Chapter 31

I can't go to the shooting club.

The owner Song Zhangwen was very embarrassed and said that the club could no longer rent it to Qiao Xi and he would use it himself. Speaking of tears, he is a cautious and sensitive person. Whether it is buying a generator, installing anti-theft windows, or replacing a high-temperature air conditioner, he is ahead of most people. He has also stocked up a lot of food, and his life is difficult. To say it is pleasant, it is definitely better than most people.

The neighbor's air conditioner exploded after being overloaded, and the fire burned into their home. Fortunately, the fire was not very big, and he was able to save a lot of useful belongings. It was not easy to renovate at this time, so the family of three moved with their parents-in-law and brother-in-law to live with their parents.

When Song Zhangwen arranged things for his own home, he also arranged for his parents' home and asked his sister's family to move in and take care of his parents, while his parents-in-law lived with them. He only has the ability to get two sets of equipment. He can't have one for every family, so he can only arrange it this way.

However, my parents' house only has an area of ​​120 square meters. My parents, my sister, my wife, their children, and my parents-in-law live there. In addition to their family of three, my parents-in-law, and my six-year-old brother-in-law, fourteen people are crowded into one apartment. increasing day by day.

Even though Song Zhangwen bought the generator, air conditioner, security windows and even the food at home, and he brought a lot of things with him to move in, he was still treated as uninvited guests by his sister's family who moved in first. His nieces and nephews bullied his son, his sister's parents-in-law were very evil, and their parents only made peace with him. His parents-in-law and brother-in-law moved to a shelter after only a few days of living there.

After living there for a week, Song Zhangwen couldn't stand the crowded environment and the suffocating atmosphere, so he decided to move to a club. He could also bring his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law who were living in a shelter. Although there is air conditioning and food there, a group of people are crowded together without any privacy or quality of life.

Song Zhangwen wiped his face dejectedly and smiled bitterly: "Misfortunes never come singly. When you encounter bad neighbors and bad relatives, the weather should be normalized as soon as possible, otherwise everything will become like a human being or a ghost."

Qiao Xi sympathized deeply. Song Zhangwen really needed a place like the club to stay, and they had been practicing shooting for two and a half months. Their parents had passed the initial novice stage, and they could practice at home. She originally planned not to renew the lease next month. Even if she wanted to rent it, her parents didn't agree. What happened on the way home a few days ago made the two of them frightened. They realized that it was really chaotic outside and decided to go out as little as possible.

"The empty door has been broken into twice. If you move in, please be careful."

Song Zhangwen thought in his mind: "I have relatives and friends living together." In addition to his father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and two partners and brothers, there are twenty people, big and small. He, his brother-in-law, and partners have all joined the army, and they have some Real guy, safe and sound.

What's more, this place is close to a summer subway station, where patrols come and go frequently, and you can also go to the public canteen of the subway station to eat. Things are getting more and more wrong in this world. It would be better if you can save a little bit of food.

"I will refund you all the deposit. Today is the 23rd. I will refund you half of this month's rent. Do you want cash or something?" For these three months' rent, Song Zhangwen has always wanted shelf-stable food. Now In this situation, food is more reassuring than money.

"If you have a lot of stock, can you sell me some imitation | real | guns and rubber bullets?" Real guns can't be shown to others casually, imitation | real | guns can be used for a while, but it still hurts when hit.

Song Zhangwen is happy to see the success. He still has a lot of imitation | real | guns and rubber bullets. Summer vacation is a busy period for business, and he just received a large amount of goods at the end of June. These things cannot be eaten or worn, so it would be a pity to throw them away, and it is troublesome to carry them back and forth.

In the end, he got back a deposit of 300,000 yuan, 20 imitation guns, four boxes of rubber bullets and shooting targets, and gave him a car full of food.

A family of three spent half a day transforming the swimming room in the basement into a shooting range. The 18-meter-deep room was suitable for use.

After they no longer need to go to the shooting club, they never leave the community. Their daily routine consists of cooking, shooting, exercising, and playing with cats. Qiao Xi was glad more than once that he had brought it home. The three adults were really a little bored and had so much to talk about. With a naughty and mischievous pet around, the whole house immediately became lively.

