Chapter 115
When the horn at the door sounded, Yu Zibai went out to open the door faster than Mu Nan. Now they all worked in the same building, so they went in and out together with Qin Huai. Of course, none of them were the kind of people who took advantage, so the car rental and gasoline were shared by the three of them. Even driving was taken turns by Qin Huai and Jian Chu. As for Song Jia, neither of them trusted Song Jia's driving skills, so it was better for him to just sit in the car.
Together with the cars of the four girls next door, two cars drove in one after another and parked in their respective garages. Mu Nan hurriedly took the dried clothes for Qin Huai to change into. Jian Chu and Song Jia got out of the car, both of them were jumping with cold. Jian Chu was fine, as he could go back from the garage and didn't have to go out again. Song Jia was not so good, as he had to run out. He didn't even have the energy to say a word, so he waved and ran away. He had to go home quickly to warm up his body temperature on the kang.
Mu Nan didn't know about the girls, but he knew that his neighbors, Song Jia's family and Jian Chu's family, both lived on the first floor, so they only turned on the floor heating on the first floor, but they still slept on the kang. However, after turning on the floor heating and the warmth of the kang, they could finally take off their heavy clothes when they were on the kang.
Because his family wants to grow vegetables, they have turned on the floor heating upstairs and downstairs. Mu Nan took a look and found that the electricity bill is still affordable at the moment. The electricity bill for half a month has only cost ten yuan. This ten yuan is considered cheap for Mu Nan and his family, but for others, this kind of electricity consumption will cost at least twenty yuan a month, and twenty yuan is almost the rent of this house. From this perspective, the electricity bill is almost the same as the rent, which is quite expensive.
Mu Nan had already heated up the bathroom and adjusted the water heater to the right temperature, so he pushed Qin Huai upstairs to take a hot bath: "Is it really cold?"
Qin Huai said: "It is indeed much colder these two days than before."
But it's not that bad. Even if the heater in the car is turned to the maximum, it's not very warm. The journey is not long. Although we may drive a little slower because the road is slippery, we have only shoveled out this one road and won't take the detour. We will get home in ten minutes or so, and it will only be cold for those ten minutes.
It was okay at work. The heating was strong enough and the temperature in the room could reach over ten degrees. With hot tea and the electric blanket that Mu Nan specially made for him to cover his legs, it was actually very warm. Although not as warm as at home, it was not too painful.
Hearing Qin Huai say this, Mu Nan felt relieved, and then he told him again what Qin Bing said during the day and what happened to Liang Yu. Qin Huai was taking a shower in the bathroom, listening to Mu Nan's little mouth chattering non-stop, with the corners of his mouth raised never drooping, and his little sticky cake slowly became sticky again.
Qin Huai washed off the coldness and came out wiping his hair. He kissed his chattering mouth and frowned slightly: "The taste of spicy noodles?"
Mu Nan's eyes widened suddenly, and he stepped back repeatedly, covering his mouth. He had been eating for a long time, and even ate other snacks to suppress the taste. He didn't expect that this could be discovered! His brother must have been a drug detection police dog in his previous life.
Mu Nan ran away in a flash.
Qin Huai shouted in a deep voice: "Mu Nan!"
Oh no, at my age, I still have to feel the fear of being called by my full name.
With the experience of the last cold wave, the government may not have made adequate preparations this time, but at least it has made the most comprehensive cold-resistant plan based on the existing materials. But even so, the cold outside still exceeded many people's perception of cold. The coldest temperature before was minus 57 degrees Celsius.
When this cold wave came, the temperature dropped nearly ten degrees, to more than sixty degrees or even seventy degrees below zero. For a country like theirs with distinct four seasons, when have they ever felt such cold? It's so cold in the south, and they don't know how low the temperature is in the north.
