Furun Plaza was newly built a few years ago, and its floor height is not comparable to that of residential buildings. Nowadays, residential buildings are generally flooded to the third or fourth floor, but here it is only flooded to the second floor.
Stepping on the smooth and flat ground, the water was above her ankles. Qiao Qingqing couldn't help but let out a breath, she finally made it to shore!
"There are so many people here. I envy those who live nearby." Song Jianmin looked around, his eyes unable to hide his excitement. "There are police officers there! Look, they are wearing police uniforms!"
"It really is. It seems this mall is really reliable. Come on, let's go upstairs!"
Shao Shengan carried the kayak and motioned for Qiao Qingqing to go ahead: "The ground is wet, watch your way carefully."
Qiao Qingqing and her friends went upstairs with other guests. The original escalator had stopped, so they walked up. The police guarding the end of the escalator gave people a great sense of security. Qiao Qingqing looked carefully and confirmed that the police were armed.
The first floor of the mall is the counter area, the second and third floors used to be the clothing area, the fourth and fifth floors are the food area, and the top floor, the sixth floor, is the amusement park. The mall and the residential floors are different in height. The residential floors are generally flooded to the third floor, but here it is only flooded to the second floor. When Qiao Qingqing went up to the third floor, she saw that many people lived here. The shops and wide corridors were all occupied. This place should have been requisitioned as a temporary shelter. When she went up to the fourth and fifth floors, the situation was similar.
The supermarket was originally on the underground first floor, but some leader had the foresight to move it to the sixth floor in advance. After reaching the sixth floor, Qiao Qingqing and her friends each pushed a cart and went shopping separately.
"There are too many people selling rice and flour. I only managed to grab a bag of rice. Let's buy some snacks," said Shao Shengan.
"OK."
The couple walked through the mostly empty shelves and bought a lot of snacks and drinks. Then they moved to the daily necessities area and took two large bags of toilet paper, two boxes of batteries and a pack of candles.
"I didn't buy this cereal, do you want to eat it?" When shopping in a supermarket, you can always find things that are not on your shopping list. The process of replenishing them gives you a sense of happiness as if you have found a treasure.
She didn't know the angle at which she tilted her head when she asked this question, and her eyes were full of anticipation.
Shao Shengan nodded without hesitation: "I love it, buy some."
"Then I'll pick carefully." Qiao Qingqing carefully selected two cans of cereal and put them in the cart.
There was a sudden noise in front, and someone screamed.
"It sounds like someone is fighting." Shao Shengan heard the noise and pulled Qiao Qingqing away.
The police came quickly and took the two men, who were fighting with bloodshot heads, away. No one knew how they started fighting, and the customers who were picking things at the same shelf did not hear it either. Suddenly, they started fighting, smashing each other's heads with bottles of beverages.
"It's so scary, it's like crazy."
"Tsk, tsk, it's all blood. I can see it's getting stitches."
Qiao Qingqing was protected by Shao Shengan behind her, looking at the winding bloodstains dripping on the ground with a cold expression. She knew in her heart that this would become the norm in the future. Being closed and besieged, many people had psychological problems. Two complete strangers, perhaps just a casual glance at each other, could suddenly trigger a bloody fight.
"Let's go to the toy area over there. There must not be many people buying toys right now." Qiao Qingqing said softly, reaching out to hold Shao Shengan's hand.
"Okay, let's go to the toy section."
After the checkout is done, residents of the community gather at the door.
In just over an hour, the water level rose a little bit and reached above Qiao Qingqing's knees.
Everyone had bags of all sizes, and as soon as they put them on the kayak, the kayak began to sink.
"We can't do this. There are so many things and they are too heavy. It will become even heavier once people get on it. We don't want the kayak to sink halfway." Shao Shengan suggested that they find buckets or wooden boards, put the things on them and pull them along. They should never put everything on the kayak.
So everyone started looking for materials everywhere, even in supermarkets. The big buckets in the supermarkets had been sold out long ago, and even the small buckets and basins were few and far between, so they could only use what they had.
