In the end, Xie Changgong still secretly took rare photos and videos of his young master kneeling on the ground digging in the soil, and then pretended that nothing had happened.
He originally had no way to save the pictures and videos, but before his young master discovered it, the cunning wolf cleverly stepped forward and knelt down to dig in the dirt with his young master.
There was only a two-minute interval in between, which basically gave his daughter, Fugui Yuanyuan, no time to suspect anything and get checked.
"Young master! Let the farmhand dig with you!"
Fugui, the groundhog who was originally so angry that he wanted to scream, glanced at his farmhand and saw that he was doing the same thing as him, still digging into the soil with his fingers. He couldn't hold back his anger and was calmed down by the farmhand's willingness to share the hardships.
Well, this cunning wolf always manages to do the right thing at the right time, which shows he's very experienced in escaping.
"If we dig down from here, will we reach the bottom directly? How deep should the tunnel be dug? One meter, two meters, or three meters?"
Xie Tianlang knelt on the ground, his thoughtful young master putting the shovel he had just used to dig the soil back into his hand. He plunged the shovel down hard, and the sound of the shovel colliding with some metal came from the soil.
"We need to remove the wire mesh covering the foundation first. The foundation of the villa is probably not too deep, but it's at least two or three meters deep, so we can dig the passage down to the depth of the foundation, and then dig the cellar down past the foundation."
It was only then that the wealthy young master, who knew absolutely nothing about house construction, realized that he had overlooked the existence of a foundation.
"Thinking about it this way, the old houses in the countryside are still the best. You can just dig a little deeper and build the house on the land, without any foundation."
Xie Tianlang had already picked up the chainsaw again. "But the level of sturdiness is different. At least when facing a major earthquake, your villa is much sturdier than a self-built house in the countryside."
The wealthy young master thought there was nothing wrong with it.
Afterwards, Xie Tianlang began to use tools such as chainsaws and drilling machines to work on the steel mesh of the foundation under the study. While he was clearing this part, the rich young master, who was still sweating profusely despite the air conditioning being on, decided to order takeout to solve the lunch problem for the two of them, and also buy a few cups of cold drinks and milk tea.
However, when he went to the living room to order takeout, he suddenly discovered that both of the major food delivery apps on his phone were malfunctioning.
The blue app couldn't be opened for some reason, while the yellow app, thanks to the rich young master's superior phone configuration and network connection, managed to open the website, only to find that none of the businesses were open during that time.
The reason for the closure is that the weather is too hot for delivery drivers to make deliveries, and some shops have closed down due to a lack of ingredients.
Gou Fugui glanced at the window with the curtains drawn, walked to the window and opened a crack. He was immediately blinded by the light shining through the glass and couldn't help but take a half step back.
The brightness and heat were simply irresistible.
At that moment, Gou Fugui suddenly remembered a phrase from somewhere—"I will melt you with my passion."
Back then, I thought it was a beautiful sentence, but in the context of the current environment... it becomes strangely terrifying.
People pray for light in the darkness, but when the sunlight is too bright, they crave shadows.
Almost all food delivery services close at lunchtime, so the rich young master has to cook for himself.
Fortunately, Fugui'er, who has both money and a pouch, has no shortage of ingredients.
These past few nights, he and Xie Tianlang have been collecting gasoline at various gas stations throughout the city, and if they come across a supermarket or store along the way, they will take a quick look around.
Now, not only is an entire wall of refrigerators in the villa crammed full of vegetables, fruits, seafood, and meat, but his pockets are also more than half full.
In addition to the hundred bags of rice, flour, and instant noodles brought from the original world, the space also contained piles of peanuts, soybeans, millet, and other coarse grains.
Dried chili peppers, dried black fungus, dried kelp, and other dried vegetables, as well as vegetables that can be stored for a relatively long time, such as potatoes, radishes, and Chinese cabbage, also occupied a large area. In addition, there were tons of mineral water and oil. It is conservatively estimated that this food is enough for him, Xie Tianlang, and Song Sanchuan to eat for several years.
If one could see Fugui's large pocket through a special method, one would see that the original large space, which was 20 meters long, wide, and high, had been evenly divided into three spaces, each about 20 meters long, wide, and high, resembling a large villa.
Different items were placed in an orderly fashion in the three spaces.
The original height of twenty meters would leave a large area of empty space in the space pocket. When Gou Fugui thought of this and was troubled by it, he discovered that he could divide his personal pocket with his consciousness.
Clearly, the world's consciousness would not allow its expressions of gratitude to be merely superficial.
And coincidentally, he now carries "three" bags, only they've changed from the size of three basketballs to the size of three large apartments... He really did take a gamble, and his fortunes have turned.
