Chapter 63 Rescue?
"Then why don't you take a look at how many families are still living in our community?"
Usually, any big purchases for the family have to be subsidized by my father-in-law’s pension, so we dare not even think about moving.
Anyway, my two daughters are still young, there are key middle schools near the train station, and my two old people are in good health and can climb stairs, so they just decided to stay here.
Although this place is a bit desolate, the house is spacious and the old couple likes to keep it clean, so they keep everything in good order. The fact that they were able to stay at home safely for so long after this accident happened suddenly has a lot to do with the old couple's daily management.
They are usually busy with work, so the main people responsible for cooking at home are the elderly couple. We give them living expenses to help buy food.
Because it’s difficult to go up and down stairs, the elderly couple always buy more at once and ask supermarket staff to deliver them. Since their home is large enough, they can store everything, so they stock up on food. They have rice, flour, grain, oil, and all kinds of cured meats and dried vegetables.
In addition, the old couple also loves their granddaughter. They bought several large boxes of various snack gift packs for the child. Most of my father-in-law's pension was spent on these things.
The refrigerator at home was never empty, so they never lacked food.
The attic above the first-floor balcony is an open terrace. They did not seal the windows, but the old couple did not waste it.
They filled foam boxes and wooden boxes with soil, placed them around the terrace and planted a lot of vegetables. Usually, the soil was enough for their family of six, saving them a lot of money.
It can be said that since the heavy rain, except for not being able to go out, their life at home is actually no worse than before.
They continued to live their lives as usual, except that they had to conceal their breath for fear of zombies coming and knocking on the door, everything else was no different from before.
But Li Xiufeng felt that perhaps it was because their family life was too comfortable that her husband Wang Zhiping had no ambition, and even after the end of the world came, he did not feel any sense of crisis.
The only man in the family who can take responsibility is like this. Li Xiufeng has to think more about it, and she becomes easily irritable after a long time.
Perhaps the two were arguing too loudly, as footsteps were heard on the wooden stairs leading to the attic, followed by two identical faces looking down from the side of the stairs.
Li Xiufeng didn't want to worry her children, so she suppressed her anger and forced a smile at her two daughters.
"It's okay, you two go do your homework. After you finish your homework, watch the video and finish learning the last lesson today, okay?"
Ever since the zombies appeared, online classes in schools have been suspended, and teachers have almost never spoken in the parent group.
Li Xiufeng didn't know what the teachers had experienced or whether they were safe now, but she didn't want her two children to worry about survival at such a young age like they did as adults. Therefore, even if the school did not arrange any tasks, she would assign tasks to her daughters every day to divert their attention.
After all, even adults like them can’t accept the cruel reality, let alone two children!
Perhaps seeing that they had stopped arguing, the two daughters' frowns relaxed a little.
They nodded and ran upstairs again with a "thump thump thump" sound.
The two daughters were fooled away, but Wang Zhiping still could not escape the nagging of his daughter-in-law.
Li Xiufeng lowered her voice. "We have enough food and clothing at home now. We live on a high floor. Before, the zombies didn't come upstairs, so it didn't seem dangerous. But now there are so many zombies downstairs. Sooner or later, they will break open the gate to the community. What should we do then?"
Wang Zhiping understood this problem very well. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been observing from behind the balcony curtains for so long.
He sighed, "I'm also thinking that leaving may not be as comfortable as being at home!"
"Look at what they say online. The other site is at the airport in City A, which hasn't been built yet. There's no government management there either. Everything is said by the villagers themselves. What if they have bad intentions? What should we do if we go there? Even if they don't have bad intentions, it's empty and desolate right now. Even if we go there, we won't have good food or accommodation. What if our family, young and old, get sick? We might as well stay at home!"
"The car is here, and it can't escape. I think our house is so close to the train station, just across the street. It will definitely be listed as a key protected area. Wouldn't it be better for us to have our home designated as a safe zone than to go through so much trouble to find a safe zone on the road?"
It can be said that, to a certain extent, Wang Zhiping's ideas resonate with those of the people in Xiaozhao Village.
But Li Xiufeng wasn't buying it. "You only look at what those people in our community group are saying. Why don't you tell me who these people are who are saying these things and having these thoughts?"
"They're either sixty or seventy years old like our parents, or they're idlers who don't work and just drink and brag. They've either had enough of life or they're just not ambitious. You have a family to support, with elderly and young children to take care of. What can you compare yourself to?"
"Look at what you said. What's so bad about others? I think what they said makes sense!"
Wang Zhiping said, "Besides, I trust the government. With this car here, the government will definitely come and take a look. They won't just ignore us, right?"
