Chapter 105
Seeing that they all looked pale, Qin Huai didn't know whether they were cold or scared. He didn't ask any further questions and asked them to go back and rest first. They were indeed a little tired, so he didn't say much. They had to go back and lie down quickly to recover their health.
The next day, Jian Chu came to Mu Nan after recovering from his stress. He told him about what happened yesterday, "I thought the deal went so smoothly that we could go there by ourselves next time. But to my surprise, they were waiting for us outside. The steel spikes were so long and sharpened. If we drove up there, how could we get back? If it wasn't for Captain Yuan's careful observation of the road conditions, we would have been in trouble."
Mu Nan asked curiously, "How did Captain Yuan find out?"
Jian Chu shrugged, "It might be the intuition of the soldiers. It seems that they went to Monkey Mountain not only for the purpose of trading, but also to inform the people in Monkey Mountain to replace their ID cards and vaccines. However, they may have sensed something was wrong when they were bargaining. Later, they saw that the snow on the people coming in from behind was different, so they did not reveal their identities and did not mention a word about replacing their ID cards. Then they told us that something was wrong with that group of people and they drove very slowly on the way back. They probably found clues from the traces in the snow, so they got off the car to investigate and found that there was indeed an ambush."
After Jian Chu finished speaking, he couldn't help but sigh: "The first person who contacted us was a boy in his twenties. He was very enthusiastic and cheerful, and didn't seem like a bad guy. This time, it was a different person, who seemed to be the boy's uncle. I don't know if they are all evil or what. Anyway, we won't do this kind of thing anymore. It's too scary. Who knows what is buried in the thick snow? It's not worth risking our lives for a little meat."
Mu Nan was a little scared after hearing this: "Luckily there are soldiers going with you. It was just a little bit short. Forget about taking risks like this in the future. Your life is more important."
Jian Chu: "No, Captain Yuan said that when they were bargaining, the people on the mountain probably came down and buried nails along the traces of our wheels. We must have returned the same way. There are many big and small potholes outside now, so it must be safest to follow the original way. I guess they thought of this, so they buried nails on our road. In addition, there was such a big snowstorm yesterday, and the weather changed, which made it even more difficult to find the problem. That's why the two people who came in later had more snow on their pants and shoes. Tsk, I learned a lesson. In the future, when I am outside, I must pay attention to such details. Details can save lives."
But thinking about the things traded yesterday, Jian Chu was a little happier. "Those people probably wanted to kill for money, so the final price was not high. A few hundred kilograms of rice for thirty rabbits, this is definitely a profit for us. I was saying that Captain Yuan's bargaining level was too high. He pushed the price so low. I guess those people thought that these things would return to them in the end anyway. Seeing that the ambush outside was almost over, they were too lazy to waste time and agreed. They didn't expect that we could see through them and come back safely. Those people might be jumping up and down with righteous anger now."
They didn't trade all the things they brought with them, and there were still a lot left. After they came back, they took back the remaining supplies from each family, and each family got two live rabbits. The military took away their share of the trade, and the remaining rabbits were exchanged for points to give them. However, Xu Ming said that he hoped to directly exchange all the points for coal. The higher-ups did not agree immediately, and only said that they should apply first and then be notified.
After Jian Chu finished speaking, he went back. Although he was only out for one day, it was thrilling and he was more exhausted mentally than physically. He needed to have a good rest.
After Jian Chu left, Mu Nan looked at the two rabbits trapped in a corner of the stove by Qin Huai with a wooden board, and couldn't help but take out vegetable leaves from the space to feed them: "Brother, are these a male and a female in our family?"
Qin Huai hummed, "We got a lot of female rabbits this time, so I gave you a female one. Do you want to raise it and give birth to little rabbits?"
Mu Nan turned to look at Qin Huai: "Try it?"
Qin Huai said: "Then let's keep them here for now. If they can survive, I will connect a heat pipe to a room on the second floor and try keeping them in the room upstairs. If they can't reproduce, we can fatten them up and eat their meat. It's worth it." Now the two wild rabbits are still a little thin, much thinner than the first time they caught them.
