bookpower Chapter 50 - 50 Rainstorm 1
Chapter 50 - 50 Rainstorm 1
Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Rainstorm 1@@@@
“Boom boom boom!!”
A bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the sky, followed by a deafening roar of thunder that resonated over the land.
Big raindrops began to pitter-patter down from the sky.
Cars parked outside the Shallow Bay District wailed chaotically.
Inside the district, those who had been cautiously observing from the entrance to the underground parking lot threw themselves into the rain with faces alight with mad excitement.
Some danced and cheered with joy, while others cried tears of overwhelming happiness.
It was hard to tell whether the streams flowing down their faces were salty tears or bitter rain.
“Ah! It’s raining!!!”
“Damn! Heaven finally opened its eyes!”
“Honey! Thank God! We’re finally saved!!!”
“...”
Some people even ignored the trash strewn on the ground and lay face-up, closing their dry, cracked lips to slowly draw in the rainwater.
More than a thousand people had been crammed in the sweltering underground, unwashed for over twenty days.
Their sour body odors were even more repugnant than the garbage above.
Others cupped their hands to catch the rain and fed it to their mouths.
The rainwater was bitter and hard to swallow, but the flavor of surviving a disaster was sweet and full-bodied.
Everyone’s mood lingered in the euphoria of the heatwave’s end, without anyone realizing that this was just the start of another, more severe natural disaster.
“Neighbors, this rainwater might have bacteria, don’t drink it!”
“I heard the officials sprayed medicine throughout the city a couple of days ago to kill bugs, be careful of poison in the water!”
“Right, and those days when the ashes from burning the dead were drifting about, everyone hold back, don’t drink it!”
“These past days, those dead Blood Mosquitoes, who knows if they carried any germs, everyone be cautious of parasites!”
“Could this rain have drifted over from Japan? Be careful of radioactive residues! Let’s avoid it for now, everyone!”
“...”
Many elderly people earnestly tried to persuade others.
Most people turned their heads and pretended not to hear, while a few young guys and some middle-aged men looked at him with puzzlement: “Manager Liu, what’s up?”
Liu Dahong wiped the rain off his face and said,
“Guys, this rain is a bit heavy, and it might flood the first floor. How about we move the sandbags from the garage entrance to the unit door together? Every little bit we can block helps. With everyone helping, we can move them faster!”
The drainage system in Anming City was problematic.
Heavy rain would often lead to road flooding and water backup.
The Shallow Bay District’s underground garage had also suffered several times.
Many homeowners woke up to find their cars had been “swimming” in water all night.
That’s why the property management had prepared many sandbags at the entrance to the underground garage.
Everyone jokingly said that the tax they paid for cars was actually preparation for the heavy rain.
Now that the cars had been moved to the streets outside, the underground garage was empty.
These sandbags would be more suitable for use at the unit doors.
“What’s there to worry about with this little rain!”
“Manager Liu, you’re only acting tough because you’ve got the officials’ support and have been distributing supplies for a few days! Don’t mistake yourself for a big shot by ordering homeowners around!”
“Exactly! Besides, isn’t moving sandbags the kind of physical work your security guards should be doing? If I have to move it, then my property management fee was paid for nothing!!”
“We’ve been living amongst garbage in the district and the hallways for so long, where were your cleaning staff? And now you’re ordering us around! Are you sick or something?”
“If it floods, it only affects those on the first floor, I’m not moving! I haven’t even had enough to eat, where would I get the strength to move!”
“Yeah, it’s been so hot before, and if you stay in the rain for any longer now, it’s especially easy to get sick! If I get sick, will you be responsible??!!”
“And with the thunder so loud, what if you get struck? Can you handle the responsibility??!!”
“...”
There was a chorus of voices in the crowd, with most people expressing strong resistance and anger.
Even two homeowners from the first floor looked at him with hostility. After all, their family members had been harmed by the Blood Mosquitoes that had flown in, partly due to the property management’s negligence.
Of course, the primary culprits were those who had failed to shut the doors properly at the official shelters.
Liu Dahong’s face turned iron-blue for a second, his fists clenched tightly as he inwardly cursed: You bunch of bastards, wait a few days and you’ll be on your knees begging me!!
“Alright, we might as well have moved all the sandbags by now with the time we’ve spent here bickering! I may live on the 32nd floor and this flood won’t reach my home, but still, I’ll move the sandbags!” This was Sun Jingtao speaking.
He had participated in several flood rescue operations before he was discharged from the army; it was a sense of duty or habitual responsibility that he carried within him.
The sandbags from the property weren’t big; had he not been weak, he could have easily carried three bags with one hand.