◎Happy 30th Day: Power Outage◎
The fuel in Jiang Muyun's space was enough for the early days of the apocalypse. She went out to queue up these days in order to buy enough coal for the rescue site.
Jiang Muyun always puts on a complete show. There are many people at the rescue center, and if he wants to get something to use in front of others, each one must have a reasonable source.
But just buy enough to get to the rescue center.
If she continues to queue up to buy things every day, her savings will soon be exposed.
Qin Shiwen and Qin Shiwu's family conditions are similar to those of the Jiang family. They have a rough estimate of how much money Jiang Muyun might have.
If Jiang Muyun actually buys it now but can't even come up with ten thousand yuan later, that would be something that is inexplicable.
She didn't need to buy anything anymore, as she still had to go out. At least she had to adapt her body to the current environment, and climbing stairs more often could also improve her physical fitness.
Anyway, since Jiang Muyun came back, she has had the habit of carrying a backpack whenever she goes out, so no one can see what is in her bag.
As long as she didn't hang around the neighborhood every day, no one would notice whether she went out to buy anything.
It’s just a pity for Xiaobai, who often has to take care of the cubs alone at home.
Jiang Muyun felt that taking Xiaobai out for a stroll was too conspicuous, so she only took Xiaobai with her when she went to the river to fetch water.
Fetching water was not something that needed to be concealed, and making people remember it would actually help Jiang Muyun's disguise.
Because he was carrying Xiaobai, Jiang Muyun would ride very slowly. Sometimes when Xiaobai got tired, he would pull the rope and ask Jiang Muyun to pick him up.
After a few days, Xiaobai's eyes seemed to have grown a little bigger.
I don’t know whether it’s because the hair is too thick or Xiaobai has really developed tendon muscles.
On the seventh day after the anthracite started to be sold, Jiang Muyun took Xiaobai to the river to fetch water as usual.
There are many people coming to fetch water now, and everyone is no longer as orderly as before.
The riverbank was crowded with people, and places where there were no roads before were now turned into roads by people trampling them.
There is no queueing, so everyone has to rely on their own ability to get in during the gaps by the river.
The only tacit understanding is that you can't push or shove each other, and if you want to fight, you can go to the main road outside.
The terrain here is too steep. A push could easily push a group of people into the river. Dozens of people died because of this two days ago.
Some fell into the river and drowned, while others were lucky enough to be rescued.
But because mobile phones cannot be used outside now, there is no way to call the police or an ambulance, and there are no private cars to take people to the hospital in time. Even if they are rescued, they will most likely be frozen to death.
Ever since this incident, anyone who dares to push people by the river will become everyone's enemy.
Of course, apart from the previous accident, the reason why the current order can be maintained is that everyone has water storage at home.
There is a shortage now, but it is not to the point where we are about to die of thirst, and most people do not think that day will come.
Just like this river, its water level has dropped significantly, and everyone present said that water will become increasingly scarce in the future. But to say that it will completely dry up is impossible.
Although everyone is panicking now, most people store water with the idea that "it won't go wrong to store more", rather than thinking that I will die if I lose this bucket of water.
With this mentality, even though the number of people coming to fetch water every day did not decrease, no large-scale unrest occurred.
Jiang Muyun took Xiaobai and lined up in the middle of the crowd. The old man next to her saw how energetic Xiaobai was and couldn't help but talk to Jiang Muyun about Xiaobai's breed.
I don’t know if it’s affected by the low temperature, but Xiaobai’s fur now looks much thicker than that of an ordinary dog, and the pads on his paws are even thicker. In this temperature, he even dares to step on the ice.
In the middle of winter, holding Xiaobai is like holding a small stove.
When the old man heard Jiang Muyun talk about how Xiaobai looked when she first picked him up, he said in amazement, "This dog is great, easy to raise, and obedient. I think with its current head, it will be very majestic in the future."
Xiaobai was very sensible and didn't run around in the crowd. He just jumped happily around Jiang Muyun's feet, rubbing against Jiang Muyun from time to time. He didn't seem to have the potential to be "powerful" at all.
Jiang Muyun smiled and said, "This is just a little fool. Who can expect it to be so powerful in the future? I just think it would be nice if it stayed with me forever."
The old man laughed when he heard this. "Don't disbelieve me. When I was young, I raised military dogs in the army. Although your dog is a stray, it has a strong body and is smart. It will be able to protect its master in the future."
Xiaobai tugged at Jiang Muyun's trouser leg. Jiang Muyun reached out and picked it up, saying to the old man, "I was wondering why you look so energetic and spirited. I'll borrow your good wishes."
Xiaobai cooperated by making a "Woo" sound.
The old man was very proud of his status as a veteran. Coincidentally, Grandpa Jiang was also a veteran, so Jiang Muyun and the old man couldn't stop talking once they started.
