Chapter 177
The subway station here should be able to accommodate people from at least three districts. The entire subway station has two floors, the upstairs is the security check passage, and the downstairs is the waiting hall. The first group of people who came down were directly taken to the waiting hall on the second floor underground. The entire waiting hall was already full of people.
When Jian Chu and the others had settled the rabbit, chicken and dog, they saw people lying on both sides of the stairs. Fortunately, the ventilation system of this subway station was very good, otherwise with so many people there, if the air was not circulating, they would have suffocated.
Although they chose a corner, their target was still obvious because in addition to dogs, there were chickens and rabbits.
The dog was very well behaved, and it lay quietly in the corner. The rabbit was also well behaved, and it didn't make any noise or bark. But the chickens were very annoying. The hens were okay, but the roosters kept clucking, clucking. Although the crowing was not very obvious because many people had not settled down yet and were even fighting for a spot that everyone had their eyes on, it still attracted the attention of people nearby.
Jian Chu and Song Jia looked at the chickens in the chicken coop with a headache: "It feels like a big target. They can even raise chickens. If they rob the rich to help the poor, who else can they rob but us?"
Seeing how they were having a headache, Mu Nan suddenly felt that his elder brother was indeed foresighted and did not bring the rabbit or chicken. If he had brought them, they would be very conspicuous. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, they must be a family living together. This family has so much property that it would be a big deal if they offended someone who was jealous of the rich.
The rabbit and the chicken were already brought along, so he couldn't just kill them in public. This was the only way. Jian Chu didn't want to bother with it anymore. After shaking off the dust and dirt on his body, he sat down on the mat. He couldn't help but sniff towards Mu Nan: "Cumin?"
Mu Nan sighed: "Your nose is really better than Niuniu's. Are you born in the year of the dog?"
Jian Chu tapped her nose and said, "You're wrong. I was born in the Year of the Rat, the treasure-hunting rat, so my nose is very sensitive."
Mu Nan: "I forgot, you are the same age as my brother. My brother is also a rat, but he is a big rat!"
Qin Huai was born in the Year of the Rat. Because of this zodiac sign, and the fact that his father was unknown and his mother died early when he was a child, people like the old lady of the Zhang family would gossip about Qin Huai's bad fate, saying that this zodiac sign is very fierce, will bring disasters, and that he will be unlucky in both father and mother.
When he was a child, Mu Nan would hear such words from some people. Although he didn't quite understand what they meant at that time, he could roughly understand that others disliked his brother's zodiac sign. So when others asked Qin Huai about his age and zodiac sign, he would say that Qin Huai was a tiger, and he wanted to give his zodiac sign to Qin Huai.
When he grew up a little bit, he knew that there was nothing wrong with his zodiac sign, and the ones who were wrong were the adults who looked at him with tinted glasses and gossiped about him. He never again said that he would give his zodiac sign of tiger to Qin Huai. Also, because of Qin Huai, he particularly liked some mouse patterns, of course the cartoon ones. He could not like those hairless mice with long tails in real life, even with the filter of Qin Huai.
Jian Chu is a rat tail, born in December, so even though he is the same age as Qin Huai, he is actually almost a year younger. So even though they are the same age, there still seems to be a bit of an age difference.
Song Jia didn't want to bother anymore, so he asked his brother to carry the cage and find a place to put it. Then he lay down side by side with Jian Chu and the others: "I'm so tired. Why can't we hide in the house with the doors and windows closed? Why do we have to stay together? What's the point of staying together? And I always feel that the underground is so dangerous. It feels like it will collapse at any time."
Jian Chu, who was lying next to Song Jia, slapped him on the thigh: "Nonsense, children speak without restraint, hurry up and say 'Puh, puh, puh.'"
Song Jia quickly followed suit and made a few "Puh, Puh" sounds.
Jian Chu said, "Maybe the strength of this wind has reached typhoon level. If it reaches the level of a high-intensity typhoon, then it is safer to hide underground. Even if you close the doors and windows in the house, you may be blown up into the sky by the strong wind."
