Chapter 98
Finally, because the weather was really bad, the later it got, the stronger the snow and wind became. There was nothing but white snow all around, and there was no place to stay, so they decided to drive to a bright place and take a look. They had weapons in their hands and knew some self-defense skills, so they would leave immediately if the situation was not right. Every time this happened, they couldn't help but sigh, thankful that they were a country with weapons control, otherwise they might not have the courage to go to an unknown place to explore in such a wilderness and snow.
The dot of light could be seen in the telescope, but it was actually half an hour later that we actually got closer to it. The closer we got, the more the house covered in snow gradually appeared. It should have been a courtyard-like house before, and half of it may have collapsed in the earthquake and was half buried in the snow. The remaining two rooms were intact, one was a dark and empty room, and one had someone in it, with the light from the fire for heating reflected through the glass. In this area, except for this small courtyard, there were no other houses.
Qin Huai and Xu Ming looked at each other. Since they were here, they could only get out of the car to check. Qin Huai took a small crossbow in his hand, and Xu Ming took a knife. Although he had a bow and arrow, it was not suitable for close combat, so he had to bring something for close combat. Before getting out of the car, Qin Huai asked Mu Nan to sit in the driver's seat: "Don't turn off the car. You keep an eye on the situation and respond flexibly. Got it?"
Mu Nan nodded: "Be careful, run away immediately if anything goes wrong."
The two men got out of the car and entered the yard from the collapsed side.
Mu Nan sat in the car and watched nervously. Song Jia came over from the back seat and whispered, "Looking at the surrounding environment, do you feel like you're in the Deserted Village Murder Casebook?"
Mu Nan was already nervous, so she quickly stopped him: "Don't talk nonsense, it's scary."
It was already dark, the cold wind was howling outside the car, large flakes of snow were hitting the car windows, and the people who got off the car walked a little further away, their figures were obscured by the interweaving wind and snow and could not be seen clearly. Song Jia was still saying such terrible things in the back, and Mu Nan felt like he was getting goose bumps all over his body.
Song Jia said: "There is nothing around, only this small yard. Doesn't it feel abrupt? Look at the yard, there is no car. What do people who live here usually eat? What do they use? Based on my experience of watching TV dramas for many years, this place is not simple."
Mu Nan was frightened by what Song Jia said, but still couldn't help asking, "Why isn't it simple?"
Song Jia lowered his voice slightly and said, "Usually at the beginning of this kind of plot, there must be an old couple or a warm-hearted old man living inside. The residents inside will definitely welcome outsiders very warmly, and will also sigh and say that they haven't seen strangers for a long time."
Mu Nan swallowed and said, "And then?"
Song Jia: "Then he welcomed us in and said kindly, 'It's so cold, you must be frozen, come in and warm up and have some hot tea.'"
Mu Nan was a little nervous: "Then what?"
Song Jia continued, "Then they would start to tell why they lived in such a desolate place. They were either waiting for their children who had left or waiting for their loved ones to come back. People who entered the house would listen to the stories and feel the warmth. Their guard would gradually soften, and they would drink the tea unconsciously."
Mu Nan looked at Song Jia: "Is there something wrong with the tea?"
Song Jia said, "There must be something wrong. Once you drink the tea, you will slowly feel dizzy and your vision will become blurry. You may never wake up again, or after waking up, you may find that your companions have become a meal. The weird old man inside may not be able to eat them all at once, so he will keep you alive. When he is hungry, he will eat one of your arms and gnaw one of your legs. After eating you, he will wait for the next person who is attracted by the fire in the wilderness."
Mu Nan couldn't help but shudder: "It's a waste of talent if you don't become a storyteller."
Song Jia: "There is another version, do you want to listen to it?"
Mu Nan couldn't resist his curiosity: "What version?"
Song Jia said: "You haven't started drinking tea yet, but suddenly you feel uncomfortable in your stomach, so you borrow someone's toilet, which is usually outside. Then you accidentally fell down, and you found a pile of bones buried in the snow. You were scared to death, and quickly went back to tell your companions that there was something wrong here. Then a thrilling battle royale began."
