Chapter 19

Zhou Rui arrived just in time; there were only a few electric fans left, and he managed to grab one. After finishing his shopping, he jogged back to the store, put on his uniform, and transformed into the chosen worker, beginning his “wonderful” day at work.

The weather was unbearably hot.

Walking outside felt like being in a sauna, with the air radiating waves of heat.

As a result, the demand for cold drinks was overwhelming.

Yun Xin, Zhu Lin, and Zhou Rui were all incredibly busy, with a long line of customers outside that never seemed to shorten.

Iced drinks, ice slushes, ice cubes… anything with “ice” in its name was particularly popular.

Zhu Lin questioned her life choices, “Did I choose the wrong career path? Why is this so hectic?”

At that moment, the next customer hurriedly asked, “Do you sell ice cubes? Can I buy some directly?”

“Huh?” Zhu Lin was stunned, then replied after a pause, “Sorry, we don’t sell ice cubes separately.”

“Then three cups of mung bean ice slush, with extra ice!” the customer emphasized.

Zhu Lin understood and added a lot of extra ice to the customer’s drinks.

“Thank you!” The customer took the slushes, didn’t drink them, but used them like ice packs on their face, then rushed out.

“What’s going on?” Zhu Lin wondered.

But she didn’t have time to think about it. Customers continued to flood into the shop, all clamoring for cold drinks.

Three hours later, they finally had a break.

Zhu Lin’s hand was sore from making drinks, and she collapsed onto the table, sincerely regretting, “I shouldn’t have been tempted by the free drinks and taken this job.”

Three female customers walked in.

“One iced milk tea, one iced sour plum juice, and one iced watermelon juice.”

“Got it, please wait a moment.” Zhou Rui diligently continued working.

Zhu Lin quietly asked, “It’s working hours now, don’t you need to be at work?”

A female customer laughed, “We are at work, but the power is out in our area and they’re fixing it.”

“With no air conditioning and the desktop computers shutting off, what can we do at the office? It’s better to come out, buy a drink, and cool off,” another added jokingly. “Besides, even if we wanted to stay, our boss wouldn’t allow it. If we get heatstroke, it counts as a workplace injury.”

Zhu Lin felt even more dejected.

On such a hot day, some people were getting paid to buy drinks while she was so busy she could collapse. The disparity was stark.

“It’s not just us; the neighboring community is also without power,” the first female customer said. “I heard that an elderly person was taking an afternoon nap with the air conditioner on when the power went out. They didn’t wake up from the heat but fainted, and their family had to call an ambulance.”

“And it’s not just that one person,” her companion added. “There are many elderly people in the community, some of whom need respirators. When the power went out, the respirators stopped working.”

“I heard their family also called an ambulance, and when it arrived, the two families almost fought over it.”

Zhou Rui’s first reaction was, “Does that mean the refrigerators aren’t working either? Won’t the food in them go bad?”

“There’s nothing we can do if it spoils,” the customer sighed. “The power company isn’t supplying electricity, so what can residents do?”

“They had previously assured us that if everyone conserved electricity, we could get through this. But now, the power is out, and all they say is that there’s an issue and it’s being repaired.”

“Your drinks are ready.”

Each customer took a cup and left the shop with a smile.

Zhu Lin’s worldview was shattered. “Is the situation really that bad?”

Yun Xin shook her phone. “Latest news: the outside temperature is 45 degrees, and children in the power-out areas have already fainted.”

Zhou Rui was silent for a long while, then muttered, “This is driving people crazy.”

Zhou Rui thought he understood how severe the situation was, but when he got back to his rented apartment, he realized he had underestimated it.

He brought the electric fan home, plugged it in, and it immediately started whirring. But the air it blew out was hot.

The room was already stuffy, and the fan just seemed to circulate the hot air. The oppressive, chest-constricting heat didn’t lessen at all.

Zhou Rui lay on his bed, forcing himself to sleep, but forty minutes passed, and he was still wide awake.

“This is driving me crazy.”

He had no choice but to turn the air conditioner back on.

Cool air immediately began to blow, dispersing the heat and irritation. But after only a few minutes, there was a “pop” and the circuit breaker tripped.

Zhou Rui was speechless.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a regional power outage.

He reset the power, turned the fan back on, and finally got some sleep.

The next morning, he rushed to work during the peak hour. As he was about to leave, his landlady stopped him. “We’ve received a notice that starting next month, the power company will be raising the electricity rates. Each unit will cost this much.” She gestured with her hand.

Zhou Rui’s forehead veins throbbed. Frequent power outages, tripping circuits when using too many appliances, and now a rate increase… this was robbery!

The tenants’ silence didn’t stop the landlady from continuing, “You know, whatever the power company charges me, I’ll charge you. You’re almost late for work, aren’t you? Hurry up, or you’ll lose your salary.”

With that, she walked away.

Zhou Rui stood there, grinding his teeth.

