341, September 21st, 7:00 AM.
Though it was still morning, the sun already felt scorching.
Tang Li wore a sun hat and a shawl, shielding herself from the sun’s rays, which were still relatively mild before the solar storm began.
She also wore a mask to ward off potential epidemics.
Her feet were clad in long rain boots, as she stepped on the road littered with mud and debris.
Since her car was parked in the underground garage, it had long since been ruined by the floodwaters. With no taxis available in the outside world, Tang Li walked out of her residential complex on foot.
Fortunately, normal walking required little effort for Tang Li now; even running felt like exercise.
Therefore, even if she walked for a day and a night, she wouldn't feel tired, only sleepy.
Along the way, Tang Li saw many people carrying tools like shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows, clearing the mud and debris from the ground.
At every intersection, there were security personnel on duty, and patrol cars occasionally drove by, maintaining order in the city.
Everyone on the street wore a smile.
Even strangers would smile and nod at each other, offering a "Congratulations."
The natural disaster seemed to have passed, and life in the future appeared to be getting better. People seemed to have forgotten the despair and pain from the disaster, rejoicing in their survival and looking forward to life returning to normal.
But Tang Li knew this was the last period of harmony before the complete breakdown of social order.
A month later, when the extreme cold season arrived, this harmony would be shattered once more!
However, thinking of the newly added empty space in her dimensional storage, Tang Li realized she could use this time to store more supplies.
Ignoring the pedestrians, Tang Li headed straight for Tang Guo's home.
Tang Li’s home and Tang Guo’s home were in the same school district, thus they were very close.
The short 2-kilometer journey took Tang Li less than half an hour.
However, upon arriving at Tang Guo’s house, she found no one at home.
Tang Li mused that Tang Guo might have gone to participate in post-disaster reconstruction efforts to earn points.
So, she left Tang Guo’s house and went to the supermarket downstairs.
"Guo Guo jie, what are you doing here?"
Upon reaching the supermarket, Tang Li saw Tang Guo.
She was holding a shovel and a bucket, clearing the mud and debris from the supermarket floor.
"Boss, you're here?"
Seeing Tang Li, Tang Guo, who was cleaning the floor, greeted her and replied, "The floodwaters receded today, so I came to clean up the supermarket as soon as possible."
Tang Li frowned and asked, "But our supermarket isn't a public area. Even if you clean it, no one will issue you supply allocation coupons, right? What will you eat and use for the next period?"
Tang Guo heard this, stopped what she was doing, and smiled, retorting, "Boss, have you forgotten?"
"Before the typhoon, didn't you just give me a bag of 100 jin of rice and a 5-liter barrel of oil?"
"And you kept reminding me not to exchange our household food for rescue supplies until the 'supply allocation coupons' were issued, only then did you tell me to exchange our food for 'supply allocation coupons'."
"I ate some of that 100 jin bag of rice and exchanged a lot for 'supply allocation coupons'. I still have over 100 points left to use!"
"These over 100 points are enough for me to use for two months. After cleaning up our supermarket, it won't be too late for me to earn more 'supply allocation coupons'."
"Cleaning up our supermarket early will allow us to renovate it sooner. Once the renovation is done, we can open for business as soon as the curfew is lifted."
Hearing Tang Guo's words, Tang Li felt helpless.