Chapter 106
A few days later, the coal they exchanged was delivered, but it was not too much. Each family could only exchange 300 kilograms at most. According to Xu Ming's previous calculations, if they were frugal and used a little on the stove at night, using two at night would be four kilograms. 300 kilograms could last for two and a half months. Together with the firewood they had accumulated, it would at least last for a while. The coal was delivered by someone specially in a car. There was no other way. It was not realistic for them to transport it themselves now. How could they carry so much coal? The coal of the four families added up to more than 1,000 kilograms.
Finally, Qin Huai and his men gave the movers some points and asked them to help move the coal to each household's garage. Although they were paid, it was too cold outside and the wind and snow had started blowing again today, so they didn't just stand there and watch. They all put on gloves and went forward to help. More people would make the work faster so that others could finish work earlier. The cars outside had not yet been turned off.
The four girls next door saw that they actually bought coal at home, and two of them came out to ask about the coal. The upper limit for a family is 300 kilograms, and they have to register and wait in line. However, after hearing the price, the girls hesitated and did not register immediately, saying that they would go back to discuss it. 300 kilograms requires 30 points. Those who work hard outside can only get 3 or 5 points after a day of hard work. They have to pay rent, exchange for winter supplies, and eat and drink. These 30 points are not something that every household has the conditions to exchange. If you exchange it for 10 or 20 kilograms, I am afraid that people will not deliver it to your door. A delivery trip is not enough to cover the consumption of oil.
Mu Nan thought that they would stop talking after they went back, but she didn't expect that after a while, Sun Sisi, the most lively of the girls, and Tu Juan, a girl with short hair, came out with their points and said they wanted to buy coal. They had registered two families at the beginning, and the two girls were registered as one household, so they had the same purchasing quota for two families as Jian Chu and the others. Once they made a reservation, they directly bought 60 points and 600 kilograms of coal.
Sun Sisi saw Mu Nan's surprised look and said with a smile, "Buy more. Who knows how long winter will last? What if it takes a year? This may not be enough. If winter passes quickly, the rest can be used next year."
Mu Nan was really curious. It seemed that the girls had never gone out. In the winter, they stayed in the house every day and never left the yard. They only went out for a while when they were preparing firewood. Where did they get these points? Could they have a portable space or something?
Perhaps the doubt in his eyes was too obvious, Sun Sisi smiled and said, "Curious?"
Mu Nan was afraid that the girl might be suspicious, so he quickly said, "Yes, a little, but everyone has secrets. For the sake of being neighbors, please remember to take care of me if there is anything good in the future."
Sun Sisi smiled and said, "It's nothing. You know Guannan Road, right? The most famous place there is a row of gold jewelry stores."
Guannan Road is the largest gold jewelry city in the city. There are many gold shops, second-hand recycling shops, gold jewelry orders, finished product shops, and processing factories in that area. It is considered to be relatively famous in the country. So even though many shops were closed later, some of the gold jewelry in the gold jewelry city were not moved away. The entire gold jewelry mall was still guarded by security guards at that time. After the earthquake, the girls wanted to find some food, but they also had to find some gold. After all, the conditions were close here, and if they found more gold, they could exchange it for food with others in the future. It was a good idea to hide gold in troubled times.
When they got here, they were worried that the gold in their hands was too much and it was not safe, so they exchanged it for points and exchanged a lot of food to hide in the house. Unless people outside were observing deliberately, they would not know much about the situation in their yard, but those who lived nearby knew without observation that they did not go out and did not work, but had food and drink, which was really coveted by some people. They also observed for a while and felt that they could reveal a little information.
Mu Nan was stunned for a moment, and Sun Sisi said, "We live above that row of gold jewelry stores. We didn't get anything else after the earthquake, but we got a lot of gold jewelry. Later, after we moved here, we exchanged all of them for points, stockpiled some food, and kept a little bit for emergencies. Now we bought coal, and there is not much left. If this winter is very long, we may not be able to survive for a few months, and we will also move to the greenhouse."
