Chapter 84 Chapter 084【VIP】
After nightfall, the temperature remains high.
At the Taoyuan Inn, not only Mingzhu hadn't gone to rest in the back quarters, but even NPCs like Jin Suanpan hadn't gone to rest either. Even the drunkard who usually sat drunk in the corner of the hall was now sober and chatty.
"I heard today that someone's planning to dig a well outside the base," the drunkard said. "They say the snow goes underground."
"Is there no well in Taoyuan Base?" Jin Suanpan asked with a sneer.
"How is that possible?" Mingzhu retorted. "I built a hundred wells."
"Built outside, is it for afforestation?" Jin Suanpan could only guess this.
"Planting trees now?" Mingzhu shook his head. "That's a bit unlikely. After all, we've been notified that after a week of extremely hot weather, extreme cold will follow. Everyone has experienced extreme cold weather before and should know the dangers of it. Everything freezes, and digging a well will only cause it to freeze as well. Besides, the current ground fissures are only temporarily retarded, not over yet. I don't think the people at Taoyuan Base are that stupid."
Upon hearing this, Jin Suanpan looked at the drunkard.
"I'm not lying," the drunkard shouted, speaking rather rudely. "I just heard it from someone else."
Mingzhu: "...Okay, I don't mean to say you're lying. I was just thinking..."
Mingzhu's words were interrupted by a loud noise, and then the entire Taoyuan base fell into darkness.
Mingzhu: “???”
Golden Abacus: “???”
Jin Shaoyao: "...attacked?"
"Who would be so blind as to attack the Taoyuan base?" Jin Dachui asked. "There's a protective shield!"
Mingzhu, having regained his composure, also spoke. "Indeed, with the protective shield in place, Taoyuan Base will not be attacked by foreign objects. Besides..."
"What kind of attack could cause a massive power outage?"
"It's not a large-scale power outage, but the entire base has lost power," Jin Suanpan emphasized. "Let's go and see what's going on!"
"It can't be that the power outage has occurred!"
"Bullshit! Our power supply comes not only from solar generators but also from crystal cores. How could it possibly trip so easily?"
Mingzhu groped in the darkness and soon found the flashlight stored in the space button.
There were 10 in total, and they were all given to people in need.
Indeed, the entire Taoyuan base was dark. Mingzhu took the lead, and the others turned on their flashlights and walked out of the Taoyuan Inn.
Outside, the entire Taoyuan base was in darkness, with only sporadic lights from mobile phones or flashlights moving around.
In the distance, the sirens of fire trucks suddenly pierced the night sky.
"Wow, the police cars have been repaired and put into use. Honestly, almost everyone on Zhang Junfang's team is a talented person."
Zhang Junfang, who was affectionately dubbed a talent by Mingzhu, came over with Fu Chun and others.
"It seems to be a problem with the main transformer box." Zhang Junfang explained.
Mingzhu: "...fake and shoddy."
"It seems like you were the one who supervised the construction." Jin Suanpan reminded.
"It's me?"
Mingzhu was stunned, then fell into deep thought. It seemed, it should be him...
However, although Mingzhu was in charge of the construction, he only had a nominal title. It seemed that Professor Fu and others were still in charge of the specific details.
Mingzhu: "If we repair it now, when will it be repaired?"
"It will take several hours at least!"
Fortunately, Taoyuan Base's reliance on electricity isn't particularly high, as many buildings, especially specialized structures like the icehouse, are independent of electricity and can operate autonomously without it.
Furthermore, the Taoyuan base has very few users of refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc. Most of the electricity used on a daily basis is actually used as fuel.
For example, a smokeless induction cooker used for cooking...
The entire Taoyuan base was out of power, and the biggest impact was that no one could make a midnight snack.
Not necessarily!
If necessary, we can still come out and organize a barbecue with three or five people.
At this time, the entire Taoyuan base became more and more lively. Some people moved out the batteries and small fans they had prepared earlier, but this amount of electricity was just a drop in the bucket.
"Let's go to the gate," Zhao Wenwen suggested. "It's much cooler there."