Having said that, they have hardly experienced typhoons, so they really can't imagine how strong the wind would have to be to require evacuation. Even with the torrential winds and heavy rains like the last flood, if the water hadn't accumulated and could not be drained away and the flood had poured down, they probably wouldn't have said they would leave the house to take shelter.
Mu Nan originally rested her head on her clothes, but the clothes were too thin, and even if she rolled them up, they were only that thick. Seeing Qin Huai sitting down against the wall, she simply rested her head on his legs, and handed him the news that she had just browsed: "Is it scary?"
The news was updated just two minutes ago, and the pictures in it showed the scene outside. The overwhelming yellow sand rolled in from the sky, just like the sandstorm movies they had seen before, and even more terrifying than the scenes in the movies.
There is almost no visibility outside, and the sky is full of yellow sand. If you don’t know, you would think you are in a desert.
Mu Nan had never seen a sandstorm like this before, and he didn't know what the outside would look like after this gust of wind and sand passed. But looking at the doomsday-like scene in the photo, he asked with some concern: "When the wind outside stops, will the place where we live be buried in the yellow sand?"
Qin Huai patted him on the forehead and said, "Not really. If it really came to that, they wouldn't have organized us to hide. Otherwise, the yellow sand would have covered us and we would have been trapped."
Mu Nan thought about it and agreed. If the yellow sand really covered the entire residential area, the government should have received the news long ago when the yellow sand came. After all, they were not in the north, so it was impossible for sand to suddenly rise from the ground. This sandstorm must have come all the way from the north to the south.
"I don't know where all this yellow sand comes from. It can't be blown over from the north."
Qin Huai said: "In recent years, vegetation has been decreasing, soil erosion has occurred, and the wind has gradually formed such sandstorms. They are not necessarily blowing from areas where sandstorms often occurred in the past."
Mu Nan couldn't help but sigh: "This sandstorm is full of dust, right? Why don't we just stay indoors? Why do we have to come out together to take shelter?"
Qin Huai gently stroked his hair: "The power of a sandstorm is no less than that of a flood. The wind is too strong and the destructive power is very strong. A low-rise building like ours may even be blown off the roof. If it is a high-rise building in the past, you can even feel the house shaking clearly in the house. So if the wind really reaches that level, unless you hide in the basement, it is not safe even in the house."
"If there is damage in the house, doors and windows are broken, and people are exposed outside, it is easy to suffocate in such a strong sandstorm, not to mention some objects caught in the wind. Even a piece of paper can be fatal if hit by the strong wind."
Unfortunately, it is not easy to dig a basement in a house like theirs. Otherwise, they would have dug a cellar just for storing things. Then they would not have to follow the crowd to seek refuge and could have just hidden in the basement.
Mu Nan lay on Qin Huai's body and yawned. He had woken up early in the morning and was tired from running around all the way. But because he was outside, he couldn't fall asleep all of a sudden and could only yawn one after another.
Mu Nan: "I don't know what's going on with Xu Ming. Are they going to have to stay on the farm with the animals?"
Qin Huai said: "Maybe. No matter what, the higher-ups will definitely make proper arrangements."
Just after they were quiet for a while, they saw a lot of people jumping onto the subway tracks.
Some people don't want to be crowded with others. There is water restriction now and the weather is hot, so people sweat easily. Some people have a strong body odor, and the odor is even worse if they don't take a shower for a long time. So it's really fatal to get too close. So these people simply jump under the tracks and try to find a flat place. Anyway, the subway can't come over now, so there's no need to worry about danger.
As a result, after a group of people went down, they climbed up again after a while. There were stone debris and track sills below, and there was no place for people to lie down. If there was a thicker mat, it would be okay. Sleeping without a mat would be very uncomfortable, just like sleeping on a massage mat.
Just when a group of people were still looking for a comfortable place to stay, some of the people who had already settled down had indeed set their sights on the chickens.
Rabbits are very quiet. If you give them some grass, they will eat it with a grunt, or just sit there in a daze without moving. As long as you cover the rabbit cage and pile some clothes on it, other people won't be able to see what's inside. But chickens can't be left alone and will always make some noise.
