Chapter 144: Here, I Don't Eat Dumplings
With four days left, Meng Ci and Shen Que drove the off-road vehicle back and forth to transport things.
Moving things around was mainly for show.
So despite the large packages and full cardboard boxes, they actually only contained light items like quilts and clothes.
After all, moving is one thing, but not exhausting oneself is another.
At five o'clock on July 18th, Meng Ci, thinking about leaving this place for good tomorrow, decided to say goodbye to Zhang Mingtian and the others.
As for whether there would be anything left in the house for them, Meng Ci said that if they needed wall plaster, they could come and take it.
Meng Ci had already stored everything from Shen Que's room into the space. If the floor and wall plaster could be peeled off, Meng Ci would definitely take them as well.
As for his own room, only some things in the living room were left, which he planned to put into the space tomorrow.
Whether useful or not, everything was valuable in the apocalypse.
Shen Que didn't follow, as he wasn't much of a social person and stayed home to cook dinner.
Meng Ci picked out some canned mice and cockroaches, got two small pieces of meat, and also picked some vegetables, dividing them into two portions, intending to give them to Zhang Mingtian and Yun Jingcen.
Knock knock knock.
Meng Ci knocked on Yun Jingcen's door.
Ruan Qing opened the door.
"Brother," Ruan Qing called out.
Before the extreme cold, Ruan Qing was still fair-skinned and tender, but now his ears were swollen and blistered, with scabs forming.
Even under thick clothing, his emaciated figure was noticeable.
However, the only thing that hadn't changed was the sweet smile on Ruan Qing's face and the sparkling eyes when he saw Meng Ci.
"Meng classmate."
Mao Xinyu walked out of the room at this moment and invited Meng Ci to come in upon seeing him.
Meng Ci didn't enter, instead handing the plastic bag in his hand to Mao Xinyu.
"Teacher Mao, Shen Que and I plan to move to the refugee resettlement point tomorrow."
"These are a few tokens of our appreciation for your care over the past days."
"Why are you moving so suddenly?" Mao Xinyu asked, puzzled.
Mao Xinyu didn't take what Meng Ci offered.
"As for these things, keep them for yourselves."
"If you need help moving, just let us know."
Ruan Qing, with his hands in his pockets, nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
"Brother, I can help you too."
Meng Ci patted Ruan Qing's head, which was covered by a woolen hat, and declined, "No need."
"Shen Que and I rented an off-road vehicle and have been moving for a few days. Most of the things have been transferred."
"These items are specifically for the teachers, please accept them."
Hearing this, Mao Xinyu no longer refused and took the items.
"Thank you."
"Why such a sudden move? We haven't heard you mention it before," Mao Xinyu asked.
Indeed, they had heard people talking about a parked off-road vehicle downstairs a couple of days ago, and that someone was moving recently.
However, they hadn't paid much attention to it.
They never expected that the ones moving would be Meng Ci and Shen Que.
Meng Ci explained, "Shen Que and I discussed it for a long time before deciding to move."
"Teacher Mao, discuss with the other teachers and see if they plan to continue living here."
Mao Xinyu was confused.
"The temperature is rising quickly. In just four or five days, it will reach minus twenty degrees."
"At this rate, it might rise above zero in another two or three days."
"When the ice and snow melt, the building, which was previously soaked by floods, might collapse if it gets soaked by snowmelt again."
What Meng Ci said wasn't false; after all, in the novel, several buildings in Jin Shang Jia Yuan did indeed collapse after the extreme cold ended.
Upon hearing this, Mao Xinyu immediately understood and agreed that Meng Ci was right.
The refugee resettlement point was located on a mountain. Even if the ice and snow melted, the water would flow downhill, and the houses should be safe.
Moreover, those houses were newly built.
Seeing that they understood, Meng Ci put down the items he was holding and was about to leave.
Before leaving, he also asked Ruan Qing how the rabbits were doing.
Satisfied to learn that the rabbits were healthy and had even become pregnant, he left contentedly.
After descending from the sixteenth floor, Meng Ci knocked on the door of Zhang Mingtian's place.
It was Huang Zhi who opened the door.
Meng Ci had already heard from Zhang Mingtian about inviting Huang Zhi to live with them, so he wasn't surprised.
Although Huang Zhi seemed like a decent person, Meng Ci still reminded Zhang Mingtian to be cautious about safety.
"Big Brother!" Since living with Zhang Mingtian, Huang Zhi had started calling Meng Ci "Big Brother."
Meng Ci was already used to being called "Big Brother," so he accepted it gladly.
"Uh-huh." Meng Ci nodded.
He handed the items in his hands to Huang Zhi, but Huang Zhi naturally refused, so Meng Ci spent some time persuading him.
"By the way, I have one more thing for you." Meng Ci then pulled out two items from his pockets and handed them to Huang Zhi.
Huang Zhi was amazed when he saw what they were.
"Big Brother, where did you get these things?"
Meng Ci handed the items to Huang Zhi. "I found them outside during the heavy rain."
What Meng Ci gave to Huang Zhi was a pair of rabbits.
With more and more rabbits being raised in the house, and several female rabbits already pregnant, giving them two didn't seem like a loss.
Besides, Zhang Mingtian's wife was due to give birth in a few months, and these two rabbits were already adults and could soon breed.
Once they had their kits, as long as they were well-fed, they could be slaughtered to provide nutrition.
Zhang's mother, hearing the commotion, came out and, upon seeing Meng Ci, excitedly grabbed his hand.
"Little Meng, you're here! Come in and sit down!"
"It's cold outside."
Zhang's mother pulled Meng Ci, wanting to invite him in.
Meng Ci declined, "Auntie, it's late, I won't come in today."
Huang Zhi also tried to persuade him, saying that Meng Ci had something to do tomorrow and needed to rest well.
Zhang's mother felt a bit disappointed, but she held Meng Ci back, asking him to wait while she went inside and brought out a packet of dumplings.
"These are rat and cockroach-filled dumplings we made, specially kept for you."
Rat-filled? Cockroach-filled?
Meng Ci couldn't imagine how to eat such dumplings.
But seeing Zhang's mother's eager eyes, Meng Ci had no choice but to take them with a stiff face.
"Thank you, Auntie."
Meng Ci took the dumplings back. Shen Que, who was about to put noodles in the pot, saw the dumplings and put the noodles back.
"Since we have dumplings, let's not have noodles."
Meng Ci threw the dumplings on the stove and, hearing this, his expression turned sour.
"If you want to eat them, go ahead, but I won't."
Upon hearing this, Shen Que immediately realized there was something wrong with the dumplings.
"Is there something wrong with the dumplings?" Shen Que opened the bag to check if anything was wrong with the dumplings.
Each dumpling was plump and made with white flour, and none of them had burst open.
Thus, Shen Que couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Meng Ci didn't want Shen Que to eat the rat-filled dumplings, considering that Shen Que's mouth would still be used to kiss him, so he told Shen Que the truth.
Bang.
Shen Que threw the dumplings away, wiped his hands in disgust, and then took out the noodles to continue cooking.