Qiao Songzhi's physical examination results were good. Except for not checking blood sugar and blood lipids, all the necessary tests were done. There were no major problems. There were some minor problems, and they could be treated with some Chinese medicine. The biggest problem was still an old problem. The blood supply insufficiency caused by cerebral arteriosclerosis was controlled well, but this disease required long-term medication to prevent stroke. The hospital prescribed a month's supply. Qiao Qingqing consulted carefully and learned that as long as the condition was well controlled, the dosage would not change much. She decided to go back to the pharmacy to purchase the medicine for twenty years.
On the way home, Qiao Songzhi asked, "Why did you suddenly tell Sheng An about the space for no reason? Have you forgotten your grandmother's instructions?" She was a little excited, "Don't use treasures to test people's hearts. People's hearts can't stand the test."
"Mom, of course I remember, that's why I haven't mentioned it to Sheng An in all these years, not even after we got married, but now the time has come."
"When?"
“The end of the world is coming.”
Qiao Songzhi was stunned: "What's the matter?"
"It's the end of the world, and there will be many disasters. So I bought a lot of things, and the space has to be filled. Sheng An and I are husband and wife, so we don't need the space on weekdays. At most, when I go back to my hometown to see you, I will put things in it for convenience. Now it's different, I don't want to hide it from him."
"What disaster? Did you stay up late to watch a movie last night?"
"Mom, please listen to me." Qiao Qingqing repeated to her mother what she had said to her husband last night.
Looking at her daughter, Qiao Songzhi felt worried and touched her forehead with the back of her hand: "Are you under too much pressure at work? I told you, I will help you find a house in the school district. I will sell the house and shop in my hometown to help you make the down payment. Don't push yourself so hard, you are making yourself sick!"
"I know you don't believe it, and neither does Sheng An, but it doesn't matter. I have a way to make you believe it."
She took Qiao Songzhi home. The house was filled with clanging and several chefs were busy.
"I'll order lunch for the masters, and we'll go out to eat." Qiao Qingqing picked up Shao Shengan, and the three of them went to a restaurant to eat, and asked for a private room with a TV.
"You don't need to order so many dishes. You guys are saving money to buy a house in the school district. You can save as much as you can. I have money too, and I'll give it to you later."
"Mom, the food in this restaurant is delicious. We don't come here every day." Qiao Qingqing ordered four dishes and Shao Shengan added two more.
The dishes came up one after another, and when they were all served, the waiter left and closed the door.
The three of them started to eat lunch. Shao Shengan and Qiao Songzhi ate without appetite, but Qiao Qingqing ate with relish, which formed a sharp contrast among the three of them.
"You've been hungry for a few days." Qiao Songzhi said as she picked up a piece of braised pork ribs for her and then for Shao Shengan, apologetically saying to him, "I've spoiled her. Usually, I have to rely on you to tolerate her. Our Qingqing is so lucky to marry you."
"Mom, Qingqing is very good. I arrived at the station at around 12 o'clock last night, and she stayed up all night to pick me up. She is good to me, and I am good to her. It is my blessing to marry Qingqing."
When Qiao Songzhi heard this, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes turned into flowers.
Qiao Qingqing blinked and held back the wetness, then said with a smile, "I'll turn on the TV. I just happen to have something to tell you."
She turned on the news station and five minutes later the midday news began.
"An international news will be broadcast soon. A volcano in Country H that has been silent for 80 years erupted an hour ago and destroyed a nearby hot spring town." After these words were spoken, Shao Shengan and Qiao Songzhi had even less appetite for food. They ate absent-mindedly, glancing at the news from time to time.
"Next, I will report an international news report. The famous dormant volcano Mount Hytria in Country H suddenly erupted at 2:15 a.m. local time. Volcanic ash covered the sky and the erupting lava immediately caused a forest fire nearby... Mount Hytria is a famous local tourist attraction. There are many hot spring-themed tourist towns nearby. Summer vacation is coming soon. This volcanic eruption will not only affect the local ecology, but will also have a great impact on the tourism industry..."
Shao Shengan and Qiao Songzhi looked at Qiao Qingqing.
"The next piece of news is that an oil tanker from country R leaked offshore, and the last piece of sports news is that a dark horse from country B won the championship." Qiao Qingqing smiled complicatedly, "But I know you will say that there are ways to get this kind of news in advance from social media, such as hearing it from my classmates who are studying abroad. Let's watch the next channel."
After watching the two news reports, she switched to a local livelihood channel. The host was telling the camera that pork prices had stabilized under regulation, and contacted reporters at the front to interview the people who were purchasing pork.
"This old man bought two pig's front trotters and asked to braise one and roast the other."
As soon as Qiao Qingqing finished speaking, a grandfather in his seventies who was being interviewed said with a smile: "My wife knows how to braise food, and it's especially delicious. My daughter likes to use that oven to roast pig's trotters. Yes, I am responsible for buying them, and they cook them, and I just wait to eat them. I just got these dentures and I can bite them well..."
