Chapter 80 The Rocking Boat
Over the weekend, Grandma Zhang made a phone call to her daughter and son.
It was a rare occasion for the three of them to talk, and it was Grandma Zhang who took the initiative to make the call.
The method of organizing multi-person video calls in WeChat groups was something Song Rushuang had just taught her. The elderly woman was very excited to learn something new and wanted to share it with her family immediately.
Wearing my reading glasses, I tried for a long time before finally getting through.
The phone rang a few times before being answered by Zhao Ya, the daughter. The small screen showed the faces of her daughter and granddaughter, who appeared to be having a meal.
Zhao Ya had her daughter greet her grandmother, then took her phone and walked aside: "Mom, what's wrong?"
As they were talking, Zhao Liang, who was abroad, answered the phone: "Mom? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?"
When Grandma Zhang saw that her daughter and son had arrived, she turned slightly to the side, revealing the things piled up on the living room floor behind her, and smiled, her eyes crinkling with wrinkles: "Look what this is."
The floor was piled high with rice, flour, cooking oil, toilet paper, garbage bags, and other daily necessities, as well as various large packages of food.
Zhao Ya was taken aback: "Mom, why did you buy so much stuff?"
"No, it's because Xiao Song's daughter came back from her holiday and taught me how to order things on my phone, so I bought a little extra," Grandma Zhang said with a smile. "When are you and Ya Ya coming over? I can share some of what I can't finish with you."
Hearing her mother make the decision on her own, Zhao Ya frowned subconsciously and said disapprovingly, "You bought too much. It will spoil easily if we can't finish it. Why don't you call me if you want to eat something, and I'll order several days' worth for you at once? Wouldn't that be more convenient?"
Grandma Zhang then explained, "It's because the supermarket has a discount..."
She didn't say that every time she called her daughter, eight out of ten times she was busy with work or taking care of the children, and would hang up in a hurry after only a few words. How could Grandma Zhang have the nerve to bother her daughter to order things?
Besides, Grandma Zhang knows that young people of her daughter's generation don't have the habit of hoarding, but perhaps her thinking is outdated, she still feels more secure keeping more food at home.
Zhao Liang then saw clearly what Grandma Zhang had bought and exclaimed loudly, "Is that eight-treasure porridge? Oh my, Mom, why did you buy so much of that stuff!"
There were three whole boxes of red eight-treasure porridge packaging piled up in the corner, which looked quite impressive.
A box contains 24 cans, so that's over seventy cans in total.
Zhao Liang found it unbelievable: "Why do you like to eat this? It doesn't taste good."
The slightly disdainful tone made Grandma Zhang's smile fade, and she became somewhat disheartened.
Zhao Ya noticed the change in her mother's mood and retorted, "If Mom likes to eat it, then let her eat it. Eight-treasure porridge is better than rice porridge, right? I called her a few days ago at mealtimes and saw that Mom was always eating either porridge or noodles."
Thinking about it, she felt remorseful, realizing that she should have encouraged her mother's rare interest in learning online shopping.
Besides, Grandma Zhang is in good health and doesn't have any problems like high blood sugar. Eight-treasure porridge is indeed more nutritious than rice porridge for breakfast.
Only Zhao Liang was still muttering, "Those are all canned foods, they're unhealthy. Nobody in Country A eats that."
"Besides, who knows what that kid is thinking? A stranger is being so kind, especially when it involves money. You'd better keep your distance from her... Hey, Mom, you didn't tell her your bank card PIN when she bought the things, did you?" Zhao Liang suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Zhao Ya was furious when she heard this.
Ever since my younger brother went abroad, every time we talk on the phone, he subtly brags about his life and culture abroad and belittles our family's life in China.
But every time he gets excited while talking, he immediately shuts up and makes all sorts of excuses to hang up the phone when asked to come back and see his mother.
Zhao Ya is a single mother, which already puts her under a lot of pressure. She also has to worry about her mother and drive back from a neighboring city to visit her from time to time, which takes four or five hours each way.
Not only could Zhao Liang not help, but he also stopped transferring his mother's support payments for the past two years.
How dare he criticize his mother's lifestyle?
Seeing her younger brother still making sarcastic remarks, Zhao Ya's pent-up resentment exploded, and she angrily said, "If I don't eat these, do you expect me to eat lettuce leaves every day like you?"
"Besides, isn't emergency food the thing that foreigners love to hoard? The concept of 'doomsday preparers' also came from abroad."
