Having said that, most people still stayed and continued watching.
The news that used to be boring now brings a completely different feeling. It seems that through the clear and melodious words of the news anchor, everyone can touch the peaceful world before the natural disaster.
Gradually, cries were heard from the crowd.
Shao Shengan held Qiao Qingqing's hand. At this moment, an international news was being broadcast on the screen:
"...Next, I will report an international news report. The famous dormant volcano Mount Hytria in Country H suddenly erupted at 2:15 a.m. local time. Volcanic ash covered the sky and the erupting lava immediately caused a forest fire nearby... Mount Hytria is a famous local tourist attraction. There are many hot spring-themed tourist towns nearby. Summer vacation is coming soon. This volcanic eruption will not only affect the local ecology, but will also have a great impact on the tourism industry..."
Qiao Qingqing also held his hand.
"…an oil spill occurred on a tanker from Country R…"
Qiao Qingqing read the news and felt deeply moved.
The reason why she was able to use the news to make her husband and mother believe her words after her rebirth was because in her previous life she had already memorized the news programs that were played on loop.
After the thick fog ended, Mayor Luo still maintained the habit of regularly broadcasting programs to the public. When the eternal night came, the endless darkness was very torturous, and the crime rate was even higher than during the thick fog. A large number of projection broadcasting points were added in various places, and there were even two broadcasting points in the shantytown. The programs were played in a continuous loop. Qiao Qingqing watched them year after year and had memorized them all.
Qiao Songzhi was also in a complicated mood. She recalled the day her daughter said in the restaurant that the end of the world was coming. The scene on TV was exactly the same as her daughter's prediction, and she was greatly shocked.
Seeing the news again today, her mood is very different.
The news broadcast lasted for two hours. After watching the news broadcast of that day, everyone started watching the news of the next day. When the broadcast ended, everyone was reluctant to leave.
"It will be broadcasted at this time tomorrow, everyone please come back and watch it tomorrow!" The staff shouted and began to evacuate the audience. "If your vision is not good, please do not walk or run fast. Please leave in an orderly manner!"
Shao Shengan and Shao's father carried all the stools and asked Qiao Qingqing and the others to hold hands and not get separated.
While climbing the stairs, Qiao Qingqing could hear the cheerful discussions of other residents in the corridor. They were discussing a piece of news or certain scenes in the news. Their tone was light and their mood was cheerful. Even the occasional cough could not dampen their excitement.
After returning home, Qiao Songzhi and the others said they wanted to go to bed early.
"We don't need to turn on the TV at home anymore. We can go downstairs and watch TV every day. The news is also very interesting." Shao's mother touched Shao Shengfei's head, "My dear, is the news interesting?"
Shao Shengfei thought the news was not interesting, but he liked the news host, so he nodded.
"This can save a lot of electricity. The mayor is really nice."
Mayor Luo received all the summary messages late at night and breathed a sigh of relief after reading them.
Yu Jingshen's office was silent. Lin Mingyong lowered his head, then suddenly looked up and walked out.
"It's just a trick to win people's hearts. If he can do it, so can we. We can launch an activity that benefits the people and let them feel your kindness and care."
Yu Jingshen looked at him: "Do you have any ideas? I can't take out too many supplies."
Lin Mingyong shook his head: "No need for materials. He is working hard on spiritual culture, and we will write articles on convenient services. How about the theme of the barber team going deep into the grassroots to provide free haircuts to residents?"
Yu Jingshen fell into deep thought.
Five days later, the barber team came to Ping'an Community to provide free haircuts. Qiao Qingqing's family had always had their hair cut by Shao Shengan, so they did not participate in this people-friendly policy.
The atmosphere in the base gradually improved, not as depressing as before. Although there are still a few people who are reluctant to go out and regard the thick fog as a scourge, more people have gradually resumed going out under the sense of security given by cough suppressants. At six o'clock every afternoon, a large number of residents will gather in the open space at the entrance of the community. Everyone wears masks, talks, laughs, and waits for the new program to start. Sometimes Qiao Qingqing and his friends will go to the neighboring community. They heard that the programs in each community are different. They went there twice and found that they are really different. The neighboring community broadcasts children's programs. Shao Shengfei was deeply attracted after going there once. Later, Qiao Qingqing's family split into two groups. Shao's father and mother took Shao Shengfei to the next door to watch children's programs, while Qiao Qingqing and his wife and Qiao Songzhi watched the new news broadcast in their own community.
