Chapter 39
Mu Nan thought about it and felt that if his brother just tried to mediate but didn't help him, he would be very sad. But his brother was sad, wouldn't he be even sadder facing the person he liked? No wonder Jian Chu and Yu Zibai had a quarrel. Mu Nan looked at Jian Chu and didn't know what to say. This matter was not something that could be resolved by outsiders' advice, so he couldn't help but sigh.
Jian Chu said with a smile: "Why are you sighing suddenly?"
Mu Nan glanced ahead and deliberately raised his voice: "My brother is also very good at fighting. Yu Zibai, how long have you been learning Taekwondo? I wonder who is better, you or my brother?"
Yu Zibai turned around and smiled, glanced at Qin Huai, and said with self-awareness: "Then it must be your brother who is good. I learned Taekwondo when I was very young. I stopped learning it after my mother passed away. I just practiced it occasionally."
Mu Nan said "oh", then said to Jian Chu: "My brother seldom fights, almost never fights. He is not someone who likes to solve things with violence, but do you know why my brother fought with that guy in the corridor last time?"
Jian Chu didn't know why Mu Nan suddenly brought up this matter, but he was indeed very curious: "Why?"
Mu Nan said: "That man was a very good classmate of my brother, but he lied to me once and my brother broke off all ties with him. He was not willing to give up and came back again, so my brother helped me vent my anger and beat him up!" Of course, the process of the incident cannot be explained in just one sentence, but that is not important.
Mu Nan concluded: "Doesn't my brother make people feel safe? If you want to find a future partner, you have to find someone like my brother. Only by being unreasonable and protecting others can you feel at ease, right?"
Qin Huai, who was suddenly listed as the first choice for his future significant other but was actually just a tool to mediate quarrels: “???” Has his brother finally come to his senses?
After going through so much trouble, Jian Chu seemed to understand what Mu Nan meant. He glanced at Yu Zibai and hummed, "Indeed, whoever can be your sister-in-law in the future will be blessed."
Yu Zibai, who had felt that he was a little unhappy with him in the past two days but didn't know the reason, seemed to understand something. He felt a little funny and helpless.
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two of them seemed to become a little weirder, Mu Nan rubbed back to Qin Huai's side. He could only help them so much.
Because they decided to go to the pet hospital to see if there was anything useful they could bring back, after getting the supplies they went straight home to put down their things. It happened that Mu Nan had specially made a small trailer when he bought the soil and transported it up here, so they went there with the small trailer, in case anyone wanted to take some dog food, cat food or something.
The pet clinic where Xu Ming works is not far from the community. He rented a house in this community because he worked here. A group of people can walk out of the back door of the community and onto a street. This street used to be lined with a whole row of noodle shops, all selling snacks. Every evening, they would set up an electric stove in front of the store to barbecue. This snack street was particularly crowded at night, but now, it is deserted. Apart from the street lights that are still on, there is not a single person in sight.
Mu Nan pointed to one of the shops and said to Qin Huai, "The pot cakes here are super delicious, with plenty of ingredients. It's run by a man from the Northeast. It's a pity that they don't do takeout. Every time I want to eat, I have to come down and buy it myself. There's a long queue."
When Qin Huai left, this street was still a dilapidated street. There was a row of old low-rise buildings waiting to be demolished. Although they have been repaired now, it is a pity that it is even more desolate than it was back then.
Qin Huai followed Mu Nan's instructions and imagined bit by bit Mu Nan's life during the years when he was away. When Mu Nan finished talking with regret about several restaurants that he thought were particularly delicious, they arrived at the clinic where Xu Ming worked.
The clinic didn't have a big front, but it was deep inside, with two floors. The first floor sold goods and provided pet bathing services, and the second floor was for treatment. Because the clinic was small, there weren't any big treatment equipment, so most of the people who came here were people who had pets nearby and sent them in for a bath. After Xu Ming opened the door, he lowered the light shield inside, and then turned on the light. Because the power was cut off yesterday, it was extremely hot inside, even hotter than outside.
Xu Ming said: "See if there is anything you can use. Take whatever you want. If you don't take them, they will go bad anyway."
Jian Chu asked, "If the product is gone, won't the owner of the clinic pursue it?"
