Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Everyone only realized in the morning that the weather outside had changed. Perhaps it was because there were fewer people in the village now, power outages only occurred once or twice a week. So even though everyone felt a bit cold at night, they thought it was just the air conditioning set too low.
The next morning, they discovered that the temperature outside had dropped significantly. Li Family's little friend immediately took out his thermometer and saw it was twelve degrees. Zhang Dazhen from next door also came over to take a look, laughing and saying that Heavenly Father finally opened His eyes.
Li Ming happily ran home wearing a small tank top, but he felt a bit unhappy when he saw the withered lotus flowers in the tank. Fortunately, not all of them had wilted; a few were still half-alive. After Yu Tian mentioned that lotus seeds could be eaten, Li Ming cheered up again, but he was now thinking about when he could eat the lotus seeds.
Yu Tian found several sets of clothes from their storage space; everyone was really struggling to adapt to the sudden drop in temperature. Yu Tian also found a few bottles of children's noodles with mushroom-shaped tops, which were probably prepared for Li Ming by Li Yan. She dug out an Ultraman toothbrush; they needed to change their toothbrush every three months, and it was almost four months now, so it was time to replace it. The remaining toothbrushes were kept for washing tea cups and such.
With such nice weather, the Li Family decided to make a good meal. After all, it had been too hot before, and no one could eat much hot food; they mostly had porridge, and even when they ate rice, it was just some light vegetable dishes and clear soup.
Zhou Miao and Li Yan fished out a black fish from the pond in their storage space, sliced it, and lightly fried it in oil before adding pickled vegetables and seasoning packets along with cucumbers and potato chips. Soon, the house was filled with the delicious aroma of fish. The children held their small bowls, eagerly watching the pot.
As for the caviar and swim bladder, they weren't wasted either; after cleaning and drying them, they were marinated in rice wine and salt for a few minutes. Once marinated, they were microwaved on high for three minutes before being stir-fried with scallions, garlic, and chili peppers. Finally, soy sauce and salt were added for flavor; it tasted just as good as boiled fish.
Zhou Miao also killed a chicken and simmered it in a pot for an hour before adding mushrooms grown in their storage space. The flavor was fresh without being greasy, and the meat was quite tender.
After eating vegetables all summer long, Yu Tian stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with shrimp and made stir-fried shepherd's purse. With four dishes and one soup, the family enjoyed a hearty meal. Because the food was so good today, everyone ate several extra bowls of rice; even Yu Tian rarely ate one and a half bowls before finally stopping when she couldn't eat anymore.
The wontons and dumplings made for a pleasant day as well; biting into chicken bones made a satisfying crunch as they mixed rice with chicken soup until even the two Tibetan Mastiffs licked their bowl clean.
The villagers were cheerful; such cool weather hadn't appeared in a long time. The people who came to sell vegetables in the village were also happy since villagers bought plenty of meat and vegetables. Everyone treated today like a big celebration, which somewhat eased the recent concerns about villagers buying houses.
The village gradually became lively again; perhaps due to fewer people around, everyone no longer felt distant from the Li Family brothers. Taking advantage of the good weather, everyone harvested crops from the fields. The harvest wasn't ideal; while there was plenty of straw collected, there was pitifully little wheat. Nevertheless, it could still be considered a harvest.
Recently there had been severe droughts that caused many trees on nearby mountains to die; villagers collected quite a bit of wood to take home. If there were any days without electricity, this firewood would be perfect for cooking. Some people took advantage of the good weather to dig wells at home—perhaps they were frightened by not having water during droughts.
Tian Guifang returned to the village again; however, this time her relationship with Zhang Zhong had basically become public knowledge. She moved directly into Zhang Zhong's house without any talk of titles or status. However, Zhang Zhong's son started causing trouble at home; being a rough man himself, Zhang Zhong hit his son with a stick several times until he settled down. But now the boy seemed much gloomier as if he harbored resentment inside.
Recently Li Yan received another call from that person who had changed phone numbers. He asked about Li Yan's recent life while casually inquiring about Li Ming as well. He warned them not to buy houses back home and advised them to stockpile food. He also mentioned that times were tough now and urged them not to go out unnecessarily.
Li Yan listened intently but was about to speak when suddenly a woman's voice came through on the line. His grip tightened on his phone; without waiting for her to say anything else, he hung up immediately. That person truly was laughably ridiculous—after everything that happened, they still thought about some so-called family reunion.
In the space, the hen hatched ten chicks, and everyone decided to let the chicks roam outside. This way, they wouldn't have to sneak around when they wanted to eat some chicken. The family was considering raising a few pigs as well, thinking that with the current situation, they might not be able to get fresh pork in the future. Although this seemed a bit alarmist, who knew what would happen later?
There were no piglets for sale in town, so to buy piglets, they had to go to another town in a different province, where there was said to be a large farm. Originally, Li Yan planned to buy plane tickets and rent a car locally to transport the pigs back. However, upon checking online, he found that plane tickets had skyrocketed in price and that only international flights were operating; domestic flights would stop during the New Year. Li Yan suspected this was related to government policies—without flights, people couldn't travel far.
The gasoline in their space was running low, so they decided to refuel on the road. If possible, they would buy more since they would need it eventually.
Li Ming's little friend had brought along a small backpack filled with snacks; his Teddy Bear Cookies were essential, along with a model of Ultraman. Yu Tian also prepared some rice balls with a fried dough stick inside, which were quite convenient to eat.
