Survival [End Times]

The electricity has not come back, and the streets are full of complaints and noise. The weather is hot to begin with, and staying at home to save some electricity for coolness is barely tolerable except for those who go out to work. Now even the electricity is gone, and the heat in my heart explodes like a gunpowder barrel.

The local news said that the high temperature and other reasons caused the spontaneous combustion of cables in a certain place, and the fire spread and burned a large area of ​​the power grid. It is still under repair.

At noon, the temperature was 43 degrees Celsius, and there was no wind. The house was like a steamer. If you stay in it for a long time, you will feel dizzy.

It is really unbearable to sit still. Many people ran outside the house under the eaves, under the trees and under the sheds to cool off. But although it is better outside than inside the house, it can be said that you have jumped from a small steamer to a big steamer. The heat wave hits your face invisibly, and the heat has not subsided and you are poured with kerosene, just a little bit away from ignition.

In this case, a little quarrel becomes a little flame.

There are constant disputes, and the security team is too busy to handle them. Just as they have adjusted here, they fight again there. There were people who were trying to take advantage of the situation and were making trouble.

Yu Heng and Wu Changxin moved their stools to sit by the well to cool off. For hygiene reasons, he had built a straw shed of more than four square meters on the well. Now the two of them could just sit there. Each of them fanned themselves with a palm-leaf fan, and could barely endure the heat.

Wu Changxin's belly was more than six months old, and she was full of the peace of being a mother. She was calm and could tolerate the heat from the outside world. However, Yu Heng couldn't stand the heat because of the pressure of the task and his anxious thoughts. He had to drink a sip of cold well water from time to time.

Wu Changxin looked a little worried: "Brother, you can't drink too much cold water, it will cause stomachache." Yu Heng also listened to the advice and simply drew a basin of water to wash his face and hands from time to time.

Such a difficult life lasted for more than half a month. During this period, the electricity came, but it just came in the morning and went off at noon. After that, there was no electricity again.

It was very hot, especially at night. Many people couldn't sleep because of the heat. They were full of energy and thought about stealing. It was stuffy at night, and many families opened their doors and windows to let out air. They were robbed and stood at the street corner the next day to curse.

On this day, Yu Heng's family received bad news. Zhang Tao asked a child to deliver a letter, saying that his mother had passed away and asked him to go over to help.

The child couldn't explain anything else. Yu Heng grabbed a handful of candy for him and asked him to go back first. He sent Wu Changxin to the Liu family next door and hurried to Zhang's house. The two families were not far apart, and it only took five minutes to ride an electric car.

Zhang's family already had neighbors helping them. Zhang Tao took him into the house, looking haggard. "After the power outage, my mother was not very well. She couldn't sleep all night... She was too sick to get up, and taking medicine and injections were useless." The old man was weak, and the weather was bad, so she didn't make it.

"My condolences." Yu Heng patted his shoulder.

Zhang Tao forced a smile: "My mother... is quite peaceful. She said that I had watched her before she passed away, and she had no regrets. If I had known, I would not go out to work and accompany her well..." He cried loudly.

Zhang Tao's father's crying could also be heard from his parents' room. Zhang Tao cried for a while and wiped his tears: "I have no choice. I called my relatives, but the road is far and the weather is hot. I don't know if they can come. The house is a mess, and I still have to take care of my father. I want to ask you to help me transport the coffin back to the town."

The custom here is that the elderly have the habit of buying coffins for themselves in advance, and give a little money every year to the coffin shop to help maintain it. The coffins of Zhang's mother and father are in the town.

"Okay! Give me the address and phone number, and I will transport it to you." He asked him again: "Have you contacted the funeral home?"

Zhang Tao said: "My neighbor Aunt Chen helped me contact them. She said that the weather is hot... It's better to send it over early. But I want to hold a decent funeral for my mother and hold it for seven days."

Yu Heng didn't ask any more questions and went straight to the town. The store was not open, so he called the owner and the owner came to open the door. He borrowed a car from the owner to transport the coffin back. At this time, the Zhang family was busy, and it seemed that some relatives who were closer had come. Zhang Tao thanked him, and Yu Heng saw that there was nothing for him to interfere with, so he went home first.

Zhang Tao really took seven days to complete the funeral, spent a lot of money to preserve it with ice, and invited people to play music and sing, and completed Zhang's mother's funeral in a lively manner. Yu Heng did not let Wu Changxin go, and went to the funeral on the last day.

