Chapter 82 Order to Be Restored?

She had thought they would first have each survivor point conduct a census, just like the population surveys before the apocalypse. But considering the current circumstances, it wasn’t hard to understand why everyone was swarming to the base to register and update their information. After all, when the sudden freeze hit, temperatures here dropped as low as minus sixty or seventy degrees, and the usual was minus thirty or forty. With shortages of medicine, food, and clothing, plus constant standoffs among survivors, the death toll was countless—there was no need to divide the workload.

Luckily, at these temperatures, the corpses didn’t reek, or else the streets would be filled with the stench of death. Jiang Huan had brought all her ID cards and household registration documents. When she saw the official base notification, she immediately asked in the group chat if everyone wanted to go out together on the same day. Building Six responded quickly, and Wu Gang’s group said if they were going, they might as well all go together. Jiang Huan agreed.

Arriving at the base, Jiang Huan and her group saw the crowd gathering, and deeply felt that the number of survivors in the city was far greater than she had imagined. Roughly estimated, it was no less than the audience at a major football match. Who knew how long the line would take; among the crowd, curses and petty thefts broke out even now.

Jiang Huan’s group became even more cautious in their precautions. When it was finally their turn, they found that a hundred people entered a temporary semi-transparent tent at the same time, with twenty tables doing registration simultaneously. She pulled her brother to a spot to wait; there was only one person ahead, and it took just a few minutes for them to finish. When it was her turn, she handed over her ID and household registration.

“You’re the head of the household. Are the other family members gone?”

Jiang Huan took a deep breath, nodded, and pushed her ID forward again. The staff seemed to realize they had overreacted and explained they were wary of fake certificates.

At a time like this, who would bother with fake documents? There weren’t even proper machines; even if someone had a fake, you wouldn’t know the difference. When the conversation grew more awkward, the staff hurriedly filled in the information and returned her documents. “Come back in about fifteen days to collect it.”

“Alright, thank you.” Jiang Huan pulled her brother along and exhaled as she left the tent. It was warmer inside, but so stuffy, and the staff seemed a bit foolish.

She didn’t know that after she left, the “foolish” staff copied down Jiang Huan’s information. In their hands were records of several unmarried women whose households had lost their breadwinners.

The certification process wasn’t over yet, resettlement was still ongoing, but good news kept coming. First, a certain base announced they had caught a group conducting illegal experiments; next, the provincial granary sent supplies. From now on, every adult could collect food and daily necessities every three days: water, rice, flour, grains, tissues, candles, and matches.

This good news allowed all survivors to breathe a huge sigh of relief, no longer terrified of food shortages. With a series of fortunate events, the community was harmonious; that tense, invisible anxiety vanished, and Jiang Huan relaxed her watch over her brother as much as possible.

Compared to a future of endless freezing, Jiang Huan naturally hoped for normal life to return. Even if her money had been converted into supplies, if she could survive the frozen apocalypse, she could certainly live through the return of normalcy.

As she watched children playing downstairs with her brother, Jiang Huan received a message from Meng. The fruit vendor had returned, asking if she wanted fruit and vegetables—this time, he had brought more.

As an “ordinary” survivor with contribution points, Jiang Huan certainly wanted them, so she set out for the base. Xie Congzhou wanted some seasonings this time; Jiang Huan had high-quality ones, and he seemed very pleased with such a customer, gifting her a handful of blueberries.

“You can still grow blueberries at a time like this?”

Xie Congzhou credited it to the hot springs.

“It’s not just that. I think you’re truly a master at farming.” Even before the apocalypse, when she bought from their village, she could taste it.

Be it strawberries or other fruit, she had never tasted anything better than Xie Congzhou’s produce. She wasn’t someone scraping by at the bottom; when most people earned three thousand a month, her highest monthly income had reached six figures, and she was generous with her food. She’d eaten all kinds of imported and greenhouse fruits, even traveled to the famed West Guang and Nan Yun, but never had anything tastier than his fruit.

Being suddenly praised for his skill, Xie Congzhou paused. “Thank you.”

Jiang Huan raised an eyebrow; besides never tasting fruit this good, she’d rarely seen a man so genuinely delighted by a compliment.

Nowadays, many men and women are so practiced in earthy flirtations they can improvise and invent new lines, with fast-food relationships everywhere, open and free. But Xie Congzhou couldn’t even respond to such topics, only offering basic replies—truly rare.

Noticing Jiang Huan’s gaze, Xie Congzhou seemed to focus on her eyes for the first time. Fair skin, lively eyes, a faint fruit fragrance—he suddenly realized, after several transactions, that Jiang Huan was a true beauty.

The beauty was still intently watching him, as if she’d discovered something rare. Uncomfortable, he turned his head, but the next moment his eyes widened; then, lifting his foot to run, he hesitated only a second before grabbing Jiang Huan’s wrist. “Come with me.”

Jiang Huan was inexplicably pulled aside, not even able to ask what was happening, when suddenly the ground shook violently. Losing her balance, she toppled sideways, and Xie Congzhou’s arm swept across, directly “hoisting” Jiang Huan up.

Jiang Huan was stunned. She swore he had just used his arm like a shoulder pole to lift her! Her feet actually left the ground.

With a three-digit weight and a normal figure, she was definitely not slim!

“An earthquake?” Jiang Huan looked around, seeing a huge gap where she’d just stood. Further out, people had fallen and were crawling, screaming.

Cries for help rang out everywhere.

People rushed out from buildings, but before rescue could even begin, another tremor struck.

This time, Xie Congzhou moved even faster. Jiang Huan reacted quickly, holding onto his extended hand; neither of them fell.

“Hold on to me.” Xie Congzhou shielded Jiang Huan, moving away from their original spot. Seeing him approach his large truck, Jiang Huan assumed he was going to drive off. She was about to find a way to leave Xie Congzhou and drive back to the community herself, but Xie Congzhou suddenly changed direction, leading her through the chaos to a giant tree.

He said, “This seems safe. Stay here, don’t move.”

Then he ran off.

Jiang Huan was dazed for a couple of seconds, then realized she was alone and started to leave, but a distant rumbling sound echoed once more.