Chapter 210 Extreme Cooling 6
Xia Xiaoman doesn't like crowded places, especially when there are strangers around.
"No, it's so cold, I'm too lazy to move."
Wang Shijin didn't force her. "It's okay if you don't want to go. I'll ask Sun Haiyun to go with us later. And Fu Baiwei, I don't know how that girl is doing now. Aunt Xing has been worried since she knew that she broke up with Sun Haiyun."
"I haven't seen her for a long time. The last time I saw her, she was catching steel-toothed rabbits with others."
Hearing Xia Xiaoman's words, Wang Shijin frowned, "The method that Hong Shuangyan and the others came up with to catch the steel-toothed rabbit is too bloody. If this continues for a long time... it will definitely make you mentally unhealthy."
Xia Xiaoman smiled and said, "Who has a healthy mind nowadays? Every day, you stay in a sewer where you can't even stand up straight, and you are only a hair's breadth away from your neighbors. You are forced to accept all kinds of negative emotions all day long. Do you think there are still mentally healthy people in this world?"
Wang Shijin sighed heavily when he heard this, "We went to the capital this time and visited the underground city that is being built in the capital."
"The people in the capital may have received the news in advance. They started digging the underground city two years ago, when the natural disaster just happened."
"They dug out a huge space at a depth of 50 meters underground, using a fully reinforced steel structure to support the ground and walls. The total area is more than 10 million square meters and is expected to accommodate more than 1.5 million people..."
The space is more than 40 meters high. Once the main structure is built and the ground's load-bearing capacity is measured, we can determine how high the highest floor of the underground city can be built.
If the bearing capacity can meet their expected standards, the underground city will have no problem accommodating two million people.
"The construction engineer who went with us to the capital has already copied the construction blueprints from there. Once we have enough construction materials, we can start building the underground city in the floating city."
"After the underground city is built, we won't have to live in the sewers in such a miserable way anymore."
Hearing Wang Shijin's words, Xia Xiaoman felt that he was a little optimistic. "Our Fucheng had a population of more than 10 million before the natural disaster. Excluding those who died in various natural disasters and those who left Fucheng and returned to their hometowns after the flood, there were at least 5 to 6 million people."
"With so many people, even if the floating city replicates the capital's underground city on a one-to-one basis, it would be difficult for everyone to live comfortably. The most ideal result would be to have more than a dozen people living in one room, with everyone sleeping on a large bunk bed."
"That won't happen." Wang Shijin said with a smile, "The problem of the underground city not being big enough has long been considered by the capital."
"It's not that they don't want to build a bigger underground city, but if the underground city is expanded, it will be difficult to maintain the balance between the ground and the underground. They are worried that the ground will sink due to the expansion of the underground city."
"The underground city they are currently researching can prevent the ground from collapsing and make the underground city strong and not be squeezed by the ground. Even if there is an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, the underground city can still be stable and solid."
"After this underground city is built, they will choose another suitable place to build a new underground city. They will also dig a passage between the two underground cities so that the two underground cities can be connected together."
"If the floating city has a large population, we might also build two or three underground cities."
Xia Xiaoman frowned, "If that's the case, how much steel would it take to build an underground city?"
Wang Shijin shook his head slowly, "I don't know. This is what the higher-ups are worried about right now."
It was not just the floating city that wanted to build an underground city, other cities also wanted to build one. Their floating city was not an important city like the capital, so if they really produced steel bars, they would first keep them in their own city, and then sell them to whoever offered the highest price.
The only material Fucheng could offer was the steel-toothed rabbit. But the steel-toothed rabbit was not only found in Fucheng, but also in the surrounding southern cities.
"After a while, the higher-ups may send people out to buy steel. But I've been sent out once, so even if they need to go out to buy steel, it probably won't be my turn."
Xia Xiaoman smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous. What if you get chosen again?"
Wang Shijin glared at her and said, "I won't be so unlucky. I won't talk to you anymore. It's going to take a long time. I have to go find Sun Haiyun and the others. Are you really not going to spend the New Year with me? The subway station is much cleaner than the sewers, and the people there are not bad, including many soldiers with eight-pack abs."
Xia Xiaoman shook her head like a rattle. "No, no, there aren't many people I know, why would I go there? And if I go out, Maodan will have to follow me. If someone finds out about Maodan's existence, how can I live a peaceful life?"
"Okay! I'll be leaving first. If you need me help in the future, just go to Jiayang Square subway station to find Aunt Xing, and she will help you get through."
Xia Xiaoman responded, put on her coat and saw Wang Shijin out.
…
After the team that went north to the capital returned, the floating city that had been silent for a long time finally took action, and the newly recruited soldiers also received their respective tasks.
Although the steel bars for building the underground city have not arrived yet, they need to select the location for building the underground city in advance and detect whether the underground structure is suitable for building the city.
The underground structure of each city is different. It is impossible for the floating city to copy the architectural structure of the capital's underground city. It is necessary to modify and innovate it based on the blueprint of the capital's underground city and combined with the underground structure of the floating city.
Building an underground city is a huge project, which is related to the future living environment and safety of all residents of the floating city. They need to accurately calculate the position of each steel bar to build the most solid underground city.
In addition to being busy building the underground city, the authorities also have to expand the air-raid shelters to grow food.
The eternal night of extreme cold lasted for more than half a year. Many survivors had already eaten up the remaining food they had stored. Every day, there were at least 800 people coming to the rescue station for help.
Some people who don't want to survive in a rescue station will take the risk of catching steel-toothed rabbits and fill their stomachs with steel-toothed rabbit meat.
But the weather was extremely cold, and without enough warm clothing and a breathing mask, going out hunting would be tantamount to seeking death. Therefore, only half of the people in the floating city could truly support themselves.
Among these two half, half are official or military personnel.
So many people need official assistance, but the government has limited supplies and can only try to produce more food.
The main purpose of this trip to the capital is to replicate the blueprint of the capital's underground city. The secondary purpose is to communicate with the convoys from various cities and learn about each other's effective policies when facing disasters. At the same time, they will also exchange drought-resistant crops that have been researched by each other.
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