Chapter 144
As the night gradually faded, many people dragged their tired bodies towards home. Some people worked nearby and could get there by bicycle, while others had to wait for the newly opened scheduled buses, which cost three yuan a month and made commuting much more convenient. Although not many people took the buses, the once empty and desolate roads were now filled with a few buses passing by occasionally, which finally showed some human touch.
Although life nowadays is not like before where you can get whatever you want, but working hard and hustling for three meals a day is already a hard-earned happiness after the great disasters.
A scheduled bus arrived at the gate of the community, and more than half of the people got off the bus. Those who knew each other greeted and said goodbye to each other, while those who didn't know each other walked home. Those who lived in the second and third districts had to pass by a small square.
The small square, which was usually deserted during this time of year, was surprisingly lively today. Noisy sounds could be heard from far away, and even the salty aroma of fried food wafted over with the occasional hot breeze, awakening the hunger in bodies that had been tired all night.
Some people subconsciously took two deep breaths of the long-lost smell of fireworks, while some people could not help but follow the tempting smell and move closer to the source of the fragrance.
There was someone at the busy stall holding a small loudspeaker to keep the lights on, but the front was already blocked by a crowd of people.
Someone tiptoed to look inside, and the tempting aroma made his mouth water and asked, "What are they selling? It smells so good, are they selling fried meat?"
Those who knew what was being sold inside couldn't help but laugh: "What are you thinking? Now even the government doesn't have the conditions to sell meat and fry meat. It's only possible in dreams." If they really were selling meat, the police would have to be dispatched to maintain order by now. People who are greedy will do anything.
The man inhaled sharply, as if sniffing it twice would be like eating it in his mouth: "What is this? There are so many people, and we can't squeeze in."
"I'm selling bamboo worms. Do you want to buy some? They're 50 cents each. If you want to buy, then queue up. If you don't want to buy, then stand by and smell the fragrance. There are people over there who don't want to buy but are reluctant to leave."
The man who was speaking pointed to one side, where a group of people who might have just come back from get off work or were taking a walk before going to bed were gathered together, their saliva was watering with greed. These people might be afraid of insects and couldn't get over it, or they might be short of money and really had no money to buy, but were reluctant to leave. They probably thought that just smelling the fragrance could satisfy their cravings a little, so they stared at the stalls and joined in the fun.
Not everyone can accept bamboo worms, but not everyone cannot accept them either. In the past, this was also a not cheap dish.
Some people are struggling with the idea of eating insects, and they still need to be mentally prepared. However, the fragrance is just too tempting. If you have better conditions, you can still eat some oily food every once in a while, and just put a few drops of oil in the dish. But if you have average conditions, you really have to boil every meal in water. Now even water is limited, and life is even drier. Now that you smell the heavy oil, even if it is insects, you can't help it.
Just when some people were still preparing themselves mentally to ignore the appearance and just think of it as a bite of meat, they heard the stall owner holding a small loudspeaker shouting, "Last ten, last ten. No need to queue up. There are no more. We are closing the stall now that we have sold out!"
After this shout, many people squeezed forward without caring about anything else. However, they had finally gotten to the front row, and seeing that there were no seats left, how could they give up their seats? After Jian Chu shouted, the person whose turn it was just now said directly: "I want all ten!"
As soon as these words came out, the person behind him started cursing. That person was still not convinced: "What's wrong with me having ten since there are many people in my family? It's not like I have no money. I want ten. If you don't let me, ten may not be enough!" As he said that, he hurriedly handed over the lunch box. Nowadays, people who work outside basically bring their own lunch boxes. Some people in front didn't have lunch boxes, so they just ate with their hands. Anyway, the stall didn't provide packaging.
This person is obviously from a multi-worker family, with several people working in the family, otherwise they wouldn't have such conditions. Although those living in the first five districts arrived earlier and had good opportunities when they first arrived, they chose a good location to live in, and even accumulated some assets in the ruins, most people are still poor and have to tighten their belts to make ends meet, and they don't have so many wealthy conditions.
Of course, it is also possible that this person has experienced all kinds of disasters and has become indifferent to life and death. But no matter what, he has bought everything. No matter how regretful he feels and how greedy he is for the meat, he can hardly control himself, but he dare not make trouble. There is a newly built police station next to him. If he goes into the police station now, he will not be able to get out without being skinned and torn to pieces.
