Chapter 47:
Perhaps life and destiny are like this. Whenever you see a little hope, there will always be some accidents that break everything. When people finally recover from the epidemic and gradually start a new life, the high temperature comes. When people struggled to adapt to the high temperature, another disaster that almost destroyed everything caught all human beings by surprise.
Mu Nan remembers the date of the earthquake very clearly. On February 8th, that day was the beginning of spring. In the past, the cold winter was about to pass, but now there is no sign of cooling down, so many people even think that maybe it will be like this in the future. No longer, there are no four distinct seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and there will always be only the heat in the sky.
That night, the colder people came back in the dark, and the people who had been hot all day longed for the cool air under the air conditioner. The WeChat group was very lively. The lack of supplies and high prices have made many people overwhelmed, but many people still said that no matter what, they should try their best to eat a good meal on the Spring Festival, even if they still can’t eat meat and vegetables, but at least instant noodles should be willing to take care of Full, eating full at the beginning of a year is the biggest expectation for the new year.
Fortunately, when the earthquake happened, it was dark on their side, and people were sober, and they could even escape from the building without fear of the direct rays of the scorching sun.
Mu Nan remembered that the earthquake was very loud at that time, and their house shook like it was about to collapse at any moment. Although the house was safe in the end with only some cracks in the walls, the shaking process still frightened many people. Crowding and trampling in the stairwell, crying and struggling in panic, the whole process from the seventeenth floor to the first floor, Mu Nan even felt like he was walking around in hell, so that he looked at the approaching Date, he is still full of lingering fear.
Looking at the day that was circled on the desk calendar, Qin Huai put his arm around his shoulder and rubbed his head with the other: "Sometimes imagination can magnify the horror of a thing many times."
Mu Nan said in a low voice: "But this is not imagination, yes, I have seen it."
Qin Huai smiled: "Did you get scared when you were invited by parents when you were young?"
Mu Nan nodded, of course she was afraid. When she was in school, she was most afraid of inviting her parents. Knowing that she was going to be invited by her parents, she instantly felt like the sky was falling, and she wished she could run away from home to escape.
Qin Huai said: "It's not that you haven't been invited by parents before. You know what you will face after you invite parents, and you have even experienced the consequences of inviting parents countless times, but you will still be afraid when you are going to be invited by parents, but when you Uncle Mu really went to school, met the teacher, and when he went home to educate you, he felt that it was just like that. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was the same reason. It's so scary to think."
Qin Huai turned him around and faced himself: "What's more, I'm here, and I'll help you when the sky falls."
Mu Nan counted the days: "There are still seven days. Let's eat everything we want in these seven days." It's not that we don't have the conditions to eat, but that we don't necessarily want to eat. The rotten and corpse smell will permeate the pile of ruins Surrounded by mosquitoes, rats and ants, every breath of air seems to carry dead germs. At that time, even if they can hide in the house and eat secretly, they may not have the appetite to eat.
With such a little care, Qin Huai would naturally be satisfied if he could, but it didn't make Mu Nan completely let go of eating and drinking. I'm afraid I don't want the spicy red Malatang after a bowl of it.
Because some people came out of the cooling point and went directly to the supermarket to queue up to get the supplies, so Qin Huai and the others delayed their departure time a little bit. Anyway, they were still queuing up there, so it might as well be a little later. The sour and refreshing body odor caused by lack of water and intense heat is really an unbearable burden for life.
As soon as he went out, he saw Jian Chu leaning against the wall weakly. Xu Ming, who used to be clean and fresh, was also a little sloppy. It's not that his body was dirty, but his expression was tired, and his beard hadn't been shaved for several days. , Yu Zibai is a bit stronger, but he can't hide his fatigue.
Seeing Mu Nan glanced at him, Xu Ming stroked his chin and smiled: "I've run out of shaving foam, and it hurts to shave, so the time interval has been longer."
