After Gu Changzhou finished speaking, he truly used his hands that had once held guns and carried cannons to find a hoe and a machete from the house and went to the field to weed.
Judging from Lu Qiming’s expression, he had no intention of helping at all.
This place was going to be their future home, not Gu Changzhou’s.
Feeling embarrassed to just watch, Jiang Miaomiao pulled him into the small building to clean up their living space.
The structure of the small building was simple.
Upon entering the first floor, there was a living room. On the left was a storage room for farming tools, and on the right was a bathroom.
At the back was a small annex, which would be used as the kitchen.
The second floor had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a storage room.
Since they hadn’t been submerged, the furniture and appliances still maintained their original appearance, but they were covered in dust.
However, the house wasn’t as lucky.
Exposed to the wind and rain all day long, with no one taking care of it, the roof tiles had been blown away in large areas. When it rained, water leaked through, causing one of the bedrooms and the corridor’s floor to become moldy and rotten, rendering them unusable and particularly disgusting to look at.
Cracks could be seen on the walls, and wild grasses grew through them, while ivy covered an entire wall.
In addition, the wires, pipes, and solar water heater had all been damaged to varying degrees and couldn’t be used directly; they all needed to be replaced.
Lu Qiming looked around, comparing it to their previous small but clean home, and frowned, “Can you accept this place?”
“Of course, why not? It’s perfect here.”
Jiang Miaomiao replied without hesitation.
“What’s perfect about it?”
He couldn’t see it.
“As long as it’s my home, I think it’s perfect. A golden nest is not as good as one’s own dog nest, isn’t that what you said? Anyway, don’t waste time, let’s get to work.”
She handed him a broom with a smile, and also took a rag, starting to clean.
It was a daunting task, and after Lu Qiming turned the broom around twice, he had no idea where to start.
Seeing that large piece of rotted floor, he poked it with the broom and decided to deal with it.
Clean up the rotten floor and replace it with a new one when they had the chance.
A broom was not enough for this task, so he fetched a shovel, awl, and hammer, squatting upstairs and tapping away.
Jiang Miaomiao was wiping the table on the first floor. After finally cleaning the dining table, dust fell from upstairs due to the continuous tapping, ruining her efforts.
She wiped again, more dust fell, unable to bear it anymore, she went upstairs to question what was going on.
Hearing her footsteps, Lu Qiming looked up and glanced at her.
“Here? Great, help me pry it open.”
She looked at the pile of tools with confusion, “How do I do that?”
Lu Qiming instructed her, “Start from the baseboard here. Use the scraper to remove the glue, then use the awl to pry it up slowly from the gap. Once it’s loosened around, you can take the entire floorboard out…”
He made it sound simple, but it was far from it when Jiang Miaomiao tried to do it.
The floorboards were stuck firmly and required a lot of effort to pry them open.
The tools were also quite sharp, and she could easily stab her hand by accident.
She squatted in a corner, holding the awl with both hands, trying to remove the floorboard.
Accidentally, the awl slipped from her hand and stabbed her finger, and fresh red blood oozed out.
She reflexively put her finger in her mouth.
Lu Qiming was handling everything with ease but suddenly noticed there was no movement behind him. He stopped and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“N-nothing…”
She clenched her injured hand into a fist, hiding the wound in her palm, and stood up, saying, “You continue with the work, I’ll go to the restroom.”
Lu Qiming put down his tools and walked over to block her way, reaching out to hold her hand without hesitation, opening her fingers and seeing the mark on it.
“Nothing?” He raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Miaomiao bit her lip, trying to hide her hand behind her back.
“It’s just a small injury; I have a band-aid in my bag, and it will be fine after I apply it.”
Lu Qiming thought for a moment, then let go of her hand, saying, “Wounds are prone to infection. After you apply the band-aid, don’t come upstairs and don’t do any work. Just play with the dog downstairs.”
She disagreed, “This is my home. How can I not clean it up? I won’t feel at ease when living here if it’s not clean.”
