The ones who answered the door at 1103 were Li Weiwei and her father, Li Wei.
Li Wei came out hunched over, his complexion sallow and his body sickly, supported by Li Weiwei.
He was only in his fifties, yet he looked like an old man in his sixties or seventies.
Just a couple of words sent him into a prolonged coughing fit, frightening the people at the door into hastily taking two steps back.
They were terrified that something might happen to Li Wei and his family would use it to extort them.
This must have been the sickly one in the family. Who knew what illness he had, or whether it was contagious?
Although Li Wei had been bedridden for years, there was nothing wrong with his mind. He was still clearheaded.
He knew the people at his door were no good. He could only blame his poor health; there was little he could still do for his family.
At that thought, his already frail body grew even more overwhelmed, and he began convulsing all over.
His legs could no longer support his convulsing body, and he toppled sideways onto the floor.
Li Weiwei was so frightened that she crouched on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. These people had only knocked on the door; they had not even started saying or doing anything yet.
Yet the family acted as though they had suffered some devastating blow, every one of them looking utterly pitiful.
As Li Wei lay convulsing on the floor, he shakily reached out toward them and said in a trembling voice, "Neighbors, cough, cough... please, please help... help our family..."
The seven or eight people could only feel that this was rotten luck. Was the eleventh floor cursed?!
Three households, and not a single one of them was normal. They all seemed to have something wrong with them!
Afraid they would get nothing out of this and only land themselves in trouble, the seven or eight people all spoke over one another to comfort Li Wei, telling him to rest and recover before hastily leaving the eleventh floor for the next household.
What a headache! What an absolute headache!
Only after Li Wei saw them leave did he breathe a sigh of relief, his convulsions gradually subsiding.
With Li Weiwei's help, he turned back and went to lie down in bed.
Li Weiwei wiped away her tears. After getting her parents and younger brother settled, she tidied herself up and went downstairs to find Zhang Shuai.
Zhang Shuai lived with his older brother, Zhang Qiang, and his sister-in-law.
The two men and one woman in their household were all able-bodied adults, so when the people knocking from door to door reached Zhang Shuai's home, they left without daring to say much.
Since his brother and sister-in-law were both home, Zhang Shuai felt too embarrassed to bring Li Weiwei back there to get intimate.
The two of them always hid away in the underground parking garage on basement level one.
Zhang Shuai had a white van, which conveniently became their secret base for their intimate encounters.
Another bout of heated lovemaking followed.
Li Weiwei lay in the man's arms, her face flushed and her breathing still a little unsteady.
His hands continued to tease her body.
Taking advantage of his good mood, Li Weiwei tearfully complained in a soft, delicate voice, "We're almost out of medicine at home, and my parents are getting worse again. Why is my life so miserable? What am I supposed to do?"
Zhang Shuai kissed her soft lips and said carelessly, "They'd be better off dead. In times like these, staying alive only makes them a constant burden on you."
Li Weiwei's body, heated by his teasing, instantly stiffened. She had never expected Zhang Shuai to say something so cold and heartless.
Still, she could not blame him entirely. After all, what he said was true.
As long as her parents lived, they would only be a burden on her. Now she even had to sell her body for supplies to support the whole family.
If she only had herself to worry about, life would certainly be much easier with Zhang Shuai.
She could even accept bringing her younger brother along. At least he was healthy and ate little, so he would not be much of a burden.
They should not think she was unaware: just because her parents were sick and her family brewed medicine all day, all the neighbors looked down on them.
Who knew what stories they made up about her family behind their backs?
Fortunately, she was reasonably pretty, which was why Zhang Shuai had taken a liking to her and supported her.
Her resolve to work so hard to support her family began to waver.
On the fifteenth, sure enough, the water was cut off too.
With the electricity out, people could still use generators or solar panels to power lights or fans.
But losing the water supply was a serious matter.
Especially in temperatures of 58 degrees Celsius-without water, people were certain to die.
Of course, the government would not stand by and watch the public die of thirst.
An announcement came over the radio: the government would send water trucks once a week, and each person could collect 20 L of water per week with their ID card.
In addition, a government supermarket would open in every community, operating nightly from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Residents could use cash to purchase food and daily necessities there.
Jiang Ci was not at all surprised when she heard the broadcast. The government had introduced corresponding measures in her previous life too.
Unfortunately, what could anyone do with 20 L of water per person per week? It was only just enough drinking water to barely keep people alive and stop them from dying of thirst.
Bathing, washing vegetables, flushing toilets, and the like were definitely out of the question.
If they rationed their drinking water, it would barely last a week.
In her previous life, the government supermarkets had closed not long after opening.
Before the extreme heat, everyone used electronic payments. Who still kept cash at home?
Yet now the government supermarkets insisted on cash payments.
And apparently, the prices were outrageously high. Only a small minority could produce the cash and afford supplies.
Most people still could not get enough to eat. Even the cleverest cook could not make a meal without rice.
Given enough time, it was easy to imagine what these long-starved people would do to fill their stomachs and stay alive.
On the night of the broadcast, Jiang Ci went downstairs to throw out the trash.
Just as she was about to toss it into the bin, she suddenly heard people whispering by the corner of a wall.
She immediately drew her hand back and hid herself in a secluded corner, still holding the trash.
"Have you got all the gear ready?"
"We'll make our move in the second half of the night."
"You lot will subdue that shrew. You lot will subdue Tian. Everyone else will search the place with me."
"Cover your faces, all of you. If those two dare resist, beat them to death. Tonight, we're going to make Tian regret it!"
"Head home separately in a bit. We'll meet on the eleventh floor when it's time."
"Why meet on the eleventh floor?"
"None of those three households on the eleventh floor are normal. One's full of sick weaklings who can't get out of bed, one's full of lunatics on the verge of starving to death, and one's a gangster household. None of them are good people. They definitely won't interfere."
"Anything else to say? If not, let's split up for now."
"No."
"No."
The seven or eight people stomped upstairs. Only after Jiang Ci made sure no one was around did she emerge from the corner.
After tossing the trash into the bin, she leisurely headed home too.
Si Beichen was taking apart a radio at the dining table. Jiang Ci was already used to the sight.
Perhaps he was too bored staying home; Si Beichen had taken apart almost every electrical appliance in the house.
Fortunately, he could put them back together exactly as they had been. Otherwise, she would really have wanted to smash his damn head in!
Did all men have a grudge against household appliances?
Jiang Ci plopped down opposite Si Beichen, propped her cheek on one hand, and looked at him as she said with schadenfreude, "Guess what I just heard someone say about you?"