Chapter 40 Chapter 40
After Ye Xun and his friends came out of the base office, they did not go back directly, but walked around the base.
There were more and more refugees fleeing from other bases outside the wall, so the base had to start expanding the land again. This time the expansion was towards the Yucheng community next to Shuijing Jiayuan. All the buildings in this community collapsed in the earthquake. The discarded bricks and waste in the ruins were used to build walls, and those that were intact were used to build houses.
This expansion is expected to accommodate 5,000 refugees. The project is larger than previous ones, and the daily food consumption has increased greatly. This has also led to the expansion of the plantation area, otherwise the food supply will be insufficient.
There are now some small stalls in the base, and the goods are basically what the residents found in the ruins, ranging from soaps to mattresses and sofas. The only difference is that there are very few varieties of food, mainly pickled products, which were all produced before the end of the world.
When the two were browsing the stalls, they happened to meet Xu Feng, who was carrying pickles made from sweet potato vines grown at home. He wanted to trade some calcium or vitamin tablets for them. His two children were growing up, and if they didn't take some supplements, they would not be tall enough.
The technique of pickling pickles was taught to him by Zhang Tianyu. This kid learned it from his grandfather for a period of time when he was a child, and the pickles he pickled are delicious.
There was a circle of people surrounding their stall, but no one had what he wanted, so the items were never sold.
Ye Xun watched from the outside for a while and suddenly felt like eating pickled vegetable meat pie. He mixed the pickled vegetables and pork belly, wrapped them in dough and flattened them, then fried the pie until both sides were golden brown. The aroma made his neighbors' lips salivate.
He nudged Qin Wei, who was looking at the pots and pans, with his elbow and asked him, "Brother Qin, can you make pickled vegetable meat pie?"
Meat pie? "Of course, you want to eat it? Then I'll pick out a good frying pan and make it for you tonight." Qin Wei answered Ye Xun's question while diving into the pot pile to choose. This was the first business for the stall owner since he opened the stall. He did not dare to slack off and smiled a lot, his face was almost wrinkled with laughter.
Qin Wei has three things he doesn't want when buying a pot: one that's too light, one that's too heavy, and one that sticks to the pot. He picked out the one that feels the best and asked the boss, "Boss, is this pot of yours a non-stick pot or an ordinary iron pot?"
"All the pans I sell here are non-stick pans." I took out the pan's manual in case he didn't believe me. "I guarantee a seven-day after-sales service. If it's not a non-stick pan, I'll refund you in full. If you don't believe me, I can swear an oath. If you still don't believe me, I can use my parents—"
"No, I believe you. Just give it to me. How much is this pot?" The vendor's attitude was too pious. Qin Wei felt that if he didn't buy the pot, the vendor would swear an oath on his parents' behalf. He didn't know which filial son was going to leave.
Knowing that the deal was done, the vendor grinned with his neat white teeth and said, "Only two catties of rice, or three ounces of any kind of meat will do."
Qin Wei thought his teeth were too white and dazzling, so he didn't look at him. The price was not bad. When I returned to the base in the morning, I couldn't hide the meat from others. It would be a good idea to exchange it for this pot.
Qin Wei: "Three ounces of meat, please."
After saying that, he stretched out his hand towards Ye Xun, palm facing up, and when Ye Xun looked over, he gave him a look, suggesting that he start the performance.
He was becoming more and more like a gigolo who was living off his wife. Ye Xun rolled his eyes and pretended to search his pockets, but he was actually taking out a piece of wolf meat from the space. He didn't have an electronic scale, so he couldn't just weigh it in his hand, so he had to hand the whole piece to the vendor.
Fortunately, the vendors had made preparations in advance. Although they had not opened for business, they still had the necessary tools.
It was also a coincidence that after the piece of meat was put on the scale, the actual weight was three and a half taels. He was doing business with integrity, so he naturally had to return the extra half tael.
Just as he took out the kitchen knife from under the table to cut the meat, Ye Xun stopped him directly: "You don't need to return the extra half ounce to us. It's not much meat."
The vendor who had gotten a huge bargain was grinning from ear to ear, and when Ye Xun and the other man left, he even came out of the stall to see them off.
The pancake pan is ready, all I need is pickles. There are plenty of health supplements in the space, and calcium and vitamin tablets can be eaten with rice for a month.
Xu Feng was worrying about not being able to get a replacement for his calcium tablets when he suddenly noticed someone standing in front of him. He looked up and saw two familiar faces. He immediately jumped up from the stool.
"Why are Brother Ye and Brother Qin here? I rarely see you go out."
Ye Xun, who was dubbed as a senior otaku, scratched his face awkwardly. For the first time, he felt that Xu Feng's loud voice was a bit annoying. Soon the whole base would know that their family was full of otakus.
Pointing to a medium-sized pickle jar, he asked, "I just happened to be passing by on business. How much is this jar of pickles?"
Many people hesitated when they saw the price tag, and asking the price showed that the product was available. Xu Feng wanted to seize this opportunity, fearing that people would run away unsatisfied. "One bottle of calcium tablets, plus one bottle of multivitamin tablets. If you buy them, Brother Ye, I will deliver them to your door."
The pickle jar in front of him was not small. After removing the water and stones inside, the pickles alone weighed about 20 to 30 kilograms. The price Xu Feng gave was already quite cheap.
But Ye Xun didn't have the habit of taking advantage of others. He would give the goods what they were worth. He would not give less just because they were familiar with each other. So he gave a new price: "Two bottles of calcium tablets and one bottle of vitamin tablets. Just quote according to the market price. Why are you being so polite?"