“Hmm, and when you get tetanus from the infection and lie dying in the hospital, and I come to take care of you, you’ll definitely feel at ease.”
“…You and your jinx.”
Lu Qiming smiled and ruffled her hair.
“You used to love being lazy so much. Now, when I suggest you take it easy, you’re not willing to. Go play; I can handle this work myself.”
She saw how determined he was and could only nod.
“Alright, be careful, and make sure not to hurt your hand.”
“Who do you think I am, just like you?”
Lu Qiming sneered and returned to his work.
Jiang Miaomiao went downstairs, found a band-aid and applied it to her hand. Then she took Meatball and wandered around the front and back of the house, feeling a bit bored.
Gu Changzhou was clearing the grass in the rice field, and Lu Qiming was dismantling the floorboards. What was she doing?
Jiang Miaomiao caught sight of the nearby pond, which still had fish in it. However, due to not being cleaned for a long time, water plants grew rampantly, and she couldn’t even see the water surface clearly.
She found something to do and ran back to the house to get a rake. She went to the edge of the pond and used the rake to scoop up the water plants.
This task seemed easy, but it was quite physically demanding.
The water plants were interconnected, so scooping up one often meant pulling up several at once. They were heavy, and without using some strength, it was impossible to lift them up.
At this moment, Jiang Miaomiao was very grateful that she had gained some weight and developed some muscles during her time in the rescue team.
Otherwise, with her physique from before the apocalypse, which could barely catch a chicken, she might have been pulled down by the water plants.
Meatball was hopping around beside her and occasionally lent a helping paw, biting the rake and helping her pull.
After an unknown amount of time, she had cleared most of the water plants when suddenly someone chuckled behind her.
“Second Brother, do we have time for lunch now?”
She turned around in surprise and saw Lu Qiming.
“You made lunch?”
“Yeah, I was going to ask someone what they wanted to eat, but she was naughty and insisted on coming to wield her nine-toothed rake.”
Jiang Miaomiao smiled and wiped her sweat, pointing to the pond.
“There are so many fish in there; I’ve seen over a dozen already, and the biggest one is almost as big as Meatball.”
Lu Qiming looked at the water surface and nodded.
“Afterward, we can catch them and make salted fish. Let’s go eat first.”
Farm work was physically demanding, and she was already hungry. Upon hearing this, she put down the rake and headed back home.
Halfway there, she remembered someone and looked up to see Gu Changzhou still standing in the field, clearing the grass.
Under the scorching sun, the sunlight was painfully intense.
Jiang Miaomiao stopped and patted Lu Qiming’s arm.
“Did you make his meal?”
“No.”
“Then let me make something for him. What ingredients do we have left?”
Lu Qiming said, “He’s a man in his fifties; if he’s hungry, he’ll naturally find something to eat. Do you really need to worry about him?”
“That’s true, even if we hired a farmhand, we would still need to provide meals, wouldn’t we? Besides, he’s not even asking for payment; he’s working for free.”
Jiang Miaomiao was about to start cooking when Lu Qiming stopped her.
“Don’t bother; there’s food for him.”
“But you said you didn’t make his meal?”
“One less person means there’s more for the rest of us, right? Besides, your dog needs to lose weight; just give its food to him.”
He’d rather go hungry than let her cook for Gu Changzhou.
He hadn’t even eaten enough, so why should Gu Changzhou?
Jiang Miaomiao was somewhat doubtful but went back to the small building and personally checked the amount of food on the table to confirm there was enough for everyone. Then she went to the back door and prepared to call Gu Changzhou for lunch.
The problem was… What should she call him?
Mr. Gu?
No, it sounded too distant.
Old Gu? They weren’t that close.
Gu Changzhou secretly wished she would call him “Dad,” but she would never do that.
After much deliberation, she leaned against the door frame and shouted loudly, “Hey! Lunch is ready! Take a break!”
Gu Changzhou stopped working, looked at her from a distance, waved his hand to indicate that he understood.
