Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Teach a man to fish
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There wasn't much to talk about actually. It was the same old things said over and over again, just with different people saying it and in a more direct way.
"How do you feel? Is our village pretty good? Do you want to reconsider it?" The grumpy old man didn't have much patience. As soon as he sat down, he got straight to the point without saying a word of nonsense.
The roasted sweet potatoes were indeed not eaten in vain. Gu Mengran had anticipated this situation and shook his head decisively, "Thank you for your invitation. We will not consider it for the time being."
“Tsk.”
Still unable to suppress his emotions, Duan Yueyan's eyes darkened slightly, and an irritable syllable escaped from his lips.
But after a few seconds, his expression returned to normal, and he smiled helplessly, "I really don't understand. The stone house is solid, there is no need to worry about wind and rain, the surrounding hills are flat, and mudslides will not happen. There is food, drink and a stable place to live. Isn't it good to join us? What else do you worry about?"
It was rare to hear the grumpy old man speak in such a tone, but without hesitation for a second, Gu Mengran refused: "Your village is very good. It's not your problem, it's our own problem. We are all sailors who make a living on the ship. The ship is our home. We are used to wandering."
"Don't give me that." Duan Yueyan raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "You are so delicate, you work on a ship? How many days have you worked on a ship? Are you familiar with the rudder?"
Gu Mengran was choked for a moment, and for once he did not refute, but responded with a counter-question: "I don't understand either. There is food, drink and a stable place to live, so it doesn't matter if there are fewer people. After all, the more people there are, the greater the consumption. The resources on the mountain are not inexhaustible, so why do you insist on getting us to join? Could it be that Boss Duan is ambitious and plans to expand into new territory?"
"You are... a sharp-tongued person." Duan Yueyan sneered, but his expression changed subtly.
It seemed to take only a second for Duan Yueyan to go from confident to confused. He clenched his hands, lowered his eyes, and murmured to himself, "It's different now than before. The social order has completely collapsed. I have a feeling that this chaotic and disorderly life where I can only rely on myself will continue for a long time."
"You're right. The resources on the mountain are not inexhaustible. But you should have seen that the average age of our village is relatively high. We need more strong young people. On the one hand, it is for work and collecting supplies. On the other hand, no one knows which will come first, an accident or tomorrow. I think we also need a certain degree of self-protection ability."
He wandered around the village every day, and anyone with a discerning eye could see the situation in the village. There was no point in hiding it, and the other party was not someone with ulterior motives, so Duan Yueyan was too lazy to pretend and laid his cards on the table.
"I know you're doing well, and you may not be that short of supplies. But in times of natural disasters and chaos, is it easier to survive as a group or as a group? Why don't you consider it again? Joining us is basically a win-win situation."
Work together? The companions who grew up together are unreliable. How can a group of strangers who don't know their origins and background work together? I'm afraid they will all run away when disaster strikes.
Of course you can't say that unless you want to get into a fight with that grumpy guy.
It is impossible to join. Although the current situation of Shijin Village seems good, there will be a lot of troubles in the future. Joining at this time is simply asking for a burden on oneself.
Gu Mengran has the space in his hands, he can run and hide, and he has no worries about food and drink. If he really has to deal with this large village, they will have to advance and retreat together and overcome the difficulties together.
Not wanting to take risks, and even less wanting to be held responsible for no reason, Gu Mengran just wanted to stay out of it, but... standing by and watching was not very realistic. Even if Duan Yueyan had foresight, it would have been difficult for him to predict that the rain would not stop within three years.
The bowl of potatoes was already empty. Gu Mengran passed the bowl and chopsticks to Liang Zhao, holding his chin and thinking for a moment, and sighed silently, "Isn't this kind of cooperation relationship good at the moment? If you are really worried, we can also make an agreement that if the other party encounters difficulties, we will lend a hand if we can. Of course, the premise is that we can do our best."
The words were very clear, and there was no room for maneuver. Duan Yueyan said "hmm" lightly, and without saying anything more, he stood up and left with his knees propped up.
But before he could stand up completely, Gu Mengran suddenly raised his hand and pressed his shoulder, looked at him with complicated eyes, and said in a serious tone: "If you really want us to join, it's not impossible, unless the rain stops."
Duan Yueyan seemed to understand, and his body visibly paused. He met Gu Mengran's gaze and said, "Your tone doesn't sound like you are talking about rain, but more like... unless the sky falls, we can't join."
It's easy to talk to smart people. Gu Mengran pursed his lips and smiled softly, "Who knows, what if the rain stops soon? Of course, we have to make more preparations, just in case it doesn't stop in a short time."
"What do you know?"
"That's all I know."
…
The rain was falling with a rustling sound, and the surface of the lake was shrouded in a layer of white mist. The steel deck above was like a drum set, and the raindrops beat hard, playing one tune after another.
