Chapter 39
Shi Chen finally chose to grow vegetables with Jiashu.
After hearing his choice, Jiashu was the first to laugh.
"That's what I told you. Children need to listen to advice and have enough food. My brother and sister-in-law won't harm you. I just didn't listen to the advice at the beginning..."
At this point, his eyes dimmed.
Fortunately, he quickly calmed down, patted Shi Chen on the shoulder, and said, "Shi Chen, can you listen to Brother Gu's advice again?"
At this time, Shi Chen showed a rare cooperation. He nodded and said, "Brother, you go ahead."
Seeing him like this, Jiashu was very happy.
He said: "Shi Chen, actually my personal situation is similar to yours. Your parents are gone, my dad died early, and my mom and girlfriend also died in the earthquake.
You only have a younger sister, and I don't have any relatives except my uncle, brother and sister-in-law. I am a lonely person in the city.
What I mean is, we both have nothing to worry about, so let's not do what my sister-in-law said about five kilograms of rice a week, we can just eat together."
He pointed to the rice bags and said, "I am not afraid of being called shameless. I know these are left for me by my brother and sister-in-law. They are afraid that I will starve to death.
But that's all. I will never take food from my family again. If I really do that, I'm still a human being!
Just the three of us, I mean we don't need to cook two pots of rice, we can eat together. You can't support your sister by yourself, so how can we not support her together?
Let's all work hard and get through this period. When the vegetables we plant grow, we may even have enough to eat and be rich. By then, we will be able to live better and better."
Shi Chen raised his head, his eyes full of gratitude.
He did not answer immediately, but asked: "Don't we need to send the vegetables we grow to our uncles and aunts?"
"No need." Chen Cong replied.
“We also grow vegetables in the countryside. You can keep them for yourself, eat them, or exchange them for other things. It’s up to you.
Growing vegetables is just the beginning. It is mainly for you to practice. In the end, you will focus on growing crops.
We will consider the issue of distribution after the crops are grown.”
Since the adults said so, Shi Chen didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.
-
Because they had to wait for Zhou Ying to deliver the jade, Chen Cong and the others did not go back the next day and stayed at home for another day.
Early in the morning, Gu Kai took Jiashu and Shichen out to look for soil for flowers. Their target was the green space in front of the community.
Although the community has been smashed to pieces, the rose garden and fig bushes are still there. It doesn't matter if the flowers die, the soil is still good garden soil, it's still good to take it home and grow vegetables.
Chen Cong stayed at home to clean the roof and look after the children.
Because she had too many secrets and the rooftop was too hot, she didn't let Cancan go up.
Instead, he gave her a tablet with hundreds of cartoons stored on it, turned on the fan for her, and left the child downstairs to watch cartoons and eat bread.
Cancan herself couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had experienced a day like this. She nodded as if in a dream, and then sat obediently on the sofa, not causing any trouble to the adults at all.
When the flower beds were first built, Chen Cong and his team bought some soil.
They went to a fruit tree wholesale station to buy nutrient soil that had been prepared by others, and paid the shipping fee to have it sent back to them and fill it in the flower beds.
There were elevators at that time, and it didn’t cost much, including the soil and transportation costs.
In order to avoid having enough, she later stocked up a lot of coconut bricks, large packages of nutrient soil, various fertilizers, and pesticides and placed them in her own space.
The earthquake destroyed a lot of the soil.
The soil in the flower bed was fine, but the soil that had been filled in the large flower pots and flower boxes was spilled out because the containers were shaken over. Most of the soil was then washed away by the rain in the next few days.
Refilling these is also a big project.
While the three people were away, Chen Cong took out the coconut bricks from the space and started soaking them directly in a plastic flower pot as a container.
The so-called plastic flower pot was actually a fish tank.
Each one is 1.2 meters high and 90 meters wide. They are all made of thick plastic, with various flowers, plants, fish and insects printed on the outside.
