Chapter 125
Finally, after calculating their family assets, everyone decided that each family should buy 100 kilograms of rice. 100 kilograms is 500 yuan, which is indeed a lot in today's currency value. But except Xu Ming, each family has two grown men, so even if they have to eat a little frugally, they still need a kilogram of rice a day. Now there are no vegetables, and there are not many things that can replenish oil and water, so they cannot be less on rice.
This stockpiling is only enough for the three families to eat for three months. Wu Zheng's family should be able to eat longer. Wu Zheng is at work and has one meal at the company. The same is true for Xu Ming. Moreover, he lives alone and hardly cooks at home. He used to eat with Yu Zibai and others. Now the ranch provides two meals and one extra meal for overtime. They almost don't need to eat at home. However, Xu Ming still stockpiled. With food in hand, he is not worried.
At present, Yu Zibai's family consumes a little more food. Mu Nan whispered to Jian Chu: "Remember to tell us if your family doesn't have enough food. Don't carry it all by yourself. Let's work together to find a solution."
Jian Chu smiled and nodded, saying "OK", but at least there shouldn't be a shortage of food in the next few months. Yu Zibai is already preparing to grow some himself. If the grass can grow in a few months and the rabbits can be fed, then the conditions will be much better in the future. With the help of friends, their family is living a pretty good life now. At least they are still alive, so they appreciate their friends' kindness, but it is better not to trouble others if possible.
As for the rice, Xu Ming drove himself to transport it, which was only a few hundred kilograms. His own car for commuting was big enough to carry it. This was thanks to Yu Feng's relationship, so Yu Feng naturally went with him. When he came back, Xu Ming also drove the rice back. Yu Feng now lives in District 4, which is a small low-rise building with five stories high. The larger units have two bedrooms and one living room, and the smaller units have one bedroom and one living room. Yu Feng lives alone, so one bedroom and one living room is enough for him.
District 4 was not far from them, only a ten-minute bike ride away. Xu Ming was thinking of getting the rice first and then driving Yu Feng back.
Mu Nan had never seen Yu Feng before. He was carried down in a daze. Later, it was Qin Huai who went to thank him. He went straight home after being discharged from the hospital. Mu Nan had never seen him in person. Now that he saw him, he looked similar to what she had imagined. He did not have thick eyebrows and big eyes, but his facial features were heroic and regular. There was a sense of righteousness between his eyebrows and eyes. His smile was bright and sunny. He should be older than all of them, but he did not look old. Instead, he had the calmness of a mature man.
As soon as Yu Feng saw Mu Nan, he smiled and said, "It looks like you've recovered well."
Mu Nan also smiled and said, "Thank you so much for what you did last time."
Without waiting for Mu Nan to say anything, Yu Feng waved his hand and said, "Hey, it's just a simple favor, but you guys are making it so serious. Forget about thanking me. I've accepted your brother's thank-you gift. This matter is over. Don't think about it, or you'll have any psychological trauma."
Qin Huai took out two cigarettes. He smelled tobacco on Yu Feng, so he must be a smoker. No one smoked in their yard, and he himself didn't smoke either, but he had stored a lot of cigarettes in Mu Nan's space. Now that Yu Feng could get rice and grain, it proved that he must have many ways. So no matter whether it was because he saved Mu Nan last time or because he had more friends and more ways, it would always do no harm to bring them closer.
The cigarettes were not very good. They used to cost more than ten yuan a box. But when Qin Huai handed them to him, Yu Feng's eyes lit up, but he still restrained himself and said, "No, no, this is too expensive. You keep it for yourself."
No matter what time, this kind of spiritual food is hard currency. The harder the times are, the harder and more expensive they are than rice. But it is absolutely no problem to exchange this cigarette for a few kilograms of rice.
Qin Huai said, "No one smokes here. This cigarette has been there for a while. I don't know if it's damp or not. Let's smoke it. It would be a waste if we don't smoke it."
