After Ye Qiuyu fed Chen Jiayi and wiped her mouth, Luo Yuan called out to her, "Doctor Ye, can you come over for a moment?"
Ye Qiuyu did not know what was going on, but she quickly ran over, "Mayor Luo, you called for me?"
"This is yours." Luo Yuan picked up the remaining energy crystal and gave it to her.
Ye Qiuyu looked at the almost completely transparent sheet and was taken aback. Her breathing quickened, but she still hurriedly said, "This … this, Mayor Luo, this is too precious!"
"Don't worry about it. I'm giving it to you. Just take it." Luo Yuan patted her shoulder lightly, "Just do your job well."
This was the first time Luo Yuan had intimate contact with her body. His hot palm seemed to penetrate through her thin clothes and into her skin. Ye Qiuyu shivered and her face turned pale. Then, she blushed.
She was confused and did not know what to do. She had always been a thoughtful person. Sometimes, even a simple sentence would cause her to think it over and over again.
"Is this a hint? What should I do? Should I reject it? Or should I pretend not to understand and take it? Or should I just go with the flow?"
Luo Yuan looked at her expression changing. He thought she was shy and did not dare to accept it. He grabbed her hand and put the energy crystal in her palm, "Take it!"
Ye Qiuyu looked at it blankly. Her body was numb as if she had completely lost her ability to think. After a while, she realized that Luo Yuan had already walked to Chen Jiayi.
She bit her lip and loosened her grip. Looking at the thin and light Energy Crystal Core in her palm, she felt as if it weighed a thousand kilograms.
...
In the wee hours of the morning, an ear-piercing alarm suddenly rang.
Cui Weichuan, who was still asleep, closed his eyes. After a while, he suddenly woke up.
It was his first day of work and he could not be late. He quickly got up and pressed the alarm to stop.
He was originally a low-level civil servant in Desert City. Unfortunately, there was a huge earthquake that buried the entire Desert City underground. He came to Hope City as a refugee.
At that time, Hope City had accepted a large number of refugees from all over the world. Many of them were civil servants like him, so it was impossible to assign jobs to everyone.
After waiting for a few days, he was assigned to the first steel mill in Hope City as the deputy section chief of the logistics department.
This was not a bad job. To some extent, he was even promoted by a small step. He had always guessed that there were some external factors in this promotion. It was because he knew a big shot. It was also because of this big shot that he and his daughter were able to come to Hope City alive. Perhaps it was because of this that he made an exception and promoted him.
That period of friendship might be insignificant to that great figure, or even just acquaintance, but to him, it might be a turning point in his life.
However, good times didn't last long. The apocalyptic disaster a few months ago turned the factory he was in into ashes in an instant.
He was lucky. He happened to be on the day shift that day and was not in the factory, so he was lucky enough to survive.
During that period of time, the whole of Hope City was in chaos and darkness. The sound of crying did not stop throughout the night. Everyone in Hope City was in mourning. There were also people who were in despair about the future and vented their emotions everywhere. Occasionally, gunshots could be heard on the streets.
That was the most terrifying day for him. He and his precious daughter hid in the small house and did not dare to go out for a few days.
Fortunately, such days did not last for a few days. Everything started to improve and the order of the city was gradually restored. Hope City also saw the light again. However, since then, he was completely unemployed.
The days of unemployment were quite difficult. Every day, he could only queue up to eat at the public welfare cafeteria. Although he would not starve to death, it was impossible for him to eat well. Even if he wanted to buy some small items for his family, he would have to think twice.
As a newly migrated refugee, he did not have much savings. Now, there was not much left.
Facing such a poor life, he could bear it. However, he did not want his daughter to suffer with him and be discriminated by other students in boarding school.
He had to have a job!
Fortunately, after the apocalypse, education was completely free. Otherwise, he could not even afford his daughter's school fees.
He walked into the bathroom, washed his face, brushed his teeth carefully and cleaned himself. Then, he walked to the wardrobe and took out all the clothes that he could wear and put them on one by one. This job required him to work in the cold, so he had to pay attention to keeping warm.
