Cheng Qing prepared the meal and brought it out for Mi Yang to eat first. Mi Yang glanced at the time and said, "Wait a minute, my dad will be back soon."
Cheng Qing said, "No need to wait for him. He's been very busy these days. Even with a mask on, he can't be delayed from going out. But the place he's going to isn't crowded. It's okay. You guys eat first."
Mi Yang then picked up his chopsticks. He had not tasted the flavor of home for a long time. He had been sick for a few days and had been drinking porridge. Now he felt that the food at home was especially delicious. He buried his head in eating two bowls of rice before stopping.
The little girl's appetite also increased, and she ate a full bowl of rice. Sometimes she was so focused on looking up at her brother that she just ate the rice and forgot to pick up any vegetables. It was Cheng Qing who put the vegetables into her bowl.
Mi Yang would eat anything she was given, and she didn't even need to be coaxed. Normally, she would only eat three chopsticks of vegetables after we agreed on the amount, but today she ate a lot more and was particularly obedient.
After dinner, Mi Yang took the little girl to wash the dishes. After he washed one, he handed it to the little girl and asked her to put it on the table. While washing, he talked to Cheng Qing: "Mom, I asked the pharmacy at home to get more 84 disinfectant and isatis root granules. Have they got them?"
Cheng Qing said: "Yes, I have sold some in the past few days. What's the matter? Is the situation in Beijing very serious?"
Mi Yang nodded and said, "It's quite serious. Bring in more disinfectant and isatis root granules, as well as masks and white vinegar. Oh, and call grandma and ask her to prepare some in advance."
Cheng Qing nodded and agreed, saying, "Okay, your grandma has some. I went home at the beginning of the year and brought them a lot. I'm sure they haven't used up all of it."
Mi Yang said: "Then give my aunt a call and let them know."
Cheng Qing nodded and agreed, wondering, "Such a big thing, how come it's not reported on TV?"
Mi Yang said, "It will be available after a while." He remembered clearly the scene when it was hard to find medicine. It was almost like a panic spreading across the country. He didn't know where it started to say that drinking Banlangen Granules could prevent the disease. Every household was drinking it. He didn't know if it was useful, but it would be good to have peace of mind. It's only March now, and we have to wait until at least July before we can slowly resume our normal work and life.
Mi Yang chatted with Cheng Qing for a while. The little girl looked at them eagerly and worked very enthusiastically.
Mi Zehai didn't get home until after nine in the evening. When he came back and saw his wife and children in the living room, his expression was much more relaxed. He said, "Yangyang is back? I feel much more at ease when you come home. I have been running around the construction site for some time and didn't have time to go to Beijing to see you. I always feel worried..." He changed his shoes, looked up at the little girl in Mi Yang's arms and said, "Xiaoxue is still awake?"
Cheng Qing lowered his voice and said, "I fell asleep, and I had to wait for you to come home in the living room. I didn't dare to move even when Yangyang was holding me."
Mi Zehai went over and took the little girl. The child's face was red as she slept and was covered with a small blanket. He kissed his daughter and carried her and the blanket to her small bedroom. After settling his daughter down, he came out and sat there and chatted with Mi Yang in a low voice. All he asked about was the situation in the capital and Mi Yang's health.
When Cheng Qing brought him the meal, he happened to hear Mi Zehai talking to Mi Yang.
“… I have been collecting statistics on this since the year before last. I took people to visit more than 130 unfinished buildings and selected them after comparing them one by one. I originally thought that this order was safer and would not have too much risk. However, who knew that this incident would happen again this year? The city issued a notice on preventing influenza. The project may be slower. We'll see how the situation develops.” Mi Zehai took the bowl and plate from Cheng Qing's hand. He was also very hungry. He ate half a bowl in two bites.
Cheng Qing asked, "Is it still that building? I remember it was in the Xujiahui area?"
While eating, Mi Zehai said, "Yes, the total area in Xujiahui alone is 80,000 square meters."
Cheng Qing said: "This is an old house from more than ten years ago. Didn't someone take it over before and then ran away? Sister Luo is too bold this time."
Yonezawa Kai said: "Ms. Luo has a unique vision. I believe in her."
Cheng Qing said: "Hey, I don't understand you guys, I'm just happy if I can sell it."
