Ding Xia, brushing her teeth in the bathroom, turned and saw the scene, and couldn't help but burst into laughter:
"This stinky kid is really adaptable.
Just the day before yesterday he said he hated us the most, and today he likes us the most just to get some of that cool temperature from you!"
Since Ding Xia had also experienced the comfortable temperature around Ding Yun, she knew exactly why her brother had suddenly changed his attitude. In such hot weather, let alone a child, even she would be willing to put aside some pride, latch onto someone, and ask for a cool down.
"By the way, Xiao Yun, I really couldn't tell that you have a constitution that's warm in winter and cool in summer. After eating the sauerkraut fish and boiling fish you made yesterday, I took a cold shower again and it was still terribly hot.
It only got a little better when I lay down next to you.
It's truly magical.
Why didn't I discover you had this constitution before!"
After brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, Ding Xia went to the kitchen, scooped a bowl of congee from the pot, sat down next to Ding Yun, and asked.
She had to admit, even without hugging, just sitting together felt a little cooler.
It was truly a miraculous constitution she had never seen before.
"Before, the power never went out, and it wasn't this hot