NFBE Chapter 392: Raising a Child in the End of the World and Killing Zombies 6
Chapter 392: Raising a Child in the End of the World and Killing Zombies 6
Muchen's mother lined up several bank cards and passbooks on the table on the kang, tapping them lightly with her fingers: "The two children left in a hurry this morning, and I didn't have time to explain the family savings to them."
She paused, her tone filled with resignation. "I went to the bank this afternoon to check, and the total balance on these cards is just over 260,000 yuan."
After saying that, she pushed all the cards to Sirong: "The password of the bank card is Muchen's birthday. I'll leave it with you. If you want to buy anything, just use this card."
People of their generation are not used to using mobile banking and the like. Mu's mother usually shops online and asks Sirong to help her buy things.
I'll give Sirong the cash when the time comes.
She was always afraid that she might make a mistake and press the wrong button on her phone.
Now everyone has tacitly accepted that a zombie outbreak will occur in two months.
Mu's father and Sirong's father went to the yard to smoke and discussed the sturdiness of the yard.
The two men squatted in the yard, their cigarettes flickering in the night. They smoked intermittently, their exhaled puffs swirling in the cold air.
"This courtyard wall needs to be reinforced." Sirong's father kicked the corner of the wall with the tip of his shoe. "Tomorrow I'll go to Old Li's house to borrow some tools."
Mu's father nodded, cigarette ash falling on his cotton shoes. "That old elm tree at the east end needs to be cut down too. It blocks the view."
The two of them tacitly did not mention the money.
In the Northeast, married men only take care of big things, such as repairing walls, cutting trees, and drinking. As for trivial matters such as shopping, those are taken care of by their wives.
Inside, Sirong's mother was rummaging through boxes and drawers looking for her passbook. Sirong's grandmother sat cross-legged on the kang, twisting her body towards the kang drawer and pulling out a blue cloth bag from the innermost part.
The cloth bag was opened, revealing two neatly folded passbooks inside.
"All of grandma's pension money is given to you." The old lady stuffed the passbook into Sirong's hand.
Sirong's mother also handed over the bank card: "My daughter, if it's not enough, sell our house as well."
A few years ago, my grandfather fell ill and spent most of our family savings. The combined contributions from my grandmother and mother were less than 100,000 yuan.
"Mom, don't worry." Si Rong put the card in her pocket. "Mu Chen and I will buy it first. In the dream, we died early, and we don't know when this apocalypse will end. Let's stock up on some durable food first. It won't cost too much."
As they were talking, two old men pushed the door open and came in.
Sirong's father rubbed his hands and said, "Listen to your mother and sell the house. It's empty anyway and you can't rent it out for a high price."
Mu's father sat down on the edge of the kang and said, "If it's really like what Rongrong said, it's useless to keep the house. It's better to replace it with something more practical. Also, leave the reinforcement of the house to me and your father."
He rubbed his palms together and suddenly lowered his voice, "But we have to figure it out. Are we going to stay here and die? Should we talk to the village chief?"
Sirong's mother was placing a teacup on the kang table. When she heard this, her hand trembled, and hot water splashed onto the table. "Don't tell anyone! Have you forgotten what Rongrong said in her dream? People who are desperately hungry will even eat their own father!"
Grandma sorted her sewing basket and said, "If our courtyard wall is suddenly raised and thickened, and if people bring food home all day long, will those cunning people in the village not notice it?"
The old lady squinted her dim eyes and pointed out the window toward the highway. "Old Liu's family stockpiled feed two years ago, and there are still pry marks on the iron door of his warehouse."
“This is really a problem!”
This is how it is in the village. The thresholds of every household seem to be transparent. What dishes each family will eat today and what they will do tomorrow can spread throughout the village in less than half a day.
If you suddenly start stockpiling goods in large quantities, you might bring a few bags of rice today, a few barrels of oil tomorrow, and boxes of canned food home the day after tomorrow.
Within two days, the whole village will know that your family is "stocking up." Those old men and women sitting in the sun at the village entrance have eyes sharper than the surveillance cameras. They can clearly count every time a tricycle makes an extra trip.
There is a two-lane road in the village, which divides the village into two parts.
One side faces the river and the other side is backed by the mountain.
My grandmother's house is on the hillside, not at the edge of the village, but closer to the road. Standing at the gate, I can clearly hear the engines of passing cars and occasionally see the beams of light from car lights sweeping across the courtyard wall.
If you want to do it secretly, you won't be able to hide it from the eyes of the villagers.
Even if a suitable reason is found, the fact is that large quantities of supplies are coming.
If a famine really strikes and your neighbors come to borrow food, will you give it to them or not? You can't just watch the uncles and aunts who have watched you grow up starve to death, right?
The villagers have little sense of boundaries, but they don't have any malicious intent either.
They are just used to taking care of each other and helping each other when something happens.
When you build a house, your neighbors will come with shovels; when you have a wedding, all the women in the village will come to help make dumplings; when your elderly family member is sick, the aunt next door will send you hot noodle soup every day.
But if the end of the world really comes, how much of this favor will be left?
Sirong's father stroked the cigarette box. Because Sirong was pregnant, he didn't dare to light a cigarette in front of her:
"I think we should talk to the village chief about this. Whether he believes it or not is up to him, but at least we've got the message across. If it really turns out like what Rongrong dreamed about, I'm afraid our family alone won't be able to hold on."
Grandma put down the half-finished sole in her hand, and a gleam of light flashed in her cloudy eyes: "Tomorrow I will take Rongrong to meet the village chief. If that stubborn old man doesn't believe me, we can go our own way."
She paused and lowered her voice, "That air-raid shelter in the back mountain is where your grandfather used to rest when he was herding sheep. It's very well hidden. If we can't stay in the village anymore, we can go there to take shelter."
Sirong's mother was at the stove, putting the dishes she had drained into the cupboard. Upon hearing this, she wiped her hands and came over: "No one has been to that cave for many years..."
"It's better than just sitting there and waiting to die!"
Grandma said firmly, pointing her skinny finger towards the back mountain, "During the famine in 1960, if your father hadn't taken us in to hide, we would have starved to death! The earthen stove from that time is still there in that cave..."
Her voice suddenly dropped. "We were so hungry back then that we even gnawed on tree bark, but we managed to pull through."
Sirong's father rubbed his rough palms, his brows knitted into knots: "If it is really as serious as you say, there are some things we can't help but be on guard. Don't think that the village chief has the upper hand now,
You have never been hungry. When a person is really hungry and crazy, no one can help you.
"That's right!" Grandma slapped her knees. "Our girl is pregnant, so we can't let anything go wrong."
Her cloudy eyes suddenly became sharp. "Besides, we don't know who could turn into that zombie Banban. If there's a collision, it would be a big deal if we bump into Rongrong."