When she woke up the next day, Shao's mother certainly did not see the sunrise as she wished, so she had to accept this reality.
Shao Shengan took time to install lights on the seventh floor. Even if there is no sun, he could not give up his family planting and breeding business. After installing the LED lights and connecting them to the generator, he pressed the switch and the seventh floor became bright. The vegetables looked vibrant under the lights and the chickens ate feed energetically under the lights.
"Eight hours of sunlight a day is enough for the vegetables and chickens," said Qiao Qingqing.
They then covered the windows with thick blackout curtains so that no light could get into the house.
Not only do their families in Ping'an Community have the conditions to turn on the lights, but standing on the rooftop and looking around, you can see lights on in some people's homes, and there is a faint hum of generators in the air.
"But it's still so dark." Shao Shengfei asked Qiao Qingqing, "Sister, has the sun gone to sleep? Why doesn't it come out? When will the sun come out?"
Qiao Qingqing said: "The sun has gone to sleep. It will wake up when it has had enough sleep."
"Oh, the sun is so lazy, I didn't sleep so late, early to bed and early to rise is good for health."
Shao Shengfei spoke in a childish way, and Qiao Qingqing could often find relaxation and peace in him. She smiled and patted Shao Shengfei's shoulder: "Let's go, let's go downstairs, I hear something approaching in the air."
The three of them went downstairs and just closed the door to the rooftop when something hit the door.
"It's a crow, please step back."
Shao Shengan opened the door a crack, held the door with his left foot, and drew the knife from his waist with his right hand. The crow poked its head in, but Shao Shengan chopped off its head with his knife.
"Brother! Bucket!" Shao Shengfei ran downstairs and came up carrying the bucket.
"Thank you, brother." Shao Shengan threw the crow's body into the bucket and closed the door again.
The three of them returned to the sixth floor, where Shao's mother was taking clothes out of the ultraviolet dryer.
"I haven't been able to dry clothes in the past few years. Alas, clothes always have to be dried in an ultraviolet dryer, which wastes so much electricity." After recovering from the fear of Yongye, Shao's mother turned her attention back to real life. Yongye's arrival would undoubtedly increase their cost of living again. Even if the family had enough savings, such squandering was enough to make people uneasy.
"Mom, this is necessary consumption. Health is the most important." Shao Shengan said with a smile.
A few days before the Eternal Night, the survivor base fell into panic again.
The eternal night is indeed terrible. It does not seem to bring direct harm, but the loss of light is a kind of magical harm to the human mind. In human heritage, light is very important. No matter how many difficulties you encounter, as long as you persist, you can see the "dawn" of "hope". No matter how difficult today is, after getting through the night, you will finally usher in a new day. What is in the new day? There is the rising sun and the light that dispels all darkness.
Humans yearn for light, and the eternal night makes some survivors despair. But in the past few years, there have been many things that make people panic. The more they experience, the stronger the survivors' tolerance becomes. It's just darkness, which is nothing compared to the previous dangers! Some people quickly adapt to the new environment and respond to it.
Facing the Eternal Night, the top management of the base had already prepared for it and had made several rounds of plans. When the Eternal Night came, all places responded quickly. The first was the power supply. The wind power generation equipment that was rushed out was started to ensure the normal operation of the core area and key industries. The power supply to the hospital was normal, the factory was operating as usual, and the project on lightless planting in the Academy of Agricultural Sciences had also made initial progress... After taking stock, Mayor Luo breathed a sigh of relief. The base was generally stable, and the pressure he had taken on to promote various plans against all odds was finally relieved at this moment. Facts have proved that his persistence was correct.
The huge Xicheng Survivor Base is still operating strongly.
Father Shao's life in the factory remained almost unchanged. On holidays, he and his co-workers left the factory with their wages. He had a flashlight that could illuminate the way. They walked and chatted, and soon walked a few hundred meters. A flashlight shone in front of them. A familiar figure slowly appeared in front of them amid the sound of rolling wheels.
"Sheng An!" Father Shao's eyes lit up.
"Dad!" Shao Shengfei jumped down from the back seat, put the bicycle on the ground, and ran towards him, waving as he ran, "Dad!"
"Dad." Shao Shengan stopped the car with one leg touching the ground. "We are here to pick you up."
"Why do I need you to come pick me up? I can go back by myself." Shao's father happily touched his eldest son's head. Shao Shengfei bent down and let him touch him. Hearing this, he said loudly, "My younger brother said that it's dark now and there are a lot of bad guys! So he has to come and pick up Dad from get off work."
Shao's father and others who had been working steadily in the factory had hardly any changes in their lives after the eternal night. Anyway, they were at work during the day and there were lights in the workshop. They went back to the dormitory to sleep after get off work at night and did not care whether it was dark or not. If it was too bright, they would not be able to sleep.
Therefore, they were only a few hundred meters away from the factory and did not know that the situation outside was different from before.
Father Shao smiled and greeted his fellow workers: "My son is here to pick me up, so I'll leave first."
"Goodbye, bro!"
