Chapter 11

As Jiang Zhi spoke, she took out four volumes of the collection of known mutant organisms compiled by the base from her bag and handed them out.

It records many characteristics of mutated organisms that humans have discovered so far.

“Scavenging? What scavenging? The four of us can find jobs at the base and that’s enough to feed the four of us.” Ye Qingyun was not happy. “Your father and I are not so old that we need you to support us.”

After three years of worry and fear, Ye Qingyun now only wants his family to stay peacefully at the base.

Jiang Zhi said helplessly, "Mom, we can't rely on our salaries alone these days. We can't scrimp and save every day. Our salaries are barely enough to get by. What if someone gets a headache or fever?"

What Jiangzhi didn't say was that she had a premonition that summer wouldn't last.

For three whole years after the cataclysm, they lived in a warm climate. The only sudden change in climate occurred six months ago when the temperature suddenly plummeted to zero degrees Celsius.

It is said that many people froze to death that time.

Although this situation did not recur, Jiang Zhi intuitively felt that winter would come soon.

No one can predict what winter will be like after the disaster.

The only thing they could do was stock up on food in advance.

And it's lots and lots of food.

Although Ye Qingyun knew his daughter was telling the truth, he still didn't want his brother and sister to go out and take risks.

Jiang Shu chimed in, "That's right, Mom. Azhi and I are adults now. Are we going to stay at the base forever? Your son still needs to get married in the future. If we don't save up some money for a wife, who will want to marry me?"

Ye Qingyun tried to hold back, but couldn't help laughing.

"Aren't you ashamed? With your looks, what girl would want you? I'll have your dad give you a haircut later."

Although they made sarcastic remarks, they ultimately did not continue to object to the brother and sister going out to scavenge.

Jiang Shu scratched his shoulder-length hair and chuckled.

Jiang Shan watched his sensible children from the side, feeling happy but also a little lost.

He has always been the pillar of this family, and a key player even in the field. Now that things have suddenly settled down, he has no direction for the future and is inevitably feeling a bit lost.

Seeing this, Ye Qingyun walked over and took his arm, "What are you thinking about, our family's pillar of strength?"

They've been married for a long time, so Jiang Shan naturally knew his wife was trying to comfort him.

He smiled and said, "I'll go with them tomorrow."

No sooner had Jiang Shan finished speaking than his son wailed, "No, Dad! If you come with us, who will look after the house!"

Ye Qingyun glared at him, "You brat, do you think we don't know what you're up to? You're just afraid your dad will keep you in check."

Jiang Shu grinned and said, "No, I just thought my dad had worked too hard these past few years and wanted to give him a good rest."

Jiang Zhi also said, "Dad, you should stay home and look after the house tomorrow. My brother and I will only go to the collection area that has been cleared at the base. We won't go to any dangerous places."

When Jiang Zhi said this, the couple knew that their youngest daughter had made up her mind. Jiang Shan smiled and said, "Since you say so, then I'll stay at home with peace of mind."

"I inquired about it today. The base is still being expanded. I used to work in this industry, so maybe they need the design drawings. I'll ask them about it tomorrow."

Actually, you can't really relax even when you're at home.

He also had to design his family's house.

Currently, their tents occupy half of the land; aside from everything else, the foundation needs to be laid first.

The family discussed what they needed to do the next day, and soon it got dark.

After dinner, Ye Qingyun pulled out a handful of candy and a few packets of biscuits from the trailer that had been propped up, and said to Jiang Zhi and her brother, "By the way, you two siblings, come with me to visit our neighbors."

If nothing unexpected happens, they will continue to live here. They need to maintain good relations with their neighbors. There are only four of them, and they are currently living in a tent with very little protection.

Putting everything else aside, it's still very necessary for neighbors to help each other out in order to prevent people from breaking into your home during the day.

The three of them stepped out of the tent, intending to visit each household one by one.

In self-built housing areas, almost every household has erected wooden fences or barriers around their houses to prevent others from coveting them.

