The sun came out in the afternoon, drying up the accumulated water, and an indescribable sour and bitter taste filled the air.
The ground was dry, and everyone began to go out tentatively. Qiao Qingqing's family was as cautious as they had been during the thick fog, and since they had no shortage of supplies, they did not go anywhere.
Mayor Luo worked overtime for several days in a row and was in a very bad mood, but he was relieved in his heart. At least the acid rain stopped. If it was like the rain that flooded the world a few years ago, everyone would have died.
He had just signed a disaster relief document and was resting on the back of his chair, but the tragedy in the shantytown made him restless. Thinking of the data and the few statements in the report, he knew that the scene must be very tragic. The construction of the survival base was the result of the unity, game and checks and balances of many parties. He could not do whatever he wanted in a short period of time.
He knew that the survivors of the shantytowns built their shanties there to live closer to the base, and he also wanted every household to have a house to live in, but that was not something he could decide alone. The rental and sale of empty houses in the base involved many interest chains, and the reconstruction gathered the strength of many people. After the completion of the project, he was restrained by many parties and was helpless!
Just as he was sighing, there was a knock on the door. Before he could respond, Tan Jianling came in.
His trusted secretary had never done anything so inappropriate. Mayor Luo sat up straight and frowned: "Is acid rain falling again?" He looked out the window. There was no sign of rain outside. The sunlight was warm. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then his heart was in his throat again.
If it wasn't acid rain, then what else could have caused Tan Jianling's face to change so drastically?
Tan Jianling was breathing rapidly, holding a stack of letters in his hand. "Uncle Luo, I have something to report to you. These letters seem to be prophetic letters! They predict thick fog and acid rain. Although they don't specify the time, they can be proposed before the thick fog and acid rain come. This is amazing enough!"
"What? A prophecy letter?"
"Yes, please take a look. It should be sent by the same person. The handwriting is the same, and the envelope and stationery are of the same material and appearance." Tan Jianling handed him the letter.
As Mayor Luo was opening the letter, he continued, "These letters have been sent to the mayor's mailbox over the past few years. As you know, the mayor's mailbox receives a lot of letters every day. Residents have many suggestions on construction and demands on life and work. These ten letters are among them. At first, Xiao Chen thought they were a prank and screened them out. Mayor, this is also my negligence. As Xiao Chen's superior, I should have personally reviewed the mayor's mailbox regularly. I am willing to accept the punishment."
Mayor Luo didn't say anything. He opened the letters one after another, and his expression became increasingly uglier.
The ten letters were signed at different times, with the most recent one being from a month ago, but the contents of the letters were exactly the same.
"Hello, Mayor Luo. After experiencing heavy rain, cold and high temperatures, there will be thick fog, acid rain, eternal night and earthquakes in the future. After the earthquake, I don't know if the natural disaster has come to an end. What I can do now is to tell you what I know. There are insects in the thick fog that are harmful to the human body. Insects don't like white vinegar. The thick fog will last for about a year. After that, there will be acid rain, which will corrode everything in the world. It will rain and clear up from time to time. Please do not relax your vigilance when the rain stops. It will last for about a year. The eternal night is when the sun disappears, and the world will fall into darkness regardless of day or night. It will last for about two years. On the day when the sun rises, a major earthquake will destroy everything. The duration of the disaster is only an approximation and is likely to change. I cannot give an exact date. I hope you can take precautions and be prepared in advance."
Every letter was written in this way, which made Mayor Luo feel a chill down his spine and he lost the ability to speak for a short period of time.
Hearing Tan Jianling's request to be punished, he stretched out his hand and made a pause gesture.
"...Let's not talk about that for now. How did you find these?"
"Xiao Chen was sick before the thick fog came, and then he inhaled too much fog. His health has been poor ever since. You approved him to stay at home to recuperate. When the acid rain came, he finally thought of the letters and no longer thought it was a prank. Unfortunately, the acid rain did not stop, so he had no way to inform me. Until yesterday, his wife came to my house to tell me the news. I went to search the warehouse where the letters in the mayor's mailbox were kept overnight and found these letters--" Tan Jianling had never blamed himself or despised himself like this before.
