My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 30: The Showdown (2)

As soon as the tea party ended, Mrs. Xu and Yang Lina hurried back to the Siheyuan. As soon as they entered the courtyard, Mrs. Xu shouted, “Old Man, Dongzi, come out right away—something big has happened!” Xu Dong was in the bedroom, holding Xiao Bao and enjoying the air conditioning. Hearing the commotion, he immediately headed outside. “Mom, what’s going on?” Mrs. Xu caught her breath and blurted out, “Where’s your dad? I don’t see him anywhere.” “Dad’s in the basement. He’s sawing wood today, and the machine is too loud—he didn’t want to disturb Xiao Bao.” After saying this, Xu Dong set Xiao Bao down on the floor. Just then, Yang Lina led the triplets into the house, giving Anxin a reassuring look before leaving. “Hurry up and call him upstairs. We need to discuss something as a family in a little while,” Mrs. Xu instructed. “Got it!” Ten minutes later, the whole family gathered in the living room. Mrs. Xu seemed to have found her voice and, in one breath, began recounting the news she’d heard at the tea party, sharing it all in a steady stream. “Old Sun used to be a teacher—she’s really smart. She definitely isn’t making this up.” Mr. Xu’s expression was somewhat complicated at that moment. It all made sense now—it turned out that Li Chao wasn’t the “cash cow” after all; he himself was. “Ah, if only I’d known sooner, I wouldn’t have sold the dried chicken and salted pork—I sold them way too cheap,” Mr. Xu said regretfully. Mrs. Xu was also indignant: “That Li Chao is clearly a crooked businessman—he’s no good.” What else could Xu Dong say? He could only try to calm them down: “Mom and Dad, calm down. We still have some air-dried rabbit and goose left at home—that’s more than enough for us to eat.” Mom Xu had originally planned to sell even those, but Xu Dong insisted on keeping them, and with the two sisters, Ke Ke and her sister, clamoring for meat right there, they ended up keeping them. “We still have a few dozen jin of donkey meat,” Yang Lina added. Mrs. Xu waved her hand and sighed, “Never mind. It’s already been sold—it’s too late to say anything now. The most important thing for our family right now is the rice at the store.” Xu Dong nodded in agreement; now he could stockpile supplies openly. “Old man, how much rice is left in the store?” Mrs. Xu asked, looking at Mr. Xu. “If I remember correctly, there should still be 33 bags—all 50 jin medium-sized bags.” “What’s 33 times 50?” Mrs. Xu turned to Xu Dong. “30 times 50 plus 150—that’s 1,650 jin in total,” Xu Dong calculated quickly. Mrs. Xu ran the numbers in her head and said, “That’s about enough to feed our family for a year—it should be fine.” An adult’s annual rice ration is roughly 300 jin. With four adults and five children in the Xu family, even if there’s a slight discrepancy, it won’t be much. “Mom, don’t forget the six bags of rice Aunt Sun and the others asked for,” Yang Lina reminded her at just the right moment. “Look at my memory,” Mrs. Xu said, tapping her forehead, then changed the subject: “Why don’t we just not sell it to them? We’ve only got enough for a year’s worth of food ourselves, and who knows what next year will bring?” “Then how are we going to explain it?” Yang Lina asked, blushing slightly. “Just say your dad secretly sold it all…” Xu Dong certainly didn’t want his mom’s hard-won circle of friends to fall apart like this—after all, the Xu family would be living on this street for decades to come! Besides, this would damage their reputation, so he quickly interrupted: “No! Mom, we still have dozens of metric tons of… seeds in our family warehouse—rice, wheat, and mixed grains. We’re actually not short on food; we have enough to last decades. There’s no need for us to break our word.” “Really?” Mrs. Xu asked, delighted. Yang Lina was overjoyed as well, and Xu’s father was deeply gratified. “Of course it’s true. I’ll take you all to see it in a little while.” Since word had already gotten out, Xu Dong didn’t plan to keep it a secret anymore. He could appropriately reveal some of the supplies to put his family’s minds at ease. Xu’s mother grabbed her youngest son by the arm: “What are you waiting for? Let’s go right now.” The family took the elevator down to the second basement level. Xu Dong pointed to a long row of shelves at the far end and said, “These are all rice seeds.” Fearing they might not believe him, Xu Dong personally tore open a bag of “rice seeds,” revealing, sure enough, bright yellow rice grains. Xu’s father and mother both stepped forward to grab a handful of rice, and only then did they believe it was real. Mrs. Xu said happily, “Now we don’t have to lie to Old Sun and the others anymore.” At that moment, Xu Dong’s expression suddenly turned serious as he addressed his family: “Dad, Mom, Nana, no one knows what the long-term effects of that Sun flare will be. There might even be global chaos down the road. So whatever’s in our family’s warehouse—you must never mention it to anyone. Keep it a secret; don’t even tell Big Brother or my sister. Oh, and don’t take Ke Ke and the others into the warehouse from now on—kids can’t keep their mouths shut.” Mr. Xu nodded solemnly, while Mrs. Xu and Yang Lina were still a bit dazed, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation. “Dongzi, will the world really fall into chaos?” Mrs. Xu asked in surprise. Xu Dong nodded. “It’s very likely. Actually, Aunt Qian was right—it’s hot during the day and cold at night. There’s definitely something wrong with the atmosphere, but it’s not quite the end of the world yet. Sigh, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. All you need to know is that the weather is already abnormal, and crop failures are 100 percent certain. If there isn’t even enough food to eat, how far away can we be from total chaos? Thank goodness the major powers all have their nuclear buttons; otherwise, a Third World War would be inevitable.” Seeing the others turn pale, Xu Dong quickly reassured them: “Actually, there’s no need to worry too much. These are just my speculations. Maybe in a couple of years, the atmosphere will return to normal on its own.” “In any case, it never hurts to be prepared!” Xu Dong emphasized at the end. Back on the ground, the group’s expressions were somber. The Ke Ke sisters, thinking they’d been caught “bullying” the triplets, kept their distance. “Old Man, you and Dongzi need to head to the store right away and bring back everything that’s left,” Xu’s mother urged, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of urgency. Xu’s dad nodded to show he understood. A dozen or so minutes later, they arrived at the convenience store. Father and son began clearing out the store—everyday goods, cooking oils, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, the last few non-staple food items and sundries, and even the rice—all were loaded onto the small truck. Once they were done loading, the two sat at the front gate, puffing away on their cigarettes. At home, smoking was strictly forbidden—not even outside the courtyard wall—and if Mrs. Xu caught them, they’d be in for a scolding. “Dongzi, what are you planning to do with this store?” Mr. Xu asked softly. Xu Dong didn’t want to upset his dad; after all, he could afford the rent. “Let’s just keep it for now and see how things go. The location’s pretty good.” “If it doesn’t work out, just give it back. Twenty thousand a month in rent—it’s not worth it,” Mr. Xu sighed. “Dad, how about I set up a recycling shop for used electronics for you?” Xu Dong suggested, mainly wanting to find something for his dad to do—Xu Dad was the type who couldn’t sit still. In the future, as the severe drought persists, the recycling industry will become a very popular sector with highly lucrative profit margins. “Doesn’t that require some technical know-how? I don’t know the first thing about electronics!” Mr. Xu was clearly intrigued. Xu Dong waved his hand and explained, “Don’t worry, we’ll just hire a technically skilled employee, and you can still be the store manager.” “Will that work?” “Of course it’ll work. The storefront’s just sitting empty anyway—might as well put it to good use. Ahem, Dad, I didn’t mean you when I said ‘waste’—I meant the storefront.” Xu’s Dad: “……”------------