Mi Yang: “…”
It was more than just a sale, it was a business that increased several times. That was a prosperous commercial area in Shanghai. He couldn't even imagine how much it would cost to buy such a large piece of land. A rough calculation showed that it would cost around 10 billion.
Cheng Qing has already started talking to Mi Zehai about other topics. She is at home taking care of the shop and the children. Her world is very small, and she talks about the trivial things happening around her with a smile on her face.
Mi Zehai now wears a suit and tie, but he goes home for dinner every night. Even if he has to attend social events, it is never after 12 o'clock at night. His perspective is different from Cheng Qing's, but he always puts this small family first in his heart. When he looks at Cheng Qing, he is always like a young man in Shanhai Town with admiration. When he sees Cheng Qing smile, he smiles too. He listens with great interest to whatever Cheng Qing says, and he always adds a sentence or two when she talks to him. The neighbors all remember him clearly.
The family sat in the small living room and talked for a while. Mi Zehai urged Mi Yang to go to rest and said to him, "I have already asked for leave from school. Don't worry about anything. It's the same if you study at home. It's okay even if you don't do well in the exam when you return to school in a while. Our Yangyang is smart. Dad will be happy no matter which school he goes to. There's no point in competing for rankings."
Mi Yang knew that he was comforting himself, fearing that he would be sad if he could not catch up with the progress after being isolated at home for a month, so he nodded in response.
After returning to the room, Mi Yang lay on the bed and thought for a while, and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.
This year, most students probably didn’t do well in the exams. The school had the longest vacation, with one or two months being short and the longest being three months, which was always connected to the summer vacation. However, they were in the graduating class, so it should be a little special.
Just as he was thinking about it, his phone flashed twice and a text message came. He opened it and saw that it was from Bai Luochuan.
I hadn't looked at my phone since I had dinner. When I opened it, I saw five or six unread text messages. The first one was a notification of overdue mobile phone bills, followed by the second one which was a record of payment. The text messages after that were from Young Master Bai. I could tell the tone of his voice just by looking at the words.
"Why is it down?"
"I've charged it for you, answer the phone."
"Why didn't you answer my call?"
“Where are the people?!
…
Mi Yang called him and the other party answered immediately. The tone was better than expected: "I was just about to send you a text message when you called. What were you doing just now?"
Mi Yang said: "I went home to clean up and then had dinner."
Bai Luochuan said dissatisfiedly: "Eating until 9:30? Your sister is picky about food again. She is so old, but she still needs you to feed her. Do you really think you are a child?"
Mi Yang: "... She is only 6 years old, she is just a child."
Bai Luochuan sneered and said nothing.
Mi Yang tried to clear his sister's name, but Bai Luochuan was too lazy to mention it and said to him: "I called to ask you if you want to live in my house for a month. Don't we have a family doctor here? It's more convenient to check up. Otherwise, we have to go to the hospital for a checkup every two days. My mother made an exception by issuing a health certificate to let us come back. According to the regulations, we were supposed to stay in Beijing..."
Mi Yang understood immediately and nodded, "Okay, I'll pack my things and tell my mom, and go there early tomorrow morning."
Bai Luochuan agreed and didn't hang up. After a while, he asked him again: "Are you tired? Are you having a low fever again?"
Mi Yang laughed and said, "No, Aunt Luo took good care of me." He thought for a moment and added, "You took good care of me on the way, too."
The other end snorted softly and said, "Nothing else, I'm hanging up."
Mi Yang told Cheng Qing the next morning. Cheng Qing expressed her understanding and helped Mi Yang pack another backpack. She said to him, "Okay, go ahead. If it weren't for your Aunt Luo, I wouldn't be able to see you. Luochuan's home is not far away. Mom will feel relieved knowing that you are by her side."
The little girl had been crying since Mi Yang started packing her backpack. She was about to cry, but when she saw the familiar car of the Bai family downstairs, she burst into tears. Mi Yang felt sorry for her, but he couldn't comfort her even after giving her a few candies. The tip of the child's nose was red from crying. In the end, Cheng Qing picked her up and said, "Don't cry. If your throat hurts, take medicine. You still need an injection."
The little girl hiccupped and tried to stop crying, but tears still rolled down her face.