During lunch break, the three of them took turns resting.

Zhu Lin went out to eat and came back gossiping with Yun Xin, “I heard that a nearby supermarket had a power outage for several hours yesterday. When the power came back, the refrigerated food was no longer fresh. The supermarket planned to throw it away, but many people swarmed in to grab it.”

“In this summer heat, can that stuff still be eaten?” Yun Xin was skeptical.

“Maybe,” Zhu Lin wasn’t sure either. “I just saw a lot of people grabbing it.”

Zhou Rui couldn’t sit still. “It’s my turn to rest.” He said as he dashed out.

“Hey, don’t go—” Yun Xin saw a faint gray mist suddenly appear around Zhou Rui, but he had already disappeared.

It wasn’t that he didn’t heed the warning; he simply hadn’t heard her at all.

“What happened?”

Zhu Lin was puzzled. “What kind of feeling?”

“I have a bad premonition,” Yun Xin said.

However, she knew the faint gray mist would only cause minor injuries, not life-threatening ones, so she didn’t bother stopping him.

Zhu Lin became interested. “Do you have a sixth sense?”

“Yeah,” Yun Xin nodded. “I don’t get these feelings often, but when I do, they’re usually accurate.”

“Wow—” Zhu Lin started to exclaim, then realized something was wrong. “Why did your sixth sense tell you to stop him from going out?”

Yun Xin shrugged.

Zhu Lin, “… Could it be that my big mouth will get him into trouble?”

When Zhou Rui arrived, the supermarket was indeed discarding items, and there were many people picking through them.

Seeing this, he joined in.

Zhou Rui chose a spot where no one else was and started picking out the best-looking items.

“Kid, this is our turf. Leave the stuff and go somewhere else,” three thuggish guys surrounded him, speaking aggressively.

“There are so many things here. Why focus on what’s in someone else’s bowl?” Zhou Rui didn’t want any trouble and decided to leave with the items he had picked.

But the others weren’t willing to let him go. “Didn’t I say you can leave but leave the stuff behind?”

Zhou Rui replied with two words, “I won’t.”

The thugs seemed to feel insulted and couldn’t stand it. The leader gave a signal, and two of them rushed at Zhou Rui.

Zhou Rui prided himself on being a good fighter, so he wasn’t intimidated and stood his ground. However, the opponents were surprisingly fast and strong. He dodged one but got punched in the face by the other.

Zhou Rui fell to the ground.

“Stupid kid, no skills and still so arrogant,” the thugs laughed triumphantly.

At this moment, the supermarket manager ran over, shouting, “Stop fighting, stop fighting!”

After stopping the fight, he turned to the crowd and yelled, “Stop picking those! These are spoiled goods and can’t be eaten!”

Everyone was stunned.

Someone asked in confusion, “Aren’t they just a bit less fresh?”

“I heard they just passed their expiration date?”

“I know there was a power outage for a few hours and then they discarded the food. But no one said it was rotten…”

“The food is spoiled! If you eat it, you’ll end up in the hospital. Stop picking!” the manager emphasized again.

“Damn, what a waste of time!” The thugs were exasperated, threw the items down, and left.

Zhou Rui was even more exasperated.

The beating he took felt utterly pointless.

Most importantly, he brought it on himself… If he hadn’t come, none of this would have happened.

Zhou Rui wiped his mouth, stood up, and slowly walked back.

On the other side, Zhu Lin was uneasy, trying to be strong in front of Yun Xin. “Could your sixth sense be wrong this time?”

Yun Xin said nothing, just looked at her.

Zhu Lin’s face fell. “There’s really no chance it’s wrong?”

Yun Xin refused to explain.

Zhu Lin paced around the shop, glancing outside now and then.

Just then, Zhou Rui walked in with a bruised face.

Zhu Lin froze, her conscience pricked.

“What happened to you?” Yun Xin asked.

“Don’t mention it.” Zhou Rui looked frustrated and recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing that the supermarket was discarding spoiled food, Zhu Lin felt a bit guilty but scolded him, “Why go out in this heat and get into trouble over trash?”

Zhou Rui laughed bitterly, “To save money.”

He then mentioned the increased electricity rates at his rental, “My salary is low, and I send part of it home every month. In this heat, I can’t go without air conditioning. If the electricity bill goes up, I won’t have money for food.”

“Speaking of which,” Yun Xin took out her phone, “a water treatment plant in the city had an issue, so some areas might have water supply problems. Is your rental community on this list?”

Zhou Rui checked and was stunned, “… It’s included.”

What a catastrophic piece of news!

Not being able to use the air conditioner was one thing, but now he couldn’t even take a bath?

Zhou Rui tried to stay calm, “Does this mean there’s no water when you turn on the tap?”

“No,” Yun Xin’s voice was sympathetic, “It’s dirty water, untreated. People are already complaining online.”

Zhou Rui lost his composure.

He was tired and worn out. “Let it all burn!”