Chapter 31 Upgrade [Primary Train]
"The zombies are coming, get ready."
Huang Liping glanced at her son and didn't refuse. "Then soak it tonight and eat it tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Jiang Dong was satisfied.
Jiang Weimin, who was driving, was also eager to try. He looked in the rearview mirror and asked, "Can I get a bottle of beer?"
When he met his wife's eyes, the courage he had finally mustered was shattered again. He said nervously, "Half a bottle, half a bottle is okay?"
Huang Liping couldn't help laughing. "Okay, just one bottle, just this time. Let Dongzi drive tomorrow. But there's one thing, you absolutely can't let Chenchen drink it this time."
"I only gave him a drink that one time, and it was because he was curious. Besides, what's the big deal about a boy drinking beer...Okay, okay, I won't let him drink it. I won't let him drink it again."
The family returned to the village in a noisy manner.
Jiang Qian looked at her well-prepared family and smiled.
And at this moment, the system prompt sound that had been silent for many days finally rang again.
Jiang Qian was delighted and immediately clicked on the flashing system page, and a golden message notification came into view.
[The train has traveled over 10 kilometers. Congratulations! Your train has officially been upgraded to a primary train. After the upgrade, all functional areas of the system will be available to you. Would you like to upgrade now?]
[Special Note: Train upgrades take some time, and the train's appearance and interior will change after the upgrade. Please choose the upgrade time carefully.]
After Jiang Qian finished reading, she saw two transparent buttons below with "Yes" and "No" written on them.
She rubbed her fingers together, thought for a few seconds, and finally decided to leave the page alone for the time being.
The upgrade must be done, but not now. The system prompt should not be without reason.
The car was right under everyone's noses in the village, so any slight change would easily attract attention. And until she had thoroughly understood the system, the car's unusual features must not be exposed.
When the car arrived home, she told everyone that the train could be upgraded without waiting for them to get off.
The whole family was very happy to hear the system message again, and they wanted to upgrade the car immediately, but when they heard Jiang Qian talk about the special reminder, their excitement quickly subsided.
Jiang Weimin felt his trouser pocket but didn't feel the cigarette case, so he put his hands back on his knees.
"If the appearance has changed, then it really can't be upgraded casually."
"Your dad is right. If you want to upgrade, you have to find a place where there are no people. They say on TV that even an innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure. Your parents don't have the ability to protect you, so until you can protect yourself, this matter must not be made known to anyone else."
Huang Liping rarely stood on the same side as Jiang Weimin. "Let's not talk about anything else. If the villagers knew our car was special, even if they didn't have any bad intentions, they would all want to get in for safety if they encountered danger. Who was allowed to get in and who was not allowed to get in would be another lawsuit."
Jiang Dong also had the same idea. "Then let's wait until the villagers leave before upgrading the car? There's no need to think about it now. We definitely can't go with everyone."
Jiang Qian said, "I think this is the only way, otherwise there will be no chance to upgrade the car."
"But why should we stay?" Jiang Weimin asked. "Wouldn't it be strange if everyone else left and we didn't?"
"What's so strange about this, Dad? You always overthink things." Jiang Qian said, "The uncles said they gave us time to think it over, which means they've considered the possibility that we might not go with them. Isn't it normal for us not to want to go with them when we know the city is dangerous? Our family doesn't need to go to the city to find someone like everyone else."
Jiang Dong touched his chin and said, "This reason is feasible, but it doesn't sound good." It's not conducive to unity.
Their family was one of the few in the village where everyone survived the rainstorm and riots. They were easily envied by others, and if they said this again, it would probably attract hatred.
"Let's put it this way," Huang Liping said, "Let's just say we're going to City N to look for Xiaoru's parents, so we're going a different route from everyone else. Is that okay?"
Before he finished speaking, everyone looked over.
Ren Ru looked at her mother-in-law, something flashed in her eyes, but then quickly dimmed. She pursed her lips and said nothing.
But others only paid attention to Huang Liping's words and did not notice her abnormality in that second.
Jiang Qian clapped her hands together and said, "Mom, that's a good idea. Just say it."
Jiang Dong also laughed. "Yes, yes, that's right. If others want to go to the city to look for their children and parents, then I want to take my wife to look for my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Isn't this natural? There is no better reason than this. My mother must be smart."
Jiang Dong gave his mother a thumbs-up and said, "If Uncle Hongbing asks about it tomorrow, let's just say this."
After the family discussed tomorrow's plans, they got out of the car, had a delicious meal of sausage and potato rice, and then went back to the car to rest.
The next morning, all the men in the village were called to the railway bridge.
Jiang Hongbing pulled a diesel generator from the village committee. After starting it, the connected water pump began to work, and the noise began to spread.
Jiang Hongbing held up a hoe and explained, "We had planned to pump out the water last night, but it was dark and visibility was poor. We were afraid of accidents and we wouldn't be able to handle them, so we moved it to this morning. But don't worry, everyone. If we're quick, we can pump out all the water in two or three hours. We'll do as we agreed. If any zombies come, don't panic. Just follow what we taught you before and kill them one by one with a hoe. Make sure they never come back, okay? Once the water here is almost pumped out, we'll go into the city."
