Chapter 132
Supplies began to be distributed on the second night after we moved into the cave. Each person was given a multi-grain cake and 500 ml of water every day. However, the water needed to be brought in its own container as there was no condition to fill it into bottles. However, there was no shortage of water at the moment. Although it was rainwater, for some people, as long as the water did not fall to the ground, it was clean. Some people even felt that the rootless water from the sky was cleaner than the water distributed by the government and would rather drink rainwater.
There are many ways to collect the money. The most direct one is to swipe the ID card. Proxy collection is still not allowed. Those who escaped in a hurry without bringing their ID cards need to register their information, and the information needs to be checked when collecting the money every day. People like Qin Huai and others have their ID cards, so the collection process will be much faster. They can collect the money at the special card swiping machine. Those without ID cards have to collect it through channels opened on another side. There is no limit on the time of collection, but it can only be collected once a day.
While others rushed to collect the supplies after receiving the notice, fearing that they would be gone if they went too late, Qin Huai and his friends sat there without moving. They only went to the bathroom before going to bed at night, and then brought back the supplies. The multi-grain cakes were palm-sized and yellowish in color. No one knew what kind of grains the flour was made of. Mu Nan curiously tore open a bag and took a bite. It was rough and made his throat feel like he was swallowing bran.
There is only a little saltiness in the pancake, probably because they are afraid that people can't stand not eating salt for too long. There is only this one a day, which can indeed maintain the most basic survival needs of human beings. If you are hungry, you will be hungry, but you will not starve to death.
Mu Nan took the multi-grain cake in the lunch box and walked towards their residence with a sigh: "Before, it was a corn cake. The cornmeal ground by the machine may not be very fine, but at least it was edible. Now this, if you are really hungry and have no choice, then of course you can eat it."
But now they have more choices. Although they have to avoid people, the thing they don’t have to worry about the most is food. In this case, it is naturally difficult to accept this coarse and choking multi-grain cake.
Qin Huai put a hand on his head and said, "Then leave it there for now. It's also individually sealed in plastic. If it's dehydrated like this, it can be kept for at least three to five days, maybe even longer."
Mu Nan looked at the multi-grain cake in his hand and couldn't help saying, "I've read some apocalyptic novels before. In some of the plots, corn tortillas were used as a universal currency. They were half a pound and half a pound. When trading, people would just break off a piece. When I read it, I was thinking, isn't this food? Can you still eat it after trading it like this? It has passed through so many people's hands. You break it for me and I trade it to you. How dirty is that corn tortilla? Just think about it, it feels like money. After the transaction, it's like eating the money directly."
Mu Nan shook the pancake in his hand and said, "I was thinking, when we need to trade food in the future, we won't be so unrefined, right? Sure enough, reality is not that unrefined. These packages are sealed and individually packaged. Even if they are used as a common currency transaction, at least there is an outer packaging to separate them, so they won't get dirty from touching each other."
Qin Huai rubbed his head and said, "What a mess you think every day. When the time comes that food can be traded for human lives, no matter how dirty the food is, as long as it can fill their stomachs, people will still rush to get it."
The two of them were talking, and soon they returned to their residence. Mu Nan raised the multi-grain biscuits in his hand and said, "I opened a pack. Do you want to have a midnight snack before going to bed?"
Although Jian Chu and the others also received the cakes, they did not open them. They were not too short of food at the moment and the multi-grain cakes looked very durable, so they did not touch them for the time being. But now that Mu Nan had opened a pack, they decided to try it. They were also very curious about what this multi-grain cake, which looked not very tasty, tasted like.
Mu Nan generously shared the piece of multi-grain cake that he had bitten into, but he broke off the part that he had bitten into and gave it to Qin Huai, and divided the rest evenly.
Song Jia took a bite and his expression was a little indescribable, but at least it was edible. He frowned and ate the piece: "It's amazing."
Mu Nan smiled and said, "Get used to it as soon as possible. This will be your daily relief food."
Jian Chu also frowned: "It's really scratchy, but other than being too rough, it tastes okay."
Now I know that food is precious, even if it doesn’t taste good, it cannot be wasted, so I finally finished that piece of bread with some water.
It’s just that the relief food in the past was at least at the level of steamed buns, but now it has become this kind of multi-grain cakes. One reason is that the current environment is bad, too humid and hot, and steamed buns are not as durable as this kind of multi-grain cakes. Another reason is probably because of the shortage of supplies. This time the harvest was completely lost, making the already difficult situation even worse. At least through the distribution of food, it can be conveyed that the people above are also having a hard time.
Therefore, none of them were in the mood to chat and went to bed early as they didn’t know what would happen tomorrow.
