Chapter 330

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The family simply settled down in the villa district and adapted extremely quickly.

As for the real estate agents? Although they were indeed a bit bewildered when they first came by, the homeowners didn't mind, so naturally the renovation workers wouldn't object either.

Under the homeowner's constant supervision, the real estate agents quickly finished repairing the villa's periphery, striving for flawless, all-around, no-dead-angle completion.

Not only the villa Shen Yao spent money to buy, but the other villas also gradually filled with residents.

The damaged villas on both sides mentioned during the previous viewing are also slowly undergoing repairs.

Every morning when she gets up, Shen Yao goes out to work and pays attention to the villa's situation.

Yes, just a few days after moving into the villa, the Planting Building started calling people back to work.

Wei Mingyu and Wei Chengyan rested at home for a few more days, then Wei Chengyan was sent to the military academy to study, and Wei Mingyu continued back to his original unit to work.

Wei Minzhi spent time retrieving the tools stored in the suburbs and directly started an integrated planting and breeding operation outside the villa.

No large livestock were raised; Wei Minzhi only bought a certain quantity of chickens and ducks, paired with two not-too-large vegetable plots enclosed by fences, to supply their daily consumption in the villa district.

Not only their family did this; other households in the villa district also raised things in their courtyards, or utilized the balconies on the second and third floors for planting.

…………

"Mom, I'm taking Chengning and Chengen to school, do you need me to buy anything on the way back?"

The downside of moving to the villa district is that Wei Chengning and Wei Chengen's schooling is a bit troublesome; for safety's sake, they could only temporarily transfer schools.

Fortunately, they're in seventh grade, and the schools around the villa district are completely sufficient.

"No need, go and return quickly, heard there's some disaster stirring up in a couple of days," Wei Mother waved her hand, her face wearing no smile at all.

Wei Minzhi explained, "It's an insect disaster," the scale isn't large, and besides, the vegetable plots have been completely cleared, so there's nothing left for the insects to eat.

"Don't worry about what, just go." Wei Mother carried a bucket, the bucket filled with dry feed for the chickens and ducks, stretched her hand to stir it, poked apart the clumped feed, Wei Mother turned her head and poured it into the wooden trough, knocking and tapping to signal the chickens and ducks to eat.

Seeing this, Wei Minzhi immediately led Wei Chengning and Wei Chengen out of the villa.

Walking from the villa to school takes over half an hour; driving is a ten-minute trip.

Wei Minzhi certainly wouldn't walk; she started her small truck, floored the gas, and delivered the two children to their destination.

"Wait for me to pick you up in the evening," Wei Minzhi left this sentence and departed coolly.

Although the small truck isn't as comfortable as an off-road vehicle on the road, because the cargo bed can haul a lot, this vehicle has always been deeply loved by Wei Minzhi.

Wei Mother didn't instruct Wei Minzhi to buy anything specific back, but Wei Minzhi, thinking of the insect disaster issue, still bought some insect-catching nets and scoop nets.

At that time, she'll unfold them and place them at the doorway, which can also stockpile some food rations for the family's chickens and ducks.

Chickens and ducks naturally love eating insects, and who knows if it's due to the planet's mutation, but even if the later insects have more or less problems, the chickens and ducks can still eat and chew them, completely unaffected in body and life.

Because of this, every time an insect disaster breaks out, Wei Minzhi tries to catch as many as possible, then sun-dries and grinds them into powder to add to the original feed, using them to provide sufficient protein for the chickens and ducks, hoping to make them lay eggs as soon as possible.

The small truck rumbled back to the villa, Wei Minzhi pushed open the car door and jumped down.

Wei Father was chopping wood as instructed by Wei Mother, saving it for kindling when the weather turns cold. Seeing Wei Minzhi return loaded with packages large and small, he hurriedly stretched out his hand to take some.

"What's this, weren't you told not to buy," Wei Father feared Wei Minzhi would be nagged by Wei Mother's words, and opened his mouth to mutter softly a couple of sentences.

Wei Minzhi smiled, tore open the packaging bags to reveal the mesh structure inside.

"They're all for catching insects, just right to add a dish for the family's chickens and ducks," the raised chickens and ducks have always been confined in a palm-sized place unable to move freely, every day they do nothing but eat and drink, each one fat and strong.

If not for the fact that their family has to catch one to eat for nutritional supplementation every few days, just raising them would cost a lot of grain, money, and goods every day.

The insect disaster a few days later was mentioned in the official push as being small in scale; good preparation can help them save quite a bit of food.

Wei Father lowered his head to look at the opened packaging, mentioning that the remaining window screens at home could be pieced together to form a large net placed in the courtyard.

"Make a switch, retract it when full, the family still has two intact beekeeping suits that can be used," can go out to collect, collect finished then spread open again.

