Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Find a Place to Live
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"Oh! It's easy to lie but hard to cover up the lie. I can't imagine how much they will cry if they can't see their parents. Can the two teachers handle it?"
In the green grove shrouded in the darkness of night, four people squatted at the foot of a tree with backpacks on their backs, looking at the ruins with flickering lights in the distance through the clean and tidy but deserted road.
There was not a breath of cool wind, and the lingering heat made people feel upset.
It was almost an hour, and Zheng Yijie, sweating profusely, could no longer sit still. He stood up with a half-empty bottle of mineral water in his hand, looked at the ruins in the distance and then at the three people, asking questions from time to time.
The question fell on deaf ears. The others just stared into the distance motionlessly, and no one answered him.
Zheng Yijie didn't feel embarrassed. He tilted his head back and drank a sip of water. He walked over to Gu Mengran and squatted down. "Brother, how long are we going to wait here? Even if we are worried that they can't find the base and come back to look for us, can't we just wait in the car?"
Before Gu Mengran could say anything, the old man who was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan beside him quickly agreed, "That's right! Can't you wait while enjoying the air conditioning? Why come here and get hot?"
Everyone was dizzy from the heat. Gu Mengran wiped his sweat and sighed helplessly, "Who doesn't want to use air conditioning? But Xinjing is a government base. What if there are people patrolling on the ground? I'm too lazy to explain if I run into them."
"That seems to make sense." Zheng Yijie slumped down on the ground, adjusted his black-framed glasses, and said worriedly, "I don't know if the base is easy to find. Two girls carrying large and small bags, and a group of children..."
"Don't worry, the Xinjing base is not a large compound. You have to find one of the entrances. The subway station, underground shopping mall, and air-raid shelter are all taken over by the military. They are not difficult to find. Those lights are guides. Maybe we have arrived already."
Gu Mengran puffed out his cheeks and exhaled a breath of hot air, then explained slowly.
The palm-leaf fan stopped shaking. The old man raised his eyebrows and looked at Gu Mengran in surprise. "You haven't been to Xinjing since the disaster, so how do you know so much?"
Gu Mengran was stunned by his grandfather's look, and realized that he had said too much. Before he could figure out how to explain, Zheng Yijie slapped his thigh and said confidently: "That must be Liang Zhao's prediction--"
“Cough cough cough!”
A rapid cough interrupted Zheng Yiji's words. Liang Zhao lowered his head and covered his chest, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Seeing this, Gu Mengran hurriedly came to Liang Zhao's side, patted his back with his hand, and asked softly: "What's wrong? Are you dizzy? Oh, then let's go quickly, don't get heatstroke."
Liang Zhao said nothing. Gu Mengran finished his big show alone, then turned around and called to his grandfather and Zheng Yijie, "Let's go. No more waiting. If everything goes well, they have already arrived. We should continue on our way."
The first half of the sentence was very pleasant to hear, and I could finally leave, but the second half...
Zheng Yi quickly got up, patted his butt and walked to Gu Mengran's side. "What time is it? Are you still in a hurry? Shouldn't you find a place to rest?"
"Let's go first. You can rest however you want after leaving Xinjing."
Gu Mengran shrugged his heavy backpack and walked forward with big strides.
The fog cleared, the kids were sent to the base, and they could pack up and return to the Wind Wing. However, it was not wise to take out the Wind Wing under the military's nose. If they wanted to rest, they had to leave Xinjing first.
So the bus left sadly, and when it was late at night, the business car reappeared.
The four people ate and slept in the car, taking turns driving, from the quiet late night to the scorching noon, and then to the sunset, when the afterglow of the sunset dyed half the sky red.
As the car entered the country road, it became increasingly bumpy, and Gu Mengran, who was dozing off in the back seat, was abruptly woken up by the shaking.
Yawning, Gu Mengran raised his hand to check the time, then looked at the red sky outside through the glass covered with the car's solar film.
The weather was hot and it got dark late. The sun just set at 7:30.