Even in the innermost part of the cave, where most people had good conditions, on the third day of taking refuge in the cave, some people still couldn't hold on and collapsed. They sobbed quietly and then burst into tears, waking up many people from their sleep.
Mu Nan was the one who woke up in a daze. The dim light in the cave could only see the distance near their platform. It was not very clear a little further away, but he could hear the sound. He yawned and asked blankly: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Qin Huai said: "I don't know if it was her brother or sister, who was infected with parasites and was just dragged away, so some of them could not bear the death of their loved ones."
Jian Chu was too sensitive to the word "parasite". Hearing these three words, he subconsciously held back his shivers and said, "Is he dead?"
Qin Huai hummed: "It should be gone."
There were many people infected with parasites in this cave. When Qin Huai took Mu Nan to the bathroom outside, he saw people lying on the ground with something crawling in the skin and flesh of their legs. Some people were so thin that they were just a bag of bones. They were lying on the ground in a coma and could not even take water. However, their family members still refused to give up and fed them water and porridge. However, they looked like they were hanging on for life. I am afraid that even medicine may not be able to save them.
The girl who lost her loved ones was obviously in a state of collapse. She screamed and cried in despair, as if she wanted to vent all her sorrow and fear about the future. This kind of despair was easily contagious, especially in the entire cave. There was no telling how many people were suffering from parasites, and no one knew if they would be the next one to fail. So the atmosphere in the entire cave was particularly depressing.
Qin Huai took Mu Nan directly to the bathroom to wash up, and then they stayed outside for a while to get some fresh air before coming back in. This overly depressing environment had a great impact on people's physical and mental health, so they should avoid it if possible.
As he was walking outside, Mu Nan heard a little child, the voice like a weak cat, curled up in his mother's arms and crying in pain. Before Mu Nan could turn his head to take a look, he was quickly pulled away by Qin Huai.
Mu Nan knew what Qin Huai meant, and obediently followed him as they walked out quickly. Some things could not be saved, so just don't try to save them. In the end times, being a little cooler would make life less tiring.
There were already a lot of people queuing up at the bathroom. They were not in a hurry, so they simply found a place to wash up. The rain outside was a little lighter. It was no longer the kind of heavy downpour that hit them, but a drizzle.
Many large green tents were set up outside the cave overnight. Along the entire mountain road, many people slept on stone platforms inside the tents. They could not sleep on the ground because the rain would flow down along the mountain road above. Now the rain is a little lighter, and the speed of the rain is slower. In the previous heavy rain, the water was all rushing down, and people standing outside wanted to be carried away.
Standing in the cave, one can see the vast ocean of yellow mud in the distance. Mu Nan put a mini telescope in his pocket and looked down the mountain with the telescope. He could see that the water flow was very strong and mixed with many things that came from nowhere. In some places, the water was even swirling, and one could tell at a glance that the water was very deep.
Mu Nan sighed and handed the telescope to Qin Huai: "If the rain doesn't stop, the sky will break. I'm afraid we'll have to settle down in the mountains in the future."
Qin Huai took a look and confirmed that the water below not only did not recede, but even rose slightly. He stopped looking and rubbed Mu Nan, who was full of worry. Qin Huai said, "Don't worry, this is because the dam above has burst, and the sewers of the entire city are blocked. The downstream area can't release the water for the time being, which is why the waterlogging is so serious. As long as the downstream is unblocked, the water will slowly recede even if the rain continues."
However, such overflows and blocked areas are not so lucky to be cleared by water flow. If we want to solve the waterlogging and drain water downstream, human intervention is indispensable. Who will drain water and who will intervene? How many lives will be lost in order to clear the entire residential area? This is a topic that cannot be discussed. Even breathing becomes heavy when it is mentioned.
The two stood outside for a while. There were too many people coming in and out. It was a bit too much for them to stand here with their clothes dry. Seeing that there were fewer people queuing at the bathroom, they went over to queue. Before going back, they also collected today's relief food. After that, they would not come out unless there was something else to do.
On the way back, Qin Huai was holding a flashlight. It was too dark inside the cave, and there were so many people that even the aisle was almost blocked. If they didn't light the way carefully, it would be easy to step on empty air and fall. It would be bad if they stepped on someone lying on the ground. The two of them paid more attention to their feet when they went in and out, so they didn't pay attention to the people next to them until someone called Qin Huai.
Qin Huai himself didn't hear it, but Mu Nan did. There was nothing he could do. He might not be as sensitive to his own name as to Qin Huai's name. When he heard someone calling Qin Huai, he immediately looked up and looked around. When he stopped, Qin Huai turned around: "What's wrong?"
