Chapter 61
Xu Ming's words and the sick people they saw made Qin Huai and Yu Zibai feel more than a little heavy-hearted. They originally thought that they still had some time, but they didn't expect the epidemic to come so quickly, so quickly that they didn't dare to stay outside any longer.
Qin Huai glanced at Yu Zibai and said, "Go to the military and ask about exchanging food. If you can, then exchange it. If not, don't look for it today." The supplies outside are not the most important to him. There is no need to take risks for it. Even if there is a slight possibility, the consequences will be irreversible. If he were alone, if Mu Nan had no space, he might fight for him and Nan Nan to survive, but there is no need now. If he really gets sick, it will be more trouble than gain.
Yu Zibai nodded silently, feeling heavy in his heart. For the first time, he felt confused and afraid about the future.
Qin Huai said: "If you still want to look for it in a place with fewer people, I won't stop you. Apart from anything else, I will guard your home for you." Yu Zibai and the others were different from him. He had the supplies and the confidence to stay indoors, but if others didn't have enough food, they would starve to death if they stayed indoors. They might want to find as much food as possible before the outbreak. He wouldn't stop others just because he thought it was dangerous.
Yu Zibai said: "Let's go to the military department and ask first."
The military headquarters was at the resettlement site, but it was in the upper area, not in the same place as the civilian resettlement tents. It didn't take long to walk there. There weren't many people at the military headquarters. Most of them had gone to remove the bodies before dark, leaving only a few behind. Qin Huai quickly explained his purpose and showed them photos of the individually packaged snacks. "These are just the things. I wonder if I can exchange them for some rice, flour, and water. I also wonder if I can exchange them for quilts, clothes, and some daily necessities. They're all new."
Now most people keep the things they have collected for themselves, and no one has ever come to them to exchange them. Those who stay at the resettlement site have no rules either. Just in time, they saw their captain not far away, so the soldier asked them to wait a moment and then ran over to explain the situation.
Soon the captain came over and glanced at the two of them with his sharp eyes. He was covered in mud and it had been who knows how long since he had washed it properly. There were several deep grooves between his brows that seemed impossible to open. His weathered and tired appearance made people feel sad for some reason.
Taking the two people's cell phones, the captain carefully enlarged the photo. The so-called snacks were all meat and dried fruits. They certainly couldn't fill the stomach. At most, they had some oil and salt. After thinking for a while, he said, "You can exchange, but the amount can't be too large. One pound of meat can be exchanged for five pounds of rice. For vegetarian food with oil and salt, and dried fruits, one pound can be exchanged for three pounds of rice. How many clothes do you have?"
Qin Huai looked at Yu Zibai. He didn't count the clothes that Jian Chu picked up during the chaos last time.
Yu Zibai said: "There are more than a hundred pieces."
The captain asked, "Five pieces of clothing and one pound of rice, do you want to exchange?"
Yu Zibai looked at Qin Huai, and Qin Huai said, "Okay, what about the water?"
The captain said, "There's not much water," and then he looked at his watch and said, "I'll wait for you in the cafeteria in an hour."
Qin Huai nodded: "Okay."
The two of them turned back directly, as it would take some time to clean up.
Hearing the noise at the door, Mu Nan quickly put away the pomegranates and the lunch boxes that had been peeled one by one on the table. Just as he got up from the ground, he saw Qin Huai opening the door and coming in. Seeing that he had just gone downstairs and came back not long ago, he couldn't help but panic: "What's wrong? What happened? Are you alone? Where's Yu Zibai?"
Qin Huai said, "Nothing happened, don't worry. Yu Zibai has gone home, and I came back to clean up some things. I went to Xu Ming's place today, and many people have already contracted malaria. The plague may not be far from breaking out, so we didn't go to search the ruins, but went to the military to ask about exchanging food. Didn't I ask you to dig out the things you don't like to eat? I'll bring some food back later. Although there is no shortage, I have to make a show of it. After I get it back, I don't plan to go out."
Mu Nan nodded and had no objection to Qin Huai's arrangement. He also felt that it was very dangerous outside. Although he knew that it would probably take several days before the outbreak, it was always better to be cautious. He was lucky in his previous life and had been collecting supplies outside during this period but did not get sick. He might not be so lucky in this life, so it was safest to stay at home.
After dragging out a box of snacks, Mu Nan said, "Then Xu Ming won't come back? Isn't it a big risk for him to be in the medical team?"
Qin Huai said: "Well, this is his decision."
Mu Nan thought for a moment and asked, "Should we get him some masks?" Then he looked at Qin Huai hesitantly, "And some protective clothing?"
The protective suits he bought were all very good ones, so each one was not cheap. At that time, he had to save the money to buy food, so he didn't buy many. Later, after Qin Huai came back and had money, the price of protective suits had been driven up to sky-high prices. He had enough for two people in his space, so he didn't buy more. But there was still a long way to go, and it was impossible to donate all of them. It was not impossible to take out a few pieces.