Some things are not said, which may easily arouse suspicion. Judging from the current relationship, the boys in their yard are all okay. They are all relatively well-behaved and live their own lives behind closed doors. They will not be particularly enthusiastic about you, nor will they be indifferent and completely ignore you. Anyway, after observation, they definitely have no bad intentions, so they have discussed it long ago. There is no need to hide some things. It is better to reveal a little bit of the bottom line when there is a chance than to make random guesses without knowing anything. Life is still a little bit better now. People with a little bit of righteousness will not covet other people's homes casually. What if life becomes more and more difficult in the future? They are locked in the house without jobs but not worried about food and drink. Maybe people will misunderstand how many good things they have hoarded. Anyway, it is said that 70% is true and 30% is false. Just tell others directly that they do have things, but not much.
Mu Nan couldn't help but say, "No wonder, I was really curious before, but unfortunately there were only a few gold jewelry stores near my home at that time."
Sun Sisi said, "You guys are not bad, you work and earn points, and you went out hunting before, right? I saw the rabbits you brought back, but we only have a little bacon that we exchanged for at the purchase points, and we have to save and save, we are so greedy for meat, when will you go hunting next time?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "Probably not going."
Sun Sisi groaned, obviously a little disappointed: "Not going? Why?"
Mu Nan said, "I can't hunt anything. It's too dangerous outside. I almost didn't make it back last time. Besides, there aren't many wild animals here, so it's hard to hunt them. But I heard that they're planning to raise rabbits. I don't know if they can survive, but if they can, maybe we can get some meat from them."
Sun Sisi sighed and shook her head: "Then don't count on it. Meat, how expensive is it? We only have so few points left. At most we can exchange them for a few kilograms of rice. Don't count on meat."
The two were talking when Qin Huai, who had just put a plate of coal into the garage, stopped and looked at them. Mu Nan reacted instantly and laughed: "Why am I chatting with you? Hey, I'm busy. Let's stop chatting. I'll help you!"
Seeing Mu Nan running after his brother, Sun Sisi shook her head and said, "A cold and arrogant top and a loyal bottom? Too bad, I don't like this type, even though he's handsome."
All the coal was put into the warehouse, and after thanking the master who helped deliver the coal, everyone was panting with exhaustion. It was not because of the amount of exercise, but mainly because they were wearing too many clothes, and they would be out of breath if they moved a little. Everyone said hello to each other and went home. Qin Huai asked Mu Nan to put the coat at the door. Although he was wearing dirty clothes, he could not wear it out without washing it after moving so much coal. Washing clothes is a big project now, especially for winter coats. This coat is so thick that it can't even fit in the washing machine, so it can only be washed by hand.
After washing the two coats, an hour passed and several basins of water had to be changed. If it weren't for the convenience of taking and changing water in Mu Nan's space, washing would have been even more troublesome. The two coats were hung wet on the wall beside the stove. They would freeze in five minutes, let alone dry outside. They could only be placed next to the stove to dry slowly. It would probably take several days to dry them, but once the coal was collected, they wouldn't have to go out for a long time, so it didn't matter.
After Qin Huai finished washing the clothes, Mu Nan forced him to make a hand mask. The hand mask was not the kind bought outside, but Mu Nan applied a thick layer of hand cream on it, and then put on a disposable glove to moisturize it intensively. Mu Nan didn't know if this would work. Anyway, he and his brother have not had frostbite yet. Jian Chu, Song Jia and others have already had frostbite on their hands and ears. As for using hot water, it is definitely not just them who use hot water for everything. Now the stove is burning non-stop, and the water is directly brought in from the pots and buckets of snow accumulated outside. There is no shortage of water at all, so Mu Nan still thinks that his efforts to protect his hands and feet, wipe his face and ears are still useful.
Frostbite is not only unsightly, it is also swollen and painful. If you scratch it when it itches, it hurts like your skin is torn. If you don't scratch it, the itching is unbearable. He had frostbite on his hands and feet in his previous life. Even if he hid in the house and kept guarding the brazier, his ears and face were not spared. It was too painful, so in this life he would rather go through more trouble and spend a little time on care every day than suffer the discomfort of frostbite.
