Qi Hengzhong's worries faded. An Jingzhi had initially suggested that their troops be stationed at the city gates, refusing to disturb them. Qi Hengzhong, of course, refused, and with a wave of his hand, they all marched into the Hope Base. The entire market at the base had been temporarily requisitioned. But no one objected. Everyone knew from the soldiers at the city gates that this group of people was coming to trade with their base for food! It was food! Thinking of the recent food crisis they'd vaguely heard about, their excitement grew even greater. They'd heard there was even fruit!
That's fruit! People born after the apocalypse have never eaten it.
After accompanying the group to discuss the details of the deal, Qu Tian returned home. His primary role was to serve as a companion, fostering closer ties between the two parties. After all, he was the first person to meet An Jingzhi. This coincided with Director Gao's decision to have An Jingzhi lead the team; both wanted someone familiar to mediate.
On his way home, Qu Tian was still savoring the rice he had eaten at noon. The last time he had tasted rice without a bitter taste like this was more than a decade ago, right? His two sons had never tasted it yet.
Qi Hengzhong certainly wouldn't use the low-quality local rice to entertain the distinguished guests at their base. He had the kitchen staff cook a large pot of newly acquired rice and stir-fry a few carefully grown vegetables from the base. He also caught three chickens from the farm.
At the dinner table, the people from the Hope Base didn't touch the three chickens from beginning to end. They all held their bowls and enjoyed the rice. It was obvious that the three chickens were killed specially for them.
To An Jingzhi and his friends, this was just an ordinary meal. The chicken wasn't seasoned enough, the vegetables were a bit bitter, and the rice was just their average fare. But no one complained; this was already the highest level of hospitality at Hope Base. Of the three chickens, one was stewed and two were stir-fried. Even Qi Hengzhong didn't touch a single one. They tried to take as few vegetables as possible. If they weren't worried about An Jingzhi and his friends feeling uncomfortable, they wouldn't have taken a single bite. For them, this bowl of sweet rice was a rare delicacy.
An Jingzhi and his friends visited the farm. Although it was called a breeding farm, they actually only raised less than 9 chickens. They hoped that the base would pick out the three fattest ones to entertain the guests.
Except for An Jingzhi and his 15 companions who ate in Qi Hengzhong's cafeteria, everyone else brought their own military rations. If they were asked to entertain them, most of the food would have to be wasted. An Jingzhi and his group also felt embarrassed to bankrupt others right after the transaction.
During this time, Qu Tian, who was accompanying me for soy sauce, also had some rice. It was really delicious, soft, sticky and sweet. It left a lasting impression in my mouth, without any bitterness at all! I don’t know how these people grow it.
On the way home, he was holding a pound of rice and two apples in a black bag. These were compensation gifts from An Jingzhi's brother for scaring him and his son last time.
This brother An Jingzhi is such an open-minded person, so generous! If there were such apologies every time, he would wish he could be scared every day!
Along the way, Qu Tian looked at everyone like a thief, his steps hurried, his gaze everywhere, fearing someone might rob him. They hoped that while the overall atmosphere at the base was decent, it wasn't completely safe. In fact, his appearance made him look even more like a thief. Passersby avoided him as much as possible.
After returning home, Qu Tian quickly locked the door and finally felt relieved. His house was a 30-square-meter house, which he separated in the middle with a piece of cloth. He and his wife slept in one bed, and his two sons slept in another.
The eldest son Qu Jing stayed beside his mother to feed her medicine, and the second son Qu Quan came over to greet his father when he heard the noise.
"Dad, what is this?" Qu Quan took the two black plastic bags from his father's hand and looked at the two red fruits inside. The plastic bags were given by An Jingzhi to Qu Tian to put things in.
"Hehe, this is good stuff. You haven't eaten it yet." Qu Tian described in detail to his second son how delicious the apple was and how juicy and crisp it was. It was sweet and sour, and crisp and sweet. His second son was so greedy that he kept swallowing his saliva before he stopped.
During this time, the eldest son, who had just finished feeding his mother medicine, was unknowingly attracted to the side and listened carefully. Qu Tian's wife, who was lying on the hospital bed, looked at the three most important people in her life with a smile.
"Gulp." "Gulp."
The two sons swallowed at the same time.
"Hahaha, you're greedy, right? Do you know where this came from? It was given to us by the guy we met last time." Hearing Qu Tian say that this was compensation for their family, the two brothers Qu Quan and Qu Jing felt a little embarrassed. Thinking of how much they missed the guy last time, they felt ashamed.
That’s right.
Rice!
"Dad, are you saying that Mr. An gave our family another pound of rice?!"
Qu Tian's wife was almost recovered from her illness, and the next step was to slowly recuperate. They ate coarse food, so how could they maintain their health? Good food was hard to come by on the market these days, with rations rationed daily. If you went too late, you wouldn't be able to get any. While they had enough points for the time being, they had nowhere to buy them.
If there is rice, you can give it to your mother. I heard that refined rice porridge is nourishing.
"Do you know what I'm going to do today?" Qu Tianshen asked mysteriously.
"I don't know." The two sons shook their heads. Someone took their father away in the morning, saying that the leader wanted to see their father about something, but they didn't know what it was.
"Our base will soon have enough food! The commander asked me to go today to receive Mr. An and his team. They've done a food deal with our base and brought over a dozen pickup trucks full of food. They brought these apples and rice to trade with us."
"I even had this rice for lunch at noon, and it tasted delicious! Wife, this rice isn't bitter at all, it's just as sweet as the rice we had before the end of the world!"
"You two little brats, you're in for a treat this time. Apples and rice are all yours."
"Dad, we don't want to eat it. Give it all to Mom." The two sons were very sensible, even though they were already full of greed.
Qu Tian's wife smiled gently and said, "Let's eat together."
In the end, the family shared two apples and some rice, cooked it into porridge, and shared it with the family.
The three men said they would not eat the rest of the rice and left it all for their mothers/daughters-in-law.
"Dad, this apple is so delicious and sweet. I have never eaten anything so delicious." Qu Quan smacked his lips, licked the apple juice off his hands, and swallowed the apple core.
"Yeah!" Qu Jing's little adult look could no longer hold back.
“So this is what rice that isn’t bitter tastes like.”
Hearing his two sons' sentiments, Qu Tian felt a pang of sadness. It was all this damned apocalypse! Otherwise, his two sons wouldn't be so happy just eating an apple and some rice. Back before he got married, he'd eat instant noodles and play games after get off work every night! After getting married, every time he got home, his wife would always have a meal ready for him. He didn't know when it would end.
Qu Tian's wife reached out and held Qu Tian's hand, smiling gently, "It will be fine. It's all my fault for dragging you three down."
Qu Tian and his two sons were dissatisfied and said, "Wife/Mom, what are you talking about?"
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