During this period, Pei Yan finally returned home. After reuniting with his family, he went to Qiao Qingqing's house as a guest and first thanked her for the iron gate at the door.
"Brother Yuxiu asked someone to tell me about this. To be honest, I was really relieved at the station."
"What's there to thank? We are all neighbors."
Pei Yan also brought a thank-you gift. He thought clearly that he would not be able to go home for a while. His wife and old mother lived at home, and the only people he could rely on were the neighbors. The family next door was really reliable. The elders seemed easy to get along with. Shao Shengan was a hardworking and diligent electrician, and Qiao Qingqing was a doctor. There was no more perfect neighbor than this. It was necessary to build a good relationship.
"This is the new canned fruit that the institute has distributed. Take some and have a try."
Qiao Qingqing went to prepare a return gift and gave a box of dried chrysanthemums.
Pei Yan declined, but Qiao Qingqing asked him to accept it: "Give and take is the only way to last long."
After sending Pei Yan away, Shao's mother sighed, "He must be very tired. He is much thinner than the last time I saw him. His eye sockets are dark, as if he hasn't slept for a long time."
Shao's father thought this was normal: "He is the only man in his family. He can work hard to support his family. Being a man means being responsible." He thought of his work again, and his eyes became a little distracted. Shao's mother knew him very well, and she immediately glared at him, but he lowered his head and said nothing.
The days went on and soon it was the fifth month.
Mayor Luo's measures did relieve the mental stress of the people to a great extent, but by the fifth month of the thick fog, the symptoms caused by the fog became more and more serious. Severe diarrhea, severe coughing and coughing up blood, those who could afford to go to the hospital could not get effective treatment, and deaths began to occur.
At this point, the higher-ups were still hiding the fact that there were bugs in the fog for fear of causing panic.
But some people have money and connections, and they eventually found out the truth.
More pressure is placed on Mayor Luo and the institute.
After someone in the community jumped off a building and killed an innocent passerby, Qiao Qingqing's family stopped going out unless it was necessary. Every night they could hear the sound of the projection program at the community gate at home.
The days of thick fog piled up one after another. Even if she didn't go out, Qiao Qingqing knew that many people had died of the disease. She and her family also began to have more serious coughing symptoms. Her mother had been going to the toilet frequently since yesterday. She prescribed medicine and gave her mother an injection, but she knew that those measures could only make her mother feel better temporarily. If she delayed it any longer, her lungs would be damaged and she would cough up blood. When she slept at night, Qiao Qingqing often heard the coughs of her mother, parents-in-law, and eldest brother in the room. She was worried and coughed herself.
"Ahem, Qingqing, can't you sleep?" Shao Shengan suddenly spoke.
"Well, you didn't fall asleep either?" Qiao Qingqing didn't stop coughing even after saying this simple sentence.
If he hadn't known the secret of the thick fog, Shao Sheng'an would have been desperate. They were one of the better-protected people, but to this day they still couldn't avoid the threat of death.
"Mom went to the bathroom six times today. Can you increase the dosage of the medicine?" Shao Shengan whispered.
"I know that the medicine can't be added anymore... I will add a lot more white vinegar to the bowl of soup I give to Mom tonight." Although eating too much white vinegar can damage the esophagus and stomach, at this point, the damage is already insignificant. She just wants the worms in her mother's body to be less active.
Speaking of white vinegar, Qiao Qingqing couldn't help feeling a little nauseous and felt a burning pain in her esophagus. The whole family had eaten enough white vinegar recently. The "cough medicine" distributed above could only be said to be a milder, better-effective "upgraded version of white vinegar." The quantity was limited, and each person could only have one bottle of vinegar every ten days, which was a drop in the bucket.
Without going to the market, Qiao Qingqing could imagine how high the price of white vinegar had become. Fortunately, she had white vinegar at home, but she couldn't stand eating it like this.
"I'll pour you a glass of water—"
"No need." Qiao Qingqing stopped him, "I'm fine."