Someone waited in line for a long time but didn't catch any fish. He asked the stall owner unwillingly, "Will you come again tomorrow?"
Seeing many people who didn't buy any looking at him eagerly, Jian Chu held the loudspeaker and said, "No more, no more tomorrow. These were just shipped over from Qinghe this morning. It's not easy to get there. The production of bamboo worms in the mountains is not high. They are all raised naturally. When will they be available? It depends on fate. It's time to close the stall."
Many people looked at the pot of hot oil with envy, and some even couldn't help but come forward to ask if the oil was for sale. They didn't mind the oil that had been used to fry bamboo worms at all.
Jian Chu looked at Qin Huai. The oil was from Qin Huai's family. Originally, there was half a pot of oil, but he didn't know whether the bamboo worms would produce oil after being fried, so the half pot of oil now became a large pot of oil.
Qin Huai said, "Do you want it? If you want it, go back and divide it. If you don't want it, just sell it." Anyway, Qin Huai would definitely not use this second-rate oil. No matter whether he took it back and stored it in the space or divided it up, he would not use this oil to cook for Mu Nan.
They had stockpiled some oil before, and it wasn't that they didn't have oil at home. Anyway, Jian Chu had a great fear of insects, and just thinking about it made him feel sick, so he shook his head quickly. Song Jia said, "Then sell it. You can buy it again when you have the chance after you get the money."
After the discussion, Jian Chu picked up the loudspeaker again: "Oil for sale! Oil for sale! Oil for frying bamboo worms! Three yuan a spoonful. Three yuan for a full spoonful of oil!!"
When the sun came out, several people dragged their things and walked home. Jian Chu said he was tired, so he took Mu Nan's car to go home. The others rode bicycles, pushed their stalls, and walked. Because the sun was out, there was no time to say more. When they arrived at the door of the house, Qin Huai directly stuffed a small box of bamboo worms into Daniu's hands. People were kind enough to help, but they couldn't just ignore it.
Of course, Daniu refused: "I've already eaten a few, so I'd give them back even if I had to pay you. You guys can keep them for yourselves, I'm going back." Besides, he had volunteered to stay and help, and no one had asked him to help. How could he accept food from others? He wasn't that shameless.
Qin Huai said: "They have all been infected by parasites and have a traumatic experience with insects. I'm afraid they can't eat this kind of thing. There's only a little left, so you can take it back for a snack. Thank you for your help today." Although there are quite a few of them, so many people combined may not be as intimidating as one big bull, so we should thank them.
After several people persuaded him, it would be a bit awkward if he didn't accept it. Daniu felt embarrassed to accept it, and a hint of red could be seen on his tanned face. He could only say: "Next time if you need help, just call me. Next time, don't give me anything. I feel guilty for eating your food and then taking it back."
Mu Nan, who had already parked the car in the garage and had waited for them for a long time but didn't see them come back, came out to look for them and said with a smile: "Okay, next time I ask you for help, I will definitely not be polite to you."
After parting ways with Da Niu, several people entered the yard. They had just made money and came back from trading things outside. Everyone was unable to sleep and was very energetic. In order to prevent them from worrying about it, Qin Huai asked them to come together to divide the things.
The one who collected the money was Yu Zibai. He was afraid that too many people would cause confusion, so he was the only one collecting the money. Including the money from the oil sold later, it was all collected by Yu Zibai. He opened his phone and counted it directly: "I bought 36 yuan for the oil. I will transfer this money directly to Mu Nan."
The oil was produced by the Qin Huai family, so naturally all the money earned in exchange belonged to them.
Song Jia said, "What about bamboo worms? How many did we sell?"
Yu Zibai asked, "The bamboo worms were sold for 170 yuan. How much did you pay for them?"
Qin Huai said, "Fifty-five. The amount of bamboo worms dug in this mountain is too small. People have accumulated only that much in two days."
Even though they only bought bamboo worms for 55 yuan, there are hundreds of them in total, which is a considerable number. After all, these are not artificially bred, and it is not easy to find so many. I'm afraid that the person who traded bamboo worms with them must have received a lot from other people, otherwise one person alone would never be able to dig so many. Bamboo worms are not everywhere in the mountains. If they were everywhere, they would be worthless.