In conclusion, the rich young master's pocket is excellent, and it contains a considerable amount of food.
Then, the wealthy young man with so many resources took out a bunch of greens and a box of shrimp from the refrigerator, and finally made a seafood and vegetable pasta dish with fried chicken.
The only difference was that he didn't make the sauce; it was a pre-made package. The fried chicken was also a semi-finished product that only needed to be baked in the oven for ten minutes—it required absolutely no skill.
When Xie Tianlang came out to eat, he saw a lunch that looked very appealing, with meat, vegetables, and staple food.
Then he picked up his large bowl of seafood pasta and took a bite. Under the expectant gaze of the wealthy young master, which wasn't obvious but couldn't escape the wolf's eyes, Xie Tianlang chuckled and said, "It tastes good."
The rich young master, who had absolutely no cooking skills, began to eat his noodles with great satisfaction.
That's right, before Xie Langren tasted the first bite, the shrewd and wealthy young master didn't eat a single bite of what he made himself.
After eating it, I realized that he was indeed a beautiful, kind-hearted young man with the talent of a great chef.
Xie Tianlang finished the fried chicken leg in two bites, and only after taking a sip of ice-cold beer did he feel refreshed from the inside out: "Young Master, let me cook the meals at home from now on. I think I'm pretty good at it."
The wealthy young master raised his eyebrows and looked at Xie Tianlang, who was not at all burly or thick-necked, and said, "You don't look like a cook."
Xie Tianlang raised his eyebrows: "I'm much stronger than the cook."
The picky young master remained silent for the time being, deciding to wait until he had eaten the meal prepared by Xie Tianlang before discussing anything further.
It was already 2:10 pm when he finished eating. Gou Fugui walked to the window and checked the real-time temperature with his wristwatch. Seeing the red 55 displayed on the wristwatch, his good mood after lunch was almost completely ruined.
However, faced with such a natural disaster, he was powerless to save anything on his own. He could only hold his breath and put all his strength into digging a hole.
Time flies when you're focused on something.
For the next two days, Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang stayed in the villa, focusing on digging a tunnel. Thanks to Gou Fugui's amazing digging skills (he's like a groundhog!), and because the excavated soil and debris didn't need to be transported out, the young master and his strong Xie Changgong finished digging the downward-facing burrow in just two days.
The passage leading from the study to the underground cave extends five meters downwards, and the cave is roughly the same size as the study: five meters long, four meters wide, and three meters high.
As he dug deeper into the increasingly damp soil, Gou Fugui could clearly feel the temperature in the underground cave decreasing. Indeed, underground caves were a good place to escape the heat; choosing to go down was definitely the right decision!
Looking at his underground creations, Fugui, the groundhog who had been digging almost non-stop these past two days except for eating and sleeping, felt a great sense of accomplishment, but at the same time, he was a little out of touch with reality. That is, until he received a call from Song Sanchuan.
The moment the call connected, Gou Fugui realized that he had actually been digging for two days straight and had indeed dug a fairly large basement for himself.
"Brother Fugui! I've already loaded the specially made generator, electric car, solar charger, and ice maker onto the train! If all goes well tonight, we should arrive in Changshi by eight o'clock tomorrow morning! Remember to bring your DouDou to pick me up then! Don't forget!"
Gou Fugui lifted the curtain and glanced at the still bright and scorching sky at six o'clock. He felt a suffocating feeling all over his body from just that one glance.
"Don't worry, it won't be too hot at 8 a.m. tomorrow, so the round trip should be safe. However, it's much hotter here than in Heilongjiang Province, so you must remember to stay hydrated and use sunscreen, okay? When you get off the train, just wait at the exit, don't come out directly."
Song Sanchuan was sweating profusely in the air-conditioned train, which was still 30 degrees Celsius. But compared to the stuffy heat, there was another feeling that he could hardly bear.
He swallowed hard, his voice unusually dry as he said, "I understand. I can guarantee your safety. But... remember to bring me some cooked food when you come. I haven't been able to buy any food since yesterday."
Gou Fugui was taken aback by these words, his first reaction being disbelief. How could they not be able to buy food? This wasn't a famine-stricken world; the sea level hadn't submerged the cultivated land, so how could there be no food?
At this moment, Xie Tianlang solemnly reminded us: "...We've been in an air-conditioned room and digging downwards, so we probably don't feel it, but most of the plants outside should have been severely damaged by the sun, or even withered and died."
