Chapter 79 [VIP]
"Damn the weather."
Curses and wailing rang out from all corners of the hospital.
Lin Xia's sweat continued to drip as she watched with worry. As night fell, the hospital finally cooled down a bit.
"Yeah, damn the weather."
Lin Xia walked to the window and watched the city lights blur into one piece in the heat haze.
At this time, the broadcast starts working again and starts playing messages.
A power grid collapse in a certain place caused a large-scale power outage, a highway road surface deformation due to high temperature caused multiple car accidents, and a zoo somewhere attempted to install special air conditioners for the penguins that had not undergone any mutations.
My mother turned over in her hospital bed and asked weakly, "Is the air conditioner at home repaired?"
Lin Xia hurried back and held her mother's hand. "It's fixed. Don't worry, have a good rest."
"This weather...it's getting worse and worse," the old man sighed. "When I was a kid, the highest temperature in the summer was only 35 degrees Celsius, and I still had to cover myself with a thin blanket at night."
"It's nothing like now, where the highest temperature at night is around 40°C. It's like they're trying to make people die."
"That's not an exaggeration," Lin Xia reassured her mother. "Life will always find a way out. Experts say that once the extreme heat and the earthquake pass, our planet will gradually recover."
"Oh, you believe everything the experts say," the mother sighed, shaking her head. "Experts even say the end of the world is a punishment from the gods!"
"Isn't it?"
Lin Xia smiled and didn't tell him that meteorological experts had predicted that such extreme high temperatures might become the norm in the future.
She just patted her mother's hand gently, coaxing her to sleep like a child.
At two o'clock in the morning, my mother finally fell asleep peacefully.
Lin Xia went to the convenience store downstairs from the hospital to buy some water and ice, only to find the prices had doubled since yesterday. The clerk helplessly explained, "The water trucks can't operate during the day because it's too hot, so they can only deliver at night, which increases the cost."
On the way back to the ward, Lin Xia heard two nurses whispering in the corner of the corridor: "Three more patients with heat stroke were sent here today, and none of them survived..."
"The morgue is almost full..."
"Ah, actually, the morgue shouldn't be filled up. When people die, they should be cremated promptly."
"That will cause a big fire. Did you hear that the wildfire that broke out just before dawn yesterday morning was caused by burning corpses?"
"Hey, there are probably hundreds of cremation sites in our A City base right now. Why are we burning bodies in the suburbs?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's because it's unsafe to bring the bodies to the city center for burning."
Lin Xia stopped and listened to their conversation quietly.
Soon the conversation between the two nurses ended, and Lin Xia quickened her pace back to her mother's bedside.
Suddenly, Lin Xia missed the air conditioner at home very much. Although there was a power cut, it could at least provide coolness for a few hours.
She remembered that in the summer when she was a child, her mother would always put a bowl of iced sour plum soup by her bedside. Now, it was her turn to take care of her mother, but unfortunately, she could probably only have iced sour plum soup in her dreams.
Before dawn, Lin Xia took a nap beside the hospital bed.
She dreamed that she was walking on an endless hot street, with sunlight pouring down like molten iron.
In the distance, a little girl was crying, but she couldn't run over...
"Lin Xia? Lin Xia!" Zheng Yong's voice brought her back to reality from the nightmare.
"Why are you here? Where's Xiaoyu?"
"Still at your sister's house." Zheng Yong's face looked even uglier than yesterday. "Something terrible has happened. Our neighborhood has no water. The whole block is without water."
Lin Xia suddenly woke up: "When did it happen?"
"It started early in the morning. They say the main water pipe burst in the heat, and repairs will take at least two days." Zheng Yong wiped his face. "I waited in line all morning to buy two cases of water. Supermarkets are even limiting purchases now."
Lin Xia glanced at her still sleeping mother and made a quick decision: "You stay here and take care of Mom. I'll go back and take care of the housework."
"No. I have to go back to work soon." Zheng Yong apologized and refused Lin Xia's arrangement. "We firefighters have to patrol with the police."
"What should Mom do then?" Lin Xia said helplessly. "Looks like I can only notify my sister and ask her to bring Xiaoyu along."
"Then I'll be leaving first."
This time, Zheng Yong agreed to Lin Xia's arrangement and said, "Wait until Big Sister and Xiaoyu arrive before leaving."
Zheng Yong left first. When he returned to his unit to report, he saw that the city was struggling with high temperatures.
Large areas of plants in the green belts were withered and yellow, sanitation workers were cleaning the streets wearing reflective vests, and a few children were wandering disappointedly by the fountain whose faucet had run dry.
——The government will send water trucks to various communities around 5 pm.
The broadcast sounded at an inopportune time, interrupting Zheng Yong's distraction.
At this time, power restrictions have been implemented in all the residential areas within the base, and people can only use the stairs.
The fire station is not very high, and most of the building is buried underground, which can help the members avoid the scorching heat.
