Chapter 14 Chapter 14
But what’s better in the countryside than in the city is that even if they’re locked up in the village for months, they have access to land and water, and they don’t have to worry about food and drink. Unlike in the city right now, supermarkets have already started limiting purchases, and people have returned to the coupon era of decades ago, having to plan everything they buy.
It’s okay if life is hard, but the city is densely populated and you face a huge risk of infection every time you go out, which is very serious.
Mortgages and car loans will not disappear because of the epidemic. Except for a very small number of people who have the capital to stay at home and wait for the epidemic to pass, most people still need to work to maintain their survival needs.
In the early stages of the outbreak, the government provided subsidies for supplies and daily necessities to the affected areas. But now that the outbreak has spread across the country, the government is inevitably stretched to its limits.
Even so, Xiaguo is already one of the most envied places in the world. Thanks to the decisive, efficient, and responsible state institutions, Xiaguo's social order is stable, patients receive medical treatment, and people are not trapped or starving to death. Although the current situation is difficult, everyone has hope in their hearts.
Some small countries abroad have been completely infected, some countries have taken extreme measures to eliminate patients without reason, and some countries are in constant unrest.
The people in the village dared not go out and stayed in front of the TV every day, watching the number of infections and deaths across the country and the world rise at a terrifying rate.
Cheng Xiu, Bai He's aunt, was so worried she couldn't sleep all night. Her daughter, who had promised to return home in two days, was now stranded on the road, and her son had been assigned to a hospital, a high-risk area. Cheng Xiu clutched her phone constantly, afraid she'd miss a call from either son or daughter.
Not only was the situation bad, but the weather was also terrible these days. The sky was gloomy and it was raining continuously. The water level in Bai He's dried-up pond was rising at a visible rate. What made Bai He a little worried was that the rapeseed he had just planted might be drowned.
Bai He was digging a canal in the vegetable garden wearing a raincoat. When he finished, he was shivering from the cold. He was wearing a thick coat inside. Bai He returned to the room and looked at the indoor thermometer on the cabinet. It was 15 degrees.
The weather is changing so fast. The temperature was as high as 40 degrees Celsius two days ago, but now it is only over 10 degrees Celsius, a jump of more than 20 degrees Celsius.
Gaolin City is located in the south, and September is the most unbearable time of year. Baihe had never before remembered a year in Gaolin Province where the temperature dropped this low in September.
There was no more words that could convince him that the dream was false. Bai He put on another sweater.
The sound of water splashing outside the house made Bai He feel very irritated. If he were alone, he wouldn't be afraid of the world getting worse in the future. But he had family, and his grandparents were too old to bear it.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Whenever this happened, Bai He would not let himself be idle.
He took a hoe, walked to the backyard, and started digging under the woodshed. He planned to dig a cellar to store his belongings, which was also a way to publicly account for his supplies.
The young man was full of energy and he exercised all day long. By the time it got dark, he had already dug a hole several meters in size.
When he stopped, Bai He's back and forehead were covered in sweat, his hands and feet were weak, and his stomach was growling with hunger.
Bai He always ate casually. He steamed a pot of dried tofu on top of the rice while it was cooking, and then had the leftover stir-fried pork from lunch for dinner.
The dog's dinner should be prepared with a bit of care, at least a freshly cooked pork and carrot stew. Heidou loves meat, but he's not picky about food either. He enjoys carrots with the meaty flavor just as much.
After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, Bai He saw the message his cousin had sent, saying that she had already entered the neighboring province and would arrive tomorrow if nothing unexpected happened. Bai He felt a little relieved.
After taking a shower, Bai He started browsing his phone. In this century, nothing can escape short videos. Through a certain software, he almost knows what is happening in the whole world.
"Bang bang"
Through the patter of rain, the sound of knocking on the iron door could be heard outside. At first, Bai He thought he was hallucinating. In this kind of weather, under these circumstances, he didn't think anyone would come looking for him. But the sound didn't stop, and Bai He knew it wasn't an illusion.
Wearing a mask and holding an umbrella, Bai He came to the iron gate. He did not open the door at first but looked out through the small window on the door. The figure outside the thick plastic door was a little blurry.
Before Bai He could speak, the people outside the door could not wait to speak.
"Bai He is me, Zhang Yan."
"What's the matter?"
"I just got back today and I knew you were at home, so I wanted to chat with you."
"I just got back from Qing City," Bai He said impatiently. Outside, the wind roared fiercely, bringing with it heavy rain that poured down onto the courtyard. Bai He had only been standing outside for a moment when his clothes were already soaked. The cold and dampness penetrated his bones, making him feel very uncomfortable.
"You have been quarantined for nine days. If you were really infected, you could still be standing at home. I'm not afraid." Zhang Yan said with a smile, holding an umbrella, her pretty face wet with rain.
