Chapter 159 Taking the Baby Scavenging 1
When Lele woke up, she naturally took on the task of going to Old Madam Gu's house to fetch reindeer milk.
Of course, we took Xiao Bao with us, and let it get to know its friend Hanhan. Hanhan was a little disappointed when it didn't see Zuo Shan, but its desire to defeat Xiao Bao became even stronger, and it quickly threw itself into practicing Iron Head Kung Fu.
Xiao Bao was happy to play and frolic with Lele, and since Madam Gu already liked Lele very much, she pulled her aside to chat.
The old housekeeper took the braised pork and vermicelli that Lele brought. After smelling it, he couldn't control his tongue. He gritted his teeth, divided up the old lady's portion first, and then took his own portion and hid in his room to enjoy it to his heart's content.
Since Hanhan was too young, Madam Gu dared not feed it meat except for soft, liquid food, so this delicious treat didn't need to be shared with it.
When Madam Gu saw the old steward's drooling expression, she couldn't help but chuckle. This old fellow loved food so much that he was like a child when he saw something delicious, unable to resist at all.
"Lele, do you want to study?" Old Madam Gu asked casually.
“I didn’t want to do it before, but then I realized that it’s not good to be unable to count when you’re making a lot of money, so I started learning arithmetic on my own through the basic education website. My sister would also teach me when she had time if I didn’t understand something,” Pan Duole answered honestly.
“I’m not talking about studying on your own in your spare time, but about going to a specialized school and learning from many knowledgeable teachers,” said Madam Gu.
“I’ve heard of schools. They’re only in District 30. Children in District 48 aren’t qualified to go to school,” Pan Duole said calmly.
She didn't feel that this was unfair. She was born in District 50 and had long accepted her impoverished situation. Being able to move to District 48 with her sister and have so many gathering points to collect resources was almost like entering paradise for her.
"If I could get you into school, would you like to go?" asked Madam Gu.
“No! I don’t want to be separated from my sister, even for just one day. There’s also Ah Chen, Xiao Bao, and Mao Li. They are all my family, and I won’t leave them.” Pan Duole shook his head decisively.
“If you go to school, you’ll have the opportunity to pass the management exam and become a respected administrator who receives a fixed monthly salary. Don’t you want to go?” Old Madam Gu coaxed patiently.
"No! I won't leave this home; it's more important to me than anything else in the world!" Pan Duole remained resolute.
Madam Gu sighed inwardly: Such a pure and innocent heart is truly rare!
She felt pity for the child because of her pure heart, and since the child was unwilling, she naturally wouldn't force her.
Pan Duole only chatted for a short while before getting up to leave. She had many things to do at home and didn't have much time to spend chatting with people.
The old housekeeper put the reindeer milk he had squeezed early in the morning into a plastic jug for her, and thoughtfully gave her an old handbag to pack it in, so that no one would be envious if they saw it.
Xiao Bao reluctantly jumped into the backpack, while Pan Duole, carrying an old shoulder bag in one hand, ran home with Xiao Bao on her back.
Since she started running with her sister in the mornings, she has gotten into the habit of running whenever she has the chance, and she no longer feels tired after running so much.
Moreover, she has now broken through to the second level, and her physical strength is much stronger than before. Running from Madam Gu's house back to their house is about 1.5 kilometers, which is nothing at all.
As soon as she got home, Pandole put down her bag and went straight to the crib. Seeing that Achen was sleeping soundly, she then stepped back.
There seemed to be nothing much to do at home today, so she couldn't help but ask, "Sister, shouldn't we go back to collecting?"
From as far back as she can remember, except during storms and blizzards, she would go out to collect things in the wild with her mother every day, and she dared not stay at home regardless of the sweltering heat or freezing cold.
They have no right to experience the idea of living off their family's wealth, because they don't have any mountains at home for them to live off.
Even though she now has some savings and enough food stored in her new home, she still feels anxious if she doesn't go out for several days in a row.
This is a special case. My sister just gave birth to a baby and has been bedridden for several days. Otherwise, she would have been unable to stay at home long ago.
The wastelanders had no concept of postpartum confinement for women. They would rest at home for three days at most, and even if they were very weak, they would still insist on going out to collect resources.
Moreover, Zuo Shan had received help from Madam Gu this time, and her health had fully recovered, so Pan Duole did not feel that his sister needed to stay at home to recuperate.
In fact, Zuo Shan had considered going out to collect samples in the past two days, but she was worried that there would be no one to take care of the baby if she left at home.
In the wasteland, families with both parents or grandparents will leave one person behind to look after the baby whenever they go out.
However, single mothers like Pan Duole, who raise one child, can only rely on the official subsidy of 5,000 yuan to make ends meet by living frugally until the baby is more than six months old. Then, the mother has to go out to collect recyclables, leaving the baby alone at home.
The mother could only go to the nearest scavenging spot, and return quickly, or go early and return early before dawn, before the baby woke up.
As for the baby waking up and crying, the mother can't hear it anyway, so she can only harden her heart and ignore it. Often when she returns home, the baby is already surrounded by poop and pee and is crying his heart out.
This is a wasteland, no one will give you time to take maternity leave, and there are no kindergartens in District 48. But Zuo Shan absolutely does not want her baby to fall into such a miserable situation, so taking the baby out to collect resources is a must.
With this in mind, Zuo Shan asked Xiao Bao to make a baby stroller with a sunshade, plus a baby carrier and a waist stool.
In this way, when taking Ah Chen out, you can put him in the stroller. If you encounter a particularly difficult road, you can pick Ah Chen up from the stroller and put him in the baby carrier, supporting him on your chest or waist.
Taking your baby out might slow down your pace a little, but overall it won't have a significant impact.
To avoid attracting attention, Zuo Shan still set off at seven o'clock in the morning.
The baby was still fast asleep when his mother moved him from the crib to the stroller. He just twisted his little body a little and then went back to sleep.
Pan Duole pushed the cart, looking on with envy, and said, "Sigh! If only I had this when I was a kid, my mom definitely wouldn't have left me all alone in the pile of poop and pee."
"Haha, it's like you can remember anything before you were three years old," Zuo Shan laughed.
"Of course I don't remember, but my mom always tells me how hard her life was when I was little, so it's hard for me not to remember." Pan Duole's expression darkened as she thought of her mother.
Zuo Shan quickly changed the subject: "Our main task today is to collect different kinds of wild vegetable seeds, even those with high radiation."
Also, soil with low radiation levels, preferably fertile black soil covered with a thick layer of decaying leaves, remember that?
“Okay, I got it. Once we’ve collected enough seeds and added fertile soil, when the extreme cold comes, we won’t have to go out and suffer anymore. We’ll rely on planting to get through the cold.” Pan Duole nodded.
Her sister had explained it to her before she left, but she still didn't quite believe it. Could plants really be grown in such cold weather? Wouldn't they freeze to death?
If you put the planter in the basement, it might not freeze to death, but will the plants grow well without sunlight?
Although she had many questions in her mind, she chose to trust her sister's decision. If her sister said it was possible, then it definitely was!
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