After Zheng Yong arrived, he quickly formed a team and patrolled the streets. Around dawn, Zheng Yong returned home.
As soon as he returned home, Zheng Yong received a message from Lin Xia.
"Mom is awake now. The doctor said she's recovering well and might be discharged tomorrow. How's your situation?"
"It's all right. The water truck is coming at six. I'll get in line."
At six o'clock in the morning, Zheng Yong was queuing up with all the water containers in his home. Everyone had a fierce look on their face, and there was no shade in the square.
"I heard that Mr. Liu had a heat stroke and is now in the hospital."
It broke, and I lost thousands."
"My daughter said she can't even attend online classes now. Classes will be suspended until the extreme heat ends..."
The people in the queue exchanged their plights, their words filled with helplessness. Zheng Yong stood in the line, feeling the sweat trickle down his spine like countless tiny insects crawling.
He is a rare ice-type mutant, born with a cold body, but at this moment, he feels very hot and is very anxious.
At six o'clock, the water truck did not come.
At half past six, the water truck still hadn't appeared. Then the crowd began to stir.
"Are you coming or not?"
"We've waited so long, we need an explanation!"
At seven o'clock, when the first roar of anger rang out, Zheng Yong saw the shadow of the waterwheel finally appear in the distance. The crowd instantly became agitated and the team began to fall into chaos.
Someone tried to cut in line but was pulled out by the person behind him; an old man was pushed and almost fell; two men quarreled over who should get the water first and were about to fight.
"Stop it!" Zheng Yong, with a strong sense of responsibility, quickly joined the community security guard, Old Li, to maintain law and order. "Follow the order! Anyone who causes trouble again will not be allowed to receive water!"
Order has been restored, but tension hangs in the air. This is just the beginning. If the high temperatures persist, and if water and electricity supply problems continue, scenes like this are likely to become increasingly common.
But what can we do?
Damn the extreme heat, damn the weather.
Soon, the water trucks that were full of water were empty. The empty water trucks were parked aside and replenished by water-based psychics.
Then the water truck was refilled and distributed to residents. By the time it was Zheng Yong's turn to receive water, most people had already left.
Zheng Yong was only given two buckets per person.
"The power will be restored around 9 p.m.," Old Li told Zheng Yong. "There was no power all day today."
"Wouldn't it be so hot that people would die?"
“Hospitals and banks have electricity.”
"We can't all just flock to the hospital to get some electricity."
"Then let's go to the underground parking lot."
"The underground parking lot is full now."
"Indeed. They are all full."
Zheng Yong sighed and did not take the bucket home, but took it to work.
Actually, they had separate residences, all underground. To be more precise, they were underground in the fire station, and construction had just been completed the day before yesterday, from the second to the fifth underground floors.
Zheng Yong was lucky enough to get the fifth floor, but it was only about 60 square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen.
He had originally planned to wait a few days before moving there, but looking at the current weather, Zheng Yong felt it would be better to move there as soon as possible.
Before moving, Zheng Yong sent a message to Lin Xia, who was still in the hospital, explaining the move details. Then he went back to pack his luggage.
In fact, there wasn't much luggage, just pots and pans, as well as the fruits, vegetables, meat, clothes, etc. that I bought yesterday.
There wasn't much stuff, but packing it up on such a hot day was a real torture.
Zheng Yong breathed heavily as he slowly packed up his belongings and took them to work. Around 7 p.m., Zheng Yong went to the hospital to pick up his wife, children, and mother-in-law.
At 9 p.m., power was restored.
The hum of the air conditioner restarting sounded like heavenly music. Lin Xia breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously walked towards the balcony.
I realized later that they had already moved into the company. They were living on the fifth floor underground, with no balcony or windows, only ventilation holes.
But there was light, coming from their room.
"I remember a movie I saw when I was a kid," Lin Xia said with a wry smile, sitting back on the sofa. "It was about humanity's struggle to survive in extreme climates. I thought it was just science fiction back then, but I never imagined I'd be living in such a reality now."
"Oh, everything will pass."
My mother sat on the sofa opposite me, tears in her eyes.
Zheng Yong poured a glass of ice water for his mother-in-law and his child, Xiaoyu. Suddenly, the radio blared, announcing a strong wind expected that evening.
"Strong wind?" Xiaoyu muttered. "I wonder how strong it is. Could it be a tornado?"
"Xiaoyu, stop being such a pessimist."
Zheng Yong's expression became unusually serious.
Soon, in the evening, around 11:50, the wind started to pick up. It started at about force 5, and then just three minutes later, it intensified to force 5, accompanied by thunder.
Everyone is looking forward to whether it will rain, but it will not rain unless the "extremely hot weather" is coming to an end.
"Well, it won't rain."
In Taoyuan Base, the midnight special limited-time flash sale had just ended. Mingzhu ran to the window out of boredom to enjoy the night view.
"Host, how is your worksheet going?" 184 reminded.
