Jhiang Yuan at home wasn't idling either, as she turned on the surveillance for the large flat again.
She noticed Bai Mengmeng packing things up while Xia Chaoyang was sleeping.
All their clothes and such were being placed in suitcases; it looked like they were about to head out again.
After a moment's thought, she understood why.
Mrs. Xia wasn't an easy person to get along with, and she guessed nobody could tolerate living with her for more than a week.
Bai Mengmeng had always lived with her child on her own, doing as she pleased, and Xia Chaoyang didn't visit every day; her days were frankly too comfortable.
Now with the rain, it was natural for her to think of escaping.
Over there, having to serve a whole family was something nobody would want.
As for how she explained it to Xia Chaoyang, that was beyond her considerations.
By evening, the rain stopped, and the weather turned cooler.
The Internet was full of cheers, but Jhiang Yuan felt something was amiss, as such a situation hadn't occurred in her previous life.
The rain had continued for a full month without ever stopping.
In this life, things were too unusual with higher temperatures and the strange rain.
"My girl, the sky has cleared, it should be fine now, and it's not hot anymore."
Jhiang Xingzhi felt sentimental but was still happy, as who would expect to live through what's called an apocalypse.
"Just consider all the stuff we've stockpiled, like we're running a supermarket. Now it's okay, we'll eat it slowly."
Qin Yue sighed, somewhat helpless that she had been overly cautious and joined in her daughter's fretting.
"Look at this, the phones say that many places have started restocking, and they're even going to open for business tonight. Let's go out for a walk too."
Her mother gestured towards the phone, and Jhiang Yuan leaned over to take a look.
Indeed, today's temperature had dropped, and many places were starting to regroup, gearing up for something big.
Especially the supermarkets, which undoubtedly saw a great opportunity.
After such a long wait, everyone was eager to indulge in a good meal, and even the small eateries were preparing to open.
As for the goods, every supermarket had a sizeable storeroom, but fresh fruits and vegetables were scarce.
Jhiang Yuan took the phone and scrolled through the comments, feeling something odd.
Why was everyone so excited? It wasn't possible to revert to pre-apocalypse normality overnight.
One comment expressing gratitude to the motherland caught her attention, and upon clicking, she discovered the reason.
It turned out that the emergency relief points previously set up would distribute a large amount of fresh vegetables to ease public livelihood issues.
That explained the frenzy.
Still, Jhiang Yuan couldn't shake off her unease. If they were distributing reserve food supplies, what would happen in the event of a real danger?
After much thought, only one possibility came to mind: perhaps the food reserves had been affected by disaster.
For instance, if the electricity to the cold storage failed, the impact on the vegetables would be devastating, making anything possible.
However, this development might also be a good thing, distributing the vegetables and other items could be considered beneficial.
If an extreme cold were to hit, those resources would be damaged anyway.
If people could buy some, it might relieve some pressure and provide some resistance for a time during the severe cold.
"Mom, what on earth is all this?"
Upon hearing a shout from Qin Yue, Jhiang Yuan quickly ran over to see.
"What happened, Mom?"
"I wanted to open the window to let some fresh air in, but why are there so many flies and mosquitos?"
She didn't dare take it lightly and hurried over to the window to look.
Numerous Green Bean Flies and long-legged mosquitoes were wet from the rain, densely clinging to the window.
Because the drapes inside the house had always been closed, she hadn't noticed earlier.
The insects were wet, and many were still alive, forming a dense mass; fortunately, she didn't have a phobia of clusters.
Jhiang Yuan was somewhat afraid, the green bean flies seemed to have grown larger, their bellies emitting a purplish glow, so strange.
"Dad, Mom, hurry up and close the windows—all of them."
Even living in the countryside for so many years and having seen plenty of flies, they had never seen so many at once.
"Don't we have insecticide? Maybe we should spray some."
"Don't…" Upon hearing this, Jhiang Yuan quickly intervened.
"Mom and Dad, I think there's something not quite right about these insects, we should be more careful. Don't let them inside, just in case they bite, it wouldn't be good.
Our house's windows are all very well sealed, just close them and don't let them in."
Jhiang Xingzhi wasn't careless either, his thick skin didn't bother him much.
But his daughter and Xiao Nuan, both so delicate, absolutely couldn't get bitten, given the mosquitoes' strong killing power.
The few of them carefully checked and closed all the windows, pulling the curtains shut.
Jhiang Yuan, not reassured, conducted another series of disinfections throughout the house.
Just as she changed clothes and was about to spray some insecticide in the hallway, the doorbell rang.
She was startled and hurried to the monitor to see—who it was—Song Yi, also wrapped up tightly, with only his eyes showing.
"Hello…"
She didn't open the door, instead speaking to him through the intercom.
"Jhiang Yuan, it's Song Yi. I'm going downstairs; do you have any trash at home?"
So that was it, she felt a bit guilty for suspecting otherwise, especially since it wasn't yet that bad.
"Click."
The door opened, and Jhiang Yuan was dressed in a purple tracksuit too, except she hadn't put on a mask or anything.
Song Yi was surprised to see her like this.
"Hurry inside, there might be mosquitoes in the hallway. Put on your mask and a hat."
His tone was almost commanding; Jhiang Yuan found it odd, the weather had already cooled, and now many people were reluctant to wrap up so tightly.
"Alright, wait for me…"
With a slap, Jhiang Yuan closed the door, went inside to put on a hat and mask.
She also felt she had been a bit reckless; she should have been fully geared.
When she stepped out again, Song Yi was still at the door. She hadn't noticed and nearly bumped into him.
"Why haven't you gone down yet?"
Song Yi looked at her, and after what seemed like a ten-second standoff, he spoke indifferently, "Jhiang Yuan, it's started raining!"
"I know that!"
Was this guy clueless? As if she couldn't tell it was raining. Really now.
"I mean, when it rains, the weather changes, and mosquitoes and flies, they love to lay eggs in this kind of weather."
"Oh, perfect, I was about to re-disinfect the hallway anyway."
Song Yi looked at her, sighing indifferently. Although it wasn't loud, Jhiang Yuan still heard it.
"Song Yi, tell me the truth, do you know something?"
The other party was silent for nearly a minute before he finally spoke lightly.
"What could I possibly know? It's just that, when I was on a mission in the Amazon, I saw similar insects.
If it's an ordinary bite, it's not a big deal. But if it happens during their egg-laying cycle, they can easily parasitize their larvae in human skin."
What?
That sounded so disgusting. Moreover, since when did mosquitoes have this ability?
They don't lay eggs by jabbing in with a proboscis—was this guy just trying to scare her?