Fearing that Mu Nan might develop true feelings, Qin Huai added, "But don't hold your hopes too high. Wild rabbits are temperamental. This rabbit should be an adult, so it's not easy to keep it alive."
Seeing that the two rabbits refused to eat the leaves, Mu Nan said, "Are they going on a hunger strike?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "It is also possible that he would rather die than surrender than bang his head against the wall."
Seeing that Mu Nan was still fiddling with the two rabbits, he wondered if they had worms on them since they were caught in the wild. With nothing else to do now, he simply started tinkering with the heating pipes. The room was bigger and there was more space, so he wondered if he could keep them alive. If that didn't work, he would have to kill them and eat their meat.
There is no hay. Even though Mu Nan has a lot of things in his space, he has not prepared any hay. However, there are some sawdust, which are the scraps from making arrows. They are all accumulated. Sawdust is a good material for making fire. Although there is not much, he has just started raising wild rabbits. He will try to give them a better environment and accustom them to it first. He can talk about it later.
With the previous experience, it was much easier to connect a hot air pipe to the room. Anyway, the house didn't need to be warm. There was only a stove downstairs, and it had to supply the three floors above and below. It wasn't very warm. It could only maintain a certain temperature so that it wouldn't be as cold as outside. Wild rabbits were not easy to keep. This kind of wild animal has a strong temper and would rather starve to death than be trapped. But I don't know if it was because the conditions outside were too extreme, and the house was warm enough, which made the two rabbits feel comfortable. When Qin Huai put the two rabbits in the upstairs house, they actually adapted well. When they were locked in the cage downstairs, they didn't eat or drink. When they were put upstairs, it was estimated that there was no one around, and the space was much larger. In addition to sawdust, there were even balls of cotton wool. The two rabbits began to eat and drink.
Mu Nan went upstairs eagerly to see the rabbits every day. Every time he saw two rabbits chewing on vegetable leaves, he couldn't help but sigh.
Qin Huai, who was watering the vegetables in the greenhouse, heard this and said with a smile, "Are you hoping that they will give birth to a litter today and another one tomorrow?"
Mu Nan said, "Brother, do you think we should intervene? I've seen some rabbit breeding videos posted online before, and they were all bred with human intervention. A super long needle was inserted directly into the rabbit. The needle was really super long, at least three times as long as a human injection. You said that the male rabbit relies on itself, but the male rabbit's penis is not that long. How can it mate?"
Qin Huai said helplessly: "You are still worrying about this. If they can't mate, where do the wild rabbits outside come from? What kind of mess do you usually watch?"
Mu Nan snorted: "How can this be so confusing? This is about increasing knowledge."
Qin Huai put away the curtain of the greenhouse and walked to the third floor with a watering can: "Just watch for a while, then go down, you won't be afraid of the cold."
Mu Nan walked to the balcony on the second floor, lifted the curtain and looked outside. It had been several days since the last sudden change in the weather. The temperature outside had obviously dropped a lot in the past few days. However, the sun came out for a while today. Although the sky was gloomy again, the wind and snow had stopped. Once the wind and snow stopped, it seemed that it was not so cold outside when looking from inside the house, but in fact, it would be absolutely freezing to death if you went out.
Counting the time, it has been more than three months since the beginning of winter. It will be hot again in another three months. He doesn't know how long it will be hot this time. He doesn't know whether it will be half a year like in winter, or a year like before. He hopes that before summer comes, some food can be grown in the greenhouse at the base. If he can't grow anything, he dare not imagine what life will be like. The overall environment is not good, and he will be a little panicked even if he has a small space.
Just as Mu Nan was about to come down from upstairs, he saw a group of people wrapped thickly walking towards him from a distance. There was no wind or snow today, and although there was no sun, the sky was still bright and the visibility was quite high. He could see at a glance that those who were walking back were Yu Zibai and his friends, as well as Wu Zheng. Although Wu Zheng was also at home last time, he didn't know if he had told the registration person that he wanted to wait for his brother to come back to register for a new ID card together. So this time, Yu Zibai, Jian Chu and the others got the time and went together. They were lucky, as the wind and snow had not stopped yesterday, but it stopped today. At least there was not much obstacle on the way to and from Building No. 1.
