◎Happy 84th day: A little yellow fur ball joins the group chat◎
Xiaobai came back only after Jiang Muyun installed the air conditioner.
Jiang Muyun had just fixed the air conditioner outdoor unit when she heard Qin Shiwen calling her outside the door.
Jiang Muyun raised his hand and put the entire floating house along with a bunch of clanging tools back into the space.
Jiang Muyun walked out of the house and saw that the man and the dog outside were covered in dust, but it was obviously from rummaging through things, and there was no sign of being rained on.
Jiang Muyun, whose body had many small scratches that had just scabbed over, was stunned by the cruel reality before him.
Qin Shiwen touched Jiang Muyun's head lovingly: "How pitiful."
They were moving things in a furniture store in Yi City when the heavy rain started. When they saw that the situation outside was not right, they immediately retreated to a place without wind and took shelter.
Except for a conflict with another group of people who came to look for wood, the whole process was peaceful and harmonious.
The only thing that made Qin Shiwen feel a little embarrassed was that they built a bonfire, but found that there was no food to roast.
"It would be great if we could combine the two sides so we can grill the fish." Qin Shiwen said regretfully.
Jiang Muyun hugged Xiaobai, who had thrown himself at her, and rubbed him twice, then said to Qin Shiwen, "Look at all the injuries I'm wearing. Could you smile a little more subtly?"
Qin Shiwen agreed sympathetically.
So every time she couldn't help laughing, she would lower her head to look at Xiaobai.
Jiang Muyun always felt that the scene of Qin Shiwen calling Xiaobai "Yunyun" was a bit weird, which made her feel subtly implied.
"When we were hiding from the rain, we thought, since we have nothing to do anyway, we might as well deal with all the wood. When the rain stops, we can bring it back in a truck and load more to make up for the time we lost today." Qin Shiwen said to Jiang Muyun.
If it weren't for the storm at noon, they would usually have to run back and forth two or three times to the city to find wood, but today it was obviously too late.
Jiang Muyun and the others did not go out again after they came back because the water was already full and they had caught several fish. They were afraid that there would be another storm on the way and they would not be able to find a place to hide.
Jiang Muyun shrugged: "There's no rush for a day or two. This will be our daily activity until the sun comes out."
The fuel they had was already counting down. If there was sunshine now, they could still chop down some trees on the mountain to sustain their daily needs, but the tide was so high that if they wanted dry firewood they could only look for dry firewood in the buildings that had not collapsed.
"We're worried about supplies. When we have the conditions to search for things, we must dig up as much as we can." Qin Shiwen said, "Any wasteful behavior is shameful, including wasting time. We can't just hide from the rain."
Jiang Muyun was not affected and quickly responded, "That's definitely not possible. We found some castor seeds while we were hiding from the storm today. We'll bring them back to Professor Chen to see if he's dead or alive."
"You're quite good at digging," Qin Shiwen exclaimed. "I'm planning to go see Tang An in a few days. Do you want to go alone or come with me?"
"Then I'll go with you. Let's go on a spring outing hand in hand." Jiang Muyun responded, and recalled that most of the things they were planting now were indeed dug up by her.
Of course, there are also those who sneaked out from space.
But Jiang Muyun had no shame: "It's mainly because I'm brave, careful, and lucky. Otherwise, how could I have dug out the seeds from so many corners? Thinking about the difficulty, I want to give myself an award."
Qin Shiwen pushed her out and said, "Okay, I'll give you an award. Let's go have dinner first."
They agreed to cook the fish they caught together tonight.
Jiang Muyun glanced at the time.
The rain stopped around two or three in the afternoon. After she came back, she took a shower and installed the air conditioner, which took a lot of time. Jiang Muyun had been concentrating on her work and didn't notice that it was already time for dinner.
"Then wait for a while, I'll bring some goodies for the dinner." Jiang Muyun left Xiaobai outside and turned into the cave. He rummaged through the cabinet in the corner for a while and took out a bag of compound spices.