Xu Ming smiled and said, "The owner of the clinic left a long time ago. He has not only this one store, but also several. Moreover, he has not paid me this month's salary. He told me to sell the things in his store as much as I can and use them as cash."
But how many people are willing to spend money to buy a pet now? Even if he sells it or gives it away, he probably won’t be able to find a buyer. It’s so troublesome. Forget it. There’s no need to work so hard for a month’s salary. It’s better to give it to his neighbors. After all, it’s a favor. If the situation gets worse in the future, he can at least have a few people to go in and out with him.
They can understand some of the products themselves, but they cannot understand the medicines without Xu Ming. After all, many medicines are packaged individually, not in boxes.
Xu Ming opened the still warm medicine cabinet and took out the medicines that had been packaged earlier: "These are anti-inflammatory, these are for treating coughs and colds. Although they are for pets, they can also be used on humans if there is really no medicine. This bottle of cough syrup is unopened. It should be able to be kept in the refrigerator for a while. This pile is for treating external injuries, gauze, hemostatic powder, which can also be of some use. Who wants it?"
Qin Huai said, "Let's put them on the trailer first and take them away. It's too hot here and we can't stay too long." Everyone agreed. Anyway, all the useful things were taken away and they could figure out how to divide them after they got back.
While they were checking the medicines, Mu Nan successfully found the urine pads. He took almost all the largest ones and placed them in piles on the small trailer. Seeing some empty boxes nearby, he swept all kinds of pet snacks and canned food on the shelves into the boxes, so that he could take more. No matter whether they were useful or not, he would take them away first.
Jian Chu followed suit and found a bunch of empty boxes. He took whatever he saw, even the cupboards. It was the first time for him to do such a thing, and he suddenly felt great to buy things for free, even though he only bought things for pets.
A few people were lucky enough to find a few boxes of pet shampoo in the back container. Although it is for cats and dogs, it can also be used by humans. I heard that pet shampoo is more expensive than human shampoo. Anyway, it won't go bad. When the last group of people came out of the small clinic, the small clinic was almost empty, and the small trailer was full. Qin Huai and Yu Zibai were pulling in front, and Mu Nan and the other three took up one direction each to protect the boxes of things to prevent them from falling down while hauling.
On the way back, they also saw two young men sneakily trying to open the lock of someone else's store. When they saw them, the two men ran away with a guilty conscience. Maybe it was because life was not going well, and seeing that there were not many people on this street, they wanted to go into the store to see if there was anything valuable.
Seeing this, Mu Nan thought to himself that if he saw people now, he would feel guilty and run away, but in the future, when he saw people like them carrying boxes of things, his first reaction would be to rush over and rob them.
The few of them returned to the community sweating all over. A familiar neighbor saw them dragging so many things back and asked curiously, "Where did you go to buy the goods?"
Xu Ming smiled and said, "No, these are dog food. My boss closed the clinic and ran away, and he didn't pay me. There's still some dog food left in the clinic, so I brought it back here and see if I can sell it."
The man immediately lost interest and couldn't help but complain: "People can't even afford to eat these days, who cares about dogs? I think you're wasting your efforts."
Xu Ming sighed: "What can we do? We can't make ends meet anymore. Let's give it a try."
Back on the 17th floor, Xu Ming asked, "Who should put the things first?" He only turned on the air conditioner in the bedroom, so it was obvious that there was no extra space to distribute these things.
Qin Huai didn't say anything, so Jian Chu said, "Then put it at our place. Our living room is quite spacious."
Xu Ming looked at his watch. It was already one in the morning, so he said, "Why don't we go and distribute the supplies now? We don't need to collect supplies tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so we don't have to go out."
Jian Chu also felt that he was already exhausted, so he decided to just solve the problem at once and had no objection.
Qin Huai then said, "Okay, let's go back to the bathroom first and come over later."
After being outside for so long, he felt the need to replenish water. Water was scarce right now, so there was no need to drink other people's water.
When he got home, Mu Nan took out a package of wet wipes that had already been opened. Towels also require water, so it is better to use wet wipes. So he bought a lot of wet wipes, thinking that even if there is a lack of water and he cannot take a shower, it will be enough to wipe with wet wipes. Qin Huai took him a bottle of water from the refrigerator: "Drink some, you are too hot."