A few minutes later, he arrived outside the small building, took off his muddy shoes, washed his feet with well water, and walked barefoot into the living room that had been cleaned by Lu Qiming.
Jiang Miaomiao had already served the food and invited him, saying, “Sit down and eat.”
He sat down somewhat awkwardly, picked up his chopsticks, but before he could take a bite, a cool voice came from beside him.
“Eat less; we have to rely on this amount of food until next month.”
Gu Changzhou: “…”
Jiang Miaomiao chuckled awkwardly, “Don’t mind him, eat as much as you like. We need to eat enough to work efficiently.”
Lu Qiming sneered, “She’s right; you should eat more. After all, these dozens of acres of land and the hundreds of fruit trees on the mountain are all waiting for your care.”
Gu Changzhou had already gotten a bit tanned in the past few days, but upon hearing Lu Qiming’s words, his face turned even darker.
Worried that they might start a fight, Jiang Miaomiao hurriedly urged them to eat.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat. The soup is getting cold.”
Lu Qiming was really efficient in his work. In that short amount of time, he not only finished the floor and cleaned the house but also made two dishes and a soup.
There was a plate of stir-fried potato slices with meat, another plate of garlic eggplant, and a bowl of seaweed egg drop soup.
Jiang Miaomiao had a sip of the soup and was about to praise him when Gu Changzhou suddenly spoke up.
“The soil in those fields is particularly fertile. It would be a waste to grow rice there. Have you thought about what to plant?”
She had no idea about this and shook her head. “What would be suitable to grow?”
He thought for a moment and suggested, “How about peanuts? It’s the perfect time to sow them now, and they can be harvested in about three months. Peanuts can be eaten or used to make oil, so they have various uses. Main crops like rice and wheat are already being cultivated in the south by the government, preparing for large-scale American-style farming with several people managing thousands of acres of land, so the demand for them is not that high.”
Jiang Miaomiao became interested after hearing him speak and forgot to eat her food. “But how do we grow peanuts? And where can we get the seeds?”
Gu Changzhou said, “If you decide to grow peanuts, I know a little about it and can help. I also have access to the seeds.”
“Really?” Jiang Miaomiao’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Thank you so much!”
“Cough, cough!”
Lu Qiming interrupted their conversation mockingly. “You, a soldier, know how to grow peanuts? Are you kidding?”
Gu Changzhou remained calm. “Before I became a soldier, I grew up in the countryside. My ancestors were all farmers. I not only know how to grow peanuts but also sweet potatoes, corn, and watermelons.”
Jiang Miaomiao didn’t have much confidence in the idea of them starting a farm. After all, they were city-born, and while they had heard about farming, they had never done it before and couldn’t find a training class to learn from. It would be quite challenging to learn by trial and error.
Hearing Gu Changzhou’s experience, an idea immediately came to her mind, and she nudged Lu Qiming with her elbow.
“We lack someone experienced; why don’t we make him a partner?”
Lu Qiming immediately objected, “Absolutely not!”
“But we don’t know anything about farming.”
“Not knowing doesn’t mean we can’t learn. Partnering with him, we might end up losing everything.”
Thinking of the humiliation he experienced in the past, he couldn’t bring himself to trust Gu Changzhou even a bit.
Jiang Miaomiao knew he was sensitive about this topic and didn’t try to persuade him. She picked up her bowl and pretended nothing had happened, starting to eat.
As Gu Changzhou’s chopsticks reached for the potato slices, a sudden hand appeared, snatching away his utensils.
Lu Qiming issued the eviction order.
“Are you full? If you are, then leave quickly, don’t linger around.”
Gu Changzhou replied, “…I still have work to do in the afternoon.”
It was his own statement that he was in charge of those fields and orchards.
However, Lu Qiming seemed to have completely forgotten what he said earlier.
“What work? You don’t need to work; we have hands too.”
He looked at Jiang Miaomiao, then stood up and said, “Alright, I’ll go back for now. If you need anything, just give me a call.”
