Chapter 179
Uncle Cai would definitely not let Aunt Yin do a temporary job. It's not that he dislikes this job, but it's too tiring. It's dirty and tiring. If it were winter, he could still bear it, but now it's so hot, over 30 degrees indoors, and even with air conditioning, he would sweat all over. He is not young anymore, and it would be a waste if he got heatstroke.
Aunt Yin was just asking and didn't insist on going, so when Uncle Cai disagreed, she just grumbled a few words and let it go.
The girl came back soon, this time with three steamed buns and three bottles of water. When asked about the price, she said that the steamed buns alone cost one dollar, which means that the water was fifty cents a bottle. But if you buy water alone, it is also one dollar, and if you buy two together, it is one dollar and fifty cents.
Mu Nan listened to the prices they mentioned and couldn't help shaking his head: "No matter what time it is, tourist areas are expensive."
Song Jia: "What attractions?"
Mu Nan: "Sandstorm seven-day tour attractions."
Yang Jing asked: "What are you going to eat later?"
Mu Nan turned to look at Qin Huai. Qin Huai said, "I haven't decided yet. What's wrong?"
Yang Jing: "We brought oil, but we only have salt as seasoning. Yesterday, I saw that you still had cumin and chili powder, so I thought we'd lend you the gas for cooking today, and you could give us some cumin and chili powder."
Qin Huai asked, "Are you going to eat toasted steamed bread slices?"
Yang Jing nodded: "I haven't eaten for a long time, and now there is no meat, so I'll just eat steamed buns to satisfy my craving."
Mu Nan's eyes lit up, and Jian Chu looked over when he heard it: "You can also roast mushrooms."
Mu Nan: "Can Chinese cabbage be roasted?"
Uncle Cai coughed and said, "This is not a picnic. You should also pay attention to the surrounding situation and don't overdo it."
Everyone stopped talking after hearing this, but they could still have steamed bread slices. However, Mu Nan didn't bring out steamed bread yesterday, and now he was wondering if it would be too unreasonable to take out a bag of steamed bread from his bag. Qin Huai said, "Then let's have this for lunch. Who of you wants steamed bread? Let's go buy some now."
Aunt Yin said, "Didn't you bring flour? Oh, I don't have that much water to steam. Forget it. It's more cost-effective to buy ready-made flour."
Outside, portable fuels are scarce and we have to use them sparingly when cooking. How can we have so much to steam buns?
Jian Chu raised his hand: "We want them!" Then he turned to look at Yu Zibai: "How many do we want?"
Yu Zibai: "If you just want to eat steamed buns, then buy three. If you want something else, then buy two. Just to satisfy your craving."
Song Jia: "Then we want two too, which is exactly three dollars. The internet is down and we can't transfer it. Mu Nan, keep the account and I'll give it to you when the internet is back."
After confirming the quantity they wanted, Mu Nan and Qin Huai walked towards the cafeteria.
The subway station here was not damaged much during the earthquake, mainly because there were not many buildings in this area at the time. There was only flat land or some construction sites. There was no weight falling on top, so the sinking below was not that serious. Therefore, the buildings in the subway station were only repaired on the original basis and were not considered rebuilt.
Therefore, the shop spaces originally reserved are now used as temporary canteens and temporary medical stations.
The cafeteria is divided into several stores, selling hot food, steamed buns and miscellaneous grains. The hot food is some fried rice and noodle soup. The rice contains some rehydrated freeze-dried vegetables. The noodle soup is just clear soup noodles. But now there is a shortage of water, and many people are saving every sip of water they drink. This bowl of clear soup noodles can be said to be the most popular.
Mu Nan glanced at the long queue of people and saw the prices: "It's so expensive, two yuan a bowl."
Qin Huai: "It has soup and noodles. Buy a bowl and take it home. Each family member can eat two bites and drink some soup. You can save water for the whole day."
Mu Nan didn't look over there any more. Whether it was fried rice or noodle soup, you could tell how bad it tasted just by looking at the color without any oil or salt. There weren't many people selling steamed buns here, and those who were there lined up for the multi-grain steamed buns. Mu Nan and Qin Huai waited for a while before it was their turn.
When they came over, they brought a bag with two lunch boxes in it. One lunch box was for the things they bought, and the other lunch box was for the things they took out from the space. They pretended that they had bought them and put a few outside.
Mu Nan had just put the steamed buns and water into the bag when Qin Huai pulled him aside. Then a man who seemed a little unconscious rushed over from the other side, shouting vaguely that he wanted to go out, and pushed away all the people blocking his way as he ran.
There was a man who happened to be buying noodles over there, and he was pushed by him and fell onto the noodle soup table, and the whole big pot of hot soup spilled onto the ground.