It would take some time before nightfall. Gu Mengran rubbed his empty belly, took out four soft jam-filled breads from the space, and gave one to each of them.
Zheng Yijie hadn't eaten bread for a while because it was not easy to store. He tore open the package and hurriedly stuffed it into his mouth. While eating, he sighed: "It's great to have a space. I can eat whenever I want, and most importantly, it won't go bad."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to associate something with what he said, frowned, and looked at Gu Mengran in confusion, "You already had space before the disaster, but apart from bread, instant noodles, and the meat and vegetables you had before, didn't you stock up on other cooked food?"
He could understand that it was not convenient to take it out because there were outsiders around, but now that everyone is gone and there are only a few of their own people left, why are they still eating bread, eight-treasure porridge, and instant noodles every day?
Gu Mengran swallowed the bread with water and asked him, "For example?"
Zheng Yijie pondered for two seconds and said seriously, "If it were me, I would definitely stay at home and order some takeout! Hot pot, braised chicken, fried chicken, spicy stew, milk tea... Order everything you like and eat it slowly in the space."
How could this be possible? Gu Mengran had completely forgotten about the takeaway.
The bread in his hand suddenly lost its fragrance. Gu Mengran stared at Zheng Yijie blankly and sighed sincerely, "I wish I had met you earlier."
"Right, I'm an expert when it comes to eating. If you knew me before the disaster, I guarantee that each of you would have gained ten pounds!" Zheng Yiji patted his chest and said shamelessly.
Zheng Yijie took a bite of bread, raised his elbow and nudged Gu Mengran, then said, "Tell me what you guys have stockpiled. We've come all the way here together, there's no need to hide it, right?"
There was really no need to hide, but there were too many. Gu Mengran didn't know where to start, so he just said it in a very general way: "Rice, flour, oil, grain, tea, salt, sauce, vinegar, pots and pans, vegetables and fruits, chicken, duck, fish, meat, etc."
Gu Mengran's recognition just now gave Zheng Yijie confidence. He immediately shook his head after listening, holding his chin and analyzing seriously: "No, the idea of hoarding supplies is wrong."
"If you have a permanent place to live, then there's nothing wrong with hoarding these supplies. But you know, it's extremely hot and rainy, we must be homeless and wandering around. Where can we get food at this time? Cooking outside every day? In such hot weather, I'm afraid I will cook faster than meat."
Gu Mengran swallowed the bread in his mouth and nodded in agreement, "That makes sense. So what do you think we should do now?"
"Let me think about it."
He didn't even eat the bread. An inexplicable sense of responsibility fell on his shoulders. Zheng Yijie thought for a few seconds and said thoughtfully, "Let's find a safe place to live first and convert the raw food in the space into cooked food. Otherwise, when the land is gone, there will be no place to cook."
"This is a good idea. Let's do it and find a place to stay first." Gu Mengran lowered his head to eat bread. At an angle where Zheng Yiji couldn't see, the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than AK.
"But where should we go?" Zheng Yiji looked out the window blankly, watching the gradually darkening sky and the increasingly remote mountain paths, and finally realized that something was wrong.
"No, where are we going? Why are we getting further and further away?"
The old man sitting in the passenger seat chuckled and responded casually: "I'll listen to you and find a place to live."
The bumpy mountain path is lined with dead weeds and trees. There are few ruins within a few miles. There is only a winding flood control dam lying across the mountains, and the sound of flowing water can be faintly heard.
Zheng Yijie was stunned. He frowned and asked, "Where can we stay in this wilderness? We will reach the river if we walk any further. There are no buildings around. We will be sunburned to death if the sun comes out!"
"We're going to the river." Gu Mengran kindly gave a hint.
Zheng Yijie is a smart man and understands things quickly.
When he heard the words "riverside", his eyes lit up instantly, and he chased after Gu Mengran and asked, "I understand! So you really have a boat, what kind of boat? At least it's a yacht, right?"
