Chapter 135
The doors of the two neighboring houses were still in good condition, but because they were soaked in water, water poured down when the door lock was opened. When the password was pressed, it didn't work. However, the better thing was that Jian Chu's family could go directly to the upstairs, which was badly damaged and they didn't know where to start to clean up.
Looking at the mess in the house, Mu Nan suddenly felt a little dizzy from the heat: "Should we help them clean up? Isn't this a bit too much work?"
This house was not like theirs. They had to empty it out and move out. Furniture and other things were all over the floor after being washed away by the water. There were only two of them, and they had to clean up three small three-story houses including their own. The amount of work was suffocating just thinking about it.
Qin Huai said: "Move some of the severely damaged large items to the first floor. It is more convenient to use the space. Move them all to the first floor. When they come back and want to throw them away, they can also throw them out directly from the first floor. It is more convenient. Otherwise, we will have to help them move them down from the third and second floors."
Mu Nan thought it made sense: "Why don't I put it in the space now and secretly throw it in the yard in the middle of the night."
Qin Huai shook his head: "No, just close the door and use the space. If you throw it outside, it will be troublesome if someone sees it. Don't take any chances."
Mu Nan said: "Okay, let's see which ones we need to get rid of."
The two of them were busy for most of the day, moving all the broken and unusable furniture in the rooms on both sides to the first floor. They would clean up the place themselves when they came back, throwing away what needed to be thrown away, and leaving the rest alone for the time being because it was too hot, and it was daytime, and the heat was not dry heat, but humid and stuffy heat, which was really unfriendly to Mu Nan. It was not a big deal when they migrated before, but now it was a bit too hot to bear.
Qin Huai saw that his face looked a little off, so he quickly pulled him back to the storage room: "Are you dizzy? Do you feel like vomiting?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "No, it's just too hot and stuffy. The air is hot and sticky. I think today is hotter than yesterday. I don't know what the temperature is now."
Qin Huai wiped Mu Nan's body with a wet towel and blew a small fan at him for a while: "The next room has been cleaned up. Now you just need to guard the house and prevent people from breaking in. Rest first. Stay in the room and don't go out if you have nothing to do."
Mu Nan sipped the ice water and touched Niuniu's head. "I'll leave the housekeeping to you. Listen out for any noise outside. If anyone enters the yard, you must shout, okay?"
It was not known whether Niu Niu understood or not, but she tilted her head back and rubbed it against Mu Nan's palm.
The two of them sat in the storage room for a while, and after the heat dissipated, they felt a little more comfortable. Qin Huai said, "Let's eat something cool at noon, such as iced mung bean soup, which can clear away heat and relieve summer heat. Have a good rest in the afternoon, and eat whatever you want in the evening."
Mu Nan said: "I want to eat barbecue."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Then let's have barbecue tonight. Do you want to eat Wagyu? Cut the beef into dice and grill it."
Mu Nan licked his lips and nodded repeatedly. He hadn’t eaten barbecue for a long time and was really craving for it.
Seeing that he still had an appetite, Qin Huai felt relieved.
Drinking only mung bean soup would definitely not make you full, so Mu Nan took a box of cumin steamed bread slices and a box of fried noodles, and they shared them. They definitely didn't feel too full, but just enough to digest by the afternoon, leaving room for the barbecue.
When the sun began to set and the heat was not so high, Qin Huai and Mu Nan cleaned out the bedroom on the third floor. Qin Huai replaced the broken window with a new one and tore off the dirty curtains. The walls were tiled and probably had not been soaked in water for too long, so except for some peeling paint on the ceiling, everything else was fine.
Mu Nan directly took out a container filled with water, diluted the disinfectant in it, and rinsed the whole room. He brushed the walls bit by bit with a brush. It was okay when brushing the upper part, as he could stand up straight on the ladder. But when brushing the lower part, he had to bend over, which was very tiring. Mu Nan was so tired that he sighed, "This is more damaging to my waist than sleeping with you."
Qin Huai looked at him with a deep gaze: "It seems that I am not working hard enough."