Qiao Qingqing made a suggestion: "I saw an experiment online that said you can make a boat with a quilt. Wrap the quilt tightly with tape, and the boat will float on the water." In her previous life, she didn't have time to kayak. When she first went out to find supplies, she used buckets at home, which were easy to flip over and easy to get water in. Later, she met a high school student paddling a homemade boat on the road, so she quickly asked the other party how to do it. The girl loudly told her how to do it, and then she had a boat. When the temperature dropped suddenly, she dismantled the boat and took out the quilt to cover it.
"Is it possible? Won't the quilt get wet? A wet quilt is very heavy!"
"It should work. There's no other way. You can try. There's a bedding store downstairs. Just buy a quilt. The precipitation is so strange now. Maybe it will get colder in the future. It will be even colder this winter. Buy an extra quilt to make a boat now, and you can use it to cover yourself when it gets cold later."
She spoke very logically, and the neighbors thought about it and felt that they really needed a boat to carry their things. If they could really make a boat with quilts, they could put more supplies in it, and they would go back to the supermarket to buy another batch. It was too troublesome to come here, and no one wanted to go here every day.
“Then give it a try!”
Qiao Qingqing bought a quilt and went to the supermarket to buy some tape and demonstrated it to them.
When the boat entered the water and floated, everyone felt relieved and quickly followed suit. Shao Shengan put the supplies they bought on the boat and asked Qiao Qingqing to lead it for a while: "I'll row the boat."
Other passers-by saw it and thought it was useful, so they followed suit.
The owner of the bedding store who took refuge in the store downstairs welcomed a wave of business and was grinning from ear to ear. After collecting the money, he gave it to his daughter and said, "Go, go to the supermarket and buy some food, and spend all the money."
"I know, mom." The girl took the money and walked quickly to the supermarket. Qiao Qingqing was guiding her neighbor. She looked up and was stunned. This girl in school uniform was the high school student in her previous life. It turned out that she was the daughter of the owner of the bedding store. In her previous life, she was trying to control the direction of the plastic bucket in the rain. When she saw the quilt bed, she was very surprised and subconsciously called out to her. The girl stopped strangely and turned back: "Sister, are you calling me for something?"
Thinking back on that scene now, it is still very clear.
Finding an opportunity, Qiao Qingqing put two thousand yuan at the cashier so that the mother and daughter could buy more food to save.
When night fell, Qiao Qingqing and her friends returned to the community. Their families were anxiously waiting for them, and they were very happy to see them back, and hurried down to greet them.
"Why is the water so deep? The third floor is about to reach the ceiling!"
"It's terrible, my house is on the fourth floor, I'm in danger!"
Buying food is a great joy, but apart from the joy, the water level is like a sword hanging over your head, making you feel anxious all the time.
The residents on the fourth and fifth floors carried their supplies upstairs with heavy faces. Shao Shengan packed up the kayak and asked Qiao Qingqing to carry a bag of things upstairs first, and asked his parents to come down to help.
Shao's father and mother came down quickly and helped carry the quilt boat and the remaining supplies up. Shao Shengan walked last, and Grandma Wang on the seventh floor opened the door and greeted him: "Can you lend me your kayak? I'm going to Furun Supermarket to buy things tomorrow."
"Okay, come to my house tomorrow and get it."
Grandma Wang stuffed an apple into Shao Shengan's pocket. Shao Shengan had no time to stop her and smiled bitterly: "Grandma Wang, don't be so polite."
"Of course, of course. Go upstairs quickly and change your wet clothes so you don't catch a cold."
When Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan came out of their hot shower, their things had already been packed by Qiao Songzhi and the others.
"We went out to get some information. Other places also lost the internet and signal. It's better here because the terrain is higher. On the way to Furun Plaza, I saw many houses were flooded. I remember that those houses used to have four or five floors. Today, there is only bare water. The houses are all submerged."
After listening to Shao Shengan's words, Shao's father, Shao's mother and Qiao Songzhi all looked heavy.
"I never thought this day would come. Why does the rain never stop? Please stop!" Father Shao frowned. "This rain is too scary!"
"Dad, don't worry too much. We are all together as a family. We don't have to worry about food and clothing. We can overcome any difficulties." Shao Shengan consoled him and livened up the atmosphere. "Qingqing and I bought some toys for big brother. Let's take them out for him to play with!"
