◎Happy Day 36: Old Friends◎
Jiang Muyun put the film back on the luggage: "I still have some food and drinks, as well as some small odds and ends. One car can take care of them all."
Qin Shiwen and Qin Shiwu had to bring more things, after all, it was a double portion.
However, their things were all packed in boxes. Even if they couldn't be tied to the car and moved downstairs at once, they could still move everything by climbing two more flights of stairs without having to take the car another trip.
There are people coming and going in the rescue center now. When they go back to move things, they will definitely leave someone here to watch the luggage.
After discussing it, they decided to let Qin Shiwen stay here to look after the things while the other four went back to run some errands.
Qin Shiwen was very touched. Before he could express his feelings, Qin Shiwu said with emotion: "Who told you to call me brother? An elder brother is like a father. No matter how unfilial a child is, I still feel sorry for you at this moment."
Jiang Muyun, who had just called "brother" twice in the morning, was at a loss.
Qin Shiwen said gently, "What are you thinking, brother? If I leave you here alone to look after the luggage, can you beat a thief if he comes?"
Qin Shiwen: "What if you are the only one left here, dying, when we come back? That would be a huge loss."
In terms of fighting strength, Qin Shiwu is definitely at the bottom among the five people present.
Amidst the laughter and cheers, Zhao Jiahao said with a straight face, "I don't agree with that. The security environment at our shelter is still very good. It's impossible for someone to be beaten to death without anyone coming to stop it."
Qin Shiwu smiled gently: "You'd better not fall into my hands, otherwise I will let you experience the feeling of dying first."
Zhao Jiahao and Li Anxuan, who were most vulnerable to injury, fell silent in an instant.
It took the four of them a little longer to go back this time.
The main thing is that they are going back with an empty car and have to go upstairs to load the things into the car first.
Jiang Muyun's third batch of things mainly consisted of food and water that she had left out in the open, as well as the chicks at home.
A bucket of frozen water, some rice, flour, grain, oil, cured meats, cooking utensils, fuel, and a lot of paper towels were all packed in the camper.
Jiang Muyun hadn't brought the can of liquefied gas they'd snatched earlier. She still had some food in her space for extra meals, and the coal and gas stove she'd bought earlier would be enough for her own cooking.
Jiang Muyun deliberately piled the top of the camper into a flat surface and fixed the chicken cages and tents on the camper.
Jiang Muyun didn't even dare let anyone touch her tent, let alone let anyone else touch it.
Now that the cage is filled with batteries and an incubator, the weight is obviously off, and you can tell just by picking it up in your hand.
Zhao Jiahao was surprised to see the small tent on Jiang Muyun's camper van.
"Are these two kids still alive?"
Jiang Muyun replied, "It's been kept by the stove. If you don't want to eat chicken tonight, we have to move quickly today."
Zhao Jiahao agreed: "This must be done quickly. Your two cubs are worth a fortune now. If you can raise them until they lay eggs, you will become rich in no time."
Jiang Muyun's stuff could be transported in one truck, but Qin Shiwen and Qin Shiwu had two extra large boxes, which could not be tied up in the truck at all.
The four of them had to carry the two cars downstairs first, and then go back up to move the two remaining large boxes down.
By the time they returned with their luggage, the shelter was almost full.
Originally, when everyone was moving their luggage, the shelter looked crowded. Now, many people have hung up the curtains, and the remaining passage in the middle seems very narrow.
Jiang Muyun and his group drove their trailer through the designated passage, bumping into other people's barriers and luggage from time to time.
The rescue center is now bustling with people. Some are shouting for their relatives and friends, some are arguing with others because their belongings have been knocked over, and some are complaining incessantly about the poor environment and keep saying that it would be better for them to go home.
Despite all the noise, no one actually left the rescue point.
The temperature in the rescue point alone is enough for everyone to endure all the inconveniences.
After experiencing the days of being able to move freely without having to wear two or three layers of cotton-padded jackets, no one wants to go back to an environment where breathing is so cold that the nose hurts.
When Jiang Muyun returned to his resettlement site along the path, he found that the curtain had been hung in Area 09 of the next door area.
Not only are curtains hung next door, but the curtains for rooms 01 and 02 are also hung.
When Jiang Muyun pushed open the door of Room 02, he saw Qin Shiwen sitting on a small stool playing with his mobile phone boredly, while Xiaobai was standing in front of the curtain, wagging his tail with an expectant look on his face.
Feeling some movement at the door, Qin Shiwen subconsciously put his cell phone in his pocket and stood up with the crowbar in hand.