“We’re not nearby and can’t take care of Mom. Xiaoshuang meant well. What are you babbling about? She’s only eighteen. We’ve watched her grow up. Don’t you know what kind of person she is?”
The two started arguing back and forth, which upset Grandma Zhang.
She interrupted their argument, hung up the phone first, and then sat quietly on the sofa for a while.
They worked so hard to raise their children, but in their old age, not a single one of them was by their side.
In her dejection, Grandma Zhang's gaze turned to the pile of things in the corner, and her bad mood finally improved.
At least there's Xiaoshuang, who's willing to sit down and talk to her for an afternoon, teaching her how to order goods and call her family using her phone.
Although they weren't family, she was more patient than any family member.
This morning we just held a training session on how to order goods using mobile phones. We will also hold a safety lecture later, and encourage everyone to replace their security doors and install security grilles.
Song Rushuang said a lot, but Grandma Zhang didn't quite understand. She only knew that she could write these community activities on her resume to make it easier to find a job later.
The better the event, the more impressive the resume will be.
Thinking of this, Grandma Zhang finally cheered up.
She has lived in this community for decades and knows almost every household. When the time comes, she will try to get more people to support Xiaoshuang's "work" and strive to make security doors and security grilles available throughout the community, and carry out a grand renovation campaign!
*
Before the holiday, Fu Qing said that the campus renovation would be officially completed on August 1st, and the last refuge slots would be released for students to redeem with points.
The anticipation for August 1st is no less than the anticipation for the college entrance examination results last year.
Of course, the number of places is ultimately limited. Some people on the forum have estimated that, apart from the student's own place, each student can probably only exchange for two or three more places.
The exact number will depend on the results.
If there are a few more people in the family, it might not even be possible for the whole family to move in.
With parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents, that's already six people. If there are siblings, the number will be even greater.
Moreover, some people are not close to their families, but they have friends they grew up with, and they have to choose among these people.
The forum chat these days has almost entirely revolved around the number of shelter spots, creating a rather somber atmosphere.
The students faced an unprecedented dilemma: the lives of their loved ones were in their hands. Deciding who to give the spot to was tantamount to giving that person a chance to live, while not giving it to anyone was tantamount to sentencing them to death.
When they die in the apocalypse, the students will only feel that their decision killed the other person. Even if they try their best to convince themselves not to feel guilty, they still can't avoid such associations.
This feeling of having the power of life and death is something some people enjoy, but for students it's awful.
They preferred to leave the choice to others and hide in the background, thus avoiding the burden of death.
But this idea was dismissed almost as soon as it came to mind.
Some things they have to bear themselves.
Fortunately, there were many other students at school who shared the same concerns, so we could discuss them together.
Main post: [Sincere question: My grades are too bad. Besides the one spot the principal said each person could exchange, I might only be able to exchange one more spot, making a total of three spots including my own.]
My father passed away early, and my mother was busy with work. I was almost entirely raised by my older sister. She got married a couple of years ago and had a lovely little niece who is just over a year old. Putting aside my brother-in-law (sorry, brother-in-law), my mother and sister alone have taken up my only two spots, but I really can't give up my little niece.
I had a few days off, and my sister's family came to visit me. When I looked at my niece's smiling face and held her soft little hand, I really wanted to cry.
If I don't bring her, my sister definitely won't want to come with me. I don't want to lose my niece, but I don't want to lose my sister even more.
So I'd like to ask if it's possible to give my spot to a relative? Has anyone asked the principal about this? I feel that with my own abilities, I could easily survive in a tent on Xishan Mountain, but if I abandon my niece, my sister and brother-in-law might not even survive a week with her.
The original poster's question was very earnest, and everyone who read it couldn't help but feel worried.
1L: [Wow, the survival rate for kids this age in the apocalypse is really low. They can't control their crying and tantrums, and at just over a year old, they don't understand anything yet. Putting them in a shelter is definitely the best solution.]
3L: [It might be a bit cruel to say this at this time, but I still want to remind you, whatever decision you ultimately make, you must keep the fact that the quota is not fixed a secret from your mother. Otherwise, your mother might give up her own quota for her daughter and granddaughter.]
4L (original poster) replied to 3L: [Thanks for the reminder! I'll think of a suitable excuse; I think my mom really would do that...]
7L: [I have the same problem. If I could, I'd give up my spot. I can't imagine any of my family or friends struggling to survive alone in the apocalypse. Lately, the thought of having to abandon someone to save someone makes me cry every day. I'd rather be the one venturing into the apocalypse.]