Gu Changzhou left the small building and sat on the well cover to put on his shoes before driving away from the farm.
Jiang Miaomiao turned her head, looking puzzled. “What’s gotten into you? You want him to work, and then you want to chase him away. Are you crazy?”
However, Lu Qiming was satisfied with his decision. They were having such a good conversation; if they didn’t ask him to leave, he might end up feeling like an outsider.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat. After eating, we’ll go fishing in the afternoon and grill the fish for dinner.”
Normally, they shouldn’t be lazy with so much work to do in the afternoon. However, Jiang Miaomiao hadn’t had grilled fish in a long time, and hearing him suggest it gave her a burst of motivation. She quickly finished her lunch.
The bedding in the small building had already become moldy, so Lu Qiming threw it away and replaced it with the new bedding they had brought.
They rested on the bed for an hour before heading to the pond at two in the afternoon. They carried buckets and forks and took their dog with them to start fishing.
The apocalypse was a disaster for humans, but it was a paradise for aquatic creatures.
The fish in the pond were fry released several years ago, and with no one catching them, they had grown bigger than cats.
Usually, they hid under the water plants, feeding on leaves and insects.
Now that Jiang Miaomiao had cleared the water plants, the large fish had nowhere to hide, making them irresistible targets.
Lu Qiming had practiced fishing on the island and had become quite skilled at it. He took aim with his fish spear, then threw it with force, accurately hitting a large fish.
The fish rolled and splashed in the water, creating countless ripples.
Just as Jiang Miaomiao was about to help him pull the fish out, she suddenly felt a chill on the back of her foot. She looked down and was frightened, frozen in place.
Lu Qiming noticed the change and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She remained motionless, her voice trembling. “Snake… there’s a snake…”
He turned around and saw a large black snake, almost as thick as Jiang Rou’s tail, slowly gliding by her flip-flop.
Without hesitation, Lu Qiming stepped on it and twisted it hard.
The head of the large black snake was crushed under his foot, and its body wriggled wildly, its tail wrapping around Jiang Miaomiao’s lower leg.
The cold temperature and the feel of the scales made her hair stand on end, and she screamed in terror as she jumped away.
Lu Qiming continued to step on the snake until its body stopped moving, then lifted his foot to check that it was dead before reassuring her, “It’s okay, it’s dead.”
Tears of fear filled Jiang Miaomiao’s face as she crouched in the grass, crying.
Lu Qiming asked, “Are you really going to stay crouched there? Snakes love to hide in the grass. Be careful that another one doesn’t come out.”
She let out another scream and jumped into his arms.
He held her with a smile, stroking her disheveled hair. “There, there, the snake is dead. What are you afraid of? You didn’t get this scared when you saw zombies.”
She punched him, “It’s not the same thing at all!”
Lu Qiming felt a bit stuffy in the chest from her punch, but he couldn’t help but smile.
“If you had used the strength you used to hit me to hit the snake, would you still be so frightened?”
Ignoring him, Jiang Miaomiao took a while to calm down and regain her composure.
Lu Qiming used a stick to prod the snake and said with satisfaction, “This thing looks quite plump, and it doesn’t seem poisonous. How about bringing it back to stew in a soup?”
“Stew in a soup?” Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t even bear to look at it, and she shook her head, holding back her nausea. “No, thanks.”
“Give it a try, snake soup is very nutritious.”
“Ugh… Get rid of it quickly!”
Seeing her turning hostile, Lu Qiming had to give up the idea and threw the snake’s body into a distant patch of grass.
Jiang Miaomiao calmed down and went to look at the fish. The fish had struggled for a long time with the fork and was now barely alive.
Lu Qiming waded into the water to retrieve the fish, and Jiang Miaomiao gutted and descaled it by the water.
He stood nearby, feeling regretful about not being able to try the snake meat.
“Both live in water, both have scales. Why can’t you accept eating snake meat? Don’t you want to try something new?”