When Song Jia was creating this atmosphere for Mu Nan, there was a knock on the car window. The sudden noise scared the two of them so much that they almost screamed together. When they turned around, they saw Qin Huai standing outside the car door. Mu Nan was almost scared out of his wits: "Brother, you scared me to death."
Qin Huai asked Mu Nan to sit on the passenger side: "What are you two doing in the car? You are shouting so loudly. I asked you to pay attention to the situation outside, but you didn't notice me knocking on the window."
Mu Nan looked at Song Jia, who had shrunk back to touch the dog's head, and accused: "He talked to me and distracted me!"
Song Jia, who couldn't get rid of the blame, laughed and didn't refute. Seeing Qin Huai driving the car directly into the yard, he asked, "What's going on inside? How many people are there?"
Qin Huai said, "An old couple lives here."
Mu Nan couldn't help but look at the Song family. What was going on? They suddenly became a little scary.
After the car drove into the yard, an old man wrapped in a thick cotton jacket came out and pulled open a curtain-covered area. It should be a woodshed full of firewood, but the empty space was just enough to park a car.
After parking the car, the old man smiled with wrinkles on his face as he looked at Mu Nan and Song Jia who got out of the car: "These two young men look so young. I haven't had outsiders come here for a long time."
Song Jia and Mu Nan: “…” Their bodies began to stiffen uncontrollably.
The old man led them into the house and said enthusiastically: "It's so cold, you must be freezing. Come in and warm up. There's a fire and a kang in the house. Have some hot tea."
They both stopped at the same time, and suddenly they couldn't move forward.
Qin Huai turned around and looked at Mu Nan: "What's wrong?"
Mu Nan smiled stiffly and looked at Qin Huai: "Are we going to stay here overnight?"
Qin Huai nodded: "We can only stay here, there are no other residents nearby, go in quickly, the wind is getting stronger.
Mu Nan looked at Song Jia, whose face was also pale, and was pulled into the house by Qin Huai.
Xu Ming was already sitting next to the brazier to keep warm. There was an old lady in the room, who was pouring tea enthusiastically. When she saw the three people coming in, she smiled and said, "Go and warm yourself up. You are still running around outside in such a cold day. Are you frozen?"
Song Jia and Mu Nan were a little afraid to speak. Qin Huai patted the snow off Mu Nan's body and said, "Grandma is talking to you."
Mu Nan quickly said, "Hello, grandma."
The old lady smiled and responded, "Okay, you guys too, come and sit down."
Xu Ming was rubbing his hands beside the fire and had already started chatting: "So you two have been living here all this time, waiting for the children to come back?"
The old lady sighed: "Not entirely, but at this age, I will die anywhere, so I might as well die in my own home, so I just stay here."
Mu Nan already felt a chill on his forehead, and couldn't help but move closer to Song Jia and whispered, "Tell me the truth, did you get the prophet's card?"
Song Jia timidly hugged Niuniu and huddled aside: "Don't ask, I'd be panicking even if you asked."
Mu Nan asked, "What do you think is the probability that this story will come true?"
Qin Huai handed the hot tea to Mu Nan and Song Jia: "What are you whispering about? Drink some hot water."
Mu Nan was holding the cup and couldn't drink it. Seeing Qin Huai preparing to drink water, he quickly pulled him back and whispered, "Brother, are you sure it's safe here? Don't think it's safe just because there are only two old people. Don't you think this place is weird? There's nothing around. What do they eat and drink? Do you think there are a lot of bones buried in their backyard? And they specially burn charcoal fire in the snow to attract others with the light?"
Qin Huai looked at the extremely nervous Mu Nan with amusement: "What are you thinking about in your little head? Don't worry, we have observed it, and this water is our own water. It's good that you are alert, but don't scare yourself by thinking too much. Drink some hot water to warm yourself up."
Seeing that Qin Huai did not let down his guard, Mu Nan heaved a sigh of relief and took a sip of the water. Although it was cold, they had been in the car with the heater on, so it was not too cold. But it was still a lot more comfortable to have a sip of hot water.
