Chapter 50 p2
After lunch, Ji Yang cleaned up the dead cockroaches, put them all in a special garbage bag, and sent them to her static space. When the accumulated water had receded, she would burn them all. This way, she wouldn’t have to worry about polluting the environment.
After she was done with everything, it was still early, so she began to tidy up her space.
Daily activity—collecting eggs.
She had collected another two baskets of eggs. Ji Yang was thinking of exchanging them all for points with Hu City before she left. It didn’t matter if she could use them or not, but she still had a lot of goose eggs in her stock. The taste of goose eggs was a little worse than chicken eggs, and they were also average for making salted eggs. She had just been leaving them there, not knowing how to deal with them.
It wouldn’t be a waste to exchange them. If she gave them to the base, the base could always use them.
As Ji Yang was thinking, she picked out the goose eggs separately. There were a full three large frames, weighing hundreds of jin.
There were still a few eggs that hadn’t been collected when there was a knock on the door.
Ji Yang was puzzled. Who is it this time?
However, Xixi had been put in her space, and there was no warning. She just asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Qiao Yi’s voice sounded.
Ji Yang’s expression faded a little, and she opened the door.
Qiao Yi came in, still with a smile on her face, and her spirit looked better than yesterday. “I just heard your grandmother say you were up, so I came over to ask. Thank you for what you did yesterday.”
Ji Yang’s smile was polite. “No need. I didn’t do it because of you.”
Heaven and earth as her witness, she really didn’t interfere because of Qiao Yi at all. If Xue Yuanyang had been a little more annoying, she could have resisted the temptation of the bounty and not saved him.
Qiao Yi’s smile stiffened, and then she seemed to have thought of something and said with understanding, “Actually, there’s something I was going to tell you before A-Yang went missing, but it was delayed because of this. What do you think of A-Yang?”
Ji Yang had a gut feeling that this was not quite right. She just looked at her quietly and didn’t say anything.
Qiao Yi was abashed, but she still expressed her thoughts. “Actually, I think A-Yang is quite good. He’s handsome, has a gentle personality, and a good character. He never fooled around when he was abroad for so many years and has only been in one relationship. He’s single now. I think he’s a good match for you. A girl always has to get married, and he’s a suitable partner. Besides, you were willing to help save him. You must have some good feelings for him, right?”
Ji Yang: ???
She looked at Qiao Yi in astonishment. She knew that Qiao Yi couldn’t say anything good, but she hadn’t expected her to come up with such a thing.
Qiao Yi didn’t notice and said to herself, “A-Yang came back last night and went directly to the hospital. The wound is a little infected, but it’s not a big problem. Why don’t you go and see him in the afternoon? I’ve asked A-Yang, and he’s quite willing. And—”
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a chill behind her.
At some point, a gun had appeared in Ji Yang’s hand, and the muzzle was pointed at her.
In that instant, the biological instinct for danger made Qiao Yi’s whole person stiffen. The color on her face suddenly disappeared. She couldn’t be as glib-tongued as before, but was full of fear and astonishment. “You… what are you doing?! I’m your mother?!”
Seeing her like this, Ji Yang found it amusing.
She had complained before that Qiao Yi was not as open as Ji Anfeng. Ji Anfeng’s partners were always in their twenties, but after Qiao Yi had divorced, she had quickly remarried, and she had found an old man who was more than ten years older than her, and even had a child.
But that was just a complaint.
Now, it was really confirmed that this person had a problem with her brain!
No one had restrained her, but she had restrained herself!
Seeing her pretending to be calm but actually trembling all over, Ji Yang put away her gun with regret. “If you hadn’t given birth to me, you would have been dead long ago.”
Qiao Yi’s face trembled, and she was both angry and afraid.
But for a moment, she did not refute.
Ji Yang then knew that a gun had made her sober.
She said, “For the sake of the debt of birth, I have always given you a basic polite attitude. But it is obvious that this has made you misunderstand, thinking that you can exercise your mother’s rights in front of me. Qiao Yi, use your rusty brain and think carefully. Besides giving birth to me, what other kindness have you shown me?”
“After my first birthday party, it was my grandparents who raised me. You didn’t care about me. When they sent me to your place, you were still cold, not even as good to me as Xue Jianping. Why are you saying you’re my mother at this time?! To give birth but not to raise, how can you be so righteous?!”
Qiao Yi opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t refute.
In the past, she had once hated the Ji family to the point of taking it out on her own biological daughter. It was true that she was not as good to her as her husband was to her.
It was just…
She said with tears in her eyes, “But I still gave birth to you! Do you want to disown me?”
Ji Yang said indifferently, “Do you still remember the supplies that were sent to your house at the beginning of the blizzard?”
