Survival [End Times]

Zhou Qingrong and Yu Heng talked about a piece of news that they had just found out. It turned out that a relative of a family in the village came this morning. They were also locals from the other 17 townships. They had houses and land, so they didn't need to go out to seek refuge. They had no choice but to come this morning. There was an internal conflict in their village. For that little bit of food, they even ignored ethics and shame and pointed the knife at their own family.

"That family honestly gave away all the food in the house. They were so sincere that they couldn't be more sincere. As soon as the thieves left, they immediately fled the village and came to our relatives in the village." Zhou Qingrong had experienced the chaos that night, and he didn't think this news was so sensational. Instead, his first reaction was how to protect himself. He told Yu Heng about his new plan, and Yu Heng nodded: "Tell me if you need any weapons. We must protect this village as long as we live here for one day."

He patted Zhou Qingrong's hand, looked at the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his chin, and smiled: "Take your time. Think about your two children at home."

Zhou Qingrong really slowed down.

At the end of the fifth year of the apocalypse, he had already cleaned up Laokang Village like an iron barrel. Zhou Qingrong was not heartbroken when he pulled out the white hair on his head because he could get rewards for his hard work.

After all, it was the New Year, and Yu Heng planned to go up the mountain to hunt some good ones. He had been saving the deer for half a year before, so he couldn't guarantee that he would get enough, but he could guarantee that he would get a taste of meat every now and then. There was no way to live such a frugal life. The rice at home had been eaten up a few days ago. Fortunately, Zhou Yueting's little girl had grown up a little and could chew other foods, so the lack of rice porridge was not a big problem.

Moreover, the end of the year and the beginning of the next year are the lowest temperatures, and the difficulty of finding prey and wild plants in the mountains will increase a lot during this period of time every year. Everything is truly depressed.

If we don’t store some food for the winter now, this winter will be even more difficult to endure.

He went up the first day without any harvest, and after two days, he only found some dry wild vegetables, which were not enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. After three days of no harvest, Zhou Qingrong didn’t want him to work any more, and said that he and Mingming would go. The two decided to do a big job this time, and they had to go deeper into the mountains and might have to spend the night.

Spending the night in the mountains is very dangerous. Not only is the temperature extremely low at night, but you may also encounter dangerous animals. A hunter said before that he had seen a bear, but he didn’t know whether it was true or not. At this time, Zhou Qingrong said that he wanted to spend the night, and the biggest threat was the low temperature. There was an outdoor tent at home, and Zhou Qingrong also brought a brazier, etc., thinking that he was well prepared. Mingming also agreed, so Yu Heng didn’t say anything.

Zhou Qingrong kissed the children one by one and led the people up the mountain early in the morning.

After seeing Zhou Qingrong and Mingming off, Yu Heng stood at the door and looked at the sky for a while. The gray sky was so hazy that nothing could be seen. He didn't know whether it was snowing or sunny outside Xiangya Town.

"It's been a while indeed." Five years have passed, and the snow cover has not been made yet? Three years ago, there was already a prototype, and the TV often broadcast the research process. Many people are hoping that the news will come true. In Xiangya Town without snow, the people here have such a hard time. What about other places? The scene of wind and snow appeared in front of him, and it seemed that even the bone-chilling coldness came out of his memory and pierced his flesh and blood.

Yu Heng closed the door and went into the house. There were no adult men at home today and tomorrow, so he and Zheng Han had to be more careful.

Night came quickly, and the night was peaceful. Although Zhou Qingrong was not at home, the village patrol team was still working according to his arrangement.

It was agreed that they would go home the next day, but Zhou Qingrong and others still hadn't returned by the evening of the third day. The families of the other people who went up the mountain with him came to Zhou's house to inquire about the situation. When it was time for dinner, those people reluctantly left Zhou's house.

After closing the door, Zheng Han's heart was pounding. Looking back, he saw the confused eyes of his children and quickly smiled: "Are you hungry? Mom will go cook!"

Zhou Haojun opened his mouth and nodded: "Mom, you go and do your work. I will play with my sister." Then he picked up his sister and went back to the house. The little girl hugged her brother's neck and looked at her mother with a smile, which made Zheng Han's tears fall.

Yu Heng went into the kitchen with her, and the two made dinner. Dinner was also easy to make. They used wild vegetables to cook oatmeal paste. The oatmeal was bought in the past, and it had passed the expiration date for a long time, but the taste was not bad. It was still edible if it was cooked a little more thoroughly. Cooking it with wild vegetables at least made it thicker, and there was something substantial in the stomach.

After Zheng Han threw the empty bag of cereal into the trash can, she stirred the cereal in a trance. She was thinking about her husband and her future life.

Their family would have to live a life of not knowing when to eat.

She was fine, but she was worried about the children, especially her little daughter, who was still so young, how could her stomach bear it. A sister-in-law from the opposite house said while sweeping the floor at the door that her son had not defecated for half a month and his face was green from holding it in.

Zheng Han thought about it and tried to divert her attention, but soon turned to her husband again.

Why hasn't he come back yet? Did something happen?

She couldn't think about this idea too much, as she was frightened when she thought about it.

"Don't worry, they will come home." Yu Heng comforted Zheng Han and told her not to panic, "Let's go, I'll take the pot over, and you take the bowl."

Zheng Han suddenly came back to her senses and quickly agreed.

After dinner, it was another long night. Yu Heng checked the doors, windows and yard of his home again and again before locking the door and entering the house. Zheng Han kept turning over on the kang. He was also a little insomniac and had no sleep. No matter how much he believed in Zhou Qingrong and Mingming's abilities, it was enough to worry if there was no news after one day.