During this period, many elderly people died. In fact, since the hot summer, more elderly people have died, but the recent power outage has caused this peak period.

There are big funerals and simple funerals. The funerals are one after another, which makes people feel depressed.

At Wu's house, someone knocked on the door and shouted: "Changxin! Hengle! Are you home?"

It sounds like an acquaintance. Yu Heng motioned Wu Changxin to stay in the house, and went to the back of the yard door and asked, "Who is it?"

"I'm your cousin, Hengle, right? Open the door first, there's something urgent!"

Yu Heng frowned, and dug out memories of relatives from Wu Hengle's memory. Before the Wu family split up, there were three brothers and one sister. Wu Hengle and Wu Changxin's father, Wu Zhongwen, was the second. There was the eldest son above, the youngest son and daughter below, and Wu Zhongwen was ignored.

But this is very common in rural areas, and all five fingers are of different lengths. Wu Zhongwen is a boy with a rough mind, who doesn't care, grows up roughly, finds a job, gets married, and has children. If life goes smoothly, the relatives of the Wu family will gradually become estranged, and become ordinary relatives who visit during festivals, which is also good.

But after Wu Zhongwen and his wife died accidentally, the relatives from their hometown came to help collect the funeral, but took away all the compensation. If they didn't want to raise Wu Hengle and his sister, they would even sell the house.

Three years later, the old city was said to be demolished, and the compensation was said to be frighteningly high. The old lady of the Wu family came once with her uncle, but was scolded and beaten by Wu Hengle, who was a gangster at the time.

Yu Heng finished his recollection, thinking that they had not been in contact for almost ten years. No one came to visit Wu Hengle when he was in prison or Wu Changxin got married. It must be bad news if he came at this time. He also wanted to see what was going on. He saw only one person outside the door through the peephole, so he opened the door.

Outside the door was a man in his thirties, sweating profusely from the sun, with a dark face and cracked mouth. There was a motorcycle parked at the door, and it was obvious that he came on a motorcycle. When he saw Yu Heng guarding the door, he hurriedly said, "Your grandma is leaving. You and Chang Xin should pack up and go back to your hometown to see her for the last time."

Yu Heng was not the real person. If it was Wu Hengle, the suffering he had suffered in the past ten years had made him hate his hometown to the bone. He would have laughed out loud in front of his cousin and said, "Good old man, you died."

So he didn't have any fluctuations in his heart, and his expression was cold: "It's so hot, why did my cousin come suddenly? Can't I just call him?"

Wu Hengfu thought that Yu Heng would be shocked and ask about everything after hearing the news, but he didn't expect her to be so cold. Hearing this question, he also felt embarrassed. Where is the phone number of my second uncle's house? After my grandmother became seriously ill, she regretted her cruelty to my second uncle's children. She was afraid that she would not be able to see them if she met my second uncle. She wanted to call to inform him, but she searched everywhere - the old phone book was lost when the family renovated the house a few years ago.

There was no choice but to come in person. He also knew a little about what happened back then. He was already 18 years old at that time, and his parents would not hide anything from him. So many years have passed, and he has almost forgotten it. Now he feels embarrassed when he encounters Yu Heng's cold face.

"The old lady at home misses you and Chang Xin very much, so you should go back to see her! It's been so long since what happened back then, and she is old. This is the only wish she has before she leaves. We are all children and grandchildren, so please forgive her! Okay?"

Wu Hengfu persuaded sincerely. The old lady of the Wu family was really good to him, and the relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren was very deep.

"Cousin, come in."

Wu Hengfu thought Yu Heng was relenting, and happily followed him, saying as he walked: "Hurry up and pack your things, take some clothes with you, and after grandma passes away, there will be funerals, so you can stay in your hometown for a few days--"

He saw Wu Changxin standing at the door of the house, she looked at him coldly, one hand on her belly, and her belly was obviously bulging. Shocked: "Chang Xin got married?"

"She got married and divorced. My eldest cousin came at an inopportune time, and I couldn't go out because of my poor health. You know how chaotic the world is now. My brother has to take care of me at home, so he probably can't go back to my hometown."

The old lady of the Wu family favors boys over girls. Except for her own daughter, she doesn't care about other granddaughters. When she goes back to her hometown during the holidays, the old lady of the Wu family always looks at her with a picky eye. I won't say much about other favoritism such as conflicts between children and food.

