Reborn in the end of the world, I scavenged in the empty city and bought for free

Yang Mei and Zhang Mingguo were each carrying a snakeskin bag, each weighing at least fifty or sixty kilograms. Yang Mei was out of breath after just taking two steps. Zhang Mingguo was fine, after all, he was used to doing physical work. After finding that he could still bear the weight, he carried another bag on his left.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps was heard at the stairs, and Zhang Youfan appeared downstairs wrapped in a coat with traces of mending. When he saw several people moving things, he immediately came over to help.

A few people chatted as they went upstairs. Gu Tongwan hadn't seen the Zhang family for nearly a month. Yang Mei seemed to have lost some weight, but Zhang Youfan and his son looked healthy. Especially Zhang Mingguo, who seemed to have gained some weight compared to before. It was probably because he had been idle at home for some time and had done less physical work, so he had to gain weight.

"Wanwan, why do you have so many things?" Yangmei glanced at the bag. It didn't seem like the bag contained any food, but it was very heavy, definitely at least fifty or sixty kilograms.

When she opened the bag, she found that it was dark inside. Yang Mei was surprised and asked, "Wan Wan, is this charcoal?"

Hearing this word, even Zhang Youfan, who was walking in front, couldn't help but turn his head, "Charcoal?"

Gu Tongwan smiled and said, "I got a lot of raw branches from the forest last time, and I changed them all into charcoal. The temperature has dropped significantly in the past two days, so I thought of bringing some for you."

Zhang Youfan stopped immediately, his expression gradually becoming serious: "No, you have to..." "How can we take these charcoals? Charcoal is so expensive now, it's sold for 50 yuan per pound outside, and you have a lot in one bag, you should take it back for your own use."

Zhang Mingguo also advised: "Yes, Wanwan, our family has been indebted to you for a lot. You have helped us a lot by introducing jobs to Yangmei and my mother. If you give us gifts as well, we will be embarrassed."

Yangmei didn't say anything. In fact, she knew how difficult her family's situation was. Zhang Mingguo had just gone to the farmer's market yesterday. He was full of hope when he went there, but came back empty-handed. The main reason was that charcoal was too expensive. He had originally planned to buy 20 kilograms of charcoal, but it turned out that 20 kilograms of charcoal would cost the family almost a month's food expenses. But 20 kilograms of charcoal could only last for three days. As the temperature was getting lower and lower, in addition to the need for charcoal for heating, the only small solar heater in their house could not meet their needs. They couldn't let a family of five stay in one room all the time.

No one knew how long this extreme cold would last. Not to mention how difficult it was to squeeze five people into the bedroom, Zhang Youfan and Liu Jinhua could only sleep on mats on the floor in the room during this period. There was no way to fit another double bed in the 12-square-meter room. What's more, with so many people in the room, it was difficult for the couple to whisper anything, and their sex life was almost non-existent.

"It's okay. My sister-in-law and aunt are willing to help me make lunch boxes. I can't thank them enough. You don't know that in order to make dozens of lunch boxes, I start preparing the food in the evening and have to get up early the next day. These few weeks have been very stressful. If they don't help, I don't think I can continue this lunch box business by myself."

Hearing what Gu Tongwan said, Yang Mei immediately reacted and asked in surprise: "Isn't your store selling vegetables? There are a lot of people eating there?"

Gu Tongwan switched the things he was carrying and answered, "Yes, there are many office buildings nearby, and more than a dozen hunter guilds are concentrated there. There are also many young people who come out to look for food at noon, so business is pretty good."

Yang Mei pursed her lips and said quickly, "You can't not do this business. Think about it. If you can sell fifty lunch boxes a day, even if the net profit is six or seven points, it will be several hundred a day. It will be a lot in a month. Add to that the profit from selling vegetables. If the store can last for a year or a few years, you can be considered a small boss in the base."

Zhang Youfan beside him also nodded: "Yes, business is not good now. You can sell this lunch box at this price because the quality of the dishes is good, plus you are willing to spend money on the ingredients. If you keep doing this for a long time, you can really make a lot of money."

Gu Tongwan didn't have such big ambitions. She just wanted to save money to buy a house in the underground city. Besides, opening a store was just to kill some time. Otherwise, she really didn't know what to do if she stayed at home all day.