Mu Nan said: "I heard someone calling you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man stood up from a corner and shouted again. Qin Huai subconsciously shone the flashlight over there and found that it was Wang Xiaoli.
He walked over with Mu Nan, and Wang Xiaoli said with surprise, "We are so destined to meet each other like this. This is little Mu Nan, you have grown up, but your appearance has not changed at all. You have changed a lot. If I hadn't recognized your brother, I wouldn't have recognized you that day."
Qin Huai smiled when he heard this: "You have changed a lot. If it weren't for your voice, I wouldn't recognize you when you stood in front of me."
Wang Xiaoli patted his belly and said, "How about it? I've said before that every fat person has potential. If I lose weight, won't I be handsome too?"
Qin Huai smiled. There is still a big difference between being thin from losing weight and being thin from suffering. However, since Wang Xiao was teasing him in such a relaxed tone, he naturally followed up with a compliment.
Mu Nan said: "Thank you for helping me find my brother before."
Wang Xiaoli waved his hand nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? It's just a matter of one sentence. Fortunately, I have the habit of recording some accounts. I wrote down your brother's external network account in a notebook before. I happened to find it that day, so I thought of sending it over to try. It's good that he came back. No matter how bad the domestic environment is now, it is still countless times better than abroad. I heard that the outside world has been in chaos for a long time, and the family is not a family, and the country is not a country. This is already a natural disaster, and they still want to create man-made disasters. If they are exterminated one day, it will be their own fault."
As for why Mu Nan and Qin Huai had such a close relationship that they came to him, the squad leader with whom they had little interaction in private, to look for someone, Wang Xiaoli did not ask. Every family has its own difficulties that are unknown to others. He has never been curious about such things. Now that he sees that the relationship between the two brothers is as good as ever, there is nothing to worry about. Why bother to mention the past?
Mu Nan saw a girl who had been silent next to Wang Xiaoli, and took a curious look. Wang Xiaoli noticed his gaze, turned his head, and his eyes instantly became gentler. He smiled and said, "This is my wife, her name is An An."
Qin Huai said: "Congratulations, you're getting married."
Wang Xiaoli sighed, "It's just a piece of paper. If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have gotten the certificate right after graduation. At least I could have worn a wedding dress once. Hey, it's useless to talk about this now. At least I'm still alive, which is not bad."
Mu Nan felt that something was not right with the girl named An An, but it was not polite to stare at her like that, so he retracted his gaze and stood obediently behind Qin Huai.
Wang Xiaoli explained, "These days are so torturous. An An's parents were crushed to pieces right in front of her. When she was dug out of the rubble, she was already mentally traumatized. But she's OK. She's well behaved and doesn't make trouble. She just needs someone to accompany her. I'm content to be able to save a life from the earthquake."
Qin Huai said: "We live in the innermost part. If you need any help, you can come to me at any time."
Wang Xiaoli said, "In the innermost part, that should be pretty good. I'm fine too. There's still relief food to be distributed. Just take care of yourselves. When this is over, we can get together again. It's really not easy to meet old classmates now. Okay, you guys should go back quickly. It's quite chaotic outside."
Qin Huai didn't stay any longer. Anyway, they were all in the same cave and could contact each other at any time. So he took Mu Nan back first. Mu Nan waved to Wang Xiaoli and followed behind Qin Huai, sighing softly: "It's not easy for everyone."
Life is already so difficult, and he has to take care of a mentally ill person. Mu Nan admires Wang Xiaoli very much. From what he said, they should not be married yet. However, in the current environment, it doesn't matter whether they are married or not. Once you have chosen someone in your heart, that person is your responsibility and your partner. If you are not sure in your heart, even a marriage certificate is useless. You will still abandon them.
After they left, Wang Xiaoli sat back on the small bed. Although An An was a little mentally stimulated and not quite normal, she was instinctively dependent on Wang Xiaoli, so she naturally leaned over. Wang Xiaoli picked up the multi-grain porridge that he had just fed her and continued to feed her. Although it was not delicious, it was just a multi-grain cake soaked in water, but An An ate it bite by bite like a puppet, eating every bite he fed her.
After feeding the last few spoonfuls, Wang Xiaoli wiped An An's mouth and said, "An An is awesome. I'll cook you some instant noodles after the flood passes and we go home."
Although he knew that An An couldn't understand, or had automatically blocked all perception of the outside world, Wang Xiaoli still couldn't help talking to her. Maybe one day he could wake her up.
An old man who had been dozing against a rock nearby opened his eyes and glanced at them, saying, "These days, face is not as important as life. If you have a friend who can afford to live here, don't ask him if he needs anything. Even if he doesn't take the initiative, the best thing to do is to lick his face and go to him. Living there is much easier than living outside."
