Chapter 86

Qin Huai would massage Mu Nan with medicated oil every day before going out and before going to bed. The injury was not too serious. It was probably just a sprained waist from the previous fall, so after two days of massaging him with medicated oil, Mu Nan was almost healed. It didn't affect his walking much, but it still hurt a little when he bent down to pick up things, but it wasn't a big problem. Fortunately, he didn't break any bones.

As a result, Qin Huai smelled of medicinal oil when he went to work these days. After all, the smell of the medicinal oil was quite strong and not easy to dissipate. Zhang Qi and the others thought Qin Huai was injured. When they heard that his family member had just sprained his waist, they said, "The snow has not stopped in the past few days, and the road is too slippery. Now there is no condition to spread salt or lay straw mats. Many people have fallen. My neighbor next door broke his bones, and it was his coccyx. The five members of his family were all counting on him. He may not be able to work for more than a month after this fall. He is frowning every day, as if he can't even pay the rent for next month."

Zhou Chuanghong sighed softly: "A family of five is relying on one person?"

Zhang Qi drank the hot tea. "Three elderly people, a wife, a child of seven or eight years old, and he has a total of six people in his family. It's freezing and snowy. Let several elderly people in their sixties and seventies go out to move bricks. How can the old men and women who are raised in wealth in the city do this? There are not many things women can do now. The cooks in the canteen are all family members of government employees. How can such a lucrative job be left to others? Even the cleaning has been scrambled for. The people who repair the circuits and pipes are all skilled workers. Even if we go to the small market to set up a stall, his family can't bring out anything. What else can we do except rely on him alone?"

Zhou Chuanghong chuckled and said, "I'm more experienced in this kind of weather than you southerners. I slipped when I went out in the morning. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and tried to lie flat without touching the ground with my butt. I'm very careful when I walk to and from get off work every day, as if I were back in my hometown in the Northeast. But compared to others, I'm more comfortable and at ease being alone. I just need to take care of myself." Although he said that, he was definitely worried about his family in his heart. But he has an older brother, and his parents are with his brother. If he can survive the earthquake, he won't be so worried with his brother taking care of his parents. If not, the world is like this anyway, and it's hard to say whether he will have the chance to go back and see them in his life. He can only think less about pessimistic things and live one day at a time.

Zhang Qi said: "It's not good to be alone. The road is too difficult to walk on now. If you fall hard, there will be no one at home to take care of you. How difficult it is."

Zhou Chuanghong looked at Qin Huai and said, "Brother Qin, is it okay for your family member to be alone at home?"

Qin Huai said: "It's okay, I just twisted my muscles, it's not serious, it won't affect my movements."

Zhou Chuanghong nodded: "I guess it's not serious, otherwise Brother Qin, you must have asked for leave. You're sending a message every half hour to ask about it. How could you bear to leave an injured person alone at home?"

As he was speaking, Qin Huai's phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw that it was a photo sent by Mu Nan. The first piece of bean shreds he made was formed and still steaming.

Qin Huai replied, "That's amazing. Take it easy. Don't sit or stand for too long. Walk around from time to time and lie in bed for a while."

Mu Nan sent an emoticon of nodding obediently.

Zhang Qi asked: "Will it affect the work of your kid?" They didn't know the name of Qin Huai's kid either, and felt it was not a good idea to ask rashly, so they just called him that.

Qin Huai put down his phone: "The weather is too cold, I asked him to stay at home."

The two people beside Qin Huai were suddenly a little envious. How nice it would be if they didn't have to go out to work in the snow and ice. Unfortunately, they didn't have that condition. Shu Bin, who was sitting opposite them, just looked up. At that moment, his eyes instinctively swept across Qin Huai, and soon lowered his head again to stare at his computer seriously.

At this moment, the weather station received a notice from the central government and immediately submitted it to the higher-ups with worried faces. Looking at the latest reported data, they didn't know whether they could withstand the upcoming low temperatures.

