The food was good. People were either squatting in corners, standing in hallways, or sitting on the sofa staring at the TV. Grandma Jing made egg and green onion pancakes, a big one for each person, rolled with slices of at, leek, and sausage. When thirsty, they drank soy milk from the pot. Jing Shu’s pancake was particularly rich; she had secretly stuffed it with pork floss, chicken fillet, fish fillet, and lettuce, leaving her mouth greasy from the feast.
However, the others seed to have forgotten the pancakes in their hands, all engrossed in the TV. Only Second Aunt’s husband ate while distractedly watching.
"Now, the disaster victims from Qingshui Town have all been resettled in the neighboring Candle Fire Town. Muddy water is also seeping into Candle Fire Town, reaching ankle-high levels. Nobody knows whether the muddy water will also engulf Candle Fire Town. If the situation really worsens, the people of Candle Fire Town will have to start fleeing to neighboring towns as well."
"The people of Qingshui Town and Candle Fire Town are organizing to return to Qingshui Town to move out supplies that haven’t been flooded yet. They’re taking everything they can carry from ho, including bedding, cotton clothes, and even daily necessities. The subsequent rescue operations and resettlent of disaster victims will also be major challenges."
"The editor here wants to remind everyone that this disaster has a wide impact. Everyone must continuously observe their surroundings, pack their belongings in advance, and be ready to flee at any mont; otherwise, the consequences will be very serious. According to existing examples, for those engulfed by the muddy water and not rescued in ti, the survival rate is less than 0.1%! Next, let’s look at so of the more severely affected areas."
If Qingshui Town was considered lucky, then what followed for several other places was truly tragic. The worst-hit was a city in a foreign country. Because it was near a volcano, it directly suffered a massive mudflow, surging like a great flood. Hardly anyone managed to escape before the city was completely swallowed by the mudflow.
"This is even worse than a flood!"
"At least you can swim in a flood and have a chance to go back and move supplies later. But being buried by this muddy water... tsk, it’s really like getting trapped in a swamp!"
Everyone in the Jing family looked grim. Lately, sticky muddy water had been constantly seeping from the ground. Even the paths Elder Aunt’s and Second Aunt’s families had walked were covered in this watery mud, implying that Wu City was not spared.
It didn’t take long for their suspicions to be confird. News reports about Wu City also included coverage, even stating that Ningshan City, very close to Wu City, had begun to experience a frantic surge of muddy water. Evacuations were already underway for the citizens there.
The screen switched to Ningshan City, familiar to Jing Shu’s family. There, muddy water flowed down like a waterfall. The areas closest to it had already been subrged, and two districts in Ningshan City were half-flooded by the muddy water. Now, they were urgently moving supplies and daily necessities. Although the governnt deployed trucks for rescue operations, it was like a drop in the bucket. Countless people, carrying large and small bags, ran through the cold weather. If they were any slower, the mudflows would catch up to them.
Ningshan City was well-known to them. It was situated right next to Wu City and Wu County, even closer to Wu County. Although not as bustling and prosperous as the Provincial City of Wu City, it had a considerable population and was considered a decent city before the apocalypse.
Such a large city was beginning to evacuate, its people fleeing to an unknown destination they might call ho. This made the mood of Jing Shu’s family even worse.
With a somber tone, Elder Aunt said, "Back during the great flood, we even envied Ningshan City for its higher ground, spared from the flood. We never imagined it would be the first to suffer a disaster now."
Uncle hastily gobbled down his pancake. "We can’t delay; we have to hurry back! Wu County is even closer to Ningshan City. Now that they’ve been hit, our Wu County might be next."
Mr. Jing frowned and, pointing at Uncle and Second Aunt’s husband, said, "Stop eating! Take flashlights and check the back hill imdiately. Then go out and ask around for news."
Unable to bother with food any longer, Uncle quickly stood up, put on his cotton coat, donned a leather cap, and pulled on thick shoes. Second Aunt’s husband seed reluctant, muttering before leaving, "Don’t clean up my share. I’ll eat more when I return. And save so soy milk for —add so sugar."
"Co on, hurry up!"
Mr. Jing glared. At a ti like this, all they knew was eat, eat, eat! And to even ask for sugar—how precious was sugar now?
He then snorted disdainfully as his gaze shifted to Li Yun, who was busily eating with his head down. So uncouth.
His eyes finally softened when they landed on Jing Shu, who was on her phone while gobbling down her food. "Grandma Jing," he said, "cook a few more pancakes. Your granddaughter doesn’t have enough to eat, and she’s been having a tough ti these past few days." Has she lost weight? She looks skinnier. Ah, this must be due to a lack of nutrition. It’s all my fault for having to tighten our belts recently, causing the child to grow thin. This kid is also pretty dense; it was her own food she managed to get, couldn’t she have sneaked in so extra als?
The atmosphere in the house was tense. Mrs. Jing and Mr. Jing had already gone to work, and Third Aunt had headed to the canteen. Even Wu You’ai, who was usually calm, was rapidly tapping away on her phone.
Only Jing Shu seed unaffected and was even a bit busy. Everything at the factory had been left to her maternal uncle, so she didn’t need to worry about things like staff welfare or New Year bonuses. However, she had recently gained so control over the rubbish station in Wu City through a trade with Tan Ke, so she was dealing with so reciprocal issues between the two parties.
The expansion of the red earthworms had reached a point where their ambition outstripped their capacity. The biggest problem now was the lack of Fuel for processing.
The rubbish station had no problem with either personnel or equipnt, but the bigger issue was the lack of food for the employees and the ability to be self-sufficient.
Just like that, a deal was struck: the red worm factory provided so Insect Cakes, and the rubbish station provided Fuel. This also allowed Jing Shu to stockpile more Fuel.
「A short while later」
Uncle Wei Chang and Li Zhu, Second Aunt’s husband, returned, panting. Li Zhu was jumping from the cold and still panting. He only started to feel better after drinking a large bowl of soy milk, though his face was still pale.
Uncle Wei Chang reported, "It’s all gone wrong! There’s muddy water flowing on the back mountain, just like on TV. We only made it to the foot of the hill when watery mud started flowing non-stop. Although it was slow and the flow wasn’t strong..." But who knows if it will turn out like Ningshan City, he thought.
Wei Chang beca even more agitated at the thought.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jing was so anxious she nearly broke into tears. "If it gets flooded, where can we go? Are we going to be forced to leave our hos like in those TV shows? We wouldn’t be scared if it were just water, but this muddy water would ruin the houses!"
Wu You’ai stood up and said, "Grandma, right now, the ones who should be worried aren’t us, but Elder Aunt and Second Aunt. Their hos are in Wu County, closer to the disaster-stricken Ningshan City. Ningshan City is at a higher elevation, so the muddy water will flow down faster. If Ningshan City gets flooded by muddy water, then Wu County won’t be far behind. That’s when Wu City might be in trouble."
"So, what you’re saying is that it’s just a matter of ti before we get flooded too?" Mr. Jing puffed on his unlit pipe; he didn’t have much tobacco left.
Seeing how worried her family was, Jing Shu had to step in. Has all the hard work I put into that large ’tombstone’ at the back of the villa these past years been for nothing?
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