After the disaster

At noon the next day, Wang Xueliang, his eldest brother and his second brother took the two young men in the family, and pulled two large carts of wood to Jiayuan Community, and a cage of voles.

Qiu Cheng looked at the field mouse cage, and it was much more professional than the two in their house. It used a few thin metal strips as a shelf, and welded a metal mesh on the outside, and a small door was opened on one of the metal plates on the side. , One side of the small door is equipped with a hinge, and the other side is equipped with a latch.

"Did you make this cage yourself?" Qiu Cheng asked Wang Chengliang his eldest brother.

"The collection of waste products at home is full of these materials, just mess around with them." Wang Chengliang and his elder brother pulled up the hem of his clothes and wiped the sweat from his head. Several are sweating.

"There are still a lot of materials at home? Is it enough to make two big ones? I also have a lot of voles at home." Qiu Cheng knew that they had worked hard all the way, so he was not in a hurry to move things upstairs soon.

"How big is it?" Wang Chengliang asked his elder brother.

"For a grid smaller than this, it is enough for each grid to raise a litter of voles. It should be about [-] grids. It doesn't matter if there are more or less. You can do as you see." Qiu Cheng does not have a hundred litters now. For voles, make a few more, so as not to be enough in the future.

"Okay, I'll send it to you when it's done." Wang Chengliang's elder brother nodded and agreed.

After a while, Wang Chengliang’s second elder brother was able to move the wood up to the fifteenth floor. He and his elder nephew were in charge of the first to fifth floors, while Wang Chengliang’s elder brother and his youngest son were in charge of the fifth to tenth floors. Qiu Cheng and Ah Chang were in charge of the tenth to fifteenth floors, and within a short time, they moved the two large carts of wood.

After the last trip, Qiu Cheng went home and counted more than ten cornbread, weighed some cornmeal, and filled them with a small bag of tomatoes in a small cloth bag.Recently, the few tomatoes on the balcony of Qiu Cheng’s house are old and the fruits are small. Ah Chang picked more than ten from the balcony in the morning and gave them all. I heard from Wang Chengliang before that their family The population is large.

After seeing off the four members of the Wang family, Qiu Cheng went home, washed his hands and face with cold water, twisted the towel, and wiped the sweat off his body.

"I'm going out for a while." He said to Ah Chang.

"Where are you going?" Ah Chang was standing at the door of the bathroom and looking at him.

"Go to deliver the key, and then go to the market to look at the seeds." Qiu Cheng replied.

"Who give the key to?" Ah Chang asked again.

"There are two rooms upstairs that don't belong to our family. Give them the keys." Qiu Cheng said.

Although the two families no longer live here, the house still belongs to them after all. I just installed the steel plate door. It would have been bad if I didn't say hello to them. I will give them the keys and send them over. When the time comes, they will come. Now, at first glance, it can't even reach the gate of my own house, so it must be blown up.

At the beginning, Qiu Cheng didn't communicate with them, just because he didn't want to make troubles. It was a little late to send the keys over at this time, but it was better than being found by someone at that time.In addition, Qiu Cheng also wanted to take this opportunity to meet Ai Wenhai and see what his attitude was.

"Can't we go again tomorrow?" Qiu Cheng came out of the bathroom after washing his face, and Ah Chang followed closely behind.

"Tomorrow we're going to touch the snails," Qiu Cheng said.In the past few days, every morning when he went to fetch water from the river, Ah Chang would point to the downstream and tell him that there were snails over there, and there was nothing to do tomorrow, so Qiu Cheng planned to go with him to have a look.

"Together?" Ah Chang's eyes lit up. Apart from the night market, he and Qiu Cheng had never traveled farther together.

"Well, together." Qiu Cheng nodded.

"Go there?" Ah Chang's voice was full of happiness.

"Yes, let's go there." Qiu Cheng smiled.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Qiu Cheng rode a tricycle out of the Jiayuan community. When he turned around, he saw Ah Chang crouching alone on the railing. He secretly decided in his heart that he would have too much power and wealth. An impeccable identity allows him to be generous, no matter it is day or night, wherever he wants to go.

Qiu Cheng went to Shen Xing's house first, and it happened that Shen Xing was also at home this afternoon. She had just returned from digging wild vegetables for a long time, her face was red from the sun. Seeing Qiu Cheng coming, she asked him to go into the yard to talk.

