Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 30: Small deals

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Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and the others didn't go to urge Tian Erhe, so they lit the fire and sat quietly, as if they were concentrating on waiting for dinner.

After about ten seconds, Tian Erhe regained his focus and shook his head with a low smile:

"The city is full of corpses, and there are 'unintentional' people who have lost their minds everywhere. This is the case on the streets, in the community, and in the shopping mall.

"Those 'mindless ones' eat corpses, their mouths are bloody, and like the most ferocious beasts, they can even climb on the curtain walls of high-rise buildings like monkeys, and suddenly swing down from a height of nearly ten meters, appearing in the Behind you, they also use guns...

"There were eight or nine of us at the time, and half of us died very quickly after encountering such a situation.

"It may be that I was young, short, and unobtrusive, and I didn't get attacked in the first round, so I survived.

"We panicked, ran wildly, and got into a nearby police station.

"Fortunately, although those 'unintentional ones' can shoot and change magazines, they do not take the initiative to search for weapons. We found a lot of guns and bullets on some bodies in the police station."

Having said that, Tian Erhe smiled and said to Bai Chen and Jiang Baimian:

"Do you think that with those weapons, we finally broke out of the siege

"No. Several of us, including the older aunts and uncles, can't use guns, and the sound of gunfire attracts more 'unintentional people'.

"At that time, I thought I couldn't take it any longer, so I cried.

"It's okay, it's okay, those uncles and aunts have a strong desire to survive, and they didn't abandon me, they moved all the way to the parking lot.

"There was an off-road vehicle there, the door was open, the key was inserted, but the owner disappeared, I think, he must have become an 'unintentional' and wandered elsewhere without reason.

"Relying on this off-road vehicle, we hit a few 'unintentional people' and rushed into the street.

"There are not many 'unintentional people' in that area. We seized the opportunity and rushed out of the city all the way. When we reach the suburbs, it will be much safer."

Tian Erhe sighed:

"Before I set off from Shuiwei Town, I thought that I could go home and see if my parents and my mother were there. As a result, in short, I never saw them again."

After sighing with emotion, Tian Erhe glanced at the iron pan that was gradually steaming, and continued:

"We had to go back the same way, collecting some food and clothes on the way.

"Then, gave up the off-road vehicle, took the collected things, turned over the broken road, and recovered the two cars that drove out of the town.

"Just like that, we're back in Shuiwei Town.

"Because it's winter, and the rescue has been delayed, we all decided to stop thinking about the follow-up earthquake and start to requisition the buildings that are still intact in the town. People can't just freeze to death, right? Bar

"Thank you for the Chinese New Year festival. Every household is stocked with New Year's goods, and there are a lot of things in several supermarkets. We didn't worry about food all winter.

"However, some uncles and aunts suggested that it is not very good to distribute food like this, it is easy to develop inertia, and it wastes precious time. They proposed to exchange labor for food.

"Most people agreed. Before spring really came, we divided the buildings here into many small rooms, repaired the walls, maintained the canals in the fields outside the town, and built the waterworks here. The water tower, proficient in the use of firearms...

"These things turned out to be very important, whether it was dealing with famine, or defending against wild beasts, robbers and 'mindless', they all played a big role."

Tian Erhe's eyes diverged a little, as if he had returned to that festival of collective labor.

His voice fell a little unconsciously:

"When the weather warms up and the cold spring season ends, we finally determined one thing:

"Rescue will never come..."

Tian Erhe raised his head, pulled out a little smile and said:

"You should be able to guess what happened to us.

"It is nothing more than taking the opportunity of the 'unintentional people' to die in large numbers in winter, and began to explore the ruins of several surrounding cities, collecting food, clothes, guns, ammunition, batteries and fuel and other materials, and at the same time, organized production and tried hunting. , send someone to see if there are any surviving cities in the distance.

"How? Do you still want to listen?"

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"Want to hear!"

After speaking, she showed a bright smile:

"You can talk while you eat, and we listen while we eat."

The braised beef in the pot is almost ready.

At this time, Shang Jianyao touched his stomach:

"I'll go to the toilet first."

"I'll go too." Long Yuehong stood up.

"Okay, wait for you to come back." Jiang Baimian understood the two team members who had just arrived on the surface.

The first time she left the company and entered the black marsh wilderness, she also resisted the solution on the spot, but she couldn't hold back, and she was unwilling to drill into the woods and hide behind the bushes.

Among them, the trumpet is fine, the time is short, the impact of the environment is not so great, and the sense of shame will not be so strong, the big one really needs to muster up the courage.

Since going out this time, according to her observation, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong have not solved the tuba yet.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong followed Tian Erhe's guidance and walked through the cluttered area of various buildings to the public toilet that was parallel to the side wall.

During this process, they smelled all kinds of smells. These smells were mixed together, and people couldn't tell what they were. They only knew that the smell was very bad, and they had to be forcibly restrained, otherwise they would retire.

Shang Jianyao also saw a few families get together and shared a stove to cook to save charcoal, and saw some people squatting at the door, hula drinking thin , the porridge is not white enough, I saw sick people lying in the building with the door ajar, took the spittoon while moaning in pain, and saw a mother holding a baby who must be under 1 year old, because it was too late to return home, I can only let the children urinate on the spot. I see many children under the age of ten busy helping their parents make a fire, cook, and wipe their clothes...

