Luo Yuan walked out of the registration room awkwardly.
There were a few beautiful receptionists waiting at the door. They glanced at Luo Yuan from head to toe and then quickly looked away. They were not interested in looking at him anymore.
Luo Yuan laughed at himself and walked towards his car with Wang Shishi, who had been waiting outside. He took out his phone and was about to call Wang Xiaguang to meet her. However, his phone had already run out of battery. It was obvious that the phone call with Huang Jiahui had used up the last bit of power.
Luo Yuan looked depressed and put his phone back in his pocket. It seemed like he would have to contact her later.
He and Wang Shishi sat in the car and waited for an hour, but Huang Jiahui was still not back. Luo Yuan did not want to wait any longer. She was probably not coming back.
He started the car and drove towards the city.
Unlike Donghu City, which was like a dead city, the whole of Hedong City was filled with a strange vitality. It wasn't that he hadn't been to Donghe City before, but the city was completely different from the leisure and tourist city in his memory. He remembered that this was supposed to be a bustling commercial street, but now the buildings here had been flattened and replaced by a large heavily guarded heavy industrial zone. The sound of all kinds of machinery colliding inside was deafening. Even without seeing it, one could feel that it was in full swing.
He had passed by a few industrial areas like this one along the way.
There were not many people on the road, but there was no sense of panic. Instead, there was a sense of peace before the chaos.
Luo Yuan miraculously found a real estate agent near the residential area. He quickly stopped the car. What he needed most now was a place to stay.
As soon as he walked into the store, a well-dressed middle-aged man came up to him and said, "My name is Chen Baoqiang. Are you looking to rent or buy a house?"
Luo Yuan rejected the middle-aged man's offer of a cup of tea and said directly, "I'm looking to rent a house with two bedrooms and a living room. Do you have it here?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Our agency has collected more than 20 houses. Do you want to … go take a look now? "Chen Baoqiang said eagerly.
Luo Yuan nodded.
"Alright, give me a minute." A hint of joy flashed across Chen Baoqiang's face. He took out a contract and quickly closed and locked the iron door of the shop.
"What's wrong? Are you the only one in your company?" Luo Yuan asked as he watched him lock the door.
"Hehe, I've embarrassed myself. I'm the boss and the only employee of the company." Chen Baoqiang forced a smile and said, "You also know the current situation. Most of our business used to be foreign workers, but now these people have already returned to their hometowns. My business is getting less and less, but I'm getting more and more listings. Now, I can only make a living, but I won't starve to death. "
Luo Yuan sympathized with him and asked, "Is there any electricity in the residential area?"
"You're new to Hedong City, aren't you? There used to be electricity here, but it ran out seven days ago." Chen Baoqiang shook his head and explained, "It's the same in every neighborhood. Now, priority is given to industry! "
"Isn't there a Hedong Bay Nuclear Power Plant next to Hedong City? Why is there no electricity?" Luo Yuan asked suspiciously. Hedong Bay Nuclear Power Plant was the first nuclear power plant in Jiangnan Province. He had visited it before.
"It's just a small nuclear power plant. What can it do? It's not even enough to supply the whole of Hedong City. Part of the electricity has to come from the Three Gorges Hydropower Station. But now there seems to be a problem with the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, so there's no electricity. "
Luo Yuan's heart skipped a beat. If there was a problem with the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, the impact would be devastating. This meant that the most developed region in China would be in a terrible situation without electricity. He thought about the fact that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, which was under national protection, had a problem. Other hydropower stations might not be spared either. His scalp went numb.
But it was just a guess, and Luo Yuan quickly dismissed the thought.
Chen Baoqiang did not have a car, so Wang Shishi had no choice but to sit on Luo Yuan's lap.
Chen Baoqiang looked at Wang Shishi, who was blushing, and said politely, "Is this your sister? She's so pretty!"
Wang Shishi's skinny and pale cheeks had become rosy after days of nourishment from the light blue level meat. One look and anyone could tell that she was going to be a beauty.
"Yes!" Luo Yuan answered perfunctorily. "Oh yes, how far are we from here?
Chen Baoqiang was good at reading people's expressions. He knew that he had hit the nail on the head, so he quickly said, "Just drive to the end of this road and turn a corner."
After a few more minutes of driving, a mid-range residential area appeared in front of Luo Yuan.
Suddenly, there was a gunshot from a distance. It sounded like a heavy machine gun.
Luo Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively stepped on the brakes.
Chen Baoqiang got out of the car before Luo Yuan could get out. He looked up and relaxed. He smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's just a few birds! There are always some that slip through the net, but you'll get used to it after a while. "
Luo Yuan opened the window to take a look. The birds had flown far away, leaving only a few dots in the distance.
