Chapter 11 Investigation
“…There is more than one person who has been reborn from the apocalypse.”
Jiang Hongbing's voice was tinged with anger as he spoke. "Just like Guo Laosan in the east end of the village and Han Laojiu in the south. I had repeated instructions in the meeting before, telling them to pack up and be ready to evacuate at any time, but they didn't listen. They always thought the rain would stop and their homes were high above the water, so they wouldn't be flooded. As a result, when they left, they didn't have time to take anything with them except the leftover chewing gum in the car."
As he spoke, he sighed, "I really don't want to care about this guy. But I have to. Not to mention that I'm the village chief, I've known him for thirty or fifty years, and I can be said to have grown up with him. How can I just watch him go hungry?"
Jiang Hongbing looked at Jiang Weimin. Jiang Weimin opened his mouth to say something, but someone pinched his lower back hard.
He subconsciously turned around and saw his wife's "friendly" smiling face, and he subconsciously shuddered.
Jiang Hongbing acted as if he hadn't noticed anything and continued, "Let's not talk about anything else. I can ignore it, but seeing Han Laojiu's one-year-old grandson crying with hunger, I can't bear it. If the adults don't listen to advice, the consequences can't be left to the ignorant child, don't you think? Brother Weimin, Sister Liping?"
As he spoke, he turned his eyes to Huang Liping.
Huang Liping responded without feeling guilty. "I saw their child crying, brother Hongbing. To be honest, I felt bad too. When I saw the child crying, I thought, fortunately I listened to the two children and prepared something in advance, so our Mingchen wouldn't go hungry."
But before the other party could respond, she continued, "I know why you came here. If you open up to me, I'll tell you the truth. Everyone thinks our car is big and can hold a lot of things. We used to run a small store, so we must have even more things stored."
Huang Liping said, glancing at Jiang Hongbing across from her. "But actually, each family knows its own business. You've come in and seen my car. The only thing I have more than others is some furniture and appliances. I don't have hundreds or thousands of kilograms of food for everyone to eat. That's not the case."
"Hongbing, before the water came, more than one family in the village came to our house to buy things. Your wife Haixia also came to buy things. She knows what is left in our store."
"I know it's not easy for everyone, so I haven't raised the price of the things I sell. I haven't kept anything for myself, and I haven't closed down the business or kept everything for myself. Everyone who has shopped there knows that all I have left in my store is some oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar."
Jiang Hongbing nodded. He was patrolling the riverside when it was raining heavily, and naturally saw many people going to the Jiang family's store.
"Sister-in-law, I know it's not easy for everyone. You're a good person and you've definitely helped everyone in any way you can. I understand you and know what kind of person you are. But now is a special period. If the family has the means, I still hope that everyone can lend a hand and get through this difficult time first."
"Brother Weimin, sister-in-law, this time, the food supply is still voluntary. The village committee won't force anyone to provide it, but that doesn't mean anyone is giving it away for free. The village won't let anyone suffer a loss by giving away food. We'll record every penny of what everyone raised yesterday. When the water recedes, the village committee will return three times the value of the food each household provided."
Jiang Hongbing explained the subsidy standards that the village committee had finally agreed upon. He looked at the Jiang family and promised sincerely, "As soon as I get back, I'll have the accountant finalize this. I guarantee this on my reputation, Jiang Hongbing. You can rest assured."
If she had not heard the prophecy about the end of the world before, nor paid attention to the abnormalities on the Internet, Jiang Qian thought that after hearing these words, she would be happy to take out some of the food she brought with her.
After all, the heavy rain will eventually stop. As long as they have enough food, a little bit of effort will be rewarded double in the future and they will receive gratitude from the villagers. Why not do it?
But now that it has been raining heavily for four days in a row, she no longer dares to hold any hope.
Any luck you have may become a knife that stabs you and your family in the future.
People are selfish, and she is no exception.
But she doesn't feel guilty because she believes that most people would make the same choice as her in the same situation.
Having made a choice in her heart, she was worried that her parents would be persuaded by her words. She was thinking about how to secretly give her mother a hint when she heard her mother speak.
