It was at this moment that Xu Yajing realized that the long-standing story of the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner was actually her husband's brother!
Even after his disguise was exposed, Shen Yanming wasn't angry. He invited the person into his home, and the group discussed their upcoming plans.
“My sister-in-law’s dormitory is a bit small, so I plan to apply for a house in Block B.” Li Wanwan is a girl and doesn’t have the ability to build a house herself, so she plans to pay off her debt with her work.
“It’s not appropriate for a girl like you to live alone,” Zhang Heping said, frowning. He felt it wasn’t safe for you.
Li Zhaozhao gave Shen Yanming a wink, and the other nodded knowingly: "Why don't you live with Wanwan?"
"What? I...I...I..." Zhang Heping blushed like a chicken with its feathers standing on end. But after stammering for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a coherent answer.
Ji Kangyong added fuel to the fire, saying, "If you've thought it through, hurry up and make your move, otherwise, it won't be your turn." They had already discovered that the male-to-female ratio at this base was unbalanced.
Zhang Heping bit his lip and finally nodded: "Okay, Wanwan and I will live together. I just don't know if we can get our marriage certificate now."
Hearing this, Li Zhaozhao chuckled: "Alright, that's enough. Treat my sister well from now on, or none of us here will let you off the hook."
“Yes, we are all Wanwan’s family.” Bi Qiaoan also joined in.
Zhang Heping smiled, but deliberately put on a pitiful look: "Oh my god, aren't you my family? Waaah, I'm so wronged."
Li Wanwan felt embarrassed by Zhang Heping's stupid behavior and pinched him, saying, "That's enough."
Zhang Heping didn't hesitate and grabbed Li Wanwan's hand tightly: "Don't worry, I'll treat you well. Everyone is welcome to keep an eye on me."
"Great!" everyone cheered. Finally, Zhang Heping asked, "Still no news from your uncle and aunt?"
Li Zhaozhao nodded: "It's probably more bad than good."
The atmosphere was a bit tense, but Li Zhaozhao changed the subject with a smile: "If that's the case, then my sister and Heping can live in Area A, right?"
"Let's apply first." Shen Yanming wasn't sure either, but "half of the guards haven't returned to report, and there are vacancies in the dormitories, so there's a good chance we can get one."
“I’ll apply too, and then I’ll live next to Heping.” Ji Kangyong said with a smile, “But until my dormitory application is approved, I’ll have to make do at your place.”
Shen Yanming nodded: "Welcome." He glanced at the environment of his home and said with regret: "I originally wanted to cook at home, but now, there is no water, no electricity, and no gas, so I can't cook even if I want to."
"Let's eat at the cafeteria then." Li Zhaozhao was too lazy to cook. His small dormitory room was barely big enough to sleep in, and he had no intention of cooking there.
Shen Yanming thought for a moment and said, "Let's eat at the canteen for the next couple of days. As the base takes in more and more survivors, we'll probably have to revise the rules and regulations, and the canteen won't last long."
"Yes, if there are too many people, we won't be able to cook enough meals."
"Alright, it's getting late, let's go have lunch first."
Shen Yanming led the team to the canteen. The food there was always the same: white rice porridge with pickled vegetables.
Since everyone has already started working, after swiping their smart bracelets at the entrance, they can collect their meals. Each person is limited to one serving: a bowl of porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables. It's not much, just enough to fill you up about halfway.
There was nothing they could do; they didn't know how long this crop failure would last, so they dared not open their grain sacks and waste food.
No one complained. They finished the porridge and pickled vegetables, washed their bowls and chopsticks, and then left the canteen.
We had to start work in the afternoon, so after resting in the dormitory for a while, we all went to our work posts.
Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan took An'an and Nuannuan to the agricultural area. After greeting Ye Wengui, they followed the guards working there to cultivate the land.
A massive flood wiped out all their efforts. The crops and vegetables they had planted were either washed away or rotted. Even the top-notch greenhouses built before the tsunami were destroyed.
The land was covered in all sorts of garbage, including plastic bags, fish bones, seashells, wood, bricks, and cement blocks. It smelled terrible.
They shoveled the trash together and moved it to a corner. The soil on the ground was then exposed.
A layer of white substance covered the brownish-yellow soil. Undoubtedly, it was salt. Soaked in seawater, even the finest land becomes saline-alkali land.
The couple planted bok choy in their field, unsure if it would grow. However, this plant has a very short growth cycle, taking about twenty-five days. After two harvests, they can pull it up and plant wheat.
The others also planted lettuce, spinach, green onions, and kale—vegetables with short growing seasons. They were just waiting to harvest them so they could clear the land to plant other grain crops.
Ye Wengui specifically set aside about ten acres of land to grow Chinese cabbage, white radish, carrots, and other vegetables that have a slightly longer maturity period and are more cold-resistant, to keep them for the winter.
There's nothing we can do. It's almost September now, and the winters after the apocalypse are extremely cold. Once September is over, the temperature will plummet.
Because they had to clear and plant simultaneously, the couple worked slowly. It took them an entire afternoon to plant just one acre of land.
After registering the two men, Ye Wengui told them to go home. He added in a low voice, "I know you have other work to do, so just come every other day from now on."
Shen Yanming nodded, thanked him, and then took his wife, son, and daughter back home.
The family of four stopped by the cafeteria for dinner. They waited at home for more than two hours before Zhang Heping returned.
As soon as I entered, I complained, "My God, there are so many patients here. It's so intense work right from the start. I almost couldn't make it back."
Shen Yanming handed him a towel and a washbasin: "Wash yourself first." Then he asked, "Does the hospital have the equipment?"
“Yes, we have everything we need.” Zhang Heping was also quite surprised: “The defense team probably took action before the tsunami and preserved the complete medical equipment. I heard them say that they also stockpiled medicine, but not much, and it can’t be regenerated.”
The hospital had its power restored at the end of July, reportedly using solar panels. As for thermal or hydroelectric power, I heard it's not feasible yet.
Shen Yanming nodded, thinking to himself that building a large power plant wasn't easy. Humanity had worked so hard for so many years to achieve modern technology. Yet, a single natural disaster could wipe it all out.
"Where's Lao Ji? Hasn't he come back yet?"
"Yeah, he's busy over there. Apparently, some people in Sector D got into a brawl over a cement block. It was pretty brutal, but the guards arrived in time to stop it, so no one was killed."
Zhang Heping's tone was indifferent, the righteous indignation he had shown at the beginning gone. On the way back to Haishi, they had witnessed far too much violence and brawling.
"Then you should go to sleep early, we'll wait for Lao Ji."
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