Chapter 572: Chapter 428: Hoarding Thousands upon Thousands for Natural Disasters, Raising a Child, I Let It Go 16_3
At the beginning, all she wanted was to stock up on supplies and ride out the tough five years with the “sons of planes,” then seek revenge on the family of the original owner. But now, her thoughts had gradually changed. In the subsequent natural disasters, many were controllable. If she could intervene, perhaps things wouldn’t reach the worst possible outcome.
Although there was still snow on the roadside, there was more water. This wasn’t a problem halfway up the mountain, since all the water flowed down the slopes. But when they drove down to the base of the mountain, they found the road was already flooded. It was like after a heavy downpour, with the water level high enough to submerge their calves, and with the melting snow, if one were to step in it barefoot, it would feel extremely cold.
This time, Su Zhiruan’s purpose for descending the mountain was very clear. After Wen Qingyu drove around for a bit, she gradually set her target.
The target group was a gathering of workers at a school.
Nearing the school, the flow of people gradually increased. After observing for a while, she turned to Wen Qingyu and said, “Let’s go, we should follow them. If there are people here, there definitely will be even more gathered together.”
The weather was foggy now, with incredibly low visibility, so Su Zhiruan and Wen Qingyu followed at a safe distance without being detected. The further they walked, the more Su Zhiruan was sure that there must be a large number of people conglomerated here, as they began to see more and more people ahead, who were speaking in small groups, unable to hide the joy on their faces.
Wen Qingyu wore a duckbill cap and a face mask, along with an old and worn-out military coat that hid his physique well, wrapping him up tightly. This was also to prevent others from recognizing him as Wen Qingyu. If he were to be recognized, he would have concerns, so he chose to disguise his face. Su Zhiruan was dressed just as shabbily; she smeared her face with much dirt and even used makeup techniques to make herself look quite ugly, nothing like her usual appearance. Dressed in such a manner, the two stepped into the midst of the gathered crowd.
This place was likely a local gathering hub with a large population. Although it was an elementary school, they could see more migrant workers and manual laborers. In the center, there was a bonfire. The large gymnasium was sparsely dotted with cotton padding and quilts. Some of the quilt patterns were simple, even cartoonish, which showed that these were leftovers from the student dormitories. The ground was filthy and smelled foul; with the melting snow, the water on the ground was still flowing noisily. The fire in the center burned unaffected, with several elderly people huddled around it, shivering and warming themselves. The ground was littered with all sorts of garbage, and in front of many people sat a few broken bowls.
“Folks, let’s just hold on a little longer, victory’s dawn is near. Look, the snow has melted so much today, and even though it’s foggy, I believe we’ll be able to return to our normal lives in a few days!” someone shouted joyfully.
Apart from him, other people were also cheering and leaping with happiness.
After enduring heavy snow for over half a year, everyone’s mental state had become somewhat frantic.
“What worries me is this heavy fog; it makes people anxious.” A slightly genteel-looking male teacher with glasses spoke up worriedly, “I always feel there’s something off with such heavy fog, which you hardly see once in a hundred years.”
“Ah, you’re just too worried, probably because you’ve learned your book knowledge too rigidly. Who doesn’t know that heavy snow is followed by heavy fog? It’s common sense, isn’t it? Teachers can’t just stay in school all the time; you should get to know nature more!”
A construction worker uncle chuckled and patted his shoulder.