Some people saw that they actually had chickens, and some with good conditions came over to ask the price directly. Song Jia shook his head and refused: "We can't sell them. We only have one male and one female. They are waiting to give birth to chicks and sell them for money. How can we sell them?"
The man looked at their cages and said, "Aren't there quite a few of them?"
Song Jia: "It's not mine. There are also theirs. You can just ask them if they want to sell it."
"Aren't you guys together?"
Song Jia originally wanted to say that they were not from the same family, so although there were a few chickens, a family might only have one pair of chickens, and they were all raised for breeding and to make money in the future, so they would not be sold. As a result, it was not known whether this person wanted to negotiate with them or was just too talkative, so he simply sat next to them and started chatting with them.
Mu Nan didn't have much experience in awkward conversations with strangers, so he simply put on his headphones, turned over, buried his face in Qin Huai's belly, and closed his eyes to rest.
Song Jia looked at Jian Chu, seeking help with his eyes. The man was fine, and they were just chatting in a friendly manner. He couldn't just drive him away with cold words. There was no grudge between them, so there was no need to offend people for no reason. So he hoped that the social expert Jian Chu would come to rescue him.
As a result, Jian Chu just leaned on the cushion and looked at him with a smile, without any intention of helping.
Just when Wu Zheng couldn't stand it anymore and was about to go over and call his silly brother back to end this awkward conversation, a child ran over shouting "Uncle Song" and successfully rescued Song Jia from the awkward conversation.
Xiao Zhu threw herself on Song Jia, called him Uncle Song, and then asked, "Where's Niuniu?"
Niu Niu, who was stuffed into the corner and not allowed to move, raised her head and looked over. Xiao Zhu's eyes lit up, and he immediately let go of Uncle Song and pounced on Niu Niu.
Song Jia looked at Xiao Zhu and said, "Uncle is just a passerby, Niuniu is my true love."
The Cai family members behind came over, carrying large and small bags, covered in dust. When they reached the open space, they sat down directly, then spread out their scarves and clothes, which would turn into a pile of dust if they were shaken a few times, and gasped for breath.
Because the Cai family lived in a building away from them, it was not convenient for them to gather together to go to the small square. However, they had communicated in the group before going out, and they calculated that they should arrive at the small square together at about the same time.
Mu Nan looked back at that time, also wanting to see if the people from the Cai family were behind him, but unfortunately his field of vision was too small and he couldn't see anything clearly. He was still wondering if the people from the Cai family were in front, but they just came over now.
The place they originally chose was also going to be occupied a little bit in front, but because they couldn't find the Cai family, and they didn't know whether the Self-Defense Force had a special resting place or just found a random place to rest like them, they thought of leaving an empty space for Da Niu. Whenever someone was about to come over, they would say that there was someone here, and put some things to occupy the empty space.
Unexpectedly, the Cai family came later. This place could be given to the Cai family members. There were people they knew outside blocking the way. They lived in the innermost part, and next to them was an empty subway track, so they immediately felt safe.
Uncle Cai sat down, took a sip of water from a kettle, and then he started to brush the sand out of his hair. He said, "When we came here, there was no one in the small square, but the neighborhood committee kept playing the loudspeaker, asking the residents behind to go to the subway station on their own. We came here on our own, and it was already full of people. We wanted to look for you. It would be better if we could live together, so we came down to take a look. Xiaozhu was sharp-eyed and saw you at a glance."
Qin Huai said: "Let's settle down first. If Cai Wentao and Daniu come over later, we should be able to sleep well if we squeeze in."
The Cai family members were covered in dust, and soon the ground was covered with dust. Aunt Yin couldn't stand it anymore, so she asked them to go directly under the subway tracks, shake off the dust on their bodies, and then come up.
I tore off a piece of cloth and swept the gravel and debris brought in from outside. Of course, there was no mat or anything like that. I thought it was so hot that I would just lie on the ground, so I only brought some small blankets that could be used as a cushion and as a cover.
