More people followed suit and built boats. As information spread, the poplar forest welcomed more visitors.
Dr. Tan said to Qiao Qingqing, "The boat needs to be repaired. I heard that they sailed along the coast and found a suitable forest." So there was no need to ask Qiao Qingqing about the news about the poplar forest.
Time flies, summer passed, and one day when Qiao Qingqing and Qiao Songzhi returned home from get off work they heard a strange news.
The news was brought by Su Cong. They had a large number of people and needed more wood to build boats, so they had to go to the poplar forest every three or two days.
"The poplar forest dried up overnight." Shao Sheng'an said solemnly, "I plan to go there tomorrow."
Qiao Qingqing also found it strange, but then she remembered the cut surface of the poplar trees that had no annual rings, as if they had grown in one season, and she felt that it was not strange that the poplar forest dried up overnight.
"I happen to have a day off tomorrow, so I'll go with you. But I have to tell Dr. Tan about this news."
Shao Shengan took her back to tell Doctor Tan about this. Doctor Tan was very interested. Qiao Qingqing had just arrived and had not yet entered the real core of the fleet. In addition to the medical team, there was also a research team. Because the research data and personnel were too precious, in order to facilitate the rescue and escape as soon as possible, the location was set up on the ship.
During the years of natural disasters, all abnormal phenomena were included in the scope of the research team's investigation, including the previous thick fog, fish acid rain, abnormal reproduction of rats, crows and vultures... and sharks that were obviously enlarged. There are several unknown substances in the shark carcasses. Although they cannot be completely deciphered for the time being, the rapid promotion effect of such substances on growth and reproduction has been confirmed. Therefore, shark carcasses are arranged to be made into feed. Artificially fed poultry and livestock have also had some mutations in recent years, but they can still be "raised", which means that the mutations are minimal, otherwise there may be pigs as big as elephants and chickens that can fly.
Qiao Qingqing brought the abnormal news of Yang Shulin, and Doctor Tan reported it immediately. The team set out that night. When Qiao Qingqing and his team arrived the next day, they saw tents from afar. There were many people collecting samples in the forest. When Qiao Qingqing approached, she recognized the mark on the tent, which was Tangzhou.
"They are quite fast. They may have set out last night. Qingqing, come here." Shao Shengan called her.
The last time I came here, this poplar forest was full of vitality. It was not the time when the poplar catkins were flying, but Qiao Qingqing could imagine that such a large and lush poplar forest must be a very shocking scene when the poplar catkins were flying.
But less than three months later, when Qiao Qingqing saw the poplar forest again, she saw a desolate and withered scene.
All the leaves turned yellow and fell, forming a thick layer on the ground, making a creaking sound when stepped on. Qiao Qingqing looked up. The leaves of poplar trees turn yellow and fall when the weather turns cool in autumn, but now it is late summer and early autumn! And Su Cong said that the leaves were fine the day before, but all withered and fell overnight, and even the trunk seemed to have lost all vitality.
She raised her hand and knocked on it, and the sound made by the tree trunk was no different from that of rotten wood.
Shao Shengan asked her to move aside and kicked her.
With just one kick, the poplar tree broke and fell to the ground, wood chips flying everywhere. The broken end was so dry that people would believe that the tree had been dead for twenty years.
But it only took one night!
Qiao Qingqing touched the broken part and stood up again, looking at the poplar forest that had lost all its vitality, as if she saw dead bodies. She took a breath and felt that the air was cold, making her scalp numb.
"Something is happening quietly." Shao Shengan held her hand, with shock and fear in his eyes. He thought of many things. Would this be the beginning? No, perhaps many similar incidents had already happened in places they could not see.
If poplar forests grow in one season and wither in another, what about other plants?
Will plants be born and die every month in the future? Or even born in the morning and die in the evening? How will humans obtain the materials for survival?
Qiao Qingqing was also worried about this. Yes, she had a lot of seeds and had made many plans for the future, but if this mysterious force distorted the growth patterns of plants, she would be helpless.
"When the time comes, things will work out. Let's take it one step at a time." They have said this many times. How else can they say it? Qiao Qingqing also held Shao Shengan's hand and said it again firmly. Shao Shengan moved closer to her, and their foreheads touched, as if they both drew strength from this action.
"It's not easy to come here, let's get some wood home for firewood." said Qiao Qingqing.
Shao Shengan naturally copied it.
Such dead trees are easier to collect, and only a moderate kick is needed to knock one down. During this period, someone came to cut trees and was shocked to see the changes in the poplar forest. The news spread quickly, and more people came to check it out, and finally they all started to collect wood to burn at home.
It would be a waste if you don’t pick it.
Shao Shengan piled the wood neatly on the tricycle bed and tied it tightly with ropes. He pedaled the tricycle and Qiao Qingqing followed him on foot. The tricycle swayed forward and Shao Shengan would call her from time to time. He would feel relieved when he heard her answer beside him.
This road leading to the poplar forest became smoother after being trampled by many people. The weeds were pressed underground, and only on the rugged road surface on both sides did weeds and wild flowers grow. Qiao Qingqing bent down and picked a pink and purple wild flower.
The evening breeze blew the cluster of wild flowers.
