Jiang Ci took the car keys and returned to the car. Using it as cover, she brought out some coarse grains.
The New Year was almost here, and she wanted to trade for two sets of couplets. Earlier, she had seen two beautifully written sets at a Spring Festival couplet stall.
She also packed some polished rice into a black bag, planning to trade it with Si Beichen's buddy for two bottles of good liquor for his dad.
Although she had plenty of good liquor in her space, this was a way to give Si Beichen's buddy a little help without making it obvious.
She believed Si Beichen would certainly be happy.
Neither side would lose out, and it was not a handout. He would get grain, she would get good liquor, and Si Beichen would be happy too-several benefits in one move.
Jiang Ci first traded the coarse grains for two sets of couplets, then returned to Qian Zimo's stall and offered to trade for two bottles of good liquor.
Qian Zimo refused to take Jiang Ci's grain and insisted on giving Si Beichen two bottles for free.
Neither Si Beichen nor Jiang Ci agreed. They pressed the grain into his hands, then left with the two bottles of liquor and two sets of couplets.
They had not given him any extra grain, either. The exchange was based entirely on the prices at the trading market.
Since it was an ordinary barter, Si Beichen assumed Jiang Ci had made the trade because she genuinely wanted two bottles of liquor. He did not suspect that she had actually done it for him.
Now that they both knew what the trading market was like, they did not linger outside and drove home.
The next day, the official channel broadcast the list of successful applicants.
Three people from their building had been hired as body collectors: Liu Shicai, Sun Meiqin, and Zheng Fengshou.
Two had been hired as crematorium workers: Hu Cuihua and Xiang Bo.
Another three had been hired as medical staff at the government hospital: Du Wenhao, Qin Kang, and Xiao Jiajia.
Of these people, Jiang Ci only knew her neighbor in 1102, Liu Shicai, and Zhou Junming's mother, Hu Cuihua. She did not know the others.
Perhaps she had seen them before, but she really could not match their names to their faces.
Among the names of those hired as medical staff at the government hospital, Jiang Ci also heard a familiar one: her class monitor, Jiang Chengrong.
She was a little worried, unsure whether Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong had thought things through or what decision they had ultimately made.
Since Jiang Chengrong had already applied for a medical position, Wu Ya should be coming to tell her their decision soon.
After these eight people in the building began regularly going to and from work every night, more and more people began finding it impossible to stay at home.
Everyone gradually accepted the harsh reality that the prosperity of the past might be gone for good.
Even if the extreme heat passed, other natural disasters would await them. If they continued clinging to hope, shutting themselves indoors and waiting for government rescue or for the disasters to pass, they would probably be doing nothing but waiting to die.
More and more people in the building began heading out in groups of two or three to gather supplies.
Shopping streets that had long been closed, office buildings where no one worked anymore, and sun-scorched fields on the outskirts were all places people went to scour for supplies.
Fights and brawls began breaking out anywhere, at any time.
Even walking down the street, people had to stay constantly alert for robbers who might rush out of the darkness at any moment.
Whether they could find supplies on a trip out was one thing. Whether they could ultimately bring those supplies home safely was another.
If someone beat them, crippled them, or even killed them, no one would be held responsible.
Even if they died, it would be for nothing.
The crematorium was the busiest place of all. Every day, the body collectors had more dead people than they could carry, and the crematorium workers had more corpses than they could burn.
Left with no other option, the government publicly recruited auxiliary police officers once again.
Anyone with some fighting ability who was not afraid of dying, anyone who had worked as a security guard or bodyguard, or any military veteran could apply at city hall.
Auxiliary police positions were nowhere near as desirable as body collection or cremation jobs now. After all, this was work that could cost people their lives.
The nine-person group that included Zhang Qiang and Zhang Shuai grew increasingly brazen, acting more and more openly.
Only when Jiang Ci saw that their group had grown to nine did she finally understand why nothing had happened the night people had come to rob the Zhang brothers.
Li Weiwei had been bringing more and more supplies home lately, which showed that the nine of them had been doing plenty of despicable things.
More and more people were going out to gather supplies, and the group had already been through practically every nearby residential complex that made an easy target.
The group of nine gradually began shifting their sights to their own residential complex.
While the group of nine held a meeting to plot which household to target first, Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong came to see Jiang Ci again.
Seeing the relaxed, relieved expressions on their faces, Jiang Ci knew they had made their decision.
"Xiao Ci, Jiang Chengrong and I have talked it over. We've decided to abort the baby."
Jiang Ci inwardly breathed a sigh of relief for Wu Ya, but her expression remained as calm and composed as ever.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Yes."
"Will you regret it later?"
"No."
"When are you going to the hospital?"
"Tomorrow."
At this point, Jiang Chengrong explained, "I'm working as medical staff at the government hospital now, partly to earn grain and partly so I can take better care of Xiao Ya."
Jiang Ci understood. "As long as you've thought it through. Do you need me to go to the hospital with you tomorrow?"
"No. Having Jiang Chengrong with me will be enough."
"Then I'll come visit you at home after you get back."
Jiang Ci took out a walkie-talkie and handed it to Wu Ya.
"There's no internet now, so keeping in touch is difficult. Take this walkie-talkie. It'll make it easier for us to contact each other."
Wu Ya took the walkie-talkie and handed it to Jiang Chengrong. After chatting with Jiang Ci for a while longer, she prepared to leave.
It was very chaotic outside now. The police were too overwhelmed to handle so many incidents, and they could not even recruit any auxiliary officers.
Public trust in the government was falling, and more and more people were beginning to riot.
Worried that the two might run into trouble, Jiang Ci insisted on walking them home.
Si Jianhua was uneasy about Jiang Ci returning alone and insisted that Si Beichen accompany her.
They all lived in the same residential complex, just in different buildings. Jiang Ci lived in Building 8, while Wu Ya lived in Building 1.
After escorting Wu Ya and Jiang Chengrong to the entrance of Building 1, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen headed back.
To her surprise, someone tried to pry open her front door in the small hours of the morning.
Her door was a super security door. Other people's ordinary security doors could not compare with hers; there was no way it could be pried open so easily.
Si Beichen was sleeping in the living room and heard the sound of someone prying at the door immediately. Jiang Ci soon came out of her room as well.
Si Jianhua and Wen Qianyue were also woken by the noise.
The two did not rush to open the door. Instead, they stood inside and listened for a while, making out that more than one or two people were involved outside.
After trying for ages without getting it open, they had grown impatient and started swearing.
Among them was even a familiar female voice, quietly urging, "Let's forget it for today. She had professionals install her door. Go back and get some useful tools before coming again."
A man's voice chimed in, "Fuck it. That's enough for today. Let's pull out."
Hearing this, Jiang Ci knew the mystery was solved. The people trying to pry open her door had to be that brazen group of nine.
Si Beichen abruptly pulled one of the doors open.