Their area was relatively cheap; despite rumors of an apocalypse circulating everywhere, the residents were still managing to get by without anyone actually starving. However, once they left J Province, they encountered many refugees along the way, some with families in tow. It seemed that what was said online wasn't entirely exaggerated; some people looked so desperate that they dared to stop cars on the road. Li Yan drove cautiously and after three and a half hours finally entered S Province.
They stopped at a gas station when one of the kids needed to use the restroom. Inside the gas station stood about ten police officers on duty, and Li Yan intentionally approached them to gather information.
"Comrade, your identification," one officer said after saluting.
"Officer, what's going on?" Li Yan asked as he pulled an apple from his pocket; it looked bright red and sweet.
Upon seeing the apple, the officer's expression seemed to relax a bit. He glanced at the others in the car before saying, "Where are you from? You're not locals, are you?"
"No, we're from Zhangjia Village in J Province. We heard that piglets from S Province are good quality and wanted to come here for supplies," Li Yan replied with a smile while offering a cigarette.
The officer smiled as well, taking a whiff of the cigarette as if he hadn't smoked in ages. "I thought so! How come you have an apple? But looking at your clothes doesn't seem like it."
"Officer, last year it was freezing cold in the city; we just started farming this year. However, this year's harvest isn't great either; life is tough—barely enough to fill our stomachs," Yu Tian chimed in, trying to emphasize their hardship.
The officer looked at them and seemed convinced; many people traveled from cities to rural areas during the New Year. He glanced around before handing the apple to a young man nearby. "Go share this."
"Captain, maybe you should give it to your little girl," the young man said somewhat shyly.
"Come on! If I say you can eat it, just eat it! It's just one apple; no need for politeness—there's nothing more," the captain replied with a rugged demeanor typical of Shandong men before turning back to Li Yan's family and saying, "Let me tell you—don't bother buying piglets anymore. That place you mentioned had an outbreak earlier this year. Not only does no one dare go there now for supplies, but even if someone is willing to go, there's hardly anything left. You folks from J Province are lucky; it's either drought or flood these days—over here we had major flooding that washed everything away and several earthquakes too—it’s really unbearable.
You must have seen it on your way here; the government’s disaster relief supplies are limited. During New Year’s everyone rushed into rural areas; now it's reversed—everyone is scrambling back into cities seeking help. Why? Because all those resources are being funneled into cities now; without any guarantees, no one can stay in town anymore. I suggest you head back quickly; life is tough for everyone."
However, since they were already there and felt reluctant to leave without taking a look, Li Yan recalibrated the navigation. They took a detour from the highway, which added an hour and a half to their journey.
There were very few cars on the highway, and occasionally they would see one or two passing by. The drive was relatively smooth, at least much safer than during last year's New Year. A woman dressed provocatively was on the highway, next to a parked Volkswagen with a man clearly sitting inside. However, no cars were willing to stop for her. When the woman saw Li Yan's car in the distance, she unexpectedly tore her short skirt even more. Li Yan kept his eyes straight ahead and continued driving, while Zhou Miao turned his face away and gazed affectionately at Yu Tian, fully expressing the noble qualities of the Li family men.
Inside the car, the men were furious as Li Yan's vehicle drove away, throwing down the long knife he had been holding. Damn it, he hadn't had a proper meal in days. This man used to be involved in the underworld and was known as "Big Knife." He had previously been incarcerated for his crimes, and people like him were not accepted in the city. Big Knife could only lie in wait on the highway with his mistress, robbing those who were tempted by beauty; as for those who got robbed, they would meet their end swiftly.
Once they exited the highway and entered W City, they encountered a strange phenomenon: outside the city, there were starving people and homeless individuals everywhere, yet W City remained vibrant and bustling with lights and festivities. Even beggars and panhandlers were rarely seen. W City was the largest urban area in S Province, which was quite unusual.
The group decided to check into a hotel first before assessing the situation further. The hotel had electricity and water supply, and there was no interruption in internet service. Li Yan and Zhou Miao specifically asked the staff about the situation. The staff member indicated that the city was currently stable, with increased government assistance; those beggars had all been sent to shelters.
The government had intensified management in the urban area, with numerous police patrolling every night, ensuring safety in the city. The staff member was originally from a rural area but had come to the city for work after her family suffered from flooding. The government now provided assistance for rural residents moving to cities, so she had no plans to return home. If it weren't for her financial situation, she would have already bought a house in the city; owning property there would grant her real residency rights and access to assistance similar to that of urban residents, including reimbursement of seventy percent of medical expenses.
"Brother, what do you think?" Zhou Miao said as he rarely lit up a cigarette; something felt off—very off. The government unconditionally provided shelters and prevented price hikes from businesses? With rural areas struggling for food supplies, where would the government get so much food? Would they have to purchase it externally? The situation abroad wasn't necessarily better than China's.
The next morning, they headed to a town known for piglets. The town wasn't as bad as they had imagined; many places were under construction for new houses—building houses now?
Zhou Miao squinted his eyes and whispered, "Everyone be cautious; these people look like they came out of the military." He was referring to the workers building houses.
Yu Tian and Li Yan also took notice; typically workers would joke around while working, but these individuals hadn’t exchanged a single word from start to finish. If compared to soldiers, these people seemed even more like regular troops than those at gas stations.
Soon their car was stopped as they approached the town; they found themselves surrounded by high fences. "Stop! Who are you guys?" A young man in his twenties approached them with an expressionless face.
Comment 0 Comment Count