Chapter 97
Wang Hui and her family arrived at Building No. 1 smoothly, but they didn't do anything too extreme because of their love for each other. In addition to expressing their wish to live in the greenhouse, they also told the soldiers about the Qi family's discovery of the wild boar and their reaction after eating the wild boar meat. Although Wang Hui and her family didn't eat it, because they had contact with the Qi family, they couldn't be directly arranged to live in the greenhouse for the time being, and needed to be isolated for observation.
As for the Qi family, the soldiers who received the news went to their house first, and then the whole family was taken away. The noise when they were taken away was quite loud, but Mu Nan's house was separated from the Qi family by a house, so they could only hear the sound of vehicles and the noisy sounds of unwillingness to cooperate.
The next day, when they were shoveling snow, they deliberately went around to the back. The people from the Huang family probably wanted to gossip, so when they saw them coming to shovel the snow, they came out to talk to them. Mu Nan and the others then realized that all the people from the Qi family had been taken away without leaving a single one. The people from the Huang family could see clearly from inside the house that an old man and a young boy were still carried into the car, which was an isolation car, and the soldiers who came to take people away were still wearing protective clothing.
Probably due to the feud between the two families, the second son of the Huang family was a bit gloating and said, "Don't you think about how good things are in the world? Meat falls from the sky for you to eat for free. These people really don't use their brains. If the pig had been exchanged for points, at least it could have been exchanged for some rice. But now, they are greedy and have gotten themselves into trouble."
Mu Nan and the others just listened to the Huang family's gloating, as they mainly wanted to understand what exactly happened.
Two days later, when we came to check the temperature again, every household had been given leaflets. The leaflets mainly taught about some diseases caused by eating meat of unknown origin. It was said that the wild boar that the Qi family ate was sick, and everyone in the Qi family who had eaten it had intestinal anthrax, which is an acute attack. If it is not treated effectively in time, it will be an infectious disease that will result in death in three to five days. This infectious disease is transmitted through some sick animals, through feces or food, to the human body. It is also contagious between people to a certain extent, but the infectiousness is relatively small, and it is mainly transmitted from animal to human.
The leaflet lists the various consequences of eating wild animals. Those wild animals have not been vaccinated or quarantined, and may even carry multiple viruses. It can be said that the many large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases in human history are basically caused by the germs carried by these wild animals. Therefore, if people pick up frozen animals or even hunt wild animals, they must not eat them casually, as there are fatal risks.
Looking at the flyer, Mu Nan said, "Do we still need to go out hunting? I thought wild game was pangolins, bats, and wild boars, too. They all have the word 'wild' in them, so can they all be classified as wild game?"
Qin Huai said, "Those that have not been raised by humans are all game. Eating wild animals is indeed risky, but you can still try hunting. Live animals caught are always safer than dead meat that has frozen to death for unknown reasons. Even if you are afraid that those wild animals are not safe to eat, you can use the hunted animals to exchange for points. The military should have a way to test whether they can be eaten or not. They must have a standard."
Mu Nan sighed. He thought that if they went hunting, they would be able to eat meat openly, but his feelings were still not good. "Didn't we eat the alpaca before? The soldiers helped to dismember it. Why didn't they educate us about the harm of game at that time?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Because we don't have wild alpacas here. They are either raised in zoos or raised at home, and they are basically all vaccinated."
Several people from the Qi family came back later, but the two with the most serious illnesses died. One was that Qi Kangmin's mother had underlying diseases, including high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. She suffered from diarrhea, dehydration, and even bloody stools, which caused all her organs to fail. She could not be rescued. The child was relatively young, and it was probably because the adults in the family were reluctant to feed him, so they let the child eat more, which harmed him. The others were in good health, and they didn't eat much. They were treated in time, so they were saved, but the family, which was already complicated to begin with, was completely broken up.
Qi Kangmin's wife, children, father-in-law and mother-in-law went straight into the greenhouse and threatened to have nothing to do with him in the future. His younger sister and her family also made enemies with Qi Kangmin. Although the wild boar was dragged back by his sister and brother-in-law, they were also worried about the meat, so even though the children were craving for meat, they hesitated and did not give more. Qi Kangmin, on the other hand, for some reason, might have wanted to piss off his wife, so he retaliated by loving his nephew and deliberately ignoring his daughter. He coaxed the child to eat a lot of meat, but in the end their son was gone. How could Qi Kangmin's younger sister and her husband accept this?
If Qi's father had not been around to suppress the matter, they would have fallen out and fought long ago. But even if they hadn't fallen out, in the eyes of his younger sister and her husband, Qi Kangmin had to take a great responsibility for their son's death, so there was no way he could divide the family property and he had to work like a slave to make up for it.
