Chapter 135: Cleaning the Sewers
Xia Xiaoman looked at the unshaven man holding the sign in front of him, "Are you Zhou Wenyu?"
The other person nodded and looked at her work badge. "Xia Xiaoman, right? Line up at the back and leave when everyone is gathered."
Cleaning the sewer is not a matter of just rushing in and cleaning wherever you see dirt. Each sewer has different entrances and exits, and leads in different directions.
The above regulations stipulate that twenty people form a group, five groups form a large team, and 10 teams are responsible for one area.
Xia Xiaoman was lucky. Her team was cleaning the sewers from inside the community, and their group was assigned to the entrance of the community.
The manhole covers had long since disappeared, leaving only a wooden board on top. Some of the manholes didn’t even have a board, and the mud inside was so compacted that it looked like a road surface.
Zhou Wenyu probably saw that Xia Xiaoman had thin arms and legs and was short, so he assigned her an easy job. She was responsible for pushing the bucket cart full of sludge into the dump truck to empty it out, and then pushing it back for her teammates to fill it up.
The team was all from Shuiyuewan, and they cooperated well, with no one trying to be cunning or to cause trouble. After working all morning, they stopped at 12 o'clock, and Zhou Wenyu took them to get lunch.
Lunch was two palm-sized brown thick cakes, each weighing half a pound and smelling quite fragrant. Xia Xiaoman took a small bite and chewed it. It had no taste, just a light salty taste, but the more he chewed, the more fragrant it became. It was quite delicious.
"Captain Zhou, what is this cake made of? It tastes pretty good."
Zhou Wenyu smiled and said, "You don't want to know."
Xia Xiaoman became even more curious when she heard this. Thinking of what Su Ran and the others had said before, someone in the indoor planting area was responsible for cutting locust heads, she asked tentatively, "Could it be made of locusts?"
Zhou Wenyu was stunned for a moment, "How do you know?"
"It's really locusts!" Xia Xiaoman couldn't help but exclaimed.
When the people around who were enjoying their meal heard this, their expressions were indescribable. For a moment, they didn't know whether they should continue eating or dig their throats to spit out what they had just eaten.
Zhou Wenyu knew he was being tricked, but he didn't care. He smiled and said, "These cookies are made from dried locust powder and flour. The locusts taste pretty good after being dried. You can eat more."
Someone nearby interjected, "Aren't locusts poisonous? If we make them into pancakes and eat them, will we be poisoned?"
Zhou Wenyu explained: "Don't worry about eating it. The poisonous parts have been removed. This bread is not poisonous. People in the army can eat it. Why can't you eat it?"
Xia Xiaoman's mouth twitched, "Is Fucheng so poor now? They have fallen to the point of eating insects."
"It's not poverty, it's thriftiness. In today's environment, who knows what will happen in the next second. Storing more food is also just in case."
Zhou Wenyu stood up and said, "Okay, now that you're full, go home and rest! Gather at the gate at 2 pm, don't be late!" After that, he strode away to report to his superior on the progress of work this morning.
…
At 1:50 p.m., Xia Xiaoman arrived at the meeting point ten minutes early.
Just as she was about to find a place to sit down and wait for Captain Zhou, there was a sudden loud bang. She was so scared that she immediately took out the axe from her waist and took a defensive posture.
Before she could figure out what was happening, there were two more loud noises. This time she could hear the source of the sound: someone was shooting.
If someone dared to fire a gun in broad daylight, it must be the army or the staff. She looked around curiously and saw that everyone was looking for the source of the gunshot like her.
After an unknown amount of time, the gunfire stopped abruptly, and Zhou Wenyu and others finally arrived.
Someone asked curiously, "Captain Zhou, did someone just shoot?"
Zhou Wenyu smiled faintly and said, "Someone took advantage of others cleaning the sewers and went to steal other people's things. He was caught by the security team and tried to escape, so the security team had to shoot him."
Not everyone will follow instructions to clean the sewers, even if they are required to do so.
Certain gang groups have long been accustomed to a free-spirited life. If they are suddenly asked to go back to being honest workers, who would be willing to do that?
It is said that one cannot hold everyone responsible. If a gang of dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people does not clean the sewers, what can the Fucheng government do to them?
It is true that the Fucheng government cannot do anything to those who do not participate in cleaning the sewers. Since they do not want the work points, the government cannot do anything about it. But these people should not steal other people's supplies while they are out cleaning the sewers.
Everyone is working hard to ensure free travel in the floating city in the future, but these scum not only don't help, they also cause more trouble. This is simply a heinous crime.
When the notice was issued to everyone to participate in cleaning the sewers, all security teams were notified that if they caught someone taking advantage of the opportunity to rob or steal, they should arrest them without hesitation. If anyone dared to resist, they could choose to shoot him or her according to the situation on the scene.
In the past, there were many people who committed theft and robbery, but most of them were sent to labor camps after being caught, and it was rarely escalated to such a serious level as execution.
But the Fucheng government seemed to want to achieve the purpose of deterrence. As long as they found a thief and he didn't behave himself after being caught, they would pull out their guns without saying a word.
Zhou Wenyu said this as a warning, telling them that it would be best for them to follow the arrangements and not think about doing anything unorthodox.
…
After cleaning the sewers for half a month, Xia Xiaoman found that the temperature seemed to be slowly dropping and the daytime hours were gradually shortening, and it did not seem like there would be eternal daylight.
The sun used to come out around 5am, but now it’s at least 6am before it starts to get brighter. The sun usually sets around 8pm, but now it’s dark before 7pm.
In addition, the haze is gradually dissipating, and now the visibility has reached more than 100 meters. It will disappear completely in a short time.
"Captain Zhou, looking at the weather, it doesn't look like there will be polar day, but rather polar night!"
Zhou Wenyu's eyes twitched. "You know a lot. Where did you get this information?"
"Haha, I overheard it." Xia Xiaoman changed the subject and said, "Since midnight day won't appear, should we stop cleaning the sewers?"
Zhou Wenyu glanced at her and said, "I haven't received any relevant notification yet, just keep working!"
Xia Xiaoman curled her lips and returned to the team to continue working hard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
