Chapter 120: Eggplant, Once Ate Human Flesh
"Ow, ow!"
"Be quiet!"
"Keep it up, and I'll dislocate your jaw."
Hearing his master's threat, Eggplant reluctantly shut his mouth.
"Don't move, or I'll slap you if you splash water on me again!"
Eggplant immediately stopped the urge to shake his body upon hearing this.
Although the blood on Eggplant's body had been rubbed off outside, Meng Ci still felt it wasn't clean enough.
Fortunately, Shen Que and Meng Ci were in sync. When Meng Ci returned with Eggplant, Shen Que had already boiled several pots of water and poured them into a basin.
Thus, Meng Ci forcefully pressed Eggplant down and shoved him into the basin.
However, once Eggplant was in the basin, he started howling.
The heart-wrenching sound was just like the screams of a pig being slaughtered during the New Year.
After much effort, Meng Ci finally got Eggplant to stop howling and began to pour some water over him. But unexpectedly, Eggplant shook his body, splashing water all over Meng Ci.
Meng Ci, furious, hit Eggplant a few times, which finally calmed him down.
But to his surprise, Eggplant only remained quiet for a minute before starting to misbehave again.
Shen Que brought over two brushes, handing one to Meng Ci. Then, they each took a side and started scrubbing Eggplant.
"Ow, ow!"
Eggplant wanted to howl but dared not, so he could only let out low moans from his throat.
Don't bathe, bathing is so uncomfortable.
Ignoring Eggplant's discomfort, Meng Ci and Shen Que each held a side and quickly washed him.
Then, Meng Ci dried him with a towel and left him by the stove to dry himself.
Shen Que and Meng Ci then started preparing dinner.
This meal was simple, consisting of green beans, potatoes, and noodles.
The noodles were made by Shen Que using Meng Ci's noodle press during the heavy rain.
Shen Que also took out some cucumbers and picked some spinach to make a cold dish.
He then opened a pack of spicy boneless chicken claws and placed them on a plate.
Meng Ci brewed a pot of Tieguanyin tea, its aroma inviting.
The two of them ate contentedly.
Meanwhile, Eggplant, whose body was still wet, could only look at them longingly as they ate.
Once his body finally dried, Eggplant let out a howl and rushed to his food bowl.
"Shen Que, do you think Eggplant might have worms in his stomach?" Meng Ci wondered, otherwise why would he eat like he hadn't eaten for days every time.
Shen Que had never kept an animal, so he didn't know about such things.
They decided to ask around later to see if there was a veterinarian.
The next day, after breakfast, Meng Ci and Shen Que agreed to go out for a walk and bring back some firewood.
Of course, they also took Eggplant along.
They wanted Eggplant to help earn his keep.
As soon as they stepped out of the building, they saw Zhang Mingtian returning from his night shift.
"Good morning, brothers!"
Seeing Eggplant walking beside Meng Ci and Shen Que, Zhang Mingtian couldn't help but give a thumbs up.
"You're truly brothers; even your pets are extraordinary."
Zhang Mingtian, who was thirty, always called Meng Ci "brother," making Meng Ci feel like he was losing years of his life.
So, after they became more familiar, Meng Ci suggested that they just call each other by their names.
But Zhang Mingtian insisted, "Once a brother, always a brother."
He also expressed his gratitude, saying that without their loan of the rubber boat, his family would have likely died during the heavy rain.
Therefore, Zhang Mingtian regarded Meng Ci and Shen Que as his saviors.
Hearing Zhang Mingtian's praise, Eggplant lifted his head proudly.
Ow!
I am the most beautiful and mighty pup in the world.
Meng Ci said, "It's quite troublesome to raise this thing."
"It eats meat every meal. If it weren't for the many rats I caught before and let them breed, I would have had to find corpses for it to eat."
It was the time for the security team to finish their night shift, and some residents were out looking for things, so there were quite a few people on the road.
When they saw Eggplant, some of them had wicked thoughts.
Thinking that Eggplant was so fat, they could eat its meat for many days if they caught it.
Meng Ci knew what these people were thinking, so he deliberately said loudly that Eggplant ate humans, hoping to make them abandon their evil intentions.
"You don't know, one time I didn't watch it closely, and it ran up to the twelfth floor and gnawed half of a woman's corpse."
In the house on the west side of the twelfth floor, Meng Ci had accidentally entered while catching rats and found a dead person inside.
And that person's leg was being gnawed by a rat.
Meng Ci unhesitatingly pinned this incident on Eggplant.
Sure enough, many people who heard this had already given up the idea of catching Eggplant and hurriedly urged those around them to leave.
Although the meat was delicious, life was more important.
However, there were still a few who were not discouraged and lingered around.
Hearing that Eggplant ate human flesh, Zhang Mingtian was also a bit scared.
"From now on, we should keep a close eye on it. Otherwise, if it gets addicted to eating human flesh, it might hurt someone."
Meng Ci nodded.
"By the way, what are you guys going out for?" Zhang Mingtian asked.
"If you're going to the trading post, it's closed today because they're clearing snow."
"Clearing snow?" Meng Ci was puzzled.
Zhang Mingtian nodded, "Yes."
Last night, although it only snowed for three hours, the snow depth reached about one meter.
If the trading post wasn't cleared in time, it would be buried under the heavy snow.
Besides the military personnel, other residents would also be recruited to clear the snow.
Of course, they would be paid.
Sometimes with two potatoes or a pack of instant noodles.
Actually, Meng Ci had always been puzzled why the government established the trading post so early when Shen Que had clearly stated in his letter that the final snow accumulation would reach the tenth floor of buildings.
At that time, Meng Ci thought there might be something wrong with the decision-makers' minds.
Only now did he realize that there was a reason behind their decisions.
By clearing the snow, residents could earn food through labor.
If food was distributed directly, it would only encourage idleness among the residents.
"We're going to cut some firewood and won't go to the trading post," Meng Ci said.
Hearing this, Zhang Mingtian pointed out the direction for the two men.
"The government has transported a batch of coal from other cities. If you need it, you can exchange it at the trading post."
"But it's expensive, one kilogram of coal for one kilogram of rice."
In such extreme cold, coal was as important as food, so Meng Ci understood why it was so expensive.
After saying goodbye to Zhang Mingtian, Meng Ci and Shen Que continued walking north.
On the way, they saw a few people actually driving off-road vehicles, which amazed Meng Ci.
Due to the previous heavy rain and snow, the ground was frozen solid for over twenty meters, making it difficult to retrieve vehicles, so Meng Ci hadn't considered taking a car out of his spatial bag.
Seeing someone driving a car, Meng Ci began to consider whether he should take one out as well.