Chapter 75
The soldiers were working on finding cars all the way, but they were not locals. Even if they were locals, they did not live in an area they were familiar with. With the whole city in such a mess, they probably couldn't even tell where the 4S stores were. They couldn't drive on the roads now, but they could always drive on them in the future. However, they didn't know when the cars could resume production. So they were not only rushing on the road, but also observing the surroundings. They recorded almost every place they had passed, including which stores were there and which ones were worth searching for later. They wrote them down in a notebook. Leading the charge was not just about taking people to the target destination. There were many things to do and observe along the way.
When Qin Huai asked Shi Yuanfei whether they would pass through the greenway, and told him about the touring bicycles and tandem bikes, Shi Yuanfei directly changed the route temporarily. Although the route was slightly changed, it only detoured one more street: "Let people rest here in advance. I will bring two soldiers, and you can send one who knows the way. Let's go and take a look first." It would be too cumbersome and cumbersome to move with the entire team. It would be better to move faster with a small number of people. At this distance, a round trip would take at most two or three hours. Whether there was a gain or not, they could get back before dawn.
Jian Chu was familiar with this place, so it was natural that he would go. Although Yu Zibai and Jian Chu were from the same school, Yu Zibai did not work everywhere like Jian Chu. The only place he was familiar with was the school, and he did not know the outside of the school as well as Jian Chu did. However, he was not very confident about Jian Chu being alone, but more people would not be able to help much, so he had to stay.
Because we were going to try our luck at the greenway, we started to rest early today. We started looking for a place to rest before dawn. Others were eager to rest early. Although they also wanted to reach the destination earlier, no one wanted to walk a few more steps if they could rest.
Before leaving, Jian Chu prayed: "I hope good luck will be with me."
Mu Nan walked up to him, tapped himself a few times like a priest, and then placed his hand on Jian Chu's forehead: "Bless you my child."
Qin Huai patted Mu Nan on the head and said, "Stop making trouble. Come here and take off your protective suit to get some fresh air."
Yu Zibai said, "Be careful on the road. I'll wait for you to come back for dinner. You rested early today, so you can make some wraps. Open a can of luncheon meat and a can of braised pork. Mu Nan and the others brought some seasonings, so we'll prepare them when the time comes."
Jian Chu took a sip of saliva and suddenly became full of energy.
The departure of several soldiers did not attract anyone's attention. Mu Nan lay on the mat and sighed: "I hope I can find the car smoothly."
Xu Ming wiped his body with a wet wipe soaked in disinfectant and said, "The man from yesterday is gone. Based on the symptoms on his body, it can be basically confirmed that it was plague."
Mu Nan couldn't help but sit up when he heard this: "Are there many people dying from the plague now?"
Xu Ming nodded: "A lot, more than those who died of malaria, and the plague is highly contagious. Those who were in the same team with that person have now been taken to the isolation team at the back."
Xu Ming looked at them and said, "In addition to droplets, the plague can also be spread from person to person through feces. So if you need to go to the toilet in the future, it's best to go at daybreak. Stay away from places where there are mosquitoes. It's too dark to see clearly, so you'd better hold it in. How much disinfectant do you have? I have a 500 ml bottle left. If I dilute it, it can last for a few days."
Qin Huai said: "We still have two one-liter bottles."
Xu Ming nodded: "Remember to wipe your body with diluted disinfectant every day." Xu Ming checked the disinfectant that Qin Huai and the others brought. It was of medical protection grade and could be used directly to rinse wounds. But now they didn't know how long they would have to travel on the road, or even what the situation would be like when they arrived at their destination. So they could only dilute it as much as possible and avoid too much contact with other people. Personal hygiene must be maintained, especially for food that is eaten. The naan distributed by the soldiers must at least undergo secondary processing.
Thinking about it this way, it's a good thing that Qin Huai and the others brought a small fuel pot, otherwise they would only be able to eat canned food every day. The food that has been in contact with the air cannot be eaten directly, which is too dangerous.
Mu Nan was lying next to Qin Huai, with a small fan blowing beside him. He changed the mask on his face into a new one, as the previous one was wet with sweat. Now he had to wear a mask outside even when sleeping. If the environment was bad, like on some grass, he had to sleep in protective clothing. Ordinary insect repellents could not completely drive away the mosquitoes on the grass.
In the team behind them, a middle-aged man had diarrhea and fever two days ago, with alternating hot and cold spells. It was obvious that he had malaria. His body temperature was already high at this time, and he was sweating profusely even when sitting still. He also had a fever and diarrhea, and he died within two days. When the military doctor examined the body, he found some mosquito bites on his back. Although they could only conduct preliminary external examinations and could not confirm a diagnosis, the possibility of death from malaria due to mosquito bites was very high.