Everything else is easy for Yu Feng to deal with except smoking. Of course, this depends on the situation. During the long rescue operation, he only thought about it occasionally for several months, and he would not be addicted to it. But now that he smells the odor, he really can't help it. He is a grown man, and since others have already taken out the cigarettes, there is no need to be pretentious.
But he was not in a hurry to smoke, he just smelled the tobacco to appease his craving. Qin Huai just said that they didn't smoke, so there was no need to smoke in front of non-smokers. Some non-smokers were particularly disgusted by the smell of cigarettes, so he still had this little courtesy.
Qin Huai asked: "What is the current situation in the planting area?"
There was nothing to hide about this matter. From his perspective on people, Xu Ming and his people were not the kind of people who would do things without thinking. Moreover, the news was suppressed now, but an outbreak was only a matter of time. "It should be said that it is very bad. We have organized a group of people to clean up a batch, but we can only clean up the insects that have broken eggs in the soil. Many roots are covered with dense insect eggs that cannot be cleaned out at all. We started to try hydroponics, but the consumption of hydroponics is too high. We can only rely on hydroponics. There will not be many people who can eat in the future."
Mu Nan asked curiously: "Can't the high temperature kill all the bugs in the soil first? Will pesticides not work?" This soil is not untreated, there shouldn't be so many bugs in it.
Yu Feng sighed: "If only it were that easy."
After all, this is not a small-scale potted soil cultivation at home. If a small pot of soil is cleaned well and carefully guarded, the problem will not be so serious. But for hundreds of acres of land, this is not a small project.
Mu Nan felt his scalp tingling as he listened to Yu Feng's description. What was it like to have piles of worms under the soil? Just imagining the scene made him feel sick.
I couldn't help but feel fortunate that the soil used to grow the crops in his house was the nutrient soil he had bought before. The current outbreak of these insects seemed to be a result of a winter of incubation. After all, it was impossible for these insects to suddenly increase in number for no reason. Fortunately, there were not so many insects in his house.
While Xu Ming and Song Jia were unloading rice, Qin Huai and Yu Zibai were asking Yu Feng about the farm. Yu Feng knew a lot, not only about the farm, but also about parasites. Anthelmintics have already started production, which is much easier than plague vaccines, but the output of the medicine is not high because the raw materials are limited. When the time comes, it will be supplied to hospitals first, but no one knows how much it can supply. Now there is a fierce competition for medicine outside, and there are many scams caused by this.
Yu Feng said: "Some people spend all their money to buy medicine from others. Although anthelmintic medicine is not a common household item like cold and cough medicine, some people do have it at home. Those whose houses have not collapsed and whose belongings are well preserved can make a lot of money by selling medicine, even if it is just one or two pills. So some people took advantage of this loophole and cheated many people out of their money and medicine."
No matter when, there will always be a shortage of such scammers. Once they have the money, other people’s lives don’t matter.
Yu Feng told them all this to make them feel more cautious. There were many young people in this courtyard who had a good relationship and were in pairs. He was just afraid that if something happened to one of them, the other would panic and get cheated. They met by chance, so a few words of advice would not be a big deal.
After unloading several hundred kilograms of rice into the garage, Xu Ming drove Yu Feng back home, and the others took their own meals.
They had previously asked the girls if they wanted to buy some rice together, but they said no. They didn't have that much money and could only buy the rice allocated by the government in limited quantities. Mu Nan felt that the money might not be much, but they estimated that there should be a lot of stock. Anyway, the girls didn't seem to be in a hurry to stockpile food, so they didn't interfere.
This rice weighs 50 kilograms in a bag. As I said before, this rice is considered old rice, but it is definitely good because it is vacuum-packed and preserved quite well. The rice is also that kind of white rice, not very good, but not bad either. In the past, this rice would cost about three to five yuan per kilogram.
Mu Nan and Qin Huai each took a bag home: "Brother, have you ever calculated how much rice we consume in a month?"