The money Jiang Muyun spent on buying spices was a huge sum of money for her at the time. In addition to storing the spices as luxury goods, she also wanted to make her tongue feel better.
Is there anyone who can eat food without any spices and without onions, ginger and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell?
Whoever can eat can eat. Jiang Muyun felt that he couldn't, at least not until he was on the verge of starvation.
She would rather eat boiled mushrooms.
Insect powder paste can also be used.
But if there is a chef who knows how to cook fish and adds enough seasoning, it will be a different story.
Chu Buwen, who also experienced the end of the world, has the same tacit understanding with Jiang Muyun regarding spices.
Even because Chu Buwen could cook, the things he prepared were more complete than Jiang Muyun's.
However, due to limited conditions, the amount of things Chu Buwen brought here was not much, and many materials had to be pieced together by everyone.
Jiang Muyun had this bag of compound spices for use when she stewed meat. There were over eighty kinds of spices in it, and she couldn't name more than half of them.
After giving the spices to Chu Buwen, Chu Buwen carefully studied the ingredient list, then pulled open the non-woven fabric outside the spice bag, revealing a pile of things inside. He picked out several things that could be used, and asked Jiang Muyun to put the others away.
Jiang Muyun watched him put various ingredients into the pot like a wizard making medicine. Some were fried in oil and then taken out, some were tied into bundles with gauze and thrown into the pot to stew, and some were not wrapped in gauze but the spices were taken out and thrown away after stewing for a while.
Each fish was cooked differently. Jiang Muyun squatted by the side and watched for a long time. When she saw Chu Buwen skewering a fish that had been marinated earlier for charcoal grilling, Zhao Jiahao couldn't help but run over to persuade her: "If you really want to eat it, just try it first. We don't mind, really."
Jiang Muyun chased the man away: "Go away, I'm just trying to steal your skills. If I get trapped outside again, at least I won't have to starve."
After saying that, Jiang Muyun turned to Chu Buwen and said, "Please tell me the ingredients for the marinated fish. I will definitely carry some with me when I go out."
They were all talking nonsense now. After hearing what Jiang Muyun said, they surrounded him and would not stop until Jiang Muyun spat three times and knocked on the wooden board three times.
With their no-sparing-cost seasoning offensive, the few fish they caught were made to taste like normal fish.
The grilled fish, in particular, had a unique burnt aroma that fascinated several people who had not eaten fish for a long time. They even began to fantasize about growing spices.
If other crops don’t work, maybe peppers will work.
The main thing is that peppers don’t need to be grown on a large scale. One or two plants are enough. No matter how precious they are, resources can be allocated to take care of them.
Jiang Muyun remembered that in the various planting and breeding videos he had watched, some people used the seeds from dried chili peppers as seeds, and Zhou Ying also proved that this was really possible.
The problem is that they haven't found any dried small chili peppers yet. All they can get are various carefully packaged and processed chili powders. Even if they look around with their eyes, they can't pick out a single intact chili seed.
Jiang Muyun doesn't like spicy food, but after the apocalypse, many people like to use spicy food to cover up the fishy smell of mutated animal meat, so when Jiang Muyun was stocking up, he didn't forget to buy some chili peppers, including those whole dried chili peppers.
There's no harm in trying it anyway, so Jiang Muyun added chili peppers to the supplies that needed to be brought back by taking advantage of the situation.
The meal didn't strengthen their resolve to go fishing every day, but it did strengthen their resolve to be more attentive to various seeds and spices while out there. Wang Qingqing even wanted to remove all the seeds from the star anise to see if they could be soaked to produce fry.
After dinner, everyone went home, each holding a pile of firewood in their hands, saying that they had caught a cold today and needed to take a hot bath to get rid of the cold.
The four people who were actually exposed to the rain and wind and might catch a cold also brought some precious charcoal, saying that the cold medicine was now expired and they wanted to keep the stove fire going longer to prevent colds.