...
22L: [I asked the principal about this issue in the principal's office before the holiday. She said that an announcement would be made when the quota is publicly available, but she didn't tell me to keep it a secret, so I'm sharing the information here first.]
First of all, I regret to inform you that the principal has made it clear that students cannot give up their spots.
Everyone should know that while both adults and infants occupy a single spot and consume resources in the shelter by eating and drinking, adults can contribute labor, while infants can do nothing but eat, drink, and relieve themselves, yet they still occupy labor—because they need someone to care for and look after them day and night. This is equivalent to the shelter losing two laborers.
We did stockpile supplies, but it's naive to think we can survive for years on those supplies. The crops and animals at the school need to be cared for. We didn't come to the shelter to lie down and enjoy ourselves. Let's not forget that.
The principal didn't give us these spots for nothing. We've already received a year of education, and compared to others, we are more capable and therefore have greater responsibilities. Students in the farming class are responsible for leading others in farming and animal husbandry, students in the infrastructure class are responsible for digging traps and repairing walls, and many more are responsible for protecting the safety of everyone in the shelter. When the zombie horde attacks, we must be among those who rush to the front lines.
If you leave, what will happen to your responsibilities?
The school needs young and strong men, and the ordinary people in the shelter also need us. The principal released the quotas without imposing any restrictions. I guess it's because she knows that everyone's family and friends must have elderly, weak, sick, or disabled members who are not good at fighting. Forcing us to give them up would be too cruel. So she only imposed one restriction: students cannot voluntarily give up their quotas. This ensures that there are at least two thousand young and strong men with fighting ability in the shelter.
But there are some things she didn't say, and we need to understand them ourselves.
I might have been a bit harsh, or even speaking from a position of privilege, but personally, I understand how you feel. However, I hope that you, and all those facing similar dilemmas, will make a decision only after careful consideration.
The comment on the 22nd floor silenced the onlookers for a while before people started to speak.
Reply from 25L to 22L: [A word to the wise. From the moment we entered Fangzhou, many of our decisions were no longer made solely for our own benefit. Since everyone stayed, they must have been prepared for this.]
26L: [The original poster is just worried and confused, I can understand...sigh...]
After a while, the original poster finally appeared.
33L (original poster) replied to 22L: [Thanks for the reply. It was indeed my oversight. How long the shelter can last actually determines the fate of each of us, not just my own.]
I reconsidered and decided to stock up on more supplies and self-defense equipment for the family during this time, and also renovate the doors and windows. After the apocalypse, I will give the remaining spots to my sister.
If she decides to come with me, I can teach her and my brother-in-law how to fight zombies. We can visit my brother-in-law and niece every now and then and scavenge for supplies together. If she ultimately chooses not to come with me, I will still visit her every now and then.
Of course, the best outcome would be if my grades were just enough to qualify for two spots, so my brother-in-law wouldn't have to take care of my niece, and her chances of surviving alone would be much higher.
If it were someone else, they might have shirked their responsibilities and hidden behind the other thousands of people in the shelter.
—Thinking, “Anyway, there are more than two thousand classmates and their relatives who can be used as labor, so what if I am missing?”
However, after a year of living and training together with their classmates, the Fangzhou group has long since become an inseparable community.
Only when everyone shares the burden can Fangzhou go further.
After the original poster finished expressing their opinion, commenter #22 chimed in again. This time, instead of a lengthy post, they sincerely replied: [Good luck.]
The post didn't end there; it became lively again after a new reply appeared.
36L: [Not being able to enter the shelter does not mean death! Don't forget what Teacher Bai said, many people actually died on the way to find supplies - because they ran out of food, they had to leave the safe houses and encountered wandering zombies on the road.]
Therefore, as long as we repair the doors and windows and stockpile enough supplies, our family and friends can survive for a long time, just like Teacher Bai. Even mid-level zombies have difficulty breaking through steel security bars.
Friends, don't be too negative!
The reply on the 36th floor was made anonymously by Su Huaijin.
In her opinion, Fangzhou's classmates put so much pressure on themselves precisely because they were too kind.
In reality, things are often not as bad as they think.
—If failing to enter the shelter means death, then what about the principal and Teacher Hao who have lived for so long?
Some people are anxious about the impending doom and can only seek comfort on forums, while others take the initiative to stand up and encourage others.
Fangzhou is like a small boat; some row, some patch the leaks, and some adjust the sails...
Only by working together can we push it forward, albeit shakily.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