Qin Huai said: "It's hard to count, but it's about 30 kilograms. We don't eat rice every day, but we eat a lot. A normal bowl of rice is at least two bowls per person, two meals a day, at least one kilogram."
The main reason is that they don't eat out every day. Sometimes they eat hot pot, barbecue, or even some time-consuming dishes, such as shrimp, pork ribs, some pepper and salt ribs, and charcoal-grilled lamb chops. Mu Nan doesn't like to eat them with rice. He prefers to eat them raw with drinks. Therefore, it is really hard to calculate the amount of rice their family consumes in a month.
After the two of them carried the rice into the house, Mu Nan put it directly into the space. This rice, which was neither good nor bad, should be put aside for now. Qin Huai bought a lot of rice, all of which were very good rice. They did not have the habit of eating the bad rice first and then the good rice. Nowadays, one meal is one less meal. If there is anything good you want to eat, eat it quickly. It would be a pity if you don’t have the chance to eat it in the future.
Probably frightened by what Yu Feng had just said, Mu Nan looked at the little rabbit and then ran to turn the soil. Fortunately, the soil in their home was prepared before the end of the world, and since they grew vegetables at home, they had always been very careful to prevent mosquitoes and insects. So after checking several vegetable pots, he did not find the kind of insects that Yu Feng mentioned, and there were no insect eggs attached to the roots of the vegetables.
"Luckily, fortunately. If there were bugs, I wouldn't want any of these things."
Qin Huai was watering the vegetable pots nearby. Even the water was filtered, which further reduced the possibility of insects growing in the water: "Maybe in the future, these insects will become the most popular food for people."
Mu Nan almost shook his head: "I don't want it, I'd rather starve to death!"
Qin Huai laughed when he heard this: "Then it smells really good?"
Mu Nan rolled his eyes: "Don't worry, it will never smell really good!"
There were no bugs in Mu Nan's house, but Song Jia's family was in a terrible situation. Fortunately, neither Song Jia nor Wu Zheng were afraid of bugs, they were just disgusting. Especially since Song Jia had been infected before, it was even more disgusting. Wu Zheng, on the other hand, dug out the grubs that were as thick as a finger and as thin as a fingernail and threw them into a bucket. Song Jia couldn't bear to watch that scene.
"What should I do? I can't stand it anymore. How about not planting it?"
Wu Zheng smiled and said, "What's the big deal? They don't bite people. We don't have many soil pots at home. We can always clean them up by turning them over a few times a day. It's not like the farm where they plant directly in the soil. Of course, it's hard to clean out the bugs."
Song Jia rubbed his arms: "Stop talking, I'm going to die!"
Wu Zheng continued to laugh, then looked at Niuniu, who was curiously watching him turning the soil, and asked, "Niuniu, do you want some meat?"
Niu Niu tilted her head and whimpered.
Of course it was impossible to feed the worms to the dogs. Who knew whether these worms were edible? However, Wu Zheng still built a fire in the yard and threw the cleaned fat worms into the fire. Not to mention, the smell of the burnt worms, which were full of protein, was quite tempting.
Mu Nan leaned on the balcony and looked down for a while, but only for a while because it was too hot. As he walked into the house, he said to Qin Huai, "Don't mention it, it smells pretty good when it burns."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "The Law of True Fragrance?"
Mu Nan made a disgusted sound: "I could never be attracted to a creature like a bug!"
I originally thought that Qin Huai was just talking about eating insects, or that it would be something that would happen a long time in the future, after all, food is still available now. But I didn't expect that a fried product would be available online soon. The name was quite direct, called fried protein. There was one pound in one bag. Perhaps in order to make it easier for people to eat, the insects were processed. They were not fried directly as a whole, but cut into cubes.
It might not be easy to cut them into dices in the past, but now, those grubs are very fat, as big as an adult's palm. Once fried, you can't see their original shape, but they will be introduced below, introducing their name, appearance, and even their efficacy, as well as the differences between the grubs.