"But I'm afraid." Bai He raised his eyelids lazily, then decisively lowered the window cover.
On the other side of the window shade, Zhang Yan...blinked her eyelids, and then couldn't help but utter a sweet word.
"Go home early and don't go out casually. Things are not going well recently. Keep some food at home." Bai He turned around and couldn't help but say something. Then, without paying attention to any response, he went straight into the house.
Zhang Yan was a unique child in the village. She had no real father. Her mother, a playful young woman, spent her days in bars and internet cafes. Even when she became pregnant, she couldn't confirm the biological father of her child. Shortly after Zhang Yan was born, she left to work, leaving her with her grandmother. Zhang Yan's grandmother lived right behind Uncle Bai's house, and since they were close in age and lived close together, they naturally played together.
It wasn't until Zhang Yan was in junior high school that his grandmother, through a friend, introduced him to a widower, and they started living together. With no one at home to take care of him, Zhang Yan had to move with his mother to another city. Due to household registration issues, his mother didn't process Zhang Yan's schooling and instead assigned him to work as an apprentice in a factory. He only came home once a year, during the Lunar New Year. This time, for unknown reasons, he returned early.
Zhang Yan came here excitedly, but left with a cold face.
Bai He woke up in the middle of the night, chilled to the bone. The wind and rain outside seemed even more frightening than before he went to sleep. The bamboo trees outside the window were bent, one by one, in clusters. He couldn't hear much through the tempered glass, but the sound of the bamboo swaying by the bed still cast a shadow on his heart. He looked at the thermometer on the counter. It was only three degrees, nearly ten degrees lower than before he went to sleep.
Bai He called his uncle and his family immediately. The temperature dropped too suddenly at night. His grandparents probably hadn't reacted yet. Unexpectedly, the call was connected instantly. The aunt's voice on the other end of the phone sounded like she was outside, and her voice was blurred by the wind. She shouted at the top of her voice, "I was just about to call you, but I didn't expect your call. The temperature dropped too suddenly. I've been in Gaolin for so long and I haven't seen it twice. Hurry up and add a quilt for yourself. The epidemic is serious now. You will catch a cold and have a fever. I'm afraid you will have to be isolated."
"I know. How are grandpa and grandma?"
"There are quilts in their room. Your uncle is knocking on the door now... bang bang." Before she could finish her words, her aunt's gritted teeth voice came from the other end of the phone, mixed with crackling sounds that were hard to tell whether they were from broken objects or windows colliding.
"...Bang!... The master must be going crazy this day. The tiles in the utility room...bang, bang... were blown away, and the solar lights were smashed..."
"Aunt, don't check it now. If it's broken, it's broken. I'll buy you a new one tomorrow."
"I know. I won't tell you anymore. The sky is flashing. It's going to thunder." After saying that, he hung up without waiting for Bai He to say anything.
His aunt was impatient and impulsive, and I'm afraid she didn't take his words to heart at all. Bai He was worried and wanted to go to his uncle's house to check on him, but when he thought about the quarantine period, he had to give up the idea.
He called his uncle. Uncle Bai knew his wife's character better than Bai He. After Bai He gave him a little reminder, he understood.
Bai He came to the living room. The dark sky seemed to be collapsing, which was terrifying. At this time, the storm outside the house was getting more and more violent. The rain hit the windows and houses like arrows. The huge "bang" sound made Bai He's eyebrows jump. He didn't know what hit the house. At the same time, a white light so bright that it made people unable to open their eyes flashed, accompanied by a deafening thunder. Hei Dou, who had been wagging his tail slightly, walked around Bai He uneasily. Every time he heard a thunder, his body shook involuntarily. Seeing this, Bai He covered his ears and kept comforting him. Only in the face of such a great power of nature can one know how small and fragile he is. Lightning and thunder rang out in the middle of the night. A man and a dog huddled on the sofa and couldn't sleep for half the night.
The next day, the thunder and lightning stopped, but the rain continued without a break. It was like a waterfall, with the rain falling from the sky like a continuous curtain of water.
When I turned on my phone, I found that this heavy rainstorm not only occurred in the central and southern regions, but its range basically covered the entire country. Some low-lying areas even experienced floods.
The situation abroad was also dire. A 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck Sakura Country, resulting in over 300,000 deaths. An 8.0 magnitude volcanic eruption occurred in White Country, completely destroying an entire city. A massive tsunami struck the Great Ocean, affecting over a dozen countries...especially given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
There are already pessimists online proclaiming the end of the world, but they're all met with venomous criticism. This topic has been a recurring topic for over a decade, a constant topic of discussion every time a major event strikes. If the narrative were more reliable, people wouldn't have panicked and run away with salt in the initial days, and wouldn't have calmly criticized the original poster until the post was blocked.
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