However, he bought a lot of masks. When he bought them, the masks in the pharmacy were out of stock and very cheap. On shopping websites, you could buy a box for less than ten yuan, and a whole box could be even cheaper.
Qin Huai naturally knew the number of these things in Mu Nan's space, and said: "The protective suits cannot be moved. No one knows what the situation will be in the future. We bought a lot of masks, so give them five boxes of masks. The more protection the medical staff have, the safer they will be. This is the only amount we can give. Any more will be eye-catching. In addition, give me the anti-inflammatory drugs you got from Xu Ming's pet hospital last time. The medicines we have are enough, so send them over."
Mu Nan nodded and found a black plastic bag to put these things together.
Qin Huai looked at Mu Nan and said, "These things are inevitable. Earthquakes cannot be prevented by human power, and neither can the outbreak of plague. When he chose to stay in the medical team, he had already thought clearly about what kind of situation he would face, so it is a blessing for him to get through it safely. If not, it has nothing to do with you. Even if you don't give him protective clothing or masks, what is going to happen will still happen. So Nan Nan, don't think too much. Your foresight and your space are not reasons for you to bear these burdens."
Mu Nan knew Qin Huai's worries. He was afraid that he would get stuck in a dead end. He was afraid that he would feel guilty for not being able to take out things in his space that could provide safer protection. He was afraid that he would feel burdened, just like looking at an old man who fell to the ground. He clearly had the ability to save him but turned a blind eye for fear of causing trouble, and the old man eventually died.
Mu Nan reached out and hugged Qin Huai: "Don't worry, brother. I know. Don't always think so highly of me, as if I would be soft-hearted towards everyone. In my heart, no one and nothing is more important than our own safety."
Qin Huai smiled when he heard this: "I'm glad you think so."
Qin Huai put the things on the cart and waited for a while before Yu Zibai came over, along with Jian Chu. Mu Nan looked at Jian Chu and asked, "Do you want to go with them?"
Jian Chu shook his head: "I'll wait for them at home."
Only after seeing Qin Huai and Yu Zibai leave with their things did Jian Chu look at Mu Nan: "I want to go upstairs and take a look."
Mu Nan understood what Jian Chu meant and asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"
Jian Chu shook his head: "No, you stay at home, I'll go upstairs and take a look around." Just look for whatever you can find. If you can't find anything, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that their floor is high, and they don't know if others will come back or if they can come back.
When Qin Huai and Yu Zibai arrived at the cafeteria, the captain was already waiting there. However, some people were eating in the cafeteria, and they couldn't trade in front of others, so they asked them to come directly to the back, and brought two soldiers with them, to classify and weigh the items.
Qin Huai saw them checking those things, so he asked, "Excuse me, can we replace it with a security door now?"
The soldier shook his head and said, "The door can't be eaten. We are mainly looking for edible things. We don't have any here at the moment. If you need them, you can go to the ruins and look for them."
Qin Huai only took some extra snacks, not much, and exchanged them for 30 kilograms of rice and five small bottles of water. A soldier saw that he was still holding a black plastic bag and asked, "Do you want to exchange this too?"
Qin Huai shook his head, but handed him the plastic bag: "We have a friend in the medical team, his name is Xu Ming. These are our little gifts, and we donate them to the medical staff. But when distributing them, please give more to our friends. There are also some anti-inflammatory drugs in them, I don't know if they can be used." He hadn't planned to go there anyway, as there were already sick people there, so it was better to stay away and simply give it to them to pass on.
The soldier took the plastic bag and saw that it turned out to be several boxes of masks. Masks are good things now, more precious than food. After all, some people in the camp have started to get sick, and an outbreak of infectious diseases is only a matter of time. A mask may not be able to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, but it is at least a layer of protection. What's more, there are medicines. Even if they rushed to the hospital for rescue as soon as possible, the medicines they found could not withstand the consumption of such a large-scale casualties. These are very precious things.
The captain looked at Qin Huai with a heavy look. With these things in Qin Huai's hand, he could already exchange for hundreds of kilograms of food. He didn't believe that this man didn't know the value of masks and medicines, but he didn't say he would exchange them. Instead, he donated them for free. To be honest, since the earthquake rescue, they have seen the most deaths and complaints. The families who lost their loved ones vented all their panic and resentment about the disaster on them. They are soldiers, but they are also human beings. They will also break down emotionally, and their hearts will become cold little by little. But sometimes, such a little kindness from the masses can easily break the cold armor that has accumulated little by little.
The captain didn't say anything, just asked the two people's names again, then thanked them solemnly.
Before leaving, the captain said to them: "The army will soon come to check the building. If your house has not collapsed, please register it at that time."