Cheng Qing held her in his arms and sent Mi Yang away. When Mi Yang got in the car, he heard them talking. The girl was wearing a mask on her face so he couldn't hear what she said, but he heard Cheng Qing's words clearly.
Cheng Qing warned: "It's impolite, don't say 'bad guy', that's also my brother, do you know?"
The little girl was probably angry. She hugged Cheng Qing's neck and turned her head away, refusing to look at the car.
Mi Yang laughed, put his fist to his lips and coughed lightly to cover it up.
When he arrived at Bai's house, he went straight to the second floor with his backpack.
The Bai family lived in a large house, with a separate floor for them to use. Aunt Wu delivered meals to the door every day, and except that they could not go out, they were no different from before. In the past, on Sundays, every time Mi Yang came to see Bai Luochuan, he would spend most of his time playing games in the room with Master Bai, and then go to the study to do small handicrafts.
Luo Jiangjing was worried that they would not be able to adapt on the first day, so he stayed with them for a while at home. After making sure that there was no problem, he relaxed and said, "Just be patient. If you need anything, tell the driver and ask him to buy it for you. Wait a month... Oh, you still have to go to school, so I'll send you abroad during the summer vacation as compensation."
Mi Yang waved his hands to refuse, but Bai Luochuan didn't care. He stood on the second floor and said, "Let's talk about it later. There's nothing fun outside."
Although they lived in the same house, Luo Jiangjing felt a little uncomfortable seeing her son not being able to come and go freely. She looked up at the second floor and wanted to say, "I'll stay with you," but now she couldn't stay. She had barely made a trip to Beijing before, which was already her limit. There were a lot of things waiting for her to solve in the company, so she could only say bitterly, "Mom will come home to see you more often."
Bai Luochuan stood on the second floor, leaning on the stairs with his elbows, and nodded to her, "Okay."
The study room and other facilities on the second floor are the same as usual, and the two bedrooms are also next to each other.
They no longer sleep together. Two years ago, Bai Luochuan was very interested in the bunk beds, so he ordered one in the guest room. Sometimes he and Mi Yang sleep on the bunk beds. This time they will stay for a month, so Aunt Wu has prepared the bunk beds for Mi Yang in advance. The pillows and quilts are all new and soft after being dried in the sun.
Mi Yang took his pajamas out of his backpack and took two books and put them on the table beside him. Bai Luochuan kept looking at his backpack, and Mi Yang noticed it and asked him, "What's wrong?"
Bai Luochuan looked up at him and said, "Don't you feel like something is missing?"
Mi Yang took a look and asked in confusion: "What's missing?"
Bai Luochuan looked at him with even weirder eyes, but he kept his mouth shut and refused to tell him.
Mi Yang felt puzzled but did not take it to heart. Although he and Bai Luochuan had taken leave and did not go to class, they did not fall behind in their homework. Teacher Wei Xian called them at the appointed time to give them individual tutoring. The old man also imitated others and went online, trying his best to explain the questions to them.
After Mi Yang finished his homework, he sent it to Wei Xian using his Penguin ID, and Wei Xian would send him a smiley face to praise him. Mi Yang hadn't seen the first generation of emoticons for a long time, and he felt a little nostalgic when he saw it suddenly.
The Penguin number he is using now was registered with Bai Luochuan. Tencent just launched the beautiful account service, and Master Bai chose their birthdays as accounts, which are especially easy to remember. There are other classmates in the class who use UC to chat, but Mi Yang is used to using Penguin numbers, so he didn't register more. He rarely goes online, and most of the time he likes to quietly do small handicrafts. Occasionally, he writes, draws, and reads books when he is free, and then helps Cheng Qing with the pharmacy. The rest of the time, he has to take care of Mi Xue.
Children these days have a lot of homework in kindergarten, and Cheng Qing is too busy to handle it. Most of the handicraft homework is done by Mi Yang and his sister. This is also one of the reasons why the brother and sister have a good relationship. The little girl especially admires her brother and thinks that Mi Yang is omnipotent and can do everything.
After finishing classes with Wei Xian during the day, Mi Yang would go to the guest room to sleep at night.
As soon as I lay down, I felt something was wrong.
He forgot his pillow.
