"Don't they realize how old they are? They still want to join in the fun."
Yun Qi walked over and touched his sleeve: "Is anything wet? Do you want to change your clothes before going out?"
"It's okay, don't worry. I didn't use much strength and I didn't sweat. It's those people who were too excited and went back to change their clothes."
"You can deal with those fish when I get back. I need to go check on them first. It would be a real problem if someone fell into the water."
"Okay, then hurry up and go over there. We're having a whole fish feast later." At this moment, Yunqi already had many ways to cook fish in his mind.
That day, the village of Pinghe was filled with the aroma of various fish, adding a touch of warmth to the cold winter.
People in other places were not so lucky. In some villages, no one had time to build houses, and the arrival of the freeze directly took many lives.
Some of the clever ones found a cave in the mountains and gathered everyone together, barely managing to survive on the firewood they had stored up.
Although there are in-laws in each village, there is too much grain stored in the countryside. At times like these, people are even less willing to rely on relatives. First, the grain cannot be transported there, and second, everyone's conditions are similar. It is better to stick together in the village than to go to another village. In this way, the whole clan can rely on each other and it is more reliable.
The people in the city weren't so lucky. Heating had been stopped, and they couldn't work to supplement their income. Many huddled under their blankets, afraid to move, until mealtime when someone was sent to collect relief food. Relief food was distributed per person, and only once a day; it was impossible to eat one's fill.
Even so, many people still couldn't make it through each day, and for a time, the entire city was shrouded in despair and grief.
The Lian family wasn't so lucky either. When they could find odd jobs, they could barely make ends meet. Now, the whole family is crammed together in a small house where they can't even light a fire for warmth, so they have to squeeze into their blankets. They complain about each other all day long. If they weren't afraid that fighting would exhaust them or that they would die from the cold, they might have already gotten into several fights.
Meanwhile, in the military camp, Yun Zhixin was chatting with his younger brother Yun Zhizhong about family matters.
"I wonder how things are back home now? It's been so long since the earthquake, and I still haven't been able to get in touch with them."
Hearing his brother's worried words, Yun Zhizhong was also concerned about his family: "Some people came from the county town before, and I asked them about me, but because all the bridges in the county town were completely destroyed, we don't know the situation in the surrounding rural areas. But because we made preparations beforehand, dealing with the earthquake shouldn't be a big problem. But the main thing is, I don't know if everyone has made preparations for the cold. The houses back home aren't earthquake-resistant and might not hold up. You don't know how they're getting through this freezing weather." Little did they know, their fellow villagers back home were sitting on warm kang beds, drinking steaming hot fish soup, living a very comfortable life.
"Who says otherwise? If it weren't for this damn cold, our troops might have already detected that area. What did those people from the county say? Were there any dangers along the way?"
"I've found out everything. I heard that things have gotten chaotic in the county town. These people had to find connections and pay a huge price to get out of the county town. The journey was alright, except for a few deep potholes that made it impassable by car. It's just that we might have to walk if we want to go back in the future."
Yun Zhixin sighed: "The city's fuel is running low now. We have to manage the food for so many people. The gas we stored up is almost gone. We just took on a new task, and we may have to go out and collect dry branches to find coal in the next couple of days. If we don't prepare now, and another cold wave comes, I don't know how many people will freeze to death."
Yun Zhizhong looked at his brother with some concern: "Then you must be careful when you go out. Try to bring an extra set of clothes with you. If your clothes get wet, change them as soon as possible. There were a few soldiers in the regiment before who got frostbite because they didn't change their clothes in time after sweating, and they couldn't be saved."
"Don't worry, we've already specifically emphasized these things. Besides, we've already scouted the roads around the city, and some of them are still passable, so everyone will have more security when going on missions. As for your families, there are several elderly people living there, so things should be fine."
"Sometimes I really want to take off this outfit and go home to be with my elderly parents and children."
Yun Zhixin patted his younger brother on the shoulder: "If you were willing, you would have gone home last time. Those who are still here are full of love for the army, while those who have been discharged and gone home have many reasons for not being able to leave."
Previously, the military gave everyone a choice: if their family consisted only of elderly people and children, they were required to retire and return home, or they could submit their own retirement application. However, very few people actually retired; many were forced to retire because their families lacked able-bodied young adults.
"I really hope things can recover as soon as possible. It's just too difficult to go back to the days before liberation."
The two brothers chatted for a while longer before returning to their respective camps.
The gang in the county town had already grown to a considerable size. Due to the freezing weather, they could only stay in the town to shelter from the cold. The other civilians, having been robbed and then battered by the cold wave, were already few in number. This freezing weather saved the lives of the survivors. Seeing the river frozen over, they crossed it to seek refuge with relatives and friends in the surrounding villages. At this point, in their desperate need to survive, they no longer cared about whether their refuge would cause trouble for others.
In this way, several surrounding villages took in refugees who had fled from the county town.
Apart from the Sun family's in-laws and Yun Qifang and her daughter, no one else came to Pinghe Village. Although everyone stayed indoors to avoid the cold, the village still arranged for people to patrol the village entrance every day, and placed a large gong outside the wall. If someone came, they could simply strike the gong so that the village would know immediately.
As for Si Cheng's uncle's family, thanks to the methods taught by Si Cheng and the supplies provided by Yun Qi, they had no problem keeping warm. Following their ideas, the other villagers also rushed to find a place to shelter from the cold before the cold wave arrived.
Because so many fish were caught this time, every household hung the excess on the stove to be smoked into preserved fish, hoping it would be a presentable gift when visiting relatives or giving gifts.
Many young people also wanted to experience the spectacular sight of people standing on the shore and fish jumping onto them, but when they tried to break through the ice as a group, they couldn't even open a small hole despite their great efforts. After being warned by several elderly people in the village last time, they didn't dare to ask Si Cheng for help, and the matter was left unresolved.
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