"This is an on-site interview. It's impossible for me to know in advance who the reporter will interview or what the interviewer will say." Qiao Qingqing raised the corner of her mouth, "You believe it, right?" As she smiled, her eyes turned red.
"The end of the world is really coming. Sheng An died in the second month. Not long after that, my mother and I lost contact. I lived at home by myself. The government had been providing material assistance. Later, the world became completely chaotic. Our home was robbed. I had no choice but to wander around. Finally, I wandered to my hometown, but I couldn't find it. I couldn't find my mother or my uncle. The terrain of my hometown is lower than that of Huacheng. I asked the locals, and they said that the flood that year flooded everything below the 20th floor. Mom, my eldest cousin's house is on the fifth floor, and my uncle's house is a four-story building he built himself. They must have fled to other places... In the next ten years, I haven't seen any of you, not a single one."
"Qingqing..." Qiao Songzhi couldn't bear the look of decay and numbness on her daughter's young face. She hugged her daughter and patted her back like she did when she was a child. "Don't cry, Mom is still here, and Sheng An is here too."
"Mom, don't be scared by me. I can't control myself when I talk about the past." She wiped her tears and came out of her mother's warm embrace. She looked at her mother and then at her husband who was looking at her tightly. "In my last life, I didn't prepare for anything and I lived for ten years. In this life, we prepare in advance. I don't believe that our family will not survive."
Shao Shengan's eyes were full of heartache: "You are right, didn't I return home early? I will always be with you in this life." But resentment was growing in his heart. If he met someone who robbed the house in the future, he would avenge his wife. Whenever he thought of his wife being driven out and displaced, he hated her to the extreme.
"It's okay, it's okay. We still have a space. It's a treasure passed down to us by our ancestors. We are very lucky." She looked at Shao Sheng'an, "Sheng'an, you should have guessed it. Qingqing in our family actually has a space for storing things. Qingqing didn't tell you before. It was her grandmother and I who asked her not to tell you. Don't blame her."
Shao Shengan shook his head: "Mom, how could I blame Qingqing? She didn't tell me that it was a good thing. I can't avoid drinking when I'm working and entertaining. If I get drunk and say something, it will be bad. Fortunately, Qingqing didn't tell me. But what about the space? Did Qingqing just put the bed in and then take it out?"
"Well, are you scared?" Qiao Qingqing said with some nostalgia, "When we were in junior high school, you gave me a box of mangoes sent by your father. It was really too heavy for me to carry it home. You didn't say anything, so you put the box down and ran away. I had no choice but to drag the box into an empty alley and put it in the space. Later, when I came out, I saw you peeking in front of me. I was about to talk to you, but you ran away. Did you think I threw the mangoes away at that time?"
"Yeah, isn't there a trash can in the alley? You pulled the box in and came out empty-handed. I was so sad." Thinking of the past, Shao Shengan couldn't help laughing. He was so silly at that time. He regretted it immediately after putting down the box and running away. He should have helped her carry it home. So he hid at the intersection and peeked. When he saw her coming out empty-handed, he was almost overwhelmed by disappointment. He was so sad and ashamed that he didn't dare to face his lover again. Until the next day, his lover gave her a big peach, saying that mangoes are very sweet. This sweet peach was given to him. She couldn't give him a box of peaches at once, but she would leave one for him when she ate the peach, and they would be a box when they were saved. The surprise and sweetness at that time can still be tasted now.
"Then I sent you some peaches, and your eyes widened." Talking about the funny things in her youth, Qiao Qingqing's spirits obviously improved, which made Qiao Songzhi feel relieved. She pretended to complain: "No wonder the peaches at home were gone so quickly, it turned out that you took them to give to your future son-in-law."
This sentence made Qiao Qingqing and her husband blush with laughter.
The atmosphere was finally freed from the sadness. Qiao Qingqing said, "The house is going to be renovated in the next few days. I've also hired someone to enclose the balcony and terrace. I'll start work once the customized glass is ready. Mom, you just stay home and watch. I'm going out to collect supplies. I've rented a factory warehouse in the suburbs, and vegetables and fruits will start being shipped in tomorrow." She took out her cell phone and sent yesterday's purchase list to the three-person group.
"Some things I haven't thought of well, so I'll have to rely on you to help fill in the gaps."
Shao Shengan read all the lines at a glance: "You actually bought so many things, 12 tons of rice?"
"Well, I ordered a total of 20 tons of rice from 40 stores on the shopping platform, which is enough for six adults to eat three meals a day for 20 years. There are discounts for large quantities, but in the end it still cost more than 140,000 yuan."
"Six people—"
"Yes, I'll call my parents and ask them to come to Huacheng as soon as possible."
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