When Wu Hengle found that the compensation money at home was missing and ran after his relatives in his hometown, she was only ten years old. She staggered and ran after her brother, crying miserably. After that, the brother and sister depended on each other.

If she had a good life after marriage, her resentment would slowly fade with time and distance. But she didn't live well, and after reflecting on herself, she missed her brother, and then she resented the old family who led her brother to take risks and go astray.

Oh, now that you are old and dying, you miss her and your brother? I'm afraid she won't be able to see her parents in the underworld.

Wu Hengfu was even more embarrassed. He tried to persuade them again, saying the same old tune about children and grandchildren respecting their elders, but Yu Heng and Wu Changxin were unmoved. Finally, he got a little angry and felt that the two siblings were so unkind and heartbreaking. He said, "You are so unfilial. If my second uncle knew that you treated grandma like this, he would definitely be unhappy."

This was a strange thing to say. Wu Changxin sneered, "If my father were here, would you still get the compensation? You say we are cruel? Who was cruel back then? I was only ten years old and my brother was only fifteen. As a grandmother, not only did they not help, but they also took away the compensation! The hatred has long been established. There is no need to say anything else now. Go back, cousin. Unless my father says he forgives, we will not forgive her."

The words were too clear. Wu Hengfu had no choice but walked out the door with a dark face. Behind him, Wu Changxin also said: "If there are weddings or funerals of other relatives in the future, there is no need to notify us, just celebrate separately." Wu Hengfu was so angry that he fell backwards, got on his motorcycle and left without looking back.

"I didn't expect you to be so sharp." Yu Heng laughed.

Wu Changxin put away the sarcasm she had just pretended to be, and smiled: "I was just angry for a while." She was a little disappointed: "My parents have been gone for so many years."

Yu Heng also sighed, his eyes fell on her belly, and smiled: "You are also going to be a mother, and your parents will definitely be happy to know."

"Brother, are you really not going to get married?" Wu Changxin looked disapproving. In her opinion, although her brother had been in prison, he was much more mature and stable, and he was down-to-earth. If he wanted to get married, he would definitely find a good girl.

Yu Heng didn't want to talk about this topic. He had never thought about getting married and having children in the mission world. All he needed was to stay rational and calm and complete the mission smoothly.

The electricity finally came back in the evening, and Wu Changxin happily turned on the air conditioner and slept well. Yu Heng got up in the middle of the night to drink water and saw flames rising to the sky in the distance. He went outside to see that it seemed that the fire was in the direction of the town. In the morning, he went out to investigate and heard that the fire was not completely extinguished until five in the morning. The entire street was burned down.

It is said that after the call, the old wires could not bear it and the home appliances caught fire. The whole family was not at home at that time, so everything was burned. The fire spread, the faucet had no water, and the residents could not put out the fire. When the fire truck came, the whole street was on fire.

This is a lesson learned from blood and tears. The local TV station specially made a program to teach the public to carefully inspect the wires and electrical appliances and use electricity safely.

Yu Heng specially checked all the wires and electrical appliances in the house. There are not many electrical appliances in the house, and there are no problems after checking them. Unexpectedly, Zhang Tao came over at night and showed him a video.

There was a fire in the video. The camera turned and the view was far away, but it was still red.

"I saw it on the Internet in the early morning. Fortunately, I downloaded it quickly. Now I can't find it at all." Zhang Tao lost a lot of weight after the funeral. At this time, he frowned and spoke more fiercely. "I heard that there was a thousand miles of red land in the north. I don't know whether it is true or false." The news rumor was refuted and said it was fake news, but it was still scary.

"If it's true, the chaos will soon spread to the south." Yu Heng also felt that this matter was very serious. He lived in the previous mission world for 52 years and served in the army for 50 years. He knew the power of the masses best. If you can't survive, most people will cause chaos.

During the reconstruction, there was a base in the west that had major management loopholes. People were not treated as human beings, and they worked more but got less. I don't know how many people starved to death. Later, the base was in turmoil, and it was said that the base commander was cut to death. Among them, there was a person who was good at inciting people. That mouth called on 20,000 people. The turmoil spread to the entire west, and it was so chaotic that troops were sent to suppress it and educate it, and it slowly subsided.

There are many plains in the north of this world, which is a large warehouse for planting. Now it is suffering from disasters, and the south will be short of food. Although the grain production has decreased over the past year, it is still within the controllable range. If there is a large-scale fire in the north, the locals will have no food rations, and they will definitely go south for water and food.

