Natural Disaster Apocalypse

Chapter 14 Prices

While poking his phone, Mu Nan said to Qin Huai, who was processing the cornbone, "Brother, the neighbor next door added me and asked if I could sell them a few corn." 

"Look like they smell the scent, how many people live next door?”

Although they live on the same floor, there are not many old residents here.

Qin Huai remembers that half of their floors are tenants. They come and go, he doesn't know how many waves of people have changed over the years.

Mu Nan shook his head: "I don't know either."

There is actually only a balcony separating between their house and the next door. 

Before, the balcony was not completely closed, you could see the next door when you stood on the balcony and stretched your head a little. 

But now the balcony is closed. So it is completely separated. 

But if you look from the door, Mu Nan's house is only close to Qin Huai's house, which is opposite to him, and the distance to the next door is the left and right sides of the elevator, they are separated by a whole corridor. 

So who lives next door, and how many people live there, he really doesn't know.

Qin Huai said: "Then give me two. Even if most people like to eat corn at home, they won't buy too much."

"I bought you the individually packaged one. It happens to be two in a pack." 

"I guess there are children in the family. The smell makes them want to eat it, and two pieces are enough for children to eat."

Mu Nan nodded, and replied to WeChat: 

"Then their house is quite soundproof, I have never heard the noise of children."

Mu Nan messaged Yu Zibai, the neighbor who added him on WeChat, and replied: 

"You don’t need to buy it, the corn costs only a few dollars." 

"But there are not many corns in my house. Let me give you two, I will put them in a plastic bag and tie them on the iron gate of my house." 

"Come and get it yourself."

After a while, Yu Zibai replied a WeChat message, and Mu Nan hurriedly said: 

"Brother, the neighbor said he would give us a bottle of sauerkraut." 

"I said no, there is sauerkraut at home." 

"But he said that they pickled it in their hometown and gave it to us to try."

"Just two corns exchanged with a bottle of sauerkraut, will it be too much of a bargain?"

"How about giving a few more corn?"

Qin Huai said: "That's not necessary, if he gives it to you, keep it, they are neighbors with us, in the future If they need anything, just help them out.”

Only then did Mu Nan respond to the message, then went to find a small plastic bag and tied the corn to the iron gate. 

After a while, someone knocked on the door outside. 

Just as Mu Nan was about to open the door, Qin Huai stopped him: "You stay inside, I'll go." 

Qin Huai casually took a mask from the door and put it on before going open the door. 

He originally thought that the neighbor next door would be about the same age as his father.

But he didn't expect when he opened the door he saw a young man who was about his height. 

Although he was wearing a mask, and he couldn't see his face, judging from the exposed eyebrows, he should be a handsome man.

Yu Zibai was also a little surprised to see the person who opened the door. 

He had met the neighbor next door. And he must be a college student. 

He was always wearing a pair of earphones. He seemed to live alone. And he looks tired and sleepy. 

He has lived here for almost three years, and he has never had any eye contact with this neighbor, let alone say hello and get to know him.

So seeing a different man from the usual man that looks like a college student made Yu Zibai surprised.

But Yu Zibai quickly recovered, smiled and said: "Hi, my name is Yu Zibai, I live next door to you."

"Thank you for the corn. This sauerkraut is made by my aunt in my hometown. The taste is okay, but a bit spicy. If you don't mind, you can try it."

Qin Huai took the sauerkraut and said, "My name is Qin Huai, and it's just a little corn. You are too polite." 

"We are all neighbors. We can take care of each other more in the future." 

Seeing that the other party looked easy to talk to, Yu Zibai felt a little more relaxed, and said, "At this special time, it reflects the saying that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors."

"My friend and I are the only two people in my family. The corn from your family smells so delicious that I can’t help it,"

"I have lived here for several years, and I haven’t met my neighbors, so I took this opportunity to come and get to know each other.” 

Things were exchanged, and they got to know each other, although he was wearing a mask, they had been outside the door for a long time. 

Even though there was no fog in the corridor, they still felt unsafe, so they didn't say much, and the two said goodbye and went home. 

As soon as Qin Huai came in, Mu Nan chased after him and asked, "What are you talking about at the door? It's been quite long."

Qin Huai sprayed the sauerkraut bottle with disinfectant, put it on the shoe rack at the door to dry, went into the bathroom and washed his hands before coming out and said: 

"I thought it was a family with a child, but it turned out to be two young people, and we got to know each other for a while, and we can take care of each other more if there is anything in the future."

–

Mu Nan said: "Do you want to add any ingredients to the bone soup? Seaweed radish or lotus root?"

Qin Huai: "What do you want to eat?"

Mu Nan Said: "Let's add lotus root, I bought quite a lot of lotus root. I specially picked the kind of lotus root that is simmered in soup."

Qin Huai hummed: "Take it out first, I will hang the soup base today, and put the lotus root tomorrow, otherwise when it was simmer for one night and tomorrow it will be rotten (overcooked)."

The neighbor Jian Dao Dao ate the corn he wished for, and gave half of it to Yu Zibai with special dedication: 

"You have worked hard in exchanging the corn, and you will be rewarded!" 