Mu Nan's legs almost went weak when he looked at her, and goose bumps appeared all over her body. But when she thought about how hot it was these two days, and there was no electricity or air conditioning, and that Qin Huai would definitely not bother her, she plucked up her courage and glared back at him with confidence.
Qin Huai rushed towards Mu Nan with the water pipe. Mu Nan was sprayed with water. Not willing to be outdone, he took out a basin of water from the space and poured it on Qin Huai. The two of them went back and forth. It was not known whether the room was clean or not, but their bodies were washed thoroughly.
After washing a room, both of them were exhausted. The windows in the room were open. At this temperature, the water in the bedroom would dry up quickly. Since it was already wet anyway, they simply took a shower and then went to the storage room on the second floor to cool down.
Mu Nan held Niuniu in his arms and stroked the dog's head, still brainwashing it: "Is it comfortable to follow me? There is food, drink and coolness. When your master comes back, don't go home with him. Just cling to me. Don't leave even if he leads you. Do you hear me? It's so nice to be my dog. If you want meat, there's meat. If you want dog food, there's dog food. I also have a lot of canned food here, including your favorite stinky canned food. Are you happy these two days, huh?"
Qin Huai on the side was using an induction cooker. He had some meats, some sliced and some diced, some freshly grilled, and some that needed to be marinated.
Mu Nan held Niuniu and came over: "Do you want to eat some meat? I'll give you some meat. How about you be my dog?"
Qin Huai said: "It doesn't understand. You are brainwashing your own brain."
Mu Nan snorted: "What if he understood? Maybe he was tempted by the delicious food. Niuniu is so smart. You can understand it, right?"
Qin Huai placed the dipping sauce dish in front of him: "Eat it. You are so hungry, which one should you grill first?"
Mu Nan said: "Wagyu! I want tender beef, the kind that is grilled before seaming!"
Qin Huai: "That's a lot of requirements."
Mu Nan picked up a piece of lean beef and grilled it in the stone pot, avoiding the meat with seasonings. He also placed a piece of oil-absorbing paper next to it. After grilling, he used the oil-absorbing paper to absorb the oil, then tore it into strips and fed them to Niu Niu: "It's been a long time since your master has eaten beef, but you finally got to eat it. It's a pity that you can't speak. If you could, he would be so greedy. Hahaha."
Qin Huai: "If it could talk, I don't know if Song Jia would be enticed to death, but it would scare everyone to death."
Wrap the meat in lettuce, put some kimchi on it, and stuff it into his mouth. Mu Nan sighed with satisfaction: "It feels so good." In this world, there is nothing more relaxing than eating meat in big mouthfuls like this. After eating so much, it feels like all the worries are gone.
Qin Huai said: "Take some digestive tablets later."
Mu Nan leaned against the wall and rubbed his belly. Niuniu stared at the meat on the plate and kept licking her tongue. Mu Nan couldn't bear to see the eager look in her eyes and couldn't help but prepare to feed her a few more pieces of meat, but was stopped by Qin Huai: "Just eat a little. This meat is too oily. Be careful not to give her gastroenteritis. We have a veterinarian but no medicine. If she gets gastroenteritis, it will harm her."
Mu Nan sighed and rubbed Niuniu's head: "Be good, I'll feed you freeze-dried food later. We don't want to eat meat anymore."
Niu Niu probably understood this sentence. She was originally sitting upright and expectantly, but after hearing this, she immediately pawed forward and lay down pitifully, staring at Mu Nan with a pair of wet eyes and whimpering softly through her nose.
Mu Nan couldn't help but pounce on the dog and rub its head: "I want to have a dog, it's so cute."
Although Niu Niu looks silly and not very good-looking, it is a good-looking dog once you get used to it, a furry creature that is hard to resist.
Qin Huai also felt that he should have raised a dog with greater lethality. Given their conditions, raising a dog would not be a big problem. Unfortunately, he had thought that life would be difficult in the future and they might be displaced, so he didn't want to make it too much trouble. Now it is not easy to get a dog.