In order to prevent Qin Huai from getting bored, Mu Nan found a movie for him, then took the notebook he used in his previous work, connected it to the drawing board and started drawing. Anyway, he had nothing to do now, so he might as well draw. When there was internet in the future, he would look for a channel to serialize his works. Whether he could make money was secondary. The main thing was that he had to find some spiritual food for himself since he had nothing to do now.
Qin Huai put his arms around his waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. He smelled the fragrance of the same shampoo they used. He saw a scene of ruins after the earthquake taking shape bit by bit under his pen and said, "Have you thought of a name? What's it?"
Mu Nan tilted his head slightly: "How about calling him freshman?"
Qin Huai dragged out a long hum: "It's a bit cliché."
Mu Nan clicked his tongue, shrugged his shoulders and lowered his chin: "What do you want to call it then?"
Qin Huai said: "Call...tomorrow? I hope everyone can have a tomorrow."
Mu Nan said disdainfully, "You're not cliché now? Okay, let's call it tomorrow, even though it's also cliché, we're the same."
Qin Huai smiled, hugged Mu Nan from behind and watched him paint for a long time. Seeing that Mu Nan was immersed in the painting and didn't want to pay attention to him, Qin Huai stopped bothering him. He looked at the time and realized that he had been using hand cream for half an hour, so he got off the kang to wash it. After washing, he took out a box of pine nuts from the bedside cabinet. While watching a movie, he held a small basket to peel pine nuts for Mu Nan. Mu Nan liked to crack melon seeds himself, after all, they were easy to crack and the surface had flavor, but pine nuts were not the same. Although they were a little open, they could only be peeled by hand. If you peeled too much, your nails would easily split. Although he also bought a lot of those long and soft-shelled pine nuts, Mu Nan just liked to eat this kind of red pine nuts.
After Mu Nan finished drawing a grid, he couldn't help but stretch. When he turned around, he saw Qin Huai peeling most of the pine nuts in the basket. Although the basket was only the size of a palm, the capacity inside was not small. Mu Nan went over to look at Qin Huai's nails, and seeing that they were not split at all, he pushed them away with disgust: "Why do I feel like the pine nuts are served to you based on your taste? Did you bite all the pine nuts in the basket with your teeth?"
Qin Huai shook the basket: "Yes, do you want to eat it?"
Mu Nan crawled into Qin Huai's bed and said, "Eat it. It would be a waste if you don't eat it."
Qin Huai pinched his fingers: "Sure enough, they are very soft, the skin is crisp and the flesh is tender, even the nails are soft. Although the nails are soft, when you scratch me, they leave a mark."
Mu Nan grabbed a handful of pine nuts and forced them into Qin Huai’s mouth: “Say it again, and I’ll tickle you!”
Qin Huai chuckled and hugged the person who jumped into his arms. He pinched the arm that was on him. Hmm, it was indeed a small sugar cake, soft everywhere. Although it was soft, Qin Huai did not plan to eat it now. It was daytime and dinner had not been eaten yet. The two of them leaned on the kang, leaning against each other. At about the same time, some went upstairs to water the plants and some went upstairs to look after the rabbits. The rabbits probably had nothing to eat outside. Mu Nan piled the sweet potato vines that he had bought before for them to eat. They ate and drank every day and did not exercise much. When they were bored, they would drill holes in the cotton. The living environment was cleaned every day. Life was too comfortable, so they grew plumper day by day.
It is not known whether there are any baby rabbits. Anyway, both rabbits look quite fat and their fur color is similar. Mu Nan used a pen to mark the rabbits' ears to distinguish the male and female. However, the female rabbit is not as fat as the male rabbit and does not look like it is pregnant.
Qin Huai came down from upstairs to water the plants and took away Mu Nan, who looked regretful. "Maybe it's because you watch them like this every day that they are nervous and embarrassed, so they don't carry their cubs."
Mu Nan rolled her eyes at Qin Huai: "It's obviously not okay for a male rabbit."