After Xiao Chen fell ill, no one was in charge of the mayor's mailbox. He had too much work on hand and he was too busy!
But he also knew that being busy was an excuse, he just thought the mayor's mailbox was not important. Everyone has their own dissatisfaction, their own "opinions" and "suggestions", if you spend a lot of time on satisfying some people's "wishes", isn't that putting the cart before the horse? As long as he assists Mayor Luo to work well, and their entire team builds the survivor base better, then the people can live a good life. If life is good, naturally there will be no dissatisfaction.
That's called looking at the overall situation, that's called coordinating the overall situation.
This is what I thought and did when I talked about Jianling before.
After Xiao Chen went on sick leave, Mayor Luo occasionally thought of the mayor's mailbox, so he took out a few letters from it and showed them to Mayor Luo. In his opinion, Mayor Luo was too soft-hearted, while Yu Jingshen was too hard-hearted. Wouldn't it be great if the two of them could reconcile?
But everything changed drastically after hearing what Xiao Chen's wife said.
Tan Jianling had to pay the price for his arrogance, and at this moment his heart was filled with guilt and shame.
Mayor Luo sighed. He never expected that his secretary, whom he always valued, would do such a thing. He was very disappointed.
But he also knew that now was not the time to pursue the matter.
"Can you guarantee that these letters are not recent pranks?" He stared into Tan Jianling's eyes.
Tan Jianling's palms were sweating, and he nodded affirmatively. He knew he had made a big mistake. He stayed up all night last night and started to search. After searching, he began to verify and checked Xiao Chen's previous work reports. He confirmed that the first letter was indeed sent two years ago. Two years ago, the prophetic letter successfully predicted thick fog and acid rain.
Seeing him nod, Mayor Luo had completely believed in the authenticity of these prophetic letters. He didn't have the energy to pay attention to the eternal night and the earthquake that followed. He first looked at the hint of acid rain - sometimes rainy and sometimes sunny? What does it mean to have sometimes rainy and sometimes sunny?
Now everyone thinks that the acid rain is over. With so many people outside, if acid rain comes again, wouldn’t it be a repeat of the tragedy that happened a week ago?
"Issue an emergency broadcast immediately and ask residents to stay at home to avoid the disaster and not go out for the time being! Call Guiyang in!" Mayor Luo's fingers tightly grasped the letter, and the four words "Rainy and sunny" were pressed by his fingers to form a crease.
Tan Jianling left in response, and Mayor Luo looked out the window. His sight seemed to pass through the undulating buildings and fall to the ground, where countless vehicles were carrying the wounded and supplies, trying to connect the stagnant survivor base and keep it alive. Looking up, he could also see the planes flying out of Yeshan, also taking on various important duties.
But what if acid rain suddenly falls?
Mayor Luo couldn't imagine it!
Guiyang came in a minute later and gave him an order: "Help me connect to Yeshan's headquarters!"
Today's communication equipment requires special maintenance, and activation is very troublesome. Guiyang agreed, and Mayor Luo took out the key to open another small door in the office and let him enter the communication room.
In Ping'an Community, Qiao Qingqing was searching the space for materials to repair her shoes.
Shao's father and Lu Ping ran back home, the soles of their shoes were burned by the rain water on the ground. He was reluctant to throw them away, thinking that they could be worn for a while if they were repaired, so Qiao Qingqing helped him find materials.
There was a sudden hissing sound in her ears and she looked up.
"It seems to be the radio. The radio is broken!" Qiao Songzhi walked to the window and looked out. "It is broken. The crackling sound is so piercing. I can't hear what it is saying."
"Let me listen." Qiao Qingqing also walked over and vaguely recognized the word "return".
"Return?" Shao's mother said strangely, "What does return mean? It's so strange."