Over in the greenhouse, although the heating has been increased, it is just a thin brick house with an insulation film, and the cold protection conditions are limited. Even with continuous heating input, it cannot prevent the cold caused by the low temperature outside. Some families with many people are still better off. Two or several people squeeze into one quilt to keep each other warm with their body temperature. Although they are still shivering with cold and a chill comes out when they speak, at least they can still hold on.
Some of them are all alone, and even have thin quilts. They are so cold that they are almost losing their minds. Since the temperature dropped, several people have been dragged out. They are all in poor health and some are malnourished. The combination of hunger and cold is really fatal.
The government began to distribute supplies, and people in the greenhouses were provided with one free meal a day. It was not that there was no food reserve, but the earthquake collapsed many warehouses, and some of the food reserve was spoiled by the high temperature at the time, so there was not much left.
If they can no longer grow food, even with the few million people left in their provinces and cities, the grain reserves will not last more than two years. Now the income is not enough to cover the expenditure day by day. With such low temperatures, people are freezing to death every day. The people above are worried about it, but they have to grit their teeth and endure it. What else can they do?
Jiang Xuan has a job and now lives in the company dormitory, but due to limited housing, it is impossible for them to bring their families. There are currently no conditions to bring family members. In order to make it easier for work, Jiang Xuan has to live in the dormitory by himself. His parents are still staying in the greenhouse. Now all the power lines and base stations have been repaired. Even though the temperature is unprecedentedly low in their area, the current power supply can barely be maintained, so the network is not disconnected and they can still keep in touch every day.
But his parents are not young anymore. Their family conditions were not good in the early years. His parents got up early and went to bed late to make money, and their health was already damaged. Now they are enduring one disaster after another with their heart. It is so cold now that they really can't bear it. Jiang Xuan's father was in poor health to begin with and had undergone two major operations. Now because of the low temperature, even though Jiang Xuan was willing to spend money on them, he directly applied for two meal cards so that they could at least have enough to eat every day.
But they could not get enough nutrition, especially as they were old and sick. Now with the low temperature, they were in a semi-comatose state. They asked the government for help, but because too many people were frozen by the low temperature and the medical conditions were limited, they could only report the situation and send them to the medical station in batches, and these batches were all waiting in line.
Jiang Xuan's mother had no choice. Although she knew that her son had a hard time finding work and didn't want to cause trouble for him, she was afraid that if she didn't tell him, her son might not even be able to see his father for the last time. So she had to tell Jiang Xuan about the current situation.
Jiang Xuan found a way to go back to the greenhouse. Seeing his father's face turned pale due to the cold, he was very anxious. However, there was no way to negotiate with the higher-ups. The current situation was not just about his family. There were many seriously ill people in front of him queuing up, the hospitals were queuing up, and the houses with heating were also queuing up. Even if he was willing to rent a house at a high price, there were still people ahead of him who could pay more than him. Now it was a problem of resource shortage, not a problem of price.
Finally, Jiang Xuan, who had no way out, found Qin Huai again.
Qin Huai heard his intention and laughed: "What are you talking about in your sleep?"
Jiang Xuan clenched his fists, tried to adjust his expression and begged, "District 2 is heating up, I want you to move a room for my parents to live in. I will pay for the electricity and food myself, and I will give you all my salary. Please, give my parents a chance to live."
Qin Huai looked at him coldly: "Is this moral kidnapping? I gave your parents a way to live, but am I the one who gave them a way to die?"
Jiang Xuan quickly said: "That's not what I meant."
Without waiting for him to finish his words, Qin Huai said directly: "Don't waste my time. It's impossible, Jiang Xuan. Even if your whole family dies in front of me, I won't waste even one glance on you."
Jiang Xuan looked at Qin Huai in disbelief: "I, I apologize to you, isn't it enough? I apologize to Mu Nan, I kneel down to apologize to him, I really have no choice, my dad can't stand it anymore..."
