Lin Yi is the most common social animal in the city, engaged in an ordinary nine-to-five job.
Before the blackout came, he rented a small single room in a hotel-style apartment near the company. His room was located on the 27th floor. Standing on the balcony, he could overlook the whole bustling market, so although the rent was a bit more expensive , for the sake of the living environment and the location, it can also be tolerated.
Like the vast majority of young people, Lin Yi does not have the habit of cooking by himself. He has some biscuits, instant noodles and some snacks in the apartment. Because he likes to drink carbonated drinks, he has a lot of Coke Sprite at home, but the drinking water is Rarely, Lin Yi’s three meals a week are very irregular, and most of the time he relies on takeaways for his meals. Occasionally he doesn’t want to eat, so he just eats snacks and biscuits to get by.
When the power outage just happened, Lin Yi didn't take it seriously, but was a little depressed because the signal of the mobile phone disappeared at the same time as the power outage. The days seemed like years.
The blackout happened at night, and the first thing Lin did when he woke up the next morning was to check the signal on his mobile phone. Unfortunately, the signal was still not restored. At the same time, the battery of the mobile phone was only 21%, and the power supply had not been restored either.
He complained about the work progress of the maintenance workers, and thought that there was no signal during the power outage, because there was a problem with the nearby power station and signal tower, and they were still in the process of repairing.
After tidying up briefly, Lin Yi went to work in the company as usual.
Because the elevator in the apartment building has an emergency backup diesel power generation system, this morning, Lin Yi got on the elevator smoothly and came to the first floor with ease.
On the way to work, and in the conversations with his colleagues after arriving at the company, Lin Yicai knew that this major power outage had occurred in the entire city, because the home addresses of his colleagues were almost all over the place. In the southeast and northwest of the city.
A city-wide power outage is fine. I have never heard of a city-wide signal disappearance. Could it be that there are problems with so many signal towers?
At that time, Lin Yi already felt that something was wrong, but he didn't pay attention to it.
Most jobs in this era are inseparable from electricity and the Internet, especially for white-collar workers like Lin Yi who are sitting in the office. Lin Yi, who had been sitting on the desk for over an hour, simply packed up his things and left the office.
When he left, he accidentally stuffed some snacks from his desk into his briefcase, and also filled his thermos cup in front of the company's water dispenser.
Because of the high frequency of use of the elevators in the office building, when Lin Yi and the others got off work, the diesel oil in the backup generator was exhausted, and Lin Yi and the others were forced to take the stairs down. It's going downstairs, but it's not too tiring.
Everyone thought that the power outage should be temporary. They just complained to each other, said goodbye at the company gate, and left in all directions.
When returning to the rented hotel-style apartment, Lin Yi saw the housekeeper gathered in the lobby on the first floor, pulling the housekeeper and asking him for explanations from other residents.
"There is no elevator on such a high floor, do we want us to climb up?"
"That's right, I don't care. You have to solve the problem of the elevator after paying so much property fees every month."
"If I don't solve the problem of the elevator, I won't pay the property fee this year. What's the matter? I didn't see there are old people and children here. It's such a high floor, let them walk up, and they won't be exhausted."
Almost all complaints.
It turned out that the building's backup power supply had also run out.
The housekeeper kept apologizing, saying that the property was not well prepared and did not store enough diesel, explaining that he had already sent someone to buy it, and it would take a certain amount of time.
The room Lin Yi rented was on the 27th floor. Looking at the stopped elevator and the increasing number of residents in the lobby on the first floor, he struggled for a while, and finally chose to climb the stairs.
Climbing up to the seventh floor in one go, Lin Yi was a bit out of control. As an urban white-collar worker who had been sitting for a long time, Lin Yi had no habit of exercising. blow.
At this time, he regretted choosing to climb the stairs, but he had already climbed, so he could only bite the bullet and stick to it.
In this way, walk one floor, rest for a while, walk one floor, rest for a while, it took about 20 minutes, Lin Yi finally climbed to the 27th floor. Trembling unconsciously, panting heavily, the first time after opening the door, he rushed to his big bed, and collapsed on the bed regardless of the dirty sweat on his body.
A thought flashed through my mind.
If the electricity is not supplied all the time, he can't bear to climb such a high floor every time he goes up and down.
