Chapter 173
Anything that initially seems beyond your ability to solve may eventually be solved in an unexpected way.
At the beginning, even the higher-ups were having a headache about how to suppress the incidents of mobs causing riots and looting and smashing farms. Being too tough would easily provoke a backlash. Life is hard now and many people are on the brink of collapse. The more they try to suppress the situation, the more they will resist. Otherwise, the harder they suppress the situation, the fiercer the backlash will be.
But it is definitely impossible to just let them cause trouble. We don’t know when winter will come, and people’s food depends on these farms. This concerns the future of the entire residential area.
Therefore, the degree of management is a bit difficult to control.
But no one expected that the cause was because of those dead fish, and the end was also because of those dead fish.
Because of the desperation of getting sick, the Anti-Rich Newspaper caused such a big commotion in District 2. Nine people were beaten to death or burned to death, and three are still lying in the hospital due to inhaling thick smoke, but I heard that it is not easy to cure. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, the thick smoke will damage their heart, lungs and throat, and they will be sick for the rest of their lives. But now there is a severe shortage of medicine, so where can we get the medicine to fill the medicine jars?
This incident was so heinous that all the accomplices who were caught on the spot that night and those who confessed during later interrogation, a total of more than 30 people were arrested. More than 20 of them were directly sentenced to life imprisonment and lifelong labor reform, and more than a dozen others were sentenced to high prison terms, starting at 10 years, with no upper limit depending on their performance. In addition to these, their immediate family members were labeled as family members of criminals, and they will not be able to enjoy any government relief benefits in the future.
The trials one after another calmed down those whose brains were hot, made those who were ready to make some moves retreat into their shells, and calmed down the undercurrent of restlessness. A turmoil that might have required more blood and lives to quell was instantly averted.
But to say that this incident has no other impact is certainly not the case. Not many people are setting up stalls in the small square market in District 2. I guess they are afraid that a group of people who can't make a living will suddenly come and smash the oil bottles, which would be really unjust.
Then, the neighborhood committees in each district began to form self-defense forces. The team leader was a soldier with a gun assigned from above, and the team members were selected through assessments. I heard that in addition to physical fitness, the assessment also included some political thoughts and psychological tests. Many people were eliminated based on the psychological tests alone.
Danniu also signed up. Although he works in the community, he is at best a security guard who maintains order. If he can be admitted to the Self-Defense Forces, the benefits will be better. Anyway, he might as well give it a try. If he can pass, it is luck, and if he fails, he won't force it.
After learning about the news from the Self-Defense Forces, Mu Nan sent a message to Qin Bing, wanting to ask if he would be transferred over. However, it was said that those who were transferred were those who had reached retirement age, and this was a good opportunity to arrange their future work. As for Qin Bing, he was not old enough yet, so he would not come over.
Mu Nan felt a little sorry about this, but not too much. It was definitely more dangerous outside than in the base, and it would be better to continue staying in the base.
In addition to the big shots, Cai Wentao is also preparing to take the Self-Defense Force exam. Carrying bricks at a construction site is not a long-term job after all, and he has no special talents. He studied library management in college, which can be said to be a very unpopular subject. Many universities do not even have this department. His grades are not very good, and he finally got into a university. The score line for other colleges is not enough, so he either repeats his studies or chooses an unpopular major.
In the past, if a graduate of this major was successful, he could go to some government agencies to do clerical work in information management, or work as an administrator in some libraries. If it weren't for the earthquake, if the environment hadn't become what it is now, even if Cai Wentao chose an unpopular choice, he wouldn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation. His father is an urban management official, a formal employee. It would be no problem for him to take the civil service exam and then use his old boss's connections to get a comfortable job in the elderly care department.
Although what he has learned now is of no help to his survival, his father is a party member and used to be a public official, and he also joined the party in college. This party membership is still a plus for him when he takes the assessment for the Self-Defense Forces.
Plus, he has a happy family with elderly parents and young children, which is even more of a plus. Now, martial arts ability is no longer the first consideration factor, but the stability of character. After all, life is so difficult, and those who cannot withstand psychological stress will easily go astray once affected by the environment. What they want to choose are people with positive temperaments, not those who are tortured by the environment and are full of dark sides and unstable temperaments.
Two people he knew in a row took the exam for the Self-Defense Forces. Jian Chu, who had nothing to do at home, also felt eager to join. He was quite skilled, and if he hadn't been infected by parasites before and had a weak body, he felt that he would be very suitable.
Song Jia hit him mercilessly: "Do you want to faint from heat stroke while on patrol, or do you want to find a toilet everywhere when you need to rescue someone?"
Jian Chu reached out to pinch Song Jia's neck: "Is it fun to expose my past?"
Mu Nan took the steamed egg custard that he had failed to make and fed it to Niuniu, shaking his head and sighing, "You are such a childish human, aren't you?"