The sun is setting, and the orange-red glow adds a soft filter to the world. In a place where no one cares, there is a bunch of wild flowers swaying in the evening breeze, losing all their light. The flowers shrivel and fall to the ground, the green leaves curl up and turn yellow, and the tough stems droop to the ground. This cluster of stubborn life blooming in the wilderness just dissipated in an ordinary evening, no one knew, no one mourned.
It was already past ten o'clock in the evening when Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan returned home, and the family was still waiting for them. Qiao Qingqing took some photos and videos to show them, and everyone felt heavy-hearted after watching them. Shao's father's foot had healed, and he hurried to the vegetable garden to see that the vegetables in the garden were in good condition.
"Don't worry too much, at least we brought back a lot of firewood this time, and we don't even have to dry it in the sun." Qiao Qingqing said with a smile.
"Are you hungry? I'll cook noodles for you." Qiao Songzhi stood up.
"Mom, I want to eat instant noodles with braised beef flavor. Where's Sheng An?"
Shao Shengan said, "Let's stew the chicken with mushrooms. Mom, you sit down and I'll do it."
Shao Shengan cooked two pots of noodles and the whole family ate together. Qiao Songzhi and the others had just finished dinner at 7 o'clock and were not very hungry, so they only ate a little. Qiao Qingqing added fish balls to the instant noodles and ate happily. It was useless to worry about more. She went to bed after eating. Tomorrow is a new day.
In the medical team, Qiao Qingqing asked Dr. Tan about Yang Shulin: "Have they returned? My husband and I went to see them yesterday and saw our Tangzhou investigation team."
Doctor Tan shook his head: "He hasn't come back yet." Qiao Qingqing didn't ask any more questions.
The ducks at home grew fast, had a good appetite and were big in size. They started laying eggs after four months of raising them. Qiao Qingqing stuffed the duck eggs in the space into the duck nest and let them squat and incubate together. The chicks hatched by Dabao came out. The eggs it laid alone would definitely not hatch chicks. Qiao Songzhi took the opportunity to replace the eggs in its nest with the fertilized eggs that Qiao Qingqing took out from the space when it was away. Finally, Dabao hatched six chicks, which chirped every day for food. The shark meat was stewed into minced meat for them to eat, and they loved it very much.
Qiao Songzhi and his friends were pragmatic people. Although what happened in Yangshulin was terrible, they could only do the work at hand. The chickens and ducks were well raised, and the vegetable garden that Shao's father took care of was growing well. The cabbages and lettuces grew one after another, and their family could eat fresh vegetables every day. The extra ones could be stored in the space by Qiao Qingqing. Shao's father also planted tomatoes, shallots and peppers, and carefully wove wooden racks for the tomatoes to climb.
Everything is fine.
Half a month after the poplar forest withered, the coastline advanced 20 meters. No, or rather, the ground at the coastline collapsed, causing seawater to pour in and push the coastline back.
It happened at night.
Qiao Qingqing was awakened by a burst of noisy shouting. Soon the whole family got up and candles were lit, illuminating everyone's confused and suspicious faces.
"Sheng An and I will go over and take a look. Dad, you all should be careful. Don't let anyone take advantage of the chaos to rob you."
Father Shao pulled the hoe over and nodded seriously: "You two should be careful too."
The noise came from the seaside. Qiao Qingqing's family's campsite was not by the seaside. When choosing the campsite, Qiao Qingqing moved back two hundred meters. One reason was to avoid the humidity. Another was that she didn't want people to walk around her home from morning to night to fetch water, fish, or wash. It was unsafe and her privacy was not good. The last reason was that this sea was formed after an earthquake. Qiao Qingqing was afraid of it. If she lived too close, it would be dangerous and she couldn't run fast.
Later, more and more people came to this area, and everyone tried to get close to the sea for the convenience of getting water.
At this time, the camp on the beach was in chaos! When Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan rushed over with flashlights, they saw many people struggling in the water, shouting for help and for things to be saved.
When the flashlight shone over there, Shao Shengan took a breath of cool air. The sea water advanced, soaking the entire campsite closest to the sea.
"The ground collapsed and seawater rushed in." Qiao Qingqing's face was heavy. A few months ago, she felt the ground tremble, just for a moment, and after that she could no longer feel the beating pulse of the earth. She didn't expect that everything was fine throughout the summer, and suddenly something happened on this night in early autumn!
"Let's go help. Some of them can't swim."
"Okay, let's go."
The ground collapsed severely, and all the camps were sunken. There was no time to save things at this time. The most important thing was to survive. Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan helped pull people ashore, sweating profusely. The screams and cries for help made this night no longer peaceful. Suddenly, Qiao Qingqing felt a tremor under her feet. Her face changed slightly and she shouted: "Shengan, be careful! It's going to collapse again!" She pulled the boy in the water and pulled him out with force. The two fell back, and the ground under their feet sank like rotten tofu. When Qiao Qingqing supported herself with her hands, she felt that her hands were very soft, and she felt that she could not stay here for long, so she got up and went to find Shao Shengan.
As soon as she stood up and turned around, she bumped into someone. Shao Shengan hugged her: "Are you okay? Qingqing!"
Qiao Qingqing shook her head and pulled him back: "Go, go!"
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