Qin Huai said directly: "What does it have to do with me? I said that the only person I care about in my life is that one. I trust you, and I entrust Nan Nan to you to take care of. If you don't want to, you can refuse. You are not the only choice for me. What about you? When Nan Nan felt that he was abandoned by the whole world, no one comforted him. When he was sick and helpless, no one took care of him. You think that just ignoring him is not considered hurting him, right? Jiang Xuan, you know what happened in the past, and you also know why I left. What kind of person is my biological father? You know even more. What do you think, I have his blood and inherited his genes. What kind of person am I in essence? Come to beg me? I really doubt that you have a brain?"
His world is so small. He used to have his grandmother, uncles and aunts, but now the previous generation is gone and he only has Mu Nan left. He never cares about the life and death of others. He doesn't mind lending a hand to those in need when it is profitable, but that doesn't mean he will help every poor person he sees. What's more, that person is Jiang Xuan. She really thinks he is a kind-hearted saint and even begs him for help. This man is probably really brainless.
Jiang Xuan was choking on a mouthful of blood. Qin Huai felt that he had deceived him, and he felt that he had been deceived by Qin Huai. This was not the Qin Huai he knew at all. The Qin Huai he knew was a gentleman, capable, and broad-minded. He was definitely not narrow-minded, petty, and indifferent to the danger of life!
If Mu Nan were here, he would definitely laugh at Jiang Xuan for being ignorant. The nickname Qin Duidui was not given for nothing. It was a pity that his brother was such a liar. From childhood to adulthood, he was the only one who could see through his brother Duidui's true nature.
Qin Huai did not tell Mu Nan that Jiang Xuan came to see him. There was no need to tell him about this. The Jiang family had nothing to do with them. There was no need for him to let Mu Nan suffer a psychological trauma from the death of Jiang Xuan's parents because of a moral kidnapping.
Mu Nan didn't want to ask about things Qin Huai didn't say. There were so many things to do at home, so how could he have the time to pay attention to someone who was already a thing of the past for him. The little rabbits were getting bigger and bigger. Although the grass hadn't grown yet, they were fed with some green vegetables, some vines, and even various potatoes, sweet potatoes, and purple potatoes. They ate whatever they were given. I don't know if they were wild rabbits, but they had experienced a disaster of elimination. They ate a variety of foods and were easy to feed. The circles of meat were growing up.
So Mu Nan planned to sell the little rabbits. He would sell two at first, because there were nine rabbits, big and small, in one room. It was okay when they were small, but now they have grown up and their destructive power, as well as their ability to poop and piss are unbearable. However, Mu Nan felt it was not cost-effective to sell all of them. Their flesh has not grown yet, so they cannot be sold at a good price. So he would sell one male and one female first to test the market.
But it is difficult to determine the selling price of the rabbit. There is no meat to sell outside now. If it is sold to the government, it will be sold by pound, and one pound may be sold for a few yuan. A little rabbit weighs only about two pounds, and it is not that fat yet, so it is not cost-effective to sell it by pound.
Finally, Jian Chu suggested that Mu Nan post a sales information on the platform, pricing the rabbits at twenty-one. Although rabbits are small, they are alive. When they grow up, they will produce more than two kilograms of meat. How much meat you can eat depends on how you raise them.
Mu Nan thought this was feasible. Information was hidden on the platform anyway. At worst, he could go through the official side, hang the stuff on Building No. 1, find a soldier to help with the transfer, and pay him a little transfer fee. This way, his information wouldn't be leaked, nor would he get into any trouble because of a little meat.
In this period when people are craving for meat, the power of hanging these rabbits is really great. Almost as soon as they are hung up, they are bought. Sometimes two are bought at a time. The buyers are also from District 2. It happened to be the soldiers' patrol time, so Mu Nan asked Qin Bing for help. He first transferred the money to Qin Bing's account, and then Qin Bing came to deliver the rabbits.
As for the transfer fee, Qin Bing would definitely not ask Mu Nan for it. If it was someone else, he would just handle it in a businesslike manner, but they are so close, and he regards Mu Nan and the others as friends. If he really has to calculate it so clearly, he won't be able to get over it.