While Mu Nan was being cautious, Xu Ming had already found out the other party's situation through chatting. The two old men were surnamed Tong, from the same village, with the same surname. This place used to be a small village, but the people who stayed here were all old people. Later, with the completion of the semi-wild animal park, a developer bought land here and wanted to build a resort with a zoo theme. It happened that the village was within the enclosure, so many people took the money and left. After all, the shabby brick houses here were not as comfortable as those in high-rise buildings.
They didn't leave because the small courtyard house had been renovated and looked quite new. Firstly, they were reluctant to leave, and secondly, the new house they bought with the demolition compensation had not been delivered yet. In addition, their home was originally at the end of the village, and the first phase of the project had not yet arrived here. So Grandpa Tong discussed with others and let the couple continue to live there. He would cook for the workers and provide them with three meals a day. They didn't ask for any salary, and when the demolition work was needed here, they would leave immediately.
"As a result, the epidemic broke out just after the village in front was razed and the dormitories for the migrant workers were not built. The construction was forced to stop. It has been stopped until now. There are still a bunch of collapsed sheds in the area ahead, but they are covered by snow. Be careful when you drive there, and don't get stuck in the ruins."
Xu Ming thanked Mr. Tong for the reminder and said, "You live in such a remote place, it's very inconvenient for you to live here. When we go back, we can tell the soldiers at the base to come pick you up. Now that they have started to rebuild, it can be considered a new city. If you want to find your grandson, maybe you can go to the base to look for him. There is more hope."
Grandpa Tong waved his hand, "Grandson, you have to come back. We are always here. If you don't come back, we will be a burden if we go to look for you. We are too old to make any contribution to the country. We can't do any work and we have to eat for free. We have seen some of the rescue soldiers. They are all half-grown children with skin peeling off from the sun. Why bother them? This is the only way to live in this life. Every extra day is a gain. When we die in the future, we will die in our own home, so that we will not become wandering ghosts and can't find the way home."
Xu Ming said: "Look at what you said. It is said that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. Your life experience may be the greatest treasure in today's difficult times."
The old couple of the Tong family were amused by Xu Ming's words. Grandma Tong narrowed her eyes and said, "What treasure is that? It's just a few more years of rice. Old man, where did I put my box of needles and thread?"
Old Master Tong stood up, rummaged through two cabinets, and took out a box of needles and thread from one of the cabinets. He proudly handed it to Grandma Tong: "Isn't it here? What kind of memory is this? It's not even as good as mine."
Grandma Tong still smiled: "Yes, you have the best memory." As she spoke, she walked to Song Jia with a needle and thread: "Child, take off your coat, it's torn here, grandma will sew it for you."
Song Jia quickly said, "No need, grandma, I can do it myself. Can I borrow your needle and thread?"
Grandma Tong didn't let Song Jia take over: "How can a child as young as you sew clothes? Grandma will sew for you. It will be quick."
Song Jia glanced at Mu Nan and took off his clothes helplessly. Grandma Tong sat down on the kang with the clothes in her hand and threaded the clothes with her eyes squinting. The old woman was probably over 70 years old, but her eyesight seemed to be still good and she had no problem threading the clothes.
Xu Ming said: "Grandma Tong, you have really good eyesight. When my grandmother was your age, her eyes were blurry and she couldn't see clearly."
Old Master Tong laughed and said, "She only has good eyesight, but nothing else is good. When she first married me, she couldn't even tell the difference between sugar and salt."
Grandma Tong glared at him while mending clothes: "Nonsense, haven't I cooked enough for you over the years?"
Mr. Tong immediately refused to admit defeat: "That's what I taught you!"
Grandma Tong snorted: "You are such a culinary artist that you can burn a pot of soup through and stew a pot of meat until it becomes mushy."
The old couple started bickering with each other. Mu Nan leaned on Qin Huai and finally came out of the terrifying atmosphere that Song Jia had just described. Listening to them talking about some old things, he couldn't help but say, "I think this is pretty good."