He just came back from the capital yesterday, and Cheng Qing took it to him to wash. It’s probably not dry yet, so it’s still hanging at home.
Mi Yang turned over and recited the text with his eyes closed for a while. When he was reciting it for the second time, he heard two knocks on the door. Then Bai Luochuan pushed the door open and walked in. He sat down next to him, touched his pillow and said, "Can you sleep? I said you forgot to bring something. The bag you carried today was just big enough to hold a pillow."
Mi Yang lifted the quilt a little to let him in. He shivered a little at the cold temperature on Bai Luochuan's arm and said, "It's okay. I can sleep without that now."
Bai Luochuan laughed and said, "You lied. You will have dark circles under your eyes the next day." He groped in the dark and touched Mi Yang's face. He rubbed his thumb against his eyes and whispered, "You have been spoiled since childhood."
Mi Yang said: "No?" He felt that he was quite able to endure hardships.
Bai Luochuan hugged him, resting his chin on his shoulder and said, "I catch a cold in the spring when the seasons change. I refuse to eat in the summer when it's too hot. I always have a sore throat in the fall. Once I start coughing, it keeps coming back all winter... Which one did I say wrong?"
Mi Yang said: "It's not that exaggerated, everyone gets sick."
Bai Luochuan pinched his face and snorted, "You're still picky about food. You can't even drink a bottle of milk."
Mi Yang: “…”
Mi Yang wanted to protest against this point. It was related to stomach capacity. He had tried his best to drink it. The bottle of fresh milk that the Bai family drank every morning was equivalent to two or three bottles sold in the store. It was completely different, okay!
Bai Luochuan patted his shoulder, pulled the quilt up a little, wrapped them tightly, yawned and said, "It's okay if you forgot to bring your pillow. I'll sleep with you. Just be good and close your eyes and you'll fall asleep in a while."
Mi Yang was so annoyed by him late at night!
Bai Luochuan saw him moving around and said, "Shall I recite the text to you?" He recited in a low voice and fell asleep after only two recitations. Mi Yang had already recited it several times in his mind just now, and he felt his eyelids heavy when he heard it now. He didn't know if it was due to the text, or because the people around him had been together for too long and had become familiar with him. Just like his little pillow, Mi Yang slowly fell asleep in the soft and warm new quilt.
The chef of the Bai family took a leave of absence for something, so Aunt Wu has been cooking these days. Bai Luochuan had said before that Mi Yang didn't eat well, so he started to be picky about food. He didn't eat well during the day, and his stomach would growl with hunger as soon as it got dark at night.
Aunt Wu is only there during the day, and Luo Jiangjing is still busy at the company at night, so he will probably live there too. Mi Yang opened a bag of instant noodles for Bai Luochuan, but the young master was so picky that he refused to even smell it. He lay there with his stomach growling again, and he closed his eyes and said impatiently, "I'm so hungry. I want fried rice tomorrow, the softer kind, and I want ham..."
Mi Yang stood up and said, "Let's go."
Bai Luochuan tilted his head and looked at him: "Where are you going?"
Mi Yang said: "Go to the first floor, I will make fried rice for you."
Bai Luochuan sat up immediately and followed Mi Yang to the kitchen on the first floor. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even turn on the light when going down the stairs. He relied on the moonlight coming in from the side window to barely see the stairs and took two quick steps down.
There were a lot of things in the refrigerator in the kitchen on the first floor. Mi Yang searched for a while and took out vegetables and ham, as well as the rice that the young master refused to eat during the day. After taking them out, he added the vegetables and meat and put them back into the pot. The aroma immediately came out and went straight to his nose.
Bai Luochuan was curious. He had never seen Mi Yang cook before. "When did you learn how to do this?"
Mi Yang said as he cooked fried rice: "I learned it when I was taking care of my sister."
After hearing this, Bai Luochuan raised his eyebrows beside Mi Yang and asked him, "Is this also what your sister likes to eat?"
Mi Yang had seen unreasonable people before, but he had never seen someone as unreasonable as him. He was so angry that he laughed: "No, Xiaoxue likes to eat steamed food. This is what you ordered just now!" He served the fried rice. He was a little hungry, so he took a small half bowl. He gave the rest of the big plate to Bai Luochuan, took the spoon and put it in his hand, saying, "Try it and see if it suits your taste?"