As for how hot the kang will be at this temperature?
It doesn't matter. For their current condition, a dry and high-temperature environment is better than the current humid environment. Just think of it as a dry sauna.
Jiang Muyun's quality of life hadn't even achieved a class leap, but she'd already mastered the ways of the unscrupulous capitalists. On her way back, she simply bundled up the firewood and slung it onto Xiaobai's back, then sauntered home empty-handed. Xiaobai didn't resist, happily trotting after Jiang Muyun, fully demonstrating the endurance of a working man.
Before, everyone was afraid that small flying insects would fly into the house, and since the temperature had risen and the kang was temporarily unusable, they blocked the smoke outlet of the earthen kang again.
It’s just that the weather is humid now, so it’s impossible to block the smoke outlet directly with mud and bricks, so I nailed a movable baffle on the outside, and I just open the baffle when I need it.
Jiang Muyun lit the stove, put a pot of hot water on it and let it boil slowly, then he put out the floating house and continued the unfinished work.
The main work of air conditioning installation is pipes, lines and brackets. Jiang Muyun has the instruction manual in his hand, as well as the installation tutorial downloaded in advance. It is not difficult to follow the tutorial step by step.
To be honest, it's not as tedious as her fiddling with the circuits.
But since Jiang Muyun dared to buy these electrical appliances, she naturally knew how to install them, and she even downloaded some repair tutorials.
Although the time before the temperature dropped was not enough for her to learn all the knowledge, she could always learn by following the instructions. She could just follow what others did.
By the time the water on the stove was heated, Jiang Muyun's air conditioner installation was basically completed.
She plugged in the air conditioner and heard the familiar "beep" sound. She suddenly felt like the rest of her life was settled.
The outdoor unit of an ordinary household air conditioner makes very little noise. Jiang Muyun doesn't even need to leave the cave. He can ignore the noise by doing something to distract himself.
The only trouble is that the air conditioner consumes electricity quickly. If Jiang Muyun wants to balance the electricity bill, he has to split the time of running the air conditioner and the time of using the generator to charge the battery in half.
Moreover, when using the generator, she couldn't stay in the floating house and had to turn off the air conditioning and make do in the cave.
After all, even the noise from a small household generator can damage your hearing if you stay nearby and listen to it for a long time.
But when I think about being able to take a shower, change into dry clothes, and then watch videos and eat dinner in a dry air-conditioned room every day when I get home, this little flaw doesn't seem to matter.
Even though Jiang Muyun usually doesn't turn on the air conditioner at night to save electricity, the air in the floating room is much drier than outside, at least it can be maintained within a normal range, and there will be no water droplets on the walls.
After finishing a big project, Jiang Muyun felt that he was a little closer to the life of the wealthy class. When he went fishing the next day, he felt the sun was shining brightly.
The people who came to fetch water changed shifts today. Zhao Jiahao and Zhou Ying went to the city, and it was Li Anxuan and Wang Qingqing's turn here.
The mischievous Dabai had completely lost the excitement he had yesterday and lazily nestled in Jiang Muyun's arms, refusing to move.
At first Jiang Muyun thought that Chu Buwen had taught it a lesson yesterday, but when he got to the river, he found that there were probably no heavy rain today, so fewer fish floated to the surface on their own initiative. No wonder Dabai was so uninterested.
The river water here is not very clear, and the fish they bring back have to be filtered twice before they can be used. The fish in the river do not float up by themselves, so it is more difficult for them to catch fish. They can only try their luck near the algae.
Li Anxuan and Wang Qingqing did not have many opportunities to practice. After alarming the snakes several times, they simply gave up and waited until Jiang Muyun and Chu Buwen caught a few before starting to practice.
Although this fish can be cooked deliciously, it requires a lot of seasoning and they cannot eat it every day.
But since I'm here, it would be a shame not to bring back a few fish.