Seeing her big reaction, Jiang Muyun asked in surprise, "What happened? Did someone come to cause trouble just now?"
Qin Shiwen saw that it was Jiang Muyun and the others who had returned, so he put down the crowbar. "Several groups of people came over and said they wanted to change positions, but it was like they didn't understand what we were saying. It was better after I pulled up the curtain outside."
They both had curtain fabrics in the same color scheme, with holes punched in them and knotted in them. If you didn't look closely from the outside, you'd think they were from the same household.
According to the principle of allocating living space at relief centers, a family must have four or five people living in such a large area, so there will naturally be fewer people coming to cause trouble.
Qin Shiwen said it lightly, but judging from her reaction just now, it was clear that those people were definitely not so easy to deal with.
Zhao Jiahao and the others put down all their belongings and frowned, saying, "Didn't the rescue center forbid us from changing seats privately? What are those people thinking?"
"There are always people who think they're smarter than others." Qin Shiwen untied the ropes that tied the boxes to the cart and shrugged, "Thank goodness you guys helped us today, otherwise it would have taken the three of us eight hundred years to move this."
Zhao Jiahao waved his hand: "What's the big deal?"
Li Anxuan glanced at the time: "It's past four o'clock. Zhao Jiahao and I have to return to the team at five o'clock, so we won't stay here any longer."
Then he added: "Now is not the time to save money, you should spend it as you need to these days."
Currently, everyone’s understanding of rescue points is limited to what is written in the “Rescue Point Information”.
I know what facilities are available at the rescue center and what items require payment, but I don’t know the specific prices.
Qin Shiwen and Qin Shiwu were still a little confused as to why they suddenly talked about this.
Jiang Muyun immediately realized it and asked softly, "Points system?"
Li Anxuan nodded.
It has been almost three months since the temperature started to drop. Countless small businesses have declared bankruptcy, factories have been forced to shut down, and a large number of residents have been unemployed and at home.
Even though the government has waived water, electricity and gas charges during this period, stockpiling food, buying clothes, buying coal, rent for those who rent houses, and even some people who have mortgages and car loans are all inevitable expenses.
In the past three months, I have been living in a state of no expenditure, and with the skyrocketing prices during this period, even with unemployment insurance, I can't survive and can only use up my savings.
People like Qin Shiwen who have a wealthy family, and people like Zhao Jiahao who are paid by the government, may not feel it deeply.
But for most ordinary working-class families, their savings are almost unable to sustain them.
Seeing that the temperature will not rise in the foreseeable future, the authorities have to ensure that everyone can survive and try to put an end to speculation and price gouging, so they have no choice but to cut off the source of the problem.
Basically, everything you can buy with money is limited, and things like drinking water and daily necessities are permanently limited.
If you want more, you can only spend points.
Apart from the officially designated group of people receiving subsidies, those who want to earn points can only do so through working, handing in designated materials for exchange, or contributing to relief points, such as catching lawbreakers.
The cost-effectiveness of handing in supplies is not high, and making contributions is even more illusory. The more reliable way is to work and exchange points.
However, the jobs provided to non-professionals in the relief centers are all temporary positions with daily wages, and they are highly sought after every day.
For families with poor financial conditions, points are a lifeline.
For families with a certain amount of savings, they may not be willing to work hard to earn points in the early stages.
But as everyone's savings become less and less, points will sooner or later replace currency in relief points.
If the authorities raise prices again at this time, the value of the currency will fall further.
People who already have savings will naturally prefer shopping with points because they consider that the cost-effectiveness of spending money on shopping is too low.
In the short term, the gap between the rich and the poor in the relief centers will be narrowed, and people will be able to keep some savings. After the extreme cold, China's economy will not collapse completely, and at least some small seedlings will remain.
As for the wealthy class who have no shortage of money, they are not within the scope of consideration.
They might be living in a luxurious refugee apartment converted from a Cold War missile silo.
Jiang Muyun had some savings in his previous life and had received official subsidies once, so he had no problem getting enough to eat at the relief center. He even had time to lament the passing of time and never thought about why the government introduced the points system.
Now that Jiang Muyun has come out of his emotions and has the advantage of being a prophet, it is easy to guess these things once Li Anxuan mentions them.
While the points system has just been introduced and official prices are still normal, spend money when you need to and save the points you have for later use.
Once the official price increase begins, it will be too late to spend money.
Seeing that everyone except Jiang Muyun, including Zhao Jiahao, looked confused, Li Anxuan briefly explained the key points.
He was able to think of this because he had seen the price list and the army had already started to use points to issue subsidies.
As for why Jiang Muyun understood it so quickly, Li Anxuan didn't think too much about it. He simply thought that she was smart.
