On the way back to the villa in Daozi Lane, Jiang Yue took Han Jingjing through the streets and alleys, avoiding the sentries one after another.
The so-called martial law can only be imposed on ordinary humans. For awakened people like them who are extremely skilled, this level of martial law is not enough to affect them.
"Jingjing, this way."
Jiang Yue skillfully brought Han Jingjing to a strange street.
Jiang Yue stopped in front of a maternal and infant store.
Although the rolling shutter door of the store was pulled down to the end, Jiang Yue could tell at a glance that it was not locked.
"Is the door not closed?" Han Jingjing looked at the rolling shutter door and found that the lock of the rolling shutter door was broken.
It can be seen that this place must have been visited before Jiang Yue and the others arrived.
The Strange Era has been going on for so long, and although Star City has not completely collapsed, the order has definitely become much worse. Sneaking, smashing, and looting, even if they do not occur on a large scale, definitely occur sporadically.
"Was this... was it forcibly destroyed?" Han Jingjing was a little unsure and wanted to open the rolling shutter door upwards.
This action was blocked by Jiang Yue.
"There's someone inside." Jiang Yue said softly.
Jiang Yue took a step closer, stretched out his hand and knocked twice on the door. His voice was neither urgent nor slow: "Friend, don't be nervous, we don't mean any harm."
Jiang Yue was much more experienced than Han Jingjing, and he accurately calculated where the people in the room were standing.
Although I can't see the specific state of the other party, I can almost imagine it in my mind. The other party must have a nervous look on his face, and even holding a weapon in his hand. He is standing behind the rolling shutter. As long as someone opens the shutter, he will directly greet him.
Come up.
Of course, Jiang Yue would not give the opponent this opportunity for a sneak attack.
After calculating the opponent's position, he deliberately staggered the distance and tiptoed to the edge of the store, lifting and pushing up with his palms.
The rolling shutter door swiped loudly, and Jiang Yue was directly lifted up and stared at him.
The person inside the house was holding an iron rod in his hand, gritting his teeth and glaring angrily, preparing to launch an attack. However, he was embarrassed to find that Jiang Yue was standing one or two meters away from him.
Jiang Yue also saw the other person's appearance clearly at this time. She was actually a woman in her thirties. Her body was strong, but her skin was fair, and she was somewhat pretty. She was a very common image of women in Star City.
In the corner, there is a little boy of five or six years old, who should be the woman's son.
The moment the door was pushed open, the little boy poked his head out and couldn't help but open his head to the outside. His little face tried his best to put on a fierce look, as if he was supporting his mother in this way.
"Duoduo, don't come out." The woman shouted hurriedly when she saw that her son was poking his head to come out at any moment.
At the same time, like a hen guarding her calf, she stood guard at the door of the store, staring at Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing with even ferocious expressions on her face.
The hands holding the iron rod even had blue veins and were trembling slightly.
"Sister-in-law, don't be nervous, we really don't mean any harm." Han Jingjing also saw that the woman was in a state of high tension.
Although we are in strange times, there is still a market for the concept that good looks are justifiable.
A combination of handsome men and beautiful women like Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing, both of whom have extraordinary temperaments, probably do not look like bad people in the eyes of this woman.
But even so, the woman did not relax her vigilance.
"What... do you want to do?"
Han Jingjing stepped back in a friendly manner and explained: "We have no other intention, it's just like buying a few cans of milk powder."
Buy milk powder?
The woman probably didn't expect that Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing would have this intention, and she was a little doubtful for a moment.
"Our store is no longer open." Although the woman did not explicitly refuse, the implication was obvious.
Jiang Yue glanced inside the house. This baby store was not particularly large, but it had all kinds of baby products.
There is a special milk powder counter, but there doesn't seem to be much milk powder on the counter, and the milk powder counter looks a bit empty.
However, Jiang Yue soon realized that this was definitely not the milk powder being sold out.
Either the milk powder was robbed or it was put away.
"Sister-in-law, we don't want much, just a few cans. You can set the price as you like. I know that at this time, you can't buy anything at the normal market price, so we can pay double or even multiple times the price."
Han Jingjing still tried to negotiate, hoping to impress the shop owner in front of her with her sincerity.
The woman turned back and glanced at her child, and shook her head harshly.
At the same time, he looked at Han Jingjing with strange eyes.
Obviously, the woman also found it strange that these two young boys and girls obviously did not look like a married couple, let alone have children.
What does Hao Duanduan need milk powder for?