Buyers usually put them on the roof after buying them, plant a few water lilies and raise a few small fish...
Looks very interesting.
Chen Cong was attracted by the fact that they were light, strong and resistant to falling, so he bought twenty of them at once and placed them on the roof as flower pots, intending to use them to grow vegetables.
Now it seems that this choice was really the right one.
Several of the antiseptic wooden flower boxes were broken, but these were completely intact.
There was a super-large water tank on the roof before, and it survived the earthquake because it was well fixed.
In addition, it rained for several days before the earthquake, and the box was still almost half full of water, so it was not difficult to soak the coconut bricks.
Chen Cong didn't even have to consider how to explain where the water came from.
The three of them carried the dug soil upstairs, and as soon as they opened the balcony door, they saw the coconut bricks that had been soaked in the flower pots and had become fluffy.
Then the door of the small storage room in the corner, which was built using the space under the stairs, was also opened. The floor inside was filled with nutrient soil and various fertilizers.
Several people's eyes widened.
Gu Kai naturally knew what was going on, but the other two didn’t!
Jiashu exclaimed, dropped the sack and ran to the storage room, shouting in surprise, "Sister-in-law, did you save this thing before? Ah! Sister-in-law, what's wrong with your brain? Computers are not as smart as you! How can you think of everything? Were you a god in your previous life? You must be a god who has descended to earth!"
Chen Cong was stunned by his repeated praise.
After I realized what was happening, I just felt angry and funny.
Grab a mineral water bottle and throw it over!
"I've been your sister-in-law for so many years, but this is the first time I've heard you praise me so sincerely. It seems that all I've done is not as good as letting you carry less dirt."
Jiashu took the bottle of mineral water, but didn't drink it. He just burst into laughter.
All the mineral water bottles have been used in the past few days, and they are filled with boiled water in the morning.
Lian Shichen didn't feel any burden while drinking it. He took it and drank half of the bottle in one breath.
In the afternoon, Chen Cong went out for a trip and came back with a backpack full of food.
There are rice noodles, biscuits, and vacuum-packed hard-wheat cakes.
Jiashu knew that his brother and sister-in-law had their own channels for purchasing things, so he didn't ask much and just helped her carry the bag into the house.
Not long after Chen Cong came back, Zhou Ying came to the door.
This time she didn't bring Xiaoyu with her, she came by herself.
After she came, she took out a small package and said to Shen Cong in an apologetic tone: "Xiao Shen, I ran around for most of the day yesterday and only found this little thing. I don't know if you like it?"
Chen Cong took it and looked at it, and found two jade rings, a jade bracelet, two small jade plaques, and a palm-sized jade incense burner inside.
The jade ring looks good and the bracelet has good water content, but there is a deep crack in the middle, and it can be seen that it has been dropped before and barely managed to avoid breaking.
The same thing happened to the two small jade plaques, both of which showed signs of being bumped or scratched to some extent.
The two ears of the jade incense burner were broken and the lid was missing.
"Okay, how much?" After looking at the things, Chen Cong did not comment, but asked directly.
Seeing that she actually liked him, Zhou Ying showed a relaxed expression.
She didn't hold back at all and just started laughing.
She patted her chest with her hands and said, "Oh, that's great. Xiao Shen, you don't know that I was very nervous along the way, always worried that you wouldn't like these things. In fact, don't say you don't like them. If it were in the past, I wouldn't even look at them. What have they become? How can I show them to others?
But now…”
She paused. "Now I can't find anything that's particularly complete. There are definitely no big pieces."
"It's okay, Zhou Ying, don't think too much. I feel really bad for asking you to make this trip on such a hot day, and you even helped us find so many people to ask.
Just tell me how to exchange it, whether it's money or food. We've been through hardships together, so I won't say any polite words. I'll just say one thing: don't expect to get something for nothing, and don't lose yourself just because it's given to me."
