r18novel Chapter 168 Greenhouse Film
Chapter 168 Greenhouse Film
She set her phone alarm for 5 hours later—at 1 p.m., almost as soon as her head hit the soft pillow, the light in front of her quickly disappeared, and she fell into a deep sleep. The only sounds in the room were the faint burning of the fireplace and her even, long breaths.
……
"Ring ring—!!!" At 1 p.m. sharp, the phone alarm rang at full volume, forcibly pulling Xu Xiaoyan out of her deep sleep.
She groggily opened her sore and heavy eyelids, her vision blurred for a while before focusing. Her first feeling wasn't the refreshment of waking up, but rather—cold!
A bone-chilling cold seeped in through the thick quilt. The fire in the stove had gone out sometime earlier, and the room was filled with icy air, much colder than before she fell asleep! She could even see her breath condense into a small cloud of white mist in front of her eyes, quickly dissipating into the cold air.
She wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, but the chill still seeped in through the gaps in the blanket and the openwork of the rattan chair, making her shiver involuntarily. The slight sense of recovery brought by sleep was instantly diluted by the sudden drop in temperature. She reached into the blanket and fumbled for her phone, turning off the annoying alarm. Her fingertips touched the cold screen, and she shuddered again.
Almost instinctively, she subconsciously clicked on the simple "real-time temperature query" function integrated into the Linchuan Trading Forum APP. The data for this function comes from a limited number of official monitoring points within the base, and may not be completely accurate, but the general trend can be used as a reference.
The screen refreshed, and a number popped up: [Current outdoor temperature: -2℃]
"Good heavens, it's minus two degrees!" Xu Xiaoyan exclaimed in a low voice, instantly becoming more and more awake. She had only slept for five hours, and the temperature had already dropped below zero! Moreover, according to the official warning, the real precipitous drop would occur at 10 p.m., but it was only 1 p.m. now, and the temperature had already fallen below freezing! This cooling trend was faster and more intense than the official warning model showed!
She abruptly threw off the covers, took out a heavy military overcoat from her spatial storage, and quickly put it on. The heavy cotton coat pressed down on her body, instantly blocking out most of the cold and bringing a sense of reassuring envelopment. She then took out a thick woolen hat and put it on her head, pulling it down to cover her forehead and ears. After thinking for a moment, she took out a pair of fleece-lined cotton gloves and put them on. Only after being fully armed did her body gradually warm up.
The temperature dropped faster than expected, which meant that people had less time to react and make final preparations. Although she had basically prepared all her main winter supplies, she still felt uneasy, as if it wasn't enough and there might be some oversight. She felt she had to go to the market again.
Go and see if there are any supplies or information that can be replenished. After all, no matter how well prepared you are, you can never have too much in the face of an unknown disaster.
Xu Xiaoyan wrapped her heavy military coat tighter around herself, pulled the brim of her woolen hat down further, and walked toward the Taiping Street Free Trade Market.
The streets were even quieter than in the early morning. The few pedestrians were all bundled up tightly, hurrying along with masks or scarves on their faces, revealing only a pair of eyes filled with anxiety and vigilance. Few people talked, and even when they did, it was in a very short whisper before they parted ways. Some shops were already closed, with signs on the doors saying "Temporarily Closed" or "Supplies Sold Out." The air was filled with a deathly stillness and tension, as if a storm was brewing.
Before she even reached the core area of Taiping Street Market, just near the outer intersection, she was blocked by a dense crowd that almost completely blocked the street and a deafening, frenzied noise.
A large group of people were crammed together, pushing and shoving, using their arms, legs and bodies to exert force. Shouts, yells, women's screams, and the ear-piercing sounds of objects being squeezed and pulled... all kinds of noise came rushing in.
In the center of the crowd, near a dilapidated tractor, someone stood on top of the tractor's cab, holding a makeshift megaphone, shouting repeatedly and hoarsely, his voice almost tearing his throat:
"Greenhouse film! Last batch of thickened greenhouse film! Only 20 points a roll! 20 points! With this, you can build your own greenhouse, growing vegetables and keeping warm at the same time! Don't miss this opportunity! Grab it while you can, it's your lifeline!"
Greenhouse film? Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but stand on tiptoe, stretch her neck, and peer through the gaps in the crowd.
In the back of the tractor, there were several bundles of thick, white, transparent plastic film rolled into cylinders! These were the special plastic films commonly used in rural areas to build vegetable greenhouses! They were quite wide and looked very thick, reflecting a faint light in the grayish-white sunlight.
She had visited Taiping Street Market several times before, searching every corner, but had never seen anyone selling this! It was definitely not something an ordinary vendor could obtain. It was most likely that someone with special connections, or someone originally in the agricultural and building materials business, had taken advantage of this unprecedented cold snap to clear out inventory from some warehouse corner, or used connections to urgently procure extremely scarce goods! Now they were putting it out there, clearly taking advantage of people's panic to sell it at an exorbitant price!
Although Xu Xiaoyan herself wasn't quite sure how to use the greenhouse film or what technology was needed to build a greenhouse, seeing hundreds and thousands of people frantically scrambling for it, she instinctively and strongly realized—this was definitely a great thing to deal with the current and potentially prolonged extreme cold weather! It might even be a strategic resource!
It might not just be used to build a small greenhouse, as that person shouted; it could have countless other uses: to cover windows with multiple layers, greatly enhancing indoor insulation; to wrap water pipes to prevent them from freezing and cracking; to temporarily partition off smaller, warmer spaces indoors; and even, in extreme cases, to build temporary shelters… In times like these, anything that can increase the chances of survival or improve the living environment is worth fighting for! Especially when panic reaches its peak and order is on the verge of collapse, grabbing hard currency is equivalent to grabbing more bargaining chips and possibilities!
There was no time to think it through, let alone weigh the pros and cons or calculate the gains and losses. A surge of passion mixed with a strong sense of crisis and the impulse to "not miss this opportunity" rushed to Xu Xiaoyan's head!
She steeled herself, tightened the backpack strap on her back, and plunged headlong into the chaotic, sweaty, smelly, and frenzied crowd! She struggled to push her way towards the white film that symbolized hope and warmth!
The scene had lost all order and rationality, turning into a pure contest of strength, a battle of physiques, a struggle for position, and a gamble of luck. Xu Xiaoyan was not tall, which put her at a disadvantage among the predominantly male crowd of shoppers.