It's okay for adults to lie on the ground, but children should not be too greedy for the coolness. There is only one child anyway, and he can sleep between Song Jia and Jian Chu. So only Xiao Zhu got the privilege of sleeping on a mat, and he didn't even mind the heat and asked to sleep while holding Niuniu.
Song Jia said with a smile: "Niuniu hasn't taken a bath for half a month, don't you find it smelly?"
Xiao Zhu hugged Niuniu's neck and rubbed it: "Niuniu is not smelly, Niuniu smells better than many people."
That's true. In the past, dogs, especially large dogs, who didn't take a bath for half a month would have a strong dog smell. But now, a dog who doesn't take a bath for half a month smells better than a person who doesn't take a bath for three days. At least the dog smell won't be suffocating.
Soon, the Cai family occupied the last piece of vacant space below.
Mu Nan turned over and faced outside, watching the Cai family members, under the command of Aunt Yin, first clean up the ground and arrange the sleeping place. The girls soon started chatting together. It was estimated that Cai Wentao also notified his family in advance and asked them to prepare things and wait for evacuation, so the Cai family brought quite a lot of things. In a short while, all the pots, pans, and utensils were taken out.
Uncle Guo Hui even ran over to the track to take a look and said, "If you want to cook something, you can go downstairs and cook away from other people. We brought some mushrooms."
This batch of mushrooms was supposed to be harvested in the next two days. I thought that after harvesting them, I would let Cai Wentao find a way to sell them privately. He now works in the Self-Defense Forces, and he knows more people and has more channels to contact than before. Before, they had just arrived in Kangyun not long ago and were unfamiliar with the place. Apart from selling them online, they could only ask Qin Huai and others if there were any private channels to sell them.
After all, selling things online will still expose some of your information, which is somewhat unsafe.
As a result, before we could harvest the mushrooms, we encountered a sandstorm. If we were trapped at home, it would not matter. If we couldn't sell them, we would just eat them ourselves. As a result, we were notified to evacuate, and we didn't know how many days we would have to stay outside. If no one was taking care of the mushroom house, the mushrooms would dry up and die in less than two days, so we could only rush to pick some and bring them out.
Uncle Cai also carried an induction cooker with him. They had no fuel, and if they couldn't find electricity, they would probably have to find a way to sell the mushrooms. There were so many people here, and if they sold one or two mushrooms for one dollar, they should be able to sell them.
Qin Huai and his team prepared a lot of portable fuel, which they consumed several times outside, and not even one percent of the stock was consumed. But they couldn't bring fuel every time they went out. After all, when they came from the city center, there were only so many things they could carry with them.
Qin Huai was always prepared for such emergencies, so after the previous flood, he told Jian Chu and Song Jia that he had a friend who had some ways to get a batch of this portable fuel, and asked them if they wanted to buy some together as a backup.
If there were emergency supplies like this for sale, they would sell everything they had to get some. At that time, they bought at least one box for the entire yard. A box contained twelve cans, and one can could be used for at least three or four days.
Unexpectedly, not long after that, we came out to seek refuge again, and the fuel we bought at the beginning came in handy.
Seeing that they all had fuel, Uncle Cai said, "Let's trade mushrooms with you."
This was easy to say. Song Jia agreed immediately. Even if they didn't ask for a change, they wouldn't refuse if they wanted to eat together.
Qin Huai glanced at the bags of mushrooms they were holding and said, "You'd better sell some of them. Then find Cai Wentao or Daniu to see if he knows the person in charge here. If he does, ask him to help sell them. You only need to keep some for yourself."
This big bag weighs at least 20 kilograms. Mushrooms are not very heavy, so 20 kilograms is not a small amount. Although I can consume them all by myself, I will not be able to make a profit if I grow such a large batch.
Moreover, mushrooms are unique, at least in this residential area for the time being. As for chicken and duck eggs, those with some channels can occasionally get some, so instead of consuming them all by themselves, it is better to distribute some of them. In this way, at least everyone's attention will not be focused on them.
Uncle Cai thought about it and felt that this was feasible, but he had to wait for his son to come over and ask first.