He doesn't like to use electric razors, probably due to professional habits. Although he is only a veterinarian, he has a natural liking for knives, so he also likes to use manual razors when shaving. He has never bought an electric razor. Now that I don’t have shaving foam, I realize that sometimes even if you don’t like something, you can actually have one.
Mu Nan looked at Jian Chu again: "What's wrong with you, you look like your body has been hollowed out."
Yu Zibai said with a heartache and amused: "He vomited after eating instant noodles, the kind that really vomited."
It started to heat up in September, and it was already abnormally hot in October. The ground was so dry and cracked that people couldn't go out during the day. People died of heat, sunburn, and sickness at home. Around November, the government began to distribute supplies and water to appease the people. Now, it has been more than three months. The front is fine, and there is still some stock in the house. Occasionally change the taste and adjust it. The later days become more difficult. The power is cut off for several hours every day, and it is not easy to store the things in the freezer. Basically, there is almost everything that can be eaten, so the only thing left is instant noodles, but it is really boring to eat like this.
Jian Chu is also very helpless, he is a person who has lived a hard life, it can be said that he is not squeamish at all, but because he lived a hard life when he was a child, he was hungry and full, and when he grows up, his desire for food is stronger than ordinary people To put it bluntly, he was more greedy, but he didn't have to choose at this time, but he didn't expect that he would be so disgusted by eating the same food repeatedly that he would vomit.
Jian Chu sighed, he felt more distressed about the bowl of noodles than feeling sick, and he vomited out most of the bowl of noodles, if he had known earlier, he might as well let Yu Zibai eat more.
The hardest time Mu Nan had in his last life was after the earthquake, because he had seen too many corpses and severed limbs, he couldn’t eat at all. He was so hungry that his stomach hurt, but he was disgusted when he saw food, but at that time he didn’t Worrying about food, there are still a lot of food in the space, and the variety is not single. Although I don’t know what it feels like to eat the same thing for several months, I think it is indeed quite tortured.
But even so, it is impossible for him to generously give food to his neighbors because he seems to have a good relationship with them during this period of time. After thinking about it, he took out a mint from his pocket and handed him a mint: "I'll take this one out, I'll give it to you." It's a very common kind of mint, that is, some takeaways will send two mints with the meal , or the kind that the hot pot restaurant outside will put on the counter for customers to take casually, this kind of thing is not very conspicuous.
But no matter how cheap sugar is, you can still buy it at the moment. After all, the online supermarket is still open, but the price is not cheap. Jian Chu shook his head: "You can keep it for yourself, I'm fine."
Mu Nan stuffed the sugar into Jian Chu's hand: "Hurry up, the sugar will melt in a while."
Looking at the peppermint candy stuffed in his hand, Jian Chu couldn't help sighing in his heart that their neighbor is really cute. He used to think that Mu Nan was quite cold and arrogant, and it didn't look cheap to wear it. I used to wear earphones, sometimes with an easel on my back, and it looked like I was studying art. It was good-looking, white and delicate. Although I lived in such an old community, it seemed that the family conditions should be good. At that time He actually has no feelings for Mu Nan. He has met many such people, not to mention his eyes are above the top, but he is definitely arrogant. After all, in this society that looks at appearances, good-looking You will often be praised and sought after, and it is normal to be high-spirited.
Unexpectedly, when he really came into contact with him, he turned out to be a little boy with a soft personality, completely different from what he thought.
A mint candy was put into the mouth, and the cool sweetness slowly filled the whole mouth, and Jianchu felt that the chaotic brain was a little clearer.
It's inconvenient to talk in the elevator, so Xu Ming said after getting out of the elevator, "I heard that the supermarket may be open for dine-in."
Everyone looked at Xu Ming when they heard the words, and Jian Chu said with a hint of urgency: "Really? What are they selling, box lunches? At this time, dine-in food should be very expensive, right?"
