Chapter 29 District Government
Other rescue teams and supplies have been unable to get in, which is why it's been delayed until today. It's said that the government sent several rescue teams to try and enter City C, but none of them returned.
However, the government had been paying close attention to the situation in City C, and immediately moved into City C the moment the vortex outside City disappeared.
Yesterday, the new leadership team of City C, which can also be called the rescue team, held an emergency meeting all day to formulate a follow-up rescue plan, and only then did they notify everyone to collect relief supplies today.
Today, to receive relief supplies, everyone must bring valid identification. This is not only for receiving supplies but also to re-register the population.
As a result, Liu Sisi and Xiaolin's children and elderly relatives were brought out. Xiaolin had to carry the child and push the elderly person around, which was inconvenient for her, so Aunt Zhang took the initiative to take care of Xiaolin's daughter.
Sister Li also brought her father out. He is over 70 years old and in good health. At first glance, he doesn't look like someone over 70 at all. Apart from not being able to run or jump, he has no problem moving around normally.
Before leaving, Zhong Junfeng and Yin Meng inquired about the injured person they had found, who was still unconscious. He had a fever last night and only recently recovered this morning, so they couldn't take him out.
However, relief supplies are distributed per person, and nobody knows how much there is; even they might not have enough to eat. Furthermore, with the current population registration, if someone doesn't come in, they can't be registered, and it's uncertain whether this will affect their future welfare benefits.
Fortunately, Uncle Zhang was thoughtful. He specifically inquired about situations where there were injured people in the family who were unconscious and could not be taken out. The staff helped register the situation and said that the injured person could be taken out once they woke up, or that government departments could provide door-to-door service when they were busy.
The Songshan District government was neither too far nor too close to where they were staying; the name Songshan District comes from the nearby Songshan Mountain. The group arrived after about an hour's walk.
The original district government building was not tall and has been buried under the ice. The government has temporarily requisitioned the adjacent office building as its office space.
It's unclear how, but half of the office building's wall was chiseled open to create a large, passable entrance.
Half of the floor of the office building closest to the ice was frozen under the ice, so a temporary staircase was built to make the second floor a usable office space.
They also thoughtfully built wheelchair access for people with mobility issues.
The government announced that supplies would be available for collection starting at 3 p.m., and there were already people queuing outside. However, they arrived relatively early, as there were only about twenty people ahead of them, which wasn't a large number.
However, queuing outside for more than an hour in the freezing cold is fine for young and strong people, but it is quite a disaster for the elderly.
The government's approach is quite humane, with a special waiting area for the elderly. People over 60 can stay indoors with the heating on while their family members wait in line to go together to complete the process.
The Kochi family, Kobayashi, and Sister Li first took the elderly in their family to the waiting area for seniors.
The waiting area for seniors is connected to other office spaces, offering a clear view of the work environment on the second floor. The entire second floor is quiet except for the sounds of hurried footsteps, writing, and the rustling of turning pages.
Armed soldiers patrol up and down the stairs at any time. If they find anyone causing trouble, they will take them into custody. They will not detain or kill them, but will call the person in charge of distributing supplies to prevent them from receiving relief supplies for 5 days. The relief supplies will be halved for the first 10 days. If they commit the offense again, they will be disqualified from receiving relief supplies.
Seeing that Xiaolin and his group had three elderly people, two children, and one elderly person with mobility issues, the staff made an exception and allowed one person to stay behind to look after the elderly and children.
After discussing it, the three of them entrusted Xiaolin's child and his mother to Liu Sisi, asking her to take care of them. Then, they returned to the back of the queue with Gao Zhi and Sister Li.
At 3 p.m., the distribution of supplies and population registration officially began.
The queue outside was already incredibly long, stretching as far as the eye could see.
A group of soldiers with guns stood guard on both sides of the line to prevent anyone from causing trouble or cutting in line. If anyone was found doing so, they would be dealt with according to the procedures mentioned above.
Every five or six people in the group, soldiers stood guard on both sides, holding weapons and with serious and solemn expressions. Everyone felt pressured just looking at them, and the five people felt like causing trouble.
The people in Building 10 arrived early, and it only took them about half an hour to get to their turn. Just as they were getting to the front of the line, Liu Sisi arrived with three elderly people and two children to join the others.
Population registration is very simple. The staff will swipe the ID card onto the machine, and after two beeps, the household registration information will appear.
If an ID card or other valid document is lost, staff can only find the corresponding person in the database by reciting the information verbally.
It is said that this machine is only used for major events, such as the first population registration after this disaster.
The whole country is currently without power. Even though the country has energy storage and other power generation methods, these energy-consuming resources are being used sparingly at present.
After finding the household registration information, the staff will handwrite an identity certificate and issue it to everyone, which will serve as the voucher for the distribution of supplies in the future.
With the new identification document in hand, Gu Yanzhi checked the information and found it to be largely the same as his ID card, except for the lack of a photo. The paper was likely a special type that would be difficult to forge.
After registering their current address and family members, they can go upstairs to collect their supplies.
As Gu Yanzhi took the identification and followed the signs upstairs, a sudden commotion broke out at the identity registration office.
"Why won't you give me proof?" an angry male voice roared at the staff member.
"Sir, I'm sorry. Please calm down and composed yourself. We can't find your identification information. I've already notified my supervisor, and he'll take you to the lounge inside to rest while he verifies it for you," the staff member explained patiently in a soft voice.
Before the man could say anything more, patrolling soldiers heard the commotion and quickly surrounded him.
Upon seeing this, the man shrank back, swallowed the words that were about to come out, and followed the leader who had rushed over after hearing the news to the so-called lounge.
Upstairs, as soon as you go up the stairs, there are staff members at the door checking your identity.
"Three adults will receive five days' worth of supplies at a time, and will return with identification after five days to collect the next batch."
The relief supplies certainly cannot be compared with normal food needs; they can only guarantee that people won't starve to death for 5 days, and forget about being able to eat their fill.
The supplies for the five days consisted mostly of compressed biscuits, along with a small amount of steamed buns and five cans of food per person. Each person was also given 1000 ml of drinking water, and two 500 ml bottles of water were directly provided.
The first batch of supplies included a small blanket, an alcohol stove, and five alcohol blocks per person for keeping warm.
When distributing supplies later, they will no longer issue alcohol stoves, but only alcohol blocks.
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