Although they do not leave the community, they will go out for a walk every now and then at night. They walk around the community and often encounter neighbors who come out to let loose.

Humans are social animals and cannot stay at home all the time. No matter how hot the weather is, they can't stop their instinct for communication. Besides, staying in an air-conditioned room all the time is not good for your health. You have to adapt to this bad world.

Gradually, the small square in front of the community clubhouse became a communication center for residents.

There are crouching tigers and hidden dragons among the residents, and you can hear some gossip from time to time. As for whether it is true or false, benevolent people have different opinions.

For example, our country has safely shut down all nuclear power plants to ensure that there will be no nuclear leakage. Across the sea, Country R was reluctant to give up nuclear power. As a result, two nuclear power plants exploded due to the tsunami.

I don't know whether it was due to high temperatures or nuclear pollution. Marine life has died on a large scale, from seaweeds and corals to whales and turtles.

Typhoons occur frequently in the southeastern coastal areas, and even rare tsunamis occur.

Sea levels have risen more in just four months than in the previous four hundred years combined, threatening the homes of hundreds of millions of people. Some low-altitude countries had to appeal to the international community for help, hoping to relocate their entire country. Jincheng, which has the lowest altitude in the country, has already begun planning to move some offshore residents inland.

Glaciers and snow mountains around the world are melting due to extreme high temperatures, and cities in nearby countries are suffering from mudslides and floods.

Urban fires and wildfires caused by high-temperature thunderstorms are a nightmare for people all over the world.

…

The whole world is in dire straits.

The lives of the residents in the community are not going well either. It is not because they lack food and drink, half a year has not passed and it is impossible to consume all the goods, but because of conflicts between relatives.

Many families have taken in relatives, and it's fine in the short term, but it's hard to avoid long-term living there. Some relatives made the owner angry and were forcibly kicked out by the owner with security guards. Some relatives could not be driven away.

For example, the second wife Liang Lina and the financial owner Boss Wang successively arranged for the two illegitimate daughters and the illegitimate daughter's mother to live in the house after their home was accidentally destroyed. Liang Lina refused, so Boss Wang said that your mother, brother, and brother's girlfriend can live here, but why can't my daughter live there?

Liang Lina was speechless and could only pinch her nose as her former love rival came in grandly with his daughter, and from then on the drama of three girls vying for one husband began.

You sing and I appear on the stage, providing residents in a community that lacks entertainment with rich and colorful gossip.

Life is much more exciting than TV series.

Regarding this kind of gossip, Qiao Xi said that she is a local dog and she likes to hear it. As long as the weather permits, she will go to the small square to listen to national affairs and gossip.

At eight o'clock that night, Qiao Xi was wearing a fan hat on his head and a halter-neck fan around his neck. He was holding a bottle of ice water and a folding fan in his hand, along with a small waist bag containing a walkie-talkie, a flashlight, cooling wipes, Cooling spray, fully equipped and ready to go out for some fun.

"You really don't want to go out and get some fresh air?" She confirmed to her parents again.

Xi Jingyun was watching medical videos and planned to pick up the skills. Medical knowledge would definitely be useful.

Qiao Yuanshan was studying the famous Jiangsu cuisine, squirrel mandarin fish, and after cooking all his signature dishes, he began to study new dishes, trying to make some space for the signature dishes of the eight major cuisines and foreign cuisines.

The spotted cat circled back and forth around Qiao Yuanshan, meowing and meowing without even looking at Qiao Xi.

Xi Jingyun looked at her with a smile: "I just went out yesterday. I won't go today. You can go by yourself." This child has been wild since he was a child and cannot stay at home. If they hadn't kept asking, she would have wanted to go outside the community. If she was not allowed to go to the community to get some fresh air, it would make people depressed.

Qiao Xi, who was rejected three times, sighed sadly, which seemed like she was particularly careless. But in twenty-four hours, apart from sleeping and eating, I can only be lazy for one hour.

Is it too much? Of course not too much!

She pointed to the intercom on the coffee table: "Okay, I'll go then. Call me if you need anything."