Qin Huai said indifferently: "Then you can add oil to it every day, or give it some rabbit kidneys to nourish it next time."
Mu Nan laughed and said, "Rabbit kidneys, you're so smart to come up with that. Rabbits don't eat meat."
Qin Huai poked his forehead and said, "You slept in biology class, right? Who said rabbits don't eat meat? Rabbits even eat their own cubs and placentas."
Mu Nan was shocked, he only knew that hamsters would eat their own children.
Qin Huai said: "So just give them enough food and water. Clean the rabbit room every three days. Cleaning it too frequently will make them nervous because there will always be strange smells invading their territory. If they happen to have cubs and sense strange smells, they will even eat their cubs to protect them."
Mu Nan sighed: "We both have nine years of compulsory education, why are you so outstanding?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Because I am your brother."
After cleaning up the upstairs, the two washed their hands and Qin Huai started cooking. The rice was already stewed. Although there was ready-made food in the space, the finished cooked food would not go bad if kept in the space. In view of Mu Nan's good performance in the past few days, he ate light-flavored dishes obediently and his stomach did not hurt again. Although he was still taking medicine, Qin Huai decided to make him something with a slightly heavier taste than light dishes, such as braised chicken feet. Anyway, Mu Nan liked to chew on this kind of small bones the most. Add some shrimps and oyster mushroom slices to the braised chicken feet. There are meat, vegetables and seafood. Add some stir-fried lettuce with oyster sauce, and two dishes will be enough.
Because of the chicken feet, Mu Nan took an hour and a half to finish this meal. Fortunately, Qin Huai put the braised chicken feet directly in the hot pot to heat them up, otherwise, with his slow speed of eating the chicken feet, even if he ate on the kang, they would have frozen into ice lumps after eating. After the meal, Mu Nan leaned on the pillow with a cup of fruit tea with rock sugar, burped, and took a sip of sweet hot tea from time to time. He felt so comfortable.
After Qin Huai finished washing the dishes, he got on the kang, sat next to him and rubbed his stomach for a while. The two of them leaned against each other, chatting and watching variety shows. When they were feeling warm from the kang and were about to fall asleep, there was a knock on the iron door outside.
Mu Nan suddenly came to his senses and subconsciously took out his phone to check the time. It was only eight o'clock in the evening. He immediately wondered, "It's so late, who could it be?"
In the past, eight o'clock was not considered late, and many families even hadn't started eating dinner at eight o'clock. But now that there is nothing to do and everyone can only stay at home during the winter, eight o'clock is considered late, and many people fall asleep at nine o'clock, so it is really a bit strange to have someone come to your house at this time.
Qin Huai got up from the kang and took the warm clothes buried under the other quilt to Mu Nan. He knew it would be impossible not to let Mu Nan come down to check, so he might as well let him put on his clothes first: "I'll go upstairs to check, don't open the door casually."
Mu Nan nodded and began to put on his clothes and pants. Qin Huai went directly to the second floor and then walked to the balcony. He did not turn on the spotlight on the roof, but took a flashlight and shone it outside. There were three people outside, one in the car and two standing at the door. They were wearing thick clothes, cold-proof masks and hats. Seeing that someone was lighting up the upstairs, he raised the forehead thermometer in his hand and shouted, "Take the temperature, please open the door!"
Looking at their attire, they are indeed very similar to the soldiers who come to take the temperature every time. Even the car is a military car. However, many people now rent cars for hunting, and the cars they drive are basically the same model, so it is not enough to rely on these things to identify the people outside. Yu Zibai, who had already walked downstairs to the yard, looked up at Qin Huai. He was in the yard, and if he didn't open the door, he would have no idea what was going on outside, nor did he know who was coming. However, when he heard someone shouting to take the temperature just now, he was a little confused. According to the time, they should come to take the temperature tomorrow at noon. Now the temperature is basically measured once every half a month, and it doesn't need to be measured so frequently.
Qin Huai said: "Sorry, we have already gone to bed. Please come back tomorrow if you want to take your temperature."