It was lunch time, and the group packed up and prepared to go to the cafeteria, but the squad leader in charge of their civilian communications team came in first and said, "A cold wave is about to hit, so everyone should start their holiday now. Go home early before the heavy snow starts. The start time will be notified separately, so remember to keep your cell phone open."

Zhou Chuanghong couldn't help but ask, "Heavy snow will affect communications, right? Without our maintenance, what should we do if the network is disconnected?"

The squad leader said, "It's okay, someone will be on duty."

They were relieved after hearing this, but the people on duty were not them, so it should be the signalmen. They later rushed to complete several heated dormitories, but only the soldiers in the squad could live there.

After the squad leader finished speaking, he turned to Qin Huai and said, "Wait a minute, Captain Shi will come over and ask you something."

Qin Huai nodded, and Zhang Qi couldn't help but raise his hand carefully: "Then can we still go for lunch today?"

The squad leader smiled and said, "Sure, go ahead. I've already told the canteen and they've also distributed today's dinner. Remember to take it."

Several people were immediately happy, but they planned to go directly to the exchange point to buy some things to store at home after returning. Fortunately, their salary was not bad, so it should be enough to store food for a month or so. They just hoped that the cold wave would pass quickly so that they could come back to work earlier. Otherwise, they could go to the construction site to move bricks before being notified to go to work. They just didn't know if they would have a holiday over there because of the cold wave.

Qin Huai waited for a while before Shi Yuanfei showed up. When Shi Yuanfei saw him, he smiled and said, "There's a good opportunity. Do you want it?"

Qin Huai didn't show much surprise, and asked calmly, "What opportunity?"

Shi Yuanfei: "As for the transfer to the engineering corps, you will still be responsible for the civilian communications, but you will have access to military communicators. You can then live in the warm building assigned by the military, which means you will officially be on the government payroll, but you won't have to bear the responsibility of rescue."

It is not important to Qin Huai whether he can eat the country's food or not. There is not much food to eat in the country now. But if he can get in touch with military communications, it will be a good thing for him. At least he can get in touch with news from other provinces and cities and even neighboring countries before many people. This can even save lives at critical moments, save other people's lives, and even save his own life.

But after Shi Yuanfei finished speaking, Qin Huai asked very soberly: "What about the conditions? It's impossible to transfer me there suddenly for no reason." Not to mention that his ability was noticed by others, the communication field was very important, it could be said to be second only to the weapons class, and it was impossible to transfer ordinary people in directly. Although there was no condition for three-generation review now, it was impossible to transfer them just like that.

Shi Yuanfei said: "Of course, it's not that you can transfer just like that. It's just that there is such an opportunity. Basic examination and inspection are required. Only if you pass it, you can get it. But this time, the opportunity is based on our commander's niece, Zhu Peipei, the orphan of one of his comrades."

Qin Huai laughed when he heard this: "An opportunity gained through nepotism? If this is such a joke, then I'm afraid I won't have a good impression of the current government anymore."

Shi Yuanfei sighed softly, "How is that possible? It's just that Zhu Peipei likes you, and she asked her uncle for this opportunity, which is considered an early conscription. As for whether you can pass the exam, it depends on you. How can it be so trivial? And after the reconstruction has reached a certain progress, conscription will be carried out directly, but that will take some time. Although you can wait until then to apply for the exam, this is just an early opportunity."

Qin Huai knew who Zhu Peipei was. She was a military doctor who came to measure their body temperature and keep records every day. She was a pretty young girl. Compared with some other military doctors who looked very serious, Zhu Peipei always smiled when she came to measure their temperature. Although the young girl did not have the conditions to dress up, she was clean and refreshing, and smiled at everyone she saw. She really made people like her. At least several boys in their class had a good impression of Zhu Peipei, but he really did not realize that Zhu Peipei liked him.

Qin Huai shook his head: "Then I can only say sorry."

Shi Yuanfei said: "Don't feel any burden in your heart. You don't have to get married. Just have more contact. It's free love. No one can force you to do anything."

Qin Huai: "It's not that. There are two reasons. First, my biological father is Yao Xianqun."

Shi Yuanfei looked at him in confusion: "Who is he?"