Qin Bing didn't want it, but Mu Nan couldn't let him go through the snow and suffer, so she made some diced venison with cumin and pepper, and packed a lunch box for Qin Bing: "You treat me as a friend and help me, and I treat you as a friend and treat you to food. If you don't want it, you don't treat me as a friend."
Qin Bing had no choice but to accept it. Luckily he was not on duty today, because Mu Nan thought he would be patrolling today, so he asked him if he could help. He came over in his teammate's car. Therefore, it was not a violation of discipline to accept some food from a friend during non-working hours, so he accepted it.
Mu Nan took the record of his earnings and rushed over to Qin Huai, who was reading a book on the kang during the holiday break, to show him: "I made money!"
Qin Huai took a look and praised, "Not bad, you've made quite a bit of money. If you keep raising them, the female rabbits will probably give birth to pups. Then you can sell two a month. There won't be too much accumulated at home, but you can still maintain your income, which is good."
Mu Nan climbed onto the kang with a smile: "What size rabbit do you think is best to roast? Roast suckling rabbit."
Qin Huai said: "Five or six months is enough. The meat is not too old when it is just an adult. If you can fatten it up a little, the meat will be more tender."
Mu Nan licked his lips. He had never eaten roasted suckling rabbit. The most he had eaten was spicy rabbit cubes and the rabbit meat he had roasted last time. However, thinking about the ingredients upstairs, which would take several months to grow, he could only suppress his drooling heart for the time being.
Thinking that it would soon get hot again, Mu Nan leaned on Qin Huai and said, "Will the day and night be reversed again? It's so hot at night, can the car be driven?"
Qin Huai rubbed his hair and said, "In fact, driving is not dangerous. Even if there is an explosion or fire due to high temperature, there is enough time to escape from the car. Moreover, by then the subway may have been opened, and we won't have to endure the heat on the surface. It is a little safer than the ground. With the experience of previous heat waves, people's response measures will only get better and better, so don't worry too much. If it is really dangerous to endanger my life, I will quit and go home to raise rabbits."
Mu Nan turned to look at him and said, "You must keep your word. Don't just think you can resist for a while and try to resist just because you think there is no problem."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Work only enriches my spiritual level, and does not involve the level of survival. In front of survival, nothing else matters. Hmm, I seem to smell the spicy noodles again."
Mu Nan said angrily: "Don't accuse me! You have been at home all day today. How could I have cheated on you?"
Qin Huai chuckled: "No? Then we have to taste it carefully to be sure."
As for whether or not to eat spicy strips, this is a question that can only be discussed with a light on.
Some people live a life without worries about food and clothing, while others are on the brink of death. Xiao Baoer has a little playmate whom she met after coming to the greenhouse. She is a little sister, a few years older than her, but thin and small, not tall, and looks younger than her. Before she came, the little girl named Fenfen sat on her bed all day, curled up into a small ball to keep out the cold. There were adults all around her, and no one would chat with a child.
Especially now that they are living in fear and with empty stomachs, they have no energy to speak. Until Xiaobaoer came here with his mother and grandparents, leaving his partial father who only loved his cousin, Xiaobaoer had a new playmate, and Fenfen also had someone to talk to.
But these few days, the temperature outside seems to have dropped again, and the greenhouse is no longer warm. People are shivering every day, and Xiaobao is also cold, but she has her mother and grandmother. Her mother and grandmother will hug her to sleep, hold her in their arms, put on outer clothes and wrap her in a quilt, so although it is cold.
But Xiao Baoer felt that it was okay. She was just worried that her mother and grandmother would take turns holding her these days to prevent her from getting cold, and they would be very tired. Not going to work would affect her ability to make money, and if she couldn't make money, she would have no money to buy food, and the little food she could buy would have to be saved by her grandparents and mother for her, so she would go hungry.
