Coming out of the ward on the second floor, Wei Ran immediately noticed that, except for Chen Xiuyu and Xu Keqin who were catching up on their sleep, the other uninjured boys and girls were already lining up under the organization of Qiushi and Tao Canhua.

The team is heading downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"basement"

Tao Canhua stopped and explained, "I have nothing to do anyway. We are going to pick people first to see who has the talent to sing. Do you want to come and listen together?"

"Idleness is also idleness."

Wei Ran responded with a smile, followed the children downstairs and into the storage room, and then along the stairs to the damp basement.

“One rag per person”

As Qiushi spoke, she took out a pile of dry rags from a tin cabinet, "First wipe the stage and then the floor. When everything is wiped clean, let's start."

Before they finished speaking, these half-grown children each took a rag and started working in groups of three and two.

"How are you going to choose?"

Wei Ran stayed away from the two young men and sat down on the damp steps. He took out a pack of Qianmen cigarettes that he found in the darkroom, tore them open, lit one for himself first, and then

Put the rest into the cigarette box.

"First pick the crispy throat"

Qiushi explained quite seasonedly, "Then choose those who are flexible. Even if they are unable to do either of these, you can also try to teach them musical instruments. It is always better than selling cigarettes outside in the wind and rain."

"My cousin didn't mention sending you to Peking to study opera?" Wei Ran asked in a puff of smoke.

"I don't want to go. What's the use of studying opera in this world?" Qiushi lowered her voice slightly and said with eyes almost shining, "I want to do big things with the lady!"

Hearing this, Wei Ran just smiled, and then listened to Tao Canhua, who was standing on the stool, said loudly, "Before we start selecting people, let's talk about the rules first. My aunt said that anyone who can be selected to stay will be

Food and accommodation are taken care of, and each person has an allowance of two yuan a month.

It is limited to five years. When you complete your studies and become a teacher within five years, you will be paid according to the rules of the Liyuan."

"Brother Tao, what if you don't learn to make a name for yourself?" a little guy of about fourteen or fifteen asked while sticking his buttocks and wiping the floor with a rag.

“Good question”

Tao Canhua cleared his throat, "If you give up after studying for one year or less than two years, you will get a new set of clothes and 20 yuan in travel money when you leave.

If you give up after studying for three years, you can leave with two new sets of clothes and thirty dollars in expenses.

If you give up after studying for four years, in addition to two new sets of clothes and forty yuan in expenses, you will also be given a foreign car when you leave."

"Do we women also get the same treatment?" A girl who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old raised her head and asked.

"Girls and boys are all treated the same," Tao Canhua responded simply.

As soon as these words came out, the half-grown children immediately started whispering to each other with their eyes shining, obviously they were very satisfied with these promises.

"What if you haven't learned anything famous after five years of study?"

Tao Canhua raised his voice slightly and said, "In addition to two new sets of clothes and a foreign car costing fifty yuan, my aunt will also introduce him to a decent job that neither wind nor rain can earn."

"but"

Qiushi poured a ladle of cold water before the younger brothers and sisters cheered, "Miss, I don't want to see you here hanging around. In the past five years, you will take the school entrance examination one by one at the end of every month. If you fail three times in a row, you will be allowed to stay or leave."

, it’s all up to the lady, can you hear me clearly?”

"Listen clearly!" These children who saw the slightest chance of survival responded loudly with all their strength.

There was no need to push at all. In less than half an hour, the spacious and empty basement was wiped down twice. Even the upturned floors were barely patched up and smoothed by a young man who had learned some carpentry work before.

Next, Wei Ran became a spectator. The children, at the request of Tao Canhua and Qiushi, either babbling and singing a few lines, or doing some somersaults and gestures.

Yes, it's pretty decent.

After passing the time leisurely until noon, Uncle Meng also walked down carrying a wicker basket.

The basket contained sesame cakes that were as big as an open palm. There were also a few slices of pickles and vinegared cabbage inside these large sesame cakes.

Jasmine came down right behind, carrying two enamel buckets, which contained still steaming egg soup and a pile of porcelain bowls.

"Come here quickly," Uncle Meng shouted angrily, "One big sesame seed cake per person, come on, come on!"

Before he finished speaking, the half-grown children immediately lined up according to their size according to the rules they had learned in the past two days. They took the sesame seed cakes wrapped in newspapers and bowed gratefully.

, and then received a bowl of egg soup from Jasmine, thanked her again, and then they each found a place to eat.