Mu Nan had just returned to the first floor. He hadn't taken off his clothes or gotten on the kang yet. He was just adding firewood to the stove when he heard a knock on the garage door. The person knocking on the garage door must be the neighbor next door. Mu Nan hurriedly looked to see if there was anything on the kang that shouldn't be there. After making sure that it was clean and there was nothing on it, he went to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Jian Chu came in rubbing his hands: "Let me tell you, when we went to register this time, we heard something big. I was freezing while waiting for a while."
Mu Nan said, "Then go to the stove quickly. I just lit the fire a little brighter. Go and warm yourself up."
Jian Chu sat over to warm himself by the fire. Mu Nan poured him a cup of hot water. When he was no longer so cold, Jian Chu gossiped with Mu Nan, "I was also saying that Captain Yuan didn't say anything when he came back from the Monkey Mountain incident. I thought they thought we were lucky to have escaped the disaster and that it was better to have less trouble than more, and that they would just not have any dealings with them in the future. I didn't expect that Captain Yuan would directly call for troops a few days later."
Mu Nan was puzzled: "Recruiting soldiers? Why? To suppress bandits?"
Jian Chu nodded, "Yes, I just realized that our incident was not the first time it happened. Before us, two cars had not returned. Both cars were driven by a few people alone, just like last time. But they disappeared to where. In this climate, there is no surveillance, and we don't know where they are going. It's hard to find them. Later, the Monkey Mountain incident happened. Although they didn't say that they were responsible for the two missing cars, how could the government allow such a bad thing to happen within its jurisdiction? Of course, it had to be solved, so they went there with soldiers and weapons."
Qin Huai came down from upstairs and saw the two people sitting in front of the stove. He smiled and said, "Jian Chu is here. Has your ID card been registered?"
Jian Chu said: "I have registered and am chatting with Mu Nan."
Qin Huai said: "Then you guys chat. Are you hungry? I'll fry some pancakes for you guys to eat." The latter sentence was obviously directed at Mu Nan, even though the word "men" was included.
Mu Nan said: "Eat, you can..."
Before he could finish his next words, he swallowed his words when he saw Qin Huai narrowing his eyes unkindly.
Jian Chu looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "What are you talking about?"
Qin Huai took the basin and scooped flour to the side: "He wants to eat chili."
Jian Chu smiled unceremoniously and said, "Please control yourself. You have just recovered. If you feel pain, you will be the one who suffers."
Mu Nan also wanted to restrain himself, but he was the type who forgot the pain after the wound healed. Without Qin Huai's supervision, he probably wouldn't be able to restrain himself. Since he couldn't eat it anyway, he simply stopped thinking about it and continued to ask Jian Chu, "And then? Was the bandit suppression successful?"
Jian Chu said, "Of course it succeeded. How could the army not succeed in suppressing a few mountain people? I can imagine how furious they were when they went to the snow to collect our bodies and found that there was no car and the nails they had buried were gone. They might have thought viciously that they would not let us go so easily next time. But before the next time came, the army surrounded the mountain. This group of people is the same. I don't know if they have watched too many TV dramas or they think our government is a piece of shoddy food. They think that when a major disaster occurs, no one will care and they can rule the mountain as kings."
Mu Nan said, "Maybe you've watched too many American TV series. Have you ever watched disaster-themed American TV series? They all have this kind of self-determination plot. When a natural disaster or man-made disaster occurs, it's like being abandoned by the whole world. It's amazing that they can command their own troops anytime and anywhere."
Jian Chu smiled and said, "As expected, art is art and life is life. Didn't I tell you before that the person who initially did business with us was a boy in his twenties, and later he was replaced by a middle-aged man who said he was his second uncle? It turns out there is something else going on!"
Mu Nan asked curiously, "What's going on?"