Huang Liping, who is always easily blinded by small profits, was not blinded by the temporary benefits this time. For a mother, in a critical moment, nothing is more important than her children.
"Before, when we were collecting food and eating from the communal pot, I had no objection. I took food and vegetables, and gave away everything I could. But Hongbing, is the situation now really as desperate as you said, where we have to raise food on our own to survive?"
"We are indeed all from the same village, and it is only natural for us to help each other. If the time comes, I will definitely not refuse. The child is pitiful, you know, and I know it in my heart. But Guo Laosan's family didn't prepare anything, so what about his brothers Guo Laoda and Guo Laoer's families? Three families, it's not like they can't even save a bite of food for the child..."
"Han Laojiu's family didn't prepare anything, but his daughter-in-law's brother from Sanguantun drove over yesterday in a small truck. That truck can carry as much stuff as our bus... Speaking of closeness, what's closer than brothers and in-laws? Why is it the turn of us, unrelated families, to help?"
"This..." Jiang Hongbing was at a loss for words.
He thought that Huang Liping was unwilling, but he didn't expect Huang Liping to refute him from this point of view. What's more, this rebuttal was reasonable and well-founded, so he didn't know how to persuade her.
Huang Liping didn't give him time to react.
"Hongbing, you're an honest and kind person. I trust you and won't hide anything from you. It would be a lie to say there's no food on this truck. We did prepare more than others, but that doesn't mean we have to give it away just because we prepared more. You said the village will provide subsidies later, and I believe it, but that's after the water recedes. But when will the water recede? No one knows, and you can't guarantee it, right? As long as the water doesn't recede, I have to prepare for my family one more day, don't you agree?"
"Besides, Hongbing, you could also ask those who say they have no food. Are they really at the end of their rope? If they really have nothing to eat, I don't believe there's not a single family in this village with so many relatives who have food. Even if there's less, if each person eats less, they can still survive. They just don't want to suffer any injustice and want to take advantage of the free food."
After saying this, even Jiang Hongbing blushed a little.
He had been the village chief for more than ten or twenty years, so how could he not see the hidden intentions of the villagers who were complaining about not having enough food? He said he would not force others, but in fact he still forced them.
Jiang Hongbing is indeed an upright person. He recognizes his mistakes and has nothing to be afraid of admitting them.
He wiped his face and said solemnly, "Sister-in-law, I was wrong about this. I didn't think it through. Don't be angry, and don't quarrel with Brother Weimin. I didn't think this through."
As he spoke, he sighed, "You're right, we haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"
He stood up and said, "Then you guys go ahead and do your work. I'll be leaving first and discuss with the others to see if there's any better solution."
The other members of the Jiang family also stood up. They didn't expect Jiang Hongbing to give up like that. They were all at a loss. Jiang Weimin was so guilty that he stuttered for a long time and couldn't say a complete sentence.
The family sent Jiang Hongbing to the car door. Huang Liping looked at his straight back and finally sighed. She took out three or four bags of frozen dumplings from the refrigerator and handed them to him.
"Hongbing, I know you're doing this for everyone, for the collective, for everyone's benefit. I'm not angry with you. I heard you took the noodles you brought home out again? I'm not as noble as you, your sister-in-law. I'm narrow-minded and less knowledgeable than you, so I can't be like you. But I also want to advise you that sometimes you have to think about yourself first. Take this back and share it with Haixia."
Jiang Hongbing took a deep look at the bag in her hand, his eyes reddened, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Then he took it and turned and left.
…
The Jiang family did not pay attention to what happened later, but it was obvious to the naked eye that the atmosphere in the temple was indeed more depressing than before. The originally noisy main hall and side halls had become silent.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Qian and Jiang Dong went to the back of the temple to fetch two buckets of water, carried them to the car, and used them to cook dumplings for their mother.
Only a quarter of the thirty or forty bags of dumplings in the freezer have been eaten. Every time the cabinet door is opened, some of the cold air will escape. Many dumplings have already thawed today and are stuck together. The rest need to be digested quickly.
