"Alright, Uncle Zheng, let's go inside first."
The group drove to the main gate, where Zheng Ming used 40 jin of red wine to get ID cards for his parents. Led by staff, they arrived at the large dormitory near the gate.
"Men on the left, women on the right. You're responsible for your own food and water. There's a toilet in the back. Parking is across the street; you can pick up your car with your ID card. You get one jin (500g) of grain per day, which is guarded by staff. You can also park in your own space, but we're not responsible for anything that gets stolen. No fighting, no damaging public property. If you don't continue paying grain after three days, you'll have to leave. If you continue living in the communal sleeping quarters, you'll move to the long-term dormitory across the street, where you'll receive 5 jin (2.5kg) of grain or other equivalent goods per month..."
Their vehicle was full of supplies, so they couldn't just park it anywhere. They quickly asked the staff to lead them to a parking lot, and the staff left after that.
Since they didn't plan to stay long, the group only took out bedding and other items, leaving the rest of their belongings in the car. Then, the men and women went to their respective accommodations.
Upon entering the women's dormitory, Wang Jing immediately spotted Dr. Dai and Xiang Qing lying nearby.
"Dr. Dai, Xiao Qingqing! I was just wondering if I'd ever run into you!" Wang Jing exclaimed excitedly.
"Jingjing, Xu Lin, you're both here!"
"Sister Lin, Sister Jing!" Xiang Qing called out, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"What time is it and you're still making such a racket? Can't a person get any sleep?!" The voices of a few people greeting each other drew complaints from the rest of the dormitory.
"It's getting late, let's settle in first and catch up tomorrow," Xu Lin said, ruffling Xiang Qing's hair.
After settling in, the group slept quietly, but the sounds of snoring and the pungent smell of sweat filled the air.
The next day, people got up and started moving around before dawn. Xu Lin also woke up. She slept quite well that night. Compared to sleeping among piles of dead bodies in her previous life, the stench of sweat and the grinding of teeth and snoring were nothing.
Wang Jing and Aunt Ning clearly hadn't slept well, with heavy dark circles under their eyes. Doctor Dai and Xiang Qing also woke up.
"I'll take you to wash up, but you'll have to bring your own water and toiletries."
Everyone filled a cup of water and a small basin with water from their own buckets, and followed Dr. Dai with toothpaste, toothbrushes, and towels.
Xu Lin noticed that most people didn't wash up; they went straight out the door after getting up or lay in bed in a daze. The very few who did wash up only took a little water, indicating that water was still relatively scarce.
"Each person at the base receives 500 ml of clean water and about 2 liters of less clean water per day, or you can buy your own water," Dr. Dai explained as he noticed Xu Lin staring at everyone's water basins.
“Dr. Dai, why are you telling him so much? He’s so capable that he looks down on us because we’re not. He wants to make it big on his own!” Wang Jing said.
"What's wrong?" Dr. Dai stopped and asked.
"Dr. Dai, right? It's nothing. It's just that Xiao Xu and Xiao Zhou don't plan to team up with us anymore, and Jingjing is getting stubborn about it," Aunt Ning explained.
"Oh, all good things must come to an end. I wish you all the best from now on," said Dr. Dai.
"Dr. Dai, you're saying the same thing? Have you all forgotten that we fought side by side back then?" Wang Jing's eyes were red.
"Dr. Dai, you go ahead first, we'll come find you in a bit," Aunt Ning said.
Xu Lin continued walking with Dr. Dai and Xiang Qing, and they ran into Zhou Pin and his group. They greeted each other and walked together.
The washing area is actually the kind of water taps built of cement in the 1960s and 70s, except that there is no water in the taps now, so everyone stands in front of the sink to wash up.
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