While the building behind was bustling with people fighting in the house every day, Qin Huai had already finished the plumbing in the house, and the heat went smoothly through the stove on the first floor to the second and third floors. The greenhouse in the house was finally able to keep the temperature at around ten degrees, which was enough to grow tomatoes and peppers. After all the equipment in the house was set up, several people began to discuss going out hunting, but before that, Mu Nan finally fulfilled his promise to treat them to a meal.
Wu Zheng is now well enough to walk around. He can't stay outside for a long time to shovel snow, but it's okay to walk around for a while, so he doesn't have to ask Qin Huai and the others to move things around, so he just came here.
Although it was Qin Huai's family who treated them, it was impossible for them to come empty-handed. But as for good things, their family didn't have anything good to give. Wu Zheng and his family gave a bag of snacks, which were exchanged for points at the redemption point later. After they got them back, Song Jia couldn't bear to eat them. He bought a lot at that time, but so far Song Jia has only eaten one bag. They didn't have anything good to give, so they contributed the snacks.
Jian Chu and the others sent two sets of warm clothes, one set was Qin Huai's size, and the other set was Mu Nan's size, both of which could be used directly. Xu Ming was the simplest, he just brought a bag of flour weighing ten kilograms. He had a lot of points from his work, and even had a purchase quota within the hospital. In terms of food, he couldn't say it was the most, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about food for the time being. But he was too lazy to cook, so he accepted more. For example, they gave him a lot of bean shreds and sticky rice dumplings made by Qin Huai and the others. Last time, he didn't help them with anything, but they were still called over for dinner. He remembered all these kindnesses, and a bag of flour was just a give and take.
The existing conditions did not allow for a big meal, so the things that could be taken out were those available at the exchange point. Qinhuai made a cured chicken soup with some vermicelli, and a tomato pot hodgepodge. The tomatoes were fresh, and ham and luncheon meat were added as the base. The main thing was to drink the soup, a warm soup with a meaty aroma, and one sip was very satisfying.
The staple food was relatively simple, scallion pancakes. Of course, there were no scallions in the pan, as Mu Nan did not grow any scallions. However, Qin Huai chopped up green peppers and mixed them in, and sprinkled some chili powder. Fortunately, most of them liked spicy food, and no one did not like spicy food. They also cooked a big pot of duck blood vermicelli. The duck blood vermicelli was exchanged at the exchange point, and it contained soup dumplings with duck blood and some duck offal. Mu Nan had eaten it once after the exchange, and they were all good, so he took out two boxes this time and added a lot of vermicelli. It was a big pot of staple food. There was no dessert after the meal, as they were full enough after eating everything. Qin Huai did not take out sticky rice dumplings, but gave each of them a tomato at the end.
Holding the tomatoes, Jian Chu was almost in tears: "I originally thought that I would just give it a try, and I wouldn't force it if it didn't work. But now, I have decided to take good care of those pots and grow tomatoes and peppers. It's been a long time since I last ate something so fresh, I can't bear to eat it."
Mu Nan smiled and said, "We can grow them and eat them every day."
Song Jia collapsed in a chair and burped: "There is still some hope in life. Just because I can have a full meal every once in a while, it makes me want to work hard to survive."
Wu Zheng, who was standing by, held a bowl of soup and said to them, "I'll use the soup instead of the wine. I haven't thanked you properly for what happened last time. You guys saved my life. I won't say more. From now on, this is truly a friendship of life and death."
Xu Ming said: "The one you really want to thank is your brother. Your brother's family has been working very hard during this period. Don't get too hung up on things in the future. Think more about the people who really care about you."
Wu Zheng said: "No, this time, it will be enough to cut it off completely."
Jian Chu said, "Let the past be the past. Today is a happy day, let's not talk about those things that spoil the fun." He looked at Mu Nan with a smile in his eyes and said, "Now I don't have the conditions, otherwise I could still make a fuss. Now I can only give you some simple blessings. I wish you and Qin Huai a long and peaceful life!"
Mu Nan inexplicably had the illusion that she and Qin Huai were married. Qin Huai accepted the blessing with a smile. Xu Ming said, "After finishing this meal, I'm already looking forward to the next one." Then he looked at Jian Chu and Yu Zibai.
If it was when he and Yu Zibai had just been together, he might have been shy for a while, but now that he has been with Yu Zibai for such a long time, he has long passed the initial shyness stage, and said openly: "Then you have to wait a while, we have to save some money, otherwise we can't afford such a meal from you."
Song Jia said: "I hope next time I can eat meat."
Speaking of meat, Yu Zibai looked at Qin Huai: "So have you decided to go out hunting?" They have been making tools at home these days, but the homemade bows and arrows don't seem to be very lethal. Yu Zibai said: "If the tools we made are for rabbits and deer, they might be okay, but what if we encounter wild boars, bears, etc.?"