Jiang Muyun suggested that they catch a few fish every day when they fetched water, and also bring back some fish food like algae. They could keep the leftover fish and then, when the sun came out, dry them.
As for the location of the fish farm...
The hole I dug when catching rabbits before is now being used.
Anyway, they can't use the reservoir for the time being, so they can expand the pit next to the reservoir that is used to catch rabbits and use it to raise fish.
It doesn’t matter if there is no waterproof layer. There is no shortage of water at the moment. Pouring the caught fish along with the water into the pit every day is enough to maintain the water level in the pit.
Jiang Muyun and Chu Buwen, two fishing experts, did not go to the city in the few days after the rain stopped.
Only after they brought all their companions to the river to take turns and complete the fishing teaching did they start to take turns to go to the city.
However, the day before going to the city, Jiang Muyun had to go to the next door base with Qin Shiwen.
Qin Shiwen said that today was Tang An’s birthday, and maybe it was also his coming-of-age ceremony, so she wanted to give Tang An a coming-of-age gift.
Jiang Muyun asked sincerely: "Sister, are you sure today is her birthday?"
Qin Shiwen squatted by the puddle, studying how to safely thread a rope through the fish's mouth. "March 15th, I can't be wrong. I've celebrated it for years."
Jiang Muyun admired: "It has to be you."
March 15th, this is calculated according to their own calendar.
Qin Shiwen said confidently: "No one remembers time anymore. We have the calendar and we have the final say."
Jiang Muyun felt that this was not wrong, and to express her apology, she decided to help Qin Shiwen solve the problem of threading the rope.
Jiang Muyun stretched out his hand skillfully and hooked a mutant crucian carp with lofty ideals and outstanding jumping ability. After the crucian carp fell to the shore, he hit it lightly with a stone he picked up nearby.
After the rope threading work is completed, soak it in water to shake it awake, so as to avoid insufficient vitality to be consumed on the road.
Qin Shiwen picked up the fish upright to ensure that its small fangs would not cause any trouble, and then found a black bag of suitable size to put on it to prevent it from being noticed by other survivors on the road.
Tang An was also confused when she saw them. After listening to Qin Shiwen's explanation, she was so moved that her eyes were red. No matter how old she was this year, she only considered today as her 18th birthday ceremony. She also said that she would ask for leave from the base to come back and celebrate her birthday.
Jiang Muyun and Tang An were not familiar with each other, so when Tang An reported for leave, he asked the staff about Professor Chen.
The staff member also knew that she was familiar with Captain Yu, so he asked someone to help ask without much difficulty.
Professor Chen thought Jiang Muyun came to see her because the mushrooms were not grown well, and she even specially called her granddaughter to come today.
Professor Chen’s granddaughter is named Chen Cheng and nicknamed Tiantian. She is a cool and aloof child who is less than ten years old.
As Professor Chen introduced the two to each other, Chen Cheng, with a stern face, extended his right hand and said, "Hello, Ms. Jiang. Thank you very much for the crop seeds you provided. If you have any questions about mushroom cultivation, I will do my best to help you."
After saying that, Chen Cheng thought for a moment and added, "This is limited to mushrooms. As for the cultivation methods of other fungi like wood ear mushrooms, I haven't figured it out yet."
Jiang Muyun shook hands with the little boy Chen Cheng, who was only as tall as her waist, and fell into deep self-doubt.
She recalled when she was ten years old...
The most technically demanding thing she had ever done when she was ten was probably looking for the Tipping Garden on various maps and road books.
Is this the difference in IQ?
Jiang Muyun smiled and said, "It's not about mushrooms. I've been growing them according to your method, and now the mycelium is growing very well, and the mushroom sacs are almost full."
Chen Cheng nodded when he heard this, as if he was relieved, and his tone of voice became much lighter: "Then grandma, I'm going to go find Tangtang to play!"
Professor Chen rubbed his granddaughter's cheek and said, "Go ahead."
