Jian Chu had vented his initial anger and finally felt his emotions settle. It turned out that holding in anger was unhealthy, it was better to let it out rather than harm oneself.
The old man from the Zhang family was enraged, feeling humiliated by a young kid barely out of adolescence. Ignoring Jian Chu's previous harsh words, he glared angrily and declared he would call the police. He pointed at Xu Ming and Qin Huai and said, "You all saw it! This punk is a thug. It's unsafe to sleep at night with someone like him around! I'm going to call the police, and you all will be my witnesses. He started it!"
Xu Ming, already exhausted and hot, was disinclined to get involved further now that the fighting had stopped. He turned with the water bucket and headed back home.
Seeing this, the old man from the Zhang family was even more furious. At that moment, Mu Nan approached with Jian Chu's water bucket and said, "Here."
Jian Chu took the bucket with a thank you, and the Zhang family was stunned to realize that everyone on their floor seemed to be in cahoots.
Zhang's grandmother, recognizing Mu Nan, looked at him with disappointment. "Nan Nan? Is that you? Oh dear, why are you hanging around with people like this!"
Qin Huai instructed Mu Nan to go inside, but Zhang's grandmother rushed over, seemingly wanting to have a serious talk with him, only to be stopped by Qin Huai. "Sorry, we don't seem to be acquainted."
Zhang's grandmother frowned at Qin Huai with a hint of disdain. "You must be one of the Qin family's boys. You've grown so much. I'm your Grandma Zhang."
Qin Huai seemed to smile slightly and said, "Sorry, but Nan Nan's and my grandma are both happily living in heaven." With that, he slammed the iron door shut.
The two elderly members of the Zhang family were taken aback by their attitude, and were extremely angered. They couldn't understand why it seemed like everyone on their floor was against them. They had just moved back and hadn't done anything yet, and it felt utterly absurd!
Back in their apartment, Jian Chu rubbed his bruised mouth. Yu Zibai frowned and came over to check on him but couldn't help but say, "You were too impulsive."
Jian Chu pushed his hand away. "It's my nature. I can't help it."
Yu Zibai sighed. "The world is chaotic now. You never know how others might retaliate."
Jian Chu looked at him. "Should I just swallow my pride and listen to others curse at me because I'm afraid of retaliation?"
Yu Zibai said, "I just don't want you to get hurt. In this situation, staying safe is more important than anything."
Jian Chu fell silent, and Yu Zibai knew his temperament well. With a sigh, he took the water bucket into the kitchen. Jian Chu went to the bathroom. He was quite experienced in fights and knew how to protect himself, but he still got hit in the face. After some time, his mouth was a bit swollen and bruised. Though he had won the fight, he felt somewhat uneasy.
He hadn't expected the outing to end in a fight. He had thought Jian Chu was as weak as he looked, but Jian Chu had proven to be quite skilled. In their previous life, Jian Chu had looked frail and sickly, but in this life, he seemed like a different person. His decisive actions in the fight made Mu Nan realize that Jian Chu was no stranger to brawls, a stark contrast to his seemingly weak appearance.
Seeing Qin Huai's nonchalant demeanor, Mu Nan asked, "Bro, did you already know that Jian Chu could fight?"
Qin Huai shook his head. "Not really. Why?"
Mu Nan said, "You didn't seem surprised. Wow, is he like a tough little rabbit? Did you see that? The three men from the Zhang family couldn't handle just one Jian Chu."
Qin Huai laughed. "Jian Chu's fighting style is quite rough and unrefined. But you could learn a thing or two from him, like some dirty tricks for self-defense." He had studied sanda for many years, developing a systematic approach, but his strength and speed allowed him to handle even low-level fighters easily.
Mu Nan was just starting his training, so he didn't yet have muscle memory for instinctive reactions, and his strength was lacking. Facing some brawny opponents would leave him at a disadvantage. Jian Chu, however, knew how to utilize his strengths effectively. Though his techniques seemed accumulated from frequent fights, they were very suitable for Mu Nan.
Mu Nan sighed. "I didn't expect I'd ever misjudge someone."
Qin Huai said, "He's indeed quite surprising."
Mu Nan waved his hand. "It's not just about misjudging him. It's about him and Yu Zibai. I always thought Yu Zibai was the protector and Jian Chu was the protected one. But now it seems like that hierarchy might be completely reversed."
Qin Huai didn't understand. "What hierarchy?"
Mu Nan grinned. "You don't know they're a couple? You didn't notice? I figured it out!"
