Chapter 85: A Bystander in a Post-Apocalyptic Novel (Part 4)

After greeting her, Brother Wang didn't waste any words. He led Jiang Yue to the computer and started teaching her. Nowadays, office work is all automated, which has streamlined many processes and makes it easy to operate. After Brother Wang helped Jiang Yue register the two of them, Jiang Yue was able to operate it almost independently. Brother Wang got up and handed the computer to Jiang Yue. He watched as Jiang Yue completed a few transactions. At first, she was a little flustered, but after a few more, she became very smooth. Brother Wang nodded in satisfaction, unlike Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue, who still didn't understand even after he had taught them for several days.

After Jiang Yue finished her business, Brother Wang said to her, "Tomorrow you can handle business independently. If you encounter any difficulties, just come to me for help."

Jiang Yue nodded to Brother Wang to show he understood and then left. When he went to eat, Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue, two young people, surrounded him: "Jiang Yue, you're so amazing! Compared to you, I feel so stupid~" Zhou Xue next to him also nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. Jiang Yue took out two chocolates and handed one to each of them: "I did similar work before, so it looks fast, but actually I was very slow when I first learned it."

Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue accepted the chocolates Jiang Yue handed them and shared some of their snacks with her. Jiang Yue had just finished dealing with the remaining customers, so they could chat for a while. Of course, they had to eat discreetly, as it wouldn't be good if someone saw them. The three of them were of similar age and quickly became acquainted. Before long, Jiang Yue even knew how many people were in their families. It wasn't that Jiang Yue was trying to trick them into revealing the information; they just ended up saying it as they chatted.

During their conversation, the two learned that it was Jiang Yue's first day at work. They looked at Jiang Yue with a hint of pity: "Xiao Yue, we're so tired every day. I haven't had a single day of rest since I started working. I wish I had gone to another department. But I heard that other departments are also very busy. The director said that things will get better after this busy period. Sigh, I don't know how long this period will last."

Jiang Yue comforted the two of them for a while. It was almost September now, and they would only be busy until December at the latest. It wouldn't be too long. When Brother Wang came back, the three of them dispersed and returned to their respective workstations. Jiang Yue took out two packs of cigarettes from her bag and handed them to Brother Wang: "Brother Wang, these two packs of cigarettes are for you. They are leftovers from when I hired someone to do some work. I don't smoke them, and it would be a waste to leave them here."

Brother Wang looked around and Jiang Yue took the cigarette and put it in the drawer: "Thank you, Xiao Jiang. I'll transfer the points to you when I have time. Sigh, I can barely afford cigarettes now. I only smoke one a day, and I can't bear to smoke it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xue and Zhou Ru also started to complain: "Now meat is rationed. Before, when I was on a diet, I wouldn't touch it at all. Eating even one bite felt like my life depended on it. Now, I can't wait to smell meat."

"Heh, what are you young people doing trying to lose weight? Look at you now, do you regret it? You don't need to lose weight anymore. At this rate, it will be difficult for you to gain weight in the future."

"Sigh, we don't know how long this natural disaster will last. The government hasn't announced a specific time, only that it's confirmed to be real. We don't know what kind of divine being predicted it, or whether it's a reborn person like what's said online. What do you think, Brother Wang?"

"Who cares who it is? It's good that the country was notified in advance. Otherwise, without this year of preparation, who knows how many people would have died."

"Look at our country and then look at other countries. Look at the news, it's all about looting and rioting every day, like a war every day. Besides, it's a natural disaster, not a zombie outbreak or anything like that. The country has mobilized all its resources to research seeds that can withstand cold and drought, and we have plenty of food reserves. We even imported a lot of food a few months ago. So don't worry too much. It's certain that the food is worse than before, but basically no one will starve to death."

After saying that, Brother Wang lit a cigarette: "What I'm worried about now is the water problem. According to the types of natural disasters announced by the state, extreme cold and extreme heat can cause great damage to water resources. Haven't you noticed that we use sand to wash dishes and don't allow water? People can go a day or two without food and it's okay, but try going a few days without water."

"Brother Wang, do you think we should buy more water to keep at home?"

“You definitely have to buy it. It’s much better than buying anything else. But can you afford it at the current prices? Don’t worry too much, everyone. Our company and the government will definitely take care of us. It’s enough to maintain basic survival. If you have any relatives, please remind them. I only remembered this yesterday when I saw a relative of mine buy a bunch of useless things.”

The government does not allow people to buy and sell goods in principle, but who can really prohibit that? The government's bottom line is that private individuals cannot hoard large quantities of goods and cannot sell them overseas. As for people buying food, drinking water, and medicine to keep at home for emergency use, the government does not care.

Just like Jiang Yue had previously stockpiled a warehouse full of goods, the third of what she kept here would be enough for her to eat for a lifetime if it didn't spoil. The problem is that food and other things all have an expiration date. You can't let things spoil while people over there are starving and you don't share them with others. How can this guy not be a blow to you?

And do you know why Director Su tried to win over Jiang Yue? Was it just out of gratitude? She had a huge amount of supplies at her disposal, and since she lived alone, she couldn't possibly consume them all. She wasn't expecting Jiang Yue to give them away for free, but since they worked in the same unit and had spent a lot of time together, it was only natural to keep the resources within the family. Of course, Jiang Yue knew about Director Su's little scheme, but they all had a tacit understanding and didn't say it outright. The main reason was that Jiang Yue had prepared the supplies well in advance. Director Su could easily guess that someone had told her about it, and it was always a good thing to win her over.

After chatting for a while, it was time to leave work. Jiang Yue packed up her things and went out with her colleagues to go home. Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue were riding electric bikes and were very envious of Jiang Yue driving a car. These days, even driving a car is a big deal, and they can't even get gas anymore. Jiang Yue asked the two of them, and they said that their homes were in the same direction as hers. She originally wanted to give them a ride, but they both declined because they had to take a car to work the next day.

On her way home, Jiang Yue looked at the pedestrians on the road and saw that there were still many people riding electric bikes. Most of the people driving cars were also driving new energy vehicles. Jiang Yue decided that she would not drive a gasoline car tomorrow and would switch to a new energy vehicle. There are no restrictions on electricity now, so she can drive it as long as she charges it. She should drive the gasoline car more sparingly. As for the electric car, even if the State Grid's power goes out, the electricity generated by the photovoltaic and energy storage system installed at home is enough for household use.

After arriving home, I parked the car in the garage, transferred everything from the car to the electric scooter, and then cleaned the car. Water is so precious these days, washing the car is out of the question. After finishing and making sure nothing was left behind, I locked the car doors. I turned on the electric scooter and saw that it had 70% battery left. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to fully charge it today.