Song Jia exclaimed: "A net profit of 100 yuan. Does that mean I can make back the money I spent on renting the car and the gas?"
Qin Huai nodded: "Almost."
Mu Nan asked them to move down some of the things that had been replaced in the car. A pile of leather, a pile of cloth, rice and dried goods filled the small living room on the first floor of Qin Huai's house.
After moving all the things out, Mu Nan sat aside to relax. Although he didn't lose much physical energy from the whole ordeal, he was quite exhausted mentally. During these few days outside, he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in the unfamiliar environment and had to be on high alert for safety.
He waited until the early morning on the day of his departure. In order to keep the bamboo worms fresh, he had specially agreed on a trading time. He had not been able to rest well while waiting for others to come. After the transaction was completed, he drove for another four or five hours and went straight to the small square to set up his stall. He was so sleepy that his head was throbbing with pain. Now he was sitting next to them yawning one after another. The accounting over there sounded like a mystery to him.
Qin Huai rubbed his head: "Go upstairs and take a shower and sleep first."
Mu Nan shook his head: "Wait for you."
Qin Huai smiled and didn't force it, so he let Mu Nan sit next to him and wait.
They had already discussed it in the car when they came back, and they also took out a small notebook with the amount of money transferred between Song Jia's family and Jian Chu's family recorded on it. They had also asked a few girls before, but they probably didn't have much money left, so even though they wanted to invest, they had nothing to show for it, so they had to not participate for the time being.
Qin Huai asked about the price of chickens when he was doing the transaction. Hens are a little more expensive because they can lay eggs. Even if a chicken weighs only one or two pounds, the price is not cheap. Hens are sixty yuan and roosters are fifty yuan. Although these prices seem astronomical now, as long as chickens and ducks are not so abundant that most people can afford them, the prices will probably not come down. Therefore, he directly wrote down the price in SGD in the notebook, otherwise it would be difficult to convert the pumpkin soap.
Then, based on the money given by the two families before departure, they will see whether they want to exchange it for chickens or rice, flour, and dry goods.
In the end, the two families each exchanged a hen, some rice and some millet, and a bag of dried sweet potatoes. Song Jia exchanged for a piece of cloth.
Jian Chu did not change clothes. He had collected a lot of clothes when the earthquake first happened. He took some of those clothes with him when he migrated and handed over some of them to the military. Later, after the troops evacuated, they took back all the belongings that had been sent to the military, so they didn't have to worry about clothes for the time being. However, Song Jia's family didn't have enough clothes, so they just exchanged some cloth and asked Yang Jing to help make some vests and the like.
Although all the money was spent, this trip was a great harvest for them. They had food and meat, and they made some money back from selling bamboo worms. Although it was not much, at least they had enough to pay for the rent and electricity bills. When the chickens came and started laying eggs, that would be another income. When the hens were well-fed, they could borrow the roosters from Mu Nan, and maybe they would give birth to chicks. Naturally, their wealth would accumulate more and more.
If they hadn't seen Mu Nan sleeping so soundly that his head was about to fall to the ground, they would have wanted to ask about the situation at Qinghe's side. They made so much money this time, and they could double their money back by just selling a little of the things in their hands. It was such a huge profit, and they wanted to make this trip too. If for no other reason, they wanted to get more bamboo worms and set up a stall to sell them. It would be best if they could develop some acquaintances there. They would drive there in the afternoon, get the goods and drive back in the early morning, and sell out the goods at the stall before the sun comes out. They could make a fortune by choosing a holiday.
However, this matter certainly cannot be rushed. Huge profits are accompanied by risks, and once the roads on both sides are cleared and opened to traffic, more and more people will travel back and forth, so if you want to do it, you have to do it as soon as possible.
But now Qin Huai and Mu Nan obviously did not have the energy to discuss making money with them, so they went back home temporarily and discussed it after they had a good rest.
Mu Nan was dragged upstairs by Qin Huai. She insisted on taking a shower, but once she fell on the bed, she could no longer open her eyelids.
Seeing that he fell asleep soundly as soon as he came back, without any awareness of what was happening outside, Qin Huai kissed him on the forehead with amusement, and went back downstairs to pack his things.