Qiao Qingqing's heart moved and she looked at Shao Shengan. Could it be that those letters were finally believed?
After settling down in the new community, Qiao Qingqing began to deliver letters to the mayor's mailbox. On the surface, she was delivering thank-you letters, but in fact, she delivered two letters each time, along with the thank-you letters, there was also a prophecy letter. Unless there was a surveillance camera in the mailbox, those letters would never be traced back to her.
When the fog was thick, she realized that those letters had not attracted attention, otherwise there should have been white vinegar in the latest batch of home protection relief supplies, or the vinegar factory in the base should have expanded production before the thick fog hit.
"Maybe the radio on our side was damaged by the acid rain. I'll go to Building 10 and check. The radio over there may not be damaged."
Shao Shengan immediately went to change his shoes, and Qiao Qingqing followed him: "I'll go too!"
The couple ran downstairs from the sixth floor and went to Building 10. When they reached Building 15, they could vaguely hear the broadcasting from Building 10.
"…According to experts' predictions, there is a high possibility of acid rain again. Please avoid outdoor activities as much as possible and return to buildings to avoid disasters…"
After hearing this, the couple did not go any further but turned back home.
On the way, the two talked in low voices.
"Is it that——" Shao Shengan also guessed so.
"It's possible. Let's see how it develops later."
After returning home and telling their family the news, Shao's father and mother were shocked: "No way! Is it possible that acid rain will fall again? How can people survive then?"
"The acid rain has burned many small holes on the roof. I'm afraid that if it rains for a few more days, the ceiling on the seventh floor will be burned through." Shao's mother said worriedly.
"The vegetables planted by Feifei have turned black due to the acid rain. Fortunately, he is too tired to go and see them, otherwise he would definitely cry." Shao's father was worried.
"The ceiling on the seventh floor is very thick, and a thick insulation layer was laid before to avoid the summer heat. There won't be any problems for now. If there is a problem, we can move to the sixth floor. The difficulties are only temporary, and we will be fine after this period of time. Let's just take a vacation at home during this period. Right, Qingqing?"
Qiao Qingqing nodded.
Others reacted differently after hearing the broadcast. Some hurried home, some stood there cursing, some questioned, some shouted, and some lay on the hospital bed, feeling the pain, closing their eyes and shedding tears...
Living is a simple thing. Everyone has the instinct to live, eating, sleeping and breathing. But living is sometimes very difficult. Various obstacles come one after another. It seems that there will never be an end.
Later, Shao's father repaired the pair of shoes. He put on the shoes, walked a few steps, and jumped a few times: "Aren't they still wearable? I'll mend them when they break. I'll keep mending them if they keep breaking. I just don't believe it!" His tone was vicious, and he stared at the sky while saying it. It was unclear whether the disbelief he said was referring to the shoes or something else.
The days of taking shelter at home have begun again.
The family never left the house again. Someone did come to Qiao Qingqing's house to ask if she had any medicine and if she could treat the injuries of the family members. Qiao Qingqing tried her best to treat the minor cases, but she really had no way to treat the serious ones.
She slowly began to understand how much helplessness and pain Dr. Wei suppressed under his seemingly calm expression when he stood outside the ward. She originally thought that her heart had long been as hard as a rock. She had seen so many struggles and so many deaths that she thought she was immune to the word death. But the fact was the opposite. During these years of rebirth, every life that struggled to live passed away in front of her, bringing her a long and lingering pain.
She felt that she was becoming fragile, but her survival instinct told her that this was also a process of becoming strong in another way.
Shao Shengan's eyes sparkled with tears of joy after he heard her frowning and blankly telling her confusion. He told Qiao Qingqing earnestly: "Your intuition is correct, Qingqing. Being soft-hearted is not a bad thing. We never showed mercy when we met bad people. Being cruel and soft-hearted are not contradictory. I don't want you to get used to death. Although we have seen too many deaths, I hope that life is still precious in your eyes, so that you can cherish your own life more. This is a kind of strength. I am so happy."
