Qin Huai didn't let Mu Nan store the freshly cooked braised chicken in the space. Although things stored in the space retain their condition, the psychological impact of freshly cooked, still-warm meat was different. Qin Huai felt it was better to eat it while it was still fresh.
Mu Nan had no objections. He hadn't had Qin Huai's braised chicken for a long time. However, he regretted that Qin Huai didn't add more chili peppers. There was only a slight hint of spiciness; with more chili peppers, it would have tasted even better. He felt he could eat a whole bowl of it.
Qin Huai, listening to Mu Nan's mild complaints, showed no sympathy and said, "The little bit of chili is just to enhance the flavor. You should eat less of these strong-flavored things in the future."
Mu Nan, biting his chopsticks, looked at him helplessly. "Eat less? It's already good enough to have something to eat in the future."
After saying this, Qin Huai placed a chicken leg in Mu Nan's bowl. Seeing another chicken leg in the dish, Mu Nan tried to put it in Qin Huai's bowl, but Qin Huai stopped him. "Leave that one for you to eat later. It's only five o'clock now. You'll be hungry again in a few hours. A chicken leg is just right."
Mu Nan didn't listen, insisting on putting the chicken leg in Qin Huai's bowl. "It's not as enjoyable eating alone. It's better to share. One for you, one for me. That's just right."
Seeing the chicken leg in the bowl and recalling how Mu Nan had decisively chopped off the chicken's head earlier, Qin Huai's emotions were a bit complicated and slightly sour.
Noticing Qin Huai wasn't eating yet, Mu Nan urged, "Eat quickly! Even as a kid, I never hogged two chicken legs for myself. Although I did end up eating both, you tricked me into believing you didn't like them. I really believed that, back then, I couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't like chicken legs."
Qin Huai chuckled. "You were always so skinny as a child. I wanted you to eat more meat and grow a bit. But even though you ate a lot of meat, it didn't seem to help."
Mu Nan laughed softly. "Well, if I had an easier time gaining weight, just eating a little would make me fat. Considering the environment back then, it would have been hard to convince anyone that I was also living a tough life."
Seeing Qin Huai finally eating the chicken leg, Mu Nan was satisfied and started eating his own. He said, "Right now, I actually prefer chicken wings and wing tips. The meat is little, but they're so satisfying to eat. Brother, could you make me some marinated chicken wings? I saw someone bought chicken wings yesterday and posted pictures of fried chicken wings in the group today. I'll ask him where he got them."
As a child, Mu Nan had enjoyed marinated snacks, but one time he either ate too much or the marinated food wasn't clean, leading to enteritis. At that time, he was already in middle school and tried to ignore his stomach discomfort while going to school. By mid-morning, his teacher called, panicking and running to his school. Mu Nan had to endure several days of injections and missed exams, which led to a Monday morning apology on the stage, despite the understandable reason.
After that, Qin Huai learned to make marinated food from several local experts and developed a recipe that Mu Nan liked.
Qin Huai said, "If you find where to buy them, get some extra. It seems you didn't prepare chicken wings or chicken feet."
Mu Nan replied, "Those are mostly bones with little meat, and they're not cheap. I don't know how to cook them, so I didn't buy them."
He had bought some prepared snacks, but hadn't bought fresh ingredients since he didn't know when Qin Huai would return or if he would return at all. He felt he might not have the chance to use them. If he had known Qin Huai would return early, he would have bought all the ingredients he had wanted over the years and had Qin Huai cook them.
With money, most things could still be bought. Chicken wings and chicken feet, though expensive, were popular, so they were available through group buying. Mu Nan used Qin Huai's phone to buy a lot. Seeing he bought a lot, someone in the group, probably an old neighbor, reminded him, "Don't buy too much at once. Freezing it for too long can affect the meat quality."
Seeing Mu Nan watching a video on how to make chiffon cake, Qin Huai smiled and replied in the group, "Preparing to make marinated food. Kids love it, so make more."
In the same group, Jian Chu groaned and collapsed onto his bed. Yu Zibai, who was trying to find freelance work online, glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jian Chu muttered, "They're making marinated food."
Yu Zibai was puzzled at first but quickly understood. He laughed, "I remember seeing marinated food when I went out to get things. Why don't you check in various groups for where to buy marinated food and get some? If this order goes through, it could bring in two thousand yuan, making life less tight."