Mu Nan drank in small sips. Although it was refreshing to drink too fast, it would become cold and uncomfortable after a while. Small sips could quench thirst and reduce heat. He drank most of the bottle of water, and Qin Huai took the remaining sip from Mu Nan and drank it all.
Mu Nan fanned the wind and handed a wet wipe to Qin Huai: "Wipe it quickly, your face is red. This is our first time to go to someone's house. Do you want to give us something? And Dr. Xu, although the things are not his, but without him, we would not have these now. Apart from anything else, those diaper pads are indeed very useful. Do you want to thank him?"
Qin Huai said: "Take two bags of frozen buns you made."
Mu Nan thought about it and thought it was a good idea, so he took out two bags. He took out the big buns, and there were six in a small plastic bag. It was just the right amount to give to people at this moment.
Probably not expecting them to bring something with them, Jian Chu quickly refused: "Just give it to Doctor Xu. These buns are so expensive now. You can keep the rest for yourselves."
Mu Nan said, "I made these when I was at home with nothing to do during the epidemic. I still have some at home. These have been frozen for quite a long time. You can take them. Don't be polite. There aren't many."
Jian Chu felt a little embarrassed. They didn't help anyone. The boxes of stuff also belonged to Dr. Xu. It was a bit of an advantage to take the stuff for free. But seeing Mu Nan's unwillingness to be rejected, he subconsciously looked at Yu Zibai. Yu Zibai had no choice but to take it: "Thanks. As I said before, if you need anything, just give me a shout. I don't have anything else, but I still have some strength."
Mu Nan smiled and handed the other one to Dr. Xu: "Why don't you take it back and put it away first, so it won't thaw later."
Xu Ming was not polite and nodded straightforwardly: "Okay, you can divide the things among yourselves. I have already taken some of the things I need back, so I won't share these with you."
Jian Chu was afraid that they would feel too hot, so even though the air conditioner was on in the living room, he still took out a fan and fanned the air: "You guys take them first, we don't know how to use these things."
After Mu Nan confirmed that they didn't want diaper pads, he placed all of them on his cart, and then he and Jian Chu poured out the things one by one: "This is dried meat, no additives chicken and duck meat, do you want to open a bag to try?" Jian Chu took a look and simply opened a bag. There was indeed a burst of meaty aroma inside, and it was crispy. It didn't taste good when it first went into the mouth, but it was quite fragrant after chewing it twice: "This is edible."
Mu Nan took out a few bottles of insect repellent spray that were used by both humans and pets: "We bought a box of this before, so we don't need it. We'll take some of the anti-inflammatory medicine, gauze and hemostatic medicine, and you can take the rest. There are also canned food here. Can pets eat canned food?"
Xu Ming, who had just come over after taking the buns home, heard Mu Nan's question and said, "There's meat inside. The meat content is quite high, but the taste may be a challenge."
Mu Nan sighed and said, "Forget it, we don't want them. Okay, we just want the diaper pads and these medicines, and you guys can handle the rest."
Jian Chu looked at several boxes, some of which contained shower gel, and asked, "Take some of this too. Daily necessities are restricted and can't be bought now. This big bottle can last for quite a long time."
Mu Nan didn't need these, but he still took some. He couldn't use the rest, so he gave them all to Jian Chu.
Looking at the things on the floor, Jian Chu said, "Do you think I can sell these things if I set up a stall downstairs?"
Mu Nan gave him an idea: "Look, these dog foods come in small packages. When the time comes, you can open the small packages and let people taste them. Maybe someone will buy them if they think they're edible."
Jian Chu's face was full of suspicion. There was no such person. He knew it was dog food.
Setting up a stall was just an idea. After all, there were still some things that looked edible. Anyway, they were all unemployed and had nothing to do at home, so they might as well find something to do. If they could really make some money, they could buy more things. I don’t know if it was their wish come true or the market demand. The day after they moved the things back from the clinic, someone asked in the big group if anyone wanted to join the trading group, and sent a group code to their community group, asking residents in the area to join voluntarily. They were all people living in this area. If they had any extra things and wanted to exchange them for other things, they could trade with others in the group. Of course, the transaction was also negotiated by each party, and safety had to be taken care of by each party. The group owner only provided a communication platform, and there was no extra capacity to guarantee the rest.