Cai Wentao came over soon. The power and internet outside were still there, so he could still get in touch by phone. He was relieved to know that his family had successfully reunited with Qin Huai and the others, and had found a good place to stay.
Of course, Daniu also came down with Cai Wentao, but Daniu did not live with them. He lived with Xiaobaoer's family, the family that lived upstairs from him. On the one hand, it was for safety reasons, and on the other hand it was probably out of kindness. Anyway, they provided him with a place to live when he had not yet applied for a house.
Although he didn't interact much with the family upstairs, they lived in the same building after all. The little girl was very sensible and well-behaved. When she saw him, she would sweetly call him Uncle Daniu. For him, who had no children, it was really difficult to resist the cute attack of such a human cub. As a result, they inevitably had more contact with each other. Sometimes when he came back very late from overtime, the uncle upstairs would leave the yard door open for him.
So when he received the news of the evacuation, in addition to notifying the people in the small courtyard, he also called the residents upstairs. They have also settled down here, but with the old and the young, they didn't get a good place, but there was an extra vacant space for him, so Daniu thought about living there. Although there are people on duty here and generally no one dares to cause trouble, it's safer to have a man to protect them if something happens.
After hearing that Daniu didn't live here, Mu Nan asked, "How about you eating? Do you want to come and eat with us?"
Daniu shook his head: "No, the Self-Defense Force will be responsible for the security of the entire area. They will provide food and drink every day, so you don't need to cook for yourself. I have just set a daily patrol area. I am responsible for this. If you have any questions, you can tell me when I come over for my daily patrol."
It's comfortable to have someone familiar up there, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that it was Da Niu who was in charge of patrolling this area.
Hearing that the Cai family wanted to sell some of the mushrooms, Daniu and Cai Wentao went to find the person in charge here. They were just members of the Self-Defense Force, so their authority was not great. If they wanted to sell anything, they had to say hello to the person in charge here.
Fortunately, the person in charge here is quite easy to talk to. After asking about the price, I learned that one dollar is for one hundred grams of mushrooms. One hundred grams is about two straw mushrooms. If you tear them into pieces, you can stir-fry them in a small dish. If you don’t stir-fry them, you can make some soup with them, which is also very delicious.
Many people haven't eaten mushrooms for many years. When they heard that mushrooms were for sale, they lined up to buy them without saying a word.
I was afraid that too many people would rush to buy the items. After all, even expensive food is almost out of stock outside, not to mention scarce things like mushrooms. So I only asked in a small area. If I couldn’t sell out here, I would move to another area. The entire subway station is so big, there is no need to worry about not being able to sell out.
The mushrooms sold by Cai’s family are not expensive, and those who can get to this subway station are basically from the second or third districts, so they can still afford one or two yuan, so a bag of mushrooms is sold out very quickly.
Aunt Yin put a small bag that she had reserved for this purpose on the wall side where Qin Huai and his friends were, to prevent them from sleeping in the middle of the road and having some of their things stolen when they couldn't keep an eye on them. Qin Huai and his friends lived inside, so if they wanted to go in and steal things, they would at least have to pass by them, and there were dogs there, so it was definitely safer than leaving the things with them.
After all this trouble, the whole night passed and it was already dawn, but the Cai family was still struggling with the decision of just going to sleep and eating after waking up.
Their family didn't have much stored food. There were many people in the family, but only two or three of them earned money. The key point was that even if they had money, they might not be able to buy a lot of food, so they didn't have much stored food, and they tried to eat as little as possible.
But when she saw Jian Chu and the others moving, some taking pots and some kneading dough to make pancakes, Cai Wenwen couldn't help but ask, "It's almost time to go to bed, you still want to make food?"
Jian Chu: "How can you sleep if you don't eat enough?"
No matter whether it was him and Yu Zibai, Qin Huai and Mu Nan, or even Song Jia and Wu Zheng, they seemed to have never gone hungry due to saving food. At most, their choices were limited, but they could always eat their fill, so this subconscious question seemed very reasonable.
Cai Wenwen suddenly felt that they did not seem to live in the same world. With food being so scarce now, the word "having enough" seemed to be a distant thing.
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