Seeing Mu Nan rubbing Niuniu, Qin Huai couldn't help but raise his hand and rub Mu Nan's head: "If you have the chance to meet one in the future, I will raise one for you."
After ventilation for a night, the bedroom on the third floor was completely dry. The two took out new curtains from the space and installed them, and mopped the floor and walls with disinfectant. Then they took out the bed and some furniture, and put two large blocks of ice in the room to cool it down. They also reinstalled heat-insulating curtains and thermal insulation baffles on the windows. Now that the living environment has been prepared, the living room on the third floor and downstairs will come later. There is no rush anyway.
Mu Nan held the watermelon and ate it, taking a bite himself and feeding Niuniu. Looking at Qin Huai who was dissecting the air conditioner, he said, "Why haven't they come down yet? We have been back for three days. Could the conflict between those people in the mountain escalate and cause trouble?"
Qin Huai concentrated on removing the back cover of the air conditioner. "It shouldn't be. The water has only receded completely today. There may still be some water accumulation in the downstream area. There are many bodies to be cleaned up. Maybe they are thinking of cleaning up some of the drowned bodies before sending people back. Otherwise, when the weather gets hot, there will be no time to clean up the bodies. With so many people, this place may become a plague disaster area again."
As soon as Qin Huai finished speaking, Niu Niu, who was eating watermelon, stood up suddenly and hummed towards the window. Qin Huai, who was near the window, stood up and lifted the curtain to take a look. It was a man in protective clothing holding a large blue spray gun spraying disinfectant. He also walked directly into the yard along their collapsed wall, sprayed a lot on the gate, and left.
Mu Nan also looked down from the side and sighed, "Experience is indeed accumulated time and time again. The speed of action this time is so fast. I hope there won't be another outbreak of plague."
Qin Huai said: "It is impossible to prevent an outbreak at all. We can only try our best to minimize the danger."
The people in the cave have never come back. In addition to guarding the house, the two men would repair the collapsed courtyard wall every night. They would pick up bricks and other things from anywhere. They would start working as soon as it gets dark, and would take a shower and go to bed at the stroke of the midnight. With Niu Niu around, they didn't need to be too alert when they went to bed at night, as Niu Niu would react faster than them to any noise.
When people finally came back on the fifth day, although the damaged house was not repaired, the entire courtyard wall was repaired. Looking at the courtyard wall that was completely repaired by the two of them, Mu Nan put his hands on his hips in exhaustion: "It was not easy. I think my ability to withstand heat has improved again."
Qin Huai looked at Mu Nan, who was wearing a vest and shorts but was sweating profusely. He reached out and wiped the dirt off his face with the back of his hand: "We're done. There's nothing else that will consume your energy. Okay, after you move the last few bricks, go into the house and take a shower. You're all sticky."
My body was sticky not only with sweat but also with insect repellent. The courtyard wall could only be built when the sun was not shining, but the lights had to be turned on. Light was the most attractive to mosquitoes, and now mosquitoes were poisonous, so mosquito coils and smoky moxa sticks were constantly lit, several mosquito-killing lamps were on, and even a large electric fan was pulled from the house to blow outside. I also sprayed insect repellent on my body every once in a while, and only then did I barely avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
As for working in long sleeves, long pants or even protective clothing, Qin Huai would definitely not let Mu Nan come out to do it. Although he was fine after cooling down in the house last time, he obviously almost got heatstroke. But he definitely didn't want Mu Nan to stay in the house. He could only do a better job of this kind of external protection. Although it was a bit troublesome, at least after working for a few days, he didn't get bitten by mosquitoes, and with the fan blowing all the time, he wasn't too hot.
Mu Nan piled the remaining bricks next to the courtyard wall and clapped his hands: "It's done. The girls' house was hit harder. The extra bricks we picked up should be enough for them to repair their house."
Qin Huai said: "It should be enough. If it is not enough, we will talk about it later."
As Mu Nan and Qin Huai packed up and walked into the house, they said, "Those girls should be fine. They all get along well and live peacefully. I don't want to change neighbors."