Jiang Miaomiao asked with a sinister tone, “Do you like trying new things?”
He nodded.
She grabbed a handful of fish scales and threw them at him. “Freshly scraped fish scales, how about trying them?”
They teased each other, and before they knew it, over two hours had passed. Seeing the sun about to set and remembering that they still had to grill the fish, they carried the bucket and headed back home.
The fish must have weighed seven or eight catties, and the bucket couldn’t hold it all. The head was inserted upside down in the bucket, with half of the big tail sticking out.
The stove at home was a bit small, so they couldn’t bear to cut the fish into pieces and decided to grill it whole.
Lu Qiming picked up a pile of firewood and broken bricks and built a stove on the empty ground behind the house. He pierced the fish with a large steel fork and roasted it over the fire.
Jiang Miaomiao brought all the seasonings they had brought to the side, and as he turned the steel fork, she brushed the seasonings onto the fish.
The fish was too large and took an intermittent hour to cook.
As the evening glow filled the sky, the fragrance of grilled fish spread throughout the farm.
Jiang Rou had been eager to try it for a long time. Seeing them bring the grilled fish to the table, she jumped around them, eager to taste it.
Jiang Miaomiao picked up the chopsticks first and picked up a piece of fish to put in her mouth.
Lu Qiming held his chopsticks and asked, “How is it?”
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gave him a thumbs-up.
“It’s fantastic!”
The fish meat was tender and the seasoning was just right. The fish skin was crispy and fragrant, even better than what she had eaten in restaurants before.
Lu Qiming was pleased with himself, feeling like a primary school student who found a coin and handed it to a police officer.
“Hehe.”
Jiang Miaomiao was excited. “There are so many fish in the pond. Let’s grill one fish a day. It’s so delicious!”
Lu Qiming coughed, “Ahem, let’s finish this one first.”
In the nearby small vegetable garden, there were sweet potato leaves growing wildly. They plucked some tender leaves and stir-fried them as a side dish.
Grilled fish, sweet potato leaves, paired with seaweed soup, and white rice.
Their first night in the new home was spent enjoying delicious and fulfilling meals.
The nights on the farm were pleasantly cool. They opened the windows, which felt more comfortable than using an air conditioner.
However, mosquitoes were abundant. Jiang Miaomiao found an old mosquito net from the wardrobe, and Lu Qiming nailed a few nails on the wall to hang up the mosquito net. They slept peacefully through the night.
The next day, when they woke up, the sun was already shining brightly.
Jiang Miaomiao opened her phone to check the time and was startled.
“Oh no, oh no!”
Her exclamation woke up Lu Qiming, who yawned and rubbed his messy hair.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s almost noon!”
“So what? We don’t have to go to work.”
That’s right, she had forgotten that she had already resigned. She lay back down for a few minutes but decided to get up. They were now completely self-sufficient, and if they kept slacking off, they might really end up without food.
“Get up, get up, don’t sleep anymore.”
As she got dressed, she pushed him.
Lu Qiming rolled over, hugging the pillow, and said pitifully, “My head hurts so much, it feels like it’s going to explode. My back hurts, my waist hurts, and my feet and neck hurt too.”
Jiang Miaomiao became concerned. “Is it from fatigue or a side effect of the surgery?”
“Can’t say for sure. Can I rest for the day?”
Given the circumstances, of course, she would let him rest.
Jiang Miaomiao agreed and prepared to go downstairs by herself.
From behind, she heard him giving instructions, “Remember to wash the pots and pans we used yesterday, and also clean my clothes and shoes. Do some cleaning and make breakfast. I had spicy food last night, so let’s have something light in the morning. It’s not much to ask, just make me some handmade noodles…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Miaomiao had already returned to the bed, grabbed his collar, and ground her teeth, saying, “Get up.”
Even though he looked like he was dying, he still wanted hand-pulled noodles. He was definitely faking it.
Lu Qiming looked pitifully at her. “Didn’t you promise to take care of me for a lifetime?”