After all, if the temperature hadn't dropped, Jiang Muyun would be studying at Xi'an University right now.
Zhao Jiahao was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said quietly, "How come I don't know anything about it?"
Li Anxuan didn't want to pay attention to him: "You should take a break. Xiaobai is smarter than you."
Xiaobai came over proudly, but before he could say anything, he heard a "Miao" outside. The timing was just right for him to respond.
A group of people turned around and saw that the plastic door was pushed open and a head like a small coal ball popped out from under the curtain.
They were deliberately lowering their voices when they were talking about business just now, and it was impossible to hear them clearly in such a noisy environment at the rescue center.
Now that they had finished their business, they spoke a little louder, which unexpectedly attracted another little coal ball.
Jiang Muyun looked at the cat and then at Xiaobai. The two little coal balls blinked their big eyes like glass beads and looked at each other innocently.
Jiang Muyun lifted the curtain and Little Coal Ball came straight in.
Jiang Muyun exclaimed: "These are twins, a boy and a girl!"
The little coal ball that came in from outside tilted its head and meowed at Xiaobai, which attracted Xiaobai to come closer to it with a curious look on his face and try to poke it with his claws.
As soon as Xiaobai raised his paw, the little coal-ball-like head suddenly retracted, and then disappeared without looking back.
Jiang Muyun pulled Xiaobai back and said, "Don't look at me anymore. You two don't have the same parents. If you like, I'll take you to become their godparents."
With the little coal ball interrupting, Zhao Jiahao immediately took the opportunity to change the subject: "I didn't expect that at this time, there are still many people keeping pets."
Qin Shiwu added to his good brother's words, "It's not to the point of starvation yet, so we can still afford to feed them. But with this temperature, even if we can afford to feed them, not many pets can survive."
Speaking of this, Qin Shiwu asked curiously, "Yunyun, are your two chicks still alive? They won't get up and crow in the middle of the night, will they?"
"They should still be alive?" Jiang Muyun turned around and pulled the door of the tent where the chicks lived. Using his body as a cover, he quickly put the battery and incubator into the space.
After clearing away the things that shouldn't be there, Jiang Muyun straightened up. "They're doing well, but they're not very energetic. I've checked before, and roosters usually take three or four months to grow before crowing. The temperature is low now, and they grow slowly anyway. By the time they grow up and start crowing, winter will probably be over."
It may really be due to the low temperature and lack of light. These two cubs are two months old and still look like half-grown chicks.
If Jiang Muyun had not repeatedly confirmed the photos of immature chicks on the Internet, he would have thought that his two chicks had mutated prematurely.
Although mutant chickens can lay eggs, the taste is simply disastrous, and the fishy smell is doubled.
In her previous life, she cooked mutant eggs and ate them, and the smell of chicken shit could be smelled from ten meters away.
If these two cats at home really mutated, Jiang Muyun would definitely release them immediately.
After finishing the discussion, Li Anxuan carried Zhao Jiahao and said goodbye to the others: "We are in a hurry to return to the team, so we will leave first. Take care of yourselves."
After saying goodbye, they were busy cleaning up their own nests. They wanted to have a warm sleep in the shelter tonight.
Jiang Muyun set up the tent first.
This tent was a raised single-person tent that she bought specially. The inner tent had specifications of 2*1*1.8, and when spread out, it took up most of the space in the resettlement site.
Jiang Muyun laid out the egg trough mat, tinfoil floor mat, air cushion, thermal blanket, quilt, and coverlet in order, and then moved the drinking water from the camper into the camper.
In fact, considering the future situation, if you only look at the warmth and cold-proof effect, buying a sleeping bag would be a better choice.
But the sleeping bag has a fatal flaw for Jiang Muyun - it is inconvenient to move.
When she sleeps in her sleeping bag at night, she can't immediately stretch out her hands if she encounters danger.
Sleeping in a sleeping bag in the apocalypse is no different from committing suicide in Jiang Muyun's eyes.
She would rather lay the mats layer by layer.
All the electronic products in the suitcase are placed in the tent, and pajamas and home clothes are placed on the bed.
The empty suitcase can be used to pack daily necessities such as clothes and tissues.
A tent for two little chicks is fixed on top of the suitcase, with a mat placed next to it so Xiaobai can live there.
The camper van is used to store some commonly used daily necessities, and then you can put the tabletop of an omelet table on it and use it as a table, which saves a lot of space.
After cleaning up the little nest, Jiang Muyun looked around and saw that only the small space at the door of the tent was left.
If we use a coal stove instead of a gas stove, the little space at the door will be occupied.
