As time goes by, a week has passed since the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Shanshi Volcano is still erupting violently, with no sign of the end in sight.
What's even more serious is that volcanic ash has spread across the entire North American continent.
From the west coast to the east coast, from the Arctic Ocean to the Panama Strait, everything is shrouded in darkness.
The flow of refugees heading south has become even larger.
At the same time, tens of millions of people are stranded in major ports on the east coast, anxiously waiting for official evacuation.
It is said that on the black market, the price of any departure boat ticket has been raised to more than one million.
Zhang Hao could not help but sigh when he saw such an astonishing huge profit.
For some people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime wealth feast. Countless people go bankrupt every day, and hundreds of billionaires are born at the same time.
Back in Huicheng, the rush to buy is almost coming to an end. It's not that the people are tired or have no money, but that the goods on the market have been wiped out.
As for Zhang Hao, he is still carefree.
The only worry right now is that the second sister and second brother-in-law haven't arrived home yet, and the highway has been blocked for a whole week. The couple is about to collapse.
October 7th is the 86th anniversary of the founding of the Blue Star Federation. This day is also known as "Liberation Day".
Early in the morning, Zhang Hao received a call from his second sister.
"Xiao Hao, the second sister really can't hold on anymore. Your brother-in-law and I have made up our minds and are going to get off the nearest expressway. If we don't leave, we will be covered in maggots."
"Second sister, the world is not peaceful right now. You'd better think clearly. Why don't you wait two days and see?"
Zhang Hao quickly advised.
"We can't wait anymore. Not only us, many people have chosen to leave on foot. More and more vehicles are abandoned on the road. In my opinion, if these cars are not towed away, there will be no hope of reopening the road."
Zhang Jiayi said helplessly.
This is a vicious cycle.
They only discovered this phenomenon in the past two days. If they had chosen to leave on foot on the first day, they might have reached Huicheng early by now.
"Are the emergency exits still available?"
There is no other way, Zhang Hao can only choose to seek help from the city. If this delay continues, problems will occur sooner or later.
"What are you thinking? This is an escape. Who cares about points and fines? The emergency exit was blocked on the first day. Cars from outside can't get in, and we can't get out."
Zhang Jiayi is not angry.
Zhang Hao gritted his teeth: "Well, you guys wait for me for an hour, and I'll go find Mayor He and see if I can take you out by helicopter."
"Brother, forget it, don't waste your efforts. There is no place to land even if the helicopter comes, and the people here have long been holding back their anger. If there is public outrage, we may not be able to leave."
Zhang Jiayi refused directly.
"But..."
"No, but your brother-in-law and I are adults, not children. Nothing will happen. I will call you when we get to Jieyang."
"Okay, be careful. I'll transfer you another one million later. When you get to Jieyang, rent a house to live in. If you can't wait until the situation stabilizes before you come back, don't be in a hurry."
Zhang Hao warned.
Apart from that, he has no other options.
"I got it, my phone is about to run out of battery. Help me tell Kevin and the others not to worry. We will be back as soon as possible."
Without waiting for her younger brother to say goodbye, Zhang Jiayi quickly hung up the phone to save the other party from nagging her again.
……
An hour later, Zhang Jiayi and her husband finally found out about a team going to Jieyang, and after a brief conversation, they finally joined it smoothly.
Next, the group walked along the highway for fifteen or six kilometers and finally arrived at the exit.
A circle of private cars surrounded the exit.
There are even simple agricultural vehicles.
A young man saw Steven and immediately came up to him: "Hello, do you two want to charter a car?"
"Going to the city?"
Zhang Jiayi asked immediately.
They just checked the map and found that this place is twenty kilometers away from Jieyang city.
"Go ahead, we'll be there in an hour at most."
"How much does it cost?"
"One price, one thousand yuan per person."
The young guy suddenly smiled.
Zhang Jiayi frowned: "Why is it so expensive?"
"Sister, don't look at what time it is now. If the family wasn't short of money, who would be willing to come out to solicit customers? They would have gone out to grab food."
"Let's talk about the honest price. There are so many cars here, there must be cheap ones."
The young man shook his head: "Sister, I really don't care about you. My car is a van. It carries many passengers and the fare is cheap enough. Generally, the starting price of a car is 5,000. If you don't believe me, just ask."
Zhang Jiayi wanted to make another counteroffer, but Steven gently pulled her back and directly interrupted:
"OK, one thousand is one thousand."
"Okay, do you two want to have lunch first? I still have three people left here, and we will set off as soon as we get them together." The young man suggested.
Zhang Jiayi looked surprised: "Is there a place to eat here?"
The couple stayed on the highway for a week, eating either instant noodles or biscuits every day, which almost hurt them.
"Yes, there is a roadside stall in front of you. They have fried rice, fried bread, steamed buns and so on. I will take you there."
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Zhang Jiayi immediately urged.
She just wants to eat a hot meal now.
"Let's go now, but before I go, I told you that eating here is very expensive, and there is no counter-offer. You don't have to eat, but don't conflict with them. They are all locals, and there is no benefit in offending them." "I know, you don't have to worry about money."
Zhang Jiayi waved her hand impatiently.
She just wants to have a hot meal now, so it's worth spending a little extra money.
Soon, the three of them came to a row of food stalls.
Without saying anything, Zhang Jiayi took her husband directly to an old lady's stall. There were long lines at other stalls, but there was no one here.
"Sister, what do you have to eat here?"
The old aunt smiled: "My family only sells roujiamo, which costs 500 yuan each. You pay first and then eat."
"Okay, give us five... no... ten."
Zhang Jiayi's heroic spirit.
Steve immediately helped scan the QR code and pay.
"I'll make it for you right away, it'll only take ten minutes."
After the old aunt received the money, she immediately smiled from ear to ear. This order was enough to cover the entire day.
While the other party was making meat buns, Zhang Jiayi took the initiative to chat with her, mainly because she wanted to understand the actual local situation. The information online was so messy that it was impossible to tell the truth from the lies.
"Sister, where did you get all this meat?"
"Don't worry, our home-raised local pigs taste the most delicious."
Raising pigs requires feeding them grain, and the current grain prices are too high, so it is not cost-effective to feed them. It is better to kill them and sell them for meat.
If you're lucky, one head can be sold for hundreds of thousands!
"Don't every household stock up on food now? Why are you still setting up stalls?"
"Hey, I just harvested the autumn grain some time ago. It's rare that the price of grain is so high right now. I can just make some living expenses. As for the end of the world, it's all bluffing. Having no money in your pocket is the end of the world."
"It's been reported on TV, sister, why don't you believe it?" Zhang Jiayi was very curious.
"At my age, I have already lived enough, and I am not afraid of the end of the world."
The old aunt paused and said sincerely:
"Hey, it would be great if the end of the world came once every year. Only in this way can we farmers live the same life as you city dwellers."