After Wei Father and Wei Minzhi discussed, he waved his hand to let Wei Minzhi go get things, while he himself opened these packaging bags and directly got to work.

Wei Father's efficiency is still very fast, plus he happened to have tools on hand, in a few moves he pieced all these things together, and when slowly unfolded it became a new net capable of covering the entire courtyard's size.

Wei Minzhi took out the old used nets from home, circumstances differ from time to time, as long as things aren't smashed too thoroughly, no household will throw them away.

Wei Father took the opportunity to pick and choose, quickly patching together a net half the size of the previous one.

"Take it well, at that time spread it flat in the courtyard," hang up the four corners, like inviting a guest into an urn.

"Dad, I'm still short some hemp sacks for holding insects," Wei Minzhi seized the moment while Wei Father was in a good mood and hurriedly made the request.

Wei Father hmphed once, saying she was too fussy, who knows how many hemp sacks are left at home.

"Mom's keeping the hemp sacks for use, can't let me take them to hold insects," there are hemp sacks for sale outside, but the price is too expensive and not very cost-effective.

Wei Minzhi planned to ask Wei Father to help hand-make a few large hemp sacks, since the family has raw materials.

Wei Father: ……

Wei Father didn't expect the little padded jacket to be so leaky, glared at her in annoyance, but still agreed, only waiting until the evening when he's free to do it.

Wei Minzhi smiled radiantly, hugged the two nets back to the room to put them away, then rubbed her face and went to help Wei Mother.

The chickens and ducks are raised in the back courtyard; when Wei Minzhi isn't there, Wei Mother is responsible.

This time too, after Wei Mother fed the food, she still had to clean the feces and excrement in the nests and racks, to prevent accumulation producing foul smells.

The villa district's space is very large, the distance between the front and back villas is several dozen meters.

Wei Mother wore a mask, piling compost while busy, until Wei Minzhi brought over an iron hoe, mother and daughter shoveled together.

After finishing the work at hand, Wei Mother lifted the mask at her mouth, tilted her head back and drank a few mouthfuls of water from the thermos cup.

Wei Minzhi told Wei Mother about her plan to catch insects, and about asking Wei Father to help make hemp sacks; needles and thread all had to be gotten from Wei Mother's side, if not explained clearly, they wouldn't have the tools.

"Put the caught ones where? The house can't fit them, the basement has too much stuff," Wei Mother frowned, considering a very practical problem.

The villa district looks decent, but there isn't enough usable space.

The basement holds rarely used tools and durable grain; the second and third floors are for living, and the first-floor lobby is a storeroom and pantry, with more important items piled here.

The bugs smell strong, and even after processing, a strange odor lingers.

Wei's mother had dealt with these bugs before, and precisely because she had experience, she found it troublesome.

"Or move them elsewhere?" They have several other properties, and bug corpses aren't precious; the people of Hope City haven't starved to the point of needing to eat them to survive.

"Catch them first, we'll talk after," Wei's mother calculated their other properties; the suburban ones have more space, but unfortunately they can't return in a short time.

Wei Minzhi grunted, reaching out to help Wei's mother up from the steps. "Mom, let's go back inside," the sun overhead was huge, baking them uncomfortably.

Wei Minzhi placed one hand over her head, trying to cast as much shade as possible.

Wei's mother said nothing, carried the tools inside, put them in the corner, and rubbed her sore, swollen shoulders and arms as she went back inside.

When night fell, lights came on in the villa; except for Wei Chengyan, who went to the military academy, everyone else had returned to the villa.

Wei's mother killed another chicken today, chopped it into pieces and stewed a pot of chicken soup; everyone got a full bowl.

Shen Yao had worked hard all day, lowered her head to sip some fresh soup, and felt comfortable all over.

"The Planting Building is rushing the harvest; after tomorrow's busy work, we can rest for a while."

The Planting Building was already tall, but the authorities want to keep adding floors for planting.

Shen Yao rubbed her slightly sore and dry forehead, briefly describing their day's work arrangements—nothing important, just labor.

"I'll work overtime in a couple of days; as for the villa side," Wei Mingyu frowned, he planned to bring Wei Chengyan back to replace him in protecting the family.

"Bring Chengyan back, and we can handle a small insect disaster without problem; I just worry there might be other things," Shen Yao interjected, directly filling in what Wei Mingyu hadn't finished saying.

Wei's mother worried about Wei Chengyan's studies, afraid that bringing him back now would be disadvantageous for his future development.

Wei's father sighed, "At a time like this, who can still think about the future? Growing up safely is hard, with constant disasters; all we can do is take it one step at a time."

Wei's mother:...

Wei's mother sighed, feeling Wei's father was right, yet complaining about this world.