There is not even a tree to climb outside now. If we really encounter some ferocious beasts, it will be difficult to run away because of the thick snow.
Qin Huai said: "You can rent a car, but the points are relatively high. 20 points can be rented for a day including fuel, but you have to mortgage something."
Jian Chu: "Mortgage something? What? Can't I mortgage points?"
Qin Huai shook his head: "Not yet, because there is no systematic identity update. If you mortgage all your points and get a snowmobile, it will be a profit, so you have to mortgage corresponding items. I asked, and the solar panel on our roof will do. It doesn't have to be removed. The solar panel is there. If we drive the car away and never come back, they can just come and move all the items in the house away."
They really didn't expect that they could rent a car now. They had never thought about renting a car before. They guessed that Qin Huai had already made a plan when he planned to go hunting, so he asked about this when checking the temperature. Sure enough, Qin Huai's plan was more comprehensive. According to what Jian Chu had thought before, a group of people would search on foot nearby.
Hearing Jian Chu's sigh, Mu Nan couldn't help but say, "There is a river bank behind us. Beyond the river bank is a flat land with no end in sight and no obstacles. On the other side is a reconstruction area where people live. If we really rely on walking, we can't even get out of the residential area, so what can we hunt?"
Xu Ming asked: "Do you rent the car day by day, or for a few days at a time?" Qin Huai: "Only two or three days, any longer than that. You can only reserve an extra container of gasoline. If you do a rough calculation, plus the reserve gasoline, you need at least 100 points for one trip. And you may not get anything out of it this time. Generally speaking, the price is not cheap." The most common workers only earn thirty or fifty yuan a month, so one trip would be two months' salary, but it's worth it if you can get something out of it.
Jian Chu looked at them: "Then are we still going?"
Xu Ming said: "I want to give it a try. Even if there is no gain, at least we can go to a farther place to see what the situation is like outside. We live in the confines of this small place and don't know anything."
Qin Huai nodded: "I think so too. You guys should think about it. You don't have to make a decision right now. You can't go out right away. The wind and snow are quite strong recently. You have to wait until the weather is a little calmer."
There wouldn't be enough space in the car for everyone to go out, so at least one family would have to stay behind for the first time. Because Song Jia could bring the dog with him, Jian Chu decided that they should stay behind this time so that they could check out the situation. When they go out again, they would have the experience of their predecessors.
If you want to go out, you have to get more complete equipment, at least enough food and drink for the journey, a small milk pot, stove fuel, homemade crossbow and mechanical crossbow, cold protection and heating. Anyway, basically all the existing things that can be brought are brought. Now that Wu Zheng can take care of himself at home, he doesn't need Song Jia to watch over him all the time. It's a good time for Song Jia to bring Niu Niu out to adapt. Dogs of Niu Niu's breed have a hunting nature, and more training will be a good helper.
Qin Huai chose a day with less wind and snow, and went to Building No. 1 with Xu Ming first. Because they had informed them in advance, the car was already prepared. It was a modified pickup truck, probably a discarded military one. The wheels were replaced with snow wheels, and the loading space in the back was not small, but it was open-air and had no roof, so the snow in the car had to be cleaned every day.
The soldiers also reminded them that they must not turn off the engine on the road, as it would be difficult to start it again once it was turned off. In order to ensure the safety of himself and others, Qin Huai gave the soldiers a copy of the route they would take. If they were delayed outside for a long time and did not come back, even if they were not there to save people, they could come and look for a car.
Seeing how well prepared they were, the soldier smiled, took the route map from Qin Huai and the others, and said, "You have to be careful too. Although you are not the first to go out hunting like this, there are not many. Remember to look carefully outside. Don't assume that anything moving in the ice and snow is a wild animal. It could be a human."
Qin Huai nodded: "Don't worry."
After the handover, Qin Huai drove back to pick up Mu Nan and Song Jia. The two of them had been waiting at the door early. When they heard the sound of the car, they hurriedly carried out the things in the house, and got in as soon as the door opened. Xu Ming sat in the co-pilot seat. He wanted to look at the map and control the route for Qin Huai. Song Jia and Mu Nan sat in the back. The big luggage bag was placed under the seat in the back seat. The space inside the entire car was quite large, and after putting the luggage in, there was even room for a girl to lie down.
They might have to spend the night outside on this trip. Anyway, they have planned for three days and two nights. We will see the specific situation when the time comes. If they can't stand the cold on the first night, they will come back during the day.
Mu Nan gave the mini telescope to Song Jia. Although it was mini, it could see very far, but it did not have as many functions as the professional one. He gave the professional one to Xu Ming. He felt that Xu Ming's observation ability must be better than theirs, and it might play a greater role in Xu Ming's hands.