Walking and walking, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong arrived at the public toilet under vigilant, guarded, and curious eyes.

On their left are women in dresses, and on their right are men in pencil.

As soon as they turned to the right, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong's eyes went straight for a while.

This public toilet is completely different from what they imagined. Compared with the public toilet inside "Pangu Creature", it is unremarkable.

Towards the front wall is a long urinal, and to the rear is an equally long but seemingly wider urinal.

They are flushed regularly by the device at the junction with the women's toilet, without any block in the middle, and they can be completely flushed with one flush.

It's like moving two streams in.

The only thing that makes Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong happy is that Shuiwei Town attaches great importance to the hygiene of public toilets, and they are cleaned relatively cleanly.

"Go?" Long Yuehong hesitated a bit.

"Go." Shang Jianyao took the lead, picked a position, took off his pants, and squatted down.

Long Yuehong chose a place far away from him, and dodgedly untied his armed belt.

"This, it feels a bit strange..." He couldn't help but glanced at Shang Jianyao.

There was no shade between the two of them.

Shang Jianyao pinched his nose:

"You've been a little angry lately."

"..." Long Yuehong was speechless.

Just when they thought this was the most embarrassing scene, a group of townspeople from Shuiwei Town rushed in.

They looked at Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong a few times, some went to the urinal, some found a place to squat.

"This is even more strange." Shang Jianyao said Long Yuehong's heart.

Then, his thoughts turned to a strange place:

"If Mayor Tian is also squatting here, come in and call out to the Mayor in front of him..."

The townspeople of Shuiwei Town next to Shang Jianyao said subconsciously:

"There is a separate toilet in the mayor's room."

In this way, the two chatted in a strange environment, which surprised Long Yuehong.

Finally, Long Yuehong solved her personal problems, put on her pants, and washed her hands at the sink outside.

He took a deep breath of the relatively fresh air, and once again deeply confirmed one thing:

Compared with the homeless settlements outside, the underground building of "Pangu Creatures" is as beautiful as heaven.

After a minute or two, Shang Jianyao also came out and washed his hands.

They did not discuss the situation of the public toilet, and kept silent in a tacit understanding, and once again passed through the chaotic area with brick houses, mud houses, and tents.

Suddenly, a little girl ran up to Shang Jianyao.

She was about seven or eight years old, her hair was still softly draped, and she was wearing a light green sweater with a lot of balls and two obvious holes, and a white starched sweater that was almost knee-level. , jacket with several patches.

On her legs, she was wearing grey-blue trousers of unrecognizable material, patched with other colors of cloth, and she was walking on a pair of black shoes tied with rags. Her face was thin and yellow, but her eyes Very bright.

The little girl was holding a pile of junk, thread ends, rags, faded buttons, broken headbands, glass balls with flower petals in them, an empty matchbox, and a ball of plasticine.

She raised her head and looked at Shang Jianyao eagerly:

"Brother, can I exchange these for some of your food? Just a little bit, okay? Is it okay?"

In the corner with the wooden shed, the aroma of braised beef floated over.

Shang Jianyao looked at the little girl silently for two seconds. Before she could speak again, she squatted down, stretched out her fingers, and tugged a few times in the pile of debris.

He picked out a transparent glass ball with yellow petals embedded in it, and stood up with a smile:

"That's it."

"...Thank you brother, thank you brother." The little girl was stunned for a moment, and then thanked her.

Shang Jianyao turned his head and looked at the wooden shed where Jiang Baimian and others were.

"Let's go."

The little girl hummed twice and followed closely behind him.

Long Yuehong didn't know what to say.

Soon, they were back near the jeep.

"She?" Jiang Baimian looked at the little girl and expressed his doubts.

Shang Jianyao smiled clearly and said:

"She traded me a piece of braised beef with a nice one."

He immediately sat down and picked up his bowl and chopsticks:

"can we start?"

"Yes." Jiang Baimian and Tian Erhe looked at each other and said.

Shang Jianyao quickly picked up a piece of beef, put it in a bowl, and handed it to the little girl.

The little girl swallowed her saliva and hurriedly took it, she was about to stuff the whole piece of beef into her mouth.

But at this moment, Shang Jianyao took the bowl and chopsticks back.

The little girl hurriedly looked up at him, dazed and aggrieved.

"Be careful it's hot." Shang Jianyao whispered without expression.

While speaking, he put his thighs together, put the bowl there, and then, holding a chopstick in one hand, slowly and carefully tore up the large piece of beef, dividing it into several small pieces.

After finishing this, he picked up a piece of beef and handed it to the little girl's mouth.

The little girl's eyes lit up, she took a bite, and chewed quickly.

"Is it delicious?" Shang Jianyao kept watching her finish the small piece of beef.

The little girl nodded heavily:

"good to eat!"

Shang Jianyao suddenly smiled and took another piece.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Baimian couldn't help sighing:

"You..."

In a sigh, she pointed to the distance with her chin.

Shang Jianyao looked up and found that in the square where various houses were built in chaos, a dozen or twenty children were approaching eagerly, all holding a pile of debris in their hands.

Shang Jianyao's body suddenly stiffened.

Tian Erhe gave a "hey", turned his head with a smile, and roared:

"All go back! All go back!"

Those children suddenly showed an undisguised disappointment, and walked back to their house step by step.