Chapter 198: Polar Night, Ending Silently
"Tweet!"
"Click!"
Moments later, Meng Ci and Shen Que heard two distinct sounds in succession.
Wearing night vision goggles, the two hurriedly went to investigate.
Meng Ci held down the winnowing basket just as it was about to be pushed open, while Shen Que ran to grab the other bird that had been caught in the trap.
Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi, seeing their traps hadn't caught any birds yet, waited patiently.
After hearing that Meng Ci and Shen Que had caught birds, they eventually walked over.
Seeing the two captured birds, they were both very excited.
Having caught two birds, it would be easier to attract more.
Before setting the next trap, however, the four of them got into the car and moved to a different location.
They needed to prevent other birds from becoming aware of the incident and being too scared to approach.
Upon arriving at the new location and setting up the traps, they killed one of the birds to use its blood as bait.
This time, with enough blood, birds were quickly attracted.
Over two hours later, they successfully caught eight birds.
Most of the residents who had gone up the mountain earlier returned frustrated, having failed to catch any birds.
Seeing the eight birds in Meng Ci's hands, they were all envious.
But since the other party had a car and four burly men, no one dared to approach, only making sarcastic remarks.
Meng Ci and the others ignored them and simply drove away.
On the way back, Zhang Mingtian said he and Huang Zhi only needed two birds, and the rest could go to Meng Ci and Shen Que.
Meng Ci naturally declined.
Swiping the card to enter the base, they first dropped Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi off at their residence, then Meng Ci threw four birds on the ground and had Shen Que drive away.
Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi sighed, thinking they had wanted to help Meng Ci and Shen Que, but in the end, it was the latter who benefited.
Huang Zhi and Zhang Mingtian took the four birds home, had Zhang's mother prepare them, and cooked one for a meal.
When it was Zhang Mingtian's turn to patrol, he took two birds to the points redemption center, redeemed some points, and then reported for duty at the security team.
Huang Zhi, meanwhile, took a garbage bag and went out of the base to collect trash.
Meanwhile, Meng Ci and Shen Que also arrived at the points redemption center, exchanging three birds for points.
These birds had mutated, making it even harder for Meng Ci, who was already unfamiliar with bird species, to identify them.
However, their weight was considerable.
Three birds, weighing sixty-five jin.
One jin of meat could be exchanged for three jin of grain, and one jin of grain was worth ten points, so these three birds could be exchanged for nearly 200 points.
After the points were credited to their accounts, Meng Ci and Shen Que headed back to the exchange point to redeem two liters of water and purchase some flour and salt before driving home.
Meng Ci gave the remaining birds in the off-road vehicle to Qiezi.
Although the officials stated that these birds had been tested and were not carrying any viruses, making them safe for human consumption,
considering the extreme weather and harsh environment in this post-apocalyptic world, there might be undetectable mutated viruses.
Therefore, Meng Ci and Shen Que had no intention of eating the birds.
Qiezi had already undergone mutation, and consuming the birds might make it even stronger.
From then on, until the end of the Polar Night, except for necessary outings to exchange water and other activities to avoid suspicion, Meng Ci and Shen Que continued to live a reclusive life.
On February 29th, the Polar Night ended without people realizing it.
At noon, the sky suddenly brightened.
The people outside, who were collecting garbage, excitedly dropped their trash bags and many of them started crying.
Who would have known how difficult their lives had been, working in the dark for over a month.
"Waaa, when will this inhumane life end?"
"Damn it, I've had enough of this life; I'd rather be dead."
Some people's spirits were broken by the darkness.
At that moment, seeing the sky brightened, some individuals, whether due to mental breakdowns or overwhelming stress, recklessly threw themselves against trees or jumped off buildings, resulting in blood splattered everywhere.
Meng Ci and Shen Que were unaware of these events because they were working in their space at the time.
Of course, 'working' referred to laboring in the fields, not in bed.
A batch of wheat, corn, sesame, and other grains previously planted in the space had matured, and a batch of watermelons, strawberries, and other fruits had also been harvested.
Thus, the two of them, along with Qiezi, entered the space and began processing the harvest.
Although outside the space, the planting dates and maturation periods for crops such as corn and wheat varied,
inside the space, none of this mattered.
Seeds could be planted together, and wheat that would take over ninety days to mature outside could be harvested in just over forty days inside the space.
The same was true for other crops.
There was no need to worry about weather, temperature, or weeding; only watering was necessary.
Shen Que simplified the task of carrying water for irrigation by connecting a pipe.
When watering was needed, he simply threw the pipe into the respective field.
The wheat was harvested and bundled, and the corn was taken down and packed into bags...
Meng Ci's space lacked the tools for this kind of work, so they had to redeem them officially.
However, Meng Ci believed that the crops grown in the spatial dimension should be more nutritious than those grown outside. Therefore, he wondered if it was possible to obtain tools for processing wheat.
After the grain was harvested, they bathed and changed clothes before finally leaving the space.
The living room curtains were pulled back, and they were momentarily dazed when they saw the bright outside.
"Is the Polar Night over?" Meng Ci asked.
Although Meng Ci and Shen Que were not lacking in light during the Polar Night, that light differed from sunlight.
Shen Que also found it hard to believe that the Polar Night had ended so quickly.
"It's finally over!"
Although the Polar Night had ended, the temperature was still around forty degrees, and people were still enduring the intense heat.
Meng Ci and Shen Que only lamented for a moment before they resumed their tasks.
Especially for Meng Ci.
Since the Polar Night was over and the sunlight outside was so strong, they could dry the wheat, corn, rapeseed, and other items outside.
With the high temperature, these items could dry on the rooftop in just two days.
The wheat needed threshing, the rapeseed needed beating, and the corn needed shelling.
Previously, when planting, there was no need to weed or deal with other issues, but now after the harvest, they became busy.
Meng Ci sighed but didn't stop peeling the corn.
At the same time, he silently vowed that he would absolutely never farm again.
After threshing the wheat and shelling the corn, they would still need a mill, and the rapeseed would need pressing.
Ten days after the Polar Night ended, Meng Ci and Shen Que went out to look for practical machinery.
Although the temperature was over forty degrees, it was still within the range tolerable by humans, so everyone started working during the day.
They were lucky that day and soon met people who could assist them.