"Look, the news about the train started circulating online yesterday. Has there been any action so far? Even if the government is interested in this train, how can you be so sure it will only stop at the train station and that our area will be designated a safe zone?"
"How dare you assume that without even figuring out the pattern of this bus? Just like the internet keeps saying that bus doesn't leave until 1 p.m., wouldn't it have left earlier today with so many zombies? Are you sure this bus won't stop somewhere safer later?"
"I always tell you not to put your expectations on others and to save yourself. You take what others say as your guiding principle, but why do you never take what I say to heart?"
Li Xiufeng didn't know where her husband's inexplicable confidence came from, and why he was so optimistic.
"It may not be safe over there, but we can go and take a look. We're all together, so what's there to be afraid of? If it's not safe, can't we just come back? Is our current situation safe?"
She couldn't help but ask, "What if the train doesn't come, the government rescue doesn't arrive, and the zombies down there don't leave? Have you ever thought about what we're going to do in this situation?"
"Even if the government rescue team comes, are you sure they can arrive in time? What if our whole family is bitten by zombies before they arrive? What's the point of waiting for rescue and having our home designated as a safe zone?"
Wang Zhiping fell silent.
When it comes to verbal skills, he has never won.
He wiped his face and lowered his head.
"Wife, you are right!"
"I didn't think enough!"
After hearing what he said, Li Xiufeng didn't say anything else. In the current situation, what's the point of her saying anything more!
After her husband lowered his head, she actually regretted what she had said so harshly.
She also knew in her heart that the current situation was not entirely her husband's fault, and that not everything she said made sense.
Her husband's idea made sense, otherwise she would not have accepted it so tacitly before.
But the fear of the future weighed on her heart, and she could only vent her panic by quarreling.
Li Xiufeng pulled aside a corner of the curtain and took a peek downstairs, then closed the curtain again.
Forget it, out of sight, out of mind.
She took two eggs from the refrigerator, scooped some flour and went into the kitchen.
Their family's situation is slightly better than others, but the situation is unclear, and they dare not eat too much, so they only have two meals a day.
The morning meal had just ended at nine or ten o'clock, and the afternoon meal was supposed to be at six or seven o'clock in the evening, but the two daughters had been studying for a while and should be hungry. Anyway, she had nothing to do, so while the electric oven was still usable, she planned to bake some cookies for them.
But just as she cracked the eggs into the bowl, she heard the kitchen window glass begin to vibrate continuously, and a huge roar came from far away and was clearly audible.
Before she could react to what was happening, she saw the residents on the opposite building open their windows and stand in front of them, waving and shouting excitedly towards the sky.
Through the kitchen window, she saw a huge black bird getting closer and closer in the distant sky.
Li Xiufeng dropped what she was holding, and without even wiping her hands, she staggered to the balcony. Her husband was already looking outside.
The sound of the plane's propellers traveled far, triggering a riot among the zombies below. The zombies, previously wandering aimlessly, seemed to have found their target and converged in the direction of the sound.
But the people who heard the sound no longer had the mind to observe the zombies. They only stared at the helicopter hovering in the air, their eyes so eager that it seemed as if they could stare a hole in the steel shell of the helicopter.
A helicopter with a familiar flag was hovering over the street, and then a clear broadcast voice reached everyone's ears.
Please pay attention to the public. Please pay attention to the public. Please stay away from windows. Please stay away from windows. Please find a suitable place to hide at home. Please find a suitable place to hide at home. Please do not go out. Thank you for your cooperation. Thank you for your cooperation.
The broadcast was repeated many times. Although Li Xiufeng and Wang Zhiping did not know what was going to happen, out of trust in the flag, they took their daughter who was originally in the attic and their parents who got up to check the situation and hid in the bathroom.
Three helicopters circled over the nearby streets, and the broadcast sounded above the residential area for a long time before it stopped.
After a brief silence, everyone heard the intensive gunfire coming from the street outside.
In the tiled bathroom, a family of six squatted on the floor, with two elderly people covering their two granddaughters' ears. But even with the doors and windows closed and their ears covered, the gunshots outside continued to come, making people's hearts tremble.
Wang Zhiping was curious and wanted to lie down by the only window in the bathroom to look out, but before he could stand up, he was stopped by his wife.
Li Xiufeng frowned, tugging at the corner of his clothes tightly, and whispered, "The radio said you should stay put, so where are you going?"
Wang Zhiping couldn't break free and could only sit down again helplessly, "Isn't this just to see what's going on outside?"
"What's so good about it?" Li Xiufeng didn't quite understand his risky behavior. "Why can't we watch it later? Why do we have to join in the fun right now?"
Wang Zhiping was speechless.
But he was indeed curious, and his curiosity only grew as time went by.
