Following Lin Junfu, everyone went down to the ground floor. After exiting the factory, they arrived in front of the low barracks where they had stayed the previous night.

"Dazhuang! Come here!" Waving over Dazhuang, who was on duty at the entrance, Lin Junfu pointed to the large lock on the door in front of him and said, "Open it!"

With a two-second pause, Dazhuang glanced at Tang Xiaoquan and the others gathered behind Lin Junfu, then asked cautiously, "Manager Lin, what do you intend to do by opening the door?"

"Get some water, let them take a bath!" The answer was somewhat reluctant, and there was a hint of unspoken concern in Lin Junfu's gestures.

"Take a bath!?" As if he had heard something incredible, Dazhuang's eyes widened immediately.

"Yes, take a bath! Open the door!" Lin Junfu still weakly waved his hand.

But what no one expected was that just as he finished speaking, Dazhuang abruptly raised his voice and then replied in an undeniable tone, "No way!"

This truly left the survivors bewildered. They couldn't understand why Dazhuang had such a huge reaction when all they asked for was the most basic human need.

Recalling Lin Junfu's odd expression before he left upstairs, Tang Xiaoquan grew even more confused.

"Sorry, Dazhuang, we're new here and don't understand many things. Please tell us if we've offended you!" Unyielding yet respectful, Hu Xiaodong stepped forward to state his position: Although Dazhuang's situation is sympathetic, it doesn't mean you can act arbitrarily.

Seeing the situation tending towards stalemate, Lin Junfu had to go straight to the point: "Xiao Hu, don't take offense, Dazhuang isn't trying to make things difficult for you! The situation is like this: about a week ago, the water and electricity here were cut off. Everyone in the factory depends on the water tank in this ironing room to survive. So to conserve water, everyone has daily limited water allocation, as for bathing, well..."

He glanced self-deprecatingly at his sweaty and stained police uniform and shook his head with a bitter smile.

So that's how it was. After hearing Lin Junfu's detailed explanation, the survivors had a look of sudden realization.

However, at the same time, the new problem inevitably added more worries about their future life.

Undoubtedly, for these survivors accustomed to the conveniences of a civilized society, the lack of water and electricity was extremely hard to accept.

Without water and electricity, you can no longer casually flush the toilet;

Without water and electricity, you can't turn on the light in the darkness to seek brightness;

Without water and electricity, appliances will lose their functionality;

Without water and electricity, even your basic living needs can't be met.

And more terrifyingly, without water and electricity, you might even lose the right to live!!

Tang Xiaoquan took a deep breath and felt dizzy.

It's really a wave unsteady and another arising! The problem of food isn't solved yet, and now the problem of drinking water follows.

Subconsciously pinching the acupoint on his forehead, Tang Xiaoquan solemnly asked, "Manager Lin, is all the water in the factory just this?"

"Not exactly. The factory usually keeps some drinks and bottled water for clients, probably about ten bottles. Also, there's a water cooler in the director's office with half a tank of drinking water."

Recollecting for a moment, Tang Xiaoquan vaguely recalled seeing a white water cooler in a corner of the director's office: "Have you calculated how long all the drinking water can support the factory's consumption?"

"Well..." Biting the dead skin on his lip awkwardly, and judging from Lin Junfu's puzzled expression, it's clear he didn't have a detailed count on this.

Never mind! Even if he knew, it wouldn't help much now, so Tang Xiaoquan continued to ask, "Isn't there any other water source around here that can be used?"

Again with no idea, Lin Junfu had to cast a seeking look at the man beside him: "Dazhuang, you're the local, do you know anything?"

Nodding without any expression, Dazhuang replied indifferently, "The village did dig a well a long time ago, but I'd advise you not to count on it because it's too deep in, and I'm afraid you might not come out alive."

The words were rough, but Dazhuang's warning was quite clear.

It seems there's no hope of diverting water from elsewhere. Tang Xiaoquan bitterly looked up at the sky.

The blazing sun in the distance was shining with a radiant "smile," as if mocking these humble humans.

Even so, Tang Xiaoquan remained reverent because there's no other way. Right now, their only option was to pray to the heavens, to pray that they would have mercy on the suffering people, and to pray for rain to come soon and relieve the urgent need.

It's quite laughable on reflection!

On the one hand, to solve the food problem, you desperately hope for clear skies all week for a successful rice harvest.

On the other hand, to solve the drinking problem, you wish for rain blessings tomorrow.

The two conflicting thoughts intertwined in Tang Xiaoquan's mind like little worms, causing a slight headache.

"Xiao Tang, what's wrong?" A gentle female voice came from the side, and Tang Xiaoquan instinctively paused, then saw Wei Yang's slightly worried eyes looking at him. His cheeks reddened, and he replied with an embarrassed smile, "No, nothing, I'm... I'm fine, haha!"

Under these circumstances, naturally, everyone gave up on the high-end expectation of a bath, as the physiological need was clearly more important than personal comfort.

Lunch was the usual watery rice, but compared to last night's meal, Tang Xiaoquan found this one even worse because he noticed crushed leaves in the pot, likely added by the factory to increase the water's viscosity.

Seizing the meal time, Tang Xiaoquan laid out the new problems to discuss with everyone, and they eventually listed out the following action plans according to the severity of the issues.

First: The village search plan, which was absolutely necessary, would be executed tomorrow.

Second: To address the water issue, they decided to make necessary modifications to the ironing room to collect enough freshwater when it rains. As for the leader of the renovation, everyone unanimously chose Zhao Yunhai, who holds the title of a professor of architecture.

Lastly, related to the survival of everyone in the factory, the rice harvesting plan would be implemented after the village search plan.

In other words, within the next two days, the fate of "Zhongkun Textile" and all the survivors hinges on whether they can continue to survive.

So they can only succeed, not fail!

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