"Okay." Everyone shouted in unison.
After yesterday's experience, they weren't so scared anymore. They brandished their weapons and said, "If the zombies dare to come, we'll make sure they never return."
"My wife was showing off to me yesterday, saying she had killed several people. Today I have to show her that her husband is not a coward."
A group of people formed a circle around the generator, staring around vigilantly.
The sun gradually rose, the temperature gradually increased, and sweat began to seep out of everyone's forehead.
The generator was still running, and the water level under the bridge was slowly dropping. The upper edge of Jiang Dong's car window could already be seen, but the surroundings were still quiet.
A villager relaxed and wiped the sweat from his face. "It's been an hour. If there were any zombies, they would have arrived long ago. There shouldn't be any danger around here, right?"
"I think so too," someone followed up, "isn't it a bit too much of a fuss for us to have so many people guarding here?"
"Thirty or forty of us here does seem a bit much," someone suggested. "How about half of us stay here, and the others can go into town to look for supplies."
"That's a good suggestion," someone who felt their family didn't have enough supplies agreed, their eyes lighting up. "We're leaving soon, so it's not a bad idea to prepare some extra things in advance."
The others looked at each other and were also a little tempted.
There are still so many things in the supermarket we went to yesterday. They can't do anything just by standing here. Why not...
But before the idea could even come to mind, Jiang Hongbing dismissed it.
"Everyone, keep guard." Jiang Hongbing wiped the sweat off his face. "We absolutely cannot let our guard down. We're not short of food right now. We can find extra supplies later. Even if we find some now, it will be useless if there's not enough space in the car to take them away!"
Some people wanted to say something, but seeing Jiang Hongbing's serious face, they swallowed their words back.
As the sun climbed higher, the shadows on the ground grew shorter. Under the scorching sun, not only the temperature increased, but also the anxiety in people's hearts.
The only consolation was that the water level had already reached the bottom of the car window. Perhaps the water under the bridge could be drained before noon.
The people who had been waiting for a long time saw a glimmer of hope to leave, and at this moment, low roars and chaotic footsteps were heard from the woods beside the road.
Jiang Hongbing, who was always paying attention to the surrounding movements, shouted, "The zombies are coming, get ready."
The villagers who were originally a little lazy turned their heads and their faces instantly became serious. They all tightened their hoes in their hands.
…
Huang Liping has been uneasy ever since Jiang Dong and Jiang Weimin left.
In order to divert her attention, Jiang Qian gave her a few ceramic flower pots and asked her to take them to the vegetable garden behind to dig the soil.
The apocalypse had arrived, and while they weren't short of food at the moment, they were completely destitute of fresh vegetables. Finding fresh, clean vegetables would likely be even harder if they were to take to the road, so it was best to prepare early.
Huang Liping found three or five bags of unused vegetable seeds from the warehouse and went there with a shovel. Although the village was flooded and there were few people around, it wasn't necessarily safe. Ren Ru was worried that her mother-in-law might get into trouble if she went alone, so she went along.
While the water pipes at home were still flowing, Jiang Qian took the empty buckets from the car, filled them up one by one, and carried them back to the car to store water for future use.
While she was delivering water to the car, Jiang Mingchen was helping her watch the faucet. When he saw that one bucket was almost full, he plugged the soft rubber tube from the faucet into another empty bucket.
After all the buckets were filled, they took all the quilts, mattresses and mattresses down from the car and placed them in the yard and in front of the door to dry.
There were several days of heavy rain, and while these things didn't get soaked, they were damp. It's a good opportunity to dry them out in the sun. I don't know if there will ever be such a peaceful time again.
The summer sun was scorching. After only an hour, Jiang Qian touched the sunny side of the quilt and found it was already steaming hot. She had just turned the quilt over when she saw several cars passing by her door, and then a car stopped in front of her house.
Jiang Qian was wondering what was going on when she saw Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong getting out of the car. "Dad, why are you back?"
Jiang Weimin said hello to the people in the car, and waited until the car left before saying, "The water under the bridge has been almost pumped out, and cars can pass through. Everyone has returned. Your uncle Hongbing said that they will gather and enter the city in half an hour."
Jiang Qian was surprised, "So fast?"
"How can it be faster?" Jiang Weimin picked up the fan beside him and fanned himself. "Everyone still thinks it's slow."
"I've already told your Uncle Hongbing and Uncle Weibing that we won't go with them, but when everyone leaves later, we'll all go and see them off."
Jiang Weimin said with some sadness, "Once they leave, I don't know when I'll see them again in this life!"
Jiang Qian and Jiang Dong's eyes became sore when they thought of this, and they both nodded, "I understand, Dad."
【Author’s words】
This is today's update, the next chapter will be updated the day after tomorrow.
Congratulations to China on their all-around gold medal victory in rhythmic gymnastics! It's truly incredible! They showcased Chinese culture in Paris before the world! And they even won gold! So impressive!
Proud of the girls and proud of our culture!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