Thinking that it was okay, he could get more information by going in, so Mu Nan joined the group, and soon Jian Chu also joined. When they joined, the group was selling water, and the 500ml bottle of mineral water was 70 yuan per bottle, with no purchase limit.
Although this is an old neighborhood, there are still quite a few wealthy people. Many tenants here are doing business and have some savings. However, those businessmen are used to being cautious. When the situation was not good before, they were afraid that something might happen in the future. They had some money and confidence, so they didn’t buy much at that time. But now, money obviously can’t bring confidence, and now life is difficult. The environment has become like this, and they are afraid that they won’t be able to buy things with money in the future. So when they see something that can be bought with money, especially water, which is the most scarce thing now, many people will buy it.
During the period of closure, there were many group-buying scams. If they could cheat back then, how much more now? Moreover, many places are in chaos now, with murders and robberies happening every day, and the police simply cannot cope with them. Although cases can still be filed for scams like this, there is really no manpower to investigate and manage them. As a result, people no longer believe in group buying. When buying things now, money is paid and goods are delivered at the same time. People are even afraid of being cheated, so most of them will make appointments with some acquaintances to act together. With more people they know, they naturally feel more secure.
Mu Nan did not follow those people to buy water. It was 70 yuan a bottle. Even if Qin Huai still had some money, it would be a waste if he didn't use it all. But he would rather buy a few more boxes of chocolates than buy such expensive water.
Soon, Mu Nan saw the dog food message sent by Jian Chu in the group. A bag of ten kilograms of dog food cost three hundred yuan. He also sent a photo of the dog food packaging bag, and the food could be delivered to the door within a short distance.
There are all kinds of transactions in this group, but most of them are food and drinks. This is the first time for dog food and cat food. Many people complained:
"People can't even get enough to eat these days, so who cares about these cats and dogs?"
"Can people eat this food? How does it taste?"
Jian Chu quickly replied to the man: "Of course it's edible, but it doesn't have much taste. It's like unsalted biscuits, crispy and crunchy, and it contains a lot of meat. The basic nutritional needs can definitely be met."
The man probably just asked out of curiosity, and nothing happened after that. Jian Chu was not discouraged, and continued to send some cat and dog snacks, canned food, and photos he had taken before to the group. However, the most inquiries were about cat and dog bath gel. They dragged back several boxes of them, and even if they used them themselves, they probably wouldn't be able to use them up until they expired, so Jian Chu planned to sell some. They were all large bottles of 1 liter, and Jian Chu sold them all for 500 yuan each.
Now the purchase of toiletries also needs to be limited. Although water resources are scarce nowadays and not everyone has the conditions to take a bath, there are always rich and poor at all times. So even though there are many people outside who are dirty and stink, there are still many people who can afford to take a bath every few days.
Jian Chu didn't expect that many people were interested in the things he posted. Many people added him to private chats. Except for selling a few bottles of shower gel, there were more inquiries than purchases for other things. Finally, Jian Chu simply posted a time in the group, saying that he would set up a stall tomorrow, and people could try the dog and cat food on the spot. If they thought they were acceptable, they could take it away.
After finishing all these, most of the night had passed. Mu Nan had been watching in the group, occasionally playing the supporting role, and commenting on the pictures of pet snacks posted by Jian Chu, saying "Wow, this looks so delicious" or "Oh, this is meat" and so on, trying to attract as many as possible.
However, Jian Chu's hands were sore from talking on the phone, while Mu Nan sat cross-legged on the bed, eating the watermelon cut by Qin Huai while watching the fun. He didn't put down his fork until he burped with a watermelon flavor. "I thought they were really going to keep these things for themselves, but I didn't expect there was a trading group. Whatever you want will come true."