When we arrived at the small square, there were already many people there. There is no sun exposure at night, and the temperature is only around 40 degrees Celsius. If you are well prepared, you can endure it. Many people will choose to take this time to come out for some fresh air.

Several children were sitting in an electric toy car, and the adults closely following them fanned them vigorously and fed them saliva from time to time.

Qiao Xi looked at the child with a carefree smile, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. The smile of the human cub was really contagious.

In the crowd, Qiao Xi accidentally discovered Ruan Yihui, who had moved away at the end of September.

There were also people nearby who were surprised: "You're back. When did you come back?"

"I moved back yesterday," Ruan Yihui said in high spirits, with a sense of elation and pride. "I met an old friend of mine, Lao Xu. He was nostalgic and gave us a gasoline generator and a special air conditioner. Let us first Let's live a better life. We are still looking for connections to get bulletproof glass and anti-theft windows, saying that we need to do a good job in protecting our home so that we can live with peace of mind."

The person who asked the question raised his eyebrows. He was a person of taste. Wouldn't it be unkind of him to refuse their mother and son's help in the first place? That's funny, I've only played cards with you a few times, and we're not on a good friendship, so why should I take you in, mother and son? As for your son's reputation, I have a daughter in her early twenties. I can safely let him in because she is mentally ill.

At that moment, she was smiling but not smiling: "Oh, that is such a good man. He is so kind to you mother and son. If you don't know, you would think that Lao Xu is still alive."

It's tasteless for you to run against me, but it's your concubine for me to run against you.

Ruan Yihui did not hear the underlying meaning and kept saying: "It would be great if Lao Xu was here. We, mother and son, would not have to experience the warmth and coldness of these human feelings, let alone go to the refugee camp and suffer. That place is simply not for human beings. They are all common people." There were more than a dozen people sleeping in one room, and there were thieves everywhere. Even a pack of shredded squid was picked up on the bed, as if someone had never eaten anything good in his life. Fortunately, we could store things there, otherwise people would have robbed everything in our house. "

She was talking to a duck, but the other party suddenly lost the intention to compete with her. Why should she argue with an idiot? She looked at her watch and said, "It's past eight o'clock. It's time to go home and wash up. You take your time to enjoy the cool air. I'll go back first." "

Without this audience, Ruan Yihui found another one with a loud and cheerful voice, quite proud of returning home in fine clothes.

It's not that the residents who didn't move out moved back again. Everyone renovated the houses that were damaged by hail. I didn't see anyone as proud as she was. Maybe the less they had, the more they wanted to show off.

Qiao Xi found it boring to listen to this man's words, so he walked away.

"Sister Qiao." Xu Linling led the ragdoll cat closer, looked around, and asked in a low voice, "How is your cat doing?"

Recalling the heroic figure of it scratching the leather sofa, Qiao Xi said with certainty: "It's very good, it almost demolished the whole house."

Xu Linling smiled so hard that her eyes turned into crescent moons: "It is more wild-tempered than a domestic cat. Sister, do you have a cat scratching post at home? It would be better if you have a cat scratching post. If not, I have many at home. I will give you two. Cat. Do you have any nail clippers? Can you cut its nails?"

Qiao Xi smiled and said, "I have them all at home. Are you out walking the cat alone?" The community is safer than outside, but there are hundreds of original residents and relatives, so it is inevitable that there will be a mix of good and bad. Some relatives have caused trouble before Sneaking into an empty villa and stealing.

"My mother is talking to the uncles and aunts over there." Xu Linling reached back and pointed to the crowd.

A group of people gathered around Mrs. Xu. There were too many people and there were no street lights, so Qiao Xi couldn't notice. She walked over and heard Mr. Wang, the culprit of the harem drama, complaining with a beer belly: "This weather is getting worse." Something is getting worse. Not to mention the endless thunderstorms, let's talk about the temperature. It's already the end of November and it's still over 50 degrees. There's no reason why it's hotter than it was in July and August. It's going to keep getting hotter. , when it rises to 70 or 80 degrees, who can survive it? Those experts have the nerve to say that because it is in the active solar period, the high temperature is normal, and they will pretend to be safe and fool people. "

"You don't have to be good at taking advantage of it. If it weren't for experts to stabilize people's hearts, there would be chaos outside, and we wouldn't be able to live in peace now. Once chaos breaks out, you should keep an eye on it. We will definitely be among the first unlucky ones." Community. Now that I think about it, it's a good thing that our country has banned guns. I guess those countries in the West are in trouble now. Everyone has a gun. It's a wonder if there is no chaos."