Although such a meal could only be regarded as commonplace in later generations, these children, whether it was Tao Canhua or Qiushi, all ate very deliciously.

"Xiaowei, this is yours."

Uncle Meng said as he handed the last sesame seed cake and vegetables to Wei Ran, and he sat down on the steps next to Wei Ran.

"Smoke one?" After Wei Ran took the sesame seed cake, he took out a pack of unopened Camel cigarettes and handed it to the other party.

"Hey! Take one!"

Uncle Meng responded, wiped his hands on his clean white apron, then took the cigarette from Wei Ran, tore it open, took one out and held it in his mouth, then took out a pack of matches and lit it.

.

At the same time, Wei Ran also took a hard bite of the crispy sesame seed cake in his hand, and Jasmine also served him egg drop soup and placed it on the chair next to him.

"Is it raining outside again?"

Wei Ran asked vaguely while chewing the food in his mouth. Although there was no meat in the sesame buns, the sesame buns themselves were delicious.

"I'm having fun!"

Uncle Meng sighed worriedly, "When will this happen? This flood will destroy all the crops outside the city. When winter comes, I don't know how many people will starve to death..."

“No need to wait until winter”

Jasmine, who had just lit up a cigarette, sighed, "Mother Yang and I rowed to the grain store just now to have a look. The price was almost half the price yesterday."

"The price of food keeps changing every day, and ordinary people can't afford it."

Uncle Meng sighed, and his old wrinkled face was shrouded in smoke from his mouth and nose, making it look increasingly blurry.

For a moment, the basement fell silent, with only the chirruping sounds of a few children remaining.

After finishing their simple lunch in silence, Jasmine replaced Tao Canhua and at the same time motioned for him and Wei Ran to go upstairs to rest.

Both Wei Ran and Tao Canhua immediately understood the other party's subtle hint, got up and left the basement.

"Our evening is..."

"Shh-"

Wei Ran stopped what the other party was about to say, "Find a place to sleep by yourself first, and then we'll talk about the rest of the night."

"Okay, let's talk about it in the evening!"

Tao Canhua suppressed his excitement and nodded.

Without any discussion, the two of them found an unused room on the first floor to rest. However, compared to Wei Ran, who fell asleep easily, Tao Canhua was inevitably tossing and turning in excitement.

When Wei Ran was woken up by the thunder, it was already dark outside the window. He took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. It was already around nine o'clock in the evening and almost ten o'clock in the evening. He got up and walked to the bed and looked outside. He saw the people in the yard.

The distance between the accumulated water and the highest point of the balcony guard wall is only 30 centimeters.

He quickly left the room, and when he ran to the foyer, he found that Uncle Meng and Chen Xu Keqin were busy raising the embankment at the door with bricks and cement obtained from who knows where.

Not only were they busy, but the other children, under the command of Chen Xiuyu, were also busy using sandbags to reinforce the windows of each room.

What is quite interesting is that these sandbags were fished out by the children from the garage that had already been flooded.

"Are you awake?" While Wei Ran was watching the excitement, shirtless Chen Xiuyu also noticed him, waved hello and said, "I was just about to wake you up. The balcony of your room is

We need to use sandbags to block it."

"Excuse me, sell me two more packs of cigarettes." Wei Ran said, stuffing a silver dollar into the other person's pocket.

Perhaps because he knew there was no way he could refuse, Chen Xiuyu happily accepted the silver dollar that was the envy of his surrounding companions, quickly ran into Cao Mute's room, took two packs of cigarettes and a pack of matches and sent them to Weiran

in hands.

"Is Canhua awake?" Wei Ran asked while putting the cigarette in his pocket.

"I woke up, I woke up a little earlier than you."

Chen Gouyu pointed to the direction of the second floor, "He was called up by Sister Jasmine. She also said that if you wake up, let you go up too and go to the second floor."

"I see"

Wei Ran patted the other party's shoulder, stretched, and then walked up the stairs.

When he arrived on the second floor, he noticed from a distance that there was a dim candle light beside the piano in the banquet hall. There were several figures standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows not far from the piano.

Seeing this, Wei Ran lit a cigarette and walked over slowly. The four people who heard the movement also turned around one after another.

"Tonight," Mei Xiang, who also held a cigarette in her hand, said nonchalantly. A bolt of lightning also flashed across the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Then let's do it tonight"

Wei Ran looked out the window at the rainy night with lightning and thunder, and casually responded amidst the rumbling thunder.

"Take this," Andy said, handing over a brown glass bottle that was only about the size of a thumb.
To be continued...