The same scene happens in every corner of the world.
Compared with those who live in the countryside or on the lower floors of buildings, it is obvious that ordinary people who live in high-rise buildings and face unusable elevators are the first to be challenged.
Young people like Lin Yi are better off. Although they lack exercise on weekdays, their bodies are strong and energetic. The poor old man and young child, after going downstairs, are faced with obstacles that need to be climbed. There are dozens or even dozens of stairs, and many people are discouraged.
These people anxiously awaited the start-up of backup power generation, but soon they were desperate.
Because when the purchased diesel oil is poured into the power generation equipment, the imagined electric energy is not generated. If there is only one like this, it is very likely that there is a problem with the generator, but all the power generation equipment has the same situation, which is called People panicked.
It seems that apart from the energy already stored at the moment of the blackout, there is no longer any energy such as electricity.
Whether it's diesel generators, steam power generation equipment, or solar energy...these means of generating electricity all fail, and no scientist can explain the reason.
What exactly is going on!
At this moment, people who originally thought that the power would be restored soon began to panic, especially when the government began to spread rumors that nearby cities, neighboring provinces, the whole country, and even the whole world may simultaneously experience power failures, satellites, etc. When this strange phenomenon disappeared, panic spread completely.
*****
The house Yu Guo rents is a dilapidated old folk house. In the past, how much she disliked the living environment now, and she worked hard to earn money to buy a small house of her own in this city. Now she is so glad that she still lives in it. In this old house.
Because of the blackout, almost all the high-tech products used by modern people failed. At the same time, water, coal, and natural gas pipelines were also unavailable due to the blackout.
Yu Guo's rented house is different. The kitchen is still equipped with old-fashioned gas tanks. When many people cannot cook because of power outages and gas, Yu Guo's kitchen can still cook normally.
In order to save money, Yu Guo has the habit of cooking by herself. There are still about a dozen catties of rice in the rice box at home, plus the ingredients for this week in the refrigerator, saving food and expenses, enough for her to last half a month.
It’s just because of the power outage. Even if the refrigerator is not turned on, the ice in the frozen layer will melt sooner or later. Some things that need to be kept fresh must be cooked quickly. Fortunately, the weather is not very hot now, and these things are made into easy-to-storage After cooking, it can be stored for several days at room temperature.
It's just that people have short-term worries without long-term considerations. The power and signal have not been restored for a long time. She has to stock up more water and food.
But the biggest problem now is that there is no cash.
Everyone in today's society is used to electronic transfers and online banking. Few people store cash at home or on their bodies. Due to the blackout, the banking system is completely paralyzed and unusable. Even if you have a passbook in your hand, there is no way In the case of using an instrument to distinguish the true from the false, there is no way to withdraw money at all.
Because of this special situation, many people began to choose to barter. Luxury goods such as gold, diamonds, and designer bags can all be used as trading items, depending on whether the other party is willing to accept it.
Yu Guo rummaged through the entire rental house, almost digging out a mouse hole, and found a total of more than 130 yuan in cash, two bracelets decorated with gold transfer beads, and one that he had reluctantly paid for more than 2,000 yuan before. Coach bag, this is the most valuable thing she can exchange for at present.
When walking out of his bedroom door, Yu Guo saw the landlord's family sitting in the living room.
The landlord couple, their two children, their respective partners and children, a total of nine people, these people did not live in this dilapidated old house, but after the power outage, the former high-grade building became less convenient , plus there was gas in the old houses, the whole family moved back again.
In fact, strictly speaking, Yu Guo bought the barrel of gas in the old folk house, and the kitchen utensils such as pots and pans are also Yu Guo. When signing the rental contract, the landlord also said that they would not come back for a long time. Let Yu Guo take care of their bedrooms, but in this situation, it is not easy for Yu Guo to stop them from dragging their families back to their own house.
When the landlord's family was using the barrel of gas, Yu Guo couldn't stop it. There were three children in that family, so they couldn't watch the children starve without hot food.
Fortunately, the landlord's family is not completely unreasonable. The landlady's wife took Yu Guo's hand and talked kindly, saying that after the power is restored, Yu Guo's rent for three months can be waived. He also gave Yu Guo a small box of chocolates, acquiescing to the fact that the two sides use the kitchen together.