Mr. Wang shook his head helplessly: "If you say that, it's the same truth. Now we can only have fun in this hard life. It's really hard to say how we are living. It's been almost five months, and the situation has not improved at all. On the contrary, It keeps getting worse. My daughter keeps shouting at home that the world is coming, and I almost believe it. Mrs. Xu, do you believe it?"

If not many people believed it when the power went out, no matter how the official refuted the rumor, more and more people believe it now. It is really that the weather is too abnormal. Winter is hotter than summer. No, there is no winter at all.

When asked, Mrs. Xu smiled and said, "I'd rather believe it or not. While we can still buy things now, let's buy more and put them at home. Maybe we can save the lives of the whole family."

"But it's not easy to buy water all the time, and water can't be stored for too long." Qiao Xixiao Yingying continued, "Mrs. Xu, do you think we can dig a few deep wells in our community to make it easier for everyone to use water."

The high temperature that lasted for more than four months and the little precipitation brought by thunderstorms were negligible. The water level of the reservoirs in the suburbs dropped significantly, approaching the warning line. Even the artificial lakes in the community became significantly smaller. If the high temperature continues like this, drought will occur sooner or later. Their family will not be short of water, but everyone is short of water but their family is not. It's not very wonderful. While the money ability is still useful, quickly encourage everyone to use it.

Mr. Wang chuckled: "That's a good idea. Although you can't dig wells casually in urban areas, this is not a special situation and can be dealt with on a special basis. We can't dig wells in every household. At least we should dig a few public wells to solve everyone's urgent needs. At worst, we'll just fill it out when the situation returns to normal."

"It's just that the water we bought at my house smelled wrong. My wife suspected that the evil man who sold the water had peed in it, so she didn't dare to use it and just poured it out. Instead of being suspicious, let's just dig a well ourselves, preferably one for each family. , equipped with water pumps and pipes, just like tap water."

The wealthy Mr. Wang looked at Mrs. Xu and said, "Mrs. Xu, if you can, please do your best and help us think of a solution. If the heat continues like this, there may be a drought. It's better to have a well. It doesn't cost much to build a well. It only costs a lot." If others are not willing to pay, I will pay for it, as long as the higher-ups allow us to dig the well."

Mrs. Xu looked at Qiao and laughed: "It's you young people who think so fast after all."

"Your home is the first to start construction on the power grid and anti-theft windows. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to catch up so quickly." Mr. Wang suddenly remembered and laughed, "I heard you are right."

"Uncle and aunt, please don't laugh at me. This is purely a lesson I learned from escaping death." Qiao Xi didn't want to wear such a big hat. If the temperature suddenly dropped and it rained, she still had to blame her. "It's not easy to get out of T When I came back from the country, I dreamed of thunderstorms following me back. I couldn't sleep without taking protection. It was lucky that it came in handy, otherwise it would have been a joke. Now that I think about digging the well, I just want to be lazy and don't want to do it for three days. Go to the door to buy water."

"Who told your family not to hire a nanny? Do your parents still lack this little money? Even you are a little rich woman yourself."

Qiao Xi smiled: "My mother is a medical student, so she inevitably has some occupational diseases. She must ask the nanny to have a physical examination report within a week, but the hospital has suspended the physical examination for a long time, so we have to work harder. Fortunately, our family has less housework. few."

"The main reason is that your father is good at cooking and his food is guaranteed. As for hygiene, it's just passable."

After a few jokes about the junior Qiao Xi, the topic returned to digging wells, and everyone placed their hopes on Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu thought about it in her mind, nodded and said: "Whether it is from the immediate perspective or the long term, drilling a well will be beneficial to all the owners, then I will ask. If you agree in advance, it may not work, don't blame me if it doesn't work. "

Mr. Wang said quickly: "That's not possible. Are we the kind of unreasonable people? Mrs. Xu, you have worked hard for everyone, and everyone will see it and remember it in their hearts."