"Don't worry too much. We have all taken the medicine you prescribed. Our bodies can handle it."
Her husband's comfort only slightly relieved Qiao Qingqing's anxiety. She knew very well that if the root of the disease was not eradicated, no matter how many medicines she gave her family, it would be useless. Medicines can repair the body, but the insects will still reproduce and destroy the body. Only insecticides can eradicate the root of the problem.
Shao Shengan hugged her and patted her back gently.
He couldn't help but think about how hard it must have been for Qingqing in her previous life, when she was alone and didn't have enough supplies. I hope the insecticide can be developed soon, and the thick fog can dissipate quickly, he hoped silently in his heart.
But what he didn't know was that the insecticide had already been developed, but the production was not enough, so it could only be supplied to the army that maintained the order of the base, followed by medical staff, government officials who maintained the daily operation of the base, experts and professors from major institutes, community officials, and core production line workers from major factories... Of course, some wealthy people with connections also got some. It was another month before ordinary residents got the insecticide, which was first supplied to seriously ill people in the hospital and then distributed to other residents.
After Qiao Qingqing's family received the insecticide, they immediately distributed it to the family members.
"Let's eat in batches. Parents and my mom will eat first, and the three of us younger ones will eat later."
Shao's father and his family disagreed, but Shao Shengan advised: "We are young, and the symptoms are not very serious yet. It's okay to take the medicine a day later."
The first reaction of Mr. and Mrs. Shao and Qiao Songzhi after eating it was that it tasted bad.
"I want to vomit." Shao's mother covered her mouth uncomfortably.
"Don't vomit yet, don't waste it." Father Shao endured the pain and patted her back. After more than ten seconds, he couldn't help it. "I want to vomit too. This taste is too strong. It will come up after swallowing."
Qiao Songzhi's reaction was more serious. She also felt like vomiting, but the abdominal pain was more severe, overshadowing the nausea.
Qiao Qingqing was well prepared and immediately gave them injections to stop their vomiting. She knew very well that the medicine had not been absorbed and digested yet, and it would be wasted if it was vomited out!
"My stomach hurts so much." Qiao Songzhi's face turned pale and sweat broke out on his forehead due to the abdominal pain.
"Mom, it's okay, it'll be fine after a while." Qiao Qingqing gave her an acupuncture injection to relieve the pain, tears in her eyes. She knew how painful it was to take the deworming medicine, and if possible, she wanted her mother to avoid these sufferings.
Half an hour later, Qiao Songzhi finally felt the urge to go to the toilet. Qiao Qingqing helped her to the toilet and gave her mother some light salt water during the process.
Shao Shengan took care of Shao's father and his family. An hour later, Shao's mother also complained of a stomachache. The pain came suddenly, as if her intestines were being cut by a knife, and her face turned pale with pain.
Just then, Qiao Qingqing was calling for help in the bathroom, so Shao Shengan hurried over to help, carrying Qiao Songzhi out and putting her back on the bed in the room. He looked at his mother-in-law's face, and felt a lump in his heart. Her face was as white as paper, and she looked as if she was barely breathing.
"I'll change Mom's clothes. You go out first. I heard Mom screaming in pain in the bathroom. After I change her clothes, I'll go give her acupuncture." Qiao Qingqing said, and Shao Shengan closed the door and went out.
Qiao Qingqing quickly changed Qiao Songzhi's sweaty clothes and covered her with a thin blanket. Touching her mother's face, she said softly, "Mom, take a rest. I'll go out and take a look."
Qiao Songzhi nodded, too weak to speak.
This was a busy and worrying day for Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan. Their family members started to show signs of discomfort after taking the medicine, and they felt bad seeing them not feeling well.
After a day of hard work, the four of them kept going to the toilet. One toilet was not enough, so they put buckets in the two rooms. At first, they didn't have the energy to care about anything else. Later, Shao's mother suddenly let out a weak cry. She saw needle-like worms in the bucket. Those worms were tangled together, which made everyone who saw it shiver.