In fact, in this situation, Yu Guo has no way to resist. There are nine people in the family, and she is alone in the local area, so how can she fight with them.
Now she is only worried about her parents who are thousands of miles away. The communication is cut off, and most of the public transportation is also paralyzed. , should also be farmers with grain and land in their hands.
She just needs to live well and strive for the day when they will be reunited.
Although the gas and pots and pans were shared, the food and spices Yu Guo kept in his own room, and they were scattered and hidden in some hidden places in the room.
The situation is chaotic now, but it hasn't completely collapsed. The landlord's family also has some food in storage, so Yu Guo is not worried that they will go to his room to search for it.
Everyone is an educated person, except for a very small number of top performers, before the moral order has completely collapsed, before human nature has not been driven to a desperate situation, there are only a few who will act radically.
"Yu Yu, are you going out?"
Looking at Yu Guo's attire, the old landlady asked clearly.
"Well, I want to change some food and water. By the way, I also want to go to the government department to see if the government has introduced any new policies."
For the Chinese government, the people have a kind of honey trust, which has been cultivated after experiencing countless natural and man-made disasters.
From the blackout to the present, the government has been taking action. Although it is difficult for them to get in touch with the superior unit, under special circumstances, the local government team has begun to organize self-rescue to maintain order.
In the past few days, every street has been patrolled by police and soldiers armed with guns 24 hours a day, just because they are afraid that someone will commit a crime in this special situation.
In addition, all community grid workers have been notified to go to government meetings at all levels, requiring them to organize manpower and conduct door-to-door visits.
Focus on recording the addresses of the elderly, children, and disabled people living alone, and provide material subsidies according to the amount for households who do not have food or water at home.
The fire point is set according to the street, so that residents who do not have gas tanks and coal stove briquettes can heat simple meals.
Although many facilities in the hospital cannot be used due to power outages, medical staff are still called in to provide services for patients. Those with special diseases who need to take medicine on time can receive a fixed amount of medicine according to the date after registration, even if they do not have cash.
…
The reason why Yu Guo knew this was that every day there would be government staff or volunteers walking around the streets with loudspeakers to announce these temporary measures.
Nowadays, there are very few governments that can do this. With the current overall situation in China stable, countless violent activities have occurred in many countries where Europeans and ugly guns are legal. Many shopping malls have been smashed, looted and burned. It was also attacked by force.
And because of the paralysis of the medical system, in just a few days, there has been a huge death toll around the world, but because of the disappearance of electricity and satellites, no one can give a specific number.
And in Huaguo, occasionally there are a few unsightly bubbling, but they are suppressed by the conscientious patrolling police and soldiers.
"Wait, Xiaoyu, let's go with you. We just want to change something."
The old lady of the landlady spoke up. Although there are military and police patrolling every street, it is true that petty thefts are increasing now. There are more people, and I am more courageous.
The old lady of the landlady decided to bring her son and son-in-law with her, and the others stayed at home to look after the house.
This family seems to have already planned to go out, with an empty backpack on their backs, it seems that they are preparing for a big purchase.
There are a lot of them, and the food consumption is even greater. Although the government provides material support, it is only enough for each person's daily minimum food intake.
When we came to the street, there were hardly any vehicles on the road at the moment. Instead, there were many people like Yu Guo and the landlady's house carrying big bags and small bags, ready to exchange hard currency for supplies, and people who were looking for news.
Most of them are also in groups, which is rooted in the Chinese people's habit of taking precautions before they happen, and a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Although the local government is still actively maintaining law and order and starting a self-help mode, there are always people In the hidden corners that cannot be controlled, a little more people are excellent, whether it is self-defense or courage.
Yu Guo and the others first came to the largest supermarket in the area. The supermarket, which was closed due to a power outage, has now resumed normal operation. It is said that the government and the boss have negotiated and communicated to allow ordinary people to use gold and other items to purchase supplies through price conversion.
Of course, due to the unforeseeable future, although the boss opened the supermarket, he also raised some prices, and the conversion ratio of gold and other items could not be the same as when the situation was normal, but the range of price increases was still within the acceptable range of everyone.
Food is in short supply, and each person can buy it in a limited amount. Some items that need to be refrigerated have maintained the same price as before the mutation because of the power outage.