True to her word, Mrs. Xu went to the relevant units to inquire the next day and found out that the government had planned to drill wells for free throughout the city.

Relying on transporting water to suburban reservoirs is not a long-term solution, and the water levels in the reservoirs are constantly declining. Then fires occur frequently. If there is a well, there will be a steady stream of water to extinguish the fires and avoid recurrence of the August fires. There are many advantages, but also disadvantages. Excessive exploitation of groundwater will cause ground subsidence and aggravate earthquake disasters.

Sugarcane is not as sweet as both ends. After weighing the situation, the superiors decided to drill wells to extract groundwater.

In addition to planning to drill wells, the government also plans to set up cable broadcasts on a community basis to facilitate the dissemination of policy and warning information. Not every household has a radio, and it is impossible for everyone to stay in front of the radio 24 hours a day. This will result in thunderstorm warnings not being conveyed immediately, and patrols and community personnel often need to use loudspeakers to remind them again. Not to mention the low efficiency, the staff are also facing great danger to their lives, and some people have already died as a result.

The two policies that benefit the people prioritize the placement of shelters in summer resorts with concentrated populations, and then in residential areas with large populations. The population of Jinlan Villa is not large, so we have to wait until at least two months later.

Mrs. Xu held another owners' meeting and asked each family if they were willing to pay a sum of money to hire someone to dig a well and install cable broadcasting at their own expense. Then there would be no need to queue and the work could start immediately.

"Two or three months can be a long time or a short time. Anything can happen. My opinion is to hurry up sooner rather than later. Use well water for two to three months in the morning and save money on buying water and digging wells. It's not much different. The remaining money from the anti-climbing spikes is enough," Mrs. Xu said calmly, "but it won't be enough to install the cable broadcast."

"Then just dig wells and don't install wired radios. We all have radios anyway."

Mrs. Xu asked with a smile: "Then can you turn on the radio twenty-four hours a day?"

The person who spoke took it for granted: "If there is no security guard to remind them, they get a salary of 10,000 yuan every month. This is their fair share of work."

Mrs. Xu slowly stopped laughing and looked over. Many owners showed approval on their faces. She frowned deeply in her heart and kept a calm expression on her face: "Do you think it's still the same now as before?"

"It's definitely different. How can it be the same? How can it be compared with before?"

"I don't even know what kind of life I'm living now."

"Mrs. Xu, what exactly do you want to say? Just say it. Don't be shy."

Mrs. Xu smiled lightly: "I just want to ask everyone, is it more inseparable from us, the security guards, or the security guards, who are more inseparable from us."

Qiao in the crowd laughed, because they couldn't do without the security guards.

In addition to being useful in state-owned stores, money is no longer useful in private stores. Some stores offer goods in kind without paying for them. However, state-owned stores have purchase restrictions, so it is difficult to spend all the money you have. The security guard really wants to earn this salary so that his family can live a better life, but it is not impossible to survive without this salary. With the support of the state, he will not die from hunger or heat. But if there is no security patrol in their community, just wait, there will be people visiting every night, and no one can live a peaceful life.

If you want to live a peaceful life for a few more days, you should be kind to the security guards, let alone let them risk their lives to work. Once they feel that it is not worth fighting for the money, Jinlan Villa will begin to lose peace.

Many people understand the truth, but it's just due to inertia, and they still think that if they have money, they are the boss. But money is no longer everything.

In the end, some neighbors who understood stood up and said: "I said you have not understood the situation. What a mess it is outside. The radio broadcasts every day every day how many robberies and murderers were shot today. You are still here and can't bear to part with those few in your pockets." Are you going to give the money to the robbers when they come to your door and beg them to be merciful and only steal money but not kill people? "

Some of the people who had objected before were blushing.

In the final vote, the approval rate was higher than that of anti-climbing spikes. The cruel reality is before our eyes, and the living environment has become increasingly difficult.

Three days later, Jinlan Villa began drilling wells and installing cable broadcasting at the same time.