So when he saw his grandfather coming back with food, Xiao Baoer shook his head and said, "One meal a day is enough for me. I ate in the morning. Grandpa, you guys eat. I'm not hungry. I'm still young and I don't eat much."
The grandmother hugged her granddaughter with concern and said, "My dear, eat more and you won't be cold. Now the government is distributing free food, no money is needed, if there is food, we can all eat it and we won't be hungry."
Wang Hui also pulled down the quilt that wrapped her mother and daughter, and fed her daughter a steamed bun dipped in vegetable soup, so that her daughter only needed to stick a little head out of the quilt, and she didn't have to stick her hands out to get cold: "Eat well, eat more and you will grow up faster. When you grow up, you can go to work and support your grandparents."
Little Baoer nodded, opened his mouth and bit off the steamed bun that was handed to him, and said with a bulging mouth: "I want to grow up quickly and make money to support my grandparents and mom!"
Da Niu standing next to him was also wrapped in a blanket and eating relief food. With the relief food, plus the meal card he already had, he finally no longer felt hungry all the time. Although he was not very full, at least he was not starving anymore.
Seeing how sensible the little girl in the next bed was, Daniu couldn't help but imagine that if he and his wife could also have a child, would the child be so cute and sensible? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the big family over there with a smile on his face. It was really nice to have more people and it was lively.
However, this warm atmosphere amidst the suffering was soon broken. The parents of the little girl named Fenfen, who slept in the bed opposite them, came back: a father with a bad temper, and a timid mother. After they came back, the man ate the staple food for the family of three with soup, while the woman and the little girl only ate one portion of the dish. Now, because one more meal of relief food is distributed every day, the children also have a share, so the mother and daughter can each finish one portion of the dish.
In the past, the women and girls shared a portion of the food they brought back, and the rest went to the man, saying that he had to work and so needed to eat well. The woman was also working, but perhaps it was because of her submissive nature that she did not dare to resist even if others could not stand it and spoke up for her.
What broke the tranquility was that the woman could not wake up her daughter, who was sleeping in the quilt but was cold all over. The woman looked at her daughter who had stopped breathing, and she seemed to be so shocked that she lost her soul and did not move. Although the man was surprised, he immediately put away the uneaten buns and then went to check the situation.
The girl froze to death, or rather, died of cold and hunger. Xiao Baoer's grandmother tucked her granddaughter into her arms and pulled the quilt higher. Although it might not block out all the sound, it could at least block out some of the sound.
Fenfen was the only good friend the granddaughter made since she came here. The child lay motionless in the quilt all morning and they didn't pay much attention to her. It was very cold now and many people were wrapped in quilts without even raising their heads. Who would have thought that she was gone.
The man has a bad temper, but he is only a bully at home. He didn't dare to make a fuss even though his daughter was gone. Some family members had made a fuss when someone had frozen to death in the greenhouse before. Unfortunately, even if they put the blame on the government, saying that they paid money to buy a greenhouse and finally froze to death, the government should still take some responsibility for this.
Of course, the result was obvious. Those who made the most trouble were directly driven out, so the man did not make a fuss at all. He reported it directly and then had his daughter's body carried out and disposed of. Even for his daughter's death, he lamented more that he would not be able to receive an extra portion of relief food tomorrow.
The girl's mother sat numbly on the bed, letting others carry her daughter away, with a blank look in her eyes, as if she had lost all reaction to the outside world. Many people nearby were whispering, saying that this couple was really cold-blooded, their child died, and they had this reaction, even the little girl from the opposite family was crying in her parents' arms, but the biological parents had no reaction at all, as if the dead child was not their own, and what was taken away was just a torn piece of clothing that could not be worn.
What no one expected was that in the middle of the night, after people had curled up in the cold and fallen asleep, an extremely shrill scream resounded throughout the greenhouse. When the lights were turned back on, those who were closest to the scream looked at the scene in horror. The woman who had just lost her daughter during the day was covered in blood and holding a pair of scissors, with the tip of the scissors deeply inserted into her husband's chest.
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