There are actually differences among these insects. Some like to eat roots, and some like to eat rotten things. Of course, the ones that are promoted now are all those that eat roots. It is said that some of these insects can be used as medicine. Anyway, those who can accept it will accept it well, and those who cannot will feel sick at the sight of them.
Although this needs to be fried and even has plenty of seasonings such as cumin, pepper salt, chili powder, etc., a package is very cheap, only 50 cents per pound, and you can buy three pounds for one dollar.
Mu Nan originally thought that this kind of thing, especially at a time when parasites are breaking out, would not have any market. After all, people are now terrified of parasites, and many people infected with parasites have no medicine and are suffering in the hospital.
But seeing the icon above that said it would be sold out soon, Mu Nan turned to look at Qin Huai: "I was naive."
Qin Huai pulled the person into his arms: "Would you like to buy a pack to try?"
Mu Nan shook his head frantically. They had no shortage of meat, it was not worth it!
Facts have proved that as long as it is edible, even if the population is greatly reduced, it can be eaten from flooding to artificial breeding. Not to mention, the chickens, ducks and geese on the farm are currently short of food, but the labor cost will increase because they have to be cleaned out of the soil bit by bit, but now labor is the most valuable, but also the least valuable.
Wu Zheng also tagged Mu Nan and Yu Zibai in the group: "Don't throw away the bugs you cleared from the soil in your house."
Mu Nan: “???”
Yu Zibai: "Want to eat?"
Song Jia sent a crying face emoji: "My brother wants to feed Niuniu."
The first time it was cleaned up, it was burned. It wasn't sold outside at the time, and they didn't know if it was edible. Now that they know it is edible, it must not be wasted. Niu Niu has been following them on steamed buns and rice for the past two years, and she couldn't even afford to eat a bite of meat. Now that this is edible, and they don't have chickens or ducks to raise, and rabbits don't eat this, of course they have to fry it and feed Niu Niu.
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai in distress: "What should we do if there are no insects in our house?" The soil outside is full of these insects, and there is not a single one in their house. Wouldn't that be a bit strange?
Qin Huai took Mu Nan's phone and replied, "It's too late. I have already cleared all the bugs in my house."
Wu Zheng sent a regretful emoticon.
Qin Huai returned the phone to Mu Nan. Mu Nan: “That’s it?”
Qin Huai: "What else?"
Mu Nan touched his nose and said, "Okay, otherwise, they couldn't turn into bugs."
Before he put down his phone, Mu Nan heard the sound of money being credited to his account. He quickly clicked on it and said happily, "I made money. Even though it's only eight yuan, this is a good start. My comic can be serialized for a long time. As more and more comics are serialized in the future, I can earn ten, twenty, or even a hundred yuan a month sooner or later!"
Qin Huai never hesitates to praise Mu Nan: "Nan Nan is awesome, little cartoonist."
Mu Nan felt a little embarrassed by the compliment. Seeing Qin Huai typing a bunch of characters that he didn't recognize, he asked, "What are you doing?"
Qin Huai: "We are making games. Several small games will be online soon, including the snake game I made for you before."
Mu Nan leaned on Qin Huai and watched him typing on the computer: "Don't games require servers? We don't have any servers."
Qin Huai said: "We don't have it, but the military does. I talked to them before I left. There are two ways. One is leasing. I pay a certain amount of money to rent their servers. The other is cooperation. They provide the servers and subsequent maintenance, and I provide the games, and we share the profits."
Mu Nan asked: "Which one do you choose?"
Qin Huai: "It's easier to share the profits. I just need to get the finished game out, and we don't need to worry about the rest. Although the money won't be much, it saves time. Anyway, it's enough to eat and drink. Now they have opened up several game areas, and the download volume is not small, so the income should not be too bad."
Now, because many equipment are in the hands of the government, food, clothing, housing and transportation are all problems, and there is not much spiritual entertainment. However, if life can stabilize the current situation and gradually improve, someone will soon spot business opportunities, and all walks of life will slowly develop. It is impossible to rely on the government for everything. Only when the people themselves develop, will life get better.