It would be more accurate to call this a refuge point rather than a rescue point.
Compared with people’s own homes, the environment here is indeed extremely simple, but it is better than freezing to death when the fire in the house goes out in the middle of the night.
This is also the reason why so many people outside are complaining, but few are willing to leave here.
Jiang Muyun had finished cleaning up her place, and the next door was almost done too. Qin Shiwen came to ask her if she wanted to take a walk around the rescue center together.
There is not much difference between having a door at the rescue point and not having one. They must leave someone here to watch over things.
Since Qin Shiwu is not at work today, the three of them can take turns to visit the relief center together.
Later, Qin Shiwu started his shift at the medical department, so Jiang Muyun and Qin Shiwen had to go out at different times.
Jiang Muyun thought for a moment and said, "You and Brother Wu go first. I'll have a meal. When there are fewer people outside, I'll go out and take a look."
She was quite familiar with the situation at the rescue point, so she would go out and check the map and see if there were any differences in details such as prices with the rescue point in Xishi.
As for Xiaobai, it is definitely not convenient to take it out into the city now, so it can only stay here for the time being.
Fortunately, Jiang Muyun, the bad sister, rarely takes Xiaobai out for a walk, and Xiaobai has gotten used to staying at home. At present, he doesn't seem to be too resistant to this small space.
It was dinner time, and the ventilation in the rescue center was good, but there were too many people cooking. Jiang Muyun could even smell the faint aroma of rice in his own resettlement center.
For Jiang Muyun, who had no worries about food and drink during this period, this smell was the fragrance of rice.
For most people in the relief center, this staple food is just something to fill their stomachs.
Those who can afford it can cut two pieces of bacon or sausage, which can be considered a dish.
No matter how greasy it is, it is better than eating the staple food dry.
Some people are lucky enough to have a lot of pickled vegetables and sauces left at home. When they can't resist the cravings, they take them out and exchange them with others to change the taste.
On the first day of his arrival, Jiang Muyun didn't want to eat pickles, nor did he plan to cook and make a big noise.
After she added food and water to the three cubs, she took out a steamed rice ball she had bought earlier from the space, intending to make do with it for a meal.
This rice ball is made with crispy fried dough sticks and salted duck eggs. Jiang Muyun put it into the space as soon as it was made. It is still steaming hot when it is taken out, and the crispy fried dough sticks are kept at just the right crispness.
The soft but distinct glutinous rice is wrapped with crispy fried dough sticks, with the salty and fragrant duck egg yolk in the middle. It is convenient, fast and delicious.
However, as Jiang Muyun ate, he felt that the rice ball in his mouth was no longer fragrant.
The neighbor next door at No. 09 is cooking.
Put ginger and garlic into the pot and stir-fry, then pour in the ingredients and pour light soy sauce from the side of the pot.
Although his cooking skills were not very good, Jiang Muyun, who had watched many cooking tutorials, could imagine which step the other person was taking by listening to the voice next door.
Jiang Muyun smelled the faint aroma of food wafting from next door, and she felt numb.
If it's bacon, then there's nothing strange about it.
Because it is easier to preserve, when people eat stored food, they will choose to eat fresh meat with a shorter shelf life first.
Therefore, the meat that everyone has kept until now and brought into the relief center is basically bacon.
But the food next door obviously doesn’t smell like bacon.
Not only is the meat fresh and varied, but there also seems to be vegetables next door.
Today is the first day that the rescue center is open, and many people choose to eat the frozen food at home.
Compared to the faint aroma of sweet and sour fish wafting through the air, the person next door wasn't that out of the ordinary.
But Jiang Muyun couldn't help but listen to the cooking next door the whole time!
Jiang Muyun took a bite of the steamed rice ball. It was obviously delicious, with a flavor that could not be achieved by steaming glutinous rice herself. But why did she inexplicably feel that... she had eaten very simply.
"bite--"
The bell hanging on Jiang Muyun's door rang softly.
Jiang Muyun and Xiaobai looked towards the door at the same time, and their eyes met with the little coal ball under the curtain.
"Meow." Little Coal Ball greeted Jiang Muyun politely, then ducked under the curtain.
Xiaobai excitedly circled around the little coal ball, sniffing it from time to time, and even offered his own food bowl to it.
Little Coal Ball stretched out his paw and pushed Little Bai, and soon the two little guys started eating head to head.
Jiang Muyun was helpless with these two outgoing cubs.
"I also said I would take you to find a godparent." Seeing that the two cubs had a good appetite, Jiang Muyun simply gave them half a piece of shredded Baiji steamed bun.