Qin Huai tilted his head slightly and chuckled softly, "They are like this?"
Mu Nan hummed, "It's enough to live to 70 or 80, and then walk to the end together in the old house where we have lived for a lifetime. How wonderful it is."
If it were him, he probably wouldn't want to go to any base. Living in his own home with his loved ones around him, even waiting for death wouldn't seem so scary.
The two old men argued for a while, and finally stopped talking when they remembered that there were outsiders in the house. Old Man Tong took out the pot and a piece of smoked meat: "You must be hungry. I'll make you some smoked rice. There are some sauerkraut in the cellar. I'll get some and chop it up for you. Mix it with the rice and cook it together. The white rice will also have some flavor."
Qin Huai quickly stopped the old man and said, "No need, Grandpa Tong. We have our own food. We can't eat yours. We are very grateful to be able to stay here for one night."
Old Master Tong said indifferently: "We still have some rice at home. You guys sit down and I'll go get some pickled vegetables."
Old Man Tong went to the cellar to get something, and they couldn't follow him. Grandma Tong was afraid that they would feel uncomfortable, so she said, "Don't worry about eating. There is a lot of food at home. We are old and can't eat that much. It would be a waste if it went bad. Fortunately, it is winter now, so the food can be stored. If it was as hot as last year, I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to be stored."
Mu Nan asked curiously, "Grandma, are you and Grandpa Tong the only ones here?"
Grandma Tong said, "Of course not. There are people living in the mountain behind here. They are some residents in front, who were originally near the school. It was too hot last year and many people couldn't stand it, so they moved to live in the mountains. I don't know how they dug holes in the mountain wall that people could live in, so they survived the high temperature. Now I don't know if they have gone to the mountains to avoid the cold. It was snowing heavily, so I didn't see many people. After the earthquake, my old man and I haven't been to the mountains, so we don't know if there were any collapses."
Song Jia said: "So we are the group of people you met in winter?"
Grandma Tong said, "This is the third wave. The first two times, they drove cars like yours and asked which direction the zoo was heading. How many animals could there be in this zoo? They all ran away after the earthquake. They wouldn't be waiting for people to hunt them. There are some monkeys in the mountains, but you can't eat monkeys. It's taboo to eat them."
Song Jia was curious: "What taboo is it to eat monkeys?"
Grandma Tong returned the sewn clothes to Song Jia, and then carefully put away the sewing box: "That's what my grandma told me when I was a child. In their time, life was hard and the grain yield was low. It's not like now, when the yield of one acre of land can feed one person for many years. At that time, the yield of one acre of land was only a few hundred kilograms. When the harvest was bad, people had to go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables to make a living. People couldn't eat enough, so they lived off the mountains. Some young people went hunting in the mountains and caught a monkey. They didn't listen to the old people's advice and just killed and ate it."
Song Jia: "What happened after you ate it? Did you get sick?"
Grandma Tong said: "After eating it, we became addicted to the taste of monkey meat. How much meat can a monkey have? It was so tempting that we couldn't stop eating it. So we planned to go to the mountains to catch monkeys together. But no one came back. Later, the villagers went to the mountains to look for monkeys, but they only found a pile of clothes. Then in the ravines, they found some broken limbs and empty heads without even the brains. My grandmother said that the way those people died, especially the empty heads, looked like the remains of the monkey they ate."
Song Jia rubbed his arms, and Mu Nan squeezed into Qin Huai's arms. It was the middle of the night, and it was snowing heavily outside. Telling such a ghost story in the house would really scare people to death.
Grandma Tong said, "So, when you go hunting, just hunt chickens and birds. Don't touch monkeys. They are very smart."
Xu Ming said, "Don't worry, we won't hunt monkeys." Not to mention that monkeys are primates, hunting them is psychologically difficult. Just the monkey species is close to human genes, which means that monkeys are easy to transmit some viruses to humans, such as the terrible Ebola virus. Although the source of the virus has not been determined yet, monkeys are one of the biggest ways of transmission to humans besides fruit bats. Based on this point alone, let alone hunting, even if Xu Ming sees monkeys, he will ask them to take a detour.