Qin Huai nodded to the captain: "Okay, we got it."
Yu Zibai took a lot of things, and exchanged for a lot of rice and water. Fortunately, Qin Huai was prepared and brought a cover cloth to cover the things on the cart tightly.
The two of them successfully returned to the building from the cafeteria. Looking at the stairs in front of them, Yu Zibai smiled bitterly: "I'm going to trouble you again to carry hundreds of kilograms of weight."
Qin Huai: "It's okay, go ahead, this is the last trip anyway."
Even though they were almost used to climbing stairs after these days, the rice and water were really too heavy. They stopped and started all the way, and it took them almost half an hour to climb to the 17th floor. As soon as they climbed to the 17th floor, they were face to face with Jian Chu, who came down from upstairs with a few bottles of water in his hands. Mu Nan was squatting at the door, sorting out the things that Jian Chu had turned over from upstairs.
As soon as he saw Yu Zibai, Jian Chu felt guilty: "I just went up to take a look. I didn't pry the door open. These were all picked up from the corridor."
Before Yu Zibai could say anything, Qin Huai asked, "Have you checked every floor upstairs? No residents have come back?"
Jian Chu carefully glanced at Yu Zibai, and seeing that he didn't seem angry, he said, "I don't think so. No one picked up the water and some food that fell on the ground. Some were crushed and completely inedible. I picked up the ones that were still edible. Some of the doors of the houses were closed, and some were not. I took a quick look at the ones that were not closed, and the houses were not very messy. It seemed that no one had turned over the door."
Qin Huai nodded, then looked at Yu Zibai: "Let's go upstairs and take a look, has there been any movement from the Zhang family these two nights?" The Zhang family came back, but they didn't go to the house upstairs, which was a bit strange.
Mu Nan looked at Jian Chu. Jian Chu's family lived relatively close to the Zhang family, so they would be more likely to notice any movement.
Jian Chu shook his head: "No, it's quite quiet. I don't know if it's still there."
Qin Huai said: "Take all your things over first and take a rest. Come over in an hour and we will check up first."
Jian Chu was puzzled and asked, "Why are you checking this?"
Qin Huai: "Find two suitable anti-theft doors."
Yu Zibai said, "You want to make an iron door for the safe passage?" He had thought about this when Qin Huai asked about the anti-theft door at the military headquarters just now.
Qin Huai nodded and said, "I plan to install a security door on both corridors. When the plague breaks out, if someone wants to live away from the crowd, they will definitely look for buildings that have not collapsed. In order to prevent someone from coming up to our floor and bringing the virus up, an iron door will be installed on both stairwells. If someone wants to come in, they will have to pry the iron door open. By then, we will be able to detect any movement in the first place, so that we won't be aware of someone sneaking up to the door."
Upon hearing what Qin Huai said, Jian Chu immediately agreed with both hands. If iron doors were installed on both sides of the stairwell, they would feel more at ease staying in the house: "I'm good at installing doors! I have some lime before, which can be used. I just don't know if there is a size that is just right. If it's not suitable, I don't have the tools to cut it."
Qin Huai: "I have cutting tools at home. I'll go up and take a look later."
After Qin Huai unloaded all his belongings, he gave the entire trailer to Yu Zibai. They had a lot of stuff, including more than 60 kilograms of rice, several large buckets of water, and several bags of flour. It would be too tiring to move them back bit by bit, so it would be more convenient to just tow the trailer back to them.
As for the things Jian Chu picked up from upstairs, there were actually not many. When many people fled, their first instinct was to take valuable things with them. Even though food was more valuable than money at that time, long-standing concepts could not be reversed by a temporary disaster. Only a small number of people were quick-witted and took food and water while running, so they were able to pick up some things in the corridors, but they were a minority after all. Even if they swept from top to bottom, there were not many things they could pick up at the entrance.
These were all picked up by Jian Chu himself. Mu Nan rejected Jian Chu's kindness and did not take them. Just then, Yu Zibai and the others came back, so Mu Nan stuffed all the things scattered on the ground into the trailer, and then followed Qin Huai into the house.
After returning home and making sure that Qin Huai would not go out again, Mu Nan relaxed a little: "Finally, I don't have to stay at home alone and worry about what might happen to you outside. You just dragged so many things back, will anyone notice you?"
Qin Huai shook his head: "No, it's just getting dark now, most people have gone to the shopping malls to look for bodies, and here in the community there are only some unwilling family members and some soldiers who are clearing the bodies. Even if they notice, it's okay. We are covering it up, so they can't see anything."
