Chapter 134 Continue on the Road

"Bring the bowl. After we finish this meal, we'll continue on our way."

After explaining the situation to the team member standing guard at the door of the duty room, the team member looked at him twice, remembered that he had just been checked before, and let him in.

Although it was called a duty room, it was just a small, improvised hut built on the side of the road. It had a total area of ​​just over 20 square meters, with a few tables and benches in the middle and curtains hanging in the corners on both sides.

When they passed through the checkpoint before, Jiang Bei's family of four were taken behind two curtains separately, stripped naked and checked by the staff on duty for any wounds or signs of abnormalities on their bodies. When they came out later, Jiang Bei took a closer look and found that there was electricity in the duty room, so he came to ask if he could boil a pot of water.

Although rumors are circulating that water sources have long been contaminated by zombies and previous heavy rains and floods, and that some people have turned into zombies after drinking contaminated water, water is the source of life and cannot be dispensed with. As a result, bottled and barreled mineral water and purified water produced before the model became a hot commodity, with prices rising and becoming increasingly scarce.

Jiang Bei was unable to provide his entire family with water that had not been polluted before the apocalypse, so he could only boil the water as best he could under limited conditions.

The cloth curtains on both sides of the duty room swayed slightly, and the feet of the people inside could be seen through the gap between the curtains and the ground, but Jiang Bei didn't look at it too much. He found the socket on the wall and plugged in the electric kettle. After a while, crackling sounds came from the duty room.

The electric kettle had been used constantly, and a thick layer of scale had formed on the bottom, making a crackling sound when heated. Jiangbei had cleaned it before, but the water they drank was so hard that even after cleaning, a new layer of scale would soon form again.

There were voices coming from the door, and soon, footsteps were getting closer. Jiang Bei turned around and saw a young man with hair covering his eyes and an unshaven beard coming in with a cardboard box in his hand and stopping beside him.

Jiang Bei moved aside and took a look into the man's box, and saw a lot of small electrical appliances.

The man took out the items one by one to charge them, and the items he brought were spread all over the floor. He was obviously a little embarrassed, and after catching Jiang Bei's glance, he felt even more embarrassed.

The two stood in front of the wall, no one spoke, and the atmosphere became increasingly awkward.

As time passed, the sound of the electric kettle became louder and louder, and two more people came into the duty room, both of whom came in to charge the equipment.

There were not so many sockets in the duty room, so the young man who arrived first took out his own power strip and donated one.

People who came later expressed their gratitude, "Thank you, brother." Someone even took out a cigarette from his pocket.

After breaking the ice, while standing and waiting to recharge, a few people started chatting.

Jiang Bei was going back to his hometown. Although he was very familiar with the route and had already inquired about it, he was still paying attention to what a few people said. It was this that made him hear something extraordinary.

The new bearded man was yelling, his eyes as big as copper bells, his face full of disbelief.

"...You're not from out of town like us. You're from your hometown. Why are you heading north? This place is about to settle down. If I didn't have any relatives back home, I would definitely stay here!"

The young man was surprised by his reaction.

"It's okay here, but isn't it safer in the north? We're short of food and water here. It was fine before, but now there are bird attacks, and the city is constantly running out of food. Although bird repellent is being developed, who knows when it will be ready? We don't know what the situation will be like when winter comes!"

The young man didn't think his choice was wrong. "But it's different up north. There's a train there, and I've settled down there a long time ago. I heard life there is pretty much the same as before. I want to take my family to W City or even further north to find a job. That way, we can all have a stable life. It's better than living here, not knowing where we'll get our next meal."

"They say a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse. Listen to me, there's no place better than home. Besides, there's a train station coming up here soon, so why bother leaving your hometown? If I were you, I wouldn't leave. Just wait a few more days and you'll have everything. Why bother?"

"How can they be the same? Places with trains must be safer... Wait, brother, what did you just say?"

The young man blinked twice, wondering if he had just heard it wrong.

But he heard the words that seemed like hallucinations ringing in his ears again.

"What? What did I just say? Oh, I said City X will soon have a train station, so why did you leave home and head north?"

The young man then realized that he had heard correctly, but he still couldn't believe it.

"Brother, are you kidding me? The last station is north of W City. How could there be one in X City?"

"How could I lie to you? Did you see the truck that went by earlier? It was sent back specifically to support the planned station in City X. On that truck was a fellow townsman I'm close to. He told me about it when we met during inspection." The bearded man spoke firmly and confidently. "If you don't believe me, just wait and see if what I say is true."