Qiao Yi was stunned. Of course, she remembered. This portion of supplies had saved them from the predicament of starving and had allowed them to hold on until the government’s rescue came. They had even made some connections because of this, and had only then contacted Xue Jianping’s friends, and had also learned some things, and had been able to quickly gather precious supplies in exchange for their current rich life.
But how did Ji Yang know?!
With a guess in her heart, she pursed her lips and looked at the daughter in front of her. The sense of strangeness made her feel a hint of regret. It seemed that she had completely angered this daughter.
Ji Yang continued, “I gave it. At that time, I received some news and knew that this heavy rain would last for a long time.” Seeing Qiao Yi’s moved expression, she added, “But don’t misunderstand. I didn’t do it because I was afraid you would starve. I sent these supplies just to save your life. You did give birth to me, so I used supplies to save you once. No, it should be said that I saved your whole family once, to offset your debt of birth to me. Isn’t that enough?”
Qiao Yi was completely speechless.
Enough!
How is it not enough?
At that time, Xue Yuanyang had not come back, but they were also a family of three.
The blizzard had sealed the city. No matter how rich the villa area was, they couldn’t buy supplies. Many who were hungry had run out to look for supplies and had never come back. Their family had not gone out, and it was because of this thing.
But the reason for sending the supplies was actually this?!
Qiao Yi was a little unable to accept it, and her throat was choked and she couldn’t speak.
Ji Yang, on the other hand, was in a good mood.
Some things, when said, made one feel refreshed. For example, at this moment, she was happy after she had said it, and that was enough. Seeing that Qiao Yi did not refute again, she was slightly satisfied. At least… she could understand. Originally, she was too lazy to say it. She had a scale in her heart for everything she did, and this group of people might never have any contact again in the future.
But not everyone had a scale in their heart.
“It seems you agree with my idea. I’m honored that we have reached an agreement on this matter. So…” Ji Yang got up and pointed to the open main door. “Please.”
Qiao Yi carefully looked at Ji Yang with a pale face.
At this sight, she only then noticed that this child actually looked very much like her.
They had similar eyebrows and eyes, but the feeling was completely different. She was beautiful, but at this moment, her whole body exuded a cold and distant feeling. Even when she had smiled before, it had been polite and courteous.
It was full of a sense of distance.
To her, this child had always had this attitude.
Only to her maternal grandparents was her attitude a little gentler.
It was just that she hadn’t even noticed it herself.
Qiao Yi was full of emotions for a moment, dazed, sad, ashamed, and regretful. There was also the embarrassment and shame of being taught a lesson like this after she had presumptuously tried to arrange Ji Yang’s life.
She couldn’t say any more presumptuous words. She got up with weak legs and walked out.
This time, Ji Yang was too lazy to care if she could walk up. Qiao Yi was loved and doted on by the Qiao family and Xue Jianping and the others. In her whole life, besides having fallen in love with Ji Anfeng, she had never suffered a setback. As a result, she lacked a sense of propriety in certain aspects, thinking that if she didn’t mention it, everything she had done in the past did not exist, and she had the right to arrange things for her as a mother.
How could that be?!
Originally, she was too lazy to say some things, but now that she had said them, she felt a sense of relief. From now on, she and Qiao Yi’s debt of birth was over, and they were no longer involved.
—
After saving another bag of cockroaches, Ji Yang went back to her space to take a bath with a dark face.
There were more and more cockroaches.
And she couldn’t spray insecticide every moment. Otherwise, she herself couldn’t stand it. So, sometimes she had to kill the cockroaches by hand. Fortunately, the other insect armies had not yet arrived. There were only a few more mosquitoes, which she could still handle.
But when she thought of the next few months, Ji Yang’s vision went black.
This life, when will it end!
At dinner, the Qiao family knew that she was definitely leaving tomorrow and came to call her for dinner again, saying that it was to thank her for her help.
This time, Ji Yang refused. She and the Qiao family were completely clear. There was no need to have more contact and cause more involvement. The Qiao family couldn’t persuade her and could only give up.
That night, Ji Yang finally couldn’t stand it and hid in her space.
It was just that she had a nightmare all night. The space was too lonely, and the surroundings were also a void. Even though she was in her space house, through the walls, she seemed to still be able to feel it.
In her dream, she had always felt that her body had no support and was floating in the air, ready to fall at any moment.
When she woke up, Ji Yang was in a daze. She felt that she had overslept, but she also felt that she had not slept.
As expected, the space was not suitable for a long stay.
She quickly came out of her space. Seeing the familiar army of cockroaches, she felt a little more energetic.