Although the Jiang family did not participate in the grain-raising activity, many families still donated grain due to the efforts of village cadres in several villages and the temptation of generous rewards.
The Jiang family didn't pay much attention to the final result and just continued to live their lives in the car.
Jiang Qian sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the endless heavy rain outside, and from time to time she would click on the system screen to take a look.
If the predicted doomsday really comes, then this suddenly bound system may be the way out for their entire family. Jiang Qian cannot help but care.
But what is disappointing is that except for the day when the system was just discovered, the system has not made any sound and the interface has not changed much for so long.
Jiang Qian was worrying about the coming apocalypse, while thousands of miles away in the capital, a group of people were discussing the same thing.
At night, the brightly lit conference room is filled with faces that are often seen on the evening news.
After the person in the main seat hurriedly arrived, the meeting officially began.
The square-faced middle-aged man sitting by the window winked at the secretary behind him, who then took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and distributed them to the participants.
"This is the investigative report on the apocalyptic prophecy circulating online. Our investigation over the past three days has revealed that there's more than one person claiming to have been reborn from the apocalypse."
"A total of twelve public security bureaus across the country received calls from individuals claiming to have been reborn from the apocalypse. Upon investigation, two admitted to being pranksters, while the remaining ten, like Zhang, who had previously livestreamed, continued to claim to have been reborn from the apocalypse."
"We asked these eleven people about their information regarding the apocalypse and found that 60 percent of their information was identical. Furthermore, after investigation, we found no evidence of any contact between these eleven people in real life."
【Author’s words】
I’m on the list today, so happy, so happy. In the next seven days, I will update at least 15,000 words.
However, I have been feeling unwell these past two days and may not be able to confirm the time for the update.
Since the winter of 2021, my health has been poor, including irregular periods and excruciating pain during periods. In severe cases, I couldn't even get out of bed. I've taken a lot of medication, both Chinese and Western, and even been hospitalized.
During the pandemic a few years ago, I was constantly locked up at home, so I had nothing to do but eat. I was already fat, and after that period, I gained even more weight. So, when I checked, the doctor said my hormones were all wrong and I was overweight. Almost everyone advised me to lose weight, and one doctor recommended slimming injections. I was too timid to get the injections, so I just started losing weight on my own.
Fortunately, my hard work paid off. I've lost over 40 pounds in seven or eight months, which is noticeable. My period is now regular, and I don't have the pain anymore. But lately, I don't know if it's from the excessive use of air conditioning in the summer, or maybe I ate chili sauce the day before my period, but the pain is severe again. I guess I'll have to stay in bed for another two days.
This chapter is still the draft left over from last week. I will try my best to write new content and strive to update it daily, but the time is uncertain, so I want to let you know in advance.
By the way, I think the reason I want to write such an article is probably because it has been my dream since I was a child.
When I was little, I loved watching Doraemon, especially the movies. They were always going to alien planets, space, and otherworldly places. But no matter where they went, whether it was the wilderness or even the deep sea, Doraemon always made sure the team lived well. Many of the props in his pockets could be used as houses and transportation, which made people feel so safe and secure, like a safe fortress.
I also like watching Dragon Ball. My favorite character at that time was the little girl with blue hair. I don’t remember her name now. I liked her not because of the charm of the character, but because she had a universal capsule. When she threw it out, it would become a small car or a small house. It was a must-have artifact for home and travel.
Hahahaha, I tell you all this, I don’t know if you have seen these works, will there be a generation gap?
Of course, when I grew up, I realized that those things were impossible to achieve and could not be bought, at least not at the moment.
In recent years, I have become very fond of RVs. I feel that they are a low-end version of my childhood dream. I think it is very convenient for traveling and I can stay wherever I go.
I feel like I really like these movable houses or vehicles since I was a child [covering my face]
This article is based on the combination of various fantastic ideas I have seen before and real trains.
It can be considered a small dream come true!
As the train conductor of this trip, I hope to bring you a good experience!
Beep, beep, who hasn't bought their ticket yet? We're leaving!
Woo woo woo~ (whistle sound)
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