Niu Niu ate with a smacking sound, and her tail kept wagging behind her butt.
The two of them played around for a while, panting from exhaustion. Jian Chu finally looked over and saw the thing in Mu Nan's hand that he had no idea what it was. He felt a little pained: "Ask me next time if you don't know how to make it. Even if you have a lot of eggs, you can't afford to waste them like this. Next time you beat the egg whites, remember to put them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to half an hour, add a little sugar, and don't beat them with water, otherwise they won't be able to be beaten and you'll make them into a paste."
Song Jia also came over and touched Niuniu's head: "It's okay, it's okay. Whether it's the egg white or the egg yolk, it won't be wasted if you fail. We have Niuniu here."
Jian Chu poked Mu Nan and asked, "Will your brother take the Self-Defense Force exam?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "No, I don't trust him to go. If he goes, I'm afraid I'll be worried every day."
Song Jia smiled and said, "How can you give up your high-paid IT job and join the Self-Defense Forces?"
After feeding Niuniu the failed dessert, Mu Nan clapped his hands and stood up: "Okay, you guys have fun by yourselves, I'm going home."
Song Jia grabbed his clothes and said, "Don't leave. How about the three of us play Landlord?"
Mu Nan showed his little white teeth: "I'm going back to eat rabbit. My brother roasted a suckling rabbit for me today. If you smell it, don't drool. Niuniu, be good. I'll save the rabbit bones for you."
Jian Chu: “…”
Song Jia: “…”
Damn! Can you be a human being?
Mu Nan gave them a heads-up to prevent Jian Chu, who had a nose as sharp as a dog, from smelling the food and coming to ask about it. That would be like him eating alone. Giving them a heads-up in advance, although he would still eat alone and not plan to share, would make the impression somewhat better.
He didn't care about the rabbit meat. His brother was right. Neighbors should help each other, but they should also pay attention to the distance.
When he got home, Mu Nan smelled the tempting aroma of cumin. The oven was humming, and the light inside was illuminating the juicy and tender little rabbit. The rabbit was not big, weighing less than four pounds including the fur, but Qin Huai said that the rabbit was the most tender at this time. Although if it was raised for another two months, it would still be considered a suckling rabbit, but the taste would not be as good as it is now when it is so small.
Mu Nan couldn't resist the temptation and simply killed one and asked Qin Huai to cook it for him.
But after all, she was raised by herself. Although she said that she had no burden at all to eat her baby, she still couldn't bring herself to do it. So she simply took the failed dessert to Song Jia's house to feed Niu Niu, and came back after Qin Huai had finished dealing with it.
Seeing the rabbit meat already in the oven, Mu Nan no longer felt any burden. He only kept drooling and worried about the size: "It feels like it's not enough?"
Qin Huai: "It's not just this. I'll grill some garlic mushrooms for you. The shrimps are ready. I'll cook you a plate of spicy shrimps and some blanched lettuce. What else do you want to eat?"
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai hesitantly: "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? Are you planning to fatten me up before eating me?"
Qin Huai looked helpless, and flicked his forehead with his finger, "What's the date today?"
Mu Nan touched his forehead and said, "September 6th, eh? September 6th? It's my birthday tomorrow."
Speaking of this birthday, I remember that Mu Nan’s parents and the whole family had complained more than once about the wrong birth date, and they would mention it almost once every year at the beginning of school.
It is said that when Mu Nan's mother was pregnant with Mu Nan, the due date was the end of August, just before September. However, there was no movement until the end of August. She waited and waited, and missed September 1st. She waited for a few more days, but still no movement. Finally, she was worried that something might happen to the baby after being in the belly for too long, so she didn't push the baby into the delivery room until after 11 o'clock in the evening of September 6th, and the baby was born by caesarean section after midnight.
At that time, the age for going to school was very strict. Children who turned seven at the end of August could enroll in school, but those who turned seven on September 3rd or 5th were not allowed to do so and had to wait until next year. In order for Mu Nan to be as close to him as possible, although they could not be in the same grade, but at least they could be in the same school for a period of time, Mu Nan's father specially used connections and spent a lot of money to get him into the school.
Otherwise, with Mu Nan's birthday, they just missed each other completely. When he was in the first year of high school, Mu Nan had just entered the first year of junior high school. Apart from elementary school, it was impossible for them to go to the same school.
The days passed by in a daze. Mu Nan didn't care about birthdays to begin with, and in the following years, he didn't have the habit of celebrating his birthday. Although Qin Huai celebrated his birthday every year after he came back, Mu Nan himself didn't care, so he didn't keep track of the time. In addition, it had only been less than two days since the tragedy in District 2, so he had completely forgotten his birthday.
Qin Huai is making the cake base. This is done. The roasted rabbit meat in the oven should be ready to be taken out of the oven. After the cake is done, he will roast the shrimps. This way, he can have a cake dessert after dinner.
