Chapter 28
"Major, Major," Tong Shu said, forcing a smile, "Do you want to sleep a little longer? I, I'll find you a thick blanket."
Having obtained the information he wanted, Wen Shaocheng saw no need to remain at the Tong family's residence any longer. He shook his head and refused, saying, "No need. I'm going back to my team. The situation is urgent, and I need to arrange work."
"Oh..." Tong Shu said, in a fit of pique, "Would you like some ginger tea?"
Wen Shaocheng was amused by her again: "No need." Then, while straightening his collar, he looked at Tong Shu meaningfully and said, "I will come to see you again."
Oh no, this time they've come directly to "find you".
Tong Shu didn't dare to imagine how much he had already guessed. Fortunately, she was always optimistic, so she comforted herself: "Forget it, since he didn't take me to the supply ship directly, there's still room for explanation! Things will work themselves out. At worst, I won't open the door for him!"
Tong Shu made up her mind and clenched her fist.
Wang Jie's clothes were a bit small on Wen Shaocheng. This was because Shu Li had made them a little bigger so that he could wear several layers under his winter clothes. However, he knew that the team should have prepared winter clothes in his size. After all, during the time he was recuperating at the Tong family's house, Wen Shaocheng had never lost contact with the team, so they must have done a lot of preparation.
"I'm leaving. Take care of yourselves." Wen Shaocheng pulled the hood of his cotton-padded jacket tighter and prepared to go out.
"Wait!" Tong Shu glanced at the thermometer hanging outside the window. It was already minus forty degrees Celsius. If Wen Shaocheng went out like this, he would definitely get frostbite.
Wen Shaocheng was puzzled, but he still stood still.
Tong Shu ran to her room, gathered a bunch of warm clothes, and came out carrying them in her arms. She then stuffed them all into Wen Shaocheng's hands.
"Put these on, it's too cold outside, your hands and feet will freeze off if you go out." Tong Shu pointed to the gloves and socks she had brought, urging Wen Shaocheng to get started.
In fact, staying in a warm indoor environment is the safest option in this situation. However, Tong Shu also understands that soldiers like Wen Shaocheng have an indelible sense of responsibility. He would never hide in a safe place and let the people outside suffer. As one of the ordinary people being protected, all she can do is to do her bit so that he can protect himself first and then go to rescue others.
Looking at these fluffy items, Wen Shaocheng felt a soft spot in his heart being gently touched. Although Tong Shu had many secrets, after spending time with her, he knew that she wasn't a bad person, and even had some naiveté. Wen Shaocheng could understand that if an ordinary person suddenly possessed abilities they had never imagined, their first instinct would be to hide them. He also knew why Tong Shu had been deliberately avoiding him, but he wasn't in a hurry. One day, Tong Shu would need his help.
Wen Shaocheng put on pink earmuffs and gloves, and Tong Shu thoughtfully gave him a pair of windproof glasses and a thick mask. Wen Shaocheng did not refuse and obediently put them on.
Thick socks are very warm, but in this kind of weather, wearing only one pair of thick socks is not actually safe. Wen Shaocheng asked Tong Shu for two plastic bags to wrap his feet before putting them into his thin spring and autumn military boots.
Actually, the temperature in Tong Shu's house wasn't that cold after the sudden drop in temperature. Wen Shaocheng had been to even colder places during his special training. He was able to wake up quickly entirely because of his keen sense of danger. When he was about to go out, he thought it was only around minus twenty degrees Celsius outside. Only after Tong Shu reminded him did he realize that it was already over minus forty degrees Celsius, and the temperature was still dropping.
After reminding Tong Shu again to take good care of her family and not to go out unnecessarily, Wen Shaocheng left the Tong family home.
The moment he stepped outside, his goggles were covered in frost due to the extreme temperature difference. Even with thick gloves on, Wen Shaocheng's fingers were still numb from the cold. He took off his goggles and rubbed off the frost. In that instant, icicles froze onto his eyelashes, looking both beautiful and eerie.
Wen Shaocheng went up to the eighth floor and climbed out of the window. The water, which used to ripple gently, had frozen into a thick layer of ice, hard and smooth.
The lifeboats, assault boats, and other vehicles moored on the water were all frozen solid into the ice, and the pontoon bridges built by the military and civilians have now become solid passageways.
Wen Shaocheng walked along the pontoon bridge to the supply ship and ran into Liu Wanqi, who was running around anxiously. Liu was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat and carrying a pot of hot water. His exposed fingers were bruised and purple, but he seemed oblivious to the pain and was still directing his team to carry out emergency rescue work.
"Old Liu!" Wen Shaocheng stepped forward and took the water bottle from his hand: "How's the team doing?"
"Major!" Liu Wanqi was overjoyed, his tense nerves collapsing instantly, and his face showing unbearable exhaustion: "We didn't do enough preparation! The temperature dropped too quickly and too suddenly! The cabin walls are too thin, and the insulation is too poor! Many comrades were so cold that they couldn't wake up!"
"Let's go! Let's go take a look!" Wen Shaocheng's expression instantly turned serious as he followed Liu Wanqi to check the situation.