I don't know how many people were scalded by the boiling hot soup, and screams rang out one after another. People lived densely here, and the whole crowd would be in chaos at the slightest noise. Next to the noodle soup table was the fried rice table, and when the noodle soup pot fell over, it directly hit the fried rice table.
The noodles in the soup were put directly into the soup after people came to buy them, so there was only boiling noodle water in the soup pot. However, the fried rice was already cooked and placed there in a big pot, and it was served to people who came to buy it. Now it fell to the ground, and the person sleeping next to it almost immediately pounced on him, grabbed the rice on the ground and put it on his body with his clothes.
The other frightened people reacted immediately, ignoring the lunatic who seemed to be crazy, and quickly lay on the ground to join the crowd rushing for food.
The whole scene was in chaos. The mad man was still running upstairs, but there was someone sleeping on the stairs. The man stepped on the person sleeping on the ground without even looking. As a result, he was pushed by the person who got up, and he fell down the stairs and fell heavily to the ground.
Mu Nan saw that Daniu and the others had already run over, and he didn't care about those people who were grabbing food on the ground. He was afraid that this madman would cause more trouble, so he went straight forward and subdued the person who had fallen to the ground and hadn't gotten up yet.
Qin Huai had been protecting Mu Nan and hiding him in the corner. Seeing that the commotion here was attracting more and more people, he pulled him upstairs.
There were people guarding the cafeteria before. Even though the aroma of food kept tempting people, no one dared to rob. The guns in their hands were not for decoration.
But now an accident happened. The stall collapsed by itself and the food fell to the ground. They were just grabbing food on the ground. This sudden accident caught people off guard. Those who came to buy food with lunch boxes in their hands just happened to have something to put the food they grabbed. Some people had nothing to put it in, so they just squatted on the ground and stuffed the food they grabbed into their mouths. Those who didn't have anything to put it in just ate it in their stomachs.
The steamed bun stall next door was also affected. Too many people rushed over and even took advantage of the chaos to snatch the steamed bun stall.
Mu Nan had been pulled by Qin Huai to hide on the stairs. The people who were originally asleep here had already rushed over because it was relatively close to the canteen stalls. Even some well-informed people upstairs heard the noise downstairs and ran down from upstairs, wanting to see if they could take advantage of the chaos to grab some free food.
Looking at the chaos in front of him, Mu Nan swallowed. This was even more frightening than when that madman rushed over just now.
Qin Huai saw that the chaos here would not end for a while, so he pulled Mu Nan out of the crowd and jumped directly to the subway track. There was no one on the subway track, so they could just walk back from here to avoid being squeezed through the crowd and hit.
Mu Nan patted his chest and said, "I'm so scared. I don't think it's safer down here than outside. This time it was an accident, but if someone gathers together and robs me next time, it will probably result in someone's death."
Qin Huai: "Probably not for now. We are all trapped down there. The gates of the subway station can't be opened until the sandstorm outside passes. It's dangerous to go out in the yellow sand, so no one will deliberately snatch food. Besides, the people who can enter our subway station are all residents of Districts 2, 3 and 4. If they are from the outer city or some of the later districts, there is still a possibility. Today's is just an accident."
There was not much light on this side of the subway track, only a little light projected from the platform. Qin Huai turned on his mobile phone to illuminate it. There were stones and rails below, so he didn't want to fall accidentally.
Mu Nan was followed by Qin Huai and suddenly whispered, "Brother, they just grabbed a lot of steamed buns."
Qin Huai hummed.
Mu Nan added: "Should we take out a few more and say they were stolen?"
It was just a matter of a few steamed buns. Actually, it was not necessary. None of them needed them. But seeing that Mu Nan was always trying to help his friends, Qin Huai would not refuse such a small thing. He just reminded them, "Tell them secretly. Don't tell the Cai family and the girls. Don't take too much. The steamed buns won't last too long now."
Mu Nan nodded, thought for a moment, and took out eight of them. They were all large steamed buns they had made at home before. They looked almost the same as the ones they had just bought. Mu Nan also sighed: "Look at the ones we made, they are almost as round as the ones made by their machines."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Don't you think about how many steamed buns we made in those few months?"
Speaking of steamed buns, Mu Nan said, "Brother, do you want to take this opportunity to eat two steamed buns? Otherwise, it will be hard for us to find a chance to eat meat."
Qin Huai turned to look at him: "You want to eat buns?"
Mu Nan shook his head repeatedly: "It's not me, it's you."
Qin Huai: "No need, you need to make sure whether you take out a steamed bun or a dumpling. We made the dumpling look like a steamed bun before. If you mix them up, it won't work."