Since his wife didn't allow him to lie down by the window and watch, he took out his cell phone.
As he expected, some people in the community who loved to join in the fun had already taken photos of the outside, and some even used their spare mobile phones to set up a special camera on the balcony to broadcast live.
The mobile phone interface is narrow and the viewing angle is limited, so you can't actually capture much, but the occasional glimpse of something is enough to give you an idea of what's happening outside.
For a moment, the group became lively again with many discussions.
The fight outside is really intense!
[The sound of the gunshot still makes my head buzz!]
[Yes, I could hear it clearly in the bedroom. Now that I'm farther away, the sound seems to be a little quieter.]
[Hey, you guys, now that the helicopter is here, are we saved?]
"Of course. I guess the government will take over our area after we finish clearing out the zombies. Otherwise, wouldn't the zombie clearing be in vain?"
[Other people ran so fast before, now they should regret it! ]
"Isn't it? I wanted to go to the base, but as soon as I left, our area was about to become the base. If it were me, I would regret it to death."
Why would they want to go to the base? It's so dangerous to leave home. If they want a safe place, wouldn't the rescue command center in the southeast be just as good? It's even closer.
"You don't understand, do you? How many people are there in our city's rescue command center? It's uncertain how long they can hold out. How can they be as safe as a large national base?"
Oh, I see!
Now that we have this vehicle, I think we'll have to build a base here. Even if we don't have one, the country will probably send people to protect this area. By then, we'll be no worse off than those big bases.
[You're right. This car comes every day and has already landed here. It's only a matter of time before it attracts attention from above. Those people really left too early!]
…
I don't think so. I counted, and there were only three helicopters arriving today. With so few people, it doesn't look like they're planning to take us over.
"The helicopters are here, how can they just ignore us? It's only a matter of time, right?"
[But sooner or later, it’s still early or late…]
…
I just took a quick look down there. The zombies were all blown away, but there was blood all over the floor. It was disgusting!
My house is on the second floor, and I can smell the odor outside even with the windows closed.
…
[Out of curiosity, I went to take a look and vomited all over the toilet. I vomited out all my lunch.]
[Your family above actually still has food to eat, but my family can only afford one meal a day.]
[What should we do with those things outside? The government should take care of it, right?]
【I guess it burned on the spot?】
How is that possible? Even if it's the end of the world, this is a residential area with so many people living here, and there are so many electrical wires and gas pipelines. What if a fire breaks out? If that happens, I'll be the first to protest.
"If we don't burn them on the spot, what else can we do? There are only three helicopters. Can you really expect them to take away all those bodies?"
…
[Could there be other vehicles waiting to transport the bodies?]
【Author’s words】
This is today's update, is it one and a half chapters? It seems that there will be a clamp tomorrow, and the next update should be on the morning of the 8th.
Below is a preview of an article without a CP. It is expected that after this article is finished, I will first write the 80,000-word short story of "Dwelling Narrowness", and then I will start updating this one. I hope you all like it.
Getting rich by selling fried skewers in the 1990s
【No CP】
Zhuang Xiaohua is a true post-90s person, born in 1990 and grew up in the 1990s.
As the second child in the family with an older brother, she caused her father to lose his job before she was born, and also made the family pay a large amount of fines and social maintenance fees.
But she grew up in happiness. Even though her birth plunged the family's finances into crisis, she was raised well.
She did not encounter parents who favored boys over girls, and was not even asked to do housework before she became an adult.
Although the family conditions were not good, their parents still worked hard to provide them and their two siblings with the best educational environment they could, helping them change their destiny through learning.
Of course, her brother lived up to his parents' expectations and became the first college student in the village. She was not bad either. She was admitted to the university as she wished and found a good job.
She thought that graduation would be the beginning of her life taking off, but she didn't expect that it was not her life that took off first, but the unaffordable housing prices.
In stark contrast to the rising housing prices, the undergraduate degree that she had worked hard for half her life and thought was worth a fortune is now gone.
There are always people in the job market who are younger, more energetic, more creative, and earn lower salaries than her. As expected, she found herself unemployed just after turning 30, and the house she had just paid the down payment for was at risk of defaulting on.
If you had known this earlier, what would you have done if you could go back to the past?
Zhuang Xiaohua gave his answer with his actions.
Since she is still unemployed and houseless after studying for ten years, she might as well create a job for herself in advance - sell fried skewers!
To sell fried skewers, you have to start from childhood!
[Mine Clearing] It's mainly a story. The author does not advocate the uselessness of knowledge and academic qualifications. The protagonist will still go to school.
Content tags: rebirth, food, urban life, period literature, counterattack, entrepreneurship
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