"It's still early now. Do you want to wait until I make the cake before eating, or wait until after dinner and make the cake with me?"
Mu Nan: "Let's make it after dinner. It will help you digest the food. Then you can eat it right after it's done."
Qin Huai is not very good at making Western desserts, but because Mu Nan loves sweets, he specially learned how to make them when he was abroad. Otherwise, he might not be able to make a birthday cake independently with the guides downloaded from the Internet.
The shrimps were just out of the pot, and the garlic mushrooms that were put in the oven later were also ready. It was the time when the clock turned from 6 to 7. Qin Huai put the cake base into the oven, set the time, and sat down at the small dining table: "In another half an hour, at 12:30, Nan Nan will be another year older, officially crossing the 26th and entering the 27th."
Mu Nan clapped and cheered: "I am also a mature man who is about to turn 30!"
Mu Nan looked at his fair and tender face, and how he could blend into high school again in his school uniform, and smiled without saying anything: "It's your birthday today, and you are the boss. You have the final say on what you want to eat and drink."
Before Mu Nan could be happy, Qin Huai said, "But if you indulge yourself too much, you know the consequences."
If this last sentence wasn't added, Mu Nan would have had a happier birthday!
Of course, he didn't dare to indulge himself casually. The most he could do was to eat the spicy shrimps he had been craving for and drink a whole can of Coke. Mu Nan was already very satisfied. Life was so humble.
The roasted suckling rabbit is really tender. Even though the rabbit doesn’t have a lot of meat, and is even less meaty than a roasted chicken, its tender taste is much better than that of a roasted chicken.
It's just that as he gets older, he is not as good as he used to be in some aspects. When he was twenty years old, this roasted suckling rabbit was not enough for Mu Nan to fill his stomach. Now, after eating two rabbit legs, he felt a little sick of it. Fortunately, there were spicy shrimps to relieve the greasiness.
Qin Huai finished the rabbit that Mu Nan couldn't finish. Mu Nan even asked him to spit the bones into a homemade trash can: "Save them for Niu Niu. Although rabbit bones are small and thin, I saw Niu Niu chewing them very well last time. The bite force of these bones should be quite good."
Qin Huai: "You can't give me all the bones. Pick out some soft bones. If they are too hard, they might be swallowed whole and scratch the intestines. There is no medical condition right now. Don't do bad things with good intentions."
Mu Nan had never raised a dog, so he thought that dogs should be able to chew any bones, but what Qin Huai said must make sense, and he just needed to be obedient.
After eating and drinking his fill, Mu Nan burped a flavor of spicy shrimp mixed with cumin, then he collapsed comfortably in the chair and rubbed his stomach, while Qin Huai began to clean up.
Mu Nan was so full that he had to stand up and patrol his own territory to digest the food. When he came back from a stroll upstairs and downstairs, Qin Huai was whipping cream in the kitchen.
Mu Nan reached out and poked into the bowl, commenting: "It's not sweet enough."
Qin Huai waved his hand and drove him aside: "Eat so much sweet food, be careful of diabetes."
Seeing that Qin Huai didn't accept his opinion at all, Mu Nan leaned over again: "This is my birthday cake, shouldn't it be made according to my preferences?"
Qin Huai raised his hand and gently hooked the cream. Mu Nan thought he wanted to taste the sweetness himself, but the cream on Qin Huai's index finger was rubbed onto his mouth. Before Mu Nan could lick it off with his tongue, the person who rubbed the cream on him kissed him and bit his lips, eating up the cream that had just been smeared on him.
He also commented: "It's very sweet. If it's any sweeter, the sugar content will be too high."
Mu Nan smacked his lips and subconsciously looked at the remaining cream on his fingers. For some unknown reason, his radar sounded the alarm. He felt that if he continued to stay here, the result would be just one word: danger!
As a result, as soon as he moved, Qin Huai, who had predicted his prediction, grabbed him with one hand and whispered in his ear: "Do you know how to eat cream the sweetest?"
Mu Nan quickly shook his head in a flattering manner: "I don't want something so sweet. It will give me diabetes. I don't eat sweet cream anymore."
Qin Huai chuckled when he heard this: "No, you want it."
As a result, on the day when Mu Nan officially bid farewell to the age of 26 and entered the age of 27, he successfully unlocked many new ways to eat cream, and how to make ordinary cream extremely sweet through magic.
As for the lonely cake base without any cream on it, it became Mu Nan's breakfast the next day.
After a birthday, he wanted to lie at home for two days. By the time Mu Nan was full of energy again, the assessment for Daniu and the others was over. Both of them were lucky enough to be selected. If they hadn't just raised money for a big meal, they would have almost wanted to have a meal together under the pretext of celebrating.
