The next morning, the sandstorm was even worse, making it impossible to go out. Jiang Yue checked the messages in the group chat. They still had to go to work today to stand guard for the people. People from other units didn't need to go to work, but the police station and fire department were on standby at all times. Looking at the small group chat of the household registration staff, Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue had both told Jiang Yue to pick them up when they went to work, as they couldn't go out by electric bike now.
Jiang Yue replied "received" in the group chat. After washing up, eating breakfast, changing her clothes, and putting on a mask and goggles, she almost couldn't close the door when she went out. After finally managing to close it, she almost got blown away by the wind. She stumbled to the garage and opened the car door. Jiang Yue planned to drive a gas car today, feeling that this was more reliable.
Jiang Yue quickly brushed the sand off her clothes after entering the garage. She had a habit of checking the car's condition, and the car started without any problems. She drove out of the garage, closed the door, and set off. Luckily, the gate was remote-controlled, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to be opened manually. After driving out of the yard, Jiang Yue made sure the gate was closed before driving off. She went to Zhou Xue's house to pick up the two of them. Lin Xiao was already at Zhou Xue's house.
Visibility on the road was so low. Luckily, there were few people and cars out today. The journey that usually takes twenty minutes took a full forty minutes. When they arrived at Zhou Xue's house, Jiang Yue took out her phone and sent her a message. After a while, the two of them came out. They pulled the bicycle to the car and struggled to open the door. After getting in the car, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Yue fastened their seat belts, handed them a wet wipe, and then they set off.
"This awful weather, and the sand is so thick!" Zhou Xue complained, spitting out sand from her mouth. Jiang Yue glanced at the passenger seat and said, "Couldn't you have worn a mask or a scarf?"
"Oh, I don't know where I put this. I've been looking for it all morning and I still can't find it. My mom told me to put some clothes on it to cover up the mess, but I refused. It's too unseemly."
Jiang Yue gestured for Zhou Xue to open the storage box: "Take two bags each, I prepared quite a lot beforehand." The two of them didn't stand on ceremony and each took a bag: "One bag each is enough, I'll return it to you another day."
Jiang Yue drove very carefully the whole way, afraid of accidentally hitting someone. The wind was strong and pedestrians were being blown onto the main road. Jiang Yue drove at a snail's pace and dared not go too fast. The journey that should have taken an hour took more than two hours. It was almost 11 o'clock when she arrived at the station.
Everyone at the station was busy. There were quite a few accidents caused by such a big sandstorm, and the station was short-staffed. Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue went to answer phone calls, while Jiang Yue, who had a car, was responsible for driving her colleagues to the homes of those who reported the incidents. They encountered fire trucks several times on the way, and it felt even busier than usual. There was no time to eat, and Jiang Yue had to refuel twice. She didn't get back to the station until after 10 p.m.
Even after finishing her meal, she couldn't leave work. During this special period, she had to stay overnight at the institute. When Jiang Yue returned to her office, Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue had already made up her cot. After dozing off for a few hours, she started working again in the middle of the night. However, the night was much better than the day. This sandstorm lasted for three days, and Jiang Yue also stayed at the institute for three days. When she got home, she forced herself to take a shower and went to sleep, despite feeling sleepy.
I slept straight through until noon the next day. When I woke up, my stomach was growling and I was almost starving. After lunch, I started a thorough cleaning. The doors and windows were all closed properly, so I don't know how the sand got into the house. After cleaning the house, I swept the yard. After two hours of hard work, it was finally clean. Then I checked all the facilities in the yard, and thankfully, nothing was damaged.
In the afternoon, Jiang Yue went to the "Player Market" with Lin Xiao and Zhou Xue. The Player Market is a nickname; it's actually a secondhand market where people exchange things they don't need. Sometimes, meat and vegetables might be found there, but the chances are slim. When they arrived, the parking lot was almost full. They circled around several times before finding a car that needed to be moved. As soon as the car drove away, Jiang Yue quickly parked in it. The guy next to her, seeing that there were no parking spaces left, gave Jiang Yue the middle finger and left in a huff.
Jiang Yue smiled and ignored him. She put on a mask and sunglasses and got out of the car. Although the sandstorm had passed, there was still a lot of sand it had brought. A gust of wind could still stir up a lot of sand.
This was Jiang Yue's first time in such a place. It was just like the square she had visited before. It was packed with people and very lively, with shouts and loudspeakers blaring everywhere, as if the natural disaster had never happened.
The three walked with the crowd. There were all kinds of stalls selling everything, and some shops on both sides, selling home appliances and some shops that specialize in recycling cigarettes, alcohol and precious metals. Jiang Yue saw a middle-aged man taking a chicken out of a bag. Before the chicken was even fully out, a crowd had gathered around him, and it was sold in no time.
That's how fast things move these days; first come, first served. A little further on, they reached the clothing and bag section, filled with all sorts of luxury goods. Bags that used to cost tens of thousands now couldn't be exchanged for much. Jiang Yue saw a sign next to a Louis Vuitton bag that read: "Cigarettes and alcohol for sale, meat for one pound." It was practically worthless. You could say that even rural women these days carry expensive bags when they go grocery shopping.
The food shops on both sides only sold and did not exchange anything. After walking around, the three of them did not buy anything. They could not buy anything they wanted. The things that could be bought with money were mostly useless. After browsing around for a while, they decided to go home. When they got to the exit, Jiang Yue saw an old man selling a cat and a dog, with several empty cages next to him.
Jiang Yue squatted down to take a look. The animals looked listless and unhealthy, which explained why no one was buying them. An old man next to her said, "Don't be fooled by their lack of energy. They're healthy and have no illnesses. They're just hungry. Besides, they've all been vaccinated. I wouldn't sell them if I could afford to feed them myself."
Jiang Yue checked it but couldn't find anything wrong. It should just be as the stall owner said, that it was hungry. Jiang Yue asked, "How much is this?"
"Five thousand for a cat, seven thousand for a dog. If you want both, we can offer a discount. You can also get a discount by exchanging them for cigarettes, alcohol, or other items."
At this moment, Lin Xiao spoke up: "Is this just a calico dog and a mongrel? Who's going to buy it at such a high price?"
"That's the price across the entire market. If you don't believe me, you can go look around some more. Besides, there are very few sellers. Most people have already slaughtered their animals for meat. I'm only selling mine because I can't afford to raise them and I can't bear to kill them. Sigh~"
"Would you trade it for 10,000 plus a pack of cigarettes?"
"This won't do, it's too little! Please add some more!"
"I just came to browse and didn't plan to buy anything. This is all I have. You can trade it if you want, or forget it." With that, Jiang Yue stood up as if to leave. The stall owner hesitated for a moment: "Boss, why don't the three of you chip in?"
"No, that's all. Who borrows money to buy things? Just tell me if it's okay or not. It's getting late, and we're planning to go home."
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