Niuniu was very well behaved in the car, squatting under the seat without making any noise or trouble. Mu Nan couldn't help but touch the dog's head and forced it to look at him: "Niuniu, you have to behave well. Whether everyone has meat to eat depends on you, understand?"
Song Jia stroked Niuniu's back hair and laughed, "Niuniu said that I have taken on too much for this family, hahahahahaha."
The two were playing with the dog in the back, while Xu Ming in the front was looking at the map carefully: "The chance of encountering animals in the direction of Qiyang Avenue is indeed higher. There are mountains over there, and the zoo was also built around the mountains over there. I just hope we don't encounter a pack of wolves."
Mu Nan popped his head out from behind and asked, "Can't we beat the wolves even if we drive?"
Xu Ming said: "It's hard to say. Wolves are legendary animals. They are intelligent and even as smart as humans. They can stick to one thing until death. If it's a group of hungry wolves, they will not give up the food in front of them. So if you see a pack of wolves outside, even if you are in the car, you must leave immediately and don't provoke them. When they unite, they are harder to provoke than tigers and leopards."
Mu Nan said, "Then I hope we don't encounter a pack of wolves."
After a while, Mu Nan asked again: "Wolf meat is also considered game, right?"
Xu Ming smiled and said, "Of course, if we really hunt wolf, wolf skin is more valuable than wolf meat. For safety reasons, it is best to send the animals hunted outside to the military. If they pass the quality inspection, we can exchange some for them to eat. Now we still have the conditions for quality inspection. If we can avoid eating them, we should do so. The people of the Qi family are a lesson for us."
Song Jia said: "I hope we can hunt it. Let's make a wish that this trip will be a great harvest!" They had exchanged a lot of points for canned food before, and later they accumulated some points by working outside. Compared with other people, their points were considered to be quite a lot, but this time, after each family shared the cost, each family spent almost thirty or forty points. Although they were mentally prepared to get nothing, it would naturally be better if they could hunt some animals.
It was relatively easy to drive in the residential area because the soldiers patrolled here every day and had paved a path. But when we slowly drove towards the uninhabited area, the road became difficult. The more uninhabited the place was, the deeper the snow cover. Fortunately, in addition to them, there were some people who rented cars during this period, so we could still drive along the traces left by the previous drivers. Otherwise, after the earthquake, it would be easy to fall into the pit once the snow covered the place.
As the traces on the snow became shallower, Qin Huai drove more carefully and slowly, mainly to drive over the snow and avoid stepping on potholes. Xu Ming said to the two people behind him: "Look carefully at the snow. If you look from a distance, if there are traces of animals that have walked not long ago, you can see some traces on the snow."
Mu Nan and Song Jia were looking out of the car windows, each one leaning against the other. Fortunately, they both had good eyesight and could see clearly through the small telescope, but everything was white, with nothing but snow.
After driving for several hours, they finally drove to Qiyang Avenue, a road leading to the zoo. The surrounding area was very deserted. If there were not some road signs still there, although they were crooked and even half covered by snow, it would still be possible to make out the direction. Once on the avenue, Qin Huai and Xu Ming switched hands. Walking on this kind of snowy road requires high concentration and is very exhausting, so they have to switch hands and take a break every few hours.
Mu Nan quickly brought food and drinks to Qin Huai, and said to Xu Ming: "If you are tired, let me drive. My driving skills are also good. If you don't believe me, ask my brother."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Your eyesight is better than mine. Whether we can gain anything depends on you."
Mu Nan snorted at being rejected in disguise. When the sky became dark, they still got nothing. Not to mention animals, not even a bird flew in the sky. It was almost dark. The excited little heart that had just come out, after a whole day of wear and tear, now became a little cold.
Seeing Song Jia was silent, Mu Nan thought that it was not easy for him and his brother to accumulate some points. It must be painful to waste this game. He couldn't help but comfort him: "Just think of it as a way to get some fresh air. It's boring to stay at home all day."
Qin Huai in front said, "We need to find a place to stay. It's snowing heavily."
Xu Ming glanced out the window: "Endless white snow, not even a building."
Mu Nan held the telescope and said, "Brother, I seem to see the light."
Qin Huai turned around: "Where?"
Mu Nan pointed in a direction, and Qin Huai looked over with the telescope: "It seems like there are residents over there?"
Song Jia also looked over with a telescope and could vaguely see a little warm yellow light: "Should we go over there?"
Qin Huai shook his head: "I don't recommend going there. A place with people may not be safe."
Xu Ming said: "But if we don't go there, where are we going to rest today? We can't sleep in the car, and we can't drive all night."
Song Jia and Mu Nan sat in the back without saying a word. They left the decision-making to the two 'parents' in front to discuss. They could only obey.
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