You don't have to worry about anything else for the time being, but the chickens have to be raised separately. There is a master bedroom, a second bedroom and a storage room on the second floor. The master bedroom has been used to raise rabbits, so the second bedroom is just right for raising chickens temporarily. He threw in some hay, put in water and rice, set the temperature of the air conditioner, and brought back two rabbits from Jian Chu's house. Then Qin Huai went upstairs to take a shower and rest.
He slept very deeply. When Mu Nan woke up, it was already midnight. He went to bed at around 7 or 8 in the morning and slept until the early morning. When he woke up, he was still a little confused: "I slept for 15 hours. Am I too sleepy?"
Qin Huai had woken up a long time ago and had already eaten. Seeing that he had woken up, he went over to pull him up and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
Mu Nan nodded, his frizzy hair swaying on his head as he moved. There were marks on his face from the pillow, his eyes were swollen from sleep, and he was still dazed and not fully awake.
Qin Huai wrung out a wet towel and wiped his face: "Get up and eat something."
Hearing the word "eat", Mu Nan rubbed his stomach, which was aching from hunger. He didn't even bother to brush his teeth, and quickly took out a bunch of ready-made things from the space, including rice, noodles, and a bunch of vegetables: "Why didn't you wake me up? Are you starving?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "It's not like there's no food at home. I cooked noodles when I got up, but I didn't wake you up because you were sleeping soundly."
Mu Nan picked up a bowl of noodles and started eating. Qin Huai sat next to him and took the rice to eat. He had eaten noodles before, but that was in the afternoon. Who knew Mu Nan could sleep for so long? He just happened to have his second meal now. While eating, he said, "Yu Zibai and Wu Zheng are planning to go to Qinghe as well."
Mu Nan exclaimed: "The four of them are going?"
Qin Huai said, "Yu Zibai and Wu Zheng will go. We just talked about it. I told them about the situation there. If they go, they can cooperate with the Cai family. If they can run the business for a short period of time, they can ask Cai Wentao to help collect bamboo worms there. They can go in the afternoon and come back in the morning, pick up the things and leave without staying overnight. This can save some expenses and they don't need to stay outside for so many days."
As for long-term operation, that's a bit difficult. After all, bamboo worms are not artificially bred. It depends on whether they can be artificially bred in the future. But those things can be discussed later. Now, while the road has just been opened, make as much money as you can. When more and more people come and go in the future, the profits may not be as huge as they are now.
Mu Nan said, "Will they know that we exchanged pumpkin soap for something? The Cai family should be able to tell them. Just a casual chat like that can reveal a lot of information."
Qin Huai said, "It's okay. It doesn't matter if I say it. I told Yu Zibai and the others before I left that in addition to our things, I would also take some of my friends' things. Even if the Cai family said something, they would only think that those things belonged to my friends."
Mu Nan clicked his tongue: "Making friends out of nothing."
This kind of brain that can think dozens or even hundreds of steps ahead is indeed not something he can possess. Mu Nan did not expect that Qin Huai had already prepared for all possibilities in advance. Since there is no worry about information being exposed, there is nothing else to worry about: "When are they going?"
Qin Huai glanced at his phone. It was a new day. He said, "Let's do it this afternoon. But we just got there. Some things may take some time. We may not be able to go back and forth on the same day. They both went to work to take a day off. Although there are other ways to make money, they can't give up their main job. I'll go find Daniu later to see if he's interested in participating."
Mu Nan smiled and said, "Is this the case of the rich leading the poor?"
Qin Huai: "This is to ensure safety. We had no setbacks along the way this time because there is no interest chain yet. If they want to develop this interest chain, it is more or less likely to arouse jealousy. Then it will not be possible for two people to run a trip and come back safely. So in order to ensure safety, the more people there are and the higher the force value, the better."
Listening to Qin Huai's words, Mu Nan realized belatedly and said, "You're not going too, are you?"
Qin Huai nodded: "I will go this time too. After all, we are the ones who are in contact with the Cai family. It will be better if I lead them. Don't worry, we will only stay there for one night at most and then come back. If everything goes well, we may not have to stay overnight."
Although Mu Nan was a little uneasy, he didn't say anything unpleasant this time. He just told Qin Huai to be careful and took out a bunch of weapons from the space, such as maces, spiked hammers, and even a Tang sword in addition to the crossbow: "Put them in the car, your own safety is the first priority."