When Zhao Wenwen and Na Wei took the children out and arrived at the gate of the base, a lot of people had already gathered.
Some brought mats, others held fans, and several children lay in a makeshift tent, counting the stars. The starry night sky, devoid of light pollution, was breathtakingly beautiful.
"I remember when I was a kid, I often enjoyed the cool air like this in the summer," Yu Xiaowan suddenly said, "Back then, there was no air conditioning, so every household would go out to enjoy the cool air at night."
Qin Mingyue sat aside, gazing at the starry sky. In this unusually hot weather, her mind was surprisingly calm.
"boss,?"
"Repair first and check the situation tomorrow if necessary."
one. "
”
"Why isn't it enough?"
“We don’t actually use much electricity?”
"Cooking without electricity?"
"Hey, aren't we using crystal cores?"
"Crystal cores will eventually run out, so electricity is still the best option."
Mingzhu was in no mood to pay attention to the commotion. He took out an apple, took a big bite, and muttered.
"I'm just enjoying the cool breeze, what's the big deal?"
"Boss, are you still here?" Yu Xiaowan was stunned. "Shouldn't you be fixing that main transformer box?"
Mingzhu: "...There's no need for me to take action, boss."
"Alright!" Yu Xiaowan simply let Mingzhu go and said, "To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to the end of the extremely hot weather and the arrival of the extremely cold weather."
Mingzhu: "...Your views do not represent the views of the general public."
Yu Xiaowan: "It represents the views of the majority."
"If it's too hot, you can easily get heatstroke and die from the heat. If it's too cold, you can easily be frozen into an ice sculpture and freeze to death. Neither natural disaster is pleasant," Qin Mingyue suddenly said. "I just hope the natural disaster can find a place to stay as soon as possible."
"Almost there," Mingzhu could only finally say. It was a perfunctory statement, but it was the truth.
At three o'clock in the morning, the power was finally restored.
Back in the cool room, Qin Mingyue and Yu Xiaowan couldn't fall asleep for a long time. They tiptoed to the corridor together, looking at the scattered lights in the distance.
They didn't speak to each other, not because they had nothing to say, but because they didn't want to speak and break the beauty of the moment.
Soon, the night passed, and in the morning of the next day, Zhao Wenwen was awakened by a hurried knock on the door. Zhao Wenwen ran to open the door and found that it was Mrs. Liu who lived in the courtyard next door, her face pale.
"Teacher Zhao, my daughter...my daughter might be going into premature labor! What should I do? Send her to the clinic? But the clinic has a power outage..."
Zhao Wenwen: "...I don't know how to deliver a baby."
Na Wei walked over and asked calmly, "Aunt Liu, where are Uncle Zhao and brother-in-law? Aren't they home?"
"They're not at home. They went out last night."
Na Wei immediately shouted, "Zhang Wei! Get up! Aunt Liu's daughter is about to give birth!"
Zhang Wei and Zhou Ming are both assistants to the professors next door. They both have special abilities, so whenever there is any movement here, the other side will know about it.
Just then, Zhang Wei came over quickly, and Zhou Ming arrived soon after.
It was like a carefully choreographed emergency drill. Zhang Wei ran to find the wooden ox and carriage, Zhao Wenwen took the first aid kit and ice pack, Na Wei stayed to look after the children, and they got on the wooden ox and carriage together. Mrs. Liu's daughter was sent to the clinic by An Gan.
At this time, everyone suddenly realized that their clothes were soaked with sweat.
The delivery was barely smooth. After a long period of painful suffering, Ms. Liu successfully gave birth to a baby girl.
Perhaps because of adequate nutrition, the child is not wrinkled.
Zhao Wenwen and Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief and said goodbye and went home. On the way back, Zhao Wenwen saw people spontaneously sharing water and food in front of roadside restaurants.
I also saw young people helping the elderly to escape the summer heat at Green Sky Temple, and children participating in indoor activities organized by volunteers...
This blue planet has been tested by the heat, and its people have endured hardships, but have not collapsed. Like desert plants, humans have learned to find ways to survive in the harshest environments.
