normal. But after October, the heat did not decrease at all, and even climbed up at an alarming rate. People couldn't even wear masks because of the heat.

Cars caught fire, the ground exploded, and more and more pedestrians died of heat stroke on the road. People began to panic again.

Mu Nan looked at the time. It was already mid-August, which meant that in another half a month, the smog would be gone.

Mu Nan said, "It should be over soon. I remember that during the autumn heat, many people were already going about their daily lives as normal."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Qin Huai quickly put down the knife in his hand, but Mu Nan was faster than him: "It should be the shopping that has arrived. I'll go get it. You have to wash your hands after taking the things. It's troublesome."

Mu Nan walked towards the door as soon as he said that. Qin Huai shouted at him, "Put on your mask and remember to disinfect it."

Mu Nan responded, put on his mask and went to open the door. It turned out to be a delivery man. But the man looked familiar to him. He looked at him carefully and asked tentatively, "You live next door to me, right?"

Jian Chu, who was wearing protective clothing, smiled and said, "Yes, this is something from your family, you can order some."

Mu Nan was a little surprised: "You went to be a volunteer?" He remembered the two people living next door. The tall one should be called Yu Zibai, who was in good health. The shorter one didn't seem to be in good health. He was already in poor health, so why did he go to be a volunteer?

Jian Chu said, "No, I work part-time at the supermarket at the intersection. The supermarket is open now, but there are restrictions on entry and exit. We are afraid that too many people will bring in too much poisonous gas, so we can only work online. I live here, and I happen to run errands in this area. Otherwise, if I continue to stay at home like this, I won't even be able to afford the dirt to eat."

Mu Nan said "oh" and took the things into the iron gate. He also saw that the supermarket was open online, so he bought a bunch of snacks and drinks. Fortunately, Jian Chu was strong and could carry so many things by himself. Mu Nan quickly took a bottle of Coke from the bag and handed it to him: "Thank you for your hard work in carrying so many things."

Jian Chu waved his hand: "No need, I get commission for delivering goods, and it's reasonable to work hard if I want to make money."

Mu Nan stuffed the drink into his hand: "We are neighbors, so don't be polite."

Jian Chu didn't want to argue with him. He heard someone calling him from inside the room. They probably saw him staying at the door for too long. Then the elevator came, so he thanked him and left. He still had a lot of orders to deliver and was so busy that he didn't even have time to go home for a drink of water.

After Jian Chu left, Mu Nan closed the iron door and sprayed all the bags with disinfectant. Then he squatted on the ground and wiped the drinks and snacks in the bags one by one with disinfectant wipes and put them home. Although it seemed that the poisonous fungi could not attach to these things, it was always better to be cautious.

After packing up and washing his hands, Mu Nan went back to the kitchen. "The one who just delivered the goods is from our neighbor. It seems he works part-time in the supermarket. After being closed for so long and with prices so high, it's no wonder he couldn't wait to go out and find a job. It's not easy for everyone."

Qin Huai smiled but said nothing. It was not easy for anyone to face this disaster. If he had not disposed of the company's shares at the very beginning, he would have been in debt in just these few months.

When the sun came down again, many people looked at the bright sky in disbelief, and even doubted whether the smog had ever come. However, the bloodshed of a life is so painful and profound, and the disappearance of this disaster was as silent as it came. It seemed that God was playing a huge joke on the world, a joke that the whole world could not laugh at.

Mu Nan squinted his eyes and felt the sunlight coming in through the window. It had been several months since he saw this long-lost sun. Unfortunately, what this sun illuminated was not a new world, but the purgatory on earth that was about to be covered by death.