The few of them were talking when they arrived home. Liu Jinhua had already prepared red dates and ginger soup at home. When they opened the door, they felt a chill blowing into the house. She hurriedly urged them, "Come in quickly. It's so cold outside. Don't get frozen."

"How can it be so easy to freeze, Mom? You're exaggerating." Zhang Mingguo put the things in the corner and saw the steaming ginger soup on the table. He smiled and picked up a bowl and handed it to Gu Tongwan, and the other bowl to his wife.

Liu Jinhua said hurriedly: "Ginger soup, I just heated it up again, drink it quickly while it's still hot to warm your body."

In this weather, even freshly cooked food will get cold in less than five minutes. Therefore, everyone eats very fast these days. If you eat it a little later, the oil under the food will solidify into lumps and the taste will not be good.

"There's a thermos in the trunk, and I haven't brought it up yet. I have to go downstairs again."

"What did you just come up with? Just let Guoming get it. Don't go down. Sit for a while." Liu Jinhua pulled Gu Tongwan to sit on the sofa and gave her son a look.

Zhang Mingguo smiled and said, "If you want, give it to me. I'll go get it."

After Zhang Mingguo left, Liu Jinhua looked Gu Tongwan up and down. After looking at her for half a minute, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why do I feel that you are getting more beautiful every time I see you?"

Gu Tongwan was surprised by Liu Jinhua's comments. The smile on her face froze for a moment, and then she showed a shy smile.

"Yes, every time I see Wanwan, I'm impressed by how handsome she is. But we've known each other for so many years, Wanwan, can you honestly tell us, are you dating anyone recently?"

Gu Tongwan was startled, and someone's face flashed through his mind, but he still said, "I've been busy opening a store recently, so I don't have the time to think about it."

When Yang Mei heard this, she figured out some meaning, so she raised her eyebrows and said deliberately: "You didn't deny it, don't you think you have someone you like?"

Unexpectedly, Yang Mei was very good at reading people's expressions. Gu Tongwan didn't know how to deal with it for a while. Instead, Liu Jinhua next to her urged her to drink the soup: "Drink the soup first, and then talk." Then he glanced at Yang Mei again: "Okay, don't ask me anymore. I think the little girl really has someone in her heart. It's a pity that the nephew I wanted to introduce to you is gone."

"Is there someone? Who is it? Have we met before?" Yang Mei was interested and her eyes fell on Gu Tongwan with a slight smile.

"Okay, stop teasing me. Let me show you the dishes I brought." Gu Tongwan suddenly felt that this scene was very similar to the one during the Spring Festival when she was surrounded by her aunts and uncles and asked about her relationship and marriage. Although she had not experienced it, she often saw it played out on TV. Now that she had experienced it herself, she really couldn't describe the feeling.

This time, Gu Tongwan brought a total of five snakeskin bags. Except for one bag that was full of charcoal, the rest were filled with vegetables that were commonly used in home cooking.

At this time, there is a small heating stove placed on one side of the living room wall. This small heating stove was made entirely by hand by Zhang's father and son using materials they found themselves. Although it looks a bit simple, its function is basically the same as those second-hand heating stoves sold on the market.

When the community was first built, heating pipes were designed for each floor and each household. If desired, they could be equipped with heating equipment provided by the community contractor, but the price is very expensive. A complete set of electric heating equipment will cost nearly tens of thousands of points.

Most of the residents in the community are originally from Xiaoxi Village and several nearby villages. The reason why they were able to get houses is because the villages were requisitioned for the construction of the base. But in fact, after most of the villagers entered the base, although they could live in the inner circle, their monthly income was not much higher than that of people in the outer circle. Therefore, tens of thousands of points are equivalent to several years of savings for them, so how can they afford expensive heating equipment?

The Zhang family originally thought the purchase was too expensive, and after going to see a sample of heating equipment, which was an ordinary wood-burning heating stove found in the northeast, the Zhang father and son immediately decided to make a stove themselves based on the sample, and they actually used it this winter.

Other families who did not buy heaters at that time could not find one in the past few days even if they ran around. Heaters were out of stock in the whole city two days ago. Even if you want one, you can only make a reservation first, but it will probably take more than half a month for the manufacturer to make it. If the temperature continues to drop in the next half month, homes without heaters will be like ice cellars, and it is not known whether they can survive until the New Year.