"No need, just talk here." Qiu Cheng waved his hand, he didn't plan to stay for a long time, just a few words, it's the same outside.Besides, he is a single man, and Shen Xing is a single woman. They are fine, and if they don't call, they don't call. They are afraid that her family will think too much.

"Oh, let's talk about it here." Shen Xing didn't care, she was still not willing to invite Qiu Cheng in. In the past, when she went to Qiu Cheng's house by herself, she always talked at the door, and she never went in. passed.

"These two keys, when you have time, send them to the owner of 1510. I pressed the steel door in that building. This one is the key to the door on the right hand side of the elevator. This one is the key to the stairs. The key to that door." Qiu Cheng said as he handed her two keys, the owner of 1510 was always in contact with Shen Xing, he didn't even know where he lived.

"Okay, I see. I'll talk to them another day. What are you going to do at 1512?" Shen Xing took the key, accepted the matter, and then asked Qiu Chengdao.

"I'm planning to go there now." Qiu Cheng replied.

"I really can't help Ai Wenhai. I also went to see the residents on the fourteenth floor. These people are waiting and watching, for fear of losing money if they sell early. It's not me, since you want the two floors The price given for the house is not low, so just sell a few better houses in the city and exchange them with them when the time comes."

Right now, everyone is more optimistic. They always feel that the hard times will come to an end if they endure it any longer. Recently, Shen Xing ran into buying a house for Qiu Cheng.

"Let's take another look, the houses in the city are not so easy to buy now." Qiu Cheng thinks that Shen Xing's idea is very good, but now it is not so easy to buy a house as it was a month or two ago.

"If you agree, I'll help you find out." Shen Xing recommended himself.

"Okay, sorry to trouble you." Qiu Cheng agreed without hesitation.

"Don't be afraid of trouble, just don't pay less for the agency fee." Shen Xing said it bluntly.

In the past, what she looked down on the most were those who ran business to solicit business. She felt that even if she starved to death, she would never do this kind of work.

When she was really hungry to the point that her eyes turned black and she worked tirelessly for one or two tortillas all day long, she no longer wanted to be picky. To put it bluntly, it doesn't hurt at all.

The most important thing is how much food can be earned to go back. After a few days of full food, Shancheng's little brat looks a lot higher. No matter how much he opposed his birth at the beginning, after so many years of raising him, it is impossible to have no feelings at all. Well, that brat has a good eye, he picks when she's in a good mood to flatter her, and when she's in a bad mood he pretends to be invisible.

Why did Qiu Cheng underpay her the agency fee?He responded with a smile, and then left on a tricycle.

It was still early, before two o'clock, Qiu Cheng came out of the old street where Shen Xing and his family lived, and turned to the morning market along the way.The morning market must be gone by now, but there is a vegetable market next to the morning market. In the past, there were many sellers of agricultural products here, and there were also several seed shops nearby.

When Qiu Cheng went there, he saw a seed shop opened at the entrance of the vegetable market. He went in and had a look. There were not many varieties, a little less than the stalls in the night market.

The owner of the store is a young man in his 30s, and he is not very enthusiastic about doing business. When he saw Qiu Cheng coming in, he just raised his eyelids, greeted him, and then stood there not far or near, without selling. Just wait for Qiu Cheng to choose by himself.

Qiu Cheng saw that everything in his store had price tags, so he didn't ask much. He first took a bag of peanuts to plant, and then went to look at other ones. He saw that the price of rice seeds in this store was 9.2 catties of cornmeal, which was cheaper than that in the night market. Sell ​​cheap, and save the trouble of price adjustment environment.

"Dahe, how is business today?" At this time, a tall and thin man in his 40s walked in. Hearing the movement, Qiu Cheng also turned his head to look outside. His tricycle was parked in front of the store. There were not many people on board, so he didn't take the things in the car into the store.

"Brother Huang." The store owner called out kindly, and handed over a tortilla respectfully. His attitude was much better than when he greeted Qiu Cheng just now.

"Don't worry about the things in the car?" The man named Huang took the tortillas, reached out and patted Qiu Cheng's shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, the people on our street are very well behaved, their hands and feet are not clean Yes, I have already cleaned it up."