“A significant reduction in grain production is inevitable, and there is even a possibility of total crop failure. Furthermore, in the case of high temperatures where electricity cannot be supplied for an extended period, various items in supermarkets, warehouses, and even shopping malls will be affected by the high temperatures and will deteriorate and spoil more quickly.”
By the end of Xie Tianlang's sentence, Gou Fugui's expression had become quite grim. He closed his eyes briefly and continued, "Therefore, it's very likely that all farmers' markets will be closed, and the shelf life of food in supermarkets and small shops will be greatly shortened or even spoiled, leaving edible food..."
"It is also decreasing rapidly."
Xie Tianlang nodded.
Gou Fugui took a deep breath and pressed the phone to his ear: "Don't worry, Dad will make sure you eat your fill tomorrow morning! The food in Dad's space doesn't require high temperatures and keeps well!"
At this point, he should bow deeply in gratitude to the world consciousness of the previous world. If the world consciousness hadn't expanded his personal pocket and slowed the flow of time in the space by half compared to the outside world, he would probably be facing the same anxiety and hunger as Song Sanchuan.
Hearing Fu Gui'er's words, Song Sanchuan felt inexplicably relieved. Sure enough, if his captain was the boss, then Brother Fu Gui was a powerful figure with great fortune! The judgment of the entire Hai World's brothers was truly accurate.
"Then I'll wait. Make sure you're prepared with sunscreen before you come pick me up tomorrow. My phone will be on the whole time. I can always use my watch for communication."
Gou Fugui then hung up the phone, and only then did he notice that a bright red number 99 had appeared on the chat group's app.
Having focused on digging tunnels these past two days, Gou Fugui hadn't checked his phone or messages much. When he opened his chat app, the first thing he saw was the rapidly scrolling messages in the Jinyu Community residents' group chat—
Lili from Building 3: [Oh my god, the high temperature is getting more and more terrifying! My husband and his team just responded to a call from the fire department. They said that in an old building, the sunlight was so strong that it set the curtains on fire through the glass! It caused a fire that affected the entire building! The scene looked incredibly hot and scary! #video#]
Lili from Building 3: [Everyone, quickly check if your curtains are heat-insulating! Also, make sure they're made of synthetic fibers that are easily ignited! The sun is at its strongest now; sunlight refracted or reflected from the glass could easily set your curtains on fire!]
Xiao Li from Building 6: [...My whole family is shocked! This is the first time I've ever heard of something as outrageous as setting the sun on the curtains!]
Room 606, Building 6: [Upstairs, but from a purely scientific perspective, it's not impossible. The temperature is too high right now; I just measured it with a thermometer, and it's 58 degrees Celsius outside! If sunlight were concentrated on a single point on the curtains through the glass, it would be incredibly easy for them to set on fire.]
Apartment 1702, Building 2: [What should I do? Our whole family is in the lobby right now! I'm suddenly really worried about the curtains!]
Apartment 2101, Building 2: [My husband has already gone back to check on us with an umbrella. We live on the top floor, and it's already as hot as a sauna in there.]
Apartment 2101, Building 6: [When will this awful weather finally end? I also live on the top floor. I thought it would be nice to have a rooftop balcony, but now even with the power outage and the air conditioning on 24/7, I can't get the temperature below 30 degrees Celsius!]
My family can't stay in there at all today except for sleeping at night. The elderly and children can't stand it. @First-class property management, do you have any solutions? Our whole family paid a lot of money to live in this top-floor apartment, and now what's going on?
[Forget the top floor, all the floors above the seventh floor that get sunlight all day are experiencing excessive heat! I'm asking @First-ClassPropertyManagement, what's your solution? Aren't you supposed to be first-class? We've paid so much in property management fees, we can't expect to be unable to live in our apartments now!]
Aunt Song from Building 1: [Forget about housing, what I want to ask about now is food! @Everyone, how much food do you have stored at home? How much of it is still edible?!]
My refrigerator was stocked with food, thinking it would last for ten days to two weeks. But now most of the refrigerated fruits and vegetables are wilted, and all the meat and seafood in the frozen section have spoiled!
The power supply was restored the night before last, and the refrigerator could barely keep the food fresh each night. But since yesterday, the power supply has been cut off at night! The entire neighborhood is even experiencing power rationing! Each household is only given enough power to run the air conditioner for a maximum of three hours a day; it can't power any other appliances. How are people supposed to live like this?!
Aunt Song from Building 1: My five-year-old grandson can't sleep every night and cries because of the heat! Today, our whole family only ate wilted dried vegetables and noodles! Almost all the fresh ingredients in the house are inedible, we only have rice and wheat flour.
Are the government and property management companies going to do anything about this situation? If this continues, we'll have no food and no shelter. Are they really going to just stand by and watch us die?!