“And you promised not to lie to me for a lifetime. Get up!”
Under her stern gaze, Lu Qiming was coaxed downstairs and obediently started washing dishes and cooking.
Jiang Miaomiao was not idle either; she washed clothes with well water and cleaned the entire small house.
Jiang Rou had the most leisurely morning. She strolled around the fruit orchard early in the morning and returned just in time for lunch. After eating, she took a nap.
After finishing their household chores, they prepared to do some farm work.
They didn’t have to worry about the fish pond for the time being; the fields needed to be cleared to grow crops.
The fruits in the orchard would be ripe in about a couple of months, so they would be busy for quite a while then. Therefore, for now, they decided to focus on the matters in the fields.
Wearing straw hats and carrying hoes, they went to deal with the weeds that Gu Changzhou hadn’t finished clearing yesterday.
Gu Changzhou had been absent for three consecutive days, but on the fourth day, he came to the farm driving a car, bringing them a lot of seeds. He brought the peanuts, sweet potatoes, corn, as he had mentioned, and also lettuce, chives, radishes, and potatoes.
He even brought a cage of chicks and a cage of ducklings, along with several snake-skin bags of feed, asking them to raise them in the coop.
There were too many things, and Jiang Miaomiao didn’t know where he got them from and hesitated to accept them.
Gu Changzhou sighed and said, “Just keep them. I’ll resign in a few days.”
“Resign?”
She looked at him in confusion, and even Lu Qiming, who was washing his hair, raised his wet head.
He nodded, “The new currency is about to be issued, and I’m planning to open a company and do business like I did before.”
He couldn’t stand this mediocre and busy life. Retirement was still far away, so he might as well give it another shot while society was recovering.
Gu Changzhou had already contacted some old friends and subordinates, preparing to partner up and open a restaurant. After people had been eating in the canteen for a few years, they should be longing for more diverse cuisine. They would hire a few chefs, find an empty storefront, and seize the opportunity before others to make a name for themselves.
Once they had enough capital saved up, they could expand into other industries.
If their farm did well, it might even become one of his suppliers.
Upon hearing his plans, Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but admire him. He was in his fifties and still thinking about starting a business, while she was in her twenties and already considering retirement—it was truly incomparable.
Lu Qiming shook his head to flick off the water on his head and spoke calmly, “Work hard, and you’ll definitely make a lot of money.”
Gu Changzhou looked surprised and asked, “You… do you hope that I succeed in my business?”
“Why not?” He shrugged, walked over to Jiang Miaomiao, and put his arm around her shoulder. “When we feel lazy to farm, we can just come to mooch off you for food and drinks. You won’t refuse, will you?”
Gu Changzhou: “…”
Jiang Miaomiao forced a laugh, “Haha, he’s just joking. We can support ourselves.”
He thought for a moment and felt more at ease. “No worries, I’ll work hard to make money, and you’re welcome to come mooch off us then.”
After discussing business with someone, Gu Changzhou was about to leave, leaving them with a bunch of seeds, a group of noisy chickens and ducks, and several guides on planting and breeding. Both of them had no farming experience and dared not act recklessly. After giving the chickens and ducks some water, they sat in the living room and studied those books.
Jiang Miaomiao felt as if she had returned to the time when she followed recipes to learn cooking. Although she could understand every word and the combined meaning, after reading, her mind was still blank, lacking direction.
Lu Qiming was also somewhat similar to her. He impatiently closed the book. “Let’s not read it anymore. Let’s try it out.”
After all, they had plenty of resources, and if they made mistakes, they could start over.
They moved the chickens and ducks from the cage to the coop, sprinkled some feed, and then selected various seeds. Following Jiang Miaomiao’s previous method of growing bean sprouts, they covered them with damp paper towels.
A few days later, the seeds sprouted many small white shoots.
They loosened the soil on several acres of land with a rake and sowed the seeds. Then they eagerly waited for them to grow.
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