But we were really poor, and the fish had temporarily traumatized us, so we could only congratulate him through the net.
When the two of them officially took up their posts, Shi Yuanfei came to Qin Huai to buy cabbage, saying that he wanted to have a good meal because his wife had finally been released from the hospital, and he had to go out on a mission tomorrow.
The first batch of cabbages had not been picked completely. The ones given to Wang Xiaoli were relatively large, and the rest grew slowly, probably due to lack of light and water, so they were left behind. Now they can be picked again.
Shi Yuanfei bought two directly, planning to eat half of them, and let his wife pickle the remaining one and a half and try to make it into spicy cabbage, which could be kept for a longer time and could be eaten with rice.
When Qin Huai was packing cabbages for Shi Yuanfei, Mu Nan asked curiously, "What other missions are there outside now? I'm just asking. If it's confidential, just pretend I didn't ask."
Shi Yuanfei smiled nonchalantly, "It's not a secret. I would have told you guys even if you didn't ask me. This time we're going to a coastal city. We need to find out the source of the fish problem. The Wan virus analyzed above is said to be a little different from the commonly known Wan virus. There are some differences in morphology. As for what kind of mutation or consequences this difference will cause, it's not clear yet. The conditions are limited, and there's not enough testing equipment for many things. But one thing is certain, this virus that spreads from dead fish to humans has not yet spread from person to person. However, once you get it, there's currently no effective treatment."
Mu Nan was immediately terrified: "Will I die if I get it?"
Shi Yuanfei nodded: "It can be said that according to the information we found out, the last batch of fish they bought was from several markets over there, so some people ate it without any problems, while some people got sick after eating it. This time we went there to help them find the source."
"You need more assistance? Aren't there enough people over there?"
Qin Huai handed two packed cabbages to Shi Yuanfei, who sighed softly, "That's why I want to tell you this. We have been in contact with them via satellite phone since we discovered the virus. At that time, the situation there was very bad. They were on the coast, and the planting conditions were not good. They could only eat what they caught in the sea. Now we don't know if they were infected in the sea, or if something went wrong during the fishing and transportation process. There are many more people who get sick there than here, and there is no effective treatment. Many people die every day, and the situation is very chaotic."
"You should try to store as much stuff as possible at home. The northerners have already had waves of refugees fleeing here simply because of the water shortage. Now there are countless deaths along the coast, and corpses are everywhere. I'm afraid many people will want to flee as well. We have a lot of rebuilt provinces and cities here, and although they may not necessarily come to us, it's always better to be prepared."
Shi Yuanfei took the cabbage and left. Mu Nan looked back at Qin Huai, feeling really scared: "If the three fish we bought weren't so bad and smelled bad, if they were just a little bit stale, we might have eaten them."
Qin Huai was also afraid: "In the future, you should put the things you buy from outside directly into the space, whether it is rice, flour, meat or vegetables, put them together, and make a record of the time of purchase. If there is a problem with any batch, we can check it. In the future, we will eat the things bought before the end of the world, and don't touch the things bought after the end of the world for the time being."
Mu Nan nodded without objection: "Okay."
After Mu Nan finished speaking, he took out his phone and looked at Qin Huai: "Do you want to talk about this in the group?"
Qin Huai said: "Go ahead, they are not talkative people, remind them not to tell anyone. There is no official notification about this matter, including the people who have been infected with the virus here. They must be worried about causing panic. Just let them know the situation in their minds."
Mu Nan nodded, and briefly explained the matter in the big group, emphasizing that they should stock up on food and come secretly, and not tell anyone else about the matter. Then he jumped to the small group that was constantly producing unread messages.
Jian Chu and Song Jia were already chatting animatedly about the group news.
Song Jia: "I don't know whether to say we are lucky or unlucky. It's rare for us to have a fish, but we encounter this kind of thing. We encounter this kind of thing, but luckily nothing happened."
Mu Nan: "Luckily, this matter is over, don't worry about it. Anyway, we are all fine. My brother said that in the future, if you buy meat, you must buy it from the official website. Private logistics companies are unreliable, and we don't know where they get their goods from. It is safer to buy from the government."
Song Jia: "I think so too. Although it's hard to snatch, you're lucky if you can snatch it once in ten times, but at least it's safe. I'd rather not eat it than be safe!"
Jian Chu: "Should we stockpile food?"
When it comes to stockpiling food, they naturally think of the private grain merchant that Xu Ming recommended to them last time. Mu Nan: "It's so expensive. It seems to be selling for eight yuan now. Ten kilograms of food costs eighty yuan. How long can ten kilograms of food last? We can't afford to stockpile it."
Even Mu Nan said that they couldn't afford to stockpile food at this price, let alone Jian Chu and the others. Just because of Shi Yuanfei's news, they were a little panicked and always wanted to buy something to stockpile back home to feel at ease.
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