Qin Huai asked with a smile: "Why don't you say whether you can not go, or whether you are going to go too?"
Mu Nan sighed: "Brother has grown up and is going to fly independently."
Qin Huai pinched the tip of his nose lightly: "You are disrespectful."
If they go to Qinghe again, without Mu Nan, the Doraemon, they will need other capital. They almost spent all their money there before. Although they got a lot of more valuable things in return, such as chickens, they can't just sell them for money as soon as they get them back. After all, chickens are something that can be developed in the long run. So now, apart from the more than 200 yuan they got from selling bamboo worms, they have no more funds.
Daniu also wants to have more channels to make money. Although he is single now, he promised his wife that he would live well and have a good life. As for finding someone else in the future, Daniu thinks it is too difficult.
Many people will never meet someone who can truly make their heart beat fast in their entire life. Most of them just find a suitable person to settle for when the time is right or the age is right. But once they have been moved, they know that some things can no longer be compromised. So they will live a good life, eat well and drink well. Later, when they go down to find their wife, they will not be pulled by the ears and scolded by their wife for being disobedient. However, if his wife wants to pull his ears and scold him, that is also fine.
So even though some big shots also went along, they didn’t have much capital, with only a few dollars left in their savings, so they could only invest through human resources.
In the end, it was Xu Ming who generously donated 200 yuan, allowing them to have a smooth trip.
After they left, the small courtyard was still busy. Mu Nan went to find Yang Jing with a pile of cloth and leather, wanting to ask if these things were enough to make a few finished products.
Yang Jing had never made leather before. Leather is thick and it would be very difficult to make it by hand. However, it was easy to make a vest with cloth. The key was to save fabric. Ten meters of cloth could make at least three or four vests.
Yang Jing said: "There is no need to throw away the extra waste. If you can find a way to find wooden sticks or something, you can use the ends of the cloth to make a mop. There are many people who want to buy this kind of household tool."
They have made a lot of clothes for people during this period, and more than one person has asked if scraps of cloth can be made into mops. At first, Yang Jing didn't know how to do it, but it's something she could figure out after some thought. Anyway, as long as the materials are in place, people's potential is endless.
Mu Nan asked, "Do you think this kind of vest can be sold at a high price?"
Yang Jing: "How much did you pay for this piece of cloth?"
Mu Nan gestured: "I exchanged it for two kilograms of rice."
Yang Jing said, "Yesterday, the price of rice online was 3.5 yuan per kilogram, which is 7 yuan for 10 meters of cloth, which is a bit more than enough. 10 meters of cloth can make three vests. If you save some money, you can probably make three men's vests and one women's vest. If you only make women's vests, you can probably make five. There should be a market for five to seven yuan per vest, so you can make money, but this does not take into account labor costs and transportation costs."
Mu Nan paid attention to another point: "Rice is now 3.5 yuan per pound?"
Their family has no shortage of staple food, so they don't keep an eye on the time when rice and grain go online to grab them like others do. In addition, the money in their account has been almost spent, so they don't go to the online mall every day, especially these few days when they are still out, so Mu Nan really doesn't know that the price of rice and grain has risen so much.
Yang Jing nodded: "It may not be possible to grab it yet. We have been trying to grab it at the right time these two days, but we still haven't been able to grab it. I heard that starting from next month, staple foods such as rice, flour, and corn flour will also be limited based on the number of people. Then we won't have to fight for it, but there will be a limit on how much a person's ID card can buy in a week. I guess it won't be much, maybe just enough to make ends meet."
Mu Nan said, "This is good, it's better than trying to be fast and still not being able to grab any food and causing trouble."
Mu Nan left half of the cloth with Yang Jing, asking her to work on it slowly when she was free, and then sell it when it was done. It would be best if it could be exchanged for money or food, but if not, it could be sold in the small courtyard, as everyone was still in need of clothes. However, knowing that the price of rice had risen again made Mu Nan feel a little flustered, and she felt that money was not as solid as food.
He still remembers that when the online mall was first opened, the price of rice was one yuan for two catties. Later, the price increased again, and before he knew it, it rose to three yuan and a half per catty. Most people only earn three or five yuan a day. How could people not be anxious when the price of rice is so high?
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