Qin Huai took the watermelon that Mu Nan couldn't finish and cleaned it up for him. Before, Mu Nan's habit of eating watermelon was to cut it in half and eat it, but he couldn't finish half at once. Although the half would not change no matter how long it was kept in the space, it was taken in and out and put in the refrigerator repeatedly so many times that it didn't feel as fresh. Now Qin Huai cut a watermelon, cut it all at once and put it in boxes. When he wanted to eat, he would just take a box and eat what he could. If he couldn't finish it, he would finish it.
Seeing Jian Chu posting in the group that he was going to set up a stall, Mu Nan asked Qin Huai, "Should we go and help?"
Qin Huai: "Go if they ask."
As soon as Qin Huai finished speaking, Jian Chu sent them a message, telling them the time to set up the stall and asking them to bring the cart with them. Jian Chu's idea was simple. These things belonged to Xu Ming, and they had moved them back together, so even if he was the one setting up the stall, the money earned would be divided equally among the three families. If it was divided by headcount, Xu Ming would be at a disadvantage. Besides, these things originally belonged to Xu Ming, so it was better to divide them by family. Xu Ming provided the things, he provided the labor, and Mu Nan's family provided transportation convenience. How great!
Even if you set up a stall in the community, there is still a risk of being robbed, so the next day, several people who had not planned to go out still went out. With so many people standing there, they were a deterrent to those who had bad intentions. Qin Huai didn't want Mu Nan to go out, but seeing that Mu Nan was in high spirits, he didn't stop him.
Soon Jian Chu set up the table under a street lamp below their building. Mu Nan was worried about the lack of light, so he brought a rechargeable lighting lamp from home. While they were still setting up the table, some people who had just returned from collecting supplies came over to watch the fun: "What are these?"
Jian Chu introduced: "Dog food and cat food, do you want to try them? They are all made of meat, nutritious and filling. Ten kilograms cost three hundred yuan. They are not staple food. You can eat a few grains when you are hungry to satisfy your hunger."
Hearing that he could taste the food, the man was not polite. Although it was for cats and dogs, since it was made of meat, he would give it a try. However, it tasted really ordinary, just like a tasteless biscuit. Before the man could say anything, someone who had paid special attention to them in the group and knew what time they would come to set up the stall came over and asked as soon as he came up: "Can I see the date?"
Jian Chu quickly said, "Sure, take a look."
Two men came down, one in his thirties, the other looked no older than twenty. The younger one looked at the date on the dog food bag, confirmed the date and then the anti-counterfeiting label, and only looked back at the man who should be his brother after confirming that there was no problem: "No problem, the date is still fresh."
The older man asked, "Can we get a discount if we ask for more?"
Jian Chu saw that they really intended to buy, so he said, "Two hundred and fifty per bag, but no door-to-door delivery."
The man thought for a while and nodded: "Okay." After that, he took out his mobile phone, scanned one thousand yuan on the payment code that Jian Chu took out, and directly took four large bags of dog food.
The person who tried the food earlier didn’t expect that someone would actually buy it, and hesitated for a while: “Two hundred and fifty a bag?”
Jian Chu smiled and said, "That's because they got more, but since you're the first one to come here, I'll give it to you at this price. Do you want it? If you want, I can help you pick out a tastier one. I've eaten all of these, and the taste varies."
I don't know what the man's mentality was. He probably saw others buy it and thought he would lose out if he didn't buy it, so he simply nodded and said, "Okay, I'll buy one too."
Mu Nan, who was squatting on the flower bed opposite them, couldn't help but said to Qin Huai: "Brother, do you think they buy it to eat themselves, or for their pets at home?" If they buy it to eat themselves, then the taste is really unique. Anyway, he has tasted it, and it has some residue in his mouth when chewed, and it is not delicious at all.
Qin Huai: "Those two people must have pets at home. As for this one, I guess he ate it himself."
Mu Nan shrugged and said, okay, it’s all edible anyway. Maybe this bag of dog food can really save his life in the future.
Mu Nan had really thought of this. The man who bought the food was just looking for something new. A pound of rice costs hundreds of yuan nowadays, and he thought of buying this big bag of edible food for more than 200 yuan and keeping it at home. It was not much money. Later, there was an earthquake and the world was in chaos. There was not much edible food to dig out from the ruins. Their family really relied on this bag of dog food to make it to the survivor base opened by the government. They entered the base and found a job as a laborer and finally survived.
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