Yangmei added a handful of charcoal into the heater so that it could burn for a little longer. It was only because Gu Tongwan came that she was willing to add more charcoal. If it were usual times, they would rather stay in the room and keep warm with a small solarium.

"Cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbages, and even loofahs and pumpkins?"

Yang Mei was surprised to see the vegetables in the snakeskin bag. She hadn't seen so many fresh vegetables for a long time. The last time it was extremely hot, Gu Tongwan brought some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes to their family. After she finished eating, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vegetables. Instead, she disliked the vegetables currently grown in the base because they always looked listless and not fresh, and the taste was not very good.

"There are also cilantro and green onions? So much is too expensive, right?" Liu Jinhua opened another bag, which contained some green leafy vegetables, even rapeseed and watercress which are currently very expensive in the market. Liu Jinhua asked about these vegetables at the supply and marketing cooperative in the morning, but it turned out that they were sold for more than 30 points per pound. She was so scared that she didn't dare to buy any. A handful of green vegetables would cost a day's salary. Who would dare to buy it?

Not only that, the third bag that Yangmei opened actually contained two red plastic bags of seasonings, including some pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt, MSG, etc., and even several large bottles of dark soy sauce and light soy sauce.

"I'll pay you for the gas later. I'm planning to deliver food to you once a week. As the weather is cold now, you don't have to worry about vegetables spoiling. As for meat, just put it in a foam box on the balcony. As for the lunch boxes, here's what I'm thinking. You usually make lunch boxes in the morning, and put them in a thermos bucket after they're done. The performance of this thermos bucket is pretty good, and it can keep warm for about half a day in this kind of weather. I'll come to pick up the lunch boxes at 11 o'clock every day. You can see how long it takes to make a lunch box, and you don't have to get up too early. It's really painful to get up in such cold weather."

"That doesn't matter. We can sleep anytime anyway. Let me tell you, Yangmei, we should start preparing the food before going to bed at night. We can cut the meat and side dishes in advance so that we can directly fry them the next day. For 50 lunch boxes, it should be ready in three hours." Liu Jinhua made up her mind quickly and seemed very motivated.

Yang Mei saw that the foam boxes were full of meat and she became a little worried: "These must have cost a lot of money. I don't want to lose money on this lunch box business."

"Don't worry, you won't lose money. It's just that you won't earn as much as outside, but it's still an income after all." Gu Tongwan explained.

Yang Mei nodded as if she had understood something. "That's right. Last time I went out to deliver a knitted sweater to someone, I brought Xiaobao with me. Xiaobao was hungry and made a scene on the way. I had to take him to the nearby snack shop. For a fast food meal with two meats and one vegetable, the meat was minced meat and the taste was not very good. It cost me 28 points. The boss also said that the prices of vegetables and seasonings have increased recently, and he said that he didn't make much money. But I looked at the ingredients in the fast food meal, and at most one fast food meal only cost 15 points. The boss must have made double the money, and he still had the nerve to tell me that he didn't make any money. Everyone knows that as long as a restaurant has regular customers or a source of customers, business is not bad."

"As long as we don't lose money, it's fine. Business has to be profitable, otherwise it's meaningless. If you make less profit, you can just give us one point for each box. We are free anyway, and it doesn't take much time to make a lunch box." Liu Jinhua was afraid that she would really lose money, so she quickly pulled Gu Tongwan's hand and persuaded him.

A warm feeling flowed through Gu Tongwan's heart. He originally thought that he would be able to stay out of trouble in the end times in this life, but he did not expect that in this life he would experience the "warmth" in the warmth and coldness of human nature.

Although the Zhang family is only a friend of mine for a few years, they are able to show their true friendship in times of trouble. This kind of friendship is something I have never experienced in my previous life. Perhaps this is why Gu Tongwan cherishes them so much.

The indifference and selfishness in her nature are directed towards outsiders, but once she regards someone as a friend or someone she can have a close relationship with, she will classify them into another category, and she will do her best to help people in this category.

After confirming the lunch arrangements, Gu Tongwan rushed to the fruit and vegetable store. It wasn't that he was worried about letting Yan Fan look after the store alone, but he was mainly worried that Yan Fan would be too busy.

As soon as I got downstairs, I saw a person lying on my car, trying to pry open the car door with something in his hand.