"Don't cry, child. You poor thing. Grandma will cook delicious food for you every day from now on. I'll make dumplings for you tomorrow morning." Aunt Li, who was standing next to him, felt sorry for him and quickly took a tissue from the table to wipe his tears.
As people get older, their hearts soften even more. They simply can't bear to see children cry.
"We need to hurry up and collect more useful things. Xiao Ning, do you have any other good ideas?"
Jian Anping now almost regards his younger sister as a goddess, and these past two days he has been learning the meditation method that Jian Ning taught him.
He could clearly feel a faint energy flowing through his body. He thought it might be a cultivation technique, but he didn't ask. Although he wasn't very learned, he had read a lot of martial arts novels when he was young.
"What idea? Stock up on supplies! Nobody can predict what will happen in the future. Having supplies on hand will keep you calm. The Jinmao Mansion building is of decent quality."
At least we can live here peacefully for a while. If we don't like it, we'll move. People thrive when they move, trees die when they're transplanted; we can survive either way.
Jian Ning watched Da Zhuang eat the egg pancake, her stomach growled, and she felt a little hungry too.
"Xiao Ning is hungry too, right? I'll go cook right away. You've all used up a lot of energy this morning, have a biscuit to tide you over." Aunt Li took two bags of sandwich biscuits from under the coffee table and handed them to Jian Ning before hurrying off to the kitchen.
Li Mengyao also went to help. Jian Anping, however, couldn't sit still. He stood up and went to the French windows to look outside. After a while, he suddenly said:
"A boat is coming, and it's quite big. It looks like it belongs to the military."
"A rescue ship?" Jian Ning stopped eating her cookies, stood up, and went to take a look. Sure enough, the people on board were all wearing military uniforms.
Someone else took a microphone and started shouting: "Comrades, this is an announcement: the government has set up a temporary relief base in the China World Trade Center."
Those who wish to leave, please pack your belongings. We will be sending a large boat to pick you up at 2 PM this afternoon. Please gather downstairs beforehand. Free food will be provided twice daily.
"Xiao Ning, shall we go over too?" Jian Anping asked, turning his head after hearing the shouts from downstairs.
"I'm not going. Are you stupid? There are so many people at that shelter. If everyone's crammed together, there won't even be a place to use the restroom. Besides, they only provide two meals a day; I doubt that will last long."
The government's intentions are good, but if we actually bring all these people together, there will be a lot of problems.
Jian Ning wasn't just making this up. In her past life, she had gone to a rescue center. At first, the environment there was alright, but later on, everyone was unwilling to put in any effort and just wanted to get things for free.
Nobody wanted to work, and the government officials wouldn't listen to them. It was okay at first, but when the extreme cold came, there was a complete lack of supplies, and she almost froze to death.
“I also think we don’t need to go. We have everything at home. After we finish eating, we can go out and look for supplies again. We’ve prepared everything for it. I don’t believe we can’t get through this.” Jian Anping also agreed with Jian Ning’s idea.
"Those who were rescued were all taken away by military ships."
"That's terrible. I was thinking of sending some food over later, in case they starve to death before they drown!" Jian Anping muttered to himself as he looked out the window through his binoculars.
"Dinner's ready! Today I've made pancakes with shredded potatoes, scallions with dipping sauce, braised pork, and millet porridge." Aunt Li said with a smile as she walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes.
"This wrap looks delicious." Jian Ning quickly went to wash her hands and prepare to eat. Aunt Li's cooking suited her taste perfectly.
"I had only taken a couple of bites when the walkie-talkie went off."
"Jian Ning, are you there? I just ran into a relative downstairs who came looking for you. They said it was your uncle's house. Do you want to go down and take a look?" It was Cao Xue's voice.
"Thank you, but no need." Jian Ning said, glancing up at Jian Anping.
"Brother, what do you think Uncle wants from us? I don't think it's necessary to go down. I guess he's out of food and that's why he remembered us. Didn't you tell him last time you met that you bought a lot of grain to store up?"
"I told you, I never imagined the world would turn out like this."
My uncle asked me what I did with the money from selling the house, and I told him I didn't know why he had to use the money to buy a lot of grain.
My uncle even scolded me, saying that in this peaceful and prosperous time, instead of investing or buying houses, I was buying food. He said I must have lost my mind, and that I, as your older brother, wasn't going to stop you!
Now, when Jian Anping thinks back to how she and her uncle talked about Jian Ning, she feels incredibly foolish.
“Brother, if they come upstairs, don’t go out. Just pretend we’re not living here anymore. It’s not like we can’t find food outside, and the government has relief points. It’s not our place to be helping others.”
"Okay, I understand. I'm just worried that it will be awkward to talk to each other when we meet in the future. We don't have any relatives anymore, except for my uncle's house which is close by."
Although Jian Anping felt that her sister was right, that she was too busy taking care of herself to help others, she also felt a little reluctant, since they were all close relatives.
“Anping, I think Xiaoning is right. We don’t know when this natural disaster will end. If it drags on for three to five years, we’ll have trouble even feeding ourselves.”
I was just thinking that when you go out later, if you can find some grain seeds to bring back...
I'm mainly growing wheat and corn in the attic; at least that's a staple food. If we run out of grain, just eating vegetables won't fill our stomachs!
Aunt Li finally understood. It was all thanks to Jian Ning's foresight in setting up soil in the attic for growing vegetables and raising chickens. Although the space up there wasn't large...
But it's not a problem to squeeze in some edible grains. After harvesting the vegetables, we can plant more potatoes and sweet potatoes. These things have high yields and can fill our stomachs.
"Okay, I understand. Let's eat." Since Jian Anping had agreed not to go out even if her uncle knocked on the door, she decided to let it go and let things take their course.
After finishing her meal, Jian Ning returned to her room. It was still more comfortable staying here. At least no one bothered her. She took a nap in her spatial dimension, and when she saw that it was almost two o'clock, she called Jian Anping and Xiao Lingfeng to go out together.
“We won’t take the stairs this time. I’m worried that your uncles are waiting downstairs. Close your eyes, I’ll take you down.” Jian Ning said, grabbing one of their arms with each hand.
Using a wall-penetrating technique, I went straight to the back of the building and plummeted downwards, the wind whistling in my ears.
Startled, Jian Anping quickly opened her eyes and saw that she was actually flying in mid-air. She almost screamed and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't make a sound; it would be too embarrassing.
The moment the three landed on the water, the speedboat appeared beneath their feet. Only after stepping onto solid ground did Jian Anping dare to open his eyes.
"Xiao Ning, can we not do anything so thrilling next time? My heart was pounding in my throat!"
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