At this time, the habit of hoarding gold by square dancing ladies has once again made a positive contribution to their small families. At this moment, the main force of buying in the supermarket is women, and men follow behind, helping to stop the crowding The crowd, and be wary of other people snatching the supplies in their shopping carts.
Yu Guo and the landlord's old lady's family soon joined in.
"One gram of gold is converted into 300 shopping coupons."
This is the current price of the supermarket. The two gold transfer beads that Yu Guo brought only weighed 10 grams. When I bought it, it cost nearly 500 yuan per gram including the manual cost, but at this time, I can't care about that much anymore. After all, the normal recovery price of gold is only about 360 to 70 yuan on weekdays, and the supermarket can pay 300 yuan for material recovery, which is also a good deal for Yu Guo, who is now in a panic.
She immediately exchanged the shopping vouchers. When exchanging them, she saw that the landlady took out a gold bar with Huaguo Bank printed on it, and exchanged a total of more than 100,000 yuan for shopping vouchers. It can also be used in the mall where the supermarket is located.
Seeing this, Yu Guo was relieved. The old lady's family obviously had a strong family background, so she could live with a lot of peace of mind.
*****
People like Lin Yi and Yu Guo are just a small microcosm of the society after the mutation. Most people living in the city are panicked by this mutation.
In comparison, although the countryside is also chaotic, at least in terms of food, they are not worried at all.
Take Ma Aifang, who doesn't get along well with Deng Caihua, as an example. Since her son became successful, all the land under Ma Aifang's name has been rented out, and she has reserved some private land in the front and back yards to grow vegetables and fruits. This amount of land is enough for Ma Aifang's usual needs for vegetables.
Because of the affluent economy, Ma Aifang would buy hundreds of catties of grain at a time with the family he had befriended each year during the harvest, and store it in his cellar, keeping some of it for himself, and sending some to his son’s house by mail. There are too many messy things on the market now. There are too many, how can I rest assured to eat the food produced by myself.
Now Ma Aifang's family still has a lot of food stockpiled, plus the vegetables grown in their own fields, and the chickens and ducks raised, there is really no shortage of food.
This is true for Ma Aifang who does not farm the land, let alone those farmers who have lived here for generations and depended on agriculture for their livelihood.
However, although there is no food crisis, the villagers also have their own troubles. They have a disadvantage, that is, when there is no signal, the speed of getting news is far slower than that of the city center where the government is located.
Under such circumstances, everyone simply gathered at the village committee to see if the village cadres and those prestigious elders could negotiate a result. There was no water or electricity, which made them flustered.
There are also some family members who have relatives who are working or studying outside, but they can't be contacted at the moment, and they can't even eat in a hurry.
Ma Aifang is one of them. She has lost contact with her son, and she is completely out of her mind. In the past, Deng Caihua and Deng Caihua were fighting cocks. They would fight twice when they met. Now people are dangling in front of her, but she seems to be blind same.
Deng Caihua also rarely **** her off, but stood not far from her, looking at her from time to time.
But in the face of inquiries from Ma Aifang and others, the village head, who had scoured the town and the county for information, could not give a satisfactory answer. He could only convince everyone that the government would not ignore them.
Seeing that the village chief couldn't tell the whole story, the room became more and more noisy. Everyone gathered together and couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Deng Guohua had no choice but to pat the table heavily.
"Be quiet and listen to me."
It was the first time for the always good-tempered village head to show such a serious expression.
"The city is in chaos now because of the food, now you can listen to what I have to say, or you don't have to listen."
Seeing the villagers quiet down, Deng Guohua paused for a moment, then continued.
"No one can say for sure what will happen after that, but if this continues, the price of food here will definitely increase."
They are not a place with heavy production. Some of the local people’s food is transported from major grain-producing provinces. I don’t know if the food supply can keep up with the current situation. Deng Guohua knows that there is still a national grain storage to support it, but now The government has lost contact with the higher authorities, and it is unknown whether food can be released and how much food can be released.
"There is still food in our fields, but it has not been received in the granary, so it is hard to say. Now there is no electricity or signal for no reason. Who knows what will happen in the future. Of course, there is no electricity and no signal. The matter may be solved by our country's scientists in a short time. Anyway, it is a matter of chance. Just one thing, if you want to sell food, it is good for others. First of all, you have to keep enough food for your own family. In case... Wan Once something bad happens, I don't want people in our village to cry and beg for food from others."
