Chapter 474: Working (2/2)

”Everyone is the same. This is my first time eating sufficiently too.” Cui Weichuan also said with empathy.

”How many people do you think are here today?” Lao Hu was wondering looking at the crowd in the cafeteria.

”10,000 to 20,000!”

”I think there are more than that, at least 30,000 or more. Have you heard that the underground water source is starting to deplete? That’s why we are here to do deep mining into the ice.” Lao Hu suddenly secretively said.

”This is not something you should simply say!” Cui Weichuan quickly said before continuing, ”Be careful not to be heard.”

”Don’t worry, we have Mayor Luo here. If he can resolve the alien issue, what is a water depletion issue to him?” Lao Hu replied.

Currently, Hope City was still under martial law and there was no freedom of speech. Once he was suspected to incite public disorder or spread rumors, he might get punished. ”Good that you reminded me. Let us continue eating then.”

”Your daughter is in freshman year, right?” Lao Hu tried to change the topic after some time.

”Yes, she comes back home once a week and she is getting chubbier every time.” When he talked about his daughter, Cui Weichuan's face showed happiness and joy.

”Of course. The meal supplied in the school is not comparable to our public welfare cafeteria. There is an unlimited supply over there.” Lao Hu said in envy.

...

The number of people still continued to increase over time.

When it was six o'clock in the morning, a team of heavily armed police and public officials came into the first level.

”The first team of workers, please gather over here!”

”The second team of workers, please gather over here!”

”The third team...”

...

”The 32nd team...”

”I have to go now.” When Cui Weichuan heard the calling of his team. He quickly stood up and rushed towards the gathering point.

...

”All the team leaders, please stand out! Sort out your team and start to do the counting.”

...

The workers in reconstruction areas were not only workers but also reservists and almost everyone had carried out military training. In just a few minutes, the crowded mess of workers had lined up orderly into a few squares.

When the steel door at the exit opened, all of the workers marched out neatly.

”Hiss… so cold!” The air that was breathed out from his mouth immediately turned into fine pieces of ice under the cold weather. Cui Weichuan tightened his clothes yet his body started trembling.

The sky was dark outside as if filled with blank ink. This was the first time he had walked into the outside world since the disaster. Before this, he had expected that the weather would be cold but he never knew that it was going to be to this extent.

Even though he was wearing a thick fur coat, he could still feel the chills.

He touched the hard liquor inside his coat which was distributed to all workers before they departed to keep them warm. At first, he thought that he would not have needed to use it but now he kept thinking about drinking it. In the end, he decided not to do so as there was still a long way to go and the amount of liquor given was not enough to last the whole day.

When the 15th team arrived at the assigned area, they stopped.

”I know that every one of you is cold so I will keep it short!” The captain took out the horn and shouted, ”The working conditions will be quite difficult and many of you may already be regretting. I know a lot of people have heard the rumors and unfortunately, the situation is as true as what the rumors had said. Hope City’s water supply will soon be depleted.

I think every one of you is aware of the consequences if there is no water supply in Hope City. So, this is not simply just a job but it is also for you and the entire Hope City. It is not possible for you all to quit the job!

Now, please start the ice mining process. Team leads, please bring your team members to come over and take the tools from here.”

When the captain was talking, two trucks had stopped nearby and the workers on the truck kept throwing the tools down to the ground.

Cui Weichuan had not expected that the guess made by Lao Hu was actually correct. His heart was heavy as he greeted his team members before he went over to receive the tools. The tools for ice mining were quite simple. Each team received three ropes that were tied to a thick metal stake to break the layer of ice. Besides that, they also received a lot of soldering iron and five simple wooden sleds. However, there was no excavator or any other construction machinery at all.

Even the trucks had quickly driven off after they had finished throwing the tools. There were only two trucks assigned to a team so every truck was very valuable. They could not stand staying for so long under such a cold temperature. The ice would be transported to the underground first level using ice sleds before they are loaded on the trucks and delivered to the factory.

The mining work soon began.

After Cui Weichuan assigned the work, he took the lead and began to hit the ice with a metal stake.

The metal stake was about 30 cm thick and 800 kg in weight. With five of them, it required at least 160kg of strength from each of them if they lifted it up using the rope. It was impossible for them to lift the metal stake without a support strength.

Fortunately, during the time when he had followed Luo Yuan to Hope City, he had eaten a lot of high level food and so he had gained a significant amount of strength. Nonetheless, no matter how strong he was, he was still an ordinary human. The ice mining job was very tiring as it also required continuous shouting from the commander.

It often required more than a dozen hits just to slightly crack the surface and over another hundred hits before it could be broken. After that, they would switch to another place to continue breaking the ice layers. Only when the ice sled was fully filled, would it be sent to the underground for further processing..

However, there was an advantage whereby he did not feel cold anymore as his body was covered with sweat that kept him warm. Even though it was already noon, he had not taken a sip of the hard liquor inside his coat.

Suddenly, there was a commotion somewhere far away and one of the workers suddenly stopped.

”Why did you stop?” Cui Weichuan almost broke his waist and asked unpleasantly. It was such a heavy metal stake and hastily stopping could cause a serious injury to other team members.

The worker answered in a fervent tone, his face flushed and was full of excitement, ”Mayor Luo! Mayor Luo has come to visit us!”