Yu Xifeng handed her a thermos cup, filled with brown sugar ginger tea.

After drinking the hot tea, Sister Yun’s face regained some color.

“Luckily, you still remembered me. When I woke up, I really thought I was going to die. Thankfully, I listened to your reminder and bought the quilt.” After this ordeal, Sister Yun’s voice was much weaker.

“This is for you,” Sister Yun said.

She held a small bag containing more than a dozen warm patches (heat pads).

When Sister Yun bought the quilt, there were still about half a box of warm patches left at the shop.

She had a cold constitution herself, and during her period she needed to stick a few patches on to keep warm.

So she bought some for herself as well.

Yu Xifeng didn’t want them — she wasn’t lacking — but leaving them for Sister Yun might actually save her life.

Sister Yun said, “Luckily you reminded me, so I bought the quilt. These warm patches came as extras. The temperature is so low, women are prone to catching illnesses from the cold. You’re still young, so you need to be even more careful.”

After saying this, Yu Xifeng felt awkward not to respond, and thought to return the favor later by bringing something back.

Before that, Yu Xifeng did the same thing and called the Hu family.

As for the Yang Rong family downstairs, she only hated that they had lived too long.

Mrs. Hu was friends with Old Lady Zhao, so after waking up, she sent Hu Qiangyong to go wake her up.

“This damn weather,” Mrs. Hu muttered with her head down.

Hu Qiangyong took out a gong and drum from home, something like the ones used by the night watchmen in TV dramas. It was surprising that his family still had such old-fashioned items.

Yu Xifeng found it curious and touched the brass surface.

It was very cold.

But at this moment, this was definitely the most useful thing.

Hu Qiangyong first went to Old Lady Zhao’s door. Her husband opened it, wrapped in a cotton jacket, his face pale as death.

“My wife, she…” The old man covered his face, tears sliding down his wrinkles.

Old Lady Zhao had passed away.

She already had cardiovascular issues, and the sudden cold wave took her away. Fortunately, she was eighty-two and didn’t suffer much pain before she died, her expression peaceful.

In the apocalypse, this was not an unkind mercy.

The gong and drum kept beating in a steady rhythm.

They were trying to wake people up. Anyone who could be awakened, they tried. With such deadly low temperatures, waking up meant that no matter how they heated themselves, surviving the night was good.

Those who woke up put on their thickest clothes and brought out all their quilts.

Families gathered in one room, trying to raise the indoor temperature a bit.

Many families had already gotten used to making fires for cooking. Old coal stoves and coal buckets were dug out from storage again and used in homes.

The Yang Rong family, who lived in the hallway, had a very hard time.

They had windows on two sides and two open hallway doors.

Even if they closed the doors, the gaps were large, and cold air seeped in from outside.

When the temperature wasn’t as low, it was tolerable, but now, it only felt like that cold wind continuously sucked away the body’s remaining heat.

The Yang Rong family huddled in a corner of the hallway, trying to create a space with blankets, the whole family squeezed together.

They had built a small fire in the middle and carefully protected the flame from going out.

Xu Qingrou opened her mouth to ask to borrow Yu Xifeng’s cold-weather coat, but Yu Xifeng stepped on Yang Silong’s arm and walked past.

Later into the night, the community broadcast began looping announcements.

“The temperature has dropped sharply. Beware of the cold wave. Ensure proper ventilation when heating indoors. Beware of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Again and again, Hu Qiangyong’s gong was requisitioned. Staff fitted a horn on the gong, and the sound echoed throughout the neighborhood.

Yu Xifeng finally returned home.

There was almost no warmth left in her bedding, so she didn’t feel bad about herself and turned on the heater in the bedroom.

For heating, floor heating was much better than air conditioning.

The heat came from the floor upward, unlike an air conditioner installed high up, where hot air rises and only heats the ceiling.

Yu Xifeng drank another cup of brown sugar ginger tea to drive out the cold.

She held Little Orange (a pet) in her arms.

Little Orange had been bathed, and after Yu Xifeng treated it for parasites, she finally allowed it onto her bed.

Perhaps because Yu Xifeng’s body was warmer, Little Orange didn’t struggle and adjusted itself into a comfortable position lying on her.

Fluffy, its chest rose and fell with each breath.

Yu Xifeng didn’t sleep again the rest of the night.

That near-death feeling made her heart pound in terror. Compared to the freezing cold outside, in dreams, death might even be warm.

That was why Old Lady Zhao passed away peacefully.

This frightened Yu Xifeng. Compared to dying without awareness or knowledge, she would rather live painfully.

She had already died once.

It was hard to say the exact cause of death. Back then, there was no food, and the only water source wasn’t clean. Her hands and feet were covered in layers of blood scabs.

The scabs peeled off, revealing dark gray skin and flesh underneath.

She often felt her internal organs hurt, probably due to internal bleeding.

She had no way to ask the base’s doctors to see her. At that time, she had no connections and couldn’t afford medical fees.

She died in a cave, outside which was a boundless Gobi desert.

Nothing but sand.

She was helpless.

Maybe she died of starvation, maybe old injuries flared up, maybe she died from despair.

But she still wanted to live.

Wanted to survive.

The heater warmed up the room, maintaining an indoor temperature of 12 degrees Celsius.

Yu Xifeng and Little Orange curled up together in the bedroom. Little Orange’s body was warm like a big hot water bag.

Day broke.

Snow fell outside the window, covering everything in white.

Some people never made it through this night.

Two days ago, broadcasts had said they were rushing to repair the electrical circuits and try to restore partial power supply.

The sharp drop in temperature probably made things even harder.

Running the heater overnight consumed a lot of fuel.

Fortunately, she had scavenged the villa thoroughly, so energy supply would last a while.

Yu Xifeng had bone broth for breakfast, which she put in the storage space. It was piping hot and fragrant when poured out of the pot.

After months, when taken out again, the soup was still scorching but very nourishing.

There were big chunks of meat on the bones, and the meat was infused with the sweetness of corn.

Yu Xifeng also ate a tea egg and a red bean cake.

The red bean cake softened in the soup, making its texture dense and smooth.

With the cold, Yu Xifeng found her appetite had increased. To fight the cold, her body created a larger energy deficit.

By noon, the temperature rose more than ten degrees. The indoor temperature was now minus twelve degrees Celsius.

Still cold, but much better than at night.