novelaction Chapter 97 Earth Cookies
Chapter 97 Earth Cookies
Anjiu placed the net bag near the window.
She really wanted to hang this smelly thing outside the window, but was worried that it would be blown away by the wind and she would not be able to return it to the administrator later.
Thinking that it might cause unnecessary trouble, I reluctantly put the net bag under the window.
As per the routine of the past few days, the first thing Anjiu did after returning home was to make a simple fire stove. He already has five of them, and this one will be enough.
She is now very skilled and no longer needs her grandmother's help.
"Just take it." Grandma walked over and picked up the net bag from the ground. "Just one this time?"
She seemed not to smell the stench and turned it over and over carefully to examine it.
An Jiu paused and said honestly, "The administrator said each person can only get one."
There was no need for her to hide it. Her grandmother would always hear other neighbors talking about it in the alley. When the rainy season came, it was possible that all the staff on the 48th floor would go out on missions and no sound would be heard. This was unlikely.
Anyway-
"I won't let you go on a mission."
Anjiu expressed his attitude seriously.
She had her back to her grandmother, seemingly concentrating on the work in her hands, but in fact all her attention was focused behind her, watching her grandmother's every move.
There was a heavy silence before grandma approached her, walked past her, bent down and scooped up a handful of dirt.
“Where did you dig this soil from?”
The whitish dry soil fell down through grandma's fingers, looking very fine and completely different from the previous soil.
"I just filled some of the soil they dug in the ditch." An Jiu replied.
Grandma picked up the cup, poured some water into her palm, mixed the soil into mud, and picked up some with her fingers to feel it carefully.
After a long time, she said, "It's a pity to use this soil to make a stove. When the oil is squeezed out, we can mix it together and dry it in the shade and eat it as dry food."
"Dry food?"
Anjiu didn't quite understand, how could soil be used as dry food?
But she soon remembered the first time she went out of the beehive and thought about looking for some food, she saw some people digging the soil. Could it be that they were doing it for food?
If you carefully recall Xiaojiu's deep memory, you will find that this is indeed the case.
It is a thin biscuit-like thing, hard and crispy in texture, with a slight sweetness. It is a very common food for filling the stomach above the 30th floor.
But people who have certain conditions will not eat these things.
After all, you can't eat too many earthen biscuits. Not only are they not nutritious, they also take up space in your stomach and can easily prevent excretion, leading to death from bloating.
So some people have worked out various methods, such as adding oil or some food crumbs into it, and only eating a few slices a day, and quite a few people have survived this way.
"I was the one who went out to dig them out in the past. It's normal that you don't recognize them." Grandma quickly walked to the window and looked down.
Just one look and the pot exploded, "Xiaojiu, hurry down and grab the soil!"
Anjiu stood up and walked over, looking down.
Outside the beehive, next to the ditch where she was picking up soil, she really saw a group of people scrambling for soil.
They were poorly dressed, covered in dirt, and it was obvious at first glance that they were all lower-class citizens like himself.
Grandma held her arm and shook it, urging her, "Let's go down quickly, or we'll miss out if we're late!"
An Jiu hesitated for a moment, then heard his grandmother say, "Didn't you just say that you wouldn't let me do the mission? Okay, let me have something to do after digging the soil!"
Seeing that she hadn't turned the corner yet, grandma pulled her ear down with a look of disappointment, leaned close to her and said, "When the time comes, mix some oil and some of that sweet stuff in it, and I'll take it downstairs to sell! I can't rely on you alone to earn contribution points!"
"!" Anjiu's eyes widened, "I'll go down now!"
Her grandmother's words reminded her that the black market was all-encompassing, with everything for sale, but very few people sold food (after all, they didn't have enough to eat themselves, and would not sell food unless they encountered other difficulties).
Food has always been a hot seller on the black market. Even though many people are digging the soil downstairs now, there are always people who are short of food.
That is their chance to earn contribution points!
"I want to go too." Grandma urged us to go together.
"You stay home and make the stove. I'll be back soon!"
Anjiu rushed out of the house, running all the way, trying to get back as much soil as possible before the beehive was sealed.
The guard turned a blind eye to the group of low-class citizens who were out digging the soil. He would occasionally look down at the last fifteen minutes countdown on his virtual watch, always ready to close the door, lock it, and go off work.
Anjiu took the elevator downstairs. There was still faint light in the wasteland that allowed him to see things. On the pile of earth above the ditch, more than a dozen people were busy stuffing earth into their clothes.
When the elevator stopped, she ran over and jumped onto the pile of dirt, scraped away the surface layer, took off her clothes and spread them flat on the ground, then scooped up the fresh dirt underneath with both hands.
The whitish soil was not everywhere, only in a few places, and the amount was not much. As soon as An Jiu started, a few more people crowded around her and grabbed the soil from the hole she dug.
Seeing this, Anjiu pushed the man to the ground with his shoulders, packed up the last bit of stuff, then jumped to the pile of earth next to him and searched the place they had just dug again.
After finishing all these, she looked down at the time, quickly fastened the collar of her clothes, threw it on her back, and ran towards the elevator without looking back.
While waiting for the elevator door to close, Anjiu shouted as a reminder, considering that we were all lower-class citizens:
"The ban time is coming!"
As for whether they come back or not, it is none of her business.
Back on the 48th floor, the guards were holding huge locks in their hands, just waiting to cut off the power and lock the door at the appointed time. An Jiu ran among them.
"Is there anyone else outside?"
"Have!"
"It's almost time, eh-- Shit, why is the elevator going down again!"
Grandma was very satisfied with the bag of soil that Anjiu carried back, and praised the soil for being fine and smooth, and saying it was a good material for making dry food.
An Jiu didn't understand. Seeing his grandmother was about to start, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are we going to do this? What if there are insect eggs in the soil? Wouldn't we get sick if we eat them?"
"The soil is clean, how can it get sick!" Grandma swore, "I have been making this for many years, and it is still fine after eating it for so long. You go and do your own thing. You don't understand these things, so I will do it."
Anjiu remembered that his fingers were bitten by bugs when he was digging on the first day, so he refused to let his grandmother make it directly.
"Grandma, have you forgotten? Every time I eat, my stomach always feels uncomfortable, which means the soil is not clean and needs to be fried at high temperature."
Grandma was about to say that it was impossible, but suddenly she remembered the family next door. The two families made homemade biscuits together, and they had some stock but didn't touch them for the time being. After they ate them, they didn't know why, they often complained of stomachaches, and they suddenly lost weight very quickly.
He kept saying he was thirsty and hungry, and his eyes were staring at people, which was scary to look at.
Finally, after a few days, the people died with bloated stomachs, so the administrator sent people to throw them far out of the hive.