Although the army gave them a brief introduction to the most likely infectious diseases and transmission routes in today's environment before they set off, every time someone in the team fell ill or died, the officers leading each team would repeatedly reiterate and emphasize to everyone to take care of themselves. This is not something that others can make up for you if you are negligent. A small omission could have fatal consequences. Apart from taking care of themselves, others do not have the energy to take care of one more person.
Some people who brought long-sleeved clothes found something to tie the cuffs of their trouser legs tightly. They dared not loosen their clothes even though the sweat was dripping down. Some people were better off and had two sets of clothes to change into, so they wore dry clothes when they got wet, and changed into wet clothes when they got dry. They repeated this process over and over again. The smell was simply amazing.
But he didn't know if it was because he got used to it day by day. At least Mu Nan felt that the smell of these people who hadn't taken a shower for who knows how long was not as shocking as when he went downstairs to gather on the first day. Anyway, he just tried to hold his breath through the mask.
Now, even when he sleeps during the day, Qin Huai will light a short moxa stick that can burn for at least eight hours, which can repel mosquitoes and disperse odors at the same time.
When this thing was taken out, they also experienced a moral kidnapping. Some people said that there were at least 20 to 30 sticks in that box. They now only have eight teams, and because many people died later, the number has been almost shortened to seven teams. One stick for each team can guarantee nearly three days of use for everyone. They even talked about the team that was quarantined later because of some people having a fever, saying that out of humanitarianism, they had so many deworming and disinfecting sticks, and they should also use them to save people.
The result was that the person who said this was knocked out several teeth by Qin Huai. When he was beaten to the point where he could no longer speak, Brother Xu finally arrived and pretended to stop the fight twice. He severely criticized the fighting in the team. The criticism was very harsh, but there was no substantial punishment at all.
The man whose teeth were knocked out even tried to stop him when he saw the soldiers coming. Brother Xu did not take sides. He just looked at him and said, "Well, I won't say much. Ask them to take out their things. No problem. They take one and you take one. It's fair. Don't say you don't have anything. They take disinfectant and moxibustion sticks. You can take food and water. You are helping others. Those who are sick and quarantined will definitely thank you."
It's okay to take other people's things, but it's absolutely not okay to take your own things. The middle-aged man covered his bloody mouth and said vaguely: "Then why did he beat me? I got beaten for nothing?"
Qin Huai chuckled and took out a small package of individually wrapped biscuits from his bag. There might be only three or five pieces in a package. He threw the package directly at the man: "Here, medical expenses." He glanced at the group of people who just agreed with the man and said directly: "I have plenty of medical expenses here. If anyone wants it, feel free to say a few more words."
At that time, Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai and sighed: "Brother, you are becoming more and more violent now."
Qin Huai: "Why not reason with them?"
Mu Nan quickly smiled and said, "The rude brother is also very handsome!"
Probably because they had seen how Qin Huai would start fighting if he disagreed with something, some people didn't dare to approach him, especially those who had been talking to the man who was beaten that day. They stayed far away from him. They were a group of people who had never even been to a gym, let alone a fight. And when they saw Qin Huai fighting, the group of people with him just sat there watching the fun without moving a single person, so it was clear that these people were not good people. Why would they go looking for a fight when they knew they would get beaten if they provoked them? So they tried to stay away from him as much as possible.
But they didn't talk that day, and didn't even get close to them. Later, when they slept during the day, they tried to get as close to them as possible. The more the moxa sticks could rub against them, the better. They didn't want to get sick and die from a mosquito bite in their sleep.
Anyway, Qin Huai would not drive those people away as long as they did not get closer than a certain distance. Some of them even wanted to sleep next to them before, but were driven away by Qin Huai. This precedent must not be set. Once it is set, everyone will gather around them. Who knows if the person who looks healthy and normal now is in the incubation period of the disease? Even if he uses moxa sticks, he will put them in the middle of the sleeping area and will never move them over there just because those people look pitiful. He does not want to cause irreversible consequences because of this half-point negligence.
Every time this happened, Wu Zheng would touch Niu Niu's head with emotion. They were able to sleep close to each other, taking advantage of each other without being driven away. It was all thanks to Niu Niu.
Mu Nan saw Xu Ming started to wipe his scalpel again. He felt that the biggest contributor to the fact that Qin Huai had a fight that day and many people did not gather around them and even avoided them was Xu Ming, who was sitting on the ground and leisurely wiping the scalpel and watching the fun while Qin Huai was fighting. If the scene was zoomed in for a close-up, the background music would definitely give the feeling of a gentleman killing someone without blinking an eye.