That night, the rain suddenly became heavier and the third floor was completely flooded. The people on the fourth floor moved overnight to prepare for the crisis in advance.
At daybreak, Hu Yihang from the second floor took time out to come back and brought a few comrades with him to help the old neighbors move, and sent them to Four Seasons Home in speedboats.
"Four Seasons Home? Isn't that a newly built community that hasn't been completed yet?"
Hu Yihang wiped the rain off his face and said, "Yes, the gymnasium and library are full, and Four Seasons Home has been requisitioned as a temporary shelter. Although it is not yet completed, it can still provide shelter from the wind and rain. There are high-rise buildings there, so it can accommodate a lot of people. Do you want to come with us? My comrades and I will try our best to send you all over."
The residents on the fourth and fifth floors all left after discussing it.
Hu Yihang and his team were busy all day, and when there was not enough space, Qiao Qingqing donated two kayaks to the fire brigade for them to put their luggage. Hu Yihang thanked her and said he would find time to send them back to her.
"No need to send it back, you can use it, I have more at home."
Two days later, Qiao Qingqing rented two rooms on the eighth floor of the building next door. One of the two rooms was occupied by the owner, and the other was lent to a relative. Due to the inconvenience of communication, the other party did not inform her. She saw a candle light in the room on the eighth floor opposite at night, and only found out the next day when she went to ask.
The householder was polite and said he would compensate Qiao Qingqing for breach of contract, but the other relative was very shameless and said that he had already lent the house to her family and asked her to go find the householder. How could she find him when the communication was interrupted?
Qiao Qingqing didn't care, she took the penalty from one of the families and left. Shao Shengan wanted to comfort her, but she shook her head: "My uncle and his family didn't come, and none of your relatives came either. I knew long ago that these two rental houses could not be kept."
In the future, even your own house will be at risk of being occupied by outsiders, not to mention if it is rented.
In the end times, the most powerful thing is force. Only force can protect yourself, your family, and your home.
Qiao Qingqing spent the penalty money on shopping at Furun Supermarket. After that, they never went out again. Other families often went out to buy things, and every time they complained about the rising prices.
“The government doesn’t care?”
"It's good to have a place to buy things. Many supermarkets are closed, and only Furun Supermarket is still open."
"Did you see that? The police there all carried guns. Could someone really have tried to rob them?"
Qiao Qingqing watched the water level rise every day, and her heart was as calm as water.
The water level kept rising, and finally one day Furun Supermarket stopped operating. Zheng Tiehui wiped his hands from his face and told his neighbors the latest news: "They said that all the supply channels have been cut off!"
Neighbors exclaimed: “What can we do? The purchase restrictions were introduced a few days ago, and now we can’t even buy a house. Are we going to starve to death?”
Someone didn't believe it, so he borrowed a kayak from Qiao Qingqing's family and went out. He came back soaked like a drowned rat and admitted the fact with a sad face.
"We really don't sell anything anymore! There are so many people standing at the door and refusing to leave!"
The only shopping place was closed, causing panic among the residents, who were increasingly anxious as the water level rose. Fortunately, most families had prepared to stock up as the water level slowly rose, so they could survive for a short time.
But work and study have come to a halt, and the entire society seems to have paused in the heavy rain, and this feeling of panic cannot be eliminated.
Qiao Qingqing and her family continued to make steamed buns, pancakes and dumplings at home, and continued to store semi-finished and finished foods.
"I read the instructions and plan to make some ginger tea and milk tea to store. What kind of drink do you want? I'll make it together." Qiao Qingqing is full of motivation every day.
Shao Shengan thought about it and said he wanted to drink fruit tea: "It should contain watermelon, pineapple, and lemon - no apple, never mind, apple is fine too, can you add some coconut?"
"Sure, with or without ice?"
"Go get some ice."
"Then just wait and drink, I'll do it right away."
Seeing Qiao Qingqing enthusiastically looking through the recipes in the e-book, Shao Shengan's eyes were full of tenderness.
The fruit tea made according to the recipe was sweet and sour and was well received by the family. Qiao Qingqing was greatly encouraged and made ginger tea and milk tea, and even made her own pearls. Qiao Songzhi and Shao's father and mother did not like milk tea, but praised ginger tea.