"I'm so jealous knowing that you have a son to pick you up! Get lost now!"
Shao Shengan tied up Shao's father's luggage, and Shao Shengfei drove his father, and the three of them left quickly in two cars.
At the beginning, Shao's father had no idea what to do, but ten minutes later they encountered robbers. Shao Shengan used a crossbow to force the robbers back. One of the robbers was shot and left a trail of bright red blood on the ground after they retreated.
At this point, Shao's father finally realized that it was even more dangerous outside.
"Why is there no security team?" he asked anxiously.
Shao Shengan said: "The security team is too busy, Dad, next time you come to work, remember to bring your crossbow."
"I will bring it with me. I will definitely bring it with me. I just don't know if the factory allows it. Have you forgotten? We have to go through security check before we enter."
"I remember. I'll take you here when the time comes. I'll ask the security booth if I can leave it there. If not, that's okay. My brother and I will always come to pick you up."
"That's too much trouble." Shao's father was not happy. As a father, how could he let his son put down his work to take over? It would be embarrassing to tell others. He said quickly, "I will definitely ask later. I think it should be possible. A worker next door always brings a chopping knife when he comes home. Every time, it is confiscated by the security booth and he only returns it when he is on vacation. The crossbow should be the same."
When he got home, his mother had already boiled some water. His father took a shower and changed his clothes, then happily asked his family to come together to unpack his wages. The worries brought by the dangers of the eternal night could not compare to the joy of family reunion. Why should he worry all the time? His father threw his worries behind him and called out to them: "Ding ding ding! Look what this is?"
The salary includes rice, flour, grain, oil and canned food produced by the factory. The can held up by Shao's father is a new model. Shao Shengan took it and looked at the bottle: "Rat meat?"
Shao's mother was shocked: "Rat meat?!"
"No way, rat meat? Rat meat can also be canned?" Qiao Songzhi also raised his voice in disbelief.
Shao's father was given two cans of canned meat. Shao's mother picked up the remaining can and looked at it with Qiao Songzhi. The words "Canned Rat Meat" were clearly printed on the bottle.
"Mom, don't worry. This canned rat meat is definitely not made from rats caught from the sewers, right, Dad?" Qiao Qingqing asked with a smile.
Father Shao looked at their surprised expressions and felt a great sense of accomplishment. After hearing what Qiao Qingqing said, he laughed out loud: "Qingqing is so smart! That's right, this kind of mouse is specially raised for meat, it's clean and hygienic. I heard from the workshop leader that this kind of mouse is a high-yield variety developed by the research institute. It is said that since the natural disaster, the mice have grown particularly large and love to bite people. They can't be killed, so the powerful experts in the research institute got inspiration and bred mice that grow particularly fast. They can mature and be slaughtered in one month. They also said that they reproduce very quickly and have strong vitality. They can survive by feeding them anything and grow fat and big."
These words opened the eyes of Shao's mother and Qiao Songzhi. Shao's mother sighed: "Experts are amazing. How does this meat taste? Is it delicious?"
Father Shao shook his head: "I haven't eaten it before. Look, I only got two cans of it this month. Let's open one and try it."
Shao Shengan carefully opened it and smelled a fragrance as soon as the lid was opened. Everyone took a piece to taste. Shao's father ate it first with a strange look on his face.
Shao Shengan followed closely behind, chewing slowly.
Qiao Songzhi dipped his chopsticks in the gravy to taste it, his expression indescribable.
"Is it very unpalatable?" Mother Shao hesitated and didn't dare to eat it.
“It’s not that it’s not delicious.” Qiao Qingqing swallowed a piece without changing her expression and commented, “It’s just a little strange. The texture and taste are unlike the meat we have eaten before. And when I think about it being rat meat, I feel a little repulsed. But the taste is actually okay.” She had eaten this kind of canned meat in her previous life. The production of canned rat meat was large, and only the survivors of the shantytowns could occasionally get some.
After hearing what Qiao Qingqing said, Shao's mother prepared herself mentally and ate the piece of meat. If she closed her eyes and didn't think too much about the fact that it was rat meat, the meat was indeed okay. The meat was soft and there were relatively few seasonings, so she could only taste the saltiness.
"Eat the rest with rice, it's a bit salty," said Qiao Songzhi.
They ate the opened can together, and put the remaining can away. Qiao Qingqing thought that this kind of meat was not bad, a special breed, and the price should be lower than other canned meats. She would find a chance to exchange it with the supply truck.
The next day, the supply truck came to collect the carcasses of the prey, and Qiao Qingqing asked a question.
"You're well-informed, haha. Yes! A batch just arrived this morning, but no one is willing to exchange them yet. They think they're dirty. Do you want to exchange them?"
Qiao Qingqing nodded: "I'll change."
The same points can be exchanged for half more canned rat meat than canned pork, chicken, and beef. As long as it is safe and reliable, she can eat earthworm meat, not to mention rat meat. The best quantity, she just wants more canned meat, no matter what kind of meat it is.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
