Shen Yanming took out his key to open the door and, in the dim light, saw his wife asleep on the sofa.
He closed the door quietly, but the slight noise of opening it still woke up Bi Qiaoan, who was not sleeping soundly.
"You're back!" Bi Qiaoan got up groggily.
"Hmm, why aren't you asleep yet?" Shen Yanming put the umbrella and flashlight on the cabinet by the door, took off his down jacket, and put the ice cubes in his pocket into his spatial storage.
He wasn't sure if the ice cubes would sublimate in space, so he put most of them into an empty oil drum, leaving only two or three outside.
Then he couldn't help but laugh at himself. Since the supplies in the storage area wouldn't change, this ice block probably wouldn't change either. Why was he suddenly being so cautious?
Perhaps it's because they are extraterrestrial objects that have never been seen before?
Shen Yanming briefly recounted what had happened tonight to Bi Qiaoan, then took out one of the ice cubes and handed it to Bi Qiaoan, saying, "Put it in the planting area and see if there are any changes."
In the end, the thought came back to energy rain, hoping that these unusual ice lumps would bring them a surprise.
As a result, the ice block disappeared, and the patch of grass where it was placed remained unchanged except for some frost damage.
The couple couldn't say whether they were disappointed or not, after all, such a magical object as the energy rain was something that could only be encountered by chance.
"Hey, didn't we say we were going out to clear the snow? You should go back to your bedroom and get some sleep."
Shen Yanming nodded and pulled his wife back to the bedroom: "I don't know when I'll be back. Take good care of yourself at home and don't worry about me."
Bi Qiaoan paused for a moment before saying, "I want to go out and pick up ice. Don't worry, I won't go far. I'll just pick it up near the guard post. I won't stay long. I'll just fill a bag and then go home to rest for half an hour or an hour. It won't affect my health."
To be honest, Shen Yanming didn't want his wife to go out and suffer, but he also knew that she wasn't someone who would easily compromise.
Having no other choice, I had to resort to my trump card: "What about the baby?"
Bi Qiaoan hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll wait until they fall asleep before going out. When they're awake, I'll stay home with them."
Shen Yanming tightened his grip on Bi Qiaoan's arms. "Let's put the two kids in the space when we go out, otherwise I won't feel at ease. Don't worry about them remembering; An'an and Nuannuan are still young, we have plenty of time to teach them." Or, let them forget.
“Okay!” Bi Qiaoan nodded.
Shen Yanming sighed softly, "To be honest, I really don't want you to go out and suffer. It's fine as long as I'm out there alone."
Bi Qiaoan smiled and said, "I'm just being greedy. I want to stock up on more ice cubes before everyone else takes any action."
"It's still uncertain whether it has any value."
"Then consider it a contribution to saving the planet. After all, not many people are as fortunate as us to have the space to store large amounts of data."
"Alright, whatever makes you happy, but take it easy and don't tire yourself out or get cold."
Bi Qiaoan looked up at Shen Yanming: "Shouldn't I be the one saying this to you? You're traveling with the main group, so you must take good care of yourself. I'm traveling alone and have more freedom, so I definitely won't mistreat myself."
Shen Yanming smiled and kissed the corner of her lips: "Okay, I understand, go to sleep."
Bi Qiaoan obediently closed her eyes, but opened them again less than two minutes later: "Honey, take a bag of ginger slices with you on your mission tomorrow. If there's a support team with you, have them make ginger soup. If not, just keep a slice of ginger in your mouth."
Shen Yanming nodded: "Okay. If you don't want to go out, just prepare some warming medicine and frostbite cream at home. The guards who go out on missions might need them."
After all, it's minus forty or fifty degrees Celsius outside.
"Okay, I understand," Bi Qiaoan said in a muffled tone.
The two quickly fell asleep, but not long after, they heard the guards assembling.
Shen Yanming woke up with a start, patted his wife to let her go back to sleep, then got up, ate something quickly, changed his clothes, packed his gear, and went out.
The snow in the sky never stopped, along with the ice floes.
Overnight, the snow had grown to a depth of fifty or sixty centimeters. Shen Yanming tightened his trouser legs and trudged through the snow toward the playground.
The big shots I saw in the early hours of the morning were all there, standing at the front of the line with dark circles under their eyes.
Shen Yanming found his spot and stood in it, and then the team was assigned a snow-clearing area.
These self-taught individuals were assigned to the area closest to the guard team. The higher-ups were worried they wouldn't be able to hold out, might freeze or something. So, they were placed here because being close meant they could be rescued promptly.
In addition, each guard on a mission was issued a helmet and instructed to activate their smart bracelet to ensure the safety of the team members to the greatest extent possible.
"Our task this time is not only to clear the snow from the main roads in the city, but also to collect the ice that has fallen from the sky. If the public asks questions, we must explain the situation clearly and ask them to join us so that we can control the temperature drop in the shortest possible time."
"I hope you will protect yourselves while completing your mission. If you encounter anyone in need, please lend a helping hand," said Wen Mengguan at the head of the group.
"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.
"Now, each team leader, take your team and equipment and set off."
Before setting off, Shen Yanming handed the ginger slices from his backpack to Li Gangtie. Li Gangtie accepted them with a smile, then turned around and ran to the logistics department.
Ginger soup and rice porridge have been simmering there all day, just so that every guard who comes back to rest can have something hot to eat and relieve the chill in their body.
Shen Yanming waited for Li Gangtie to return before following the main group toward the mission location.
On the way, Li Gangtie asked Shen Yanming, "How come you have so many slices of ginger?"
“We used to grow a lot of them, but they were all dried out. They came in very handy when we received people from North Harbin two years ago,” Shen Yanming answered without any hesitation.
Li Gangtie nodded and didn't pursue the matter further.
Once outside the guard post, everyone started moving.
Even though we've entered the age of technological civilization, we still resort to the most primitive methods of clearing snow.
There's no other way; they have to consider environmental issues. That thing is already so fragile it can't withstand any further changes.
They dared not use any de-icing agents or salt. They could only rely on snowplows to clear the way in front, while they worked behind with shovels.
The thickness of the snow somewhat affected their speed. But no one complained of being tired; they all pushed the snow off the road little by little to the sides.
Then, we quickly dug out the ice lumps from the snow.
Of course, there's a technique to this sorting. But no matter how skillful they are, ice lumps keep falling from the sky. Even with a large group, they can't collect them all.
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