Cable broadcasting was installed first. In view of frequent thunderstorms and power problems, the wires were buried half a meter below. A dozen speakers were scattered under the eaves of some owners. One speaker was installed in the inner corner of the eaves of Qiao's house.

After installing it, Qiao Yuanshan muttered that he would go back home after spending more time. When he was a child, this thing was installed on the telephone poles in the village. There is also a dedicated announcer, which is a leisurely and decent job. He reads newspapers to the villagers every day and occasionally plays songs.

The well drilling was completed two days late. Five deep water wells were drilled in public areas. It is unrealistic to drill wells in every household. Firstly, not all places are suitable for well drilling. Secondly, there is not much time. It takes several days to drill a deep well. Where can I fight?

Although we have not been able to get well water into our homes, at least we have water at our doorstep, which makes us feel more at ease as we don't have to fetch water back and forth by ourselves. To this day, most families still employ nannies, chefs and even bodyguards. The Qiao family, which only consists of three people, is an anomaly.

Life is difficult for everyone, but the lives of the residents of Jinlan Villa are obviously better than those of most people outside. That is to say, in the capital, public security and supplies are guaranteed to a certain extent, otherwise their community would not be so peaceful.

Qiao Xi knew that the peace at Jinlan Villa could not last long, and there would be no unbroken eggs in the nest, but he did not expect that it would be broken so quickly.

For the first time, death occurred in the community, not because of high temperatures or thunderstorms, but because of man-made disasters. All eight members of a family of six in Villa No. 89, including the nanny and child care wife, were brutally murdered and were not discovered until five days later.

The windows were blocked by thick sunscreen curtains, so no light could shine through, and no one noticed that they didn't turn on the lights at night. It's not surprising that I haven't seen anyone for a few days. Not everyone can't stay at home and like to go out for some fresh air. Many people refuse to leave their air-conditioned rooms. This family doesn't like to go out.

But after a thunderstorm, no one came out of their house to clean up the mess in the yard. The neighbor was heartbroken and shouted outside the door but no one answered. The neighbor immediately notified the security guard.

As a precaution, four security guards came to the door to understand the situation. No matter how much they shouted, there was no response. This was obviously abnormal. The security guards climbed over the wall and pried open the door.

As soon as the door was opened, the smell of corpses hit their nostrils, causing many people to vomit on the spot.

Qiao Xi frowned in discomfort when she heard the noise. From her angle, she could see the highly decomposed corpse in the living room.

Soon, the police patrolling nearby were called, including Lu Ziqian. He nodded to Qiao Xi in the crowd and entered the villa.

More and more residents gathered following the sound, talking among themselves, and some questioned the security guard. A massacre of families occurs without anyone noticing in the community, which pricks the nerves of every resident, fearing that it will be their turn next.

The property manager and the security guards were speechless. They were all to blame for something like this happening in the community, but they were really not lazy and kept patrolling at night. It's just that in such a large community, surveillance is now unavailable. It's really beyond their capabilities to rely on dozens of them to keep the community airtight.

Qiao Xi quietly looked at everyone present. She suspected that the murderer was among the residents. Villa No. 89 was in the middle of the community, not an outlying villa. If the murderer came in over the wall, according to common sense, he would choose the nearest one.

If the murderer is a maverick and likes to sacrifice the near and the far, he is so lucky to be among so many people and choose No. 89, which is the most convenient to attack? There is no dog, and there is a house full of old, weak, women and children.

There are already many families raising dogs in the community. Recently, many families have raised dogs specifically for safety reasons to deter thieves. Because the weather was so hot that the dogs couldn't stand it, so they were kept at home instead of in the yard. How could outsiders tell whether the family kept dogs or not.

There are eight people in a family, two elderly people who are nearly eighty years old, the hostess, the eldest son who is 12 years old, the daughter who is nine years old, the younger son who is three years old, and the nanny and nanny. The male protagonist went abroad to discuss business before the solar storm. He has not returned yet and his life or death is uncertain.

Ruling out luck, is it possible that the murderer is someone who lives there?

According to research, many murderers like to return to the scene of the crime. Perverts enjoy their achievements, while ordinary people want to know the progress of the investigation.

Could the murderer be at the scene?