"My daughter Tiantian has been like this since she was little. She is shy. She was just worried that her method was wrong and that your work was in vain, so she was nervous." Professor Chen pulled Jiang Muyun to sit down and explained to her in a gentle voice.
Jiang Muyun watched Chen Cheng transform into Tiantian, and suddenly remembered another name in her words: "Tangtang?"
Professor Chen said, "She's also a little girl, about the same age as my Tiantian. She's living with Tang An now. Tang An said her family was wiped out during the locust plague. Later, I don't know how, but Tang An picked her up, and the two children have been living together ever since."
She was in her teens and had a family before the locust plague. It is estimated that this Tangtang is the little girl Jiang Muyun had met before.
Seeing Professor Chen sighing when he mentioned Tangtang, Jiang Muyun changed the subject in time.
She took out the strange-looking blue bottle and handed it to Professor Chen. "Professor Chen, these contain some seeds that appear to be castor beans. But we don't know if they'll germinate yet, and we don't know much about how to plant them, so we've come to you for help."
Professor Chen unscrewed the bottle cap and was a little surprised: "I found castor seeds in Nanshi! There aren't many people growing castor here."
Professor Chen took the seeds out of the bottle, unwrapped the bag, and took out a seed to examine it. "Castor beans prefer warmth and are drought-tolerant, but not cold-tolerant. Even though these seeds are coated, it's difficult for them to withstand the low temperatures we experienced earlier. Where did you find these seeds?"
The base has developed very well during this period, and Captain Yu has been able to free up manpower to search for plant seeds everywhere.
It’s just that there were too many extreme weather conditions before, and unless the potatoes were stored in special conditions, such as the potatoes in the cellar that Jiang Muyun found, the seeds were basically dead, and they would not sprout even if they were soaked and rotted.
Jiang Muyun thought for a moment, "The bottle was buried under the ruins of a shed made of layers of plastic sheeting. When we found it, there were signs of rotting plants in the ruins."
This plastic film itself has a certain thermal insulation effect, and coupled with the heat released by the decaying plants, these seeds may have a chance of survival.
Although the chances are slim.
If it was just this winter, finding a survivor among them shouldn't be a problem. But if last winter was also included, then it would be a matter of luck.
As Jiang Muyun spoke, he felt that he had no chance, so he smiled at Professor Chen and said, "Anyway, you can plant these seeds. If they grow well, don't forget to call us."
Professor Chen also knew the importance of oil crops. She gathered the seeds together and said to Jiang Muyun, "Don't worry, if any seeds sprout, I'll let Xiaoyu tell you."
After saying this, Professor Chen also tried to comfort the patient: "Don't underestimate these plants. Their vitality is much stronger than humans imagine."
Jiang Muyun agreed with this statement. Otherwise, where did the lush greenery on the mountains outside come from?
While the two were talking, there was a knock on Professor Chen's door. The person knocking was Captain Yu, whom they had just mentioned.
Captain Yu was not surprised to see Jiang Muyun. He leaned against the door and greeted her: "Good morning, March 15th."
Jiang Muyun raised his eyebrows: "Have you met Sister Wen and Tang An?"
Captain Yu spread his hands and said, "You've just come here and taken a small team leader like me on leave. She has to give a reason for her leave, so how could I not know that?"
Captain Yu walked inside, greeted Professor Chen like a familiar junior, and sat down. "But your new calendar is quite good. It's commemorative, and the name is quite auspicious. Since no one here counts days anymore, why don't we just adopt it?"
Jiang Muyun also imitated his actions and spread his hands: "Why should I mind? If you like, then you can use it together. It will be convenient for us to talk in the future. Just make an appointment on a certain date."
"Speaking of this, I haven't asked Captain Yu yet. I came here today and saw that your base is quite large. Have you thought about giving it a name?" Jiang Muyun said.
The current scale of the base is indeed quite large, with more than a thousand people. When she and Qin Shiwen came here, they heard that the base was already planning to expand outward based on the holiday villa.