Bai Luochuan took a big bite and couldn't stop eating because it was so delicious.
Mi Yang also ate half a bowl of rice himself. It was cooked well and well-seasoned. The rice was chewy enough and he could occasionally bite into a piece of ham. The salty meat flavor was especially fragrant.
Bai Luochuan ate for a while and suddenly asked, "You usually cook for Michelle, right?"
Mi Yang said: "It's okay, there are more days during winter and summer vacations, and my mom is too busy managing the pharmacy."
Bai Luochuan frowned and said, "But it will be fine after a few years."
Mi Yang asked: "What?"
Bai Luochuan took a bite of fried rice and said vaguely: "Wait two years, she will be able to work when she is ten years old."
Mi Yang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Do you think you bought a maid in the old society? She is my own sister, I won't let her do these things."
Bai Luochuan said: "You can do it, why can't she do it? There is no reason for you to serve her."
Mi Yang said: "There is no reason for a sister to serve her brother. They are all helping each other. Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I just cook a meal. It doesn't matter."
Bai Luochuan refuted him while eating. Maybe because he was not so hungry anymore, he felt much more relaxed. He even argued with Mi Yang for half a day about "Should Michelle learn to cook"? In the end, both of them took a step back and agreed to ask for Michelle's opinion after she turned 16 before making a decision.
Bai Luochuan touched his chin and said, "She was 16 years old, which means it was ten years later. We would both be 24 by then."
Mi Yang went to put the empty bowls and plates in the kitchen and said, "Yes, it's been two or three years since I graduated from college, and I should be busy with work."
Bai Luochuan laughed at him: "You must be busy doing 'small crafts' in the largest library."
Mi Yang also smiled and said, "Maybe."
A lot happened during the month that Mi Yang and Bai Luochuan were quarantined at home.
In early April, the Minister of Health said that the epidemic had been effectively controlled.
In late April, the official and the mayor of Jingcheng were removed from their posts.
At the end of April, the new Minister of Health took office and publicly announced the concealment of the epidemic for the first time.
In May, due to the SARS epidemic, it was announced that the May Day Golden Week would be cancelled.
In mid-May, primary and secondary school students across the country began to suspend classes. In order to solve the problems caused by the suspension of classes, the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television launched a temporary channel "Air Classroom".
…
News about the fight against SARS was playing on TV, and banners reading "United to Fight SARS" were posted everywhere. At the same time, nationwide panic began to spread, and people started to buy up all kinds of daily necessities. Anything edible and drinkable was sold out, leaving only rows of empty shelves in the supermarket.
A large number of people left the capital in a hurry. Epidemic prevention personnel checked the ID cards, tickets and health cards of people leaving Beijing one by one at crowded places such as stations. A few days later, the floating population control was started...
Luo Jiangjing watched the news reports and felt a pang of fear in her heart. The TV station was broadcasting the distribution of Chinese herbal decoctions to teachers and students of the Imperial University to prevent SARS. The campus was full of students wearing masks and queuing up to get the medicine. After seeing this, she patted her chest, knowing that people were restricted from leaving Beijing, and was secretly glad that she had brought her two children out before.
Bai Luochuan and Mi Yang's one-month deadline had long expired, and they have now been released. However, given the serious situation outside, their family members did not dare to let them go out, and they are still locked up at home, and have invited Teacher Wei Xian to come to their home for tutoring.
It was too troublesome for Mi Yang to run back and forth between the two places, so he continued to live at Bai's house and attend classes together. He only went back to his own home on Saturdays and Sundays, just like he did when he was studying at school.
The Bai family's house is now filled with the smell of disinfectant. Aunt Wu is spraying disinfectant from time to time, being very careful.
It is no exaggeration to say that if you cough now, people around you will be scared and run away.
Previously, a female classmate got Mi Yang's mobile phone number from somewhere and called him to ask about his math homework. After asking, she refused to hang up. She hesitated and wanted to talk to Mi Yang, but couldn't say two useful words. Bai Luochuan's face darkened when he heard it. He grabbed Mi Yang's hand and brought him closer to himself, and coughed loudly twice. The other party immediately said goodbye and hung up quickly, as if he was afraid that the virus would be transmitted through the phone.