Qiu Cheng didn't answer, and he wasn't angry. He waved his hand and said to the shop owner, "I'm leaving. If you need anything, just call someone."

After he left, Qiu Chengcai asked the shop owner, "Don't you have sweet potatoes here?"

"Not now, but if you want, you can leave a deposit first, and come to pick it up in two days." The owner of the shop called Da He said.

"What's the price of sweet potatoes?" Qiu Cheng asked him again.

"Sweet potatoes already cost a catty and a half of cornmeal." The price is not very expensive.

"I'll order ten catties." Qiu Cheng said.

"The deposit is [-]%, you give four and a half catties first, and I'll make a note for you, and I can come and pick it up the day after tomorrow."

"Are you buying from the provincial capital?"

"Yes." The store owner said concisely.

"Who was that person just now?" Qiu Cheng couldn't help asking again after weighing the cornmeal.

"Tuigui Huang, this street is under his cover now. There are more than a dozen younger brothers under his command. They are all masters who fight to the death. They are on this street all day long. If there is something to shout, it is better than the police. Quick, and more daring than the police."

Da He weighed the cornmeal, and wrote a note to Qiu Cheng, which stated that he ordered ten catties of sweet potatoes as seeds, and the delivery date was the day after tomorrow. He had already received four and a half catties of cornmeal as a deposit.

"Do you have to give them a tortilla every day?" Qiu Cheng asked again.

"No way, let's spend money to eliminate disasters. In the past, some companies refused to give them, so they took them away from this street. Fortunately, these people don't do anything other than a cornbread every day."

Qiu Cheng collected the order and left the seed shop with a pack of peanut seeds he bought.

This bag of peanut seeds is about half a catty. It is packed in a transparent sealed bag with a price tag on it. It costs five catties of cornmeal. There is also a piece of paper introducing the peanut planting technology, probably to take care of some people who have no planting experience. City people.

After leaving the seed shop, it was already past two o'clock. Qiu Cheng rode a tricycle to Ai Wenhai's side. He remembered that when he delivered potatoes to Ge Hongchang last time, the other party told him that it would be best between two o'clock in the afternoon and four o'clock in the afternoon. Come over in between, probably because this time period is relatively free.

The Xinnan River in the afternoon is very quiet. It is now late May. In the past, some people have gone swimming in the Xinnan River this season. The elderly and children wear brightly colored swimming rings, and some families come out together.

Today, I didn't see a single swimmer. Even after these years, the water quality of the Xinnan River is much better than before.

Qiu Cheng took his tricycle near the apartment by the river, and soon someone found him. It was the black and strong man last time. This guy was very happy when he saw Qiu Cheng. He laughed twice, and turned on the intercom loudly. He asked, "Old Ge, are you selling potatoes again?"

"What potatoes?" Ge Hongchang on the other end was puzzled by his question.

"You didn't buy potatoes? Then why did the potato delivery guy come here again?" Hearing that he didn't buy potatoes, the man was immediately disappointed. Their food has been monotonous recently, except for tortillas and vegetables.

"What's the matter with you? Who are you looking for?" The man walked up to Qiu Cheng and asked him, his attitude was much more friendly than last time, his eyes were still looking at the tricycle, thinking that even if Lao Ge didn't say he wanted to buy it , People can also come to sell by themselves.

"I live in Building 1512 of Jiayuan Community. I bought basically the [-]th floor and installed a steel door. I heard that the owner of [-] is Ai Wenhai. I will send him the key." Qiu Cheng explained. came here.

Over there, Ai Wenhai just didn't go out that afternoon, and after hearing about it, he asked them to take Qiu Cheng upstairs.

Qiu Cheng went upstairs and saw Ai Wenhai in a room that was arranged like a conference room. He was not very tall, but had a relatively large frame. He looked about 40 years old, with a tough temperament and a loud voice when he spoke.

"You bought all the fifteenth floor?" Ai Wenhai asked Qiu Cheng as soon as they met.

"It's still 1510 and 1512." Qiu Cheng said.

"Hahaha, young man is good, tell me, if I sell my house to you, what price can I get?"