When Zhao Wenwen returned home, she found that Na Wei was teaching the children how to fold wet towels into "cooling hats", and Zhang Wei, instead of going back to the next door, was here helping them debug a small solar energy device.
On the table were the cold noodles and mung bean soup sent by Professor Fu, and on the Warring States bronze ice jar was a list of the mutual aid group that had just been established.
Perhaps this is what’s so remarkable about humans: no matter how harsh the environment, we always find a way not only to survive but also to thrive in the cracks.
Zhao Wenwen pulled out her phone and sent a message to the Taoyuan Base group chat. "I have extra batteries and power banks at home. Neighbors who need them can come pick them up. Also, does anyone have an unused mini fan? Grandma Li, who lives alone in one of the three courtyards, needs one..."
Outside, the sun was still blazing, but Zhao Wenwen felt a strange sense of peace. Summer was far from over, but they had learned to live with it.
++++++
——Taoyuan Base received, please reply. Taoyuan Base received, please reply.
Zhang Junfang was just taking a short nap when he was awakened by the urgent ringing of his cell phone.
"This is Zhang Junfang from Taoyuan Base. May I ask which base the person opposite belongs to?"
"I'm the base commander in J City. I'd like to ask whether the broadcast we received at 7 o'clock yesterday was true or false."
"There's no need to lie to you," Zhang Junfang said calmly. "What do you need? Time is limited. Please report the supplies you need within 10 minutes. We will deliver them to the J City base within a week."
"Medicine, food, water, and warm clothing."
"Want a weapon?"
"Cold weapons or hot weapons?"
"Only cold weapons."
"Okay, then 10,000 cold weapons."
"Order more?" Zhang Junfang said for their benefit. "Trust me, cold weapons are very cheap at Taoyuan Base."
"If we need 100,000 cold weapons, how will you transport them?"
"We naturally have our own transportation channels. This is confidential, so please forgive me for not telling you."
"Then it's 100,000 cold weapons, no limit on the type of weapon."
Liu Tianfang acted as a secretary and wrote down everything the J City Base Director wanted. He then arranged for someone to prepare it.
Three days later, Huo Mingzhen led the team and arrived at the J City Base by air on a wooden dragon bird. They traded the supplies they wanted to the head of the J City Base.
After urgently receiving the goods, the J City Base began to issue an emergency notice, asking members of the J City Base to gather at the central square at 8 o'clock in the evening to distribute supplies on a per capita basis.
Coincidentally, the same thing happened at the base in City A, and supplies were distributed on the same day and at the same time.
Lin Xia led Xiaoyu out early, thinking they would be the first one, but when they arrived, they found that the line had already stretched to the edge of the parking lot.
People stood silently in the hazy sunset, the same fatigue and anxiety etched on everyone's face.
The phone screen lit up, and Zheng Yong sent a message: "The burned-out circuit has been repaired, but the water is still not coming. Right now, the water at home is only enough for basic drinking. Don't buy too many heavy items."
Lin Xia replied with a brief "I understand" and put the phone back in her pocket.
There was also a shopping list in my pocket - blood pressure medicine, milk powder, cakes, vegetables and fruits, and water...
After eight o'clock, the team began to slowly move forward. At this time, Lin Xia heard two middle-aged women in front of her talking in low voices.
"My husband said their factory is going to shut down because the power grid is overloaded..."
"There has been no water at my house for three days, and I can't even flush the toilet..."
"I heard someone in South City is selling black market water for two hundred a bucket..."
Since all the supplies were purchased from the Taoyuan base, there were rare river fish, chickens, ducks, geese, meat, vegetables and fruits...
However, to ensure everyone can receive the supplies, a purchase limit was implemented: a household of five people, including one child and four adults, could receive 2.5 kilograms of meat.
In terms of per capita, each person gets half a pound of meat, two eggs, one pound of vegetables, half a pound of fruit and one pound of grain.