Mu Nan rolled his eyes behind Qin Huai's back. Was he that stupid? He had sorted all the food into categories. But thinking this in his heart, he still opened the bag and took a closer look. After confirming that it was steamed buns, he pulled Qin Huai and quickened his pace: "Hurry up, hurry up, there's a commotion over there. We haven't been back for a long time, and who knows what will happen next."
Jian Chu and the others were indeed very worried. Something had happened over there. Although they were a bit far apart, one was at the front of the station and the other at the back, they were both on the same floor, so they would know about any movement very quickly. However, they didn't know much about it. They just heard that there was a commotion in the cafeteria and some people were frantically scrambling for food.
Thinking that Mu Nan, Qin Huai and the others should have arrived at the cafeteria at that time, it is worrying that they haven't returned yet.
Just as Yu Zibai and Wu Zheng were about to go over to check out the situation, they heard Mu Nan's voice: "Hurry up and give me a hand."
The distance between the platform and the track is still a bit high. Standing under the track, the height of the platform is almost up to the chest. If you want to climb up, it would be easier if someone helps you.
Jian Chu ran over quickly: "Why did you come back from here? What happened over there just now? I saw a lot of people running over there." Mu Nan: "Just now, a mentally ill person was clamoring to go out, and he ran around and knocked over the canteen stalls. All the food fell to the ground, and people around rushed over to grab it. It was scary, like crazy. Fortunately, we were standing in a corner. If we were trapped in the middle, we would have been trampled if not hit."
Jian Chu took the bag from Mu Nan and saw that the quantity inside was wrong. This was not the quantity they had agreed on at all. He thought that Qin Huai and the others had bought extra.
As a result, Mu Nan pulled Jian Chu and whispered, "We stole it secretly during the chaos. Don't make any noise. Just think of it as something we bought. Otherwise, if someone checks to see who stole the food, it will be bad if they find out."
Jian Chu was immediately shocked: "What the hell! What the hell! You two are in the same league!"
Seeing the two of them whispering to each other, Song Jia came over and asked, "What are you whispering about?"
Jian Chu grabbed Song Jia's neck and said, "Sit tight."
Since they had to do it secretly, they couldn't whisper in front of others, otherwise it would be too conspicuous, so Jian Chu put the steamed bun directly on the mat, covered it with a small blanket, and then typed on his mobile phone for Song Jia to see.
Song Jia was also surprised. Although it was just a few steamed buns, it was still money. How could he not be happy to have a full meal for a day for free?
But this was not something that could be made public, so they could only be happy about it in secret.
Because Cai Wentao was in the Self-Defense Force, the Cai family was extremely sensitive to certain noises, fearing that something might happen somewhere. So when there was such a big noise over there, the Cai family was scared to death. If Cai Wenwen hadn't pulled her parents away, Uncle Cai and Aunt Yin would have already gone over to check out the situation.
Seeing Qin Huai and the others coming back, he quickly pulled Qin Huai aside to ask about the situation, which just distracted their attention from Mu Nan's whispering.
After a while, some of the onlookers came back, and their words were full of gloating and regret.
"I should have gone there earlier. I was just wondering whether I should just buy some food to kill time. It's not expensive anyway. One or two dollars can last a whole day. Sigh."
"I heard that a lot of people bought out all the fried rice, which also contained vegetables and diced potatoes."
"It's not worth getting hurt just for a bite of food. It seems like two men were fighting over a steamed bun and their teeth were knocked out. The Self-Defense Force came and controlled the situation, but they didn't get the bun."
"It's good to live near the cafeteria. They seem to have robbed a lot of them."
"What's good about that? There was a pregnant woman sleeping nearby, and no one rushed to grab her. As a result, she was bumped by the crowd and her leg was bleeding. Now she has a miscarriage, and I don't even know if she can get insurance. This is simply a threat to her life!"
Although Mu Nan and the others were sitting in the corner, the voices talking over there were quite loud and they could hear it clearly from here.
Song Jia frowned and asked, "Is the situation over there so serious?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "When my brother and I left, there was no blood, and I don't know what happened afterwards."
Jian Chu breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately you ran fast."
But after listening to their conversation, I was not so happy about the steamed buns I got for free.
They were silent for a while, and finally Song Jia couldn't help but ask: "Then do you still want to eat the toasted steamed bread slices?"
Jian Chu glanced in the direction of the commotion over there: "Although it's just a steamed bun, wouldn't it be too conspicuous to roast it with cumin?"
After all, there seems to be a river of blood over there now.
Mu Nan: "The steamed buns can be left, or should we eat them tomorrow?"
While they were discussing, the girl probably didn't see the scene, but just heard about it, so she didn't have any scruples. She looked at the time and came over to ask them: "Do you want to grill together?"
The three of them looked at each other and nodded in unison: "Yes!"
Don’t put it off until tomorrow. Let’s get through today first.
