One thousand catties of fine grain, one thousand catties of coarse grain, eggs, pork, pork fat, a bucket of fish, a bucket of shrimp, cloth, cotton, milk powder and malted milk extract, soybeans and mung beans, brown sugar, live chickens…
In a short while, the side room and the utility room were all piled full.
Qiao Jiuru settled the payment for these items with Xiao Lei, and secretly slipped him an extra two yuan.
“Xiao Lei, if we need anything else, where can we find you next time?”
“Aunt, you can find me at the black market near Xiehe Hospital; just mention my name.”
Xiao Lei never expected that this Aunt, who seemed so cultured and sensible, would be so generous, even secretly giving him extra money.
Moreover, since Aunt was introduced by Uncle Guang, she was someone who could be completely trusted.
So, Xiao Lei told Qiao Jiuru the location of the black market where he always stayed.
“Thank you, Xiao Lei, we’ll look for you again if we need anything.”
Qiao Jiuru thanked Xiao Lei while seeing him and the other three off.
It wasn't until she saw them disappear into the darkness that Qiao Jiuru immediately closed the door and quickly put all these supplies into her space with Su Huaiyuan. Afterward, the couple also entered the space together.
“Aru, with so much stuff, it should be enough to feed us for at least two years. We don’t need to be so anxious and urgent anymore.”
Su Huaiyuan looked at the rice, flour, meat, eggs, and other items piled on the ground, and his heart truly felt much more at ease.
Not to mention, they had been reclaiming land in the space whenever they had free time these past two days, and unknowingly, they had already dug out two mu of land.
These two mu were dug and planted simultaneously; they had already planted sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cabbage, as well as scallions, small garlic, garlic heads, and ginger.
What surprised them most and felt very magical was that green sprouts of sweet potatoes and potatoes had already emerged from the ground.
“Once we reach the place we’re sent to, we’ll find seeds to plant wheat and rice, and we also need to plant more vegetables.”
Qiao Jiuru also gained more confidence in her future life, felt increasingly secure, and gradually developed a sense of safety.
“There’s so much land here; isn’t it as much as we want to plant? We’ll have more grain than we can eat then.”
Su Huaiyuan looked at the vast expanse of fertile land before him and felt that the future was bright, not feeling at all that their days would be difficult anymore.
He was willing to work and willing to farm, as long as his family could eat their fill and not go hungry, he feared nothing.
“Alright, I’ll let you plant everything then.”
Qiao Jiuru was also in the mood to joke now, and she suddenly felt much calmer about what was going to happen the night after tomorrow.
The couple first poured the fish and shrimp into the river in the space, and while watering the potatoes and sweet potatoes planted in the ground, they also paid attention to the situation outside the space.
Half an hour had passed, and it was still quiet as a mouse outside, so it seemed no one was going to try to rob them.
“Huaiyuan, let’s go to the black market again. The more we can buy, the better. A hundred-plus catties of rice and flour will be enough for us for two months.”
With grain in hand, there was no panic in their hearts.
Moreover, they still had nearly three thousand yuan left, and their eldest son, Su Ze, still had over two thousand yuan. Four thousand yuan was a lot of money now, and it would last a long time.
“Okay, we’ll go back after we finish buying.”
Su Huaiyuan also agreed; it would be just right to buy things along the way home, and the timing would be perfect.
After the couple had discussed it, they emerged from the space. The utility room was still very dark; they only turned on one flashlight.
Then, the two quietly walked out of the utility room, and after closing the door, they prepared to push the bicycles leaning against the wall.
As a result, they heard several violent coughs from next door, from both old people and children.
“Grandpa, Grandma, it’s not good, younger brother and sister have a fever.”
“Grandpa, Grandma, big brother, what should we do?! Xiao Luo and Xiao Yu are burning up so badly.”
“Wuwuwu… Grandpa, Grandma, I’m so scared, we don’t have money to take younger brother and sister to the Hospital.”
Just as Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan were about to push their bicycles to the door, the adjacent courtyard had already become chaotic, filled with the cries of children.
“Cough cough cough, Xiao Luo, Xiao Shu, Xiao Nian, don’t cry. Grandpa will go see your younger brother and sister.”
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, Grandma will immediately get cold water to cool them down.”
Two aged voices also immediately rang out, followed by sounds of movement and occasional sobs.
After hearing this, Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan stood motionless at the door. After a while, they couldn’t help but sigh.
The couple both realized that the family living next door consisted of the old, weak, sick, and disabled; they didn't even have money to go to the Hospital when they fell ill. How difficult must their lives be?
“Let’s go take a look.”
After a long while, Qiao Jiuru truly couldn’t harden her heart and couldn't ignore it.
“They are all unfortunate people.”
Su Huaiyuan didn’t object; he couldn’t bear to see it either, especially when they had the ability to help, they couldn't pretend not to hear.
Soon, the couple went over to knock on the door together.
Song family.
Inside the house, Song Baocheng and his old wife were anxiously wiping the bodies of their two feverish grandchildren with cold water, while three grandchildren with red eyes surrounded the bed.
They didn't know if this would help, but they truly had no other option; they had no money to go to the Hospital, and nowhere to borrow money.
Just as Song Baocheng and his old wife were filled with bitter sorrow, their door was suddenly knocked upon.
“Thump thump thump…”
At this moment, as dawn was breaking, in this still quiet morning, the sound of the knocking door clearly reached the ears of the entire family.