Chapter 125 Who will tolerate whom?
"Stop joking around and come with me to start a fire. Hurry up and roast the potatoes, then distribute them."
Chu Bai kicked Chen Haohua as a gesture.
"Me too! Me too!"
Soldier Xiao Wang followed. He couldn't help with anything else, but he had inexhaustible energy and was always full of enthusiasm.
A campfire was lit at the military tent camp, and potatoes were piled on the edge of the fire, soon filling the air with a fragrant aroma.
Several children, drawn by the aroma, gathered around, sucking their fingers and their eyes filled with longing.
"Uncle, what is this? Can I have some? I'm so hungry..."
Chu Bai put down the branch in his hand, picked up the little boy, and let him sit on his lap.
"Everyone has one, this is a roasted potato. Come on, Uncle will teach you how to eat it... In a moment, you will peel off these dirty potato skins like this. You can't eat these, they will give you diarrhea."
"good."
The campfire cast its glow upon the ruined camp, where soldiers were methodically distributing roasted potatoes.
Yu Miaomiao suggested that Chu Bai exchange the supplies, and he agreed.
The reason is simple: exchanging refined flour and rice for several times the amount of potatoes can extend the food supply period.
However, it is clear that not everyone can understand this.
"What kind of garbage is this? You soldiers, are you keeping all the good stuff for yourselves and giving us this pig swill?"
In a corner of the tent, a man with an injured eye lay on a cot with his arms crossed, glaring disdainfully at the soldiers distributing food.
And this soldier was none other than Chen Haohua.
He had just been chatting and laughing with the old man in the next bed, but his smile froze, quickly replaced by a forced, insincere grin. He turned and stared intently at the man who had spoken.
As a soldier, he couldn't berate the crowd, but he couldn't hide his anger.
"Oh my god... my temper..."
He was just short of rolling up his sleeves and punching the man in front of him.
This was the brothers' reserve rations before going to the battlefield, and it was more likely the last thing they would eat for the rest of their lives. They took it out to exchange for potatoes, all prepared for the possibility of going hungry one day and having a full meal the next.
But a soldier's duty is to obey, to be modest, and to put the people first. So none of his brothers complained. But this man in front of them, who was being treated well and well, was the first to complain.
"You know the situation now. Right now, we have potatoes to fill our stomachs, and we've done our best."
Chu Bai stood in front, suppressing his anger and explaining in a gentle tone.
"Fill our stomachs? You've all been feeding us pig swill. Don't think I don't know, I saw it." The man jabbed Chu Bai's right chest hard with his index finger.
"What did you see?" Chu Bai asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I saw it. You sent food to those two pretty girls' car, and it was all rice and refined flour."
"Exactly, exactly, I saw it too... You gave all the good ones to those women, are those three your lovers? There's even a child among them..."
The men's filthy faces looked even more disgusting in the light of the campfire.
"Stop your filthy thoughts. I guarantee that if you utter another word, I'll twist your head off right now."
I was just thinking of checking on the old man at the tailor shop, but I never expected to hear such a disgusting conversation as soon as I entered the tent.
She had heard these words far too many times in her previous life. Men wanted to trade her body for food, to devour her flesh and blood, and torment and humiliate her with their words. She had seen it all too often.
There was once a young girl who worked with her in logistics and relief, and she was humiliated to the point of despair and committed suicide in the same way.
She had experienced an apocalypse and knew better than anyone how to survive, and she also knew how to make herself look...unapproachable.
She didn't yell, but a chilling coldness immediately ran through the hearts of the two men.
"Since you look down on potatoes so much, then you should share your food with others today. You don't want to eat it, right? You don't want to eat it either, right? Then give yours to them."
Yu Miaomiao looked at the two people's stunned expressions with amusement, took the potatoes from their hands, and handed them to the children. The children took the potatoes and devoured them in no time.
"You, you, you... In the face of natural disasters, all of humanity should stand together in times of trouble. You clearly have so many supplies, but instead of sharing them with everyone, you secretly hoard them for yourselves and give us these lousy potatoes to eat. If I had this many supplies, I would definitely share them equally with everyone."
Seeing that the food he had almost obtained was gone, and the rice and flour he wanted were also gone, the man's eyes darted around as he frantically thought of a solution. How could he possibly lose an argument with a woman? He instantly transformed into a champion of justice, ready to stand on the moral high ground and call on everyone to punish Yu Miaomiao and Chu Bai.
"You think potatoes are so worthless, so you can choose not to eat them. Besides, I've changed my mind now. I'm adding a clause to the conditions for exchanging potatoes: I will never give my potatoes to people like you, because I don't want my food to be eaten by pigs!"
Yu Miaomiao's bright eyes were filled with a mocking smile as she spoke slowly and deliberately, each word distinct.
"You! You! You!"
The one-eyed man was so angry he felt like he was about to faint...
"Furthermore, if you utter another word that is disrespectful to women, I guarantee you'll be eating peanuts."
Yu Miaomiao stared intently at the one-eyed man. The man gritted his teeth, thinking about how to retort, but couldn't help shivering, and the words he was about to say died in his throat.
He had felt cold all over his body just now. Could it be that this woman was using some kind of witchcraft?
Yu Miaomiao didn't bother to give him a second glance and turned to look for the old man inside the tent.
The old man's leg injury looked like a bloody mess, but luckily, Chu Bai's team had a military doctor who was proficient in orthopedic surgery. He made a decisive decision to amputate the old man's leg, and his life was saved.
Yu Miaomiao looked at the bandage and saw that it was done quite well. Besides, the old man had diabetes and was already considering amputation to save his life. She wondered if this counted as a blessing in disguise...
The old woman was quite old, but she was still sharp of hearing and sight. When she heard someone walking in her direction, she immediately opened her eyes alertly and stared straight at the person.
"You, aren't you the little girl who saved me?" Xu Nan peeked out from behind Yu Miaomiao, and the old man recognized her at a glance.
"Grandma, do you still remember us? We had some clothes altered at your place a while ago."
"Oh, I remember now. The clothes are ready... it's just... I don't know if I'll be able to get them now. I'm so sorry, kids."
"It's alright, Grandma, have you eaten anything? The potatoes are roasted until they're crispy and soft, and easy to digest. You can try some if you're hungry."
These potatoes are not the broken potatoes the man described. They are not ordinary potatoes; they are potatoes grown in the soil of Yu Miaomiao's space.
It looks small, about the size of a palm, but Yu Miaomiao and Lu An made it into salt and pepper potatoes themselves after the harvest. The potatoes have a rich, smooth, and creamy texture, and are much tastier than ordinary potatoes.
And I don't know if it's because of the space's products, which are guaranteed to be of high quality.
After eating potatoes, you'll feel energized, and fatigue and pain will be relieved. (It's like someone is typing away but feels mentally blank; if they could eat a big potato right now, they might suddenly have a burst of inspiration and write another 10,000 words.)
This was definitely a good thing for the people struggling in the extreme heat.