The bearded man glanced at the people around him, his eyes sweeping over Jiang Bei's stiff body. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the duty officers at the checkpoint. They must already know!"

The young man didn't believe it at first, but after hearing him say that, he suddenly became agitated. Without any hesitation, he went straight to find the team member on duty at the door.

The young team member obviously heard what they had just said, and without waiting for him to ask, he confirmed what the bearded man said.

"...That's true. It's probably going to be either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but the station is new, so it won't be as popular as places like City A and City B in the short term."

"This is great..." The bearded young man didn't expect to hear such good news halfway through his journey. He even forgot to put away the various small appliances that were still charging, and ran back to discuss it with his family.

From that moment on, the news of a new station in City X spread like wildfire among those who heard it. Suddenly, the entire area was filled with discussion.

"There's going to be a train station in X City soon. Do you think we should go?"

"How about we stop here and wait and see if there's any new news?"

"There's a station coming up soon. Should we still drive? Or why not wait for the train and take it? It's safer too."

"Wait a minute, I'll go find out where the new site is. We'll go directly to the new site this afternoon."

“…”

Jiang Bei listened to the discussion for a while while holding the electric kettle, but he did not stay for long, for fear that his wife and children who stayed in the car would worry.

He jogged back to the car, opened the door and got in. He saw that his wife and two daughters were sweating profusely. Jiang Bei quickly opened the car window and found a small handheld fan from the armrest box next to him.

He closed the car windows because he was afraid that something would happen when he was away and his wife and children would be unable to cope with it. However, Jiang Bei felt sad and guilty because he didn't even dare to use a small fan.

"Go ahead. Don't worry if the battery runs out. There's electricity in the duty room. We can just stay here for a while and wait until the battery is fully charged before leaving."

Jiang Wen turned on the small fan that her husband had stuffed into her hand, blew it at her husband and herself for a few seconds, and then passed it to her daughters behind her.

"You can use it, but there's no need to fill it up before leaving." Jiang Wen looked at the map in her hand and disagreed. "If everything goes well, we'll definitely be back home before dusk. But if we stay a little longer, we might have to sleep outdoors. It's not worth it."

Jiang Bei knew his wife's concerns and, thinking of the news he had just heard, asked, "If City X also has a station, what do you think about us staying here instead of returning home?"

"Stay?" Jiang Wen repeated reflexively, then realized what her husband was talking about. She was extremely surprised. "What did you just say 'stay'?"

Jiang Bei repeated the news he had just heard in the duty room to his wife and asked for her opinion again.

"The team on duty confirmed the news, so it can't be false. I heard that many people don't plan to go north anymore and want to stay. I'm a little hesitant, so I wanted to ask you what you think."

Jiang Bei expressed his thoughts frankly.

They decided to return to their hometown because they thought there was a train station there and it was not too far away. Instead of staying in the city and waiting for relief food all the time, it would be better to go back to their hometown to see if they could find a new way to make a living.

Back home, I have land in my yard. Although conditions in the countryside may not be as good as in the city, as long as you put in the effort, you won't lack food. As for safety, zombies are everywhere, and it's the same in the city and the countryside.

Jiang Bei considered that if his hometown was still not safe, then his family would live outside for a while. When the rescue team cleared the area near his hometown, he would go with them. It would not be too late to move back then.

As for the possibility that the rescue team wouldn't go to their hometown, Jiangbei had never considered it. It was said that the station was only a dozen miles away from their hometown, so close that their hometown would sooner or later be included in the safe zone.

But now there is a station in City X, so is there any need for them to return to their hometown?

Seeing so many people at the checkpoint preparing to go home, Jiang Bei hesitated.

Compared to her husband, Jiang Wen is much more decisive.

"If you ask me, we should go back home. Going back home is something we've already decided on, and changing plans at the last minute isn't a good idea."

Jiang Wen looked at her husband and calmly expressed her thoughts, "Given the current situation, it's better to return home. At least if we can plant crops in the yard, our family will have enough food, and we'll have more options than staying in the city. Besides, we don't even know where the new station will be located."

After hearing what his wife said, Jiang Bei felt relieved.

"Then let's go back home," Jiang Bei said, "Bring us some bowls. After we finish this meal, we'll continue on our journey."

…

【Author’s words】

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