But she didn't ask. Obviously she didn't want to cause trouble. She just wanted to protect her own land.
Seeing this, Jiang Yue knew that Han Jingjing's tone would definitely not convince anyone.
He didn't want to use force on a woman with a child, and he couldn't do such a thing.
But that doesn't mean there's nothing he can do.
I looked around the store with my eyes, and when I saw the little boy, I looked at him a few more times.
"This kid is good and has some courage. What a pity..."
The woman's nerves were in a state of high tension at the moment. When she heard Jiang Yue commenting on her child, her heart skipped a beat. When she heard the word "pity" again, her whole face changed.
She thought Jiang Yue was going to use brute force to threaten her with her child.
I couldn't help but feel shaken in my heart, how about selling them two cans of milk powder at a low price?
"It's a pity that in today's troubled times, such a thin rolling shutter can't prevent evil monsters, not even a stronger bad guy. It's such a mess these days, people don't look like humans, and ghosts don't look like ghosts. Sister-in-law, you
It’s disgusting for me to see a woman raising a child.”
Women are weak by nature, but mothers are strong.
This woman is just a businesswoman, not the same thing as a killer. Even if she is pretending to be fierce, she is still pretending after all.
Not to mention Jiang Yue, just an ordinary strong man, could breathe out several meters away with just one slap.
In the Sunshine Age, there is law and order, and orphans and widows naturally don’t have to worry about being bullied.
But now?
What Jiang Yue said was exactly what the woman was most worried about and feared deep in her heart.
Whenever there were footsteps approaching, she would be on tenterhooks, fearing that the next moment would be the end.
For their mother and son, the apocalypse is not an evil monster. In today's world, just any bad person may become the apocalypse.
"It would be better if you lived at home. But if you hide in a store, and there are things like milk powder and food supplements in the store, doesn't this mean you directly tell the bad guys that you can come to my place and rob me?"
"A woman, a child... Jingjing, can you imagine what the consequences would be if a crazy bad guy broke in?"
Han Jingjing thought for a moment and realized the consequences would be disastrous.
"Sister-in-law, this is indeed a problem. Why don't you go home? There is a security door at home, and it won't attract anyone's attention. It's safer than hiding in a store, right?"
"I..." The woman bit her lips tightly, probably because the soft part of her heart was touched by Han Jingjing's words.
For a moment, I almost lost control of my emotions, my eyes turned red, and tears almost rolled down my face.
"Sister-in-law, don't think of me as a bad person. We are students at Yangfan Middle School, and there is really no harm in it. The milk powder was bought for our teacher's baby. The child is almost finished drinking the milk powder. How pitiful."
The woman was probably convinced by Han Jingjing's sincerity and saw that Han Jingjing did not look like a bad person.
He walked back to the store silently and took out a box from inside.
There are six cans of milk powder in the box, all of which are Stage 2.
"Here you go, hurry up and leave." The woman's tone was still a bit stiff, obviously she didn't want to appear too friendly in front of strangers.
She is afraid that if she is too friendly, the other person will take advantage of her.
"Sister-in-law, can you calculate how much it costs?"
"No money, please leave quickly."
Han Jingjing wanted to insist on paying, but was stopped by Jiang Yue.
At this time, people probably really don’t care about whether it’s money or not.
Han Jingjing felt a little embarrassed for taking a box of milk powder from someone else for no reason. She was not getting rewarded for her efforts.
She still couldn't help but want to make amends, and advised: "Sister-in-law, it's really not safe for you to stay in the store. It's better to go home. At this time, money is only an external possession. Only when you give up can you get something."
The woman obviously felt Han Jingjing's kindness. She moved her lips and wanted to say something, but in the end she shook her head dejectedly and waved her hands feebly.
"You guys should leave quickly, otherwise we won't be able to take the milk powder with us."
"What's the meaning?"
Han Jingjing was stunned. Hearing this tone, didn't this store belong to this sister-in-law?
"Hey, you just won't leave? I don't want your money anymore, what else do you want? I tell you, when those people come again, not only will you not be able to take the milk powder with you, but you will also be in trouble."
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean?"
Before the woman could say anything, the boy shouted: "Some bad guys have broken the lock of my house. They are very arrogant and want to take away all our things."
The woman quickly covered the little boy's mouth and shouted: "Junjun, don't talk nonsense."
Seeing how secretive this woman was, Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing both guessed that there might be something hidden here.