People who had gone to Yi City to search for supplies before also said that they had seen the base’s team looking for building materials in Yi City.
However, the base expansion is also heading towards the mountainous areas and nearby counties and towns, and it will never reach Jiang Muyun and his team, so they don't have to worry.
After hearing this, Captain Yu showed his pain: "It's a shame that we are neighbors, and you don't even know the name of our base?"
Jiang Muyun looked innocent: "How would I know your names? You never told me, and you don't have a plaque hanging at the door."
Captain Yu choked, it seemed to be true.
"Our full name is Nanshi First Base, abbreviated as Nanshi Base. But considering that you have a good relationship with the base commander, I will allow you to call our base by its nickname - Nanyi." Company Commander Yu said depressedly.
Jiang Muyun keenly grasped the key information: "Nan City's first base? Then there is a second base?"
Captain Yu: "I think so. Our team that went to the city encountered people from other bases. As for whether there is a second base, I don't know."
Jiang Muyun admired: "So you just want to take the title first, right?"
It is named the provincial capital and the first base. After hearing this, the confused survivors will probably subconsciously think that this is the official base.
Captain Yu pretended not to hear: "You reminded me, I'll ask someone to put up a big sign on the door. I always feel like something is missing from our front door."
The current gate of the base was modified from the original gate of the holiday villa. The gate can accommodate two large trucks entering and exiting side by side, which looks very impressive.
Captain Yu thought that if conditions allowed, he would have to hang up some large gold-plated characters to live up to such a resounding name.
On the way back, Jiang Muyun and Qin Shiwen talked about the South One Base and were wondering whether they should give their own mountain a name.
"After all, our little hill has supported us for a long time. It seems impolite to call people just a little hill or a little mound." Qin Shiwen said.
Jiang Muyun said sincerely, "You're right, it's quite rude. But with the naming skills of the few of us, what if after we're done with it, people would prefer to call it Little Hill?"
Qin Shiwen angrily said, "What's wrong with our naming skills? The ones we have are Dabai and Xiaobai. What does what you and Chu Buwen do have to do with us?"
Jiang Muyun was incredulous. "Doesn't this explain anything? We have six cubs in our family, but only Dabai and Xiaobai have names. And it's all thanks to Chu Buwen and me. Haven't any of you brothers and sisters ever reflected on yourselves?"
Qin Shiwen was silent.
When she climbed up the mountain and saw the two chickens that had come out for a stroll, she suddenly realized, "The rabbits are fine, but aren't these two chickens yours? Can you blame us for them not having names?"
Jiang Muyun felt wronged: "Look at them, wandering around outside all day. How do they look like poultry? Ever since the snow melted, I haven't even had the pleasure of feeding them."
This is true. These two chickens are not afraid of rain or poison. They stroll around the mountain all day long, picking mushrooms and vegetable worms, and even digging snacks in the soil by themselves. Jiang Muyun doesn't have to worry about them at all. Jiang Muyun hasn't taken care of them for quite a while.
Qin Shiwen saw the two of them wandering around the woods like they were familiar with the streets, and he felt that Jiang Muyun had a point. "Well, they really went too far. Giving them names is a good way to get back at them."
Jiang Muyun: "Let's not talk about them for now. I think what you just said is revenge against me."
Qin Shiwen grinned, "How is that possible? Why would I retaliate against you? I just think these two chickens are our protein supplier after all. It's too much that they haven't had their own names for so long. Look how well behaved they are. They even recognize people."
Qin Shiwen gestured to Jiang Muyun to look and saw that the two chickens that were just strolling by the bushes were now walking towards Jiang Muyun.
Jiang Muyun wondered when they changed their nature. Were they urging her to clean the chicken coop again?
Then Jiang Muyun saw the two chickens walking at a leisurely pace, with their heads held high, and stopped in front of Jiang Muyun.
Immediately afterwards, there was a rustling sound in the grass behind them.
A few seconds later, three small yellow balls of fur rolled out of the grass.
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