After all, there is still water in the south, and the order is still stable.

"Look at this, and this." Zhang Tao showed him more than a dozen screenshots, all of which were comments from netizens in the north, with fierce and desperate words. "Fortunately I took screenshots, otherwise I can't find them now."

"If it's true, what should I do?" Zhang Tao's face was gray. Although he was a gangster when he was young, he had never encountered such a big scene. When he thought about it, he felt that he was completely unable to deal with it.

Yu Heng calmed down and felt that what was coming would definitely come anyway, and he would just fight against it.

"It's useless for you to worry now. You might as well prepare more food first. When the time comes, the door will be closed and you can get through this first." These were words of comfort, and Zhang Tao also heard them. But preparing food was right, so he hurried back.

Yu Heng checked the trap in the yard again, and felt that it was not enough, so he rolled up his sleeves and dug the trap a little deeper. After that, he went to the village school. The school was going to build a new library half a year ago, but it was shelved later. The foundation was halfway dug. He found two pieces of steel bars on the construction site, both more than one meter long, with obvious rust. I went home and used old clothes to wrap two handles and hid the steel bars behind the door.

As a result, I heard the next day that a rice shop in the village was robbed. Now many rice shops are closed for business, and this one in the village is the same. They planned to keep some rice for their own use, and it would be practical to sell it at a high price or barter in the future. The shop owner slept in the warehouse of the shop and watched it every day. Unexpectedly, he was robbed at night and his head was broken. The sound of an ambulance was heard in the middle of the night.

In the afternoon, news came that the shop owner died. The shop owner's wife took her children and grandson and cried bitterly at the door of the shop, which made people sad and scared.

"I heard that it was robbed by outsiders. The surveillance camera at the entrance of the village captured it." Someone who knew the details said. "What's the use of calling the police to catch him? The person is gone."

"At least the rice was recovered..." The village rarely saw a murder case in ten years, and everyone was talking about it, and other shops, especially rice shops and small supermarkets, were even more insecure. Even those who had more surplus food at home were a little scared.

After the investigation results of the murder scene in the rice shop came out, it was found that the crime was committed by an acquaintance. The owner opened the door himself, turned on the light and boiled water with an electric kettle, and there were new tea leaves in the teapot.

This news made people sweat coldly.

The Liu family no longer took Pang Pang out to play, and even if he was noisy, they would not let him go out and kept him in the yard. They were afraid that children would be easily tricked or say inappropriate words, which would attract thieves. This matter spread outside and had a great impact. Neighbors and relatives were on guard against each other.

Wu Changxin's belly was already seven months, and she didn't go out at all, not even to the Liu family. She did housework or walked around at home every day, and even practiced the exercises for pregnant women in a book. After Yu Heng bought another batch of milk powder, he didn't go out except for the daily water collection.

After he sorted out the warehouse, he calculated that the food was barely enough for half a year. He bought twenty barrels of 900 grams of milk powder, and the day before yesterday, he went to the town to exchange five barrels of water. Even if Wu Changxin has no milk by then, it will be enough for the baby to eat for more than half a year. There are also common medicines, such as iodine, alcohol, bandages, trauma medicine, cold medicine, etc., as well as various supplements that Wu Changxin takes. Fortunately, her pregnancy is very good, so Yu Heng doesn't worry.

With rising prices, Wu Changxin just got out of prison and has little savings, and Wu Changxin is left with nothing, being able to buy these things is already the result of Yu Heng's best efforts.

Moreover, he didn't plan to leave after the child was born. He wanted to try and see if he would have any hidden achievements this time if he tried his best to live to the end of his life.

There will be more challenges in the future.

Yu Heng planned to take Wu Changxin to another pregnancy checkup while the situation was still relatively calm. The county hospital was similar to the past, with people coming and going. No matter how frugal you are on food, you still have to see a doctor if you feel unwell. Fortunately, although medical treatment is expensive, it is still within an acceptable range compared to the past. Yu Heng looked at □□ when paying the fee, thinking that the supervision of the hospital by the higher authorities was quite strong.

The child was very healthy, and some calcium tablets were prescribed for Wu Changxin. This time, Yu Heng borrowed a car from Zhang Tao. He first sent Wu Changxin home and then drove to Zhang's house. Zhang's father enthusiastically called him in to sit down, and he sat for a while before leaving.

Unexpectedly, when he got home, he found a lot of people gathered at the door. His heart skipped a beat and he ran over quickly.