"Sister-in-law, if you can trust us, can you tell us what's going on?" Han Jingjing is kind-hearted. After receiving a box of milk powder, she felt that she couldn't just sit idly by.
"Hey, what's the point of telling you? He's carrying a gun, and he's hanging an official sign, saying he's going to take over everything in our store."
"Official?" Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing looked at each other.
I immediately understood what was going on.
Star City's current grain control system should logically include various wholesale centers and storage bases, including various non-staple food stores and large supermarkets.
Who could have imagined that even baby stores would be put under receivership so quickly?
"Sister-in-law, do you have any explanation for their takeover? For example, compensation or other corresponding measures?"
The woman wiped her eyes and tried not to shed tears: "They are really cruel. They don't have any explanation. They just want to take over. They have gone back to mobilize the trucks and should be here soon. If you don't leave, we will wait.
They'll be in trouble when they come back."
Han Jingjing murmured: "This is all lawless. Is this called a takeover? This is clearly robbery and murder."
Although what she said was radical, she was really right.
If the mother and son stick to the milk powder, complementary foods, and various infant and toddler health care products in the store, they will have no problem holding on for a year and a half.
But if everything in the store was requisitioned, how could the mother and son survive? They might go hungry that night.
Perhaps, there is a clear plan for the official takeover and unified deployment.
But in the hands of those who implement them below, these plans are just a few lines of words. When they are actually implemented, it is not just about what they decide.
When you encounter such orphans and widowers, can you really give them distribution?
It's good if you don't break the idea.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you go home?"
"Home? We country people open a small shop in the city. The shop is home and the home is shop. Besides, now that Star City is under martial law, we can't go back to the countryside even if we want to." The woman was really letting Han Jingjing go.
I opened my psychological defense and couldn't help complaining.
"Jiang Yue, what do you think we should do?" Han Jingjing couldn't think of any good ideas for a while.
If her father was still in Star City, she could certainly use this relationship to help. But now she couldn't use it at all, because it was not her father who promulgated the martial law policy. It was Deputy Manager Wan and Xie Fuzheng.
"It's actually easy to handle."
Jiang Yue glanced back and said in a casual tone: "There are a lot of houses everywhere here, and not all of them may be occupied. Just find a house that doesn't have people living in it all year round, and just live in it. These days, if you don't have an owner for a while, you might be able to live in it.
It will never be owned again."
Han Jingjing murmured: "Can it still be done like this?"
The woman was even more surprised. Jiang Yue's tone gave her the impression that he was lawless and unscrupulous. Could he be a bad person?
"What's not allowed? It's safer than staying in this store, right? But if my sister-in-law thinks it's safer in this store and has the heart to bring her children here and wait for bad guys to come to her door, then that's up to you." Jiang Yue said nothing.
Don't care about yourself and have an indifferent attitude.
Han Jingjing found it strange that Jiang Yue was not usually such a cold-blooded person.
Why is your tone so harsh and ruthless?
However, she vaguely felt that Jiang Yue should use provocation. If his attitude was too positive and friendly, maybe the other party would think he was too attentive. Is there an agenda?
This kind of lukewarm scale may make the other party more tempted?
Sure enough, the woman's attitude began to soften. Her face was gloomy, probably because she was considering the feasibility of Jiang Yue's proposal.
Her eyes looked at the little boy from time to time, and the hesitation in her eyes slowly disappeared.
After a while, she mustered up her courage and said, "If you can help me find a family to take refuge in, I...I will give you two more boxes of milk powder."
Han Jingjing tugged on Jiang Yue's sleeve: "This is your suggestion, you come up with a solution?"
Jiang Yue shrugged: "Let's go into the room and talk. There's no need to rush."
"Aren't you in a hurry? If we wait for those people to come, we will have to argue again," Han Jingjing said.
"It's them who are waiting. If they don't come and just leave like this, don't you worry? As long as I do a little investigation, there must be many people hiding at home along this road, and I can easily find their mother and son."
"Then what should we do? We can't fight, right? This won't solve the problem."
"It's easy to handle, but we have to wait until dark. After dark, it's easier to find a house, and you can avoid other people's eyes and ears. It's broad daylight now, no matter how hidden you are, someone will always come.
You saw it. No matter how much you try to hide, it won't work. You can't avoid it from everyone's eyes and ears."
When Han Jingjing saw Jiang Yue's presence and his confident look, she knew that Jiang Yue must have specific ideas.
When it comes to her ability to deal with problems, Han Jingjing asked herself not to compare herself with Jiang Yue, lest she seek abuse.