Jiang Muyun saw that Little Coal Ball's ears were twitching, and he couldn't help but stroke them. "I don't know whose family raised you. You ran away like this, wouldn't your family be worried sick?"
Little Coal Ball looked up at Jiang Muyun, then looked at Xiaobai beside him, and finally did not refuse to sell himself in exchange for food.
Jiang Muyun was still trying to figure out how to find the owner of the little coal ball when he heard a young man's voice outside: "Dabai? Dabai? Come back for dinner."
Xiaobai and Xiaomeiqiu turned their heads at the same time, and Xiaomeiqiu even meowed a few times towards the outside.
The voice outside paused for a few seconds, and then the man said hesitantly, "Hello, is anyone there?"
The moment the sound came, the half-eaten rice ball in Jiang Muyun's hand disappeared, and was replaced by half a Baiji steamed bun.
Jiang Muyun placed the half piece of Baiji steamed bun on the table, stood up with the crowbar, and stood at arm's length from the door and said, "What's going on?"
The young man outside seemed a little embarrassed: "Sorry, I live next door at No. 09, District 7. I want to ask, have you seen a little black cat?"
Jiang Muyun looked at the two palm-sized coal balls, then thought about what the man had just said, and it became clear?
Jiang Muyun thought that his Xiaobai was perfunctory enough, but he didn't expect there would be something even more outrageous.
Jiang Muyun put the crowbar aside, reached out to pick up the small coal ball, and opened the door on his side.
"Is that what you're talking about?"
Little Coal Ball nestled obediently in Jiang Muyun's arms and licked his paws.
The man outside looked fair and clean, with curved eyes and eyebrows, and looked like a fat sheep who was living a good life.
Seeing Jiang Muyun lift the curtain, the man was stunned for a long while, and suddenly smiled with two small canine teeth: "I'm so sorry, my Dabai has a lively personality, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Dabai rolled his eyes at the man, jumped lightly from Jiang Muyun's arms, and continued eating with Xiaobai.
The man felt a little embarrassed when he saw this, and even called out to Dabai several times, but he ignored him.
The man looked at Jiang Muyun and saw that she had no intention of speaking. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and reached out to take something.
When he came back, the man handed the disposable lunch box to Jiang Muyun: "I'm so sorry. My Dabai is a little willful. I just made this and haven't touched it yet. Just consider it an apology to you."
The disposable lunch box the man handed over contained a small portion of a simple version of Kung Pao Chicken.
The side dishes, besides diced chicken, were the usual frozen mixed vegetables of peas, carrots and corn.
Jiang Muyun didn't answer, but stared at the man for a moment before responding, "You're too polite."
The man seemed to be stunned for a moment before he replied, "I just happened to have a few frozen vegetables left at home. I have no choice but to cook them all tonight."
Jiang Muyun couldn't help laughing.
The other party is acting like a naive person and still refuses to give up.
Jiang Muyun's mind was full of thoughts, but he smiled and said, "Dabai is very cute, I like him too, you are being too polite."
The man hesitated and said tentatively, "Then consider it a welcome gift for the new neighbor. I made a lot today, and I can't finish it all by myself. If I leave it out tomorrow, it won't be edible. Just consider it a favor."
Seeing that he insisted, Jiang Muyun seemed a little helpless. He could only smile and take the disposable lunch box from his hand, then turned around and took out a bag of soda crackers from the camper and handed it to him.
"Then let's just make friends. What's your name?"
The man took the biscuit with some disbelief: "My name is... Chu Buwen."
Jiang Muyun extended his right hand, and the edges of their palms touched together. Jiang Muyun said with a normal expression, "Jiang Muyun. Long time no see."
Chu Buwen retracted his hand as if he had been electrocuted.
He didn't expect Jiang Muyun to overturn the stall so easily.
Although it was an accident that Jiang Muyun lived next door, Chu Buwen had already decided to pretend not to know her after meeting her.
At this point in time, it is impossible for Chu Buwen not to recognize Jiang Muyun, and vice versa, it is impossible for Jiang Muyun not to recognize him.
If Jiang Muyun didn't want to expose herself, or if she really didn't come back, she could have just exposed the matter directly.
Then, when Chu Buwen explained the matter of "not knowing each other when meeting", he would naturally reveal his identity as a reborn person.
This was the most likely scenario Chu Buwen imagined would happen when they met.
In the countless reunion scenes that Chu Buwen had imagined, none of them were like this.
After the door in front of him closed, Chu Buwen stood there for a while, feeling a little helpless. He didn't even remember to call Dabai, and returned to the house in a daze.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