Mu Nan asked Qin Huai to sit down and cool down in the breeze. He dragged the rice he had exchanged to a corner of the living room. These things would not be placed in the room for the time being. It would not work to put them in the room either. They would go bad easily due to the heat. So they could only be placed in the living room for the time being. Looking at the living room, Mu Nan said, "We will empty the house in two days and look for loopholes. The windows and doors will also be sealed with tape to prevent mosquitoes, cockroaches, mice and other things from drilling holes. Especially in the kitchen, the gap in the kitchen door should be sealed, as well as some holes inside. The range hood should also be sealed. Anyway, the fire cannot be turned on if the gas is turned off. If we turn on the fire, we can use the induction cooker in the living room."
Qin Huai nodded and said, "Don't wait for two days. Wait until the iron gate is dealt with. Everyone goes back to their homes and closes the door before starting to clean up. Give the intercom to the person next door so that they can contact us immediately if anything happens. This also avoids them having to knock on the door and talk to us in person if they have something to say."
Mu Nan thought this was a good idea as communicating remotely could prevent him from being exposed.
After putting away the things, Mu Nan thought that Qin Huai would go upstairs later, so he asked, "Shall we go up together later?"
Qin Huai thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I can go out and move around a bit."
Mu Nan was immediately happy, and then asked: "So are we going to search other people's homes?"
Qin Huai said, "Forget about the closed doors, and check the open doors. If there is any food that can't be stored and is still edible, take it away. Forget about the rest. The army will soon come to sweep the floors, so they have to collect the supplies that have not been lost in the homes. Otherwise, they don't know if the people can come back, and they will go bad if they are left like this."
Mu Nan said: "That's fine too. Otherwise, no one will come back and it would be a waste if it were to go bad."
Soon Yu Zibai and Jian Chu came over together. Jian Chu also brought a ruler, paper and pen. "I just measured the size of our staircase entrance. It's the same width as our main door, so a normal security door will be just right. I just don't know if it will cause trouble if we remove someone else's security door and they come back and see that the security door has been installed at our staircase entrance?"
Qin Huai said, "Don't think too much about it. Let's go up and see whose house has a security door. I have paid some attention to the residents here before. Some houses have been vacant for a long time. Those vacant houses are the first choice. If it doesn't work, doesn't Xu Ming's house have a security door? Take down his security door and find another one upstairs."
Xu Ming, who was touched by Qin Huai's sending of masks and anti-inflammatory drugs, did not know that the best neighbor in his mind had set his sights on his anti-theft door.
The few of them acted quickly, after all, time waits for no one. Just as Qin Huai said, he had paid attention to some residents' information before, and confirmed that some of them had not lived here before the earthquake. Coincidentally, some of them had anti-theft doors, so the four of them worked together to dismantle the doors. Getting the cement and the early stage of wall building were all easy work, and Jian Chu and Mu Nan could finish the work together. So Qin Huai and Yu Zibai split up and checked from the top floor down layer by layer, and they gained a lot. They did not touch the vacuum-packed rice, but hid it in the kitchen cupboard for others. The rice and flour that had been opened could not withstand long-term storage, so they took them all away.
After carrying the things down one by one, they collected quite a lot of things. There was also a family that stored dozens of barrels of bottled water. However, the two men did not use up all of it. At least half of it was left for others.
When the last two people came down, Mu Nan said, "It seems that no one is at the Zhang family. We just knocked on the door, but there was no sound. We don't know when they left."
Qin Huai said: "Then I guess they just came back to pack up their things. There's no need to worry about it if there's no one here. It happens to be that there are only two families on the same floor, so it's safer with fewer people." After all, a large part of the transmission route of the plague is between people. The less contact you have with people, the safer you are.
Jian Chu didn't expect that after the earthquake he would become a skilled door installer. Because the size was right, there was no need for cutting. He just painted a frame with cement, embedded the door tightly, and then smoothed the edges with cement. Although it was a bit rough and there were some marks left by prying the door, basic protection was still no problem.
"Leave it alone and wait for it to dry for two days. At this temperature, even if there is no sunlight, it will dry quickly. If it weren't for the height being insufficient and requiring special customization, I would have wanted to install two more in the stairwell so that people below can't get up at all."
Yu Zibai broke Jian Chu's delusion: "If we live on the top floor, it's no problem, but we live in the middle, forget it, it's impossible."
Qin Huai looked at the doors on both sides with satisfaction. Of course, there were no keys, but before the army moved to the refuge base, they would rarely go out. Even if they went out, there would definitely be two people left at home, so it didn't matter whether there were keys or not, as long as there was someone inside to help open the door.
Mu Nan looked at the time. After a night of hard work, it was already past seven in the morning. Normally, it would be light at around five, and it would be very hot at seven. Usually, they would have eaten and gone to bed by this time. So he looked at the others and asked, "Do we still need to cook for the New Year?"
Jian Chu said, "Celebrate! The New Year is a beautiful prospect for the future. Even if you miss New Year's Eve, as long as the New Year is not over, you have to celebrate it once. You guys are tired of moving things up and down, I will cook."
Mu Nan: "I'll help you."
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