"It's good to drink this in winter to keep away the cold."
Barrels of drinks were stored in the space. With Qiao Songzhi and Shao Shengan providing cover, Shao's father and mother had no idea of the secret of her space.
After dealing with the drinks, the crisis of supply chain disruption outside finally showed signs of improvement.
On the morning of the fifth day, they heard the spiral sound of an airplane.
Relief supplies have arrived.
Qiao Qingqing thought.
When I went up to the terrace, I saw a group of planes with military flags circling in the sky in the rain.
They slowly descended and dropped the relief supplies onto the rooftops of high-rise buildings one by one.
More people were startled and crowded to the windows and balconies, looking up.
"It looks like they're distributing relief supplies! We're saved! No one in my family can swim!"
"Where did it fall? We don't have it here!"
"Ah, here it comes! It's flying towards us!"
"What a big deal, using airplanes to drop supplies—"
The Jinyuan community where Qiao Qingqing lived was filled with excited shouts, just like in her previous life, so loud that they could penetrate the rain.
A large box of relief supplies landed on the roof of Qiao Qingqing's house, just like in the previous life, but this time her family sealed off the terrace, so it landed on the Zheng family next door.
Residents on the sixth and seventh floors rushed to the top floor, but were stopped by the iron gate. They expressed their dissatisfaction and knocked on the gate and called for help.
Shao Shengan came out and knocked on Zheng's door first.
"Xiao Shao, open the door first. When did you build this iron door on the eighth floor? Why didn't you tell us?" Song Jianmin said dissatisfiedly.
Shao Shengan didn't say anything. He opened the iron gate first, then continued to knock on the door of 802, shouting Zheng Tiehui's name loudly.
Inside the house, Zheng Tiehui hurriedly wanted to open the box to see what was inside, but the outsiders urged him to open the box. Mrs. Zheng was very unhappy: "What a poor man! A broken box is not worth their shouting. Ignore them and continue to open it."
Zheng Tiehui frowned and dropped the scissors. "Forget it. We are all neighbors in the same building. It's not good to have bad relations in this world. I'll go open the door. Don't be so gloomy. You just moved in a few days ago and you want to offend all the neighbors? Forget it, go inside."
Zheng Tiehui opened the door with an apologetic look on his face: "It's my fault! My fault! I have a stomachache and I'm squatting on the toilet. The box is too heavy, and my wife and children can't move it. So, you guys come in and help me move it. This is the supplies sent by the higher-ups, and everyone has a share."
He spoke beautifully, so it was difficult for people to argue with him.
After moving the boxes down from the attic, everyone gathered in the living room.
The box was packed very tightly, with a layer of waterproof cloth on the outside and sealed with tape. The lid could only be opened after the layers were removed. What came into view was a list of the items in the box, including food, regular medicine, candles, matches, and water purification tablets. The numbers were clearly listed, a total of fifty compressed biscuits, fifty bottles of mineral water, and a certain number of medicines, candles, and other supplies.
If divided equally, each household will get eight compressed biscuits, eight bottles of water, three candles, a box of matches and a box of water purification tablets.
"Compressed biscuits? I've heard of this thing. It tastes terrible and I can't even swallow it. Why are you sending out this kind of thing?"
"Yes, it would be great to have some rice and flour. It can satisfy hunger and is healthy. This thing doesn't look tasty."
"It's great to have something to give out, why would you be so picky? How are we going to distribute this stuff, by household?"
"No, it won't work. We can't divide it by household. We have to divide it by person!" Those who have many people in their families disagreed and said it was unfair. Chen Binggang from Room 602 objected, and others either agreed or remained silent.
Among the three floors of this building that are still inhabited, the smallest population is the old couple of the Tian family in 702. Mr. Tian came up slowly and didn't knock on the door in time, but just opened the box. Hearing this, he quickly said, "It has to be divided according to the number of people, so let's do it according to the number of people."
Song Jianmin felt that this was not feasible: "Then we have to divide it according to the number of original residents. Outsiders cannot be counted in. This will dilute our share." He then looked at Shao Shengan.
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