Xu Ming said: "The price may be good. I heard that it is mainly some rice noodle steamed buns. There may be some dehydrated vegetables and rehydrated vegetable soup, as well as some canned meat. It is said that after dine-in is opened, various regions will start recruiting workers." Yes, build an indoor field, and when it is confirmed that the indoor field is effective, it will probably resume work slowly. However, some foreign energy sources cannot make it through. It depends on how to rectify the country. If the climate is like this in the future, we will have to get used to it This kind of day and night life, I heard that the higher-ups are already considering building a sun-shielding solar house, and then centralize the central heating and cooling. I don’t know when that new house will be built, and then there will be no need for such a building on the outside. With one layer of cover, a single spark can burn down a whole building."
Yu Zibai was a little curious: "Where did this come from inside information?"
Xu Ming smiled and said: "I have a family member of a patient who belongs to the government. A few days ago, his cat girl had a slight heatstroke. At this time, there was no pet hospital open, so I asked me how to give first aid at home on WeChat, and then we chatted for a while. , he told me some policies that might be released in two days.”
Hearing this, Jian Chu said: "It's good if it's true. The noodles and vegetable soup are also very good. They're both soupy and watery. You don't need to drink water for a long time after eating a bowl."
Yu Zibai sighed, "How difficult it is to raise a cat at this time."
Xu Ming: "The difficulty is that some people who have no savings, like those abroad who are used to spending as much as they earn, even if there are food sold outside, can't afford it because they have no jobs, so it's in chaos. Our country is pretty good. gone."
Mu Nan followed behind Qin Huai without saying a word. He knew that there would be dine-in meals, but not now, but after the earthquake. At that time, elderly people over seventy and children under twelve could receive two meals a day. Meal, although the amount is not large, but at least not starving to death. In addition, those who are injured can also get a certificate for free, and those who are still able to move in good health have to follow the rescue, earn points that can receive dine-in meals, and use the points to exchange for food.
But not everyone is willing to move bricks. Although many stores outside have been emptied and closed, even if you search, you can’t find many things that can be imported, but you can find a lot of that kind of collapsed residential buildings. People would rather dig through the ruins than follow the troops to rescue them.
It is also the natural disasters that have consumed people's hearts. If it was before, even if such a major natural disaster, most people would still focus on saving people first, but now, they may be afraid, or they may feel that the future will be more and more difficult. Instead of wasting time saving others at this time, it is better to take the opportunity to dig up more things and accumulate them to survive.
Thinking about the earthquake that would happen in a few days, Mu Nan didn't notice the person who suddenly rushed towards him, but before the person could touch him, Qin Huai pulled Mu Nan away and kicked him directly. The person who rushed forward was kicked away.
The one who was kicked away was a dirty middle-aged man, very thin, with a bare upper body, hunched back and ribs, his pants were so dark that he couldn't see his original color, his hair was not shaved, but a mess of hair, It was greasy and smelly, and looked just like the homeless people who used to lie under the bridge.
After being kicked, the man fell to the ground and yelled, his voice was cracked and hoarse: "I beat someone, I killed someone, help me, I'm going to be beaten to death..."
Xu Ming, who was walking in front and talking, quickly surrounded them: "What's going on?"
Qin Huai glanced at the people on the ground: "It's just touching porcelain."
Checked Mu Nan, and seeing that he hadn't been touched, Qin Huai then protected Mu Nan in front of him: "Let's go."
The kicked person crawled over quickly and tried to grab Qin Huai, but was kicked away by Qin Huai unceremoniously again, and stepped on the hand he was struggling to grab: "If you don't care about you, don't push yourself. If you want to touch porcelain You should also take a good look at whether the person who touches porcelain is worthy of your touch."
Qin Huai's feet were very ruthless, especially with the force of stepping on his palm, and he wished he could crush his palm. The person who touched the porcelain knew that he was not afraid of trouble, so he was immediately scared, and he didn't dare to rush over again, but he suffered Two feet, the pain on his body was real, but he wanted to just fight to the end, because he didn't believe that the man dared to beat him to death, as long as he couldn't kill him, he would have to be responsible for his injuries.