He put on all the clothes that he could wear and his body was suddenly covered in sweat. He wanted to take off a few pieces of clothing but he gave up after thinking about it. It was only a few steps. When he reached the basement level, it was only one floor away from the outside world and the temperature would drop a lot.
Finally, he took out a leather coat, leather gloves, and leather boots. He held them in his hands and closed the wardrobe.
The three-piece cold-proof suit was quite heavy, especially the leather coat which weighed more than 20 catties. The outer layer of the coat was 3.5 millimeters thick and the inner layer was made of fire-like soft red fur. When he put it on, it felt like he was holding a heater.
Back then, Cui Weichuan had queued for a whole day in an environment of minus 30 degrees Celsius in order to buy a limited supply of winter clothing. Finally, he managed to buy the clothing for him and his daughter from a salesperson. He had spent most of his savings on it.
However, after wearing it for a few days, he regretted it. As the heating lamps were gradually installed in every corner of Hope City, the temperature gradually became as warm as spring. Hence, the expensive leather coat became an accessory in the wardrobe. Every time he saw it, his heart ached so much that he almost twitched.
However, everything had to be done. This job clearly required him to bring his own leather coat. Now that he thought about it, Cui Weichuan could not help but feel that he had foresight.
The salary for this job was quite high, it was three times that of an ordinary job. Due to his previous management experience, he was hired as the team leader to manage more than a hundred people. His salary was twice that of an ordinary worker and he would not have to live such a poor life anymore.
He closed the door and walked out of the house. Soon, he arrived at the basement level.
This floor had collapsed during the disaster. However, it had been repaired and there were still traces of cement repair.
He realized that he was not the first one to arrive. There were hundreds of people who arrived earlier than him. Now, part of the space had been transformed into an open-air cafeteria. At this moment, these people were having breakfast.
Cui Weichuan could not help but feel hungry when he smelled the food. He immediately went to the window sill and ordered a serving.
When he was chatting with the chef, he received good news that there was no limit to the food there. These days, Cui Weichuan did not have enough food to fill his stomach. He had been living a miserable life and now, he could finally eat his fill.
While he was eating, more and more people came to the cafeteria. The originally quiet cafeteria soon became noisy and crowded.
His dining table was gradually filled with people.
"Hey, Section Chief Cui!"
"Ah, Lao Hu, you're here too." Cui Weichuan looked up and realized that it was a colleague from his department. He quickly said.
"What can I do if I don't come? This is the only place I can eat." Lao Hu said with a bitter smile. His face was full of stubble and it was obvious that he had been living a miserable life.
"It's the same for everyone. This is the first time I've eaten my fill!" Cui Weichuan felt the same way.
"How many people do you think came today?" Lao Hu looked at the people in the cafeteria and asked doubtfully.
"About ten to twenty thousand!"
"I think it's more than that. At least thirty thousand. Have you heard that the underground water is running out? Otherwise, why would they go to the snowy land to mine ice?" Lao Hu suddenly said mysteriously.
"You can't just say that!" Cui Weichuan quickly said, "Be careful not to be heard. Moreover, Mayor Luo is here now. What's there to be afraid of? He can even kill aliens. What's there to be afraid of?"
Old Hu shrunk his neck and felt a little scared. Hope City was still under martial law and there was no freedom of speech. If he was suspected of inciting the people or spreading rumors, he would be in trouble. "Look at me, I have a big mouth and I can't get rid of it. Let's eat, let's eat!"
"Your daughter is in the first grade now, right?" Lao Hu asked after a while.
"Yes, she came home once a week and realized that she has gained weight." Cui Weichuan could not help but smile when he talked about his daughter.
"Of course she has gained weight. The food in the school is not comparable to the food in our public welfare cafeteria. There is no limit on the food there." Lao Hu said with envy.
…
As time passed, the number of people continued to increase.