But when he saw the scalpel, Mu Nan suddenly remembered the nail clippers. Then he looked at his nails and found that they were a bit long. So he moved to the hanging light and started to cut his nails. After he finished cutting his own nails, he pulled Qin Huai over to cut them for him. Qin Huai looked at him and smiled: "This is the first time I enjoy your service for me."
Mu Nan said: "Don't worry, this won't be the last time. When you are too old to move, I will push you out to bask in the sun."
Qin Huai: "I will have to trouble you to take care of me in my old age. Thank you so much."
Yu Zibai on the side was busy non-stop, mixing the corn kernels with flour, and using the small milk pot to cook a pot of mung bean soup. It happened that they had rock sugar, and although the rock sugar had melted, it would not make a difference to pour it in and boil it. Mung beans can relieve heat and detoxify. After they were cooked, they put them in the big lunch box to cool, so that they would not be too hot to drink before leaving tomorrow morning.
Calculating the time when Jian Chu was leaving, I thought that if the round trip went smoothly, it would probably only take two hours, or three hours at most. After all, if I didn't come back soon, the sun would be getting very hot. So before Jian Chu was about to come back, I had to complete all the preparations, so that I could start cooking as soon as Jian Chu came back.
Jian Chu's side went more smoothly than he had originally thought. Although that area had collapsed, he still managed to find a few bicycles and tandem bikes that could be straightened and continued to be used. However, after the soldiers tried them on the ground, they found that bicycles were easier to use than tandem bikes. Those with less luggage could use bicycles, and tandem bikes were the kind that ride side by side, with space for stuff at the back, so they could be used by people who carry more belongings, but because they were a bit big, they were not as light as single bikes.
Anyway, they successfully found some means of transportation, but they didn't know if they would be enough. As it was already daybreak and the sun was about to come out, they didn't delay any longer. Each of them chose a bicycle and rode back first. They would bring the team back in the evening to search for as many as they could find.
With a car on the way back, it would be much faster than walking here. They arrived at the temporary camp just before the sun got hot. Shi Yuanfei took the bicycle directly to the logistics department to prevent Jian Chu from riding it back and being seen. Although he would lead the team to search for it at night, it would be better not to cause any commotion during the day.
Seeing Jian Chu coming back sweating, Yu Zibai hurriedly went to greet him: "Did you have a smooth journey?"
Jian Chu nodded: "It went smoothly, very smoothly. I tell you, we will take a detour to the greenway tonight to look through the ruins. We just came back on bicycles, and I took pictures. Let's discuss which one we should choose. Now others don't know about the action tonight, so we can determine the target first, and then we will start with the one who has the target. After all, we don't know how many cars we can turn over, and there are definitely people who don't have any."
Mu Nan thought the tandem bike was a two-person bike with one person in front and one person in the back. After seeing the photos on Jian Chu's phone, he realized that it was a four-wheeled tandem bike that you ride side by side. "Can you put a small cart underneath it? Put it between the two people. You can also put things in the small basket at the back."
Jian Chu said: "That's what I thought before, but I found that this kind of bike is a bit difficult to use on the road. It's too big, but it's really hard to put things on a bike, unless we give up all our things."
Qin Huai said, "First, try to get everyone a bicycle. If we can, we can also get a two-seater bicycle. We will try to modify the bicycle first. For the bicycle with a rear seat, we can just add a wooden board and tie the trailer on it. If that doesn't work, we can put two trailers on a two-seater bicycle and take turns riding them."
What Qin Huai said was the most feasible method at the moment. They discussed it in no time, and then Yu Zibai started to put the canned braised pork into the pot, adding some seasonings and cooking.
Jian Chu also specifically instructed the two brothers who were taking Niu Niu to decide on their targets in advance, wait for the main force to arrive, and strike first before others can react. They can have canned meat to eat now, thanks to Niu Niu, so they should take better care of Niu Niu's owner, especially since their trailer was broken. It would be more comfortable to ride a two-seater car than to carry the heavy load on the road.
During the time they were talking, their food came out of the pot with a fragrant aroma. It had been almost half a year since they had a good bite of meat, so they ate to their heart's content. The tortillas alone were made twice, and they ate until their stomachs were full before going to bed feeling satisfied.
Jian Chu also shared with them the situation he had seen over there: "When we came back, Captain Shi said that it was possible that when the weather was extremely hot, those who had the means to live here and run farmhouses went back to the village, so the collapsed ruins over there didn't look like they had been dug much, and it seemed that there weren't many people there."
Mu Nan asked, "Are all those bikes in the warehouse? There should be a lot of people there who make money by riding bikes around the island. Are all their bikes together?"
