Around 7 a.m., the people staying at the temporary camp in the low-rent area were already busy.
Some risked climbing the stairs to get home to retrieve important items, while others lined up in long queues to work with construction teams to repair buildings.
The monitoring officer in charge of housing quality control also arrived. Grandma Meng had followed them long ago and learned that the residential building where she lived was extremely dangerous and at risk of collapsing. She learned that reinforcement repairs alone could not restore the main structure.
Immediately, sighs, arguments, and various other sounds mingled together, making the entire low-rent housing area as noisy as a vegetable market.
Grandma Meng joined in the commotion for a while, but the landlord hadn't arrived yet. The landlord, who was in charge of their building, said, "The landlord has other buildings, which are a little more expensive. If you all have nowhere to go, you can temporarily move to other buildings."
It was easy to say, but when they heard that the rent was even more expensive, everyone disagreed and demanded that the remaining three months' rent be refunded so they could find a new place.
Upon hearing this, the landlord's face changed drastically. He was about to return the rent he had already received. This could only prove that he was incompetent, and he dared not tell the landlord at all.
The two sides started arguing, and Granny Meng's throat got dry from all the arguing. She guessed that the result would take a long time to come out, so she called Meng Er and risked going back home down the stairs to move the usable stove, coal briquettes, a table, chairs, benches, bedding, and mattress into the tent.
If we don't move these things now, someone might sneak into the building and steal them when it's dark at night.
As soon as the mother and son went upstairs, they saw someone sneaking around looking into their window from their front door. When they saw them return, the person pretended nothing had happened and strolled away.
With so many people moving things around, it was inevitable that everyone would bump into each other while moving up and down the building, causing pieces of plaster and cement to fall off from time to time. The whole building looked like it was at risk of collapsing at any moment.
Almost all the things had been moved, except for a bed. Meng Er wanted to go upstairs again, but was stopped by Granny Meng.
She waved her hand and said firmly, "Forget it, forget it. It's terrifying going up and down like this. If something happens to you if you go up, I can't bear the consequences."
"Alright then." Meng Er looked up at the area in front of him, which was leaning to the east, and the dark cracks and holes in the west wall. He was still a little scared.
"Xiaoxiu, would you like some hot water?" Meng Da asked.
With a stove and coal, Meng Da lit a fire and placed a small stool in front of the stove for Zhao Xiaoxiu to sit on.
Behind her was a tent, which blocked the wind from blowing on her.
The stove is lit up, some filtered water is added and heated on the stove to heat the nutrient solution and other things.
It's cold, and drinking something cold straight away makes you shiver.
Zhao Xiaoxiu nodded. Granny Meng called out, "Hey, hey!" and slipped into the tent. She quietly took out the yogurt that Zhao Xiaoxiu had brought yesterday and put it into the kettle, instructing Meng Da, "Heat it up thoroughly, we'll share it together later."
The Meng brothers chuckled, feeling secretly delighted. To still have their mother doting on them at their age filled them with happiness.
Why isn't Gangzi back yet?
Grandma Meng took a simple stool made of wooden planks and sat down next to Zhao Xiaoxiu. She naturally pulled her into her arms, took out the little girl's two small hands that were tucked into her sleeves, and covered them with her palms.
But this child has a really strong temper; her warm little hands only make her own hands look cold.
"Hahaha." Granny Meng laughed awkwardly twice, then tucked Zhao Xiaoxiu's hand back into her sleeve.
Zhao Xiaoxiu smiled, indicating that it was okay.
Granny Meng's heart softened at the sight, and her worries instantly vanished. No house to live in? A tent would do.
However, I'm still hoping that the neighbors can bring down the rent for the landlord's new building.
People are truly unpredictable; speak of the devil and he appears.
"Brother Gangzi!" Meng Er, with his sharp eyes, spotted a familiar figure appearing on the roadside and shouted excitedly.
Zhao Xiaoxiu jumped up and ran out to see.
Zhao Gang looked travel-worn, carrying a sack of charcoal on his back and a pair of children's red rain boots in his hand. When he saw his daughter, he broke into a smile, revealing a set of bright white teeth.
"Dad!" Zhao Xiaoxiu happily greeted him.
Zhao Gang crouched down slightly, and the little guy scrambled up, wrapped his arms around his neck, and hung steadily on his body.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Zhao Xiaoxiu shouted excitedly.
Zhao Gang nodded in response, indicating that everything was fine. He had eaten his fill this time.
A small tentacle emerged from behind its neck, and the fleshy bud unfolded as if it wanted to gently bite the tender flesh on the cub's face to express its joy at being full.
Zhao Xiaoxiu swiftly slapped it back with a "smack," her little hand gripping its throat. The girl glared fiercely at it, growling nervously, "Shrink back, hurry up!"
Roubao let out two "ha" sounds before reluctantly shrinking back into Zhao Gang's collar.
Zhao Gang gently lifted her with the hand holding her rain boots, and the father and daughter walked smiling to the front of the tent.
"What did you buy?" Granny Meng gestured to her son to help her take the goods; this large sack looked quite heavy.
“It’s charcoal,” Zhao Gang explained. “I met someone selling charcoal in the city center and bought over a hundred catties of it.”
Meng Er helped take the sack and gently placed it aside to prevent the charcoal from breaking.
The yogurt was ready. Meng Da took out two cups and divided them into two portions. He handed one cup to Zhao Gang and shared the other with his brother and mother.
The group sat around the stove, and Zhao Gang made up a reason to cover up his disappearance for three hours.
None of the three members of the Meng family, mother and sons, suspected anything.
Upon learning that the Meng family mother and her two children had nowhere to go, Zhao Gang asked, "Are you planning to stay in the tent?"
The mother and her two children looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
“Come with us to our territory.” Zhao Xiaoxiu finally said the words she had been holding back for a long time, and then quickly glanced at her father.
Zhao Gang smiled and patted the cub's head, straightened her crooked little red hat and scarf, handed her all the yogurt in his hand, and then said, "You can come and work as farm laborers. There are houses to live in on the territory."
The Meng brothers looked over in surprise, but then realized they had been too eager and scratched their heads in embarrassment.
Meng Da: "Will this work?"
Meng Er: "I don't know how to farm."
Granny Meng was speechless and wanted to roll her eyes at her two sons. They were so rude!
But the next second...
"Ahem, well, I'll still grow some vegetables, but I don't know if just relying on farming will be enough to feed so many of us." Granny Meng was a little worried.
Not to mention far away, in the nearby Taoyuan planting area, a giant mutated python appeared and destroyed more than half of the village. All the seedlings planted by the villagers in the fall were ruined.
In the past, farmers relied entirely on the weather for their livelihood.
Now, besides relying on the weather for their livelihood, they also have to prepare for the possibility of a sudden attack by a mutant species. Granny Meng is really not confident about anything.
"By the way, does the base allow lords to bring people into their territory?"
Zhao Xiaoxiu and Zhao Gang exchanged a smile and said in unison, "It wasn't said that it wasn't allowed."
The mother and her two children: We understand, that means it's okay!
As for the produce from the land, let's plant it first and worry about that later. If all else fails, we'll just go into the mountains and fight the mutated species!
The two families looked at each other, nodded emphatically, and reached a basic consensus.
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