"You are his parents, you decide," she lowered her head and ate silently, not saying a word.

Shen Yao glanced at Wei Mingyu, and still decided to bring Wei Chengyan back.

Studies can be made up with time, but life is only one; once gone, it's truly gone.

Before the insect disaster arrived, Shen Yao brought Wei Chengyan back to the villa. Though only a short time at the military academy, Wei Chengyan's temperament had undergone earth-shaking changes.

It's also special standards for a special period; otherwise Wei Chengyan couldn't have come out.

"Not just me, others in the dormitory also went home, and the senior students were even assigned missions."

Wei Chengyan is a newcomer; staying at school meant just staying in the dormitory, so going home could at least help a bit.

Wei's father and Wei's mother pulled Wei Chengyan, cherishing him endlessly, their words full of concern.

Especially upon hearing Wei Chengyan's daily training time and requirements, Wei's mother's eyes welled with tears, and she ached even more for her precious grandson.

"As long as you're back, granny will make you good nourishment," the freshly killed duck shouldn't be saved for tomorrow; just stew and eat it now.

Wei's mother carried the naked duck into the kitchen, and before long a fragrant smell drifted out, making several children drool.

The proverb says, growing children eat their parents poor.

The Wei family's conditions are stronger than eighty percent of people, but they still can't withstand family members who can eat and drink so much.

Wei's mother kills chickens and ducks every now and then, but fortunately Wei Minzhi knows how to raise them; as soon as one is killed, she immediately replaces it with young ones.

By the time this batch of old ones is eaten, the newly grown ones can be eaten; if there are eggs, eat them; if not, spend money to buy them at the market.

So the biggest part of their daily household expenses is food, and they still have to pour money into it every month.

A full bowl of duck meat was brought to Wei Chengyan's mouth, and Wei's mother occasionally helped ladle soup, afraid he wouldn't eat enough.

Wei Chengyan felt a bit embarrassed; he didn't expect returning home to have such a big impact. If he had known, he wouldn't have waited for his birth mother to pick him up—he would have just walked back himself.

After burying his head in the soup and meat brought to him, Wei Chengyan refused Wei's mother's help, eating completely on his own, without the slightest discomfort.

Others were eating what was in their own bowls; although Wei's mother appeared to favor Wei Chengyan, the others' portions of meat were not lacking at all.

One duck weighing ten jin is more than enough for their family to eat one meal.

"Sleep early tonight, we have to get up early tomorrow," news of the insect disaster spread fast, saying it could reach outside Hope City as early as dawn today.

Their villa district is not far from outside Hope City; at the speed of those bugs, they could surround the villa district in one or two hours.

Shen Yao planned to set up the net before going to sleep tonight, then send the chickens and ducks from the back courtyard to the basement, and by the way move the dryer and crusher from the basement back to the first floor to prepare.

As for getting up early, harvest a batch early in the morning; family members (except Wei Mingyu) are all here, and daytime can't be wasted—it must be put to use.

Hurriedly finishing the food on hand, Shen Yao got up and went to the basement once.

The basement has electricity, but it's still pitch black; one has to walk carefully, afraid of accidentally bumping into something and causing trouble.

The machines stored earlier are all in the innermost part; Shen Yao, taking advantage of her spatial convenience, also called her son Wei Chengyan, who has boundless strength, to help, and easily moved the machines up.

At this moment Wei's mother and Wei Minzhi were sending the chickens and ducks put into cages to the basement.

The basement space isn't large to begin with, and after putting in the chickens and ducks it seems even more crowded.

Shen Yao tried to move things around to make space, ensuring the chickens and ducks wouldn't feel stifled, then left first herself.

Outside in the courtyard, Wei's father was spreading the net; the net is very large, with a movable nail at each of the four corners.

Following Wei Minzhi's suggestion, Wei's father made a simple switch; at that time, just by pulling the thin string in hand, the net spread outside could be drawn together.

Of course, this is a simple tool, and there's a probability it won't work well; Wei's father is conducting the final test, especially on the tool used as a connection.

Shen Yao came over to help; Wei Mingyu isn't here, and there aren't many in the family who can hold things down.

Although Shen Yao was very tired, she didn't go to rest, but waited until everything at home was properly arranged before closing her eyes to rest her spirit.

Of course, Shen Yao didn't sleep well; she had to always pay attention to the situation outside, and would quickly wake up at the slightest movement.

When a tiny, feeble sound came from outside, Shen Yao rubbed her swollen, aching head, got up, and pulled open a corner of the curtain to look outside.

A vast, dark expanse, not a single point of light.

Shen Yao glanced at the time displayed on her phone — 4:30 AM; it shouldn't be like this.

Not to mention daylight, there should at least be obvious outlines visible. It must be that insects have already covered this entire villa district; no wonder it's so dark.