Gou Fugui kept scrolling down through the past messages and found that in the past two days, the owners' group had been discussing various fires, car explosions and spontaneous combustions caused by abnormal high temperatures, and some elderly people and children who suffered from heatstroke and died despite medical treatment.
Since the power outage began last night, complaints and dissatisfaction in the residents' group chat have increased dramatically. The situation reached its peak after Ms. Song raised the issue of food supplies.
Various complaints and questions were raised one after another, and some people even used voice messages to curse at the property management and the inactive municipal authorities.
Interspersed among these curses were anxious inquiries from some homeowners asking if anyone had medicines like Huoxiang Zhengqi or Fengyoujing to cool down and relieve summer heat, as well as requests for food exchanges.
Amidst this cacophony of voices, a sharp, piercing woman's cry suddenly assaulted Gou Fugui's ears—
Does anyone have any spoiled milk or formula? My baby hasn't had any milk for two days!
All the milk in my house has gone bad and is undrinkable, and the baby has finished the formula. My husband, grandfather, and maternal grandfather braved the scorching sun and got sunburned, but they only managed to find five cans of formula. However, when they opened them, they all had a strange smell and were spoiled... I haven't been producing milk for a month because of my poor health!
Ugh... Doesn't everyone have some spoiled milk they can drink? My baby is only seven months old, and she's so hungry she's crying so hard she's almost silent...
My baby has always been so well-behaved and doesn't fuss at all. Even with heat rash on her back, she didn't bother me or her dad... She's managed to stay healthy even in this hot weather... She's tried so hard, but it's my fault and her dad's for not taking good care of her. Please, everyone, we're willing to pay any price to buy her, we'll even trade for her! We're willing to give anything we have, we just want some formula to drink!
The mother's hoarse voice, filled with sobs, came through the phone's microphone, carrying an added sense of fragility that made everyone who heard it feel a heavy weight and anxiety.
Gou Fugui saw that the message about crying and begging for milk powder had been posted more than two hours earlier. He paused for a moment, then clicked on the homeowner whose profile picture was a cute baby.
【I have some baby formula at home. What building do you live in? I'll deliver it to you.】
Almost as soon as Gou Fugui sent the verification message, the other party accepted the friend request and even called him directly.
When the call connected, instead of a woman's voice, a dry male voice came through:
"Hello! Do you really have milk powder?! Is it milk powder that hasn't spoiled and is safe to drink? Thank you so much! We thought we had no hope... No need for you to come and deliver it to us, it's too hot now! I can come and get it from you!"
He finished speaking very quickly, then realized that he had been too hasty and even a little impolite. He quickly said, "I am the owner of Building 7 in Zone C. I have all kinds of antique ornaments, gold jewelry, and my wife and I have a lot of savings in our accounts. What do you need? I will bring you anything we have!"
When Gou Fugui heard that the man was actually the owner of Building 7 in Zone C, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and turn his head to look at the right side of the villa.
The villa he lives in now is Building 6 in Zone C. Needless to say, Building 7 in Zone C is right next to his house.
Despite living in a multi-million dollar mansion and perhaps being a powerful figure in a company who commands hundreds or even thousands of people, they struggle just like ordinary people in the face of natural disasters.
"No need, you can just come over directly. My home is in Building 6, Section C."
The person on the other end was visibly taken aback by Gou Fugui's reply, then surprisingly showed some joy: "I never imagined we were neighbors! Thank you so much, I'm coming right now!"
Three minutes later, the doorbell of the wealthy young master's villa rang, and Gou Fugui took out four cans of the freshest and highest quality milk powder from his spatial storage to open the door and greet his neighbor.
The man who arrived was a composed and dignified man in his thirties. However, his skin had an unhealthy dark red tinge from sun exposure, and he looked tired and anxious.
Even in this situation, he did not forget his manners. He first bowed to the rich young master before accepting the milk powder that the young master handed him.
"Thank you very much. I could have made some valuable promises, but now everything I have done has lost its value in the face of disaster."
I probably don't have anything to exchange for these four cans of formula... so please accept my gratitude. Also, I'm right next door, so if there's anything I can help you with, I'll definitely do my best.
Looking at this man, Gou Fugui felt that he was probably the person he had ever met who best fit the image of a "young master from a prominent family"—someone with excellent upbringing and rational wisdom.
Such people always give off a polite and serious impression, even making the fake nouveau riche, the rich young master, unusually serious.
"There's no need to be so formal and serious. I just did what I wanted to do."
"However... since you have children, can you handle this kind of weather? I have a generator at home that I can lend you."
