If it weren't for the fact that there were really no people in Wang Erpo's family whom he could retaliate against, and that they weren't of the caliber of his friends, and that dealing with their family would be beneath him, Qin Aiguo wouldn't want to see his old friends again so soon.

A favor is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; even the best relationships can't withstand constant requests. Wang Erpozi isn't worth his favors.

So, he has to take a roundabout approach. He can find some people to drink, chat, and gossip, right? He can compare whose child is more successful, right?

He can annoy his old comrades, get things done, and doesn't have to curry favor with anyone—a triple win. He's really a genius.

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly figured out what Qin Aiguo was up to, and happily took out two bottles of Xifeng liquor from her spatial storage and delivered them to the main house.

The next day, Qin Aiguo went out very early in the morning and didn't even eat breakfast at home. He was only brought back by a car after dark.

As darkness falls and people have long since gone home, there aren't many entertainment options these days, and people generally go to bed early. Naturally, few people hear the sound of car engines, and even if they do, they don't pay much attention.

Qin Aiguo returned home quietly. In the following month, the Qin family became even more low-key. Even after the compound was renovated, the Qin family did not move there, intending to wait until Qin Ye and Su Lu returned.

Qin Hai and Sun Zhirou, on the other hand, were delayed in returning because of the earthquake in Tangcheng. They were too busy there and needed manpower, so they were asked to return a month later, and then come over when they were free to do so.

Qin Hai's family and Qin Ye and Su Lu arrived in Beijing around the same time. Qin Xiaoxiao picked up Qin Hai's family from the station, and Su Lu and Qin Ye returned that evening.

Seeing that Su Lu and Qin Ye were safe and sound, Qin Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he looked tired, he seemed to be in good spirits. I just don't know if he had any injuries.

The family was finally reunited, and Qin Aiguo finally smiled, a rare sight indeed.

The family had a happy meal, planned to rest for a day, and then move to the compound.

Qin Hai and Sun Zhirou have money, but houses are hard to buy, so they'll stay in the compound for now and buy a house when there's a vacancy.

As for their jobs, they were also arranged. Sun Zhirou continued to work at the supply and marketing cooperative, but this time she was no longer in charge of the warehouse. Instead, she was transferred to the position of cashier, which can be considered a promotion. Naturally, her salary also increased.

Qin Hai didn't go to a state-run restaurant, but instead became the head chef at the most famous steel rolling mill in Beijing. Because Qin Hai had a level four chef's certificate, his salary was also raised. In addition, he could buy some cheap vegetables from the factory, so the couple could save a lot of money.

Qin Yue is twelve years old this year (by Chinese reckoning) and is still in elementary school. She will graduate next year. By the time she graduates from high school, the college entrance examination will have been reinstated. It's just unknown whether she will join the army like in her previous life.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn't have time to pay attention to these things for the time being; she was pulling Su Lu to take off his clothes.

Su Lu chuckled and made Qin Xiaoxiao take off her clothes. He then leaned closer to her with a playful smile and whispered, "So eager? I've only been gone for a month, and you can't wait, honey? Come here, let your husband hug you and give you a good kiss."

After stripping Su Lu naked, they were relieved to see that he had no new injuries.

She rolled her eyes at Su Lu and said, "Pah, you pervert."

Su Lu gave Qin Xiaoxiao a wicked smile and kissed her on the cheek. "You called me a pervert. I wonder who it was that came in and started undressing people. They were so impatient."

Qin Xiaoxiao patted Su Lu on the shoulder. "Who are you talking about? I was just worried about you. Tell me, what happened to you and my brother over there? How is Tangcheng? I heard that over 100,000 people died. Is that true?"

Upon hearing the mention of Tang City, Su Lu's smiling face fell, and a trace of sorrow appeared on her fair complexion.

"Sigh, don't even mention it. This trip has shown me what hell on earth is like. When we arrived in Tangcheng, the earthquake had already passed for five days. The road into Tangcheng had been cleared by the soldiers, and cars could go in, but the road was still very difficult to walk on. In many places, the soldiers had to push the cars, and if they weren't careful, they would fall into the ditch."

There are too many broken bridges and road surfaces. The road surface is twisted and deformed. Large trucks dare not drive in places with large cracks. If they fall in, they have to unload their cargo first if they want to get out.

We walked and stopped frequently, taking two days to cover a distance that would normally take one day, and three days to cover a distance that would normally take two days. That was only because we brought plenty of food with us, otherwise we wouldn't know where to eat.

The nearby villages also ran out of food; it was all buried under the rubble. It was still raining in Tangcheng, and all the grain was flooded and inedible. Fortunately, we delivered the food in time; otherwise, the survivors would have died of hunger even if they hadn't died in the earthquake.

I heard that those who survived could see Phoenix Mountain when they looked up at dawn. All the buildings opposite had collapsed. It wasn't just one building; all the buildings and bungalows in the entire city had collapsed. There wasn't a single house that was intact.

As for the discrepancy in the death toll, I've roughly found out why.

According to rumors, a few days before the earthquake, instructions came from above to transfer many engineers and experts to other places. The transfer was very urgent, and they were only given half a day.

Many others were transferred to factories in other cities. These people were all skilled workers, mostly at level four or above, with very few below level four.

Even their families were transferred, and jobs were arranged for them on the other side.

I think it's possible that something was said by Gong Nana, and the higher-ups were prepared, but not entirely certain, which is why they transferred those people away.

The surrounding villages also received the news the day before, advising them to stay away from the foot of the mountain. Families living at the foot of the mountain were told to move into the villages in the coming days; the village head and brigade secretary arranged accommodations for them, explaining that there was a heavy rainstorm and they were worried about mudslides sweeping down the mountain.

After Su Lu finished speaking, he and Qin Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance and both sighed.

It's obvious that this is the official statement. In reality, they want to save as many people as possible and avoid deaths. The government doesn't have any good solutions for the rest; they can't just transfer everyone out of Tang City, can they?

Putting aside the potential for panic, explaining it to people would be a real challenge.

Furthermore, what if no disaster occurs after Tang City is cleared out? What will happen then? Will Tang City no longer be inhabited? Will it all be turned into factories? Is that possible? Impossible.

Furthermore, if the people from Tangcheng are transferred, how will all the people of Tangcheng be arranged? How can hundreds of thousands of people be arranged so easily? How much work would that require? Even if the government wanted to do it, it couldn't do it in such a short time.

If this happened in the future, Qin Xiaoxiao believed that the government would definitely do the same. Back during the pandemic, when the country issued an order, all the people stayed at home without causing any trouble for the country. They silently cooperated with the various instructions issued by the country, and the high degree of cooperation was so high that people all over the world were amazed and even puzzled.

In later times, the country would also be able to take care of the people in a city. After all, most families in later times own cars, and if all else fails, there are airplanes, high-speed trains, regular trains, motorcycles, and electric vehicles. Traveling to other cities is not too difficult, although it will take a lot of time to travel by highway.