"That middle-aged man is not the boy's second uncle at all. They have nothing to do with him. This matter is quite complicated. Originally, the people living on the mountain were all residents of this area. There were not many people living here. Before the earthquake, those who could leave had left, because many of them originally had relatives in the countryside. Later, the earthquake happened. Although there were not many people, many people died. It is common sense that there will be a big epidemic after a big disaster. Even if you don't have this common sense, you know that living among so many dead bodies will definitely cause trouble, so they migrated to the distant mountains and dug holes in the mountains to avoid living with people. This mountain is not theirs, so as long as they don't occupy the holes dug by others, no one cares who lives there. The murderer, the one who planned to ambush us, is actually a murderer. It is said that he escaped from prison, but the people living in the mountains didn't know at first. Although they didn't have any dealings with him, they didn't become enemies either. They got along peacefully."
"Later, the weather turned cold, and life in the mountains became difficult. But they had gained experience living in the mountains, so they set traps and hunted. At least they had some meat to eat, but they didn't have much oil, salt, rice, or flour. The meat wasn't much, at most, they had a little to satisfy their hunger. The only good thing was that they were in the mountains. Even if the sun had dried the mountain bald before, they could get firewood on the spot. At least they had a way to keep warm and not freeze to death. But the mountain was too far from our residential area, and it was simply unrealistic to walk here, so we couldn't exchange for some daily necessities. Until a hunting vehicle passed by, the residents in the mountain immediately found a new way to trade, exchanging the hunted for rice, flour, grain, and oil."
When Jian Chu said this, Qin Huai had already prepared the flour. There was no need for fermentation. He kneaded it into a ball in a few seconds, then rolled it flat, spread a layer of minced meat on it, pinched the edges together, and scalded it directly in a boiling oil pan. The crackling aroma of the oil exploded with the sound, which attracted Jian Chu subconsciously and stretched his head to take a look: "Your brother is a good cook."
Mu Nan also turned around and called out to Qin Huai, "Brother."
Qin Huai looked up, and when he saw Mu Nan making a heart gesture towards him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
The two of them didn't chat, they just stood around the pot and watched the white dough being fried until it became crispy and golden. It was a pity that there were no onions. If there were onions and some chili powder sprinkled on it, the taste would have been amazing.
A piece of minced meat scallion pancake without scallions came out of the pan. Qin Huai put it directly on a plate, cut it in half and handed it to the two people who were drooling around the pan: "Take it out and eat it first." He put another piece of white dough into the pan and reminded them: "Nan Nan, eat less, only half, it's fried."
Mu Nan hummed and groaned in response, and he and Jian Chu each took half of the scallion pancake and ate it. It was a little hot because it had just come out of the pan. They had to change hands and blow on their burned fingers every one or two seconds. While chewing, they urged Jian Chu to continue, "And then, how did a good deal turn into a murder for money?"
Jian Chu continued, "Didn't I say that? That man is a murderer, but he's not from here. He's just serving his sentence in our prison. The earthquake was so severe that he wanted to go home, but it's too difficult to go home at this time. He doesn't have a car, and it seems that he hasn't served his sentence. It is said that when the earthquake occurred, they were working on the prison playground, preparing to build an indoor field. As a result, the earthquake came, and everything collapsed. There was chaos. Anyway, he took the opportunity to run away, fearing that he would be caught. He ran all the way, but he wanted to go home. There was probably no other way to go home at this time, so he could only walk towards the national highway. He came to this place, but there was no place to get shade if he walked further. You know how desolate it is over there, so he wanted to find a place to live first, and then followed the residents here to dig a cave in the mountain. The residents didn't want to live here because their belongings were all here, and it was comfortable to live in the cave, so they were not very willing to come. He didn't want to because he was afraid that people would find out that he had a criminal record. Although everything collapsed at this time, who knows if the government has anything archived there."
