Chapter 357 Investigation
As the sky was just getting light, wisps of smoke were seen floating around the ancient city of Chongyi...
Large pots were set up at various meal times in the gathering area. The coal in the makeshift earthen stoves was burning bright red, and the high temperature twisted the air into waves that continued to evaporate upwards.
goo goo~
The porridge in the pot is boiling and exuding the aroma of grains. The steam gushes upwards, passing through layers of bamboo steamers, and finally turns into a puff of white mist and dissipates in the morning breeze...
Dang, Dang, Dang! !
Ding ding ding ding ding!!
......
The shrill sound of gongs rang out in various places in the gathering place. The survivors, who had long been hungry and thirsty, weakly crawled out of their shacks and rushed towards the dining area like a tide of corpses.
Don't get up before dinner time!
This is the rule!
The dishevelled survivors lined up in front of their respective meal points, each holding an iron lunch box in their hands.
"Here~"
The staff in white uniforms scooped up a spoonful of porridge, which was actually thick rice soup.
His hands were steady and without any shaking, and he filled up most of the lunch box with just one spoon.
After the porridge was ready, the survivor moved forward and another staff member handed him a fist-sized, golden tortilla.
This tortilla was not the fine tortilla sold in the shops before the end of the world, but a rough tortilla mixed with many coarse grains and cereals.
The texture is very rough, even a bit irritating to the throat, and the dough is also very tough. Even when it is just out of the oven and still steaming, it is still hard.
When they first started eating it, the survivors were not used to it, but after a while they felt it was the most delicious and the most filling, even better than the lunch.
After the meal, the survivors were divided into two groups. Women, children, the elderly and the young had to squat near the meal point to eat, and they could not leave until they had finished eating and been checked by the staff. There were no requirements for young and strong laborers, and they could climb onto the roof to eat as long as they had the ability.
This is also a rule!
Some time ago, this separate dining regulation caused a large-scale negative public opinion.
The cause was that a little boy, because of his young age and poor self-care ability, choked to death on a biscuit while dining alone.
The news of this accident spread widely among the survivors, causing widespread outrage and demonstrations.
They are all criticizing the cold-blooded official system in the gathering place, demanding that survivors be allowed to eat freely and that women, children, the elderly and the young be adequately cared for by their families!
However, this seemingly reasonable demand was met with a strong rejection from the local authorities, who even refused to give in, even at the cost of using force to suppress it.
Thanks to the Chongyi gathering place’s consistent tough style, this disturbance was quickly suppressed, but it also became the most criticized point for the gathering place’s officials!
The survivors were privately saying that the authorities at the gathering place did this to reduce the burden, and that they deliberately separated the elderly, the weak, women and children, wanting to leave them to fend for themselves.
The child's choking to death was something the authorities at the gathering place had already planned. Otherwise, why would they insist on this obviously wrong system even after the accident happened?
Anyone with eyes can see the flaws of this system, so why can’t the authorities see them?
I can't help but ask, are they unable to see, or do they not want to see? Or are they pretending not to see after seeing it? What kind of invisible hands are manipulating and playing with the lives of all the survivors?
In response to this, the authorities in the gathering place have refuted the rumor many times, making it clear that this move is to ensure the basic survival rights of the elderly, children, women and children in the event of a major disaster.
However, this rumor-busting not only failed to resolve the rumor itself, but instead became a reverse rumor-busting, providing the survivors with material for ridicule.
"It pointed at the child's cold body and told me that this is to protect our basic right to survival!"
So much so that in the end, the officials at the gathering place were too lazy to explain and chose to remain silent, allowing public opinion to cool down naturally.
Because compared with the war of public opinion, real survival issues are more threatening, and the gathering places do not have much energy to invest in such non-life and death issues.
However, the silence in the gathering place made many conspiracy theorists collectively excited. This kind of independent thinking that sees through the fog and is the only one who is sober while everyone else is drunk has given them great spiritual satisfaction!
Think you have glimpsed the truth about the gathering place!
Otherwise why not explain it again?
All day long, except for sleeping and eating, they are waiting for the official explanation!
The official's lack of explanation can only mean that they are guilty! They retreated in the face of their wisdom!
It is precisely under the leadership of these independent sisters and brothers that the gathering place has recently been in an unstable situation.
Of course, in their eyes this is not called instability, this is called awakening!
They feel genuine pride in this rebellious spirit, "Give me freedom or give me death"!
...
buzz~
The sound of a car engine starting was heard, and a gray SUV started up not far from the lunch stop.
Like a small boat, it slowly pushed aside the wavy crowd and sailed towards the official residence where Chongyi gathered.
Watching the SUV go away, several staff members at lunchtime couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
They noticed the car when they just got up and thought it was some leader coming to inspect.
Everyone secretly prepared themselves to be questioned by their leaders, and they typed the drafts in their minds over and over again.
However, during the process of preparing ingredients, making fire and cooking, there was no movement from the other side, so quiet that it made people wonder if it was an empty car.
However, despite this idea, no staff member dared to gamble...
You have to know that the number of people who can get on a car in the gathering place nowadays is definitely no more than two handfuls!
Perhaps in Zhu Jun's eyes, the management of Chongyi Settlement is just like this, but for the ordinary people among the 300,000 survivors of Chongyi Settlement.
Pick any one of these people out, and they are all big shots. A single word can decide their fate. If they sneeze, the whole place where they gather will shake!
So when the off-road vehicle was there, all the staff members behaved extremely carefully and even started providing service with a smile.
Only ordinary survivors who are barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes. The world is big and the stomach is even bigger, so they don’t take it to heart.
In the off-road vehicle, Zhu Jun, dressed in military uniform, sat in the passenger seat, his determined eyes silently watching the crowd of survivors rapidly retreating outside the window.
The reason why he came here in a low profile was to find out the actual situation of the Chongyi gathering place.
It is better to see it yourself than to hear it from others a thousand times...
After observing for this period of time in the early morning, Zhu Jun has gradually outlined the general outline of the Chongyi gathering place and the overall portrait of the leadership in his mind based on the lives of the survivors at the bottom.
First of all, in terms of food, it is not sufficient, but it has not reached the red line either, otherwise it would be impossible to provide breakfast for the survivors.
Even if it’s rice soup, it still needs rice, right?
In addition, the management of the survivors in the settlement has been relatively good, and the management of the Chongyi settlement has strong capabilities and experience.
Because Zhu Jun just observed the phenomenon of women, children, the elderly and the young and strong laborers sharing the food.
This move can effectively reduce the possibility of survival supplies of women, children, the elderly and the young being snatched away.
When you have enough food and clothing, you will know etiquette.
When people are hungry, their moral bottom line is quite low...
People nowadays may not know what hunger is, so let’s put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has no money.
If food is not shared, the number of cases where strong laborers openly rob and coerce the elderly, the weak, women and children will definitely increase. Given the situation in Chongyi, the settlement area cannot afford such a high management cost.
In the end it will definitely evolve into survival of the fittest, and there may even be a situation where a big pot is set up in front of the tent but people still starve to death.