It was clearly planned, but when he touched the eyes of the other party, he was really a little scared. He wanted to see that this group of people was young and clean. I guess the family situation is pretty good. Young people are the most **** and easily impulsive , what he calculated was the other party's impulse, not far ahead is the food distribution point, when he calls for help, those soldiers will definitely come, as long as he is touched by this group of people, no matter the injury is light or serious, He can rely on each other. The plan was such a plan, but he was still scared at that moment just now.
After the group of people left, the man slowly moved back to the abandoned building behind the flower bed that was waiting to be demolished but hadn't been demolished.
An old beggar who watched the whole process chuckled lightly: "Why didn't you rely on it?"
The Porcelain man didn't respond, he tossed a comfortable position and lay down on the ground, rubbing his aching chest and thinking, he is not afraid of getting hurt, serious or minor injuries are fine, but he is afraid of death, if he didn't want to live, who would take it? I am destined to touch porcelain. But the moment the man spoke just now, and the way he looked at him, he felt that if he really made up his mind to keep going, the result would definitely not be what he planned, and it would be even worse.
Forget it, it’s a bad start, so I’ll wait for the next opportunity. You can’t find someone who is all young men, and you can’t find someone who is older. Older people are more likely to touch them than him. It is best to find someone with a woman or someone who looks more attractive. Intellectuals, those intellectuals are the best, if you want to choose a clean one, if you can keep it clean now, the conditions in the house must be good, and you will usually be willing to give some food or water to calm things down, thinking this way, your eyes in the dark began to look carefully Staring at the people passing by, waiting for the next target.
After walking for a while, Mu Nan's heartbeat calmed down. When the man rushed out just now, he was startled. Fortunately, Qin Huai's reaction was quick, but he looked at his group of people, and he was also very puzzled: "Why did he find me?" Let's touch porcelain, isn't it easier to find fewer people for such things as Pengci, I'm really not afraid of being beaten by gangs."
And the five of them, just the number of them, are all men, so they are not easy to mess with at first glance. The key point is that they are all tall, although they may not be very strong, but their physique is not bad, and it is on their heads. , Isn't that looking for a fight?
Qin Huai said: "Maybe we are young and clean. If we meet someone who is poorer than him, then what's wrong with it? In the past, Pengci used to cheat before we even met him, but now Pengci can't sit on his body." Injury, you are so excited that you fight him and hurt him, if you don’t want to get into the situation and suffer, naturally you have to take something out to settle it.”
Looking at the people distributing supplies in front, Mu Nan said: "Then why don't they come to pick up the things, and these things don't cost money."
Jian Chu, who was standing in front of him, turned around and said: "I don't have an ID card, and I don't want to enter the shelter. The current shelter is not mainly about relief. They all arrange jobs for you. If you want to eat, you have to work. People who don’t want to, look at those people, they used to be paid when they lay down on the ground. That’s all earned.”
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai: "Don't be too aggressive in the future, what if something really happens and blackmails us."
Now the world is not chaotic, unlike in the future, no one cares about this kind of beating to death. Now there are still police, and the call to the police can still be reached. Although the speed of coming may be very slow, there are still those soldiers in front of them. Yes, someone else should take care of it. How troublesome it is to be blackmailed at this time.
Qin Huai smiled when he heard the words: "I have a sense of proportion."
Mu Nan didn't say any more, his brother has always been a measured person, and he will only be more considerate than him in considering things.
There are still three bottles of water and one bag of noodles per person, but this time they are lucky, the noodles they take are rattan pepper flavored, rattan pepper flavor is always better than seafood or shiitake mushrooms. Seeing that Jian Chu and the others got braised flavor, Mu Nan asked, "Do you want to change the two packs to adjust the taste?"
Jian Chu nodded quickly: "Change!" He ate too much stewed mushrooms in soy sauce, and he hadn't eaten rattan pepper a few times. Although they are all noodles, if the taste is different, at least they won't be so greasy.