After Jian Chu finished speaking, he took a bite of the cooled scallion pancake and continued, "His ultimate goal is to go home. He had no choice before, but later on, the residents on the mountain were trading with the hunters who drove cars. He found out about it, and his vicious nature was revealed. He first found some thugs and robbed the supplies of some old, weak, women and children living on the mountain. He would chop down anyone who didn't obey. It's so comfortable to get something for nothing. More and more people are turning to him. The last time we traded with that young man was when he was just making trouble. I thought he looked pretty good at that time. The murderer also knew that he couldn't always be the king of the mountain here. This robber The more vehicles there are, the more trouble they will cause. The army is still stationed here, so he wants to intercept some vehicles and supplies in a short time. The key is the vehicles. Only with a car can he leave. He could have just robbed a car, but he punctured someone's tire and needed to change the tire. He didn't know how far the journey would be, so he had to prepare some oil. So he planned to save a little and leave immediately. As a result, he was not as fast as those soldiers. They ambushed the mountain directly. Anyway, all the people on the mountain were brought down. How comfortable they lived on the mountain before, how miserable they were tortured during this period. Facts have proved that they can't live without the government."
After hearing this, Qin Huai picked up the dough from the pot and put it on a plate, then glanced at Jian Chu. It was impossible to expect a guy who could freeze people to death in the snow just to steal a car to have any humanity. So it was easy to imagine how those ordinary residents on the mountain, who already had little resistance, would be treated when his behavior was exposed and became unscrupulous. But he did not stop Jian Chu from saying this, so it might as well let Mu Nan hear it.
As expected, Jian Chu continued, "The people who dug the caves in the mountain were originally from the area. Some lived alone, and some were just ordinary families. How could they be opponents of such a cruel murderer? Anyway, when the soldiers searched the mountain, they found many people who had frozen to death in the caves. The entrances of those people were blocked by big rocks, and the ice and snow were frozen, so they couldn't be pushed open. Later, when the sealed entrances were opened, except for the frozen people, there was not even a grain of rice inside. They were all robbed. There were also some women, who were even more pitiful. Tsk, let's not talk about the scene, it was simply not human. There were also a few little girls under the age of sixteen in there. Do you think these people deserve to die!"
Mu Nan nodded. These people could no longer be called human beings. Those who followed the murderer and became accomplices were more despicable than the murderer himself. Those who froze to death or were tortured might be people they knew. They were not afraid of having a hard life, but they were afraid of people’s hearts being too evil.
Jian Chu did not say what happened to those people. Anyway, the death penalty was too lenient for them. However, all the residents on the mountain were brought back, as well as the hidden car. As for the people originally in the car, they were found in a snow-covered pit at the foot of the mountain through the explanation of that group of people. There were seven people in total, all of whom were frozen to death.
This matter spread throughout the greenhouse, because after those people from the mountain were brought down, the innocent victims were first settled in the greenhouse, so the matter naturally could not be concealed, so they went to register their ID cards and heard back a lot of news. Jian Chu came to tell Mu Nan this specifically to make them alert. Although it was Mu Nan who reminded them that the transaction might be dangerous, but now that this matter has come to an end, they should also know about it. Otherwise, they would be trapped in this house by the heavy snow and think that the whole world is peaceful and harmonious.
Before leaving, Qin Huai asked Jian Chu to take two buns with him. It was already made, it was just a matter of some flour. Their food was not in that short supply now, so there was no need to worry about such a small thing. Jian Chu felt a little embarrassed, as if he came here just to eat, but he had to accept it because of his enthusiastic neighbor. He just thought that next time he would make something delicious and send it to him in return.
At night, Mu Nan lay on the kang. After Qin Huai came up to sleep, he leaned into Qin Huai's arms and hugged him.
Qin Huai gently stroked his back: "What's wrong? Are you scared by what Jian Chu said?"
Mu Nan said sullenly, "I'm not that timid, I just feel that life is too hard right now."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Let me see how heavy it is."
Feeling Qin Huai's actions, Mu Nan was immediately embarrassed and angry: "Brother!"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "You are just too idle to think about all sorts of things. If you do something else, you won't have so many thoughts in your little head."
Mu Nan couldn't help but laugh and hid back: "No, it's too troublesome to take a shower now."
This is not a question of whether you want to do it or not. The arrow is on the string and you have to shoot it.
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