Chapter 29 The Extreme Cold Has Arrived
Bai Tang was sleeping soundly when she suddenly heard the canned food meowing. She and Gu Yanxu were both woken up. After waking up, they found that the temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly.
The room was like an ice cave; the water in the cups began to freeze, and the fire in the stove was barely able to keep out the bitter cold outside.
The thermometer placed to the side showed the room temperature was -30 degrees Celsius. If this was the case in their house, which has a stove, one can only imagine the situation in other people's homes, or the temperature outside at that moment.
Bai Tang took out a cotton hat from her spatial storage and put it on, then put on the military overcoat she had prepared beforehand, and gave one to Gu Yanxu as well.
While the temperature wasn't too low yet, the two of them added a few more pieces of coal to the stove. Bai Tang carried the canned food to the bed, as its little nest couldn't keep it warm.
After putting the canned food into the blankets, Bai Tang and Gu Yanxu woke up Bai Jiyang and Lin Fan and told them: The extreme cold has arrived!
They added more charcoal to their stoves and also prepared an extra thick military overcoat and cotton hat for each of them.
In just a short while, the temperature plummeted to nearly -40 degrees Celsius. And that's indoor temperature; I can only imagine how cold it must be outdoors.
Everyone was so cold that they couldn't sleep anymore. They all wrapped themselves in thick blankets and huddled on the sofa in the living room of room 2001. Bai Tang added a few more pieces of charcoal to the stove in the living room, and the room finally felt a little warmer.
Bai Jiyang said, shivering, "If we're frozen like this even with our stoves, how miserable must it be outside?"
Indeed, 90 percent of the families who did not enter the base froze to death at night when the extreme cold arrived.
The lucky 10% were spared because their families had prepared stoves and charcoal for the winter in advance.
The people in the base weren't much better off; most of them couldn't afford to exchange contribution points to buy a house and lived in refugee camps.
The refugee camps would certainly be underheated immediately, and although they might survive, they would definitely suffer terribly.
Bai Tang took out several cups of hot ginger and brown sugar water from her space. They drank a few sips of the hot water, and the heat traveled from their stomachs to their limbs, making them feel as if they had come back to life.
The burning coal in the stove gradually warmed the room, and the indoor temperature gradually rose, maintaining a temperature of around -50 degrees Celsius. Bai Tang knew without a doubt that the outdoor temperature must have reached around -50 degrees Celsius.
At this time in her previous life, Bai Tang was in the refugee camp at the base. Everyone there didn't care about gender and just huddled together for warmth.
Bai Tang was also pulled into their family by a kind older sister, and together they huddled together for warmth, so that Bai Tang wouldn't freeze to death.
Bai Tang and the others sat and chatted until dawn. It was so cold that no one could sleep. Although Bai Tang and the others had a stove, people's immunity would drop after they fell asleep, and they would definitely catch a cold.
Lin Fan said, trembling, "This awful weather is unbearable."
Lin Zhou chimed in, "The temperature is almost as cold as in Antarctica. I never felt this cold when I went on an expedition to Antarctica."
Linzhou said, "Absolutely! We don't have such cold weather in the north. It's unbearable."
Bai Jiyang then said, "Sister, do you have any more ginger and brown sugar? I'd like another cup, it's too cold."
Bai Tang refilled their cups again, because if they didn't drink them in time, the hot brown sugar water would cool down in no time.
For breakfast, they ate hot food that had been prepared beforehand. Bai Tang also mixed goat milk powder with hot water and soaked the cat food in hot water to prevent it from getting diarrhea from eating cold food.
They all ate around the stove, each with a bowl of soup, vegetables, and staple food. Even though they were all sitting by the stove, the food in their bowls cooled down very quickly, so they all ate faster.
After breakfast, it was Bai Jiyang's turn to clean up the dishes again today, because he had lost several rounds of mahjong the other day.
Gu Yanxu suggested, "It's very cold outside, but we can't just lie here like this forever. Let's all go to the living room in room 2002 to practice and get some exercise."
Bai Tang said, "Then you guys go ahead. I'll continue studying this book. Also, when you're doing your activities, keep an eye on the stove and don't kick it again."
Bai Tang said that because Lin Feng and Bai Jiyang got carried away during their practice and accidentally kicked a big hole in the sofa in room 2002.
This is one of the reasons why they nestled on the sofa in the living room of room 2001.
Lin Feng chuckled and said, "I know, sister-in-law, we'll definitely be careful this time."
Bai Tang had already put the sofa with the big hole into the space, waiting to use it as firewood in the future. She also put some unnecessary wooden furniture into the space.
After all, they will be moving to the base in the future. If they burn coal every day, someone will notice. At that time, we can just mix the two types of coal together.
Bai Tang and his group planned to wait until the snow stopped and people or vehicles went to the base on the ice before they went with the crowd.
After all, there are still quite a few people outside the base. They are reluctant to give up the houses they bought with their own money, and they are worried that after going to the base, the houses they bought with their own money will be gone.
Gu Yanxu and the others went to practice, while Bai Tang held a can of food, petting the cat with one hand and reading a book with the other.
Time passed by like this, and Bai Tang thought: I'll have something spicy for lunch and get out of the air conditioning.
She took out a large portion of boiled pork slices from her spatial storage, placed it in an iron basin next to the stove, so that it wouldn't get cold quickly when they ate it.
They also brought out a large portion of wontons, which they placed in an iron bowl next to the stove to prevent them from getting cold.
After Bai Tang prepared these things, she went to room 2002 to call them over for lunch.
After Gu Yanxu and his team finished practicing, they were covered in sweat. Bai Tang prepared a hot towel for each of them to wipe away the sweat so they wouldn't catch a cold.
After a hot lunch, everyone gathered together to watch a funny variety show on the tablet, but the tablet kept breaking due to the cold, which was very annoying.
Bai Tang was cleaning up the litter box for the cat, Guan Tou. Bai Tang had taught Guan Tou to use the litter box a few times before, and Guan Tou quickly learned. Bai Tang became Guan Tou's dedicated cat servant.
After cleaning the litter box, I casually picked up the canned food and put it in my arms.
"Good boy/girl~ let me stick it on."
The extreme cold has arrived, but the canned food is still warm. Bai Tang is now letting the canned food sleep on the bed, making Gu Yanxu extremely jealous.
Gu Yanxu would always put the canned food on the other side after Bai Tang fell asleep, and then he would hold Bai Tang while he slept.
Canned food: "Heh~ humans."
Before going to bed that night, Bai Tang and the others took out the radio and heard the following:
With a sudden global temperature drop, the city's rescue base has launched rescue operations throughout the city and will distribute cold-weather relief supplies every two weeks. We urge all surviving residents not to panic; the country has not abandoned you.
The Shengshi base has begun rescuing survivors.