"Brother Ye, you and Brother Qin have taken care of us so many times, we feel embarrassed. This is just a way to repay you." Xu Feng touched the tip of his nose embarrassedly and explained why he did this.
"If you really want to repay us, just take good care of yourself and the two kids and stop doing these unnecessary things." After these words came out of his mouth, something seemed to be touched in Ye Xun's mind, and it flashed by. When he wanted to recall it, he just couldn't remember it.
After a moment of silence, he came to his senses and asked Xu Feng to deliver the jar of pickles he wanted to his doorstep after he finished setting up his stall, and then he took Qin Wei back.
I don’t know what the conversation with Xu Feng just now made Ye Xun think of. Qin Wei saw him lowering his head and frowning, as if human beings would become extinct like the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period in the next second.
In fact, what he was thinking about was indeed related to the survival of mankind.
It has been eight months since the end of the world, and there has not been a single newborn in the base, not even any news of pregnancy.
Human beings are creatures that can do anything they want at any time and anywhere, so it is impossible for them to endure for several months. Qin Wei was so capable before that he felt uncomfortable all over if he didn't touch him for half a month after he started eating. He would hear the flag-raising ceremony every morning when he woke up. As for the people in the base, Ye Xun considered them amazing for being able to endure for two months.
Life itself is a process of one generation dying and one generation being born, overlapping from generation to generation. If there is no birth, extinction will only take a hundred years, and by then, there will be no trace of human activity on Earth.
This is a more painful way of dying than a meteorite hitting the earth. In the former, death happens in an instant, but no new life is born. Instead, it takes a long time to watch human beings step into the grave. This feeling makes people more frightened and crazy.
"Qin Wei, how long has it been since we have seen a newborn baby in our base?" Ye Xun would only call him by his full name when things were serious, like now.
Qin Wei was a smart man and immediately understood what he meant. "You mean this is also related to the end of the world?"
Ye Xun nodded: "No matter what, even if there was an accidental discharge, there would be at least a few children. How could there be no movement at all? Are they all infertile?"
Indeed, Qin Wei himself is like this, let alone other men.
But the emergence of this problem should be a bigger headache for the base.
Neither of them can have children, and Wang Yu doesn't look like someone who likes children. In fact, this has no impact on their lives, and it is still unknown how long they can live.
After thinking about it, Ye Xun's anxiety was relieved a lot, and his frowning brows relaxed.
The two walked home arm in arm.
In the evening, when the clock pointed to eight o'clock, the doorbell rang. It was Xu Feng who came to deliver pickles.
Ye Xun packed the calcium tablets he had prepared earlier into an opaque bag and also put a few extra candies in it.
He walked to the entrance with the bag and handed it to Xu Feng who was waiting, "Put this away when you go back, don't let anyone target you."
Even if they were in the same building in the base, it was not very safe. What's more, the things he gave to Xu Feng were also scarce resources among the rich people in the base.
Xu Feng took the bag, crumpled it into a ball and let the air out, then he opened his down jacket and put the bag into the inner pocket for safekeeping.
The pickles he brought for Ye Xun were all processed. The fermented wastewater on the surface had been washed away in advance to remove any other odors. They were then rinsed once with clean water before being ready for use.
"Those jars of pickles you brought today are too eye-catching. Don't sleep too deeply these few nights. Be careful that someone might come to pick your lock at night." Before closing the door, Ye Xun reminded Xu Feng again, hoping that the other party would take his words to heart.
Xu Feng, who almost followed Ye Xun's orders, kept Ye Xun's words in mind. After saying goodbye to the two and returning to his home, the first thing he did when he entered the house was to call Zhang Tianyu to help move the large furniture in the house behind the door.
After all the work, even in such weather, both of them were sweating profusely. Worried that they would catch a cold due to sweating, Xu Feng poured each of his children a cup of hot water.
"Here, this is for you. You and Xiaoxin should eat one piece each every day. If you grow up like dwarfs, who will help me with work in the future?"
Xu Feng took out the bag from the inner layer of his coat and threw it to Zhang Tianyu casually.
When they were watching the stall downstairs together during the day, Zhang Tianyu knew what he was going to trade with Ye Xun. Naturally, he knew how valuable this thing was, so he caught it in a panic, fearing that it would fall to the ground and get broken.
"Thank you, Brother Xu." Zhang Tianyu thanked him solemnly. Brother Xu was really a good person. He took them in and treated Xiaoxin like his own daughter. He saw it all and kept it in mind, not knowing how to repay him.
Xu Feng sneered and waved at him nonchalantly, indicating that he should go play somewhere else and not delay him from making dinner.
Zhang Tianyu took the bag and went back to his room obediently.
Since I came back in the morning, I have been busy setting up the stall downstairs. Apart from a bowl of porridge in the morning, I basically didn't eat anything afterwards. My stomach has been feeling hungry for a long time. Now that I have some free time, I finally have time to make myself a bowl of noodles.
The water hadn't boiled yet. Zhang Tianyu, who had originally returned to his room, turned back, stuffed something into his pocket, and ran away.
Zhang Tianyu was confused and took the thing out of his pocket. He took a closer look and saw that it was a White Rabbit milk candy. It was well preserved and had not melted in the extreme heat.
There is no such thing at home, so it must have been put there by Ye Xun. Besides, he knows that his elder brother is handsome and kind-hearted, and he does good deeds secretly. This kind of good thing can be exchanged for at least three kilograms of rice at the market.
But they are not so short of food. Besides, this is a gift from others. It would be a waste of their kindness to just use it to exchange for other things.
Xu Feng carefully peeled off the outer paper packaging and put the milky white candy into his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, a rich milky aroma exploded in his mouth.
All the fatigue of the day was blown away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
