CHAPTER 284: CHAPTER 282: EXTRA MEAL AT THE SHELTER

Inside the city’s police shelter, Ding Ning was wrapped tightly in a thick duty coat, standing in the dining hall maintaining order.

Due to the continuous low temperatures, the temperature inside the various shelters has dropped to minus ten degrees even with constant heating. The city government finally used the emergency supplies to provide extra meals to the survivors in all official shelters, allowing them to gain more heat to ward off the cold.

At first glance, it may seem problematic, but in theory, there is no issue, because humans obtain life-sustaining heat through eating.

Many people might have experienced this: in winter, if you don’t eat, you’ll feel particularly cold, but after a bowl of hot soup, your body quickly warms up, because food brings heat to the body.

So as long as there is enough warm food, it can provide sufficient heat to resist the cold.

It is for this reason that the city government, for the first time, used the emergency supplies to provide extra meals for the survivors at the shelters.

Considering the severe situation, even though extra meals were announced, to prevent anyone from disrupting the order, each shelter still used police forces to maintain order in the dining hall, ensuring everyone could eat in an orderly manner and receive their food.

Even in the city’s police shelter, which housed police officers and their families, this rule was not exempt.

Though there wouldn’t necessarily be anyone causing trouble, without someone supervising, it’s inevitable that someone might try to cut in line or sneak by and come back for seconds.

Even though the city government has opened the emergency reserves, the food provided is not scarce, but each person can only have one portion at a time; it’s not possible to let people eat freely.

As for the food itself, it’s a thick rice porridge with a large amount of protein powder made from mealworms, along with dehydrated vegetables and meat from the emergency reserves.

This is already a rare meal for survivors who have almost not eaten any proper meat for half a year.

In fact, the situation on the city’s police side is slightly better than in other shelters, or more accurately, the area where the SWAT team lives is a bit warmer.

After all, they previously installed the ground source heat pump provided by Chen Xin, which provides not just hot water but also heating.

This makes the SWAT team’s area about three to four degrees warmer than other places in the city’s police shelter, although still below freezing, it’s not as unbearable.

"Ding Ning, how is the situation here?" As Ding Ning was watching the people dining in the hall, the commissar came up to her, inquiring about the situation.

Ding Ning saluted the commissar before replying, "Reporting commissar, the situation is normal. Everyone is dining in an orderly manner, and there have been no unexpected incidents."

Perhaps it’s because they are all police families and off-duty police officers, the order is indeed better than in other places, and additionally, the SWAT team’s food and heating conditions are better than elsewhere, so naturally, people are not especially greedy for this meal.

But in the current situation, it’s hard for adults to have enough food without working. They can only barely get half-full. Children might be able to eat their fill with one portion, but for adults, it’s just enough not to be hungry.

Therefore, the opportunity to eat an additional meal is attractive enough for everyone.

The commissar also understood the situation and didn’t specifically come to ask about her duty, as there were others to report such matters to him.

His real purpose was to show concern for Ding Ning herself. After all, Ding Ning was Uncle Ding’s daughter, and though Uncle Ding, as the SWAT team leader, didn’t give Ding Ning special treatment, the commissar, as his old partner, should still care for Ding Ning, to prevent any problems on her side from affecting Uncle Ding’s work.

So after asking about her work situation, the commissar said to Ding Ning, "There’s no need to be so serious, just consider it a chat. I remember when I used to visit your home, I heard you call me uncle because your dad didn’t take you to the amusement park, and you asked me to take you to play."

When the commissar mentioned her childhood, Ding Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit shy, but quickly she seriously said, "That was when I was a child. Dad said I should be serious at work."

"Alright, but how are you doing now, Ningning? Your dad is busy with work and doesn’t have time to care for you. I heard you’re living alone now; is everything alright?" The commissar expressed concern about Ding Ning’s situation, advising, "Don’t hold it against your dad. He’s really busy with work, not uncaring. Living alone outside, he’s told me several times he’s worried something dangerous might happen to you. Why not move back, Ding Ning?"

"Commissar, it’s not like that. I’m living outside to help a friend look after their house, and actually, Sister Lan was living with me before. Only after something happened to her did I live alone. I have no grievances with my dad. It’s not worth it," Ding Ning shook her head. Although she did have some disagreements with her father, she wouldn’t be so resentful.

Hearing Ding Ning’s explanation, the commissar felt much more at ease but still turned to be concerned about whether Ding Ning had any issues in her personal life: "So, Ding Ning, is there anything you need help with living alone? Although resources are tight now and conditions limited, we can still provide some help."

"Help? No need, my friend’s place has pretty good conditions, with a ground source heat pump, aquaponics, and microalgae oxygen production. All this equipment can support two to three people living without relying on the outside," Ding Ning counted the things Mo Qingyan’s family had and felt she didn’t need any additional help.

Of course, under the current extreme cold of minus seventy degrees, even Mo Qingyan’s family with a ground source heat pump still saw temperatures drop below freezing, even causing many of the vegetables to freeze. If it weren’t for the aquaponics system connected to the ground source heat pump before, the fish in the pond might have all frozen to death.

But even so, Ding Ning didn’t think there was any need for help living at Mo Qingyan’s place. After all, the help the commissar could provide would likely be some resources, but in this situation where resources are tight everywhere, Ding Ning felt they should be kept for those who need them more, rather than herself, who temporarily isn’t lacking in food or shelter.

Hearing Ding Ning say this, the commissar could only show care with a few more words, reminding Ding Ning to find him if she needed anything, before leaving the dining hall.

At that moment, however, Ding Ning felt somewhat worried about Chen Xin. Among those she knew, her best relationships were with Qin Lan, Mo Qingyan, and Chen Xin, who were all living together. If something happened to them because of the snowstorm, she really had no way to help them now.