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Tao Saizhen squatted in front of the bamboo cage under the eaves. After careful observation, she picked out a big rooster with the strongest vitality, three yellow hens weighing nine pounds, and randomly selected five or six chicks.
She really felt embarrassed to take too much, as these were the utensils people used to eat.
But there will definitely be opportunities for transactions later. As the saying goes, steady wins the race. It is actually not a bad idea to do them a favor now.
The old man was incredibly thoughtful. He personally reached into the cages and grabbed the chickens. He tied the roosters and hens by their legs with hemp rope and tossed them into snakeskin bags, then punched holes in them to leave their heads exposed to prevent suffocation. The chicks were also placed in paper boxes with holes in them and tied securely with ropes.
He had thought very carefully, ensuring that even a weak woman like Tao Sai could easily carry it away with just her hands.
But just as Sun Haizhu was helping her, Tao Sai suddenly changed her mind.
She rubbed her chin with the back of her hand and mused: It's too small.
The pattern is small.
Tao Sai didn't kill them just now, but it was easy to foresee that the group would not give up, because when they fled in a panic, they cast extremely hateful glances at the yard, especially Boss Yang, whose head was bruised by the shack.
She decided to stay for a while and take a look at the character of this family. If they were of good character, not too annoying, and had some special skills, she would consider taking them all on the Deep Sea Fish.
When the time comes, the farming work will be handed over to them. They have experience and have raised chickens, ducks, and geese well in the yard. She can provide them with a stable living environment. Of course, the decision is theirs.
Donghai currently shows no signs of being affected by the insect swarm. While living on land is certainly good, there's no guarantee that insects won't attack; it might just be a matter of time. If one day in the future, an earthquake hits Donghai City, triggering an insect swarm and leaving people stranded on the island, that would be truly despair.
In this apocalyptic world, only ships, large ships that can move freely, are the safest places.
The Sun family was extremely enthusiastic about this lifesaver and said they wanted to invite Tao Sai to dinner.
She didn't pretend to be polite. It was exactly what she wanted, so she agreed directly.
The sun came out outside and the weather became hot. Tao Sai was invited to sit in the main room. Sun Kai diligently poured her some water and took out some dried pumpkin seeds as snacks.
Although there are many chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits in the yard, the smell cannot come into the house at all because they are well taken care of.
She cracked pumpkin seeds and looked around. Although their home was relatively simple, it was tidy and clean. A checkered tablecloth covered the square table, and items were neatly arranged. A two-meter-high wooden shrine enshrined a bronze statue on the main wall. Hanging on the wall below were two vintage world maps and a map of China. On this map, South Sudan had not yet been separated.
At this time, a woman in her sixties walked out of the room slowly. She was very thin, with sparse hair and gray hair on her temples. She had a kind face. She smiled at Tao Sai, then looked at him blankly and took the water cup to drink water.
"My mother," Sun Kai whispered, pointing to his head inconspicuously, "something's wrong here."
Tao Sai nodded in understanding and gave a friendly smile to the lady who had finished drinking the water.
The old lady drank some water and then retreated back to her room. She didn't say a word the whole time and didn't look very well.
Sun Kai looked a little embarrassed, as if he didn't want to talk more. Tao Sai certainly wouldn't continue to ask about other people's privacy.
She changed the subject, pretending to exchange information with him, but actually she was learning about the group of people who came to her house today.
The leader, Boss Yang Hailong, was quite famous. He had contracted a large tract of land in their area and built a large pig farm, which also raised wild boars. Young men from several nearby villages would hang out with him. Business was booming in the first few years, but it was actually somewhat tainted by shady practices.
After the policies were implemented in the past one or two years, he has become much more restrained. When he meets fellow villagers on the road, he will sometimes greet them in a pretend manner. If he is driving an empty car, he will invite neighbors who are going to the market to take his car, but no one dares to get in.
"That grandson cheated my mother and took away all our rice!" Sun Kai became indignant when he thought of this.
His mother had mental problems to begin with, and when his father came back that day, he was furious and couldn't control his mouth. He kept talking and saying whatever he wanted. His mother was upset, and her condition worsened.
The situation is basically understood. He must have been thinking about their livestock when he stole their rice that day.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps hurriedly descended the stairs. Sun Siyao hurried down the stairs and ran into the courtyard. The glass cut on her cheek had been bandaged, the remaining glass shards cleaned, and disinfected. Her mother, Luo Qinqin, was a nurse at the city community hospital and had a medical kit at home, so she bandaged it professionally.
Sun Kai worriedly told her, "Yaoyao, run slower."
The little girl went crazy and refused to listen. She held a fluorescent-colored shuttlecock in her hand, threw it with her hand, raised her legs, and started kicking it in the spacious yard.
