Ch51 Shen Que, Tell Me If Anything Happens
"It really is a bit much!"
Shen Que's face flushed slightly -he hadn't expected himself to do something so childish.
"So what do we do now?" Meng Ci asked.
"It's fine, I've got a plan!"
Shen Que opened the flour sack he'd brought, placed the opening on the ground, and began digging above it with his knife. The soil, driven by the floodwaters, poured directly into the bag.
Meng Ci gave Shen Que a thumbs-up before grabbing a sack of his own and starting to dig!
The rain was too heavy. The soil they'd just dug up was quickly washed away by the floodwaters. After digging for ages, they hadn't managed to save a single scoop.
All that effort was wasted, which was why Meng Ci had called himself crazy.
Even with this method, after digging for hours, they hadn't even filled half a bag. Instead, they ended up covered in mud.
Undeterred, they eventually walked a distance into the woods and found a small mound. Rushing over, they filled more than two-thirds of their bags before heading back.
As they piloted the assault boat homeward, dusk settled in. More assault boats and kayaks gradually appeared along the route.
But these people still didn't dare act openly, so the two remained relatively safe.
Meng Ci and Shen Que wasted no time, heading straight back to Jinshang Jiayuan.
Carrying the two sacks of soil upstairs, they spotted Zhang Mingtian again-just as expected. And beside him was another annoying person.
"What brings you two here?"
Zhang Mingtian looked from Meng Ci to Shen Que. He'd never seen them looking so bedraggled.
They were soaking wet, their faces and hands caked in mud.
Had he not known they lived on the seventeenth floor, Zhang Mingtian might have suspected he'd mistaken them for someone else.
"Meng Ci, what happened? Did someone bully you?"
Accompanying Zhang Mingtian was Liu Jie, who carried a bag of food.
"Who picked on you? I'll get revenge for you." Liu Jie's gaze shifted to Shen Que beside him.
Liu Jie assessed inwardly that he definitely couldn't beat Shen Que. Still, if getting beaten up could make Meng Ci feel sorry for him, that wouldn't be so bad.
Meng Ci ignored Liu Jie entirely and turned to speak with Zhang Mingtian.
"When Shen Que and I went out searching earlier, we brought back a few packets of vegetable seeds."
"So I went out to get some soil to see if I could grow the vegetables."
"Oh, wow!" Zhang Mingtian nodded. "Big Brother really lives up to his name-so forward-thinking in everything he does."
Eventually, the supplies they gathered would run out. Growing their own was far more reliable.
"What are you planting, Xiao Ci? Running low on food?"
"No worries. When I find food, I'll share my portion with you."
Liu Jie recalled hearing that in recent days, Meng Ci and Shen Que had only gone out for coal or soil-never bringing back any food.
Could it be that they couldn't find any? Then wouldn't his chance finally come?
"Here, Xiao Ci, take these for now!"
Liu Jie planned that once he got his hands on Meng Ci, he'd bully him daily, forcing him out to find food.
Suffering a bit now and giving Meng Ci extra food wasn't a big deal. After all, Meng Ci would have to repay him double later.
Zhang Mingtian, however, was wondering if this guy had some kind of problem.
Zhang Mingtian knew Liu Jie and Meng Ci had issues, but after hearing Liu Jie claim he could find food, he sought out Meng Ci.
After questioning him and getting Meng Ci's approval, he let Liu Jie join their group.
At first, Liu Jie seemed perfectly normal around them. Why was he suddenly spouting nonsense now?
"Brother, here's what we found today. Keep it safe."
Meng Ci took the food but still didn't spare Liu Jie a glance.
This was what Zhang Mingtian and the others had promised to give him earlier; there was no need to hold a grudge over food.
"Oh, and I probably have extra rapeseed. If you need it, I can give you a couple of bags!"
Zhang Mingtian naturally accepted.
The torrential rain had lasted over forty days. Even if they ventured out for food, greens and such would have rotted long ago.
Eating instant noodles day after day had left their bodies deficient in vitamins.
Several of them had developed constipation, and he himself had mouth ulcers, making him too afraid to eat anything.
Meng Ci and Shen Que carried soil upstairs, while Zhang Mingtian waited behind the wall they'd built.
As for Liu Jie, Zhang Mingtian sent him back immediately.
Better to spare the two big brothers any more nonsense from that guy that might upset them-otherwise, the benefits wouldn't go to them.
After entering the house, Meng Ci retrieved five packets of vegetable seeds from his spatial storage-tomatoes, greens, and other varieties.
Meng Ci felt Zhang Mingtian was a man of his word and generally reliable, which is why he'd befriended him.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Zhang Mingtian accepted the seeds with repeated gratitude, promising to give him soil once he found some.
After returning, Meng Ci showered in his spatial pocket, packing his changed clothes into a plastic bag to be discarded later.
It was too late. Meng Ci retrieved a portion of spicy stir-fried vegetables from his spatial pocket, ate, and went to sleep.
"Ah, help!"
"Thud!"
In the dead of night, Meng Ci was jolted awake by a scream. Judging by the sound, it seemed to be coming from Shen Que's side.
Moreover, something appeared to have fallen into the water.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie from the nightstand and pressed the button.
"Shen Que, Shen Que, what's going on?"
The walkie-talkie connected quickly.
"Nothing serious."
"I just heard a noise outside the window earlier, so I got up to pull back the curtains and check."
"Turns out there was someone standing outside the window. When they saw me, the guy got scared and fell." And Shen Que recognized the person-it was He Xian, the one who'd been kicked out of Zhang Mingtian's place.
"Oh!" Meng Ci nodded. "Your window doesn't have safety bars. Stay vigilant and call me if anything happens."
"Got it."
Satisfied Shen Que was fine, Meng Ci hung up the walkie-talkie, yawned, and went back to sleep.
The next day was another military food distribution. Exhausted from yesterday, Meng Ci skipped the line.
Before the downpour, this building had fifty-five permanent households, housing roughly one hundred and fifty people.
Over the forty-seven days of the torrential rain, some elderly and children passed away. Others, likely driven by extreme hunger, ventured out using foam boards or swimming rings. Few returned, leaving only about ninety residents remaining.
Meng Ci found this figure surprisingly high.
But upon reflection, it made sense. One packet of instant noodles per day could only sustain basic life functions-it was impossible to feel full.
Many also realized people were looting outside. So after collecting their noodles, they holed up in their homes,
barricading their doors tightly, refusing to venture out.