Qin Huai: "In 1995, Mingxu Real Estate's capital chain was broken, and the whereabouts of the funds were unknown. The construction site was left unfinished and stopped. Hundreds of buyers could not get their houses or their money back. The workers on the construction site could not get their hard-earned money back, and they kept petitioning. Unfortunately, communications were not as developed as they are today. If the human resources were a little slow in reviewing petitions, the case would be delayed year after year. In the end, two people were forced to jump off the building because they had no money and no house. Only then did the higher-ups take it seriously, and the legal representative of Mingxu Real Estate committed suicide at home."

Shi Yuanfei pondered. If this was the case, the political review would indeed be a bit difficult. Although if Qin Huai concealed the truth, it would not be easy to investigate given the current situation, but if he didn't say anything, then his character would be the biggest problem, and it would be even less likely that his superiors would want him. However, in this situation, if he took the initiative to explain, he didn't know if he could be a little more flexible.

Without waiting for Shi Yuanfei to speak, Qin Huai continued, "My biological father was not the legal representative who committed suicide. He was the one who absconded with the money. He fled abroad to start a new life and even made a fortune as a wealthy Chinese. At least before the earthquake, he was still living happily abroad."

Qin Huai only found out about this after he started his own business. If he had known that his father had such a rich experience, when he came back from abroad and wanted to take him away, and even threatened him with Mu Nan, he would not have to do anything, just call the police. But at that time, he knew nothing and only thought that this rich man despised his mother's family because they had no money and could not help him, so he abandoned his pregnant girlfriend and went abroad to marry a rich white woman. But he did not expect that what he thought was an abandonment for the sake of the rich would actually contain such a bloody crime. However, when he found out, the statute of limitations had even passed.

Shi Yuanfei's eyes widened instantly. Well, no amount of leniency would work now.

Qin Huai looked at Shi Yuanfei who was speechless and said, "This second reason is the truly important reason."

Shi Yuanfei's heart was trembling. What could be more important than having a father who committed a crime? He couldn't possibly commit a crime himself.

Qin Huai said: "I have a lover, gender, male."

Very good, now the possibility of passing the political review is zero, and the possibility of climbing up through nepotism is even more zero.

When there was a noise in the yard, Mu Nan, who was unable to move, could only open the window of his room and look down. Seeing that it was Qin Huai who came back, he did not dare to run downstairs to open the door for his brother as before, so he could only open the window and wave downstairs: "Brother!"

Qin Huai looked up and waved at him.

Listening to the footsteps, Mu Nan leaned on the railing of the third floor stairs and looked down until he saw Qin Huai's figure and said, "Why are you here so early today? Have you eaten lunch?"

Qin Huai handed the backpack to Mu Nan: "I haven't eaten yet. There are some steamed buns and candied corn cakes in it. You said last time that the auntie in the canteen made delicious food, so I took a few more. The cold wave is coming, so I'm going to take a holiday early. I'll be notified when I go back to work."

Mu Nan cheered happily, "You don't have to go to work early in the snow anymore. In the winter, you should stay at home. Go wash your hands and face and change your clothes. I'll get you lunch. You should send me a message so that I will wait for you to come back and eat together."

Qin Huai said: "Three meals should be eaten on time."

Mu Nan said, "You don't have a set schedule, then. Go change your clothes. What do you want to eat for lunch? Let's have a hot pot. I'm afraid you must be freezing cold on the way back. How about some lamb ribs? I'll take out any vegetables you want and put them in the pot for you to blanch."

Qin Huai nodded: "Get some lettuce."

Mu Nan took the pot out of the space, put some lettuce in it, and put some konjac and bean curd in it. After a while, Qin Huai changed his clothes and came over. Mu Nan hurriedly served him rice and handed him chopsticks, then took another pair of chopsticks and pressed the new things down in the pot: "You eat the meat first, these need to be cooked for a while."

Qin Huai said, "Tell Jian Chu and the others about the cold wave. If you want to stock up, go to the exchange points as soon as possible. By the time the news of the cold wave comes out, it will probably be too crowded to get in."

