Chapter 14: The Three Thatched Roof
After more than a decade of struggling in the apocalypse, Qin Yao could certainly see the emotions in the two elders' eyes changing from surprise to disappointment to indignation.
But so what?
Liu Ji should have been beaten half to death by now.
Having lived in the apocalypse for so long, Qin Yao also has her own way of survival. That is, she will deal with anyone or anything that may threaten her life in advance to ensure her own safety.
Given her current situation, the best solution is for Liu Ji to die.
Otherwise, she would be burdened with an unknown debt of unknown amount and a useless husband who might not be dead but would require a huge amount of medical treatment to be cured.
Qin Yao has some kindness, but not much.
All of this was Liu Ji's own fault. What does it have to do with her? From Yao Niang's perspective, she is the victim who deserves the most sympathy.
So, Qin Yao pretended not to feel the two elders' emotions and continued to talk about buying wheat seeds.
As soon as Dalang and Erlang got home, they told her about their encounter with their uncle Liu Bo.
Qin Yao thought about it and decided to plant the two acres of land. If they didn't plant, they would have nothing. If they planted, maybe they could harvest some food after getting through this winter.
"Haven't you started planting wheat yet?" Old man Liu looked at the sky worriedly, not knowing when it would rain.
Qin Yao said: "I was busy before, and my family was in that situation. I just calmed down a little in the past few days. I thought about planting those two acres of land. No matter what happens next year, there will be some harvest."
"Dad, I've never farmed before, please give me some pointers."
What Qin Yao said was true. The situation of her original family was actually quite good. If it had not been for natural disasters or wars, and with so many brothers and many fields in the family, it would never have been her turn to work in the fields.
Moreover, because his uncle worked as an accountant in the county town, he could recognize quite a few words.
As for herself, she is fine with killing zombies, but forget about farming.
Old Man Liu didn't expect that she couldn't even farm, but he didn't know what to say. He kept the matter of his third son in his heart, and seeing Qin Yao's indifferent attitude, he felt a little angry.
He gave Zhang a wink and asked her to get the wheat seeds.
Fortunately, he had distributed some extra seeds earlier, and there were some left after planting the fields at home. Otherwise, he would not be able to give them to Qin Yao when she came to ask for them.
In fact, life was not easy for everyone in the Liu family's old house. Their clothes were patched and they only ate brown rice.
This old house has only a few more rooms and an extra wall than Qin Yao's shabby thatched house.
The father and his sons in the family worked hard from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and could barely support the nine people in the family.
What's more, there was Liu Ji, that unscrupulous guy, and the little money saved was basically used to cover his own mess.
After all, he is my own son. If he really encounters a life-threatening situation, how can a father be so cruel as to ignore it?
Zhang handed the jar of wheat seeds to Qin Yao, and told her how deep to dig the field, how to sow the wheat, and how to cover the soil carefully. It can't be too deep, and it will be washed away when it rains if it is too shallow. She was just short of going to the field to teach Qin Yao how to farm.
Qin Yao wrote down these details and thought confidently that it didn't sound difficult and she should be able to do it if she tried it tomorrow.
Qin Yao took out five copper coins and said, "I have never bought wheat seeds, so I don't know if these are enough."
Zhang's eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost. When Qin Yao just came in, she said she came to buy wheat seeds. She thought it was just a polite remark. After all, the third brother was such a person, it was good enough that he didn't ask them for money.
But now it seems that the third brother and his wife really don't seem to be from the same family.
Seeing Zhang's surprised face, Qin Yao didn't care whether it was enough or not. She put the money in her hand, took the wheat seeds, called the two brothers Dalang and Erlang who were staring at others eating and swallowing their saliva, asked them to say goodbye to their grandparents, and turned to leave.
After walking a few steps, the brothers Liu Bo and Liu Zhong suddenly caught up with him.
Qin Yao looked at them warily. Were they coming to ask her to return the straw?
"As for the straw, I will return it after the days are over." Qin Yao was in the wrong in this matter, so she spoke first to explain the situation.
Liu Bo and Liu Zhong were stunned for a moment, then realized that she had misunderstood them, and waved their hands, saying that the matter should be forgotten.
Qin Yao didn't plan to give up. Life was hard for every family, and even a few bundles of straw were very important to the farmers.
"You have to pay it back." She said seriously.
Seeing how persistent she was, Liu Bo let her go. He didn't expect her to get it back anyway.
He and Liu Zhong each took out a handful of copper coins from their waist pockets, and the two brothers put them together and handed them to Qin Yao.
"We don't have much, but the third brother's life is important. You use it to redeem him first, and we can find a way to deal with the rest." Liu Bo said with a frown.
Liu Zhong also added: "Mother said that Lin Erbao has an illegal mine. If you provoke him, he will not kill you directly. He will just throw you into the mine to work to pay off the debt. The third child may be fine."
"He has learned his lesson this time, and he will learn it in the future. You two have to live together to have a good life. You are the only woman." How are you going to live in the future?
Liu Zhong felt that the latter sentence was a little inappropriate, so he stopped talking.
Qin Yao raised her eyebrows. It was incredible that Liu Ji, who was in such a bad state, still had his family to support him.
Dalang and Erlang both looked at Qin Yao, hoping that she would take the money.
However, Qin Yao pushed the money back and said, "No need. This money is not enough to redeem the person. It would be a waste of money if you take it. You should keep it for yourself."
After saying that, he turned around and strode towards home, his eyes becoming increasingly cold.
Dalang and Erlang looked at their two uncles hesitantly, and then concentrated on chasing Qin Yao.
"Hey!" Liu Zhong chased out a few steps helplessly. He didn't know how the mother and her two children could run so fast. They disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye. He had to stop and looked back at Liu Bo helplessly.
"Brother, this money?"
"Why wouldn't she want it?" Liu Bo was also confused.
The two brothers went back home and told their husbands that Qin Yao refused to take the money. Mrs. He and Mrs. Qiu breathed a sigh of relief.
But the two old people in the family were very angry.
Old Man Liu slammed the table in anger, "This is not someone who wants to live a good life with the third child!"
As a woman, Zhang could probably understand some of Qin Yao's thoughts. If the third brother didn't change, he would be a bottomless pit.
"Forget it, let's think of another way." Zhang sighed helplessly as she carried Old Man Liu on her back.
A strong wind suddenly blew up at night.
The whistling sound of the wind was like a baby crying, very creepy.
Qin Yao woke up from her sleep and when she opened her eyes, she saw the bright starry sky.
The thatch on the roof was blown away by the strong wind, leaving a big hole.
The strong wind was still howling, and the few thin beams on the roof were shaking constantly.
Qin Yao heard the sound of wall paint falling down, and the whole house felt like it was about to collapse.
not good!
Is this house going to collapse?
"Mother!"
Si Niang's scream came from the next room.
Qin Yao quickly suppressed her shock, got out of bed, put on her shoes, opened the door and ran out.
"Da Lang, Er Lang, San Lang, Si Niang, come out quickly!"
She pushed the door open and saw four children huddled together in bed, looking in panic as the thatch above their heads was blown away piece by piece, not knowing what to do.
Si Niang was so scared that she kept calling "A Niang". Da Lang pretended to be calm and hugged his younger brother and sister in his arms.
Qin Yao's heart choked. They didn't even know how to run!
She rushed forward, picked up Sanlang and Si Niang, and shouted to Dalang and Erlang, "Come out! The house is going to collapse!"
The four children were startled. Dalang and Erlang slid off the bed and crawled. They were so panicked that they didn't even bother to take off their shoes and ran out barefoot following Qin Yao.
(End of this chapter)