These words left Qiao Qingqing stunned for a long time. After a long time, she nodded slightly with red eyes.
On the fourth day after the acid rain disappeared, when Mayor Luo was almost unable to cope with the pressure from all sides, acid rain suddenly came again.
There were few people on the streets. The radio had been playing for days, so most people did not go out. The few people who went out quickly hid when the acid rain came based on their first experience.
The vehicle transporting home disaster relief supplies was moving quickly. The wipers on the front windshield were helpless against the acid rain, which soon gnawed the windshield into pits and holes, making it impossible for the wipers to scrape, and the driver's vision was severely obstructed.
"Hold on tight!" The driver looked at the direction of the building ahead and stepped on the accelerator harder.
The car rushed towards the building and drifted smoothly and got stuck in the doorway.
"Unload the cargo! Quickly!"
Various materials and documents were scattered on the long round table of the high-level meeting. The high-level executives who were on the verge of a fight just now were now standing by the window, looking out with complicated expressions.
There were a few pieces of letter paper scattered randomly on the table. Mayor Luo sat back and sighed as he looked at the words "sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny" on them.
"The prophecy has been verified once again. Next, we have to discuss the eternal night and the great earthquake."
In Ping'an Community, Qiao Qingqing was doing push-ups when it was raining. When she heard the sound of raindrops, she stopped exercising, grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her face, and walked to the window to look.
The rain was light at first, but gradually it became heavier. Some rain splashed onto the windows, making a slight crackling sound.
Qiao Qingqing lowered the curtains and went to the bathroom to find Shao Shengan.
"Sheng An, it's raining."
"I heard it. There's no clothes hanging on the rooftop. Don't worry." Shao Shengan was washing the sheets. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head. "Wring out the sheets and hang them in the living room later."
Shao Shengan was too calm, and Qiao Qingqing smiled: "Okay, I'll help you twist it."
After hanging up the sheets, the two went downstairs.
Shao Shengfei's health has recovered. In the past few days, Shao's father has resumed his vegetable growing business, and Shao Shengfei has given him full support, so his life is quite fulfilling.
Although the acid rain again made people feel depressed, everyone was prepared after being broadcast on the radio for several days and had to accept it no matter how much they resisted.
Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan spent most of the day on the sixth floor with their family. During the second acid rain, Shao's father cultivated the vegetable seeds to sprout again. Occasionally looking at the small sprouts in the pots, Qiao Qingqing liked the green vitality very much.
In addition to exercising and studying, she also organizes the space.
Over the years, supplies have been coming in and out of the space. Some of the packaging has been unpacked, and some have been placed in a mess. She would only tidy them up when she occasionally took something out. She didn't know how long it had been since the last major tidying up, and the space was a bit messy again.
During the major reorganization, she checked the long and dense list of purchases and recorded the consumption.
"Would you like some milk tea?" She took out half a bucket of milk tea. There was too much of this stuff in the space. She bought the ingredients herself, which was cheap and affordable. The finished products of milk tea and other drinks she prepared herself were piled up in buckets in the space. The thick fog a while ago was harmful to her health, so she was not in the mood to drink milk tea.
"I want to drink, I want to drink!" Shao Shengfei was the first to show his support.
Mr. and Mrs. Shao and Qiao Songzhi were a little older, so Qiao Qingqing didn't dare let them drink too much and only poured a glass for each of them.
"It's so sweet and delicious." Shao Shengan clinked glasses with her gently. Qiao Qingqing smiled and took a sip. She felt the sweet taste with the aroma of tea enveloping her whole body.
Before we finished cleaning up, the acid rain stopped without any warning.
Many people leaned against the windows and looked out. Qiao Qingqing saw that the wall outside the window was corroded with pits and the drainage pipes on the outer wall were also corroded. There was probably a broken section of the drainage pipe downstairs, and rain was gushing out.
"The drain pipe is broken. How will the rainwater from the roof be drained away from now on?" asked Shao's mother.
Father Shao said: "Just let it flow down, there is nothing we can do about it."
