A short while later, Xiao Liang from the property management sent a group announcement.
Dear residents, we have an announcement to make. Due to the hot weather, the community's solar generator has broken down, and we are contacting repairmen to come and fix it. Only one generator is currently operational and can keep the elevator running for the time being.
It is estimated that it will take some time before the power is restored. Residents are welcome to use the underground parking garage to escape the heat. Please bring your own drinking water and small stools. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Jian Ning didn't want to go to the garage; there would be trouble if there were too many people there.
Just then, Jian Anping called.
"Xiao Ning, have you seen the messages in the group chat? Let's go to the garage together? The temperature in this room is rising pretty fast."
"Brother, I won't go over there. I'll turn on the diesel generator in a bit. One bedroom with the air conditioner on is enough."
"That's fine then. I plan to take Uncle Li and the others down there. The elderly don't like being in air conditioning all the time, and I'd also like to hear what's happening down there."
"Okay, but be careful."
Jian Ning put down the phone, took out a bowl of fruit shaved ice from her spatial storage, sat on the sofa and ate it. It was icy cold and very refreshing.
She was looking at the messages Jian Anping had sent her.
"There are quite a few people in our community. I only found out when I came down that these smart people have been living in the underground parking garage for several days."
It's more than ten degrees cooler here than at home. It saved me a lot on air conditioning costs. I wish I had brought a tent and stayed here too; it would be more lively with more people.
"Brother, don't tell people everything. Be careful what you say."
Jian Ning was worried that this person was too straightforward. If someone with ulterior motives asked him a question, he would rummage through all the things in the house.
"I know, you're a grown man, don't you even know this much? Anyway, my phone's almost dead. I'm going to play cards with them. You should go to sleep early, the phone should be back on by tomorrow morning."
Jian Ning sighed as she looked at her phone screen. Humans are social animals. If Jian Anping were to get used to living alone away from people like her, he definitely wouldn't be able to stand it. This person loves to join in the fun too much.
The temperature didn't drop at night despite the setting sun. Jian Ning, with the air conditioning on at home, didn't feel it, but the internet was filled with complaints.
The widespread power outage prompted people to come up with all sorts of ingenious solutions, such as modifying bicycles into fans to manually generate airflow, or soaking in bathtubs and using cold water to cool their skin.
Furthermore, the municipal government just sent a text message to every citizen stating that due to the extreme heat, all modes of transportation—airplanes, high-speed trains, regular trains, and public transport—have been suspended. Everyone is advised to stay home as much as possible and await further instructions from the government.
Each of these messages was terrifying, and rumors of the impending apocalypse began circulating online. Jian Ning silently liked a comment about the impending apocalypse. She put down her phone and continued cultivating.
The night passed quickly, and the power was back on in the neighborhood in the morning. Jian Anping sent her a message asking her to come over for lunch, saying she had boiled wontons.
"Xiao Ning, I'm so glad I listened to you and bought more things to store up. This morning I went to the supermarket in our neighborhood, but they were out of eggs."
I heard that all the chickens at this chicken farm have died from the heat. If it continues to be this hot and there's no rain, the crops in the fields will also die from drought.
It should be better up north than here. I sent a WeChat message to a friend there, saying it's 36 degrees Celsius there too. They've been pumping water to irrigate their fields.
"Are you out of eggs at home? I'll bring you some; I bought a lot a few days ago."
Jian Ning glanced at the boiled eggs on the table that she had every morning, but there weren't any today. However, there were quite a few egg flowers floating in the wonton bowl.
"There are still fifty or sixty left, but they won't last more than two days. We raise a lot of chickens back home, and they all lay eggs. It would be great if you could bring a couple over," Aunt Li said wistfully as she brought over some cucumbers and pickled vegetables.
Jian Ning glanced at the four people in the house. They must have needed quite a bit of food and drink that day. Jian Anping listened to her and only bought more grains, oils, water, and daily necessities. He probably didn't stock up on much else.
"Aunt Li, if you know how to raise chickens, I'll have someone buy you a few later. You can just keep them in the attic; they'll lay eggs and you can eat chicken meat too."
"Oh, that's great! Such a nice house, raising chickens would be a waste, wouldn't it? They'd all smell bad!" Aunt Li glanced at Jian Anping, a little worried that he might disagree.
"If there are any alive, catch a few more. I'll try to buy some pork and freeze it today. I'll also buy a few more large freezers." Jian Anping gave his sister a deep look, and surprisingly, she didn't object.
Only then did he realize the seriousness of the problem. It seemed this extreme weather wouldn't end anytime soon, and he realized he hadn't bought enough for the house. No matter how hot it was today, he had to buy all the necessities.
He only discovered this when he went to the neighborhood supermarket today. Almost all the daily necessities were sold out. It seems that Jian Ning isn't the only one with a sense of crisis; there are many people like her.
After finishing his meal, Jian Anping started making phone calls to various places and bought five large freezers, twenty pigs, and ten sheep, all of which had been slaughtered. He scheduled delivery for around 9 p.m., since no one was out during the day.
Then I called the biggest supermarket in the city and ordered cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, bottled water, eggs—anything I could think of.
They ordered hundreds of portions of each type of product available in the supermarket. They placed an order worth over 1.5 million yuan and demanded delivery tonight.
"Mengyao, what happened to Anping? Even if you have money, you can't spend it like this! More than a million yuan just disappeared like that?" Aunt Li asked in a low voice, holding her daughter's arm.
She felt heartbroken just listening to this. All that food and drink had an expiration date. They spent over a million yuan on it. Even if the four of them ate it every day, it would take them more than ten years to finish it.
"Mom, don't worry about it. I have a feeling things are going to change. Maybe something will really happen. You and Dad should stay at home and not go anywhere. Try not to contact people back home."
Li Mengyao watched Jian Anping's tightly furrowed brows with worry. She was very panicked, but she couldn't show it on her face.
Jian Ning finished eating and stood up, holding her bowl, intending to go to the kitchen, but Aunt Li snatched it away from her.
"Ningning, you sit down, I'll do it. I've been idle all day, there's nothing to do but cook and wash dishes."
"Auntie, do you know how to knit? If you do, I'll bring you some yarn later so you can knit some sweaters and pants for my future nephew. I also have fabric and a sewing machine."
Jian Ning thought it was better to find something for the old lady to do, instead of staring at the TV all day. Besides, the large-scale power outage was not far off, and if she was idle like this, she would get sick.
"Oh, that's wonderful, my dear girl! Not only do I know how to knit, but I'm also very good at it. I'm famous for it all around. If I had any yarn, I'd knit one for each of you. But the little ones aren't in a hurry; there's no sign of that yet!"
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