He was a comic artist who had drawn various romantic genres, including yaoi and yuri. Although things seemed different this life, the atmosphere between them definitely wasn't just a friendship.
Qin Huai's expression became somewhat ambiguous. "You're quite perceptive?"
Mu Nan didn't notice the change in Qin Huai's gaze and continued, "It's part of our comic culture. Brother, you don't still have those old-fashioned ideas that yin and yang are the way to go, do you?"
Qin Huai replied, "Not at all. What others do doesn't affect my life. But how did you figure it out?"
Mu Nan couldn't say it was from their previous life, so he said, "It's the atmosphere between them. It's very intimate, more so than just ordinary roommates."
Qin Huai took off his shirt and accepted the cold drink from Mu Nan. He held it but didn't drink, instead looking at Mu Nan and asking, "Don't you think we're closer than they are?"
Mu Nan looked at him with a puzzled expression. "We've known each other for years. They've known each other for less time. It's not the same. We grew up together, ate from the same pot, and I've called you 'brother' for so long. If you hadn't been away all these years, we'd be even closer!"
Qin Huai smiled helplessly and, seeing Mu Nan getting up to turn on the small fan, urged him, "Go take a shower first. You'll feel cooler."
Mu Nan reluctantly got up from the bed, glanced at Qin Huai's clearly defined six-pack abs, and compared them to his own, which only showed a bit of definition when flexed. He sighed with envy and headed to the bathroom.
Feeling strangely warm under Mu Nan's gaze, Qin Huai turned on the fan, drinking his cold drink to cool down.
After the shower and some time with the fan, Mu Nan finally felt cooler. He saw Qin Huai sprinkling water on the vegetables and asked, "Will the chickens we're raising survive this heat? If not, we might have to slaughter them; if they die from the heat, we won't be able to eat them."
Qin Huai said, "So far, they seem fine."
The air conditioning wasn't very effective; it was a bit old, so it was only used at night. The chickens were moved to the kitchen during the day where Mu Nan's air conditioning could handle the heat. Even with the door slightly open for cold air to enter and a block of ice placed inside, the chickens seemed to be in good spirits. The floor had absorbent mats, so there was no need to clean it constantly, only replacing the mats when they got too dirty, saving water and keeping the chickens relatively comfortable.
The chickens were probably too hot to stay in their nests. After a few eggs went bad, Qin Huai decided to separate the rooster from the hens. Although the number of eggs laid decreased, several hens still laid at least one or two eggs each day. It was better they weren't incubating the eggs now; otherwise, the chicks might not survive.
Mu Nan said, "Well, if it's working, let's continue. Initially, I didn't have high hopes for raising chickens anyway. It's fine if they survive; if not, eating them won't be a loss."
As Qin Huai finished his chores and prepared to take a shower, Mu Nan asked, "What are we having for dinner? Do you want to see the menu?"
Qin Huai chuckled. "You made a menu?"
Mu Nan replied, "I've been idle and haven't drawn for a while, so I couldn't resist drawing one."
A few days ago, Qin Huai had seen Mu Nan with his sketchbook, drawing and writing. Although they were living in close quarters with little privacy, he hadn't looked too closely. He was surprised to find that Mu Nan had drawn a menu. "Let me see."
Mu Nan quickly handed the menu to him. Qin Huai flipped through it and was impressed by the quality of the drawings. The cartoonish style depicted several dishes on each page, with color added. The menu was appetizing: "Luosifen (snail rice noodle), Spicy Eel Noodles, Spicy Tofu, Spicy Shredded Chicken, Boiled Fish Slices, Kung Pao Chicken." Each dish was illustrated with a cute chili pepper icon, indicating the level of spiciness. Qin Huai smiled and said, "Did you draw all the dishes you have in stock?"
Mu Nan took back his menu. "Not yet. I've only drawn about a fifth of them. There are so many, it'll take time. I'll finish this one, and then it'll be about done. So, what do you want to eat tonight?"
Qin Huai said, "I'll cook a pot of rice. It's been several days since we had a decent rice meal. We'll have a plate of spicy tofu, a steamed bass, and stir-fried bok choy. You decide if you want anything else. I'll go wash the rice and then take a shower."
Qin Huai finished his shower quickly and emerged smelling of cologne. Mu Nan let him cool down for a while and then heard the rice cooker's timer go off. He took out the ready dishes from their storage, also grabbing a plate of braised pork. Even though it was hot and didn't stimulate much appetite, Mu Nan suddenly craved braised pork.