Mi Yang: “…”
Bai Luochuan sneered: "See? This is human nature."
Mi Yang didn't see anything else, but he saw that he was willful.
Bai Luochuan was still educating him: "Don't listen to those girls' nice words, they are useless at the critical moment. When I was in Beijing, I told them about the text message you sent me. When I went back to the hotel to get my luggage, the teacher asked casually if I needed someone to take care of me. You didn't know that a circle of people were so scared that they hid behind. Not to mention the male and female classmates, the faces of the people in the hotel changed. The one who called was even more exaggerated. He ran away even if he coughed through the phone..." He looked at Mi Yang and concluded: "Do you know who treats you well now? Tell me."
It was the first time that Mi Yang heard him talk about this, and he was a little touched, and immediately said, "You are the best."
Master Bai felt relieved and said, "They are all unreliable, you know? I am the only one left. It's called a friend in need, don't you understand?"
Mi Yang nodded and said, "I understand." He put his phone on the table beside him and asked seriously, "I won't call you anymore. I'll go help you put together the model from yesterday, okay?"
Bai Luochuan said: "Let's not fight anymore, that's boring. I asked someone to buy a new game console, and we can play together."
The driver quickly delivered two large bags of things to the room. This time, there were not only game consoles and books, but also a lot of snacks and drinks.
Bai Luochuan flipped through them and took out two paper boxes that didn't look very high-end. They were colorful with the words "game console" printed on them. He probably just picked one up at random from the store. It was about the size of a palm, with a small screen and only three buttons underneath. When he opened it, he saw an electronic chicken crawling out of the eggshell, with its mouth wide open asking for food.
Bai Luochuan pressed a few buttons randomly, with an expression of disbelief on his face: "What the hell is this! You call this a game console?"
Mi Yang leaned over to take a look. He was not surprised at all and said calmly, "Tamotrix, Xiaoxue has one too."
Bai Luochuan pressed it twice, feeling very unhappy: "I have never seen such a game console in my life."
Mi Yang was happy and said, "Yes, I have seen it. Xiaoxue gave me her red pet egg to play with. Didn't you see it at my house last time?"
Bai Luochuan asked, "Is that the one she doesn't want?"
Mi Yang glanced at him and said, "It's the one she likes the most."
Bai Luochuan sneered.
Mi Yang pointed at Bai Luochuan and said, "Press here, you can also give it a name, then click this for food, this for a walk, and finally this to scoop away its poop."
Bai Luochuan was shocked: "Does this thing still need to be cleaned up?"
Mi Yang said: "Yes, that's how you play with electronic pets, you raise them." Mi Xue had raised it for a long time before, the little girl even showed it off to her brother, so Mi Yang was quite familiar with it.
Bai Luochuan fed it some food casually and watched the electronic chicken peck at the food in the bowl with an indescribable expression: "What will it grow into in the end? Will it grow wings?"
Mi Yang said: "It's just an ordinary chicken, quite cute."
Bai Luochuan pressed it a few times, but didn't think it was fun, so he threw it aside with a sour face. Mi Yang picked it up and gave the newly hatched electronic chicken a name "Meimei". Bai Luochuan saw it and frowned, "Why is it called this name?" If he remembered correctly, the female classmate who called just now seemed to have the word "Meimei" in her name.
Mi Yang didn't think as much as he thought, and said calmly: "It's a girl, and the gender is shown here, look."
Bai Luochuan: “…”
Bai Luochuan refused to let him come up with that name, so he took it, deleted it, and started typing again. Just as he wrote the word "snow", Mi Yang coughed, so he changed it to Snowball.
Mi Yang glanced at him, and Master Bai was still speaking righteously: "Look how white it is, it should be called this name."
Maybe it was because the name gave him a sense of responsibility, or maybe it was because of Mi Yang's occasional glances, Master Bai raised the Tamagotchi seriously for three months. He waited until the news of SARS gradually stopped appearing on TV, and his Tamagotchi reached the maximum level, leaving behind an egg and flew away.
Bai Luochuan was furious: "… What kind of game console is this! Isn't this equivalent to starting over from scratch? This is a rubbish game, it deserves to be shut down!"
The author has something to say: Update completed, please give me nutrient solution~