Jian Chu was just expressing his thoughts. He wasn't that clueless. Besides, even though they were renting together and stuck at home due to the virus, they shared food and drink. But since Yu Zibai covered most of the rent, Jian Chu couldn't spend recklessly. "You haven't received the money yet. I was just commenting. It's better to save when possible."
After Jian Chu spoke, he began to cough uncontrollably. Yu Zibai frowned slightly and got him a glass of hot water. As two big guys, they hadn't anticipated such issues and didn't have any medicine at home, relying on the fact that they could buy what they needed. Now, with Jian Chu coughing, there was no medicine available.
After coughing for a while, Jian Chu took a few sips of hot water to soothe his throat and lay back down. Seeing Yu Zibai returning to his small table to work, Jian Chu said, "Why don't you go back to your room and turn on the air conditioner? I heard from others that there won't be an electricity bill for the next few months, so don't worry about the bill. We can save a bit and address it when needed, to avoid disturbing you."
Jian Chu had repeated these words to Yu Zibai more than once since he started coughing, but Yu Zibai wouldn't listen. At first, Yu Zibai was quite anxious, fearing he might be infected, but aside from the cough getting worse due to the lack of medicine, there were no other symptoms, and Yu Zibai hadn't caught anything from him. Jian Chu felt a bit relieved but still wanted to separate from Yu Zibai. If he had known, he wouldn't have let Yu Zibai stay to save a bit on electricity. Even if it wasn't that illness, having a cold and not being able to buy cold medicine, he had to rely on himself.
Yu Zibai didn't even look up as he said, "You're worried about infecting me, aren't you? Just go to sleep. If you were going to infect me, it would have happened already. You just have a common cold; drink more hot water and you'll be fine."
When Jian Chu fell silent, Yu Zibai picked up his phone. Symptoms of fungal infections are similar to those of a common cold at the beginning, so such medications are almost banned. For these situations, you have to report to the community. To be cautious, anyone with these symptoms will be taken for isolation, regardless of whether it's just a common cold or an infection.
Even with protective clothing, there's still exposure risk. Some tests might involve additional exposure. Sick people have weaker immune systems, and there have been cases where people who initially had a cold but were isolated and then got infected because they were exposed outside. Yu Zibai couldn't afford to take that risk.
Once you get infected, there's no cure, so initially, when Yu Zibai confirmed Jian Chu only had a common cold, he hoped Jian Chu's own immune system would help him recover. But seeing that Jian Chu's cough had worsened over the past few days with no improvement, Yu Zibai couldn't help but feel anxious.
When Mu Nan received a WeChat message from the neighbor again, he was lying on the bed while Qin Huai was cutting his toenails. Mu Nan felt a bit awkward and wanted to do it himself but was swatted away by Qin Huai. "When you were little, you used to just shove your feet at me and make me cut your nails. If I didn't do it, you'd complain. Now that I'm doing it voluntarily, you're not happy?"
Mu Nan said, "But now I'm grown up, an adult. It feels strange to be so dependent."
Qin Huai laughed. "What's strange about it? Even when you're a hundred, you're still my little brother."
Mu Nan couldn't argue with him and had to accept it. He was puzzled by the message from Yu Zibai. "Didn't they say we could get cold medicine from the community if needed? Although everything is closed outside, the community should still be able to get some cold medicine. It seems like getting it from the community doesn't cost anything, but buying from neighbors costs money. Aren't they worried we'll report them?"
Qin Huai glanced at his phone. The neighbor was asking if he had cold medicine and was willing to pay for it. Qin Huai said, "Then sell them a box at the original price. Just sell them the anti-inflammatory and cough medicine. Tell them to leave the money on the fire hydrant in the hallway and take the medicine themselves."
Qin Huai understood the neighbor's actions. When it comes to buying cold medicine from the community, although medicine is available, it comes with a lot of issues. If he were in their position, he would prefer to pay a higher price to buy from neighbors.
Mu Nan took out a box of anti-inflammatory cough medicine from the space, thinking it should be effective for treating coughs. "This one should work. It even has the price tag on it."
Even though a box of medicine doesn't cost much now, you still have to charge for it. You can't give people the impression that they can get anything they want for free just by asking.