A bite of the braised pork, with its rich meat juices mixed with rice, felt like a life-enhancing experience.
Qin Huai watched him with a smile. "You didn't like this when you were younger."
Mu Nan replied, "That was when I didn't appreciate the finer things in life."
Recalling earlier events, Mu Nan asked, "Brother, do you think the Zhang family will report us to the police?"
Qin Huai said, "No, although the old man from the Zhang family will be frustrated, his family will stop him." The grandfather dotes on his only grandchild. Unless they plan to imprison Jian Chu forever, reporting to the police would solidify their feud. Zhang Zicong's grandmother and mother wouldn't let him report it.
Mu Nan said, "That's good. Otherwise, things could get messy. It's a pity about that bucket of water." The water that Jian Chu had spilled, which had cooled down the corridor, felt like a waste.
Mu Nan was browsing his phone and said, "Brother, look at this. The guy who fought with the soldier earlier."
Qin Huai glanced over. "What's up?"
Mu Nan said, "There's news in the group chat. Someone smelled a strange odor at his door, like a corpse. They reported it to the community. Since he had fought with the person distributing supplies, he's been temporarily detained and can't return. The community found that one of the rooms in his house had a decaying corpse. It was his father's. Apparently, after getting supplies last time, his father died shortly after. It seems he wanted to keep his father's body for a few days and use his ID to collect supplies again. How inhumane. Prioritizing a few bottles of water and bags of noodles over giving his father a proper burial."
If this had happened after the earthquake, it might not have shocked people so much, as they would have done anything for a bit of food. But now, with the country still distributing supplies, this man's actions were especially heart-wrenching.
Someone even asked in the group if such behavior constituted a legal crime and if he could be arrested. Of course, he couldn't be arrested just for that, but the punishment for such actions was still to be seen. In the end, the man was detained for fifteen days. However, he wasn't held in a regular detention center; instead, he was sent to a construction site where he had to work, as the site was being prepared as a government summer retreat.
After that incident, they rarely encountered the Zhang family, likely because they were deliberately avoiding them.
During the next supply distribution, Xu Ming was also out of work. "Pets have become a meal for many people now. You can't even see stray dogs on the streets. A pound of rice is almost hundreds of bucks now. Who has money left to take care of pets? Many medicines can't withstand the heat, so clinics are temporarily closed. We'll see what happens later."
Xu Ming looked at Jian Chu and Qin Huai. "There's still some medicine left at the clinic. Do you want to take some? They're free since the clinic is closing, and the medicines might go bad without electricity."
Jian Chu, who had never owned pets and wasn't very knowledgeable about them, asked curiously, "What kind of medicine? Can pet medicine be used for people too?"
Xu Ming replied, "Not all, but some are interchangeable, like certain anti-inflammatories or pest repellents. Oh, and there's also cat and dog food. Do you want to take some? If food runs out someday, this can be eaten too, though it doesn't taste good."
Xu Ming was half-joking. Eating pet food was certainly possible, but he didn't think the situation would get so dire that they'd need to eat it.
Mu Nan asked, "Do you have any urine pads?"
Xu Ming nodded, "Yes, but why do you need them?"
Mu Nan explained, "I've been raising a few chickens, and I use urine pads to collect their droppings to avoid having to clean up with water." He had some urine pads in storage, but he hadn't thought about their usefulness before. The pads were small and not really suitable for bedding or covering, and it seemed impractical to use them for just urine. However, he had bought extra pads along with cat litter, and he found that the pads were just right for the chickens.
Xu Ming knew about their chickens; he had heard the roosters crowing in the mornings. He hadn't realized they were using urine pads for the chickens, but given the water shortage, it was a practical solution for maintaining hygiene.
Xu Ming said, "We can check for pads after we get our supplies. If there's anything we need, we should take it home as soon as possible. The clinic lost power yesterday, so it should be okay today, but in a couple of days, it might get too hot inside."
With free supplies available, they decided to check what was worth taking.
As Xu Ming explained pet supplies and walked with the queue, they discovered that the current supplies were limited to water and instant noodles, with no rice available. There was also a flyer.
Seeing the flyer reminded Mu Nan of the government's plan to repurpose large shopping malls in various locations. After installing solar panels, these malls would open and provide 24-hour cooling for people in special situations, such as elderly people without homes, elderly people who have lost their only child, and families in extreme difficulty.