Yu Zibai saw him like this, he swept away the corn.

The decadence feeling just now came back to life, and he found it funny: "Thank you so much for your generosity."

Jian Chu waved his hand: "You are welcome, we are good brothers."

After speaking, he gnawed on the sweet corn. He suddenly feels that life is happy. 

The two shared one piece of corn, and the other one was put in the refrigerator. 

They bought a lot of things in group buying, all kinds of vegetables, meat, bread and cakes, but they didn't see corn.

So the rest of the corn will be eaten next time when he is craving it.

As a result, at night, Jian Chu leaned against the balcony door again, smelling the fragrance of bones in the air, with a melancholy expression on his face.

Seeing him like that, Yu Zibai couldn't laugh or cry: "Otherwise, our three meals can follow other people's recipes, and doesn't have to endure when feeling that other people's food is good."

"Tomorrow I will gather some bones in the group.

"Recently there are quite a lot of people here who bought bones, so you don’t need to be greedy.”

Jian Chu rolled his eyes at him: “Which of your eyes saw me greedy, I was thinking about life, sitting here looking at the empty street outside, can you see my impetuous heart calmed down."

"Soup, what kind of soup it is, I don’t want to drink soup.”

Jian Chu himself is a student who just graduated this year. Although he has not received his diploma yet, he has earned his tuition and living expenses since he was in college. 

He has to go to school and work part-time all these years. 

It is not easy to support himself. 

He didn't have much savings in his hands at all. 

After squatting at home for so long this time, he was really a little impatient, and he didn't know how many days he could survive if he couldn't make ends meet.

And his roommate You Zibai is a graduate student who also graduated this year and has already received an offer from a large company. 

As a result, a world-class plague forced him to stay at home. 

Although his roommate's life is not as difficult as his, he is not from a wealthy family. 

His mother died young, and his father already had his own family, so he didn't take care of him at all.

So Yu Zibai didn't have much savings in his hands. 

He ate boiled food that cut down on clothing cost, where I can afford meat.

–

Those who dare to go out now are all fighting with their lives. 

It is normal for prices to soar, when everyone does not go out, and almost the entire society has stopped production. 

It's not an exaggeration.

It is not easy to have food. 

He doesn't know when the special potion for the disease will be available, and when the world will return to normal. 

After today, he doesn't know what will happen tomorrow. 

Under such circumstances, how can they be willing to buy food? 

A few hundred yuan just for a catty of bones to drink soup.

The desperation in this world is not limited to sick people, but now all eyes are focused on mycelial pulmonary edema, and other financial pressures.

In the eyes of those who do not worry about money, enjoyment of life is more important for them.

'There are many people who worry about money, and there are naturally those who don’t worry about money.'

Every time a group buys something, as long as they see other people buying, Mu Nan will follow suit. 

So many that the volunteers responsible for the delivery knew their family, and joked: "You and your brother are the only two people in your family. You can buy a lot of this stuff. If you can't finish it, it will be wasted." 

Qin Huai said with a smile : "My younger brother is learning to cook online recipes recently."

"Making steamed buns and making pork buns. It's rare for him to be distracted by something."

"Naturally, I can't dispel his enthusiasm. It definitely won't be wasted."

"These foods are so expensive now, and I can't afford to waste them."

Thinking of the current prices, the volunteers all looked pained: "No, I can't even afford cabbage."

While counting things, Jian Chu also came out wearing a mask. 

Volunteers would usually notify the group the floor they are visiting, and let those who saw the news in the group come to the corridor to pick up things by themselves. 

But if others didn’t see it, the volunteers would go knock on the door. 

But it's better to come by ourselves and save a little trouble.

When Jian Chu came over, the volunteers had just counted out Qin Huai's belongings. 

Vegetables, meat, and several kinds of fruits were piled all over the floor, and Qin Huai was still carrying bags of things home. 

Jian Chu also met the college student next door. 

But yesterday Yu Zibai said that there is another person in his family, who is taller and stronger than the college student, and his name is Qin Huai. 

When he saw the person who was picking up things, Jian Chu guessed that this person should be Qin Huai.

Oh, the college student they met before should be at home, and seemed to want to come out to help with things, but Qin Huai pushed him in and didn't let him out.

Jian Chu stepped forward and stopped after a while.

Although he was wearing a mask, he could hear a smile from his tone and said, "Hello, my name is Jian Chu. Thank you for your corn yesterday." 

Qin Huai turned back and smiled friendly: "You're welcome, I also want to thank you for the sauerkraut, my brother likes it very much."

Jian Chu smiled and said nothing more, and reported the house number to the volunteers.

They only bought a few vegetables. 

There are not many things in two bags, just a little, almost enough for them to eat for a week.

It's not because they eat less, but because they can’t afford it, a catty of radishes costs twenty or thirty yuan.

And this price is already suppressed by the government.

The price of some private vegetable vendors is even more expensive, but they have many varieties and are fresh.

So there are naturally people who buy things from private vendors. 

Now that the price regulated by the government is so high, if you continue to stay at home and cannot go out, he really don’t know what will happen in the future.