Mu Nan didn't use the fuel of several girls, but the seasoning couldn't be given for free, so he used labor instead of work. The three of them lay on the mats like uncles, and the three girls squatted on the subway tracks, grilling slices of steamed bread one by one with chopsticks. There was no other way, the conditions were limited, and to satisfy their cravings, they had to be a little more troublesome.
Wu Zheng turned on another stove and used the small milk pot to simmer a pot of rice. They also had some mushrooms, and Mu Nan had some cabbage. Wu Zheng planned to simmer two pots of rice, and after they were cooked, make fried rice and pair it with toasted steamed bread slices. This meal would be very filling.
The Cai family's situation was much simpler. When they came, they brought noodles with them. They were knife-cut noodles, and it was obvious that they were made by Aunt Yin. Taking advantage of Cai Wentao's break, they also started heating up the pot and cooking noodles.
Although a murder eventually occurred in the cafeteria because of a mentally ill person, the murder did not happen in front of them. After year after year of major events, those who have survived to this day have long since become calm, so they eat as usual and sleep as usual, without being affected at all.
Those who followed the government to hide in the subway station, apart from occasionally hearing the rumbling noise outside, were not panicked at all, probably because there were so many people around and the government guards were also there.
However, not everyone took immediate action after receiving the government's notification. Some people thought that it was just a sandstorm and that they could just stay at home and close the doors and windows. They did not gather at the assembly point as notified by the message they received.
When the yellow sand swept in and the doomsday scene that covered the sky and the sun appeared before their eyes in an instant, it was too late for those who did not follow the government's notice to gather for shelter to regret.
The inland areas have never experienced this kind of sandstorm, and even slightly severe smog days are rare. Looking at the yellow sand rolling in with the strong wind, many people feel that they may not be able to escape this time.
Some people lived close to some neighborhood committees, so when others were still evacuating, they heard the loudspeaker constantly broadcasting that the nearest evacuation point was the subway station.
So these people decided to take a chance and quickly packed up their things and ran to the subway station.
Unfortunately, the subway station gates had been closed long ago. Today's subway station gates are not the roller shutters of the past, but are very heavy steel doors that, once closed, cannot be opened by manpower.
Those who had finally run to the entrance of the subway station, no matter how they banged and shouted, no sound could be heard from inside. The gate was too thick. When those people saw the gate of the subway station, they realized why the government evacuated directly to the subway station. Not to mention the sandstorm, the sealing degree of the gate was so tight that it could withstand a flood. This was basically an underground shelter built to prevent all kinds of disasters.
They regretted it. They had never imagined that the subway station that had never been opened would be such a shelter. If they had known this earlier, they would definitely have followed the government's arrangements to evacuate.
But it was too late to regret. Seeing the raging sand so close, those who had finally run to the subway station entrance immediately turned around and wanted to run back home. No matter what, it was definitely safer to stay indoors than outdoors in this situation.
Unfortunately, they really underestimated the severity of this sandstorm. Before they could run two steps, when the sandstorm came, they found that there was a vortex of wind in the middle of the sandstorm. Not to mention people weighing over 100 pounds, even many houses were like dismantled building blocks and were instantly blown into the sky.
The people who were holding hands and running home against the strong wind in the last second, disappeared in the rolling yellow sand in the next second. Seeing this, the people in front tried their best to shake off the hands of the people behind them, fearing that they would be pulled away like carrots. However, no matter how fast the people were, they were not faster than the wind, and their figures were submerged in an instant.
Some people desperately clung to any buildings they could reach, but this strong storm could uproot even large trees. Although there were no trees now, no lamppost or even a stone pier could withstand it, and in the end all the struggles were in vain.
Some people hid at home and watched helplessly as some people who ran out were blown up into the sky almost instantly and caught in the whirlwind. They were so scared that they would definitely die if they were blown away. They found anything that could block the doors and windows, and even hid in the closet and under the bed, tying themselves to heavy objects in the house.
Those who lived on the fourth and fifth floors also ran out of their homes and hid downstairs, in the stairwells, and in their homes on the lower floors, because they saw that many roofs of the higher floors were directly turned into pieces by the wind in the sandstorm.
After the first wave of strong winds passed, all you could see was endless yellow sand and dust. The noise outside gradually died down, but those who had survived by chance did not dare to go out. They did not know if this wave of strong winds would be the end. If they went outside and another strong wind came, they would have no chance of survival.
However, those who survived the first wave of strong winds once again faced the problem of survival difficulties. They had food stored at home, but where was the water? With such a severe sandstorm and strong winds that even blew away houses, those water stations must have been reduced to rubble long ago.
Some people risked their lives to check the water station, but no miracle happened. The water station was destroyed, which meant that before all the refugees could come back, they would have to keep looking for water and food in order to survive in addition to avoiding the sandstorm.
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