[Homeowners' Chat Group]
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: Does anyone have a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water (a traditional Chinese medicine for heatstroke)? My child has heatstroke. Thank you!
Chen Fang from Building 8: Didn't the government's relief kits include Huoxiang Zhengqi Water? Have you used it all up?
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: Oh dear, I was too late last time and didn't get it.
Zou Xiaoyu from Building 6: I haven't received it after three attempts. I think you didn't bother to get it because you found queuing too troublesome.
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: Anyone here? Stop making things up. The kid's upset. Anyone in Building 5 willing to share? I'll give it back to you next time I get it.
Zou Xiaoyu from Building 6: Who knows when the next time will be? Do you really want to pay for it? It's 50 yuan a small bottle outside. I think you're trying to get something for nothing, aren't you?
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: Hey, how can you talk like that, woman?
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: 702, don't you have one? My child got heatstroke because your kids called him out to play.
Lin's mother from Building 5: What does this have to do with our family? Nobody forced your child to go out and play. So many kids are having fun outside, how come your family is the only one suffering from heatstroke?
Shu Qilan from Building 8: I really can't stand it anymore. Don't you have any empathy? The child has heatstroke. Not only do you not help, but you're also making sarcastic remarks.
Shu Qilan from Building 8: Brother Xu, if the child is really uncomfortable, please take him to the hospital for a checkup. In this hot weather, a fever can easily damage his brain.
Xu Zhengguo from Building 5: Who are you? You're cursing my child!
Shu Qilan from Building 8: That's not what I meant. How could you misinterpret what I said? <(｀^′)＞
...
Xia Ning shuddered when she saw Shu Qilan's emoticons; she finally got goosebumps.
Shu Qilan considered herself a kind and beautiful protagonist, and if she had any Huoxiang Zhengqi Water on hand, she would definitely share it. Unfortunately, she also found it troublesome and did not take the supply pack.
Finally, the building manager of Building 5 couldn't bear to see them like this and lent them some heatstroke medicine.
After all, if adults are unreliable, it's the children who suffer.
After watching the commotion, Xia Ning went back to her work and decided not to take her sister to the underground parking garage.
It's a mess there, so it's more convenient for one person. The dog can stay home and guard the house.
When Xia Ning actually went to the garage, she was surprised to find that everyone was very cooperative and no one caused trouble.
To be precise, there are one or two people who want to act like scoundrels, but the surrounding residents nip them in the bud without the property management or security even needing to intervene.
The property management company has come up with a tactic: if someone causes trouble, they will publicly criticize that person's building in the collective owners' group chat.
Instead, they erected notice boards at the entrance of the residential complex and in front of the underground parking garage, announcing the monthly outstanding apartment buildings.
Xia Ning thought to herself, "Isn't this just like dormitory management in universities, where outstanding dormitories are evaluated and those that don't perform well are penalized and publicly criticized?"
The method is rather naive, but it works, more so than the building manager's allowances.
It must be said that the Chinese people have a very high sense of collective honor.
In a stable and civilized society, overemphasizing the collective while ignoring individual feelings may be considered outdated thinking. At least when Xia Ning was in school, she hated it when teachers criticized students by saying, "Because of you alone, everyone's time was wasted." She didn't think that a classmate could become the sinner of the whole class just because of a few words, nor did she think that the teacher could represent the other students to exert pressure.
However, in times of frequent disasters, only by uniting can we survive.
Foreign countries that pride themselves on freedom probably cannot understand this system of collective punishment. However, it was through the unity of the people that China was able to go from millet and rifles to airplanes and artillery in just a few decades.
The power of the masses is great.
The older residents, in particular, took it very seriously, and their catchphrase became: "Whoever embarrasses our building, I'll turn against them."
Xia Ning also noticed a small trading area had appeared in the garage. She didn't know who started it, but everyone started setting up secondhand stalls.
Because of the power outage, QR code payments are no longer working, so cash is circulating again, and both parties can exchange goods if they wish.
The property management of the residential area turns a blind eye to this small trading area, only putting up a sign in front of the stalls that reads, "Once you leave the stall, we will not be responsible for anything."
Xia Ning took a stroll through the flea market and found that most of the vendors were residents of the community who wanted to exchange their unused items for daily necessities, milk powder, summer cooling supplies, and so on.
The items on display were a mixed bag: diapers, toys, old books, glasses, bicycles, insecticides...
Xia Ning saw a stall with a lot of shampoo and shower gel, which looked like a good deal, but when she opened it and smelled it, it had a sour and foul odor.
In this weather, not only will food spoil easily, but even lotions can go bad in no time.
Xia Ning pinched her nose and returned the shower gel, but the shop owner was unhappy about it.
"You've already opened it, if you don't buy it, who am I supposed to sell it to?"
Xia Ning wasn't one to back down either, and immediately retorted loudly, "You're so sour! If you didn't know, fine, but even if you did, you still have the nerve to force me to buy?"
The stall owner felt guilty for a moment, then retorted, "Mine is lemon flavored, of course it's sour."
Xia Ning laughed: "Okay, this is lemon-flavored yogurt drink, I'll trade you lemon-flavored yogurt meat. If you dare to eat it, I dare to use it. Shall we trade?"
The stall owner stood up: "What do you mean?!"
"What do I mean?" Xia Ning glanced sideways. "Which unit are you in?"
Upon hearing this, the stall owner instinctively covered his sign. Their building manager was the leader of the square-dancing aunties, and his voice carried immense weight. If he dared to embarrass the building, he would be drowned in the spittle of the aunties, and his mother would be the first to punish him.
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