Chapter 29 Chapter 29 The Strange Survivor

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An hour ago, it was Gu Mengran who was dumbfounded.

An hour later, the dumbfounded person turned out to be the owner of the house, Zheng Yijie.

The door was wide open, and the dark stairwell was illuminated by a strong flashlight. On the stairs, one by one, children lined up in a long line and walked down the stairs slowly under the leadership of two young girls.

12345……

Zheng Yijie stood at the door and counted, he was stunned and his heart sank.

The number of the other party was far beyond his expectations, and Zheng Yijie regretted agreeing to keep them temporarily.

It’s not that we feel sorry for the supplies because of the large number of people, but with such a large group of people, most of whom are children who cannot take care of themselves, can they really take themselves out of this city safely?

The trip lasted more than a week, and we didn't have a chance to stop and rest. The children were already exhausted. After getting off the bus and walking for a while in the high temperature, all the children were exhausted and cried. The joy before the trip was long gone.

The dark and narrow staircase looked eerie and scary, and the children felt completely unsafe.

Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao came to help after moving the supplies. They finally walked down the stairs, one carrying the other, and lined up to the security door. The chubby Zhang Zixuan, who had previously suffered from heatstroke, could no longer bear it. His shoulders shook violently and he burst into tears.

The emotions that had been accumulated for a long time turned into a violent storm and spread out at a speed faster than thunder. For a moment, the basement was like a boiling pot, and the loud cries were deafening.

"Wuwuwu... It's so dark in here, I don't want to go in!"

"Teacher, where are you taking us, Mr. Zhou?"

"I don't want to go out to play anymore, Mom, I want Mom to woo woo woo woo ..."

…

Emotions are contagious and once they start, they can't be stopped. Eight children crying together was a scene of uncontrollable chaos.

All the adults joined in and spent nearly ten minutes coaxing and tricking the children into the house.

Of course, go back home and cry as usual.

The piercing cries were so loud that they hurt people's ears. Gu Mengran rubbed his swollen temples and pretended to rummage through the pile of supplies that had just been moved in, but in fact he took out a large bag of candies from the living room and gave them to Zhou Qin to distribute.

The children were fed up with the snacks, and candies didn't work. The eight children seemed to be wearing the same pants. If one of them was still crying, the others would follow suit.

This mental torture lasted for a long time. The two teachers were at a loss as to what to do, and the others were even more helpless.

Gu Mengran even thought about crying, since he would stop crying when he was tired. And at this moment, Zheng Yijie, who had always had little presence, walked out from the aisle with a large cardboard box in his arms.

The cardboard box was gently placed on the coffee table in the living room, and Zheng Yijie raised his hand and patted it twice.

The applause attracted the attention of some children. He took advantage of the situation and raised his voice abruptly, "Children, congratulations on successfully reaching the first stop of this journey, the mountain city! I heard that you were very good and obedient along the way, and did not make any noise or trouble, so your uncle carefully prepared gifts for you."

Zheng Yijie's superb acting skills, coupled with his deliberately quirky voice, immediately aroused the children's interest.

Some of the other children looked at him while crying. The little fat boy, who was the first to cry, sniffed and looked at the cardboard box and said in a low voice, "Gift? What, what gift?"

Zheng Yijie smiled and shook his head: "Uncle said that the gifts are specially prepared for obedient children. Now that you are crying and making a fuss, the gifts do not belong to you. However, you behaved very well on the way, so uncle will give you one more chance. Dry your tears within five minutes, and the gifts will still be yours."

No child can resist the temptation of gifts. Before he finished speaking, the little boy who was curled up in Zhou Qin's arms and sniffled hiccups and looked at Zheng Yijie with tears in his eyes, "Well, then uncle, you have to show us what the gift is first."

First see if the gift suits your taste, and then decide whether to continue crying?

Gu Mengran was amused by the child and laughed out loud.

Zheng Yijie handled it with ease, raised his index finger and shook it, "No, the gift is kept secret for now. But uncle can tell you a little bit, it's not a snack, it's a toy."

"Wow, a toy?" The little fat boy's eyes lit up and he immediately raised his hand to wipe his tears. With his face covered with snot and tears, Zhang Zixuan sniffed and stretched out his hand to Zheng Yijie, "Uncle, I am good, I am the best, can you give me a gift?"

"Of course you can. All obedient children will get gifts."

Zheng Yijie opened the carton slowly, as if in a slow-motion shot, deliberately slowing down his movements and making each step seem particularly long.

The cries gradually faded. The children had been whetted for a long time. With snot and tears in their eyes, they completely forgot to cry and stretched their necks to stare at the cardboard box intently.

It took three full minutes to open an unsealed cardboard box, and the noisy living room became completely quiet. Seeing this, Zheng Yijie finally sped up, opened the cardboard box in a few seconds, and took out several boxes of Lego bricks with different patterns printed on them.

Transformers, trucks, excavators...

The living room was like boiling water, boiling instantly.

"Uncle, I want Doraemon!"

"Uncle, can I have an excavator?"

"Castle, uncle, I like that beautiful castle."

The children burst into laughter and lined up obediently to receive their Lego toys. Their laughter and joy melted the dull and depressing atmosphere.

Gu Mengran was amazed. This guy really knows how to coax children.

After settling the children, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao made two more trips and moved all the luggage in the car back to the basement.

Tired and hot, Gu Mengran returned to the basement and sat paralyzed on the ground. He was so tired that he didn't even want to move his fingers.

There aren't that many rooms in the basement, so we can only squeeze in at night.

Fortunately, when they went out to move their luggage, the two teachers were not idle either. With the approval of the landlord, they took the old man to lay the patchwork mat on the ground for the children to play with Lego and also for them to rest and sleep at night.

