"That pipe worked fine last year when the heating was turned on so late, how come it froze and burst this year?"
"Last year, the temperature dropped gradually, and it was still at the critical point before the heating was turned on. But this year, the temperature dropped suddenly, and the pipes froze and burst without any preparation."
"What's the situation over there now?" Chief Li asked.
"The local security forces are maintaining order, and those with connections have already moved south. Those who remained in the area used to have air conditioning to keep them warm, but as you know, there have been widespread power outages these past two days, and those who are not in good health have already caught colds and been hospitalized."
"If it weren't for the fact that the houses in our Qinghua Kingdom have such good insulation during construction, and that everyone has plenty of blankets and coal stoves, people might really freeze to death."
After finishing his sentence, the expert added, "However, there are quite a few cases of carbon monoxide poisoning."
"Has the heating company estimated when the pipes can be repaired and heating can be restored?"
"Given the current situation, it's estimated that the delivery won't be possible this year."
On the one hand, there are too many cracked parts, both indoors and outdoors, and they are scattered, with many small cracks that are not easy to detect.
On the other hand, temperatures in northern cities are too low, making pipe replacement difficult. Heating cannot be provided until the inspection is completed, and the heating department is also worried about secondary freezing and cracking.
General Li sighed, "If all else fails, let's relocate the whole thing first and get through this winter first."
The bigwig nodded. "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
And so, fleeing North Harbin and Simon became the official operation.
However, Qinghe Alliance still has a lot of work to do; they can't just leave and abandon several cities.
After finishing this question, General Li looked at Dean Xu and asked, "Old Xu, the sunrise and sunset times are unusual. Does the research institute have any explanation?"
Dean Xu hesitated for a moment, then, after being glared at by Chief Alliance Officer Li, said with difficulty, "It's just a guess, but there's no evidence."
"Tell me about it?"
"We suspect that the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn have shifted southward as a whole."
The entire conference room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a heated discussion, all revolving around the same theme: How could this be!
But if it's not for this reason, how do you explain the unusual sunrise and sunset times?
Although it doesn't sound very plausible, it at least explains the current anomaly.
"What caused this, and what will be the consequences?" Chief Li asked.
"I don't know. I've never experienced this before. It's all just speculation. There's no scientific basis, no theory, and no data to support it."
Li Zongmengguan was troubled. "How are we supposed to announce this? We can't just tell everyone that this is just a guess from the research institute!"
A bigwig said weakly, "Actually, we didn't give everyone a definite reason when we announced the information before."
“Yes, let’s just say it straight. We’ve been through so much, so I’m sure everyone knows what’s going on. As long as Qinghe Alliance can lead everyone to survive, no one will dwell on what exactly happened,” another bigwig added.
General Li nodded. "Our capabilities are limited, so this is the only way we can do it."
Just then, the conference room lights came on, and the bigwigs present exclaimed in surprise, "The power's back on!"
That's right. Even in the capital, even at the headquarters of the Qinghe Alliance, there has been no electricity for the past few days. When the big shots attend meetings, they all wrap themselves up like balls and take out tissues to blow their noses from time to time.
Now that the power's back on, they finally don't have to bundle up so much. It's just that this cold probably won't get better anytime soon.
Five minutes after the call, there was a knock on the conference room door.
"General Li, the capital city has fully restored its power supply. So far, 30% of the cities in Qinghua Kingdom have completed fault diagnosis and can restore power."
"The remaining 70% will likely take another week to complete the investigation," the young man reported, looking at the report in his hand.
After listening, General Li nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work. While restoring power as soon as possible, please also pay attention to the personal safety of the maintenance personnel."
The young man smiled and nodded, then left the meeting room.
Seeing that no one was talking about serious matters, General Li asked, "Since there are no more problems, shall we disperse?"
One of the bigwigs glanced at General Li, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Do you have any roasted sweet potatoes?"
"What?" Chief Li thought he was hallucinating.
Now that he had asked, the big shot didn't mince words. "The sweet potatoes I ate at your place last year were delicious. I heard you've lit your stove again. I wonder if I'll have the honor of tasting some this year?"
Li Zongmengguan... I really want to give him the cold shoulder. What kind of gluttons have he raised? They even dare to cheat him, the top leader!
However, he still glanced at his secretary, and seeing her nod, he said, "Then let's go to my office."
Li Zongmengguan thought that this was the only one with such thick skin, but when he saw everyone rushing into his office, he realized that he might have been a bit naive.
"Hey, what a shameless bunch," Li Zongmengguan laughed and cursed.
However, he also joined in and said, "Don't finish it all, leave some for me."
----------
Power was not restored to Hai City until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan were sitting in the office when they heard the overhead light suddenly turn on with a bang.
It seems there was a power outage earlier and they forgot to turn off the switch.
Yu Shui got up, turned off the light, picked up the remote, turned on the air conditioner, and set it to 30°C.
Upon seeing this, Shen Yanming quickly reminded him, "Turn the temperature down a bit; sudden changes in temperature can easily cause a cold."
"Okay!" Yu Shui obediently adjusted the temperature to 20℃. Although it wasn't high, at least the room wasn't cold anymore.
My colleagues in the office were all very happy because they were finally free from the cold, and seeing the computer restarted felt really good!
Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan quickly went online to check the news reports from Qinghua Kingdom over the past two days, but just like the previous days, they were all trivial matters.
“This is a bit unusual. Why is no one speaking up?” Bi Qiaoan asked.
"Let's wait a bit longer; maybe the authorities are preparing a press conference."
"Maybe!"
The two browsed the internet for another hour or so before it got dark.
The office lights were not on because everyone had decided to leave work after discussing it.
The snow has stopped in Haishi, but the wind has picked up.
There were almost no pedestrians on the road, because a gust of wind would blow people away. Even though Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan were sitting in the car, they could feel the push or resistance from the wind.
Of course, there was also the sound of it whizzing by.
After a nerve-wracking journey, Bi Qiaoan finally made it back downstairs. Looking at the lit elevator, she was almost moved to tears.
She couldn't wait to press the door open button, but Shen Yanming pulled her back and led her towards the stairwell.
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