Every family has its own difficult scripture to chant, and Zhao Quan not only had to support his wife and children but also his mother-in-law and younger sister, needing to lend a hand there too.
The younger sister's husband had died, and her child had also died of illness, which was very pitiable, while the mother-in-law was frequently sick and with poor health, so they lived together and took care of each other.
Introduced by Zhao Quan, the younger sister got a job at the base doing labor, which was also very hard. Zhao Quan and his wife often brought some grain and vegetables over.
During the New Year's, Li Pan cooked extra in a few clay pots with some vegetables and took them to the Zhao family to celebrate, giving a few pots to her sister-in-law, who also didn't have the heart to keep them all and shared half with her mother and sister.
After the natural disaster, even superpower users had to eat mixed grain buns, not to mention ordinary people.
Li Pan, who had excellent superpower strength and a well-improved body, was very strong, able to match strength-type superpower users, worked double the capacity, but didn't earn much. She made two thousand yuan a month at the base, including Contribution points, and was someone who worked hard for a yearly bonus, yet she was reluctant to indulge in eating and drinking, calculating and saving whatever little she had.
Ordinary people couldn't compare in strength to superpower users, and their abilities fell short as well, earning just a few hundred yuan a month for labor. Renting a courtyard cost five hundred coins, and a small apartment without a courtyard, a one-room and one living room, cost three hundred yuan.
Zhao Quan only made three thousand yuan a month, and even with the extra earnings from deliveries, it added up to four thousand yuan. To support so many people, that was not enough to cover food expenses.
His sister-in-law worked hard for a mere five hundred yuan a month, her mother couldn't work due to illness and sometimes helped with the kids, while her sister made three to five hundred yuan a month. The whole family's income wasn't nearly enough to get by.
The mother and sister's housing, fortunately, was public rental housing which was cheap, costing one hundred yuan a month. The main issue was that Zhao Quan's one-room apartment couldn't accommodate so many people. Besides, it wasn't appropriate for the younger sister, who was a woman, to live together with them.
His mother couldn't be left alone due to chronic illness and frailty; his sister worked odd jobs to make money for their mother's care, and the money earned by Zhao Quan's wife was also contributed to her family. Zhao Quan also frequently took care of his mother-in-law.
Last winter, when they faced extreme cold, Zhao Quan's mother-in-law and sister both fell ill, depleting their savings and borrowing money from Xue Dong, which they hadn't been able to pay back. Xue Dong said there was no rush, understanding that the family would pay back when they could afford it. Brother Zhao was having a tough time.
There were many such struggling families in the base; this was considered one of the better situations, at least they had a superpower user sustaining the household.
Households with only ordinary people were in worse condition; being able to eat buns mixed with wheat bran was already good, and others were too pitiful to witness.
Li Pan, living alone, didn't dare to indulge in food, saving anything good for Xue Dong to exchange for Medicine, which was quite expensive.
That was the state of things at the base, nothing more to it—with insufficient food, production couldn't keep up, and there weren't enough hands.
That's why she thought of starting afresh, to venture out and take a chance. It seemed better than toiling miserably in the base, possibly working toward a sufficient living.
With her mind occupied with these scattered thoughts, she saw the child finish a bowl of egg custard, planning to take some food back for him, as there were plenty of wild eggs to bring some for her sister-in-law.
"Did you eat your fill?"
"I'm full."
Zhao Hui patted his little belly, his eyes curving into smiles.
"Sis will take you to play. Let's go see the fish in the lake."
Li Pan took the child to the lakeside to look around. Their work was done for the day and there was nothing pressing, so she played with the child for a while.
Zhao Quan and Xue Dong went to work on the vegetable garden's trellis, with Xue Dong taking a fishing net to catch some fish.
"Fish, sister, fish!"
Zhao Hui, seeing the lively jumping fish, happily clapped his hands and ran over, wanting to catch the fish.
"Slow down, don't fall into the lake."
Li Pan followed closely behind, protecting him.
"Big fish!"
Zhao Hui was overjoyed, caught a fish, and started dragging it back. However, he was slapped by the fish's tail, and the fish escaped.