It is said that some people already want to contract farms to open up wasteland. Those who have saved a lot of money before, or those who are working together with many people, have already taken action. Many private farms are recruiting people, and the real estate industry is buying land to build houses. Although the government now strictly controls the price of house rentals, this is a long-term development.
Many people say that the era of gold rush has come again, and with the precedents of our predecessors, as long as we seize the opportunity, we don’t have to bother to study anything, and we can just follow the path of getting rich in the 1970s and 1980s.
But these have nothing to do with Qin Huai. If he wants to do it, he can do it more smoothly than anyone else, because even if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, it is not as fast as if he directly takes ready-made things. But Qin Huai does not have this idea, and even plays some small games just to pass the time.
In the past, he was also ambitious. He had felt the pressure of money and power over the law, the humiliation of being forced to bend his back for a penny, and the extremes of wealth and poverty in this impetuous society. There is a saying that goes, when you stand on the top of a mountain, all you see is kindness.
Qin Huai's biggest ambition is to build an ivory tower that can make Mu Nan live a happy and worry-free life. To achieve this kind of happiness and worry-free life, he must first have money and secondly power. This was also his original intention to cooperate with others to develop a company after returning from abroad.
But now he doesn't think so. There are certainly many opportunities to get rich quickly. As long as he works hard to seize them, he will be at the forefront of capital in ten or twenty years. However, such efforts are not equal, and it can even be said that he is putting the cart before the horse. When all the time and experience are invested in the development of his career, how much time can he squeeze out to accompany his lover?
So even if there was gold everywhere in front of him, he was too lazy to pick it up, because picking up the gold would mean he would have to let go of Mu Nan's hand.
Mu Nan, who had no idea what Qin Huai was thinking, clapped enthusiastically: "Brother, you're awesome! Now we can both sit at home and make money!"
For Mu Nan, the most comfortable days are those without the wind and sun, sleeping and waking up naturally, and without the pressure of life. Not to mention being with Qin Huai every day, he really feels that although he had no worries about food and clothing before and did not have to worry every day, in terms of happiness index, it is still higher now.
"Now that I'm making money with my craft, selling rabbits before doesn't count. Isn't it worth having a small barbecue to celebrate?"
Qin Huai looked at Mu Nan's sparkling eyes, and before he could compromise, he received a message from Zhou Chuanghong.
Mu Nan stretched his head to look and saw the message saying that Pang Pang had died. Although he didn't know this Pang Pang, he should be Qin Huai's colleague. The joy of making money just now disappeared in an instant: "Brother?"
Qin Huai rubbed his hair and replied, "What's going on?"
Zhou Chuanghong: "He was infected with parasites. He weighed 180 pounds. When he was dragged away from the hospital, he had lost weight to less than 120 pounds. He survived for half a month. The hospital just called to say he had passed away."
Qin Huai: "Does he have any other family members?"
Zhou Chuanghong replied after a long while: "My parents are here, and I have a younger brother, but he is already an adult."
Qin Huai said: "If you want to donate to Bai Bao, please tell me when the time comes."
A white envelope is a gift package for funerals, but now I don’t know whether we should give it or not. After all, every family is poor, and it’s not easy to have no money or food.
Zhou Chuanghong responded and said nothing more. Mu Nan leaned on Qin Huai and said, "Colleague?"
Qin Huai hummed, "He's a talented kid, not very old, about your age, loves to eat, but has great abilities, but no ambitions. I originally wanted to train him well, but this little fat boy smiles all day long and comes to me at mealtime. He eats most of the pickled vegetables you brought me. Although he's greedy, he's also sensible. He won't ask me for meat no matter how hungry he is, although his mouth waters every time he smells the aroma of meat. What a pity."
Mu Nan hugged Qin Huai without saying a word. Nowadays, every day of being alive is worth being grateful for.
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