“This, this——”
She turned her head and looked at Qiao Qingqing who was supporting her. Qiao Qingqing helped her sit on the bed and acted nonchalantly: "Don't be afraid, Mom. That should be the culprit that made us feel uncomfortable. It's a good thing to get rid of it. We will be better in the future." Maybe it was because she was not in good spirits, or maybe it was Qiao Qingqing's firm and resolute words that comforted her, Shao's mother felt that it was not a big problem. She closed her eyes and rested against the pillow. Qiao Qingqing stuffed a water cup into her hand with a straw on it for easy drinking: "Mom, remember to drink water. I'll go to the next door to check."
All three of them were exhausted from diarrhea. They had nothing to eat all day, and only drank a lot of sugar and salt water. According to them, the sugar and salt water tasted bland, and the deworming medicine had a strong aftereffect. They had no appetite at all, and even felt nauseous when they smelled food.
After Shao's father and the others finally calmed down, Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan simply ate some rice balls.
In the second bedroom, Qiao Songzhi groaned in discomfort. Qiao Qingqing put down the rice ball and rushed into the room again.
At around four o'clock in the morning, Qiao Songzhi's condition finally eased. Qiao Qingqing's eyes were bloodshot. She felt a little regretful, but told herself that doing so was good for her mother.
She gave her own portion of the medicine to her mother, so her mother actually took two doses of anthelmintic medicine, which is why the reaction was so quick and severe.
But Qiao Qingqing didn't have the patience to wait for the next batch of medicine. In her previous life, the second batch of medicine had to wait half a month. Her mother's condition was the most serious in the family. Qiao Qingqing was eager to let her mother expel as many worms as possible and recover as soon as possible. She was still young, her symptoms were mild, and she could wait. In her previous life, when the deworming medicine was distributed, she vomited pieces of meat that were not known to be internal organs, and she survived like that. There was no reason why she couldn't wait half a month in this life.
"Mom, you should get some sleep first. You will be fine when you wake up tomorrow morning." Qiao Qingqing comforted her softly.
Qiao Songzhi said softly, "Go to bed."
"Okay, I'll sleep with you tonight." Qiao Qingqing blew out the candle, lay down beside her mother, and held her mother's hand. Qiao Songzhi put her hand on her belly and covered her with a quilt. Such a simple action made Qiao Qingqing's tears flow instantly. She breathed softly, not daring to let her mother hear her sobbing.
She couldn't sleep and her physical discomfort made her want to cough, but she suppressed it.
She barely slept in the second half of the night, often waking up with startles, the scenes of her past life and the images of this life tormenting her alternately, causing her to have a splitting headache and red and swollen eyes when she woke up in the morning. She looked in the mirror, took out her eye drops and put two drops in.
There was a nice smell coming from the kitchen, and she went to the kitchen and saw her husband cooking porridge. He patiently added the beaten egg liquid and some white sugar, and turned around to see Qiao Qingqing. He smiled, with the stubble on his chin unshaved, and he looked tired and decadent.
"Are you awake? How about egg drop porridge for breakfast?"
Qiao Qingqing leaned on his back and said in a muffled voice, "Okay, it would be even better with a handful of chopped green onions."
"The scallions are chopped and will be added later. How is Mom?"
"I'm fine. I'm sleeping soundly. How are you?"
"It's pretty good, but my brother was frightened and kept waking up crying all night. You can get him something to calm his nerves later."
"It smells so good. I'll go call my parents to get up and have breakfast."
Mr. Shao and the other two regained some appetite. Mr. Shao ate two bowls of porridge, while Mrs. Shao and Qiao Songzhi each drank one bowl.
"I seem to be feeling much better. I didn't cough much this morning."
"Yes, this medicine is really effective."
Qiao Songzhi remembered the insect he saw yesterday and couldn't help shivering.
"It's horrible. How can there be so much in a human body—"
"So there are bugs in the fog? Oh my god, why didn't the base tell us about this?"
Shao's mother was also awakened to that memory. The horrifying and chilling scene emerged in her mind. She shivered and covered her mouth with her right hand.
"Don't think about that!" Shao Sheng'an said hurriedly, "Go back to your room and rest. What you need most at this time is rest. Don't think too much."
Put the elders to bed.