Jian Chu hummed, "Actually, they are all from the same family. They are related to each other in the same village. Almost every family is related to each other. Anyway, several families' bicycles are together. That one is a small two-story house that they built themselves. There is a shed behind their house. That whole row is full of sheds. I used to go there early on weekends when I was working and rode out the bikes one by one. They were divided by color. I was a little curious. Later, when it was so hot, there was not even a single shared bicycle outside. How come the bikes here seem to be still there and have not been stolen or sold?"
Mu Nan said, "Maybe this place is a bit remote, there are too few people, and the shared bikes are free, you can take them if you see them. If you take one from someone else's house, it would be like stealing, and it would be a waste if you spend money to buy one."
Jian Chu sighed, "Maybe. In fact, it would be nice if we could rebuild in this area. If we go a little further ahead, there is a very wide area. It is the kind of vast and boundless spaciousness. You don't know, when I first came to the school with my luggage to report, I saw an empty driveway over the school gate and a stretch of construction land across the way. I couldn't see a single store or amusement facility store. I was desperate. I didn't expect that there was a different world behind the school. There was everything you wanted to eat, drink and have fun. It's a pity that there was everything there, otherwise I wouldn't be able to find a job."
Mu Nan whispered to Jian Chu: "They can't stop here, even if this place is actually suitable for reconstruction."
Jian Chu moved closer to him: "Why? Do you know any news?"
Mu Nan said, "My military training in college was in the army, not in the school. The army I went to was the 713 base, which is in Xihe District. I think they chose to rebuild in Xihe District. One reason is that there are universities there. The schools were closed before the earthquake, so there are few people. Another reason is that the army base is over there. The 713 base is a provincial base here. How many weapons and high-tech things are there in a provincial base? When we were in military training before, the instructor took us to the tanks. Of course, we were eliminated. It is impossible for us students to go up to see the latest tanks. But for those eliminated, this kind of road is unobstructed now."
Listening to Mu Nan's words, Jian Chu was a little excited. The sense of security brought by this kind of armed force would make people feel more truly that their country is still there. However, it was still a little strange: "If the base over there is still there, why don't the people in the base come out to rescue?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "Maybe they have been rescued, but we haven't reached the city center yet. After all, our place is far away. It used to be a two-hour drive, but now it takes half a month."
Listening to their non-stop mumblings, which seemed to be getting more and more excited, Qin Huai scooped up Mu Nan and rolled him to his side: "It's time to go to bed."
Mu Nan did not struggle, but followed Qin Huai's lead and moved closer to him, and asked in a very low voice in his ear: "Brother, are you full?"
Qin Huai fanned him with a fan and said, "I, your brother, am not a big eater." No one knew where this habit of always worrying that he would not eat enough came from.
Mu Nan said "oh" and asked after a while, "Would you like some fruit? I've frozen some grapefruits before."
Qin Huai covered his eyes and said, "Close it and go to sleep."
Because they went to bed early today, many people got enough sleep. So when the sun set and people woke up one after another, many of them were full of energy. Brother Xu distributed naan again. It was not known whether they had moved the batch of supplies found in the hotel last time. Anyway, there was no movement. Qin Huai thought that they should have contacted the military and informed them of the specific location and asked them to come and move the supplies. After all, there were dozens of boxes, which was not a lot of things, but not a small amount either. Adding more weight to their walking team would only make the journey more difficult.
When the heat outside was not so scorching, the troops set sail again. Shi Yuanfei did not tell the crowd that they had to take a detour, but the team behind them just followed the direction given by the front. After all, if they were left to walk on their own, only a few of them would be able to correctly identify the direction even with a map. So not many people knew whether they took a shortcut or a detour.
After walking for almost two hours, they finally reached the outer area of the greenway. Jian Chu pointed to the place ahead where he could vaguely see green sheds piled up on the ground, and whispered to them, "It's right there. There are a lot of them buried underneath, and many of them are broken. I don't know whether everyone will be allowed to move freely or what the army will do."
Qin Huai said: "No matter how we act, you are more familiar with this place, so you can lead us later." As he said that, he glanced at Wu Zheng who was holding a dog not far away and gestured to him. Wu Zheng handed Niu Niu's rope to Song Jia and walked over.
Qin Huai said, "We will act together later. You give the things to your brother to look after. Let your brother take Niuniu and wait with my brother. It will be easier for others if they don't carry anything with them."
Since Jian Chu was familiar with this area, he couldn't be left behind to look after the things with Mu Nan. Originally, either he or Xu Ming had to stay behind to look after the things, but now with the addition of the pair of brothers, his younger brother was the most suitable person to stay, and he also brought a dog with him. The lethality of a dog can sometimes be much greater than that of a human, especially a loyal hunting dog like Xia Si. At least if there was any situation here, the dog would definitely bark, and they would be able to rush over as soon as they heard any noise.
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