Ye Qingyun knocked on the door of the nearest house.

After a moment, a wary voice rang out from inside the house: "Who!?"

The brother and sister exchanged a glance.

I didn't expect everyone to be so vigilant at the base; it seems this place isn't as safe as I thought.

Ye Qingyun said with a smile, "Hello, we just moved in next door and came to say hello."

Jiang Zhi had observed this family before.

The house is only 80 square meters, but it houses six people.

An old woman, a couple, and their two grandsons and one granddaughter.

Jiang Zhi didn't underestimate them at all, given their configuration.

The couple who were able to protect their entire family after a major disaster must be extraordinary.

Soon, a man in his thirties came out of the house.

Upon seeing the tall, young ginger tree, his body visibly tensed up.

That's why Ye Qingyun didn't bring Jiang Shan along. She smiled and said, "Don't you know how to address me, little brother?"

The man silently scrutinized them for a moment before speaking: "My surname is Zhang."

"So it's Brother Zhang. We, the Jiang family, will need your help in the future."

As Ye Qingyun spoke, he took out three candies and stuffed them into her mouth.

Just as Zhang Ji was about to refuse, Ye Qingyun had already taken the brother and sister back.

He looked down at the vacuum-packed mints, thought of his children at home, and then looked at the backs of Jiang Zhi and the others. In the end, he accepted them.

Ye Qingyun followed the same procedure and went to another place.

This family's house was about the same size as the Zhang family's, except that it was built with mud bricks.

There was only a couple in their early fifties living in the house. Their son was said to be a mutant and was now a forward in the base's exploration team.

Ye Qingyun and Ma Hongyan in the room hit it off immediately.

They chatted non-stop while standing outside the fence.

They quickly learned everything about the people around them.

"Ye Meizi, let me tell you, the young couple next door, the Zhang family, are good people, but they're stingy, and the whole family is a bunch of quiet types."

Jiang Shu chuckled to himself upon hearing this.

That's a really apt description.

"That family behind us is a grandfather and grandson, and they're incredibly fierce. Don't mess with them, especially that kid Lin Yuan. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you; he's ruthless!"

The Lin family lived nearby, separated by only two plots of land.

Ma Hongyan had plenty of gossip to share, which Jiang Shu listened to with great interest.

When it was over, Ye Qingyun still slipped a few packets of biscuits over.

Ma Hongyan readily accepted it, saying, "Wait a moment."

Then he quickly went back into the house and took out a small handful of mutated purslane. "I don't have much extra stuff at home, so you can take this."

Ye Qingyun tried to decline, but Ma Hongyan stopped him.

"Don't be so polite with me, we'll be dealing with each other a lot more often in the future."

As Ma Hongyan spoke, she turned to look at Jiang Zhi and her brother, "Look at your two children, they are obviously capable."

Jiang Shu gave a thumbs up: "Aunt Ma, you have excellent taste!"

This made Ma Hongyan laugh heartily.

The three of them walked around the neighborhood and returned to the tent, where Jiang Shan was doing handicrafts.

Jiang Shu could tell at a glance that he planned to use the spare tire from the car he had brought back to make a flatbed truck.

However, due to limited tools, the results were less than satisfactory.

The wooden board was made from several pieces of wood and assembled into a simple flat panel using mortise and tenon joints.

Jiang Zhi: "Dad, what are you doing?"

“Aren’t you going to scavenge tomorrow? We don’t have any rattan at home to weave baskets, so pushing a flatbed cart will save a lot of effort.”

Ye Qingyun said, "Alright, it's too late today, and there's no way to take a shower. You two siblings should go and rest up."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi quickly replied, "I haven't packed the things I need for tomorrow yet."

"Then hurry up, don't dawdle, or you won't get enough rest and won't have any energy tomorrow."

Seeing his mother's wrath, Jiang Shu quickly made a hasty retreat to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

After sending the two children back to his tent, Ye Qingyun put the mutated purslane into a simple storage box.