When it was six o'clock in the morning, a team of fully armed military police and a large number of civil servants who were in charge of the work began to enter the first floor.
"Workers of the first team, gather at my side!"
"Workers of the second team, gather at my side!"
"Third team …"
…
"Number 32 team …"
"I'll make a move first!" Cui Weichuan said as soon as he heard the name of the team he belonged to. He immediately stood up and rushed over.
…
"All the team leaders, please come forward and organize your team. Please report your numbers."
…
The workers in the reconstruction area were both workers and reservists. Almost all of them had undergone military training. In just a few minutes, the messy workers who were squeezed together formed a phalanx!
As the steel door at the exit opened with a rumble, the workers walked out of the underground city in an orderly manner.
"Tsk, it's so cold!" The air that he exhaled turned into ice shards. Cui Weichuan tightened his clothes and began to shiver.
The sky outside was dark as if it was filled with ink. It was his first time going outside since the disaster. He had expected the cold outside but he did not expect it to be this cold.
Even though he was wearing a thick leather coat, the chill still seeped into his bones.
He touched the bottle of strong alcohol in his arms. It was given to him for free to keep him warm. Initially, he did not think that he would need it. However, he could not help but want to take a sip of it. However, he only thought about it as he had to wait for the whole day. The bottle of strong alcohol would not be able to withstand a few sips.
The 15th team arrived at the chosen area and stopped.
"I know that all of you are cold. Let me make this short!" The team leader took out a metal loudspeaker and shouted, "The working conditions will be very tough this time. Many of you may be regretting it now.
I know that many of you have heard the news or have guessed it. Unfortunately, the situation is just like what everyone has guessed. The underground water in Hope City is on the verge of drying up.
If there is no water in Hope City, I think everyone knows the consequences.
Therefore, this is not just a simple job. It is also for you and for the whole of Hope City. There is no possibility for you to quit!
Now, the ice mining has officially begun. Team leaders, please bring your team members here to collect the tools. "
While they were talking, two trucks had stopped there. The workers on the trucks kept throwing the tools to the ground.
Cui Weichuan did not expect Lao Hu to be right. His heart was heavy as he called out to his team members to get their tools. The tools used to mine ice were rather simple. Each team received three thick metal stakes tied with ropes to break the ice, a large number of iron drills and five simple wooden sleds.
There were no excavators or other construction machines.
Even the trucks quickly left after throwing the tools. The entire brigade was only given two trucks, and each one was incomparably precious. In such cold weather, they couldn't stay outside for long. The ice could only be transported to the basement by the sleds. Only then would they be loaded onto the trucks and transported away.
The mining work soon began.
Cui Weichuan distributed the work. He took the lead and everyone lifted the metal poles and started to break the ice.
The metal pole was 30 centimeters thick and weighed 800 kilograms. Using ropes and the other four people to lift it, each of them had to carry at least 160 kilograms. It was impossible to lift it without a lot of strength.
Fortunately, he had followed Luo Yuan all the way to Hope City and had eaten a lot of high-grade food. Hence, he was quite strong.
However, no matter how strong he was, he was just an ordinary person. The work of breaking the ice was quite tiring. Not only did he have to shout the number of times, but the ice was also incredibly hard.
Usually, it would take more than 10 hits before it cracked. It would be repeated hundreds of times before it finally broke. Then, they would move to another place. The broken ice would naturally be mined by others. After filling up the sleds, they would be sent to the basement.
However, there was an advantage. He did not feel cold anymore. Instead, he was sweating because of the heat. Even when it was almost noon, he did not take a sip of the strong liquor in his arms.
Suddenly, there was a commotion from afar. One of the workers had suddenly stopped.
"Why did you stop all of a sudden?" Cui Weichuan almost sprained his waist. He said unhappily. It was such a heavy metal pole. If he suddenly stopped, he would have caused an accident.
The worker said excitedly. His face was flushed with excitement. "Mayor Luo, Mayor Luo is here for an inspection!"
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