Even though everyone is in the same cave, there is a huge difference between living outside and living inside. We all know that those who can live inside were those who had been transferred here before the evacuation. They all have backgrounds and conditions. At least they can only rely on relief food outside, while some people inside even have the conditions to cook. That's the difference.
If it were him, he would have a friend living there, and he would have been stripped of his face no matter what. How could his face be more important than his life? Some young people valued their face more than their lives, and would rather suffer outside than give up their face.
After hearing what the man said, Wang Xiaoli didn't say anything. The man was not a bad person and sometimes he would help him take care of An An. But there were some things that didn't need to be said too much to an outsider. He never cared about face or not. If necessary, he could kneel down and beg. But now they could live on their own and there was no need to ask others to add to their burden. Just because an old classmate was doing well didn't mean he had to stick to him immediately. In today's life, who has it easier than who else?
After the two returned to the cave, the previous desperate atmosphere eased a little. Mu Nan took a look when he passed by and saw a young girl in her twenties, sitting alone in a corner, lost in thought, with messy hair and pale face, looking like a lifeless rag doll.
Mu Nan didn't look at it for long, and followed Qin Huai to climb back to the stone platform, then put the water they had received on the inside of the stone platform, and put the multi-grain cakes they had received in the bag. The water can be used when steaming things, and boiling it several times can also kill bacteria and insect eggs. Since the water can be sent down from above, there should be no problem in all probability, and they just need to pay more attention.
As soon as they sat down, Song Jia came over and said, "You just missed a good show."
Mu Nan hummed: "Good show? What good show?"
Song Jia pointed in a direction below them and said, "The man who wanted to come to us to change places was beaten."
Mu Nan asked curiously, "What happened? Who beat you up?"
Song Jia smiled with some gloating: "By the aunt next door to him."
Mu Nan exclaimed in surprise: "Auntie? Why?"
Jian Chu, who was standing aside, said with disdain, "Why else? Of course he wanted to take advantage of his daughter. The family that fried the buns before should be quite well off. They also have a child. The child is not too young, twelve or thirteen years old, but the parents are capable. A twelve or thirteen year old can still drink milk. But the man used the same old trick again. I don't know if he pinched her or did something else to make her cry. He took the multi-grain cakes distributed by the relief and exchanged them for milk powder."
Song Jia followed up with a couple of clicks of the tongue: "You're exchanging multi-grain biscuits for milk powder. It would have seemed more sincere if you'd exchanged for a bag of instant noodles or rice. You're still pretending to be pitiful, putting yourself in a weak position to morally blackmail others. The family that made the fried buns is really eye-catching. Those who can't eat are very jealous. Many people are fanning the flames. The man got even more excited when he saw many people speaking up for him. He said that it was for the sake of the child, that this was just the relief food he got, and it didn't matter if he went hungry. He hoped to exchange it for some milk powder for his daughter to supplement her nutrition."
Mu Nan exclaimed, "How shameless." He hated this kind of moral kidnapping the most. It was even more disgusting than robbery and fraud!
Mu Nan was curious about what happened next and asked, "What happened next? Why did you get beaten by the aunt?"
Song Jia said, "The little girl kept crying, and her father took her to exchange milk powder with someone, begging for mercy. I don't know if the family felt a little soft-hearted for the sake of the child, or because they had spoken up for the man too much and didn't want to cause public outrage, but just when they were about to compromise, an auntie rushed over, snatched the child away, threw her into the arms of the man who made the buns, and then punched the man in the face."
Mu Nan wanted to applaud when he heard it, and suddenly felt a little sorry for missing this good show.
Song Jia said: "Because the aunt's perspective was particularly clear, the man kept pinching the girl's thighs, so the child couldn't stop crying. How can there be such a father in the world? The milk powder he got back may not be fed to the little girl. Maybe he pretended to drink it himself. Anyway, as long as the child didn't cry, they stayed in such an inconspicuous corner, who would notice them."
Mu Nan looked down and saw that it was quite quiet. No one was crying or making a fuss. It didn't look like anything had happened just now. "Is it over after getting beaten? There's no follow-up?"
Jian Chu smiled and said, "What's the point of a follow-up? Are the aunties in our country easy to mess with? They just get scared after being beaten. After this incident, other people almost knew his tricks. Some families with children couldn't stand it and said the same harsh words as your brother, saying that if his daughter cries again, he will beat him."
Mu Nan turned to look at Qin Huai: "Sure enough, the most effective way to deal with this kind of scoundrel is to beat him up!"
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