Chapter 133 Xiao Ci, What's Wrong with the Space?
"Bang bang bang!"
Hearing the knocking, Meng Ci, who was still watching the commotion from the balcony, put down the sunflower seeds in his hand, threw on two more layers of clothing, and donned a fluffy hat before heading out to open the door.
Outside the iron-pulled door stood Zhang Mingtian, dressed warmly, holding a quilt in his hands.
He smiled when he saw Meng Ci again.
"Brother, this is a quilt my mother sewed. She asked me to bring one for you two."
Zhang Mingtian seemed to have a bit of a cold, as he sniffled.
Meng Ci didn't reach out to take it, as he was planning to stay in the space and was thinking about how to politely decline.
Seeing that Meng Ci didn't take it, Zhang Mingtian assumed he was worried the quilt might have been taken from a dead body and quickly explained.
"Brother, don't worry. This quilt is made from several new quilts we had at home, absolutely clean."
Zhang Mingtian worked in the security team, so he knew in advance that the temperature would drop. A few days ago, after returning home, he asked his wife and mother to start sewing quilts.
Zhang Mingtian also went downstairs to search and indeed found a few quilts that had been taken from dead bodies.
However, Zhang's mother, while sewing the quilt, thought that Meng Ci and Shen Que were young men who would definitely mind if the quilt had been taken from a dead body.
Therefore, she sewed together the quilts they used at home to make a twenty-pound quilt, specifically for Meng Ci and Shen Que.
Originally, Zhang's mother planned to sew two quilts, but there weren't enough quilts.
If divided into two, the thickness wouldn't be sufficient, and the insulation effect would definitely be poor.
In the end, Zhang Mingtian reminded her that Meng Ci and Shen Que could sleep together on one quilt.
Of course, Zhang Mingtian didn't dare to say that Meng Ci and Shen Que were a couple.
It wasn't that he looked down on homosexuality; rather, he was afraid his elderly mother wouldn't accept it.
When Zhang's mother heard Zhang Mingtian's words, she only thought they had a deep brotherly bond, and there was nothing wrong with two grown men sharing a bed.
So, Zhang's mother sewed one quilt, measuring two meters by two meters three, ensuring it was large enough for Meng Ci and Shen Que.
As for Zhang Mingtian's family, they kept two of their own quilts, planning to use them close to their bodies, while the others were taken from dead bodies.
Meng Ci explained, "I'm not worried about the cleanliness of the quilt."
"Rather, we have our own quilts. You should keep it for yourself."
Zhang Mingtian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Meng Ci wasn't concerned about the quilt's cleanliness.
"We have enough quilts, and I also brought back a stove from home, which I've already installed in the room."
"A few days ago, I exchanged some food for coal."
"I'll light the stove when I get back, and besides, we have enough quilts."
"Just keep the quilt, or my mother will scold me when I return."
Zhang Mingtian installed the stove in the smallest room of the house and moved all the necessary items inside.
They decided that the three of them would live together in that room.
Coincidentally, the security team had a ten-day holiday, so Zhang Mingtian and his family planned to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.
Seeing Zhang Mingtian's insistence, Meng Ci took the quilt and began to think about what he could give them in return.
After returning home, less than half an hour later, he heard another knock on the door.
When he came out, he found Yun Jingcen and Fang Shurui.
"Teacher Yun, Teacher Fang," Meng Ci greeted them.
"Meng classmate," Yun Jingcen, with a large red scarf wrapped around her neck, covering most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.
"These are the cotton coats we made over the past few days. One for you and one for Shen classmate." Yun Jingcen didn't beat around the bush and handed the items to Meng Ci.
Meng Ci refused.
"Teacher Yun, we have enough cotton coats. You should take them back and use them yourselves."
Yun Jingcen insisted, "Don't worry, we have enough cotton coats."
"These two are specially made for you. They won't fit anyone else."
Seeing Yun Jingcen's persistence, Meng Ci finally accepted the coats.
Back home, he and Shen Que discussed and decided to give each of the two families three bags of coal.
Since Meng Ci and Shen Que had specifically exchanged for coal earlier, they weren't worried about being discovered.
Before leaving, Meng Ci also specifically instructed them:
"The temperature is dropping sharply. It's best not to go out these few days."
"Once the temperature stabilizes, we can meet up again."
Yun Jingcen and Zhang Mingtian agreed.
Meng Ci said this because he was afraid that if they knocked on the door during this period while he and Shen Que were in the space, they wouldn't hear it and cause unnecessary trouble.
After Meng Ci and Shen Que returned home, they prepared to enter the space.
Meng Ci first collected some important items from both rooms into the space, such as coal, a generator, diesel, grapes, watermelons...
He left only two pounds of rice and a little bit of potatoes.
Oh, and he couldn't forget about the vegetables on the balcony and the rabbits they were raising.
With everything ready, Meng Ci took Shen Que into the space in one go.
He placed the rabbits, along with their cages, into the space.
The female rabbit had already given birth three times, and the earlier-born baby rabbits seemed to be pregnant as well.
The second batch of rabbits was gradually growing larger. Meng Ci felt that he could no longer provide enough food for so many rabbits, so he decided to have Shen Que slaughter the three male rabbits from the first litter.
A few of the second batch of rabbits had also grown quite large, so he caught three plump ones and slaughtered them as well.
The kitchen in the space was functional, so Meng Ci eagerly prepared a dish of spicy rabbit cubes.
He also cooked a pot of noodles, which could be mixed with the leftover rabbit meat at the end.
Meng Ci picked two ready-made dishes and placed them on the table.
The two of them ate heartily.
Eggplant (the dog) would also have a feast today. The rabbit offal, which Meng Ci and Shen Que didn't like to eat, was boiled and fed to Eggplant.
After the meal, Shen Que washed the dishes while Meng Ci lounged on the sofa playing games.
Living in the space, the two of them didn't idle around.
They dug soil, cleared land, and planted vegetables.
Seeing that his owners needed to dig soil from the mounds, Eggplant used his natural instincts to dig up a lot of soil.
Only a thin layer of soil, about one or two centimeters, was needed to plant vegetables in the space.
So Meng Ci didn't understand why the space couldn't grow plants directly.
Hearing this, Shen Que, who was spreading soil on the ground, replied,
"Maybe it doesn't want you to get something for nothing."
Upon hearing this, Meng Ci threw the hoe on the ground and plopped down on a chair, sulking.
"Isn't digging holes and moving soil considered labor? How is this getting something for nothing?"
"I think this space is just not smart at all; it's a complete idiot."
As soon as Meng Ci finished speaking, the space began to shake violently, as if an earthquake were happening.
Eggplant's eyes showed confusion, not knowing what was happening, and he quickly ran to Meng Ci for comfort.
The rabbits in the cage huddled in the corner, too scared to even eat their apples.