He was a little worried. It seemed that there was still a safety risk here.
Luo Yuan looked at the house. It was on the third floor, which was considered a good floor. The interior decoration was not bad, but the complete set of electrical appliances was a pity. There was no electricity, so they could only be used as decorations. He went to the kitchen to take a look. To his surprise, the gas and water were still there.
After experiencing the hardships of living in Donghu City, he was satisfied as long as there was a safe place with water and gas.
However, when he was about to sign the contract and pay the bill, there was an accident.
"Do you accept food stamps here?"
Chen Baoqiang knew that he was from another city, so he explained, "The value of money is depreciating every day. Who needs money now? I advise you to go to the bank and exchange your money for food stamps as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult to buy anything. "
Luo Yuan frowned. He had not expected to encounter such an ancient product from the planned economy era. He had only heard about it from the older generation. He asked, "What's the exchange rate for food stamps and money now?"
"I saw 23 yuan for a catty of food stamps yesterday, but it will be more than that soon. Of course, you can also use food stamps to exchange," Chen Baoqiang said when he had seen the backseat full of food stamps.
Luo Yuan did not want to use his precious food to pay the bill, so he thought for a moment and said, "I don't have time to go to the bank now. How about this? I'll use money to exchange 25 yuan for a catty of food stamps, and you can go to the bank. What do you think?"
"If you're not afraid of losing out, of course!" He could make some extra money by going to the bank, so he naturally agreed. "Let me calculate. Six months of rent plus a month's commission would be a total of 14,000 yuan.
Such a rent would have been extremely low even before the war. If the depreciation of money was taken into account, it would be almost the price of cabbages. The inflated housing prices that couldn't be solved in the golden age had fallen to the bottom of the valley in this chaotic world, dropping to a jaw-dropping price. It had to be said that it was ironic.
Luo Yuan was not surprised. He had felt that the current rent would not be too high.
He had already withdrawn all his savings from the bank before the war, so he still had more than 100,000 yuan left. It was more than enough to pay the bill.
After Chen Baoqiang left, Luo Yuan sat on the sofa, enjoying the peace and quiet that he had not felt for a long time.
No one liked to live a precarious life where they could die at any time.
He lay down for a while, then stood up and said to Wang Shishi, "There are two rooms. Which one do you want?"
Wang Shishi seemed to be a little depressed after Huang Jiahui's absence. She said, "I'll choose the smaller one on the left."
After a while, she asked again, "Sister Huang, are you really not coming? What if you're still waiting there?"
Luo Yuan was silent.
Wang Shishi did not dare to ask again when she saw Luo Yuan's expression.
After a while, Luo Yuan moved all the supplies from the car. Wang Shishi wanted to help, but Luo Yuan chased her away. After everything was in place, Luo Yuan took a shower in the bathroom. He felt a little empty in his heart.
He put on his clothes and took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. He lit a cigarette and walked back and forth in the living room. When he was halfway through the cigarette, he put it out and said to Wang Shishi, "You stay at home. I'm going out for a while."
Before Wang Shishi could respond, he strode out of the room. He got into the car and stepped on the accelerator. The car spewed out thick black smoke as it turned around and drove towards the entrance of the residential area.
He did not know what he was doing. Maybe he was trying to see a person clearly, or maybe it was something else.
The car sped up, and after half an hour, he reached the highway. It was almost dusk, and the sky was getting dark. After such a long time, the registration had already been completed, and the place was empty. Even the metal houses that served as the registration office were empty.
The deserted suburbs had a sense of desolation and silence. There were all sorts of strange sounds of insects and birds in the distance, which was scary.
He glanced around, and a trace of disappointment flashed across his face. He was about to drive back when …
He was about to drive back when he noticed someone squatting on the side of the road in front of him.
Luo Yuan's pupils shrank. He stepped on the accelerator, and the Santana 2000 roared as it sped forward.
When the car stopped, he opened the window and shouted, "What are you doing squatting there? Get in the car! "
Hearing the familiar voice, Huang Jiahui's body shook. She lifted her head, and her face was full of tears.
She was so emotional that her lips and body could not stop trembling. Her heart was full of mixed feelings, but she said stubbornly, "What are you doing here?"
"It's getting dark. Wang Shishi and I are waiting for you to cook. Hurry up," Luo Yuan said with a smile, leaning against the window.
Huang Jiahui's words had swept away all her emotions. She walked around the front of the car to the driver's seat and grabbed Luo Yuan's chest. "Do you know how many hours I've waited for you? Do you know how desperate I was just now? I don't even have a daughter now. I have nothing left! I won't leave even if you want me to. You bastard! "
As Luo Yuan looked at her in shock, she covered his lips with her mouth.
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