Сhарtеr 22: Water Сutоff
Тhе dоor of 1103 was орened bу Li Weiwei аnd hеr fаthеr, Li Wеi.
Li Wеi, hunchеd оvеr with a sаllow сomplехion аnd sicklу арpеаranсе, wаs suрроrtеd by Li Wеiwei аs hе walked out.
Thоugh onlу in his fifties, hе lооkеd like a mаn in his sixties оr sеvеntiеs.
Aftеr just a fеw words, he wоuld соugh fоr а long timе, startling the visitors whо quiсklу tооk two steps bасk.
Тheу werе afraid thаt if sоmеthing hаppеnеd to Li Wei, thеy might be blаmеd fоr it.
Тhis must be thе siсkly person of the housеhold. It wаs unсlеаr whаt illness hе had or whethеr it was сontаgious.
Аlthough Li Wei had been bedridden for years, his mind was still sharp and clear.
He knew the visitors were not friendly, but he could only blame his poor health, as he could no longer do much for his family.
Thinking of this, his already weak body trembled uncontrollably under the strain.
His legs could no longer support his convulsing body, and he collapsed to the ground.
Li Weiwei knelt beside him, sobbing uncontrollably. The visitors had only knocked on the door and hadn’t even started speaking or doing anything.
Yet this family seemed to have suffered some devastating blow, each of them pitiful beyond words.
Lying on the ground and trembling, Li Wei weakly stretched out a hand toward the visitors and said in a shaky voice, “Neighbors… please… please help… our family…”
The seven or eight visitors felt nothing but annoyance. Was the eleventh floor cursed?
Three households, and not a single normal person—everyone seemed to have some kind of problem!
Afraid of getting into trouble, the group hastily comforted Li Wei, telling him to rest and recover, before quickly leaving the eleventh floor for the next household.
What a headache! Such a nuisance!
Only after the visitors had left did Li Wei let out a sigh of relief, his trembling body gradually calming down.
With Li Weiwei’s help, he turned and returned to bed to lie down.
Li Weiwei wiped away her tears, settled her parents and younger brother, tidied herself up, and went downstairs to find Zhang Shuai.
Zhang Shuai lived with his older brother, Zhang Qiang, and his sister-in-law.
With two men and one woman in the household, all strong and capable, the visitors who knocked on Zhang Shuai’s door didn’t dare say much and quickly left.
Since his brother and sister-in-law were both at home, Zhang Shuai felt it was inappropriate to bring Li Weiwei back for intimacy.
The two of them always sneaked off to the parking lot on the basement level.
Zhang Shuai owned a white van, which had become their secret hideaway for their intimate moments.
After another round of passionate intimacy,
Li Weiwei lay flushed in the man’s arms, her breathing still uneven.
The man’s hands continued to caress her body.
Taking advantage of his good mood, Li Weiwei tearfully complained in a soft, delicate voice, “The medicine at home is almost gone, and my parents’ condition is getting worse. Why is my life so hard? What should I do?”
Zhang Shuai kissed her tender lips and replied indifferently, “It’d be better if they died. In times like these, living only drags you down.”
Li Weiwei’s heated body stiffened instantly, shocked by Zhang Shuai’s cold and heartless words.
But she couldn’t entirely blame him, as what he said was true.
Her parents were nothing but a burden to her, and now she had to sell her body to obtain supplies to support the family.
If she were alone, life with Zhang Shuai would undoubtedly be much easier.Even if she had to support her younger brother as well, she could accept it. At least he was healthy and ate little, so the burden wouldn’t be too heavy.
Don’t think she didn’t know—because her parents were sick and her family was constantly brewing medicine, the neighbors looked down on them.
Who knows what they were saying behind their backs.
Fortunately, she wasn’t bad-looking, which was why Zhang Shuai had taken a liking to her and was willing to support her.
Li Weiwei’s determination to exhaust herself supporting her family began to waver.
On the 15th, as expected, the water supply was cut off.
A power outage could still be managed with a generator or solar panels for lighting or using a fan.
But a water outage was a serious matter.
Especially in 58-degree Celsius extreme heat—without water, people would undoubtedly die.
Of course, the government wouldn’t just watch the citizens die of thirst.
A broadcast announced that the government would dispatch water trucks once a week to deliver water. Each person could collect 20 liters of water per week with their ID card.
Additionally, each community would open a government supermarket, operating from 12:00 AM to 4:00 AM every night. Citizens could use cash to purchase food or daily necessities there.
When Jiang Ci heard the broadcast, she wasn’t surprised at all. In her previous life, the government had implemented similar measures.
Unfortunately, 20 liters of water per person per week—what could that possibly be enough for? It was barely enough to keep someone alive and hydrated, just enough to avoid dying of thirst.
Things like bathing, washing vegetables, or flushing the toilet were definitely out of the question.
If used sparingly, it might barely last a week.
In her previous life, the government supermarkets hadn’t stayed open for long before shutting down.
Before the extreme heat, everyone used digital payments—who still kept cash at home?
Now, the government supermarkets insisted on cash payments.
And from what she’d heard, prices were outrageously high. Only a small minority could afford to buy supplies with cash.
Most people still struggled to put food on the table. Even the most skilled housewife couldn’t cook without rice.
Over time, to survive and fill their stomachs, it was easy to imagine what these starving people might resort to.
On the evening of the broadcast, Jiang Ci went downstairs to take out the trash.
Just as she was about to toss the garbage into the bin, she suddenly heard whispers from around the corner.
She immediately pulled back her hand, holding the trash bag, and hid herself in a secluded spot.
“Are the tools ready?”
“We’ll make our move in the dead of night.”
“A few of you handle that shrew, a few of you deal with the Tian family, and the rest come with me to search the house.”
“Cover your faces. If they dare resist, beat them to death. Tonight, we’ll make the Tian family regret everything!”
“For now, everyone go back home. We’ll meet on the 11th floor at the appointed time.”
“Why meet on the 11th floor?”
“The three households on the 11th floor aren’t normal—one’s a bedridden invalid, one’s a starving lunatic, and one’s a gangster. None of them are good people, so they definitely won’t interfere.”
“Anything else to add? If not, let’s disperse for now.”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing.”
Seven or eight people clattered up the stairs. Jiang Ci waited until she was sure no one was around before emerging from her hiding spot.
After tossing the trash into the bin, she leisurely made her way back home.
Si Beichen was at the dining table, dismantling a radio. Jiang Ci was already used to it.
Probably because he was too bored staying at home, Si Beichen had almost taken apart every appliance in the house.Fortunately, he could still put it back together exactly as it was, otherwise, she really wanted to smash Si Beichen’s stupid head!
Do all men have some kind of grudge against household appliances?
Jiang Ci plopped down opposite Si Beichen, propping her cheek with one hand as she looked at him, gloating, “Guess what I just heard people saying about you?”