I plan to cook it with the remaining two packs of instant noodles tomorrow morning.

The mutated purslane is now as big as a whole bunch of the old kind; I wonder what it tastes like.

Suddenly, a sound came from outside the tent.

The couple stopped what they were doing, exchanged a wary glance, and then Jiang Shan quietly walked to the curtain, lifted it, and looked outside. He didn't see anyone, but he did see a bunch of mutated dandelions on the ground.

Jiang Shan brought in the dandelions.

Ye Qingyun stepped forward and looked outside. "Did you see who it was?"

“No,” Jiang Shan handed the dandelion to Ye Qingyun: “It’s probably our neighbor.”

Ye Qingyun guessed who it was.

I agree with what Ma Hongyan said; the best thing about Xiao Zhang's family is that they're like a closed container.

Jiang Shan smiled and continued with his work.

Even though it's just a simple little thing, it gives people a sense of belonging for no reason.

As night fell, a faint kerosene lamp lit up inside the tent.

Listening to the sounds of the children playing next door, the sound of the father sanding the wooden planks, and her mother's occasional nagging, Jiang Zhi felt a strange sense of happiness.

Jiang Zhi slowly flipped through the book of mutated creatures, her heart gradually calming down.

On the other side.

After Niu Dali gave his wife Liu Xu the powder given by Jiang Zhi, her shortness of breath was quickly relieved.

But the person still didn't wake up.

Niu Xiaolu, his eyes still wet with sleep, asked, "Dad, when will Mom wake up?"

The feeling of helplessness welled up in Niu Dali's heart again.

He was both bewildered and distressed, and could only keep stroking his son's head, saying, "Wait a little longer, it should be soon."

He knew in his heart that fifty grams of low-toxin food would not be enough to make Liu Xu better.

At best, it can only help delay organ failure.

He must buy enough low-toxin food within this limited time.

but……

In the past two days, he has contacted everyone he could, but without sufficient incentive, he simply couldn't find anyone willing to sell low-toxin food.

Niu Dali clenched his fist.

Over the past few years, he has hunted a lot of mutated beasts with his own strength. He finally accumulated enough points and borrowed some more to buy this land.

I thought things would gradually get better, but unexpectedly, the toxins in my wife's body suddenly flared up...

If Ah-Xu hadn't been bitten by the mutated ants, the toxins in her body wouldn't have taken effect so quickly.

Niu Dali stayed by his wife's bedside for a while. Seeing that his wife's condition was gradually stabilizing, he told his son, "Xiao Lu, I'm going out to find food to detoxify tomorrow. You stay here and watch over your mother. If anything happens, go find your grandparents."

Upon hearing this, Niu Xiaolu gripped her father's clothes tightly, "Dad, I don't want to go to Grandpa and Grandma, they won't help us!!"

Niu Dali knew that his adoptive parents wouldn't help him, but in the current situation, he was simply unable to do so.

Niu Dali gritted his teeth and made a decision: "If they are unwilling, just say that our family's land can be transferred to them!"

Upon hearing this, Niu Xiaolu looked at him with teary eyes, "Dad... Mom won't agree..."

Although Niu Xiaolu was young, he knew that his parents had gone to great lengths to buy the house.

They finally managed to separate from their grandparents and have their own home, but now they have to be given away.

Niu Xiaolu felt like crying at the thought that her home was going to be taken away by her annoying cousin's family again.

Niu Dali: "Little Lu, don't you miss your mom?"

Niu Xiaolu hurriedly shouted, "Of course I want to!"

Niu Dali stroked his son's head and said, "Xiao Lu, you must remember, no matter how important the house is, it's not as important as your mother's life."

Although he wasn't very bright, he could still distinguish between what was important and what wasn't.

Niu Xiaolu seemed to understand but didn't quite, yet he still nodded.

After instructing his son, Niu Dali began packing his things.

Just as Niu Dali was thinking about which area he could quickly find low-toxin food, Liu Xu on the bed suddenly let out a groan and then slowly opened her eyes.