At 6:30 in the morning, Gu Mengran came to the restaurant after washing up. Liang Zhaohe and his grandfather were already eating with their bowls. He glanced at the table and saw pork rib porridge, big meat buns, and even a plate of braised chicken legs.
Just as he was about to sigh at the abundance of food, Gu Mengran took a closer look and saw only two bowls on the table. He immediately looked at his grandfather with a smirk, "What do you mean? There's no portion for me?"
"It's in the pot, go get it yourself," the old man said jokingly as he was chewing on the ribs, "Who knew you'd get up so early when you were resting? You really came from the west."
"Sit down first."
Liang Zhao pulled out the stool beside him, put down his chopsticks, stood up and walked into the kitchen.
The old man looked at it and shook his head, "Habit, it's a habit."
I didn't hear a word of what the two said. Rest? Gu Mengran's slow brain started to work. He stood there for two seconds, then cried with a tearful face: "Oh, I forgot to rest today, and I got up early! I'm so lazy, so angry."
"Don't be howling here so early in the morning. Just eat and go back to sleep."
The old man is a typical person who is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Although he always complains about Gu Mengran's love of sleeping, he still cares about them very much because he knows that they have been working hard these days.
Liang Zhao came back with the pork chop porridge. Gu Mengran sat at the table with a pout on his face and sighed at the big meat bun, "Ah, Huilong can't sleep. I have things to do today."
"What could happen in such heavy rain?" The old man looked over immediately.
Gu Mengran: "Eat first, and talk after you finish eating."
After finishing breakfast at the speed of light, Gu Mengran also woke up Zheng Yijie in the principle that no one should think of sleeping in. While Zheng Yijie was eating breakfast, Gu Mengran held a small meeting in the living room and stated that the primary task for today was to go out and dig mud.
When these words came out, everyone was stunned.
"What are we digging for?" The old man asked the first question with a frown.
Gu Mengran: "Growing vegetables."
"Digging mud and growing vegetables on a boat? That's crazy, wouldn't it be better to grow them in open space?" Zheng Yijie, who was drinking porridge in the restaurant, raised the question.
The old man nodded in agreement: "Yes, the space is so big, isn't it enough? How much can the four of us eat? Why bother with so much effort?"
“No, no, no,” Gu Mengran waved his hands, “Growing vegetables is not only for eating, but also for others to see.”
Zheng Yijie: "What do you mean, can you stop telling lies?"
Having whetted everyone's appetite, Gu Mengran smiled contentedly and said, "Didn't we say before that we would send something to Heng Rongsheng? I've thought about it. It's better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. Let's just take them to dig in the mud, and then give them some seeds and let them plant them on the boat themselves."
"It's a good idea, but..." Liang Zhao glanced at the gray sky through the window, then turned to look at Gu Mengran, "If there is no sunlight, the growth rate of the plants will slow down a lot."
Zheng Yijie hummed: "Yes, the light intensity is weakened, the efficiency of photosynthesis will also decrease, and the growth rate of plants will also decrease... The fear is that we can grow vegetables this year and eat them next year."
Gu Mengran, who had been prepared, raised his eyebrows and smiled proudly, "Don't worry, I have something good."
"What?"
The three of them said almost in unison.
"Have you ever heard of the legendary plant light?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a long LED light tube appeared in Gu Mengran's hand.
Zheng Yijie stood up and said, "Oh my god, T8 plant light tubes? You even prepared this, it's amazing!"
"You know all this?" Gu Mengran looked at him in surprise.
There are many types of plant lights. When Gu Mengran bought them, he only had a vague understanding of them after the store clerk’s popularization and introduction. It is said that online writers know a lot, but this...
Zheng Yijie was stunned for a moment, frowning as if he was puzzled: "I graduated from Agricultural University, didn't I tell you that before?"
"Have you been making money by writing novels for a long time?" asked the old man.
Zheng Yijie: "There is no conflict between going to school and writing novels. I can write while doing both."
Gu Mengran looked at him with complicated eyes, "It's hidden quite deeply."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You are responsible for this from now on."
"It's been so many years, I've forgotten everything! I don't--"
"Stop howling." The old man waved his hands. When Zheng Yijie stopped howling, he looked up at Gu Mengran again and said, "If you teach a man to fish, why don't you let Heng Rongsheng grow vegetables on its own? From what you mean, we should also grow vegetables on the boat?"
Gu Mengran nodded. "At this juncture, no one should complain about having too much food. It's too abnormal that they grow crops while we don't. Besides, we are very close to Shijin Village now. Some of them have guessed that we are not short of supplies. The food will run out one day, so we have to put something on the table."
"I understand. Let's go." The old man stood up from the sofa.
Gu Mengran's eyes widened. "Come on, Grandpa, why are you joining in the fun? Just stay at home and watch TV."
The old man laughed, took a few steps forward and held out his hand to Gu Mengran, "What are you thinking about? Give me the light bulbs and I'll go down and install them. At my age, can I go out in the rain?"
Gu Mengran scratched his head, then belatedly took out the light bulb from the space.