The man outside was stunned for a moment, but did not give up and said, "It will be quick. We will not patrol this area tomorrow after measuring it today."
Qin Huai looked at Yu Zibai downstairs and said, "Go back and don't open the door."
Yu Zibai also found it very strange, so he turned around and went back to the house. Who would come to take the temperature so late? Most importantly, from the sound of the voice, he didn't seem to be a soldier patrolling the area.
Seeing that they didn't open the door, the person outside said, "If you refuse to cooperate, I will report the truth and you will bear the consequences at your own risk!"
Qin Huai glanced at them, turned around, went into the house, closed the door, and didn't say much.
The person outside didn't insist or continue knocking on the door. He just drove away.
Mu Nan leaned on the second-floor balcony and looked out: "What's going on?"
Qin Huai: "I don't know. Maybe it's a new way of robbing a house. If climbing over the wall doesn't work, just walk in openly. If the owner is on high alert, don't insist. Then find a new target. It can save a lot of trouble."
Mu Nan said, "It's a pity that there is no internet now. Even though we know they are scammers, we can't call the police to arrest them. If someone believes them and opens the door, it will be terrible."
Qin Huai took him downstairs and said, "Those people took advantage of this loophole. There was no net, and the wind and snow blocked people. They must have been waiting for a while. They knew when the soldiers would patrol and take temperatures, so they came a day in advance. If someone happened to miss this point, they might have been caught."
Mu Nan was a little puzzled: "Then why don't you come during the day? If you come during the day, the success rate will be higher. At night, anyone who is a little wary will not open the door easily. If it is during the day, measuring the temperature a day in advance, I feel the possibility is greater." If someone knocks on the door and takes the temperature during the day, although it is a day in advance, he may not think too much at the first time, and maybe he will really open the door.
Qin Huai said: "It is more likely to happen during the day, but the chance of being exposed is also greater. Who knows? Soldiers will come to take your temperature tomorrow. Then tell them about this matter and let them check it out."
This is all we can do for now. I just hope that after such a long period of disaster, everyone will be more alert and not open the door to others so easily.
The next day, the soldiers who were supposed to come for inspection at noon and take people's temperatures did not come until almost five in the afternoon. Someone knocked on the door. This time it was someone they were familiar with. From the voice, they knew that one of them was a Qin soldier. He had migrated here before and was in the same team as them. They had been in contact for quite a long time, so they could recognize each other's voices even through the masks. Yu Zibai went out to open the door for them.
Qin Bing walked in directly. Seeing Qin Huai and the others coming out, Yu Zibai opened his garage. After all, it was not that cold indoors. In the past, taking the temperature was a quick decision, just scanning the door without even entering. But because of what happened last night, they wanted to report it, so it would be better to go inside and talk.
Qin Bing just wanted to remind them of this matter, but he didn't expect that they would encounter it last night. He was silent for a moment, and Xu Ming on the side asked: "Someone is in trouble?"
Qin Bing nodded. They were now acquaintances. Although Qin Bing didn't know much about their personalities, he knew a little bit about them. He knew that they were all capable people, so he didn't hide anything. "There was a building where four boys lived, and they also shared the apartment. They were killed last night."
Jian Chu was surprised and said, "Four boys?" Four, and they are boys, so their fighting ability is not low.
Qin Bing said, "He was not very old, about 20 years old. Maybe he thought that they were all men and there were not a small number of them, so he was not so cautious and opened the door. It will probably take some time to perform an autopsy on how he was killed."
Xu Ming asked sensitively: "Is there anything wrong with the body?" Generally speaking, for deaths caused by trauma, especially in cases of home robbery, an autopsy would take some time. Even if it is not clear at a glance, it can be seen at a glance that what needs time to be examined is the evidence left by the murderer on the body, not the cause of death.
Qin Bing told them this to alert them, so he said directly: "That family also built a kang in the house like you did, and there was a boiler. When we found it, part of the body was being boiled in the water in the pot, and part was being burned in the boiler, so we still haven't been able to piece it together completely."
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