For instance, on the rooftop of Mu Nan's building, there was an elderly man who had been taken away during the pandemic due to a group buying dispute but was later returned. However, with the high temperatures and no air conditioning or electricity, the heat was unbearable. The community had relocated the elderly man to a service center where several other elderly people lived. When the government's cooling centers opened, these individuals would be among the first to be accommodated.
The government's investment in transforming malls and installing solar panels was significant. Naturally, they wanted to recoup some of these costs. With many families unable to run air conditioning during the day and the AC units struggling in temperatures above fifty degrees Celsius, a cooling center was a practical solution. The cooling centers would charge based on usage, either through cash payments or by exchanging goods at current market prices.
Qin Huai carefully reviewed the flyer. The payment could be made directly or through existing supplies at market rates. This approach seemed quite humane, allowing those without money to use their goods in exchange for cooling time. However, this straightforward way of recycling supplies indicated that the situation was indeed worsening.
Currently, it was the best solution available. While many people had hoarded supplies, personal efforts couldn't preserve everything. In such extreme heat, even some long-lasting items might spoil. Instead of letting people waste their stock, it was better for the government to reclaim some of it and manage preservation.
Nearby, someone remarked about the flyer:
"Three hundred bucks for a day at the cooling center. This cooling fee is as expensive as food."
"Life is more important than money. In this heat, it's unbearable during the day."
"At this point, the government is charging money. It's pushing people to their limits!"
"Three hundred bucks? My family can't afford it. We'll just endure at home. If we die, at least it's a relief."
After Yu Zibai and the others collected their supplies, Qin Huai and the others headed back. Jian Chu asked Mu Nan, "Are you going to use the cooling center?"
Mu Nan shook his head, "Probably not. Our air conditioning was replaced this year, and the installation was in a shaded area, avoiding direct sunlight. It should last a bit longer."
Jian Chu said, "Luckily, I replaced my AC with a larger one early this year. If the cooling center opens, people who aren't home during the day won't need to worry about power outages anymore."
Mu Nan fanned himself with the flyer and said, "Who knows? Let's hope it doesn't run out."
Noticing that Jian Chu was walking alongside him and seemed to be deliberately engaging him in conversation, Mu Nan, usually sensitive to such things, asked quietly, "Did you have a fight with Yu Zibai?"
Jian Chu looked a bit surprised and replied, "Why do you ask?"
Mu Nan smiled, "Just a feeling." Although they had talked during previous supply distributions and water fetching, Jian Chu's reluctance to walk with Yu Zibai was quite noticeable.
Jian Chu said, "Not exactly. Just some things need to be thought over."
Mu Nan said, "Sometimes, overthinking can be detrimental. Who knows if we'll have a tomorrow? Wasting time on doubts and contemplation is exhausting. It's better to live one day at a time."
Jian Chu smiled at this perspective and said, "That makes sense."
Recalling Qin Huai's comment earlier, Mu Nan said to Jian Chu, "My brother mentioned you're good at fighting. When you have time, teach me a few moves. I'll trade you some of my brother's braised chicken wings."
Jian Chu looked a bit embarrassed. "There's nothing special about it—just basic moves, useful for dealing with stubborn old men. Against someone skilled, it's just a matter of taking a beating. But if you want to learn, I can teach you. As for the braised chicken wings, they're too expensive now. Keep them for yourselves. Besides, I think your brother has learned some martial arts. Why not learn from him?"
Sometimes, you can tell whether someone is all show or genuinely skilled just by their demeanor, and with Qin Huai's physique, it certainly looks like he has training.
Mu Nan said, "My brother teaches too, but he mentioned that your fighting style suits me better and advised me to learn more skills to avoid getting at a disadvantage in the future."
This was indeed true. Jian Chu thought that learning more skills would be beneficial, especially in tougher times, so he wouldn't be powerless if faced with trouble.
Speaking of which, Jian Chu glanced at Yu Zibai ahead and smiled, "By the way, some of the techniques I know were taught to me by him."
Mu Nan was surprised, "Huh? He knows martial arts too?"
Jian Chu nodded, "He practiced Taekwondo."
Mu Nan was even more astonished. Perhaps even Xu Ming was a hidden expert. Was he the only one on their floor who was completely unskilled? But after the initial shock, Mu Nan had a sudden realization. Although he wasn't sure if he guessed correctly about the reason behind their argument, if he were in their shoes, he would also feel very angry or sad.
That day when Jian Chu fought with the Zhang family members, Yu Zibai only stood by and tried to mediate but didn't actually intervene in the fight. Although Yu Zibai was rationally in the right, people are essentially emotional beings.