Chapter 13: Chapter 13 - The Officials' Refuge Center_1
"Prepare in advance, establish our own refuge."
Mr. Thompson grasped the key idea from Dong Tianyu's words, silently noting them down without interrupting Dong Tianyu's explanation.
"However, because it is a privately built refuge center, the area isn't too big. Due to the possibility of a harsh winter, the refuge was created from a transformed cave; hence, it's not very large.
If only our family of three lived there, it wouldn't be a big issue. However, if too many people move in, not only would the supplies stored inside be insufficient, but the living conditions would also be unsatisfactory, making it better to live in the refuge established by the officials."
I have consulted my friends. I'm not sure about the situation in other cities, but at least here in Pengcheng, the problem isn't significant, with abundant food reserves.
During the years where the virus has been rampant, the food reserves in Pengcheng haven't been replaced, meaning the food supplies in the storehouse have all been renewed this year. Moreover, the city master personally supervised it, as such, everything in the storehouse is new crop.
We'll soon hear news from Kyoto; they are going to reconstruct the Ren defense area underground. Although it's being done with military readiness in mind, the ultimate result is the same.
So in the end, even if you don't go with me, going to the refuge built by the officials is comparably safer."
Having the memories of his previous life, Dong Tianyu knew that, despite the poor living conditions in the refuge organized by the officials, basic survival and safety are still guaranteed.
After hearing Dong Tianyu's narration, Mr. Thompson immediately became silent, the fear induced by Dong Tianyu's news made him reluctant to believe it.
Seeing Mr. Thompson silent, neither Dong Tianyu nor Mrs. Thompson spoke. Although Mrs. Thompson usually appeared strong-willed, when it came to crucial times, it was still Mr. Thompson who made decisions.
"Honey, go withdraw some money from the bank tomorrow. Don't take too much, fifty or sixty thousand should be fine. You haven't visited your family in a while, right? Afterward, contact them and let's go have dinner at your grandfather's house."
Hearing Mr. Thompson say this, Mrs. Thompson nodded, but a hesitant expression surfaced on her face.
After being married for so many years, Mr. Thompson could discern what Mrs. Thompson was thinking at a glance: "Clarke family has just one grandson, call them and say we're coming over.
If they want to come back from Magic City, they can do so. I'll reimburse them for the round trip high-speed railway ticket. And if they don't want to, that's fine.
The most important thing, however, is to keep silent about the matter Dong Tianyu mentioned tonight. If it doesn't happen, at worst they blame us a bit. But if something happens, how will Dong Tianyu explain it?"
Hearing Mr. Thompson's words, Mrs. Thompson understood him. In the Clarke family, she had three older sisters and one younger brother. Mrs. Thompson wasn't a dark witch. Though she cared for her younger brother daily, the bulk of the Clarke family matters was handled by her and her older sister, without bothering the little brother.
However, compared to her biological younger brother, Dong Tianyu, her biological son, is more important to her.
Getting the clear cut response from Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Thompson continued: "I and your older sisters haven't gathered together for a while. Arrange a time for us to gather at your second sister's house."
Mr. Thompson was the fifth child in the family, with four elder brothers. During previous times when Dong Tianyu's grandparents were still around, all the families would gather together during the holidays, a bustling household of more than ten members, needing two tables for men and women separately to sit and eat.
This wasn't because women weren't allowed at the table like in other cities; in the Thompson family, the issue was simply that the house was too small to accommodate everyone.
The women, with the children, used to sit with the grandmother at the main table in the house while the men sat with the grandfather in the yard, drinking alcohol. The meals were the same, though the main table in the house with the children would have a bit more food, as the men wouldn't eat much while drinking. Sometimes, when the food at the main table ran out, the food from the yard would be brought in.
However, since the passing of Dong Tianyu's grandparents, coupled with the rampage of the virus these past few years, the Thompson family hasn't had a large family gathering in quite a while.
After hearing Mr. Thompson's arrangements, Dong Tianyu didn't say much. If Mr. Thompson decided to call a family dinner, he must intend to talk about the impending disaster, though it was unknown if Mr. Thompson would state it explicitly or allude to it subtly.
However, considering Mr. Thompson's usually smooth characteristic, this was not a matter for him to worry about.
"Tianyu, does your friend have any information on the official refuge?"
Hearing Mr. Thompson's inquiry, Dong Tianyu roughly understood his father's intentions.
"The officially established refuges are usually transformed from the Ren defense area, which means that most of them are transformed from underground parking lots. There's no doubt about the safety aspect.
The main concern is the survival supplies. Let's not talk about others, but in our area, if we establish a refuge, there should be three: Aldia underground car park, Minsheng Square underground car park, and the Duancheng metro station on Line One.
According to the principles written in the preparedness manual obtained by my friend, the refuge transformed from Aldia underground car park should be classified as a second level refuge. If time allows, this refuge will only admit nearby residents to ensure the stability of the population within.
The Minsheng Square underground car park seems to be a subsecond level refuge, primarily accepting nearby residents, and if conditions allow, those without nearby residency.
Finally, the refuge transformed from the metro station, classified as a secure refuge, unconditionally accepts any resident with identification.
Judging from the environment and safety of the refuges, Aldia's underground refuge is the best, and the metro station refuge is the worst.
However, given the circumstances, I still hope you could go to the metro station refuge."
On hearing Dong Tianyu's explanation, Mr. Thompson sank into deep thought and didn't say anything. Mrs. Thompson, seeing that Mr. Thompson didn't ask for the reason, couldn't help but ask directly, "Why? The metro station refuge has such a large population flow and poor safety, so why choose there?"
Hearing Mrs. Thompson's inquiry, Dong Tianyu carefully explained the reasons.
"Despite the metro station refuge having no entrance conditions and poor living conditions, the advantages of choosing it are very obvious.
Firstly, due to external temperature drops, the average person can barely move outside; hence all refuges will turn into isolated underground cities. However, the metro station refuge is connected by the subway lines, thus having an absolute advantage in terms of population.
As for safety, you have to trust the officials. It's not like we are overseas; the public order in Daxia is still quite good. Furthermore, due to the ability to reach all areas of Pengcheng through the subway lines, the local authorities will surely take over the security there.
Apart from safety, the most significant factor is, of course, food. Generally, the food stored in the refuges lasts for about three to five months for the designated load of people.
We currently don't know the duration of this disaster. If the food in the refuge becomes insufficient, we would face big trouble."
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