Qin Huai flicked his forehead with his dirty hand and said, "Don't think too much. Most of the people in Districts 2 and 3 have moved to the caves. They are probably in the cave above us. They shouldn't be in trouble. Maybe they will be back in two days."
Mu Nan stretched out his arms: "That's great, are you hungry? Let's have some barbecue."
Qin Huai was quite indulgent towards him these past two days. After all, he had been working really hard these past few days, so he did not object: "Eat a little bit, drink juice if you want to drink, and don't drink carbonated drinks at night."
Mu Nan yelled and ran into the house happily. The icy juice was also very good.
Qin Huai smiled and followed behind him, closing the door and going upstairs. It turned out that it was better to be strict at ordinary times. There was a contrast here. A little indulgence could make him so happy.
As the water on the ground evaporated, more people came back. With more people, troubles arose. Some people started trying to break into the house. Qin Huai and his men caught them twice. Once, they ran away when they saw someone in the house. Another time, they made a scene and blood was seen. Finally, they let Niuniu chase them for almost half a street. But at this time, if they caught someone, they would just beat him up. There was no place to lock him up, and they didn't have the conditions to punish him for the time being, so they just scared him and let it go.
Most of the people who come to break into people's houses are those who live in sheds or have nowhere to go after their houses collapsed. The neighbors nearby are all okay. Either they have a decent living or they think they will see each other sooner or later, so no one does such a thing. However, not many people around them come back, and they haven't seen anyone they know.
Song Jia and the others haven't returned yet, but Wu Zheng came back first.
On the day Wu Zheng came back, Niu Niu, who was sharing half a cold watermelon with Mu Nan, suddenly stopped eating her favorite watermelon. She jumped up and down agitatedly and cried anxiously. She ran to the bay window and scratched it, and then ran to the door of the room and scratched it. Mu Nan thought it was Song Jia and the others who came back, so he opened the curtains and saw that Wu Zheng had just walked to the door and didn't have time to knock.
Looking at Niuniu who kept turning around and trying to get out, Mu Nan felt sad and said in a sad tone, "My love and flesh were wasted in the end."
Qin Huai smiled and asked him to put away the things in the room before going downstairs to open the door.
However, Wu Zheng standing at the door looked extremely miserable. His clothes were dirty and even smelled sour. His hair was tangled and stuck to his head. His face was pale, and his cheeks looked sunken after not seeing him for a few days. He was hunched over, holding his stomach, and holding the wall with one hand, as if he couldn't stand steadily.
When Qin Huai and the others opened the door and saw Wu Zheng like this, they didn't have time to stop him. Niu Niu rushed up and knocked Wu Zheng to the ground.
Mu Nan quickly stepped forward and pulled away Niuniu who was licking Wu Zheng excitedly: "Calm down! Niuniu, come here!"
Qin Huai went to help Wu Zheng who had fallen to the ground: "What's wrong with you?"
Mu Nan also looked over nervously: "What's wrong with you? Do you have a stomachache? Are you infected with parasites?"
Wu Zheng looked at them weakly: "Is there anything to eat? If I don't eat, I will starve to death."
Mu Nan pulled Niuniu, who was still excited and wanted to throw herself at Wu Zheng, towards the house. Qin Huai said, "Yes, we made the steamed buns this morning. Nan Nan, go upstairs and get them down."
Mu Nan said "oh" and tied Niu Niu to the stairs on the first floor. He then quickly ran upstairs and took out a few steamed buns from the space, and also poured a pot of water and brought it down.
Wu Zheng no longer had the strength to climb the stairs. If the sun had not come out and he had to go into the house, he would have wanted to lie down in the yard and not move. After being helped into the house by Qin Huai, he sat down on the first floor. He no longer had the strength to move another step. Fortunately, Qin Huai and his team had cleaned and disinfected every floor upstairs and downstairs, so the ground was still relatively clean.
As soon as he saw the steamed bun, Wu Zheng didn't care about anything else, not even whether his hands were dirty or not. He just picked it up and stuffed it into his mouth.