Mu Nan quickly ran to the bed to get his phone, then sent a message to a small group of neighbors: "A cold wave is coming, change your things as soon as possible, otherwise you will be trapped in the house by the blizzard and can't go out!"

Jian Chu and the others had gone to work, so they probably didn't have time to look at their phones. Moreover, when they were working outdoors, the temperature was too low and their phones basically turned off automatically, so there was no reply for a long time.

Song Jia, who was at home next door, responded immediately: "If I wait for my brother to get off work before buying it, will it be too late?"

Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai, who nodded. Mu Nan then replied in the group chat, "It should be in time. Plan what you want to buy first and buy them when you get there."

Qin Huai said: "The water supply may be cut off. The temperature outside is getting lower and lower. No matter how well you keep the water pipes warm and cold-proof, they will probably freeze."

Mu Nan sent another message to the group: "Hurry up and save water. If the water pipes are frozen, we can only melt the snow to get water."

After typing, Mu Nan put down his phone and ran to the bathroom to get some water. There was a lot of water in his space, but he would store more if possible. Although there was no shortage of water in winter and the snow on the ground was very dirty, the snow on the roof could be melted into water. Even if it was not edible, it was still okay to boil it and wash. But there was no need to bother with the snow if there was clean groundwater to store. Mu Nan had done too much to melt snow in his previous life, so now he could do less if he could be more comfortable.

After Mu Nan put the inflatable swimming pool in the bathroom to collect water, he came back and lay on the table to watch Qin Huai eat. Qin Huai looked at him and asked, "Does it still hurt today?"

Mu Nan shook his head: "It doesn't hurt, it's all healed, I don't even need to take medicine."

Qin Huai said: "Let's rub it again today."

Mu Nan sighed: "The quilt is full of the smell of medicinal oil."

"After kneading the quilt today, just change it and take off the quilt cover to wash it."

Mu Nan said, "That's fine. While there is still water and the washing machine can still be used, let's wash the sheets and quilt covers. Will the floor heating here have problems due to the low temperature?" Although if there is a problem, even solar energy will not be able to be used, but they can burn stoves, smokeless charcoal and oil-burning heating stoves at home. The oil that his brother used during that time has not been consumed yet. Otherwise, clear out the living room on the second floor, take out the RV directly, and use the RV to burn oil for heating.

He has space and supplies, so he can survive anything as long as it's not a volcano or extremely low temperatures. But his neighbors don't seem to be able to. They don't even have a bed. Now it's quite comfortable to sleep on the floor because of the floor heating. But if there's a problem with the heating, it would be difficult to survive with just the two quilts and a few thick clothes at home.

Qin Huai said: "I don't know how low the temperature will be. If it exceeds the limit of human habitation, I'm afraid there will be no other way except to burn a fire to keep warm."

The low temperature limit for human habitation is minus 70 degrees Celsius, but this so-called limit is also under the condition that the government can normally supply heating, and they can even get some assistance from other regions, as well as the accumulated experience of their ancestors in avoiding the cold. If the temperature drops to this low, they will probably have to find a way to make an igloo and live underground.

Thinking of that level of cold and heat, Qin Huai said, "Perhaps the way out for people in the future will really be like those science fiction movies, and they will have to build an underground city."

Mu Nan said, "So the movie is not all made up, right? Maybe it is really a way out for mankind, space immigration, Noah's Ark, underground city, hey, I don't know which way out will be in the future. Brother, do you think our place will become an ocean like in that movie? If so, we don't even know where to get the boat tickets. I don't know if it is really like in the movie that only the world's top rich people can survive. Do you remember that many famous and unknown rich people at home and abroad suddenly donated large sums of money to the domestic aviation industry? Brother, do you think those are actually boat tickets?"

Qin Huai shook his head: "Who knows? Let's just live our present lives well. There's no need to think so far ahead about the future."