Qiao Qingqing also prescribed some Chinese patent medicine for Shao Shengfei to calm his nerves, and after coaxing him to take it, she let him watch TV, and he fell asleep while watching. She yawned, and Shao Shengan asked her to go to sleep too.
"I haven't washed the dishes yet—"
"I'll clean up without you, just go to bed."
Qiao Qingqing yawned again and found it difficult to keep her eyes open, so she didn't insist and lay down on the bed and fell asleep in seconds.
Shao Shengan went to wash the dishes, and then went to clean the toilet. Fortunately, there was no shortage of water at home. The water used for bathing and washing clothes was not thrown away casually. After arriving at Ping'an Community, the sewers here were all usable, just right for flushing the toilet. After yesterday, the toilet smelled bad, so he cleaned the two toilets that he had cleaned last night again, and went to the kitchen to find some wormwood and lit it in the bathroom.
After finishing, he felt sleepy and slept on the floor with his brother. There was a mat on the floor, and his brother fell asleep while sitting on it watching TV, and slept directly on the mat. Shao Shengan tucked the quilt for him, pulled a corner of it over him, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fell asleep soon.
Situations like that of Qiao Qingqing's family were happening simultaneously in countless corners of the survivor base.
Screams, cries of pain, and shouts of surprise. The anthelmintic was so effective that no one could calmly face all the changes it brought.
Pain brings new life, and if you can get through it, you will see hope.
Three days later, Shao Shengfei took anthelmintic medicine.
Six days later, Shao Shengan and Qiao Qingqing took anthelmintics. Shao's father and others were ready to take care of them, but Qiao Qingqing did not need any care.
"My symptoms are not serious. I can take care of myself. Mom, please stop knocking on the door."
Qiao Qingqing covered up the past. If it were normal times, Shao Shengan would definitely be able to see the problem, but he was suffering so much from the anthelmintic that he was unable to spare any time.
Only Qiao Songzhi noticed the problem. At first, she didn't think much about it. She just thought her daughter was being too spoiled and didn't want to take medicine, so she coaxed her for a long time.
"You need to take the medicine to get better. Be obedient and I'll make you some steamed eggs when you get better, okay?"
Qiao Qingqing smiled: "Isn't this the trick that was used to coax me when I was ten years old?" It sounded quite nostalgic at first.
Qiao Songzhi tapped her forehead with a dark face: "Stop being weird and eat quickly."
But how could Qiao Qingqing get the anthelmintic? Even if she pretended to have taken it, she couldn't act out the changes after taking it. In the end, Qiao Songzhi found out the truth: "You gave the anthelmintic to someone else? Did you give it to me?"
When she thought of this, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mom, I'm really fine. I'll take the medicine when the next batch arrives, okay?"
Qiao Songzhi hit her twice and cried, "What are you doing? I'm an old man. Every day I live is a blessing. You are still so young. You should take care of yourself instead of me!" After hitting his daughter twice, the pain seemed to fall on her. Qiao Songzhi covered her face and cried.
"Mom..." Qiao Qingqing couldn't say anything and could only hug her.
In the next room, Shao Shengan was drinking salt water. He looked towards the door: "How is Qingqing?"
"I'll go check it out. Sister Zhi is taking care of Qingqing. Don't worry."
Hearing Shao's mother knocking on the door, Qiao Qingqing hurriedly said, "Mom, I'm fine. Is Sheng An okay?"
Shao's mother hurriedly said, "I'm fine, I just miss you."
"I'm fine, Mom, let Sheng An rest in peace."
Qiao Songzhi finally got over her sadness. She looked at Qiao Qingqing with red eyes and forced her to promise: "Don't do this kind of thing again in the future."
"Mom." Qiao Qingqing was helpless. "Your condition is quite serious. What I am doing is also a reasonable plan."
"I don't care whether it's reasonable or not, in my opinion it's extremely unreasonable."
Her mother was rarely so serious. Qiao Qingqing was distracted and wondered when was the last time her mother spoke to her so seriously? It was probably when she was seven years old. Her mother was also so serious and told her that they were getting a divorce and asked her who she wanted to live with.
"No matter who you follow, mom will always love you, and only you, my child."
At that time, Qiao Qingqing chose her mother without hesitation, and the same is true now.
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