Soon Grandpa Tong came back carrying some frozen sauerkraut, which he thawed in a pot on the stove. He then turned around and washed the bacon. Smoked meat is the kind of meat that is smoked until it becomes a whole piece of pitch-black. But after washing off the black smoke on the surface, the meat inside is a beautiful pink color with a smoky and salty taste. It is especially fragrant when steamed with rice, not to mention that there are some chopped sauerkraut in it. You can finish a large bowl of it with just rice.
But they were not so rude as to eat other people's food. Although they could not refuse the enthusiastic old man Tong, Qin Huai asked Mu Nan to get a bag of oatmeal from the car and gave it to the two old people. Of course, there was no oatmeal in the car. The food they brought was all dry food, but the food was placed in their own bags. No one else knew what was inside, so it was not unreasonable for Qin Huai and the others to bring oatmeal. In such a cold climate, it was necessary to supplement sugar and calories.
How could the two old men accept things from young people? Seeing that they had come out to hunt for a living, they knew that their life was not easy. However, in the end, they could not resist their insistence and knew that if they did not accept the things, they would not eat the meals they cooked. The two old men had no choice but to accept them, but after the meal they directly brewed a small pot of oatmeal and let them each drink a cup, and then they were happy.
There is a kang in Mr. Tong's house. The kang is not small. Anyway, it is enough for a room full of people to sleep on. Mu Nan let Qin Huai sleep on it. Qin Huai has to drive during the day. Driving in the snow requires high concentration and is too tiring. He can take a nap in the car during the day, so he and Song Jia just keep watch, he in the first half of the night and Song Jia in the second half. Although the two old people are very good family members, they cannot be without vigilance outside.
Qin Huai rubbed Mu Nan's head and pushed him to a warm place: "If you feel sleepy, go to sleep."
Mu Nan said: "I know, go to sleep, sleep peacefully, I'm here."
Qin Huai smiled, lay on the bed and closed his eyes: "Thank you for your hard work."
Mu Nan was lying on the bed. Although he had discussed it with Song Jia, he still did it out of habit. He couldn't let down his guard against others. It wasn't that he was wary of Song Jia, but he was outside and he didn't feel comfortable entrusting his and Qin Huai's safety to others, so he simply let Song Jia sleep until dawn. Song Jia happened to have a good sleep, so he could use a telescope to observe prey during the day, so he made up for his sleep in the car.
Song Jia woke up drowsily in the morning, and remembered that he had agreed to stay up for the second half of the night. He sat up quickly and looked at Mu Nan who had already started to get dressed: "Why didn't you call me? Did you fall asleep?"
Mu Nan yawned. "No, I was watching you at night. I couldn't wake you up, so I just let you sleep. It's just right that you slept well. You should observe the traces of prey during the day. I need to catch up on my sleep."
Song Jia suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He didn't know he could sleep so soundly. He quickly said, "No problem. Go ahead and sleep."
It was outside, and there was no place to wash, so he could only rinse his mouth with hot water. If he brushed his teeth, the foam in his mouth would turn into icicles before he brushed it away, and he couldn't use a basin to collect the foam like he did at home, so he could only rinse his mouth and wipe his face with a hot towel to wake himself up. Seeing Qin Huai coming over to pour water, Xu Ming said, "Your brother is quite insecure." He didn't call Song Jia last night, and Song Jia was sleeping next to him. If someone called him, he wouldn't have been unaware of it based on his own vigilance.
Qin Huai paused and hummed. He had already discovered this. Mu Nan trusted him completely. So when it was just the two of them, Mu Nan was still like when he was a child. He relied on him and trusted him. As long as he was there, he was not afraid of the sky falling. But to outsiders, she was not the heartless person in front of him. On the contrary, she was very alert. Even Jian Chu and Xu Ming, who had a very good relationship with him, Mu Nan never completely let down his guard. He found that Mu Nan was not deliberately on guard against others, nor was he suspicious and distrustful, but there was a feeling in his subconscious that he could only rely on his own feelings.
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