The two walked to the side and exchanged two small packages. Mu Nan looked at Xu Ming: "What about you? Exchange?"
Xu Ming shook her head: "I really like fried peppers, so I won't change them."
As soon as they put the bread into the bag, they heard a noise in front of them, and someone shouted in panic that they had killed someone. Shouting so loudly, the soldiers distributing supplies here naturally sent a person to check the situation.
The place where everyone is watching is the only way they must go back. Even if they are not very curious, they will inevitably take a second look subconsciously because they have to pass by. At this moment, they saw the person lying on the ground, and Mu Nan subconsciously grabbed Qin Huai's hand , This person is the person who touched Cici and the others just now, but he was obviously fine just now, and now he is lying on the ground without moving, and there is a large piece of blood that seems to be spit out next to him, which is very scary. And in the middle of the crowd, there was a fat boy who seemed to be young. He seemed to be frightened and sat on the ground with weak legs. His face was pale, and the ground was dripping with sweat from his body.
The officer with the epaulets came over, and everyone quickly made way for a passage. After asking, they found out that the person who fell on the ground rushed out suddenly, grabbing a middle-aged woman to beg for water. Of course, the middle-aged woman would not give it to him. , The movement was a little louder during the pushing and shoving, the man fell to the ground and grabbed the woman's feet not to let her go. As a result, the fat boy rushed over and kicked the man who was holding his mother's leg away. He seemed to be still angry after kicking, and chased after two steps and kicked several times, cursing at the same time, because of the movement It is relatively large, attracting many passers-by to stop and watch.
As a result, when the boy finally relieved his anger, he went back to find his mother angrily. The man who fell on the ground seemed to be motionless, but after a few seconds of silence, his body suddenly began to twitch and vomit blood profusely. Only then did everyone realize that something was wrong. wonderful. The young boy probably didn't expect to kick him and vomit blood after a few kicks, and he panicked. The middle-aged woman seemed to want to take her son away, but was stopped by passers-by. Only then did the officers come in.
Mu Nan was frightened to death. After all, Qin Huai had kicked this person before, so he hurriedly dragged Qin Huai home. He didn't want Qin Huai to be arrested when the earthquake was approaching.
Qin Huai squeezed his shoulders reassuringly: "Don't worry, it's fine." Although he didn't have a long-term professional training, he was still sure of the strength of his kicks, and the man was very thin, so his first kick It may be kicked out instinctively, but the second kick has to be careful and restrained. It will hurt for a few days at most, and it is definitely not fatal.
Xu Ming and the others also pretended not to see them and walked home. They didn't die at Qin Huai's feet. The group of onlookers obviously had more mentality of watching gossip than facing the fear of the dead. The awe of life was numb in the face of various deaths every day.
Mu Nan still had lingering fears until he got on the elevator, but he didn't say anything outside, and when he entered the house, he couldn't help but say, "It's too dangerous! Almost, almost!"
Qin Huai saw that he was hot and sweating, and quickly fanned him to cool off: "If I really killed someone, would you be afraid?"
Mu Nan said: "Of course I will, I don't even look at when it is, I was arrested at this time, what should I do if the earthquake comes, what should I do if I am crushed below, I don't know if the police station will collapse."
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Is it just afraid of this?"
It was only then that Mu Nan understood what Qin Huai meant in what he said just now: "Otherwise, if he killed someone, he wouldn't be my brother anymore? Besides, this is at best an over-defense."
Only then did Qin Huai smile reassuringly, and pushed Mu Nan to take a bath.
But after this incident, Mu Nan was very careful when he went out to collect supplies and fetch water the next two times, for fear of causing trouble, he went to a place where he couldn't help himself at the most critical time. Fortunately, everything was safe and sound, and nothing happened. Until the 8th day, Mu Nan woke up early and couldn't sleep anymore. Looking at the light that was sinking outside, that kind of face had already disappeared. The fear of knowing the future also makes people more and more flustered.