After fetching water, the old man didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stood by with the bucket and waited for Jiang Muyun to finish fetching water. Then the two of them walked towards the river bank while chatting.
Before parting, the old man took Jiang Muyun by the hand and said in a low voice, "Girl, if you believe me, go buy more coal these days. These peaceful days won't last much longer."
Jiang Muyun was stunned for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and said with a smile, "Take care of yourself, uncle. When Xiaobai grows up, I'll let him come and take classes with you for two days."
The old man's eyes narrowed with joy, and he waved his hand and said, "Okay, no problem, I'll keep you trained as a military dog."
The old man's words were not groundless.
Two days later, officials issued a notice encouraging residents to stockpile coal.
People who had developed sensitivity from the water outage incident immediately became alert and rushed to the market to start another round of panic buying.
However, their enthusiasm for buying cooled down, either voluntarily or forcibly, when they saw armed soldiers on duty outside major supermarkets.
The doomsday theories on the Internet just popped up and then disappeared without a trace.
However, the "prophecy" that was previously spread by Xida was once again hyped up.
The number of downloads of Jiang Muyun's "Extreme Cold Survival Manual" is increasing at a terrifying rate every day.
Everyone tacitly agreed to keep public opinion at a delicate balance, but after the official purchase restriction order was issued, this balance was completely broken.
The scope of this purchase restriction order includes more than 170 commodities, including daily necessities, common staple foods and condiments, and thermal insulation products. Like coal, each person is limited to purchase a certain amount each time.
The online mall’s delivery service has been suspended. The online mall now only provides appointment pickup service, which is completely separate from the offline shopping window.
The introduction of the purchase restriction order has temporarily stopped the apparent trend of rising prices.
In contrast, the prices offered by private vendors seem to be doubling every day.
After the purchase restriction order came out, Jiang Muyun paid special attention to the products in the online mall.
Although the official statement is that there is a purchase limit on food, in fact, even if there is no purchase limit, it is not available now.
The province where Nanshi is located is not a major agricultural province, and local residents usually eat rice and flour from other places.
Now, due to the low temperature, transportation is restricted, and coupled with the previous panic buying sprees, the rice and flour in the market have almost been sold out.
Some private traders still have a lot of inventory on hand. They probably stockpiled it before when they saw the situation was not right, and are waiting to sell it at a high price to make a profit.
It’s just that everyone trades privately, and no one dares to bid openly, otherwise they would be contributing to the country’s strategic grain reserves.
Jiang Muyun closed the mall page and turned to look at the transaction information in the community group.
While the power was still on, most people were forced to stay unemployed at home, and various messages were constantly appearing in the community group.
Today someone found a way to buy rice and asked in the group if anyone wanted to share a ride.
Tomorrow someone will say that there is a place selling batteries, with a starting price of 20,000 yuan. Is there anyone who wants to join the order?
Jiang Muyun didn't have too much money, so she just took a look at the group buying messages in the community group to find out what was available for sale.
She wasn't the only one who just looked but didn't buy anything. Several of her neighbors next door didn't buy anything either.
Zhao Jiahao and Li Anxuan were suddenly converted to regular employees these two days. They are rarely seen these days and eat in the company cafeteria every day. They don’t have much demand for food.
As for things like batteries, they were reluctant to spend the money. Besides, there would be no power outages in their team, so they could just go to the team to charge when necessary.
Qin Shiwu's situation is similar to theirs.
No matter where the power goes out outside, the hospital can't have a power outage. He can charge his mobile phone in the hospital when needed, and eat in the cafeteria whenever possible. If the hospital cafeteria didn't prohibit takeout, he could solve Qin Shiwen's meal problem as well.
Qin Shiwen joined others in the community group to buy an outdoor power supply and several solar power banks.
She now goes to the provincial team once a week and stays at home the rest of the time. Without power storage equipment, she would not be able to survive after a power outage.
However, Qin Shiwen only bought it this time.
His family used to stock up on things for two people. Qin Shiwu was not often at home, and she was the only one consuming the things in the house, so there was still plenty of room.
Jiang Muyun didn't buy things from private vendors, but from time to time he took Xiaobai downstairs to the supermarket to queue up and pick out some of the cheapest daily necessities.
The large supermarket near her community now seems to be official.
Soldiers are on duty in the supermarket plaza every day to maintain order. The original free shopping mode has been changed to window shopping, and the opening hours have been changed from 24 hours to 7 am to 5 pm.
There is a list of items posted at the queue area. Everyone can think about what they want to buy while queuing, and then just state the items and pay when they arrive at the window.
The price is reasonable, but there isn't much useful stuff.
Not only are there not many varieties, but the quantities available for purchase are also limited.
There is no limit on the quantity and a wide variety of items, including incense, decorations, and the like.
The authorities specially opened a window for unlimited purchases, but unfortunately no one was interested.