Zhou Ying was even more moved by these words.
She did think about collecting these things herself and giving them to Chen Cong.
The grace of saving my life is greater than heaven. Compared with the help I have received from the Shen family, these are nothing!
But unfortunately, she really doesn't have this ability now.
She bit her lower lip and said, "Xiao Shen, if you say so, then I will shamelessly tell you the price. I bought these from my fellow villagers who used to run a shop with me. Although the goods are not very good, everyone still wants to use them to exchange for food."
"All these things together," Zhou Ying pushed the cloth bag in front of Chen Cong, "Can you give me ten kilograms of food in total?"
This price...is a bit beyond Chen Cong's expectations.
This is also enough to prove that Zhou Ying did put in a lot of effort in the middle and helped her to lower the price.
Chen Cong went back to the house without saying a word and took out two bags and an electronic scale.
"Here is ten kilograms of rice, weigh it." She placed the things in front of Zhou Ying.
Zhou Ying took a look inside the bag and found that it contained the kind of Northeastern rice sold in supermarkets. It was completely different from the old rice that had been stored in granaries for many years and had already become broken.
But this is understandable.
She used to live in the same courtyard as the Shen family, and had heard them talk about the importance of storing food, so she naturally thought that this was the rice that the Shen family had stored themselves.
It is definitely not the same as the disaster relief food distributed by the government.
"This rice is so good." She waved her hands repeatedly: "Xiao Shen, why don't you give me some other food? If this rice is exchanged outside, it can be exchanged for more than one catty and two taels of broken rice!"
Chen Cong really didn't know this.
But she had nowhere to go.
"Take it back. If there is room, you can change it yourself. It can be considered as a small subsidy for your family." She said to Zhou Ying.
Zhou Ying was naturally overjoyed.
When Zhou Ying put the rice into the big bag she brought with her and was about to leave, Chen Cong stopped her and stuffed a small plastic bag into her hand.
"This is your reward."
“No, no!” Zhou Ying’s face flushed red and she stepped back repeatedly: “Xiao Shen, I don’t want it. You are looking down on me.”
"Where is there anything to look down upon?"
Chen Cong grabbed her hand and stuffed the bag into her hand. "It's so hot, and you came across half the city to deliver something to me. Not to mention the travel expenses, you didn't work all day today, did you? If you don't work, what will Xiaoyu eat? As an aunt, shouldn't I bring some food to the child?"
Hearing her say this, Zhou Ying's face turned even redder, but she couldn't say anything to refuse.
Not only did she not work today, but after Chen Cong left yesterday, she started to arrange to find Yu. In total, she had not worked for almost two days.
The little food that we had saved at home has almost been eaten up.
She had not intended to let Chen Cong know these things, but she had not expected her to be so attentive.
Chen Cong didn't give her a chance to refuse. He stuffed the bag into her hands and pushed her towards the door.
As he walked, he said, "Hurry up and leave. It's already late. If you're any later, you'll be home by midnight. Oh, no, I'm worried about you going alone. How about you stay here tonight and go back tomorrow?"
Seeing that she was still so worrying, Zhou Ying smiled.
She did not refuse those things anymore, but put the plastic bag back into her backpack.
Then he said to Shen Cong, "Xiao Shen, thank you. I won't say any words of gratitude. Anyway, I know where you live, and you also know where we are temporarily staying now. Let's not lose contact in the future.
I will continue to help you keep an eye on the jade, and send it to your cousin if I find a suitable one. If there is anything else you need my help with, just let me know."
Chen Cong nodded and asked her again: "Why don't you stay here for the night? It will take several hours to go back to where you live now. I'm really worried about you being alone."
That day she and Gu Kai came back, and the two of them walked from two in the afternoon until almost nine in the evening.
There wasn't even a street light on the road, and the road conditions were so bad that she really didn't dare to let Zhou Ying go like this.