Gu Mengran curled his lips and said, "I can't afford that kind of luxury."
"That……"
"It's just a small boat." Liang Zhao, who was holding the steering wheel, also felt like teasing others and suddenly interjected.
Zheng Yijie drooped at a speed visible to the naked eye. No one knew what was going on in his mind. He leaned back against the seat and sighed, muttering softly, "It's a problem whether there is enough space for four people in a small boat, let alone cooking."
Half an hour later, the bus crossed the wilderness and stopped on the flood control dam.
The four of them ate some snacks in the car to fill their stomachs, then curled up in their seats and took a nap until the alarm rang.
“Drip, drip, drip—”
A clear and rapid bell rang, and a rustling sound immediately came from the extremely quiet carriage.
The joy of returning home overcame sleepiness. Gu Mengran opened his eyes drowsily, turned off the watch alarm that was disturbing his sleep, adjusted his seat, and turned to look out the window.
As night falls, there is no moon or starlight. It feels like being in an abyss. The sky and the earth are pitch black, and car headlights are the only source of light.
The fog dissipated, and the night became the best cover. Gu Mengran raised his arms and stretched, patted his grandfather and Zheng Yiji who were not fully awake yet, and then quickly put everyone's mountaineering bags into the space.
As the car door opened, a rolling heat wave hit them in the face. Amidst a chorus of complaints, four people walked out of the car one after another with empty hands.
The car was turned off and thick darkness immediately surrounded everyone.
Gu Mengran took out two high-powered flashlights and handed them to his grandfather and Liang Zhao. Then, under the gaze of everyone, he covered his hand and put the bus back into the space.
Due to the continued high temperature, the water level of the Huangjiang River dropped instead of rising. The four people used flashlights to carefully walk down the flood control dam, and then walked on the cracked soil for a long time before they successfully reached the water's edge.
The water on both sides of the river was too shallow, and the Fengyi would definitely run aground if it was left on the shore. After a moment of thought, Gu Mengran leaned over, reached into the water, and took out a diesel boat from the space.
The water surged, creating ripples, and a dark green diesel boat suddenly appeared on the river.
The boat was small and a bit dirty, and when the flashlight beam shone over it, you could vaguely see the mud swaying in the cabin.
Zheng Yijie was already prepared for the small boat. But when a small, dirty mini boat appeared before his eyes, he couldn't help but pointed at the boat swaying with the waves with a shaking hand and said in disbelief, "That's it?"
Let alone cooking on the boat, there are four people on this boat... I guess they can't even move their bodies! Zheng Yijie was disappointed, and at the same time he regretted it. These people were too unreliable! Why did he choose to join?
Gu Mengran guessed what he was thinking, and without further explanation, he turned around and waved to Zheng Yijie, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and get on board."
Is it necessary to go on this boat?
Zheng Yijie's whole body was filled with resistance, but when he thought about his supplies still in other people's hands, he could only grit his teeth and reluctantly board the diesel boat.
Everyone boarded the boat and sat down. There was a sharp buzzing sound, and the diesel boat slowly cut through the water and sailed out. In a moment, it stopped in the middle of the Huangjiang River.
What on earth is this for? The boat stopped in the middle of the water, and Zheng Yijie was completely confused. He was about to ask, but he saw Gu Mengran half leaning out of the cabin, with his right hand gently covering the water.
This action seemed a little familiar. Before Zheng Yijie could see clearly, there was a loud "boom" and the throttle of the diesel boat was turned to maximum. Like a sharp arrow, it whizzed towards the other side.
At the same time, the calm river surface seemed to be hit by a torpedo, with waves rising high and water splashing everywhere.
A local exposure poured down, and the people on the boat were undoubtedly soaked. When Zheng Yijie wiped the water from his eyes and looked back, he saw a huge object like a mountain on the empty river surface.
A boat? Can't afford one?
Zheng Yijie was petrified as if struck by lightning. He stared at the huge ship in front of him in amazement. All he could say was reduced to two words: "Fuck!"
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