The child was confused, staring with wide round eyes after the fish had slapped his face, not knowing what to make of it.
"Hahaha, silly kid."
Xue Dong couldn't stop laughing, taking the child in his arms to soothe him.
"Brother, the fish hit me."
Zhao Hui's lips quivered with indignation.
"Come here, let brother rub it for you, hahaha!"
Xue Dong held the child, still laughing heartily.
Li Pan led the child to watch the fish in a basket, the child poking the fish with his hand, having a great time.
"Huizi, let's go pick up some eggs."
Li Pan found a chicken nest and stealthily led the child over to steal some wild chicken eggs.
Zhao Hui carefully stole the eggs and placed them in the basket, smiling like a little mouse that had stolen some oil.
After collecting a basketful of eggs, Li Pan also performed a vine trick to catch wild chickens, which made the child so happy that he jumped and clapped his hands in cheer, delighting Li Pan to no end.
After their fun, they took the opportunity to carry a bundle of firewood back for cooking.
Zhao Hui was very well-behaved, sitting on a small stool helping her pick vegetables, pour water, and even add firewood.
At noon, they sliced a piece of cured meat to stew with cabbage, made a large dish of chicken, steamed some sweet potatoes and potato buns, and prepared a bowl of two-rice meal for the child, along with two vegetarian dishes.
When they called everyone back for the meal, Zhao Quan and Qin Jianzhong had finished setting up the rack; it had a ventilating curtain and a tarpaulin that could shield from rain and sun, and could be rolled up when not needed - they had made it tidy and proper.
The three of them also chopped two logs to bring back, planning to make a bed, table, chairs, and stools because they couldn't always sit on stone stools to eat.
"Wow, there's even meat, sister, you've gone to too much trouble."
Zhao Quan felt embarrassed.
"Daddy, I ate egg custard with fried bread slices; it was so delicious. I even saved you a piece."
Zhao Hui, as if presenting a treasure, saved a piece of bread for his dad.
"Son, you eat it yourself."
Zhao Quan looked disgusted; it had been squashed flat, and he was not going to eat it.
"If you won't eat it, I will, hmph!"
Zhao Hui huffily turned his head away.
Li Pan fed the child first, giving some soft and tender stewed meat to Xiao Hui.
"Sister, let him eat by himself, he can eat."
Zhao Quan hurriedly called Li Pan to eat.
"It's okay, you guys go ahead, I'll feed the child first; if it gets cold, it won't feel good in the stomach."
She smiled, shaking her head.
Only after Xiao Hui was full did Li Pan start her meal.
The lively meal they shared, with the child's babble on the side, made the farm feel warmer, more like a home.
At night Zhao Quan took the child to sleep in the plank house, and early the next morning they left.
Li Pan insisted on stuffing some wild chicken eggs and stevia to take with them, for the child to have a taste.
After seeing off the guest, Li Pan went to check on the fields to deliver a batch of superpower, then turned to look at the black oats.
Seeing everyone busy, she took a backpack and a tool bag and headed to the mountain; they were preparing pits on the north slope to plant fruit tree saplings later – Zhao Quan had already brought over the saplings and other seeds.
Up in the mountains, the fresh fragrance of grass filled the air, a pleasant combination of natural scents from plants and flowers blossomed lushly.
To her surprise, she discovered a loquat tree, laden with many ripe fruits; many had fallen to the ground, some even rotting away, such a waste.
She examined the fruit and her eyes lit up instantly; they were showing signs of beneficial mutations, with high medicinal value for moistening the lungs and relieving coughs.
Without hesitation, she climbed the tree and picked the ripe ones first; she could make loquat jam when she got back. It was just a pity she didn't have much Chinese Fritillary left, just a small packet, which was an item exchanged with a colleague from the base previously.
If she had pears and Chinese Fritillary, she could make Chuanbei Loquat Paste, which was really good stuff.
It was still better to make some even without the pears; it was better than nothing.
In the afternoon, she called Xue Dong to help pick them; they were ripe and would spoil if not picked soon. Judging by eye, there were almost a hundred pounds.
They picked a full basket, and the bag was also full; only when they could fit no more did they stop and decided to bring these back before returning.