The following day, Chen Yu went to various residential communities in Haidu to give speeches and promote his work, as he did every day.
The extreme cold apocalypse has been here for a year now. In addition, Haidu was a special case before. Although Zhou Xuemin controlled Haidu, he basically did not distribute food to the people below, which made them very dissatisfied. His ability to rule Haidu was entirely based on force and high-pressure policies.
In order to survive, the survivors of Haidu had to make do with what they could. While being forced to accept Zhou Xuemin's harsh rule, they also supported each other and formed many small groups based on their respective neighborhoods and work units.
In particular, some closed-off small groups are extremely resistant to the government and other people outside the group. They basically never contact the outside world and live their own lives. As long as others don't provoke them, they don't provoke others either.
It was precisely because of this that Zhou Xuemin tacitly accepted their existence. After all, these people neither cried nor made a fuss; they neither asked him for food nor caused any trouble. To him, they were simply a worry-free and effortless presence.
Although Zhou Xuemin has fallen, these small groups remain highly vigilant and isolated due to their long-standing distrust of the government.
They remain unwilling to step out of their small circle, instead continuing to be self-sufficient within their own territory.
Now that the Haidu branch base has been established, Chen Yu naturally will not allow this situation to continue.
He knew that to rebuild Haidu and enable all people to live and work in peace and contentment on this land, it was necessary to break down the barriers between these small groups and promote communication and cooperation among them.
After all, how much food can a neighborhood store? If they don't come out, death is all that awaits them.
Under the guidance of the staff at Tianyu Base, most communities have emerged from their self-isolation and begun to actively integrate into the big city. Those who meet the criteria for Tianyu Base membership are enthusiastically signing up to join.
However, there are still a few stubborn neighborhoods that maintain their isolated stance and remain deeply wary of the outside world.
Over the past few days, Chen Yu has been going door-to-door to do ideological work with these communities.
Today, he is going to a residential community called "Happy Sunshine".
“Mr. Chen, the situation in ‘Happy Sunshine’ is indeed quite complicated. Located in a relatively remote area of Haidu, it was originally a residential area for the families of a food processing plant. In the early stages of the extreme cold disaster, they took control of the food processing plant, and the plant’s inventory is enough to feed them for several years. Therefore, they don’t have a food crisis at all. On the contrary, because they have a large amount of supplies, they are extremely wary and hostile to outsiders.” On the sled, a middle-aged woman explained the current situation of the “Happy Sunshine” community to Chen Yu, her eyes revealing helplessness and worry about the current state of the community.
This person's name is "Gao Jie," and he is the community director of the community where the "Happy Sunshine" residential area is located.
Chen Yu nodded slightly and said, "I understand. Director Gao, could you please tell me about the current situation of the leader of the 'Happy Sunshine' community?"
Gao Jie sighed and continued, "'Happy Sunshine' is now led by Li Jiandong. Before the natural disaster, he was the factory manager of that food processing plant. I had dealt with him many times before, and he seemed like a very open-minded person who treated the workers well. But since the extreme cold disaster struck, he... well, you'll understand what happened when you get to their community."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yu frowned slightly, but did not press the matter further.
He understood that everyone's transformation had complex reasons, especially in such extreme circumstances, where the multifaceted nature of humanity was amplified. He believed that only by understanding things firsthand could he find the key to solving the problem.
Soon, Chen Yu and his group arrived at the "Happy Sunshine" residential community.
This is an old residential area with a strong sense of history. It is surrounded by high walls, and now only a small iron gate remains as a passageway to the outside. At this time, the small gate is firmly locked with a huge chain, and there are people guarding it from the inside.
It is difficult for both outsiders and residents to get through these defenses to enter and exit the community.
However, since he had already informed the person in charge of the community beforehand, Chen Yu did not encounter much obstruction at the entrance of the community.
As the heavy iron gate slowly opened, Chen Yu and his group entered the community.
As soon as I entered the residential area, I heard a rather inflammatory voice coming from the balcony of a residential building. It was a middle-aged man who was giving a loud speech to a group of residents downstairs.
"Dear family members, as residents of 'Happy Sunshine,' compared to those outside, each of you is actually wealthy. You not only earn food through work, but because we are a shared community, you own the land, buildings, and the Happy Food Processing Plant—all of these are your resources, and you enjoy the benefits they bring. Therefore, every resident of 'Happy Sunshine' is wealthy. In the face of this extreme cold and natural disaster, those outside are selfish and self-serving, barely surviving on the meager food they have at home, their lives not even guaranteed, and countless people are starving and freezing to death every day."
"Professor Zhang, I heard that a survivor base called 'Tianyu Base' has been established outside. As long as you can join Tianyu Base, you will have enough food every day and never have to worry about food again. If you are good enough, you can be selected to be transferred to the headquarters of Tianyu Base and enjoy more advanced medical resources and a safe living environment. Is this true?"
"Rumors, absolutely rumors! Can we believe what outsiders say? They've fabricated this rumor just to undermine our 'Happy Sunshine' community and take away our food!"
"Yes, we won't fall for it. We don't care what happens outside. We'll live our own lives and have nothing to do with them!"
"But the situation in our community is not optimistic either. Less than half of the people are still alive now compared to before the natural disaster."
"Hehe, my friend, do you know what the situation is like outside? Countless people are starving and freezing to death outside every day. These days, it's considered good if one out of 100 people can survive. On the other hand, so many people in our community have survived. You're living a life of luxury without realizing it!"
"Professor Zhang is right. For the future of our community, we must stand firm in our beliefs and defend our community's right to independence to the death!"
"We will defend our right to independence to the death and drive out the invaders!" the crowd echoed.
Seeing this, Chen Yu frowned, pointed at the middle-aged man on the high-rise balcony, and asked Gao Jie beside him, "Who is that person?"
Gao Jie smiled wryly: "This man's name is 'Zhang Wei.' He was supposedly a professor, so the residents of the community trust him quite a bit. I think the reason why the residents of this community are so conservative is largely due to him."
“Zhang Wei?” Chen Yu raised an eyebrow and muttered, “Interesting.”
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