"It's okay, my husband and Xiaoyu are waiting downstairs, the three of us will go back together." Zhou Ying said.
"Ah? Xiaoyu is down there?"
As Chen Cong spoke, he ran to the balcony, opened the window and looked down.
Sure enough, I saw two people, one big and one small, standing in the shadows downstairs.
The child was Xiaoyu, and Chen Cong recognized him at the first sight.
The man's features could not be clearly seen, but his figure seemed familiar, and I must have seen him in the courtyard before.
However, the area below his right forearm was missing, and the sleeve of his shirt became empty.
Shen Cong's body froze in shock.
Seeing her reaction, Zhou Ying smiled. Although her smile was slightly bitter, her voice was full of relief: "My husband was lucky. He was in the hospital when the earthquake happened. Although his hand was broken, he was accompanied by a doctor. He finally had surgery in time and did not have any sequelae.
Many people who were in similar situations as him did not recover as well as he did after the surgery! "
Chen Cong nodded heavily: "Yes! Good people will be rewarded. Zhou Ying, don't worry, your family's bad luck has come to an end. Look, despite such a big disaster, your family can still live in peace. It will definitely get better and better in the future! Definitely!"
"Thank you, I think so too." Zhou Ying smiled widely, her smile was sincere and bright.
One can imagine how happy she was to hear Chen Cong's words.
Although Zhou Ying refused to take it, Chen Cong still forced another bag of bread into her hands and gave her a few pieces of milk candy.
He said he was giving it to Xiaoyu on behalf of Tongtong.
He also asked her and her husband to bring Xiaoyu back to the villa to play when they have time.
Zhou Ying also agreed.
The day after Zhou Ying left, Chen Cong and Gu Kai finally decided to go home.
Because they wanted to set off before the weather was not too hot, they left very early. Apart from saying goodbye to Jiashu, they did not say goodbye to Shichen and the others.
These days, everyone was exhausted from carrying soil upstairs.
I want to let the kids sleep a little longer and not disturb their rest.
Fortunately, the journey back was much smoother than the journey here because I had walked it before.
The most important thing is that since Jiashu is not there, there is no need to worry about taking things out of the space. When reaching the right section of the road, Chencong will take the bicycle out of the space for transportation.
If you encounter a difficult road to ride, take it back.
Even though it’s just a simple means of transportation, its speed is more than twice as fast as before.
They returned to the community that evening.
Although they had not been away for long, for some reason the couple felt something different as soon as they entered the community.
It was already dark now, but the yard was still bustling with activity.
Especially on the construction site, there are crowds of people.
The houses that were barely waist-high when they left are now two-story buildings.
This speed is so fast that it is hard to believe that it was accomplished without the help of large machinery!
Seeing the couple coming back, many people greeted them. In the crowd they also saw a number of hired workers wearing construction team uniforms.
The two of them greeted everyone one by one and talked for a long time before finally returning home.
As soon as she knocked on the door, Cheng Ru smiled and said to them, "As soon as you entered the yard, Xiao Fan came to tell me that you were back. But it took almost half an hour to get home. What got you stuck?"
As Chen Cong and Gu Kai entered the house, they complained to their mother: "Don't mention it. We just happened to pass by the construction site. Anyone who saw us would stop us and ask us about the situation in the city. I don't know many of them, and I don't know how they know me."
Cheng Ru couldn't help but smile: "How many people in our courtyard don't know you? You're the only one who doesn't remember people. Oh, not to mention that people want to pull you aside to ask about the situation outside, our own family members are also waiting for you to come back!"
"So exaggerated?" Chen Cong laughed: "We have only been gone for a few days, do you have to miss us so much?"
The mother and daughter bickered as they walked into the house together, with Gu Kai following silently behind them.
Seeing them come in, Tongtong and Shanshan, who had not yet slept, immediately rushed over and flew around them happily like two little butterflies.
The two children stay in the house every day and have no chance to go out and play.