After dinner, Qin Huai cleaned the upstairs and downstairs. He just had to set the robot to sweep and mop the floor, so he didn't have to do it himself. He flipped through Mu Nan's planting record book, which recorded the daily watering time and amount, and also drew a growth chart of peppers and tomatoes every once in a while. From a little bit of tender sprouts to a green field now, it can be seen that Mu Nan took very careful care of the plants, and the temperature and amount of water were strictly in accordance with the standards in the guide.

Mu Nan came close to Qin Huai and said, "I looked at the guides I checked before. I don't need to worry about the peppers, but I need to support the tomatoes and pollinate them manually, so I need to process the wood again and make it into strips."

Qin Huai looked at the potato drawing on his second notebook and asked, "Are you planning to plant potatoes on the second floor?"

Mu Nan said: "That's the plan, but there seem to be no potatoes for sale outside. When I went to buy potato seeds before, the seller didn't have any. They said I could just slice the potatoes, sprout them and plant them. No seeds were needed at all. So I thought I would buy seeds when there were potatoes for sale outside." Although he had potatoes in his space, they were not for sale outside. He couldn't tell where they came from, so he just decided to wait.

Qin Huai said, "Let's go to the second floor first. I'll set up the shelf for you. We have time now anyway, so we can do it slowly. As for what to plant, we'll see when the time comes."

Qin Huai was better in hands-on ability. In half an afternoon, he had built half of the wooden shelf on the second floor. The main purpose of building the wooden shelf was to keep it a little further away from the ground, otherwise the floor heating would cook the seeds in the soil. When it was almost dark, Jian Chu and the others came back and asked them to borrow a tricycle.

Qin Huai went downstairs to open the garage door for them. Seeing that Yu Zibai, Wu Zheng and the other three were planning to go together, he asked, "Will Xu Ming not go with you?"

Yu Zibai said, "He hasn't gotten off work yet. Recently, many people have broken bones, fractured limbs, or even limbs due to slippery floors. Sometimes he doesn't get home until the early morning."

Qin Huai said: "I also sent him the news about the cold wave, I wonder if he saw it."

Jian Chu stamped her feet coldly: "I guess I won't have time to go back after seeing it. Have you bought everything? Don't you want to go together?"

Qin Huai: "No, we have already bought it. You can go ahead and leave the tricycle at your house. If Xu Ming wants to buy it, he won't have to come to our house to get it."

Jian Chu nodded, and the few of them did not delay any further. It was already dark, and any further delay would make it even later. Although the four of them were not afraid of being robbed, they were afraid of animals running around, which would be dangerous. They were even afraid of provoking animals, so they kept Niu Niu at home and did not take her out.

Mu Nan watched them leave from the balcony on the second floor. When Qin Huai came up, he looked at him with shining eyes: "Brother, our only neighbor left is a dog that can't talk."

Qin Huai: "So?"

Mu Nan: "Let's eat hot pot!"

Qin Huai laughed: "Then eat. I don't know if they will stop working in the next few days. If they don't, you can eat whenever you want."

Mu Nan hurriedly skipped up to the third floor with a happy step. When he thought about eating hot pot, his waist pain and muscle sprains were gone, and his whole body felt relaxed.

The hotpot was the kind that was ready-made. It had been cooked before and put into the space, but there wasn't much food in it. Mu Nan prepared it this way so that he could eat a few bites in the future when he was really hungry. Now that he had time, he could eat slowly, so he took out various dishes from the space one by one. It would be fun to eat while cooking.

After such a long time, Mu Nan finally had hotpot and immediately felt that her life was perfect: "It's snowing outside, I'm cooking hotpot at home, I don't have to go to work, and I can sleep in. This life is worth it!"

Qin Huai laughed: "Who was it that wore the protective suit that couldn't be taken off, and left almost crying and saying that the world was not worth it."

Mu Nan sighed softly: "It's different now." Then he picked up a piece of freshly boiled beef and put it on the Qinhuai sauce plate: "Eat quickly, eat more meat and store some fat for the winter!"

Qin Huai smiled and picked up the fat and put it into his mouth. Seeing Mu Nan licking his lips and fishing for his favorite food in the pot, there was tenderness in his eyes. No matter what the world is like, it is still worth it.