At Tong Shu's home.
Everyone gradually recovered.
Tong Shu had everyone bring their blankets and clothes and gather in Grandpa Tong and Grandma Tong's room. This room was the largest, and thick quilts and blankets were laid out on the floor and bay window so that everyone could settle down.
“It’s already minus fifty degrees Celsius.” There were thermometers hanging outside every window in Tong Shu’s house. Tong Shu glanced at them and said, “I think it’s safer for everyone to stay together, and it’s also easier to take care of each other.”
"Yes, it's much warmer when there are many people huddled together, it feels more lively!" Grandma Tong nodded repeatedly while holding an electric hot pancake.
"You all stay home and don't go out unnecessarily. I'll check on the apartment building and the community later." Tong Shu observed everyone for a while, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, she decided to go out and see if there was anything she could help with.
Shu Hua grew anxious and quickly stopped her: "Why are you going outside again! It's minus forty or fifty degrees Celsius! Do you know what that means? You'll freeze to death as soon as you go out! What will your parents do if something happens to you!"
"Mom, it's okay." Tong Shu patted Shu Hua's hand: "I'm wearing thermal underwear that Auntie made. I'll put on all the necessary gear later, and I guarantee everything will be fine."
"No! It's too dangerous!" Shu Hua still disagreed.
"Mom, I'll just stay in the apartment building and keep an eye on them. We're neighbors, after all. You can't just stand by and watch them freeze to death, can you?" Tong Shu saw that Shu Hua's expression softened slightly, and shook her arm again: "Major Wen has already gone out. You see, there are always people who are doing things for us. We should do our part too."
Thinking of the young soldiers with their youthful faces, Shu Hua finally relented: "Then be careful, gloves, hat, earmuffs, snow boots... don't forget! Put them all on."
"Okay, okay! I'm all dressed properly!" Tong Shu replied with a smile. After leaving the room, she carefully checked the generator and the doors and windows again before leaving with peace of mind.
Tong Shu shivered as she stepped out of her house.
As a southerner, Tong Shu had never even experienced temperatures below minus ten degrees Celsius before. This extreme low temperature truly broadened her horizons.
Fortunately, the warm clothing Shuli made for her family used the "magical fabric" she had previously rewarded. It looked thin and light, but it actually generated a slight amount of heat and was excellent at blocking wind and cold. Tong Shu pulled her mask up to cover the parts that had been accidentally exposed and immediately felt much warmer.
Tong Shu took out two large pots of ginger tea from her backpack and began knocking on each door.
It was Zhang Ming's girlfriend who opened the door to room 1203. The girl, wrapped in a thick blanket, shivered as she poked her head out of the door. When she saw that it was Tong Shu, she quickly welcomed her inside.
"Sister Chen's daughter just fainted from the cold! Zhang Ming gave her a slice of ginger, but she hasn't woken up yet."
Tong Shu hurriedly entered the room, handed a pot of ginger tea to Zhang Ming's girlfriend, and told her to quickly find a cup to feed the little girl.
Chen Fenfang and Zhang Ming had already wrapped the little girl up. Chen Fenfang had tears in her eyes as she called out her daughter's nickname and kept rubbing her daughter's body with her hands.
Tong Shu stepped forward, took out a few hand warmers from her pocket, peeled off the adhesive backing, carefully opened a corner of the blanket, and put the hand warmers inside. At this moment, Zhang Ming's girlfriend also came over with a cup of ginger tea. Chen Fenfang took the ginger tea and painstakingly fed it to the girl's mouth little by little.
After a while, the little girl finally regained some consciousness. She opened her eyes a crack and stared at her mother in a daze, then two tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Xiaobao, my Xiaobao..." Chen Fenfang hugged her daughter tightly and finally burst into tears. Heaven knows how scared she had been just now; she thought her daughter would never wake up again.
"Are you two alright?" Tong Shu turned to Zhang Ming and asked.
“We were alright, but Xiaorui is always afraid of the cold. She woke me up as soon as she felt the temperature was off. Luckily, the community told us to take precautions against the cold in advance. We had already taken out our thick clothes and put them outside. The ginger sprouts we exchanged with you earlier have also grown. We didn’t have time to make ginger tea, so we just chewed a few slices of ginger.” Zhang Ming recalled the situation just now with lingering fear.
"Don't soak your hands in hot water, or they'll rot." Tong Shu warned Zhang Ming, looking at his purple fingers. She then took out a pack of hand warmers from her pocket and handed them to Wu Rui, Zhang Ming's girlfriend: "Share that pot of ginger tea. Find a small room to hide together and don't go out before dawn. It's already minus forty or fifty degrees outside."
The group was shocked when they heard the temperature: minus forty or fifty degrees Celsius, an extreme low temperature rarely seen even in the north.
They thanked her repeatedly, deeply grateful. In such cold weather, Tong Shu was willing to come out of her home to help her neighbors. This was more than just kindness. Zhang Ming thought to himself that no matter what Tong Shu's family needed help with in the future, he would definitely help if he could!
After giving a few instructions, Tong Shu left. The entire apartment building was full of people, and time was of the essence.
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