The man's eyes lit up upon hearing this. His elderly relatives and children desperately needed a generator, but he didn't ask directly. Instead, he asked, "Won't this affect you two?"
"Actually, my family also has a home generator, but it broke down when the temperature reached 62 degrees Celsius the day before yesterday. I don't know how to repair such a machine, but I have enough fuel stored at home."
“I have another one at home that I can use myself, so you can take this one back and use it first. Don’t worry about it, it’s okay even if it breaks down. My younger brother is coming over soon; he’s a mechanical repairman.”
Now the man was truly relieved, and a smile finally appeared on his previously serious face: "I really don't know how to express my gratitude. Ah, I haven't even mentioned my name yet. My name is Lu Xuesi, and I'm a rather useless university teacher. I have some research on plants, but it's mostly theoretical rather than practical."
Gou Fugui blinked his beautiful phoenix eyes: "I am Gou Fugui. You can call me Fugui, or Xiao Fu."
It's impossible for Xiao Gou to be Xiao Gou. Anyone who calls him Xiao Gou is either wanted by the police or in prison.
Lu Xuesi paused for a moment, then nodded: "Thank you, Mr. Fugui."
Then he left with four cans of milk powder and a small generator. Five minutes later, Gou Fugui received a message from Lu Xuesi:
Thank you again! The generator has started the air conditioner, and the baby has finished her formula and fallen asleep. This is the first time in three days she's slept so soundly.
Gou Fugui looked at the adorable, fair-skinned little dumpling in the photo that had been sent to his phone and smiled softly.
Xie Tianlang's sharp features softened as he looked at the photo. He had gathered enough information online, and his expression was solemn.
"The day before yesterday, global temperatures rose in stages, with many parts of the world experiencing extreme heat exceeding 70 degrees Celsius. Many people have died from the heat in countries near the equator, and the melting of icebergs at the North and South Poles has been greatly accelerated due to the week's sustained high temperatures, leading to rising sea levels and some damage to the ecosystem."
"Due to the high temperatures, the power supply in Central Plains Province is far beyond its capacity. Power rationing started the night before last, but the situation doesn't look good."
"Currently, only a few special supply points in the entire city of Chang are still selling food. However, this morning, a violent incident occurred at one of the supply points, where people scrambled to grab food due to a dispute over purchasing. It is likely that there will be no food supply points tomorrow."
"The situation globally is very bad right now."
After saying that, Xie Tianlang paused for a moment and then said, "I estimate that the government will call everyone to take refuge tonight, or at the latest tomorrow."
With most buildings uninhabitable due to heat, food shortages, and power shortages, gathering everyone together for centralized protection and supplies is probably the best solution.
"Moreover, most shelters should be located in underground air-raid shelters. Compared to the excessively hot temperatures above ground, the temperature in air-raid shelters is naturally lower, making them more suitable for survival in the current environment."
Almost the instant Xie Tianlang finished stating his judgment, Gou Fugui's phone received a system message notification.
Then, as expected, he saw the response from the upper echelons of Washington State to the continuously rising temperatures—
Greetings to all people of Washington State. Due to a week of abnormally high temperatures, Washington State and the world have suffered from uncontrollable heat disasters, with related industries such as power, communications, machinery construction, commerce and agriculture all suffering varying degrees of damage.
In order to better address this heatwave disaster, the Washington State government has decided to enter an emergency heatwave evacuation period, opening underground heatwave shelters in various provinces and cities to provide concentrated and effective assistance to the people in overcoming this disaster.
All Washington State residents are advised to prepare to go to the nearby underground high-temperature shelters early tomorrow morning or evening. We will provide sufficient water, food, and electricity.
Although disaster has struck, as long as the people of Washington State unite as one, we will surely overcome this disaster and have a bright future!
Gou Fugui looked at this message and soon received a second notification on his phone about the location of an underground high-temperature shelter in Changshi City, Central Plains Province.
The nearest underground high-temperature shelter to them in Changshi was actually located beneath the People's Square in the city center.
"Go to the shelter?" Xie Tianlang asked, holding a shovel.
Groundhog Fugui thought for a moment, nodded and then shook his head: "Tomorrow we'll go pick up Xiao San first, and then go to the shelter to check on the situation."
"If the shelter has sufficient resources and good defense and control capabilities, it's fine to stay there temporarily."
"What if the shelters are also chaotic?"
Fugui the groundhog raised his eyebrows and looked at his sharp claws: "Then Dad will have to dig a shelter himself."
Every groundhog has its own underground kingdom, and this wealthy groundhog certainly deserves its own domain!
Perhaps he was destined to become the underground king, Rat Fugui, in this world!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