The work was done, and all that remained was to fill their stomachs and how long they could rest here.

There was a faint fragrance in the air. Gu Mengran exhaled a breath of hot air, rubbed his stomach which had already sagged, and stood up by supporting himself on the floor.

The owner of the house, Zheng Yijie, was not in the living room. Gu Mengran looked around, gave Liang Zhaotian a look without saying a word, then slowed down his pace and walked towards the passage behind the sofa.

Liang Zhao understood what he meant and followed with a half-finished bottle of mineral water.

The kitchen was filled with steam, and a large antimony pot was placed on the gas stove, emitting a steady stream of white smoke. Peppercorns, ginger, garlic and other spices were placed on the chopping board, and a bowl of distinctly coarse and fine potato shreds was soaking in the sink.

The owner of the house sat on a small stool at the kitchen door, busy peeling cabbage leaves.

Zheng Yijie obviously heard footsteps and looked up at the two people coming towards him.

The argument in the evening seemed to have never happened. He threw the wilted vegetable leaves into the trash can, stood up and waved to the two people, "You came just in time. I have never cooked for so many people. Come and help me see if there is enough."

After saying that, he turned and walked to the stove, reached out and lifted the lid of the pot.

A fresh scent of cereals wafted into his nose. Gu Mengran's nose twitched slightly. He quickly walked into the kitchen with Liang Zhao and stretched his neck to look into the pot.

The antimony pot is larger than an ordinary high-pressure pot, comparable to a large washbasin. Zheng Yijie probably wanted to cook porridge, so he filled the pot with water, but the rice in the pot...

Gu Mengran stirred it twice with a spoon. Hmm, the resistance was very strong, almost as much as when cooking white rice.

The rice was already boiling, so it was useless to say more at this point. Gu Mengran put down the spoon, smiled at Zheng Yijie, and said vaguely, "It's about right. It's enough to eat anyway."

"That's fine. I'm thinking there are more than ten people, but I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Zheng Yijie put the lid back on the pot and looked at the wilted cabbage in his hand. "Just stir-fry some shredded potatoes and cabbage? Children can eat it. There is no fresh meat or other fresh vegetables. I do have some dehydrated vegetables, but they are not nutritious and I won't give them to children."

Gu Mengran nodded, and looked at Zheng Yijie with a more friendly look, "Thank you. You've taken the trouble, just take care of the arrangements, the guest should follow the host's wishes."

"I won't let the kids go hungry. It's just that my cooking skills are just so-so. Don't complain." Zheng Yijie shook his head unnaturally and laughed dryly twice.

The politeness was almost over. Gu Mengran did not respond. After a moment's silence, he withdrew his smile and said seriously, "In the evening, you said that you could let us stay here for a while. I want to ask, is this still true?"

Unable to find a place to stay, Gu Mengran and Zheng Yijie played a trick in the evening.

He said he would consider the other party's conditions, provided that they stayed here for a while. After Cheng Yijie agreed, he took the children here for moral kidnapping under the pretext of moving luggage.

It must be said that Zheng Yijie had a pretty good temper. Instead of getting angry, he magnanimously took them in and even cooked dinner for them. However, Gu Mengran was not sure whether he would be kicked out the next morning.

A big drama has already been played out in his mind. Zheng Yijie did not respond for a long time. Gu Mengran frowned slightly, thought for two seconds, and apologized to the other party sincerely: "I'm sorry, I didn't discuss it with you at that time, and I did it without your permission-"

"It's not because of that." Zheng Yijie interrupted him and scratched his hair irritably. "Hey, you better tell me first, where did you find so many children? Where are their parents? Where are you taking them?"

Worried that they kidnapped the children? Gu Mengran thought it was possible, so he organized his words to tell Zheng Yijie the whole story and repeatedly assured him, "We are really not bad people. We just accompany them for a while until they find a shelter provided by the government military."

After listening to this, Zheng Yijie was silent for a long time. When he raised his head again, there was a subtle change in the look in his eyes when he looked at the two people.

"I was too petty. You guys are really rare good people for not forgetting to help others even at this time. Those two teachers are even more amazing, they are heroes who sacrifice themselves for others." Zheng Yijie sighed sincerely.

Gu Mengran smiled and said, "You are very kind and took us in."

"Seven or eight pairs of watery eyes staring at me, how can I refuse?"

Zheng Yijie laughed, but as he laughed, the smile froze on his face and he sighed, "You are also a group of poor kids. Stay, you can stay here, there is enough food, I have to leave sooner or later anyway, and I can't finish all the supplies in a short time."

A smile wiped out all grudges, and the incident in the evening was over.

But Gu Mengran still felt a little guilty. After thinking for a while, he apologized again: "I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to kick him that afternoon. My brother saw the machete and was worried that I would be injured, so he kicked me out of reflex."

In fact, even if Gu Mengran stood still, Zheng Yijie couldn't have chopped him down with the knife. He didn't have the courage and couldn't do it. He kept the back of the knife facing the door, just to scare people.

The more he explained, the more embarrassed he became. Zheng Yijie smiled and waved his hands, "It's okay."

The porridge is almost cooked, but the vegetables haven't been fried yet.

The kitchen was too narrow to open, and Zheng Yijie was about to ask the two to leave first. The tall boy who had been standing by and acting as a bodyguard without saying anything suddenly spoke up: "Can I ask you a question?"

Zheng Yijie nodded and said, "You go ahead."

Liang Zhao didn't hesitate and got straight to the point: "The supplies in your warehouse don't look like they were collected after the disaster. So you prepared the basement and supplies before the disaster? What news did you get? Why did you make these preparations in advance?"

The soul's three consecutive questions revealed the doubts in Gu Mengran's heart. Although it was a bit impolite, Gu Mengran still stared at Zheng Yijie, waiting for his answer.