After the power outage, the TV couldn't be turned on and she couldn't watch cartoons. It was a remote place with no friends around. Children of her age were at the age when they were most playful, and probably one of the few ways for them to entertain themselves was to play shuttlecock.
Tao Sai glanced at her boredly for a few times and saw that she kicked a lot. She could kick dozens of times in a row, both forward and backward. Occasionally, she would stretch her legs to make a very difficult save, counting for herself while kicking.
But she didn't play for too long. Perhaps she was tired or bored, so Sun Siyao sat on the chair outside the door and didn't move.
She tilted her head to the side, and her eyes met with Towsey's.
The little girl is seven years old. She looks very cute, with fair and tender skin and a few freckles under her eyes. The more you look at her, the more likable she becomes.
"What's your name?" Towsey asked.
"Sun Siyao." The little girl was not timid and her eyes were bright.
"First or second grade?"
She thought for a moment and said, "I'll be in the second grade soon. I'll be in the second grade after summer vacation."
He looks quite impressive.
Tao Sai was a little dazed when he heard her words. Summer vacation would end, but he would definitely not be able to go to school again. This child probably would not have a wonderful school life anymore.
"My grades are terrible." Sun Kai muttered with a hint of complaint.
The little girl rolled her eyes at him in response, and she especially hated him saying bad things about her in front of outsiders.
Sun Kai didn't take it seriously. He stood up and grabbed a handful of boiled peanuts for Tao Sai, then went to the kitchen to help his wife cook.
Seeing that there was no one in the main room, Sun Siyao sneaked up to Tao Sai.
"Sister, come with me, I'll take you somewhere." As she said that, she stretched out her little hand and held Tao Sai's slender hand.
"Where are we going?" Tao Sai wondered.
She didn't say anything, but turned around and made a gesture to Tao Sai to keep quiet, then tiptoed out of the yard carefully, fearing that she would be discovered by someone in the kitchen.
Tao Sai followed behind, slowing down his pace.
She slightly activated [Gravity Adaptation] so that even if she took a casual step, her footsteps would not be too heavy.
They left the courtyard gate, climbed the ridge, and climbed a slope. The weeds were so dense that they were knee-deep. Sun Siyao was tall, and the weeds almost reached her thighs. She led Tao Sai through the weeds on both sides as if walking on flat ground, and entered a secluded position surrounded by tangled mulberry branches.
"This is my secret base." said Sun Siyao.
Tao Sai was not surprised, because every child has his or her own secret base.
She followed the little girl's gaze and saw a very simple shed made of several large lime tiles at the innermost part, with a half-grown yellow dog huddled inside.
The local dog wagged its tail affectionately. Sun Siyao called out "Dahuang" and then rubbed its head hard.
She remembered to feel her trouser pocket and took out a piece of bread that was broken into several pieces. Dahuang licked it with his tongue and ate it all in a few bites.
"Grandpa drove Dahuang away and said we can't keep him." Sun Siyao looked at Tao Sai with aggrieved eyes.
It seems that the child couldn't bear to leave the dog, so he found a way to build a small shed for it to shelter from the rain, and came to feed it from time to time.
Tao Sai felt that there was nothing wrong with the adults' approach. The plague was coming soon, and people couldn't even get enough to eat, so how could they afford to keep a dog? Not keeping the dog meat to fill their stomachs was probably already considered merciful.
Sun Siyao and Dahuang were having fun in the grass, chasing and playing. She seemed to be very experienced and wore long pants to prevent her calves and ankles from being stung by the grass tips.
The sun shines through the gaps between the leaves, and the wind blows across the ridges of the fields.
This is a beautiful and ordinary day.
Yaoyao walked very fast, not losing her balance at all because of the uneven road surface under the grass. She could step onto the half-meter-high earthen platform with one foot.
Tao Sai watched from a distance, and it seemed as if he could see his own reflection in her. She had also been a wild child when she was little. But she was happier. She had friends, mostly boys, but she was also the leader of the group, and they couldn't beat her...
"Yaoyao! You're back!" Sun Kai shouted loudly while standing in front of the door.
Hearing the loud shouting, Sun Siyao stopped in time, "My dad asked us to go back for dinner."
She sent Dahuang back to the "secret base" and then took Tao Sai back the same way.
"You're running around again. I've told you so many times, but you just won't listen, right?" Sun Kai stood at the door and scolded her. He was sweating all over, and his hair and clothes were wet.
“A little bit…”
Sun Siyao stuck out her tongue and ran away quickly.
The food was served, and the family of five, plus Tao Sai, a total of six people sat around the square table.
The table was filled with delicious dishes, but there was no rice. Everyone had bread as their staple food. Tao Sai could guess why: the group had swindled all the rice out of them. Without rice, he probably didn't have much flour either, as wheat wasn't grown on the island of Donghai.