Not to mention that Zhou Qingrong brought so many young and strong people with him. If something really happened, half of the village would collapse. Their family would definitely be criticized by thousands of people. Who made Zhou Qingrong the organizer? He had to take this responsibility.

After waiting for another two days, he still didn't come back. The door of Zhou's house was about to be knocked down. There were people sitting in his house all day, almost eating and living in Zhou's house.

Zhou's family has always been relatively quiet. At first, so many people came, and the two children were relatively novel at first. However, these guests were worried about their own family, so the content of the chat was not very optimistic. There were crying, shouting and cursing, which scared Zhou Yueting. Yu Heng asked Zheng Han to take the child into the bedroom, and he stayed in the living room to entertain the guests.

In the evening, Yu Heng finally sent the last person out, and he felt that his head was still buzzing.

But he couldn't stop people from coming in.

Seven days passed like this, and Zhou Qingrong and his friends came back on the eighth day. As soon as he came down the mountain, he was seen by others. Yu Heng heard someone knocking on his door at home: "I'm back, I'm back!" Before he opened the door to ask in detail, the person had already rushed to inform others.

The village was very lively with this news. Yu Heng didn't let Zhou Haojun go out, and just said to wait at home.

It was very lively outside, and the voices flew into the Zhou family through the high courtyard wall and into the ears of Zhou's family. Zheng Han held his little daughter, and Zhou Haojun pulled Yu Heng's clothes, staring at the door.

The noise was getting closer and closer, and Zhou Qingrong and Mingming came in one after another. They were carrying huge backpacks, and their faces were full of frost, but they were all smiling.

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

The two children rushed over.

*****

Zhou Qingrong and Mingming returned safely, but it seemed that there were still things to deal with, so they put the two large packages in the living room and went out again.

Yu Heng opened the package to take a look. Even though he was calm, he was shocked. There were so many things inside! Fresh, plump and crisp vegetables and fruits, gutted and cleaned rabbits and pheasants...fish!

Fish!

His eyes lit up, and he took the fish out and looked at it over and over again. It was really a real fish! He hadn't seen fresh fish for more than four years. This fish was really big. It looked like an ordinary crucian carp. It had been scaled, gutted and cleaned, and it felt cold to the touch.

"Ah! I'm scared!" Zhou Yueting screamed and hugged Zheng Han. She had never seen a fish in her life, and she was scared by the dead fish eyes.

"Don't be afraid..." Zheng Han patted her daughter, comforting her while grinning uncontrollably, watching her mother-in-law checking the backpack with a burning gaze. Her husband and Mingming were both back, and they brought such good things, and she suddenly had hope for the future.

"Don't be afraid, sister. This is fish. It's delicious!"

After flipping through the two large packages, they were all good stuff, including meat, fruits and vegetables. It was so complete that it seemed like a dream. These things should not be available at this time of year. After the cold winter, supplies were scarce. Even the improved cold-resistant rice soaked in genetic drugs has not been planted yet.

What kind of amazing paradise on earth did Zhou Qingrong and his friends find in the mountains? Or is it the Peach Blossom Spring?

"I'm hungry, eat fish." After a while, Zhou Haojun had coaxed his sister. Zhou Yueting hugged her mother's arm and looked at the fish timidly and curiously.

Yu Heng withdrew his thoughts and smiled: "Okay, let's make soup. There are pickled radishes at home."

The hunters went home, and the harvest they brought was clearly carried on their backs, which made everyone salivate. The village was lively until the afternoon. Zhou Qingrong also dealt with the follow-up issues of his dead and injured companions. He went home to get food twice and distributed it to the homes of the dead and injured.

When he got home and saw that his family had already had fish soup, he smiled and touched Zhou Yueting's head: "Drink slowly." This daughter had suffered so much since she was born. She had never enjoyed any happiness. Even fish soup was her first time. His heart turned into water, soft and astringent.

"It tastes good! The fish is delicious!" Zhou Yueting smiled happily and called Zhou Qingrong: "Dad, eat it!" Then she went to pull Mingming, "Mingming, eat it!" Mingming smiled and said: "Uncle also picked some jujubes, I will wash them for you later."

The two sat down to eat together. Zheng Han was really curious about the source of these things, so Zhou Qingrong talked about it while eating.

It turned out that they really had an adventure and found a place that could be called a paradise. After entering the mountain, they kept going deeper. They had a lot of people and were well prepared. They brought all the snake repellent and anthelmintic. Although there were often poisonous snakes, no one was hurt. Zhou Qingrong brought a total of fifty people, each of whom had a gun and listened to Zhou Qingrong's orders after a long period of training. They went into the mountains and looked for food in the mountains. However, it was the end of the year and the coldest time of the year. The mountains were so desolate that they even plucked leaves from the trees to eat.

One person got sick from the cold the first night.

Originally, they had agreed to only spend the night once, but because they didn't have much harvest, Zhou Qingrong and others decided to continue going inside. Fight for one more day, fight for another day.

"On the third day, we had planned to come back, but Mingming found a mouse while digging winter bamboo shoots. The mouse was really big, so Mingming chased it." Zhou Qingrong smiled and looked at Mingming. Mingming smiled and took over the conversation: "The mouse was really fat, and I couldn't bear to see it run away, so I chased it. It crawled into a tree hole, so I reached out and found that the bottom of the tree hole was empty."

When he said this, Mingming showed an excited expression, which showed that his discovery was very amazing. Yu Heng put down his chopsticks and looked at him steadily, and heard Mingming say: "There is a passage under the tree hole, and there is a big cave inside."