As he said that, Deng Guohua patted the table, for fear that some people who were blind to money would not take his words to heart.
Of course, there is another guess Deng Guohua did not say.
If electricity and signal never come back, what can those people in the city do? They may still have money to buy food, and the country has reserves to carry out rescue, but what if the electricity and signal never recover?
Deng Guohua is an old-fashioned person, and he doesn't know the term "end of the world". He only knows that a group of people who are always idle will definitely cause trouble, and the government will not let them idle all the time. What are they doing?
He can only think of old-fashioned production methods such as farming and weaving.
If that time really comes, can they only plant the land they are planting now?
Deng Guohua did not dare to speak out his guess, firstly because he was afraid of causing panic, and secondly because he felt that his guess was too vague and might not become a reality.
He always thought that everyone should keep more food in their hands. Even if he lost the chance to make a fortune this time, at least he felt at ease.
Listening to Deng Guohua's words, Su Aobai agreed with him very much in his heart. Now it seems that the village head is really clear. Having such a reliable village head in charge makes people feel more at ease.
"Guohua, you said that the city is short of food, so is there any shortage for the troops? My family still has some leftovers to send to the troops."
The person who spoke was Niu Aihong, a big contractor in the village. As soon as he said this, the room that was originally silent because of Deng Guohua's words suddenly became noisy again.
"Yes, let's send some food to the troops."
"My family doesn't have much food, and I can squeeze a hundred catties."
The relationship between their village and the army is really deep. The terrain here is low-lying, and there will always be a flood every few years. Time came for rescue, and rescue supplies were sent from all over the country to help them survive the most dangerous time.
Although the current situation makes people feel mysterious and uneasy, but they thought, no matter how bad it is, can it be worse than the fear of waking up to find that they were almost drowned?
If the troops ran out of food, they squeezed their own rations and had to collect some to send them over.
"Erbai, our family can also collect some food. Mom hasn't sold the food she collected this year."
Just as Su Aobai was thinking, the old lady beside him spoke first.
"Our family has land, and we still can't go hungry."
Thinking that her son's silence was unwilling, Deng Caihua added another sentence.
In fact, Su Aobai was not unwilling, he was just surprised by everyone's reaction.
Is he too indifferent?
Looking at the group of villagers in front of him who were obviously worried about their future life, but still thinking about others, Su Aobai felt as if he had been taught a lesson.
He may have never realized that after experiencing several worlds, because of the knowledge accumulated in several lifetimes, he has a vague attitude of being superior to others. Although he did not show this arrogance on the surface, in fact, he does feel that he is superior to others. These people must be excellent. When looking at most people, they are from the perspective of watching and judging, secretly evaluating everyone's behavior. At the same time, because of his life in several lifetimes, he has seen more of the indifference and selfishness of human nature. , the dark side of human beings is invisible in his eyes, and there is a faint negative emotion.
But the group of people in front of him told him that there is darkness in human nature, but there is also light. They are not perfect, and neither is he.
The author has something to say:
During the period of suspension, I was not quarantined, but had an operation.
Originally, the update was suspended for a day or two due to inflammation of the tonsils. When I went to the hospital, I thought that my thyroid and breast glands should be reexamined. These two parts are due to be reexamined in three months. I just thought that I just didn’t have a full body scan this year. For the physical examination, I made an appointment for a full-body physical examination and prepared to check it carefully. Generally, the results of the examination will be released within ten days. You can check the results directly on the hospital’s official account. However, on the second day after the physical examination, I received a phone call from the hospital directly. When I received the call, I had an ominous premonition, because the hospital would not have contacted me if there was no problem with the result. Sure enough, there was indeed a big problem, because I had to prepare for the worst, so I immediately asked the relationship to find a doctor. The doctor made an appointment for surgery. Fortunately, the pathological examination results were good.
Now that the body and emotions have been adjusted in place, I can report to everyone that I am safe and resume updates. The comments in the past few days will send out small red envelopes, and randomly distribute medium and large envelopes. I love you and thank you at 2021-07-1703:05:25 ~2021-08-30 21:25:07 During the period, the little angel who voted for me to overlord or irrigate nutrient solution~
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