At first glance, several dishes on the table are related to eggs, because this is their most abundant resource.
Scrambled eggs with green peppers, preserved eggs with roasted peppers, Cantonese sausage, braised eggplant with bacon, and a large bowl of old duck soup. It was easy to tell they had just killed the duck, as there was a plate of braised duck blood with leeks in front of Tao Sai.
Tao Sai smelled the aroma of food on the table and wondered for a moment whether he was really in the end of the world.
It's like Chinese New Year...
"Xiao Tao, do you want to drink? I made some medicinal wine, can you pour some?" Sun Haizhu stood up and asked.
"Okay, a little bit." Tao Sai used his thumb and index finger to make a tiny measurement.
She can do something and also wants to try what the medicinal wine tastes like.
I heard that older men like to make medicinal wine at home, with various tonics in it, and drink a cup with every meal. But her grandfather doesn't like it, so she has never had this blessing.
Sun Haizhu poured her two taels of wine. She took it and put it down first. She had to eat something first, otherwise she would easily get drunk.
Everyone started eating. In fact, Tao Sai could observe that although the food on the table was quite rich and would be very good even on an ordinary day, except for the innocent Sun Siyao, everyone at the table was holding back. Including the aunt, no one was willing to eat meat or good food. They either chewed on bread, sandwiched eggs, or drank soup.
Tao Sai saw this and felt a little embarrassed, so he couldn't help but slow down his chopstick movements.
"Xiao Tao, have you tried the duck meat and see if it's tender?"
Luo Qinqin, who was sitting next to her, enthusiastically put chunks of duck meat and then a few slices of sausage into her bowl. The old lady, however, considerately placed the plate of preserved eggs with roasted peppers, which Tao Sai had taken the most of, in front of Tao Sai.
Tao Sai paused. She really didn't expect their family to be so hospitable.
This made her more determined. She planned to find some time to discuss with them and move her whole family onto her refugee boat.
For the refuge ship to develop, more people will be needed to join. She also needs to develop breeding on the ship, and they are the most suitable candidates.
The refugee ship can provide a stable production environment for their family.
This is a mutually beneficial cooperation for both parties. As long as the reasons are explained clearly, Tao Sai believes that they should be quite happy.
Sun Siyao suddenly stopped chewing on the duck leg and sniffed hard, "Mom, what's that smell?"
Everyone reacted and indeed smelled a burnt smell, followed by a crackling sound coming from outside the main room, which was the sound of burning firewood.
Sun Haizhu immediately thought of something, put down his chopsticks and ran to the yard. Sure enough, he saw that the woodshed was on fire. The dry firewood crackled and flames shot up into the sky in an instant.
"There's a fire! Come out!" he shouted towards the main room.
Everyone ran out and saw the raging fire moving from the woodshed to the pigpen next to it.
Tao Sai looked after Sun Siyao and took her outside the yard while the others frantically began to put out the fire. Without electricity, they couldn't use a water pump, so they could only use the most basic method: using a washbasin to collect water from a water tank and then pouring it on the fire.
Several large basins of water poured in, but it was only a drop in the bucket. The fire didn't slow down at all, but instead grew stronger. Tao Sai smelled gasoline amidst the burning smell, and without a second thought, he knew it was the gang that set the fire.
When Aunt Sun saw the flames, her legs went limp and she sat down on the ground, slapping her thighs and cursing.
The fire intensified, and the people in the yard became more chaotic. The water tank was empty, and they had to go to the well at the old house several hundred meters away to get water. Just when everyone was at a loss, Tao Sai made a decision for them.
"Don't try to put out the fire. They used gasoline to burn it, which can't be put out. Hurry up and move the necessary supplies first. I'll call for help." Tao Sai said calmly.
This reminded Sun Haizhu, move! Must move quickly!
Otherwise, all the food and supplies in the house would be burned, which would be the same as death. All the people in their family would starve to death.
After Tao Sai said this, they had a goal to act towards and were not so flustered.
Sun Haizhu opened the cage and didn't care about anything else. He drove the chickens, ducks and geese out first. As long as they were not burned to death, he could catch them again later.
Sun Kai and his wife also split up to move other supplies from the kitchen and daily necessities from the rooms on the second floor. It wouldn't be long before the fire would burn their house to ashes. The two of them ran up and down the stairs frantically, racing against time to fight the fire.
Tao Sai quickly returned to the "Deep Sea Fish" and brought her commandos through the space wormhole. She then gave them orders to help grab the supplies from their home first.
After helping the old lady and Sun Siyao on the ground to a safe place, Tao Sai estimated that she brought twenty people with her, all of whom were agile and strong, and they should be able to move most of the supplies out before the fire covered the entire two-story building.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and then heard the sound of a motorcycle pedaling.
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