He was really starving to death. He hadn't eaten anything for three or four days, and the only water he drank was rainwater that had accumulated before. There were many people in the building where they took refuge, but it was surrounded by water, and they couldn't even ask for help. The higher-ups couldn't even evacuate them, let alone deliver supplies. Fortunately, Song Jia always asked him to bring some food to work, and he carried some biscuits with him, which were not easy to spoil and could satisfy his hunger at any time. This was how he got through the first few days.
But there was really nothing to eat later. Fortunately, the rain stopped, and we rushed back as soon as the water around us receded to a level where we could wade through it.
Some people were so hungry that they went straight into other people's houses to rummage through things, and stuffed whatever they found edible into their mouths. Others were so hungry that they could not even walk, and had to rely on the rain to hang on to their lives, and then wait for rescue in the building, because they really did not have the strength to even climb. If they had not had a few bags of biscuits on them that they could eat over a few days and finally survived, they would probably have been so hungry that they could only lie on the ground waiting for rescue.
Seeing Wu Zheng stuffing the food into his mouth ravenously, Mu Nan quickly poured him a glass of water: "Don't choke, eat slowly. If it's not enough, we can make more for you. The firewood used for soaking in water has been dried in the past two days and can be burned. Otherwise, I will go cook some rice for you. We put the kimchi on the top floor. It's still edible without getting soaked in water and can be used as a meal."
After eating two steamed buns, Wu Zheng finally felt alive again. He waved his hands and said, "That's enough. No need to bother."
While Wu Zheng was eating, Qin Huai told him about their situation over the past few days. Wu Zheng, who had regained some strength, said, "So they are still in the cave and haven't come down yet?"
Qin Huai nodded: "Not yet. I guess we have to wait for the higher-ups to send them back in batches. Where have you been taking refuge during this time?"
Wu Zheng said, "In the information building over there, they later built several more buildings, the highest of which is five stories high. We used to live on the third floor, but then it kept raining hard and the water level kept rising, especially the dam above seemed to have burst. The flood rushed in all of a sudden. We hid on the fifth floor, and the water broke the windows. Two people were in the water and didn't hold on, so they were washed out. Fortunately, I was near the wall at the time, holding on to the railing tightly so I wasn't washed away."
Although Wu Zheng said it quite calmly, the situation at that time was terrifying just thinking about it. We hid on the fifth floor and were almost washed away. Fortunately, nothing happened. If something had happened, I'm afraid it would be difficult to find the body.
Mu Nan said: "Xu Ming hasn't come back yet, and I don't know where he has taken refuge."
Wu Zheng didn't know the situation at the ranch. He was following the people from the factory. The situation was not very serious at the time. It was just because the water was flooding, so they wanted to find a higher place to avoid it temporarily. As a result, they couldn't move at all. The water rose suddenly, and even the car couldn't get through, let alone the airboat. Any rapid current could overturn both the people and the boat. In such a situation, it would be better to stay on the fifth floor than to move.
He has been unable to take care of himself these days, especially when he saw the flood rushing over, he really felt that he would die here this time, so he had no time to inquire about the evacuation situation in other places. He had a narrow escape from death in the last earthquake, and this time with the flood, he really had a brush with death. He was able to come back alive, and he should be grateful.
Watching Wu Zheng eat the third steamed bun, Mu Nan couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you eat slowly? You eat too fast. Your body hasn't reacted yet and you're still feeling hungry. Don't eat too much all at once after being hungry for a few days. You'll get bloated."
Wu Zheng also knew this, but when he was very hungry, he could not control his desire for food. He had not eaten for three or four days and only drank water. He was so hungry that he was going crazy. When he was the hungriest, he had the idea of giving up in despair. He really had a sense of relief that he wanted to end it all, but he managed to get through it by thinking about his brother who was still waiting for him to come home.
Now that I can eat food again, I feel like I have been reborn: "I feel like I won't be able to hold on even for one more day."
Seeing Wu Zheng so hungry, Mu Nan was still frightened: "It's good that you're back. It wasn't easy."
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