Natural disaster at the beginning: I will lead the system to build a safe zone

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of departure. Shi Anan got up early and first went to the vending machine to set up automatic restocking, so that when she was not in Guangming Village, the vending machine could still be used. However, the flavor could only be changed when she came back.

Then she went to the stable first to bring out her beloved Jiying to communicate with her, and waited for others to gather.

Since she made the saddle and stirrups, even if Xiao Yi came with them on this trip, they no longer needed to ride on one horse.

Carpooling sounds romantic, but in such temperatures, it is a torture.

After a while, Xiao Yi, Yan Fei and Tie Niu came over. Their main purpose this time was to check the situation in the county. In addition, with the presence of An An, the treasure chest, everyone traveled light.

There are fewer people and less luggage, and the horses are also more relaxed, so this time the journey will be much more efficient.

Just as Shi Anan and others were gradually approaching Qinghu Lake, Chen Huairen and his family had also been here for quite some time.

The Chen family at this time no longer had the energy and spirit they had when they first arrived, and even Chen Huairen himself had lost a lot of weight.

Mainly because of the heat.

Since arriving on the other side of the clear lake, even though they had made sufficient preparations, they still could not adapt to the hardships of surviving in the wild.

The first thing to be affected is the high temperature. Although it was hot in the mansion in the past, because their family is large and the ice cellar is large, the amount of ice stored every year is not small. Moreover, due to the extreme cold before, it is even easier for them to store ice.

So even if a lot of ice is used every day, they don't feel bad. For example, the study and bedroom of the head of the family, Chen Huairen, have a constant supply of ice for twelve hours a day. Even if it is hot outside, it is still very comfortable to stay at home.

But here, they simply cannot carry ice on the road, and even if they do, they cannot preserve it. People who are used to coolness will have worse heat tolerance than ordinary people when they suddenly arrive in a hot environment, and they cannot stand the heat at the end of the day.

The servants were fine, as ice cubes were not something that ordinary servants could enjoy except those who served in the master's room. The masters of the Chen family, especially the female members like Madam Chen, felt dizzy with heat on the spot.

I finally got the government doctor to prescribe some cooling medicine to relieve the heat, but I was annoyed by the mosquitoes on the mountain at night.

It’s too hot and I have no appetite. I can’t sleep well at night. Even the fattest person will lose a lot of weight in this environment.

Madam Chen asked for the hundredth time: "Master, can't we go back now? We have been here for half a month. No matter how noisy the county is, it should be quiet now, right?"

She really couldn't stand it anymore. Even though the temperature seemed to have dropped a little recently, the harsh environment still made her feel uncomfortable all over.

She was a person who loved cleanliness, but she couldn't even take a proper bath here. Every day she could only ask her maid to fetch some water from the lake, and then hide inside the tent to wipe her body.

Thinking of taking a bath was just a dream. When they came out, they didn't bring anything as heavy as a bathtub. As a woman, she couldn't find a place where no one could see her and jump into the lake like those men did.

The weather was hot and she sweated a lot, so she felt like her body was never dry all day.

But no matter how many times she asked, Chen Huairen still shook his head and said, "Not now."

"Why can't we go back yet?" Mrs. Chen was holding back to her limits. She knew that she was not as broad-minded as her husband, but every time she asked Chen Huairen, he just said this.

Now is not the time, so when is the time?

If she had been given some time, she wouldn't have been so anxious.

Chen Huairen knew what answer Mrs. Chen wanted to hear, but he really didn't know when he could go back.

"Madam, the people I sent back to investigate are back. The situation in the county is very bad, even worse than before. We really can't go back now." Chen Huairen advised patiently.

Mrs. Chen took a deep breath and suppressed her impatience: "Then tell me what's going on now."

Chen Huairen sighed: "Alas, I'm afraid there will be an epidemic in the county."

Mrs. Chen was horrified: "How could it be!"

On the third day after they arrived here, Chen Huairen secretly sent people to row back to check the situation. The guards who were sent out and returned found out what happened when the granary caught fire, and only then did they learn that the county was in such a chaotic scene that night.

The wealthy families were robbed and looted by the starving people. The county magistrate left his wife behind and fled with his concubine. There was no one to take charge of the situation in the county, and the county suddenly became a mess.

However, this was just the beginning. Because the granaries were burned, the granaries of the wealthy families in the county were not enough to supply so many people in the county, otherwise Chen Huairen and others would not have stopped selling grain at that time.

So even though these people plundered so many wealthy families, they still had to starve after a few days. What happened next was similar to what happened in Changping Town, where the people formed gangs and factions, and they robbed each other.

Not only that, the surrounding villages and towns also suffered. Everyone knows that these farmers have land and must have surplus food at home, but the reduction in grain production is also true. Even if there was, it would not be enough to feed so many people.

In such a chaotic situation, how could Chen Huairen dare to bring his family back to the county town? The food they brought with them was enough for their family to eat, but if they put it in the county town, there would not even be a splash.

He also heard about what happened to Wang Fuan and Qian Jinbao's family. Not only was their food stolen, but even their mansions were occupied. After all, they both had ice cellars in their homes, and ice was a good thing in this hot weather.

Naturally, the Chen family’s mansion was not saved, but Chen Huairen could only feel heartbroken for a while but did not dare to react. After all, the Wang and Qian families were driven out and they didn’t even have any food. At least he had saved the food for his entire family.

It was precisely because their mansions were occupied and their property was looted that their boats were naturally destroyed. Otherwise, the two heads of the families would definitely have escaped by boat like Chen Huairen.

Unfortunately, Chen Huairen cannot reveal his whereabouts now. If people knew that they were on the opposite side of Qinghu Lake, there was no guarantee that those people would not find a way to cross the lake and rob them.

As for the epidemic, it was discovered when Chen Huairen sent people to check the situation for the second time.

It is impossible for no one to die in the county because of this chaos, and these people died on the road with no one to deal with it. In addition, the weather was hot and dry, so the bodies rotted faster and the germs also grew rapidly in such an environment.

When the investigators arrived in Qinghe County for the second time, they found that the noise was much smaller than before and thought that the struggle was about to end. Suddenly, they saw a man with pus-filled face staggering on the street.

This person not only coughed frequently, but also suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. All the people who saw him covered their mouths and noses and stayed away from him. Before the guard could react to who this person was, a group of people with white cloth covering their faces and armed with weapons drove him into a room.

The explorer suddenly felt a chill all over his body and dared not get closer. He turned around and ran onto the boat and rowed towards the other side.

It was only after listening to the guard's report that Chen Huairen guessed whether this was an epidemic. If it was not an epidemic, there would be no reason for those people to avoid him.

But if it is really an epidemic, what is the mortality rate? What is the infection rate?

Chen Huairen didn't dare to think further. In short, they absolutely could not go back now.