Even if they go out occasionally, they will not be allowed to go out of the yard at most. The two children have been feeling suffocated for a long time.
Since he couldn't go out, he was naturally very friendly to his aunt and uncle when he saw them coming back from outside. He came up to them and asked them questions, and talked so much that the two of them were dizzy.
Finally, Chen Cong stuffed a donut into their mouths, which finally blocked the two little mouths.
Knowing that the two had already eaten on the road, Cheng Ru did not mention cooking anymore. She just kept urging them to take a shower, saying that they should take a shower quickly because the whole family was waiting to ask about the situation in Beining!
In Fulin, Jiashu lived with them.
Even if that guy was thick-skinned, Chen Cong and the others couldn't take out too many things from the space in front of him.
So these days, I've been busy every day, but I can't even take a good bath.
Finally returning home, the couple each got a set of bathing equipment, and then each took out a bucket of hot water and took a nice hot bath.
I felt refreshed all over after washing, and I felt like I had lost several pounds.
When they finally finished cleaning up and returned to the living room, except for Chen Xi who went to coax the child to sleep, everyone else in the family was already waiting in the house.
The two of them did not keep the secret and told their family everything that had happened in the past few days.
Of course, I also talked about meeting Shi Chen and his sister and Zhou Ying's family.
I heard several old people sighing.
Especially Cheng Ru, she had seen Shi Chen and his friends when she went to her daughter and son-in-law's house before. Knowing the current situation of the two children, she repeatedly said that they should bring Cancan back.
Even if you only stay for a few days and then send him back, at least you can give the child some nourishment.
Otherwise, such a young child would have to suffer so much if he had to follow Jiashu and Shichen, who both know how to cook!
Chen Cong was unable to persuade her and could only explain that the little girl's family had suddenly encountered misfortune and now she was particularly attached to her brother and no one else could take her away.
Cheng Ru thought about it and realized that this was indeed a possibility, so she gave up.
After telling his family about what happened in Beining, Chen Cong asked about what he saw outside.
"Mom and Dad, what's going on outside? Why do I feel like everyone is in such a hurry? They used to work at night, but they didn't work so hard as they do now. Did something happen?"
Shen Jianyi, Shen's father, sighed: "Hasn't the government already issued a notice that it will no longer distribute relief supplies?
It is said that the community will collect data on people who are unable to work and then report them to the town, which will distribute basic supplies on a weekly basis. Everyone else will be paid according to their work.
The laborers in our community will have to go to the town to wait for work, and can no longer wait at home for the plane to deliver food. Those houses have not been built yet, how can everyone not be panicked?
The food stored in the community is not enough for so many people to eat for a few days, so we must quickly build a house to free up manpower to go out and work!"
As they expected, the airdropped supplies did not last for more than a few days and indeed stopped.
only--
"So many people are flocking to the town, and the town is so small, how can they be accommodated? How much work can be allocated to everyone?" Chen Cong asked a little worriedly.
"In addition to working in the town, you can also stay in the community to farm. Previously, a working group came to the town and brought an agricultural expert with him to teach us a lot of knowledge about growing vegetables and grains.
The people in the town also said that as long as they are willing to open up wasteland and cultivate the land, the state will strongly support them, and the first batch of seeds can be loaned to everyone, and they can be repaid after the harvest."
At this point, Shen Jianyi smiled and said, "I have discussed with your mother and Brother Gu that we should not go out to look for work, and we should all stay at home to grow vegetables. We don't have to go out to open up the land, just build the backyard, and add the rooftop, that will be enough."
After hearing his father's words, Chen Cong didn't say anything immediately.
She was silent for a moment, and then she said thoughtfully: "Look, Yingshui Village will definitely be in turmoil again."
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2022-07-10 11:19:30~2022-07-10 22:46:43~
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Yimeng 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 2 bottles of Miss Qianjin; 1 bottle of 5566 and Materialistic Qingyu;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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