She looked at the time. It was already past eight in the morning. The thermometer in the living room was already 33 degrees. Ji Yang first fed Xixi in her space, went to wash up herself, and then found a jianbing guozi, plus a cup of iced soy milk, took out a stool and sat down, and quickly ate it all.
When it was nine o’clock, she let Xixi out. Ji Yang quickly pulled Xixi, who was about to go and fight the cockroaches. “No, no, we’re leaving.”
Xixi stopped and tilted its head to look at her.
Ji Yang took out her backpack, and it immediately understood. It obediently waited on the side for its owner to get ready to go out.
In fact, there was nothing to prepare. She had only brought an assault boat and a commonly used hiking backpack when she had come. So, at this time, she was just taking these things with her. Speaking of which, it was also unexpected. She had originally only planned to use a week’s time to collect what she wanted and then leave, but she had not expected to have spent ten days.
After confirming that she had taken all her things, Ji Yang closed the door and went downstairs.
Xixi immediately led the way happily.
It had rained lightly yesterday, but the rain had stopped again today. It had been sunny for the past few days, and the water level was not high. She could go out directly from the elevated ground floor.
After she had put the assault boat away, and after Xixi had jumped on, she quickly got on. The hull of the boat swayed a little, and it quickly stabilized, and she slowly drove out.
Of course, she was not leaving, but had first gone out of the base to take three frames of goose eggs back to the exchange point. The price of goose eggs was even cheaper, but it was also calculated by the jin, and it was also protein. So, a jin of goose eggs was twenty points, and she had gotten a total of more than fifteen thousand points.
As usual, it was exchanged for paper points.
Then, Ji Yang went to find the three vendors, got the last of the fish and shrimp in their hands, and also notified them that this was the last time she would be picking up the goods. The vendors were all very disappointed, but thinking that the water quality was getting worse and worse now, and the price of ordinary fish and shrimp had all gone up, they also understood that this business would not last long.
Ji Yang was also very disappointed. After she had finished with the three vendors, she had only spent five thousand points!
The rest was all left in her hands.
After she was done with these things, it was already noon. She was too lazy to go back to eat, so she simply found a place to eat in the base.
It was not the most difficult time yet. People who had a lot of things and were afraid of them going bad would choose to sell them to the government or to restaurants and other places with a higher purchase price. So, there were still small restaurants.
It was just that now, all kinds of things were scarce, and the choices were very few.
Ji Yang ordered a stir-fried youmaicai and a crucian carp soup, which cost seventy points. In addition, a bowl of rice cost twenty points. The price was expensive, and most people couldn’t afford it, but the customers in the shop were actually not few.
In the current situation, there was no shortage of rich people. The vast majority of people could not accurately predict how terrible the extreme heat would be.
After a hasty meal, Ji Yang went to the Guo family, wanting to see how much jade had been collected, and to take a batch with her first.
Seeing her come over, Mother Guo saw her from the second floor from a long way off and immediately ran down to greet her. There was also dirty water. She could only stand on the stairs and wave at her. “Miss Ji, come quickly. Old Guo is still outside exchanging for jade with people. Take a look and see if you are satisfied with what we have gotten now.”
Her smile was brilliant, and she no longer had the haggard look from before. She was slightly plump, and she looked like a rich and kind aunt.
Ji Yang also showed a smile, fixed the rope of the assault boat to the stair railing, and followed her up. Xixi also quickly jumped off the assault boat and followed.
Just as she was about to stop it, she was stopped by Mother Guo. “Hey, no need, no need. Let it come along. It just so happens that my family has dog snacks for it to eat.”
Mother Guo’s tone was still regretful. “My family originally had a dog, but this silly dog ate things randomly, and even drank that dirty water. It was vomiting and had diarrhea. After a few days of hard work to find medicine, it still went. It just so happens that I’ve packed them up for you. They shouldn’t be expired. Those cans were all frozen during the extreme cold.”
People now had automatically become frugal. Even those who had been extravagant in the past were no exception. As long as it could still be eaten, it was useful. It didn’t matter if it was for their own use or to give away so as not to waste it.
“Then thank you,” Ji Yang replied and was also very grateful. Xixi was obedient. She had instructed Xixi a long time ago that unless she agreed, it was not allowed to touch any food given by anyone or anything that had fallen on the ground. Xixi had carried this out very well.
The two of them and the dog went upstairs. In the second-floor living room, there were several bags of jade at this moment.
Among them was a piece of jadeite raw stone, which was placed separately on the tea table. It was about the size of an olive, and its shape was irregular, but its color was exceptionally clear and bright.
When Ji Yang recognized it, she directly let out a gasp of admiration.
It was actually an emerald!
And such a large emerald!