When Ai Wenhai bought that house in the past, he also planned to live in it by himself. Now that the surrounding houses have been bought by Qiu Cheng, it is naturally impossible for him to live in it again. Besides, today is different, like the apartment under his feet. Places that I dare not even think about, now I buy a lot of them, and he doesn't care about a house in Jiayuan Community now, so it's just like that.

"I'll give you as many catties of cornmeal as you spent ten thousand before." Qiu Cheng replied.

"I don't want cornmeal." Ai Wenhai waved his hand.

"Then I'll fold them into potatoes and send them to you?" Qiu Cheng said again.

"It's suitable, so let's just say which day is it?" Right now, besides the tortillas, there are only greens and wild vegetables left. The brothers all eat like this. Ai Wenhai and his family only occasionally improve their meals. First of all, things like flour are really expensive. Second, he also has to take care of his brothers' feelings.

"About a week." In about a week, the batch of potatoes in 1506 should be ripe. The weather has been good recently, and those potatoes are still growing well.

"Okay, then I'll wait for you to bring the potatoes." Ai Wenhai stood up as he said that, as if to see off the guests: "You should take this key back, it's useless to me."

Qiu Cheng didn't say much, and promised again that potatoes would be delivered in a few days, then he left, went downstairs to find the strong man to get a tricycle, and rode home.

As soon as Qiu Cheng left, Ai Wenhai sat down on the sofa, with a heavy complexion, and sighed deeply.

"You just sold that house?" Ge Hongchang and the others came out from the next room. They were staying in the bedroom of this suite just now. Ai Wenhai said that he wanted to receive Qiu Cheng by himself and let them avoid him. Moved directly to the next bedroom.

"If you don't sell it, what else can you do? Save it for a while, and then roll a few catties of cornmeal?" Ai Wenhai shook his head and smiled. He didn't miss the cornmeal, so why bother.Besides, this young man named Qiu Cheng didn't show it on the surface, but since he was able to buy the entire [-]th floor for seven or seven hundred and eighty-eight, I think he has his own advantages, so why should he hurt others and benefit himself? Just add another opponent.

"What shall we do next?" Ge Hongchang paused, and did not mention Qiu Cheng again.

"Walk around more in the past two days, and bring down a few more plots," Ai Wenhai said.Just before Qiu Cheng arrived, they were discussing this matter.

"The bug?" Ge Hongchang still hesitated.

"I can't control that much anymore. If you catch more, you can catch it. If you can't catch it, let it go. You can collect as much as you can at that time, and you won't get nothing." Ai Wenhai leaned back on the sofa as he said, and couldn't help it. sighed.

In the past two days, they have received news that the armyworms are showing signs of moving northward, and all localities are paying more attention to the work of pest control. For example, Xinnan City has done a good job in this job, but there are also some places that are not doing well. , not to mention the vast expanses of uninhabited wilderness.

The northern side was already a bit overwhelmed by the local dogs, and the situation was not as optimistic as the news broadcast. Now if there is another armyworm, even if it is finally controlled, the food production will definitely be reduced. As for how much it will be reduced , now no one dares to say.

As for insect pests, experts have now analyzed several reasons. One is that the land has been deserted for many years, and some insects are normal. The other is that frogs, birds, voles, etc., encountered extinct capture this spring, and all natural enemies were caught. It's only natural that bugs in the wild are infested.

Another one is about the problem of bug resistance. This issue has been raised continuously in the past five years, but at that time, human beings were too busy to care about whether the bugs were living well or whether there had been changes. .

In the past five years, the area of ​​arable land has shrunk sharply. Everyone has intensively cultivated a small amount of arable land, and sent people to catch insects that cannot be killed by pesticides. Anyway, labor is the cheapest. Now it is not possible. The whole world is expanding planting, and large tracts of land Planting crops on the ground, like some major grain-producing areas in the north, one is tens of hundreds of acres, and sending people to the ground to catch bugs?How about catching the Year of the Monkey?

Some people say that the worms will become like this, and it has something to do with the new students. In fact, even if there is no solid evidence, most people still believe that this has something to do with the new students.

As for the new students, Ai Wenhai, as a businessman with an average level of education, can't say lightly whether this thing is good or not.He just often thinks of the Pandora's box in the western fairy tale that a Chinese teacher told them in class many years ago.

Whether it is because of curiosity or greed, human beings have opened this box, and there may be hope in the end, but before hope comes, there are still endless disasters.