Shao Shengan said, "We have to go up and check the drainage outlet on the seventh floor roof in a while, and try to make a drainage device. Otherwise, I'm afraid the water on the roof will flow back into the seventh floor, and that would be the end of us."
"Oh, this is really a big problem. I'll go find the tools first!"
"Look! A plane!" Shao Shengfei suddenly shouted.
Everyone looked in the direction Shao Shengfei pointed and saw several black dots moving in the distance.
"It's a plane. How could there be a plane?" Qiao Songzhi was confused.
Qiao Qingqing said: "It's possible that they are delivering supplies. After all, the rain has just stopped and the roads are not drivable yet. Airplanes are the fastest way."
The rain stopped in the morning, but unfortunately the sun didn't come out this time and the ground was still wet.
However, there seemed to be more and more planes in the sky. It was the first time that Qiao Qingqing had seen so many planes after coming to Xicheng for several years. The last time she saw a group of planes was in Huacheng. Later, when supply ships were everywhere, planes became less common.
At noon, the planes finally began to approach the direction of Ping'an Community. Now they could see more clearly that they were indeed dropping supplies. Qiao Qingqing could see boxes being dropped onto the rooftops of buildings. Finally, in the evening, it was Ping'an Community's turn to drop supplies. Five planes flew over like birds, dropping boxes of supplies on the rooftop of the next building, and then whooshed over their building.
There was a muffled sound above their heads. Qiao Qingqing and the others looked at each other and felt that the scene was very familiar.
"Did the airdrop arrive on our floor?" Shao's mother suggested hurriedly, "Let's go upstairs and take a look!"
Upstairs, Shao Shengan and his father were cleaning the drain and draining the water from the rooftop. When they noticed a plane flying overhead, Shao Shengan pulled his father away. The noise of the supply box falling to the ground was very loud, and it was obvious that it was full of supplies. Fortunately, the rooftop was cleaned up by them, so the acid rain splashed when the supply box fell to the ground, otherwise the two of them standing on the rooftop would be in trouble.
When Qiao Qingqing and the others were going upstairs, they happened to meet Shao Shengan and the others carrying boxes downstairs.
This scene reminded her of the time when she was in Huacheng Jinyuan Community.
The family was so familiar with the supply boxes! After moving down, they skillfully opened the door and put the boxes in the corridor, waiting for the residents downstairs to come to the door.
Chi Yuxiu opened the door and asked, "I heard a loud noise, but I didn't see anything when I went upstairs. It turned out that it fell into your house."
The resident of Room 602 was the first to arrive and was about to open the boxes excitedly, but Shao Shengan stopped him.
"You're not going to embezzle it?"
Shao Shengan was not angry either: "It should be one box for each building, and wait until all the other households downstairs send representatives up, and then dismantle them together. If you are in a hurry, go downstairs and call people to gather as soon as possible."
The resident of Room 602 sat down on the ground in dismay.
The residents downstairs came up one after another. There were two households where no one came, so Shao's father went downstairs to knock on their doors.
"No one seems to be there."
The neighbor said: "This family is working outside and hasn't been back for a long time!"
Another person also said: "His family is almost the same. Anyway, there are only two households missing. Just keep their share first. There are so many of us, so let's demolish it first! Who has the time to wait for them? I don't know if they will come back!"
The box was opened in front of everyone, and there were only compressed biscuits and water inside.
"No medicine? My daughter's body is all burned by the damn rain. How can there be no medicine?" one person said angrily.
"Alas, there may be too many injured people and not enough medicine. Okay, it's good enough to have food and drink. I dare not go out. What if acid rain comes right after I go out? Let's divide it. How do we divide it?"
"Let's divide it equally among the people. For children under fourteen, the amount will be half. Is that okay?"
"My children have big appetites, why should the amount be halved? Just give it to each person, one compressed biscuit per person!"
Shao Shengan didn't care. Seeing that most people wanted to divide it by headcount, he decided to do it that way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