After buying the disposable shoe covers, Jiang Muyun went to the unlimited purchase window and bought a few insect repellent sachets.
Before she reached the downstairs of the community, she heard someone shouting something.
Then, the crowd around became agitated.
Jiang Muyun heard a young girl next to him laugh bitterly: "That's great! The water, electricity and gas are all cut off."
The girl's companions comforted her: "If you think of something nice, we can build an igloo at home. It's quite exciting to think about it."
The girl immediately stood up and no longer worried about water, electricity and gas. She was ready to go and pulled her companion home, saying that she wanted to show the other the skills she had learned from watching videos.
Jiang Muyun felt that these two girls had the mentality of people who could do great things.
She buried her head in her scarf and laughed silently. She felt a lot more relaxed and walked home in two steps with her bag on her back.
She has three little ones at home. Xiaobai is not afraid of such a sudden power outage, but the two little chicks may not be able to survive.
Fortunately, Jiang Muyun now lives in the study. The study is small and the windows are made of double-glazed glass that she specially made thicker. The power outage is only for a short while and the temperature in the room can still be maintained.
Jiang Muyun put the electric heater in the room into the space, opened a small gap in the door and window, placed small coal stoves next to the window and door, and moved the chicks' nest next to the small coal stove.
The heating effect of this small coal stove is still good. Jiang Muyun lit two at the same time, and the temperature in the room was barely maintained.
With the coal accumulated over the previous few days, everyone didn't have to worry about heating for the time being.
The only bad thing is that there is a power outage and no sun. Even those who have bought solar energy and batteries still have to conserve their mobile phone battery.
Everyone is counting on seeing some news online, so we shouldn't waste our battery. Who knows when the call will come back this time?
But without electronic gadgets, staying at home all day is too boring. Most people would rather queue up to buy something than sit at home and do nothing.
Jiang Muyun is different.
Although she was reluctant to use the power in the battery now, she had bought a lot of solar panels.
Solar energy converts light energy into electrical energy. When the sun is shining, the light is better and the power generation efficiency is higher.
In gray and sunless weather like now, the efficiency of solar power generation is extremely low, but it is not impossible to generate electricity. She can make up for it with quantity.
If there were no solar panel manufacturers around Nanshi, Jiang Muyun would have more on hand now.
Jiang Muyun was not planning to use solar energy for heating. She only wanted to use her mobile phone or tablet to watch variety shows while eating, and those solar panels were fully capable of supporting it.
She now sleeps in the study, so she placed several solar panels in the two bedrooms and usually keeps the bedroom doors closed.
Solar panels can work normally at temperatures between -40℃ and 80℃. Jiang Muyun balances the indoor temperature in the bedroom by imitating the principle of an ice house to ensure that the solar panels are not damaged.
In addition to the solar panels, she also took out two solar power banks and kept them at hand.
This way, if someone comes to your house, you won’t be afraid of being exposed.
The Internet is not down now, but there are fewer people online. All major platforms seem unusually deserted, and some platforms have even been shut down due to server problems.
Sometimes when Jiang Muyun stood at the window and looked down, he could see that the community was obviously much quieter.
Even if there were people on the road, they would be walking hurriedly with their heads down and holding something.
It is now almost impossible to chat with acquaintances and ask where they bought the things they have, as we used to do.
Jiang Muyun would occasionally go downstairs with Qin Shiwen, not to buy things, but to find out about the surrounding situation.
As far as Jiang Muyun knew, the public security in their area was quite good.
In some remote areas or those without water sources nearby, several armed conflicts have broken out between residents.
Nowadays, everyone covers themselves tightly when going out. There are no working cameras on the streets. The only means of transportation are bicycles and two legs. Mobile phones cannot be used outside, so highway robbery is very easy.
There are also those who deceive people into sharing a ride, and only realize they have been cheated after they arrive at the destination.
Those who are lucky will sacrifice their wealth to save their lives, while those who are unlucky will never be able to recover.
At this time, the person is missing and you don’t know where to look for him.
That is, the distance between Jiang Muyun's community and the supermarket is too close. There is a main road at the end, and there are old neighbors around. Every household has stored food and water, otherwise there would be trouble.
But even so, the atmosphere is becoming more tense day by day.
Not many people have been talking in the community group these days, and the messages that do come out are all about wanting to buy XXX at a high price.
All the previous group-buying and carpooling information disappeared.
No one dares to buy supplies with strangers anymore. Even if they cooperate with acquaintances, they have to be careful of the other party's bad intentions.
It was as if the whole world suddenly became quiet.
Until one morning, when most people were rushing to queue up at the supermarket, a series of screams suddenly came from a building.
Jiang Muyun was still half asleep at the time. She only knew that there was some movement outside, but she couldn't hear the sound clearly.
Not long after, Jiang Muyun was awakened by a knock on the door and realized that someone had gotten into trouble that morning.
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