Mingzhu: “…”
"No, I don't understand." Mingzhu said unhappily, "I'm just a scientific researcher with a limited knowledge of science. Writing a useless worksheet is like writing a piece of crap."
184: "Host, ask your conscience, is Taoyuan Base yours?"
"My conscience has been eaten by dogs, and there is not much left." Mingzhu laughed at himself, but answered obediently at the desk and continued to write the work schedule.
First of all, Mingzhu wrote:
In extremely hot weather (such as sustained temperatures above 50°C), residents' daily lives will change significantly and special measures will need to be taken to cope with the challenges of high temperatures.
1. Adjust your work and rest schedule: avoid periods of high temperatures.
Hiding during the day and coming out at night mode: Purchase food ingredients between 5 and 7 in the morning, go out for activities after dusk, and try to avoid going out between 12 noon and 4 pm.
Extended lunch break: Some companies and schools have adjusted their working hours and added a 2-3 hour lunch break (e.g., work will be suspended from 12:00 to 15:00).
There is an increase in nighttime activities: night markets, square dancing, etc. are concentrated after 20:00, and some 24-hour convenience stores have become hot spots to escape the heat.
"Wait, there's a school in our base?" Mingzhu fell into deep thought, then suddenly realized. "Oh, it seems there is."
184: "......"
"Home heatstroke prevention: combining electrical appliances with traditional methods," Mingzhu muttered to himself. "I don't think there's air conditioning. Oh, come on. My Taoyuan base is very classically Chinese. As for power stations, I could consider both solar and wind power generation."
"As for traditional ways to cool down, there are ice sculptures and ice cubes. It's totally YYDS."
"Ask Jin Shaoyao tomorrow if Huoxiang Zhengqi Water can be mass-produced," Mingzhu sighed and added, "I'm so tired. I'll make the rest arrangements tomorrow."
After saying that, Mingzhu actually lay down on the bed and fell into sleep mode in 10 seconds.
Soon, a dreamless night passed, and at 6 o'clock in the morning, the sun was out, raising the ground temperature to 40 degrees.
Mingzhu is wearing bamboo silk clothes today. These clothes are made of bamboo silk extracted from bamboo and silk produced from silkworms.
It is quite cool to escape the summer heat, but in summer most people still wear ramie clothes made of fine ramie cloth.
Jin Dashao did not cook porridge today, nor did he make dumplings, but instead made cold skin and cold noodles.
Even the drinks are served with ice, and the most popular one is the tortoise jelly.
"Zhang Junfang said that many people haven't been going out during the day lately, relying on food delivered by deliverymen to survive." Jin Suanpan took an abacus and began to calculate. "We should hire more deliverymen."
"How many wooden oxen and chariots have been built now?" Mingzhu asked.
"Ten thousand." Jin Suanpan replied.
Mingzhu nodded, indicating that he understood: "Then recruit."
Jin Suanpan took note and prepared to hand the recruitment information to Zhang Junfang for arrangement. At this time, Qin Mingyue and Yu Xiaowan came back from work.
"Boss, you don't know." Yu Xiaowan began to chatter. "A lot of people out there at the base are suffering from heat stroke."
"We don't have any at our base."
"The clinic and the Imperial Hospital have received many patients suffering from heatstroke. Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui has declared an emergency," Yu Xiaowan replied. "Jin Shaoyao told me to tell you that she's currently working hard to cultivate Huoxiang in Yaowang Valley."
Mingzhu: "...I was planning to ask Jin Shaoyao today if Huoxiang Zhengqi Water could be mass-produced. Turns out...there's not enough raw materials, so it's definitely not possible to mass-produce it."
"Hey, hey, hey, there's nothing we can do about it," Qin Mingyue said. "Boss, do you know how long this 'extremely hot weather' will last?"
"It's based on the 24 solar terms," Mingzhu said. "It starts in March and ends around the end of September."
Everyone present...
"Six months? The extremely hot weather will last for six months?" Liu Yan, who just entered Taoyuan Inn, said in disbelief.
"Yes, six months, half a year. After all, there's always been a saying about the '24 days of autumn heat'. So you can imagine that when autumn comes, the temperature won't drop much."
Those present continued...
Mingzhu hummed and began to talk about the blueprint he bought in the limited-time sale at the midnight special yesterday.
"Cold alley design (Lingnan architecture) drawings and self-circulating water cooling device." Mingzhu began to introduce with great joy.
"Cold alley design (Lingnan architecture) uses narrow alleys to create a Venturi effect, accelerating air flow (increasing wind speed by three times). I remember that before the apocalypse, the temperature difference in Qingyun Alley, a Xiguan mansion in Province G, could reach 5°C."
"As for self-circulating water cooling devices, there are two types: one is the Ziyu Pavilion from the Tang Dynasty, and the other is the water-stimulating fan car from the Ming Dynasty. I prefer the Ming Dynasty water-stimulating fan car, but unfortunately, I was unlucky and only bought the drawings of the Tang Dynasty Ziyu Pavilion."
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