Lin Xia's family currently has only four people, and they received 2 kilograms of meat (of any kind), 8 eggs, 4 kilograms of vegetables, 2 kilograms of fruit, and 4 kilograms of rice.
As for water, there is no limit on drinking water, so Lin Xia took away a box of bottled mineral water.
On the way back, Lin Xiahai heard someone muttering, "It's a pity that we didn't get any river fish."
"Mom, it seems that what we divided was not pork."
"It's not pork, it should be beef."
"Wow!"
"There are tomatoes and potatoes in the dish. I'll make you tomato and beef brisket rice when I get home."
"Yeah. And mashed potatoes."
Chatting and laughing, the mother and daughter returned home.
The streets were filled with the honking of emergency vehicles and long queues in front of temporary water supply points.
The next morning, Zheng Yong returned with a strange device in his hand: several plastic tubes connected together, ending in a small filter.
"What is this?" Lin Xia asked curiously.
"Simple water purification system." Zheng Yong's eyes lit up surprisingly. "I designed this with Old Li, the fire station's gatekeeper. He was a chemical engineer before he retired. We use water from the station's well as our water source. With this filtration system, we'll at least have enough water for daily life."
"Does anyone else agree?"
"Not only did they agree, they even spontaneously organized a duty roster." Zheng Yong wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Each family can draw two buckets of water per day, with priority given to the elderly and pregnant women. By the way, Old Li said he wanted to meet you. He has an idea..."
"What does he want from me?"
Lin Xia was extremely puzzled, but she still went to Lao Li's house with her husband. Lao Li's house was located on the third floor underground. When they arrived, Lao Li was sitting among a pile of books and drawings, and his spirits were much better than in the past few days.
"Xiao Lin, come quickly!" the old man greeted her enthusiastically. "I'm studying the underground water vein map of our City A. When our fire station was established, I remember there were three artesian wells here..."
Lin Xia: “…”
An hour later, Lin Xia returned home with a stack of blueprints and a head full of hydraulic engineering knowledge. Lao Li's plan was simple but ambitious. He planned to utilize the fire station's existing underground water pipe network to build a micro-water supply system to solve the water outage problem.
"It requires a lot of manpower and some materials," her husband, Zheng Yong, added, "but if we can do it, at least we won't have to wait in line every day for the water truck."
In the afternoon, Lin Xia gathered a dozen relatively young residents for a meeting at Old Li's house. Unexpectedly, something went wrong halfway through the meeting.
"Oh no! The people from the Sunshine City community next door are trying to steal our well water!"
Lin Xia: “???”
Sunshine City Community is built opposite the fire station. It is a very high-end community and is more than twice the size of their fire station.
When Lin Xia arrived with the crowd, there were already more than twenty people surrounding them, some holding empty buckets, and some even carrying water pumps.
"This well is at the junction. Why are you the only ones allowed to use it?" a well-dressed middle-aged man asked loudly.
Lin Xia: "This is the fire station. Only family members can live here. Why are we the only ones allowed to use it?"
"What time is it now? Are you still talking about privilege?" a woman interrupted sharply. "My child hasn't had a bath in 10 days!"
The crowd began to shove and the atmosphere became tense. Lin Xia suddenly stepped between the two groups and said, "Wait! Everyone, calm down!"
All eyes turned to her. Lin Xia's heart was pounding, but her voice was surprisingly steady. "Fighting over the water won't solve the problem. We're planning to build a water purification system. If you're willing to contribute some materials and manpower, we can share the water."
After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man leading the Sunshine City riot narrowed his eyes and asked, "What are the conditions?"
"We'll allocate them by household, with priority given to the elderly and children," Lin Xia said calmly. "Also, we need some PVC pipes and filters, which you should be able to find in your upscale residential complex."
In this way, a potential conflict was avoided and cooperation was achieved. That evening, representatives of the fire department's family members and representatives of the Sunshine City community sat together to develop a detailed plan and allocation scheme.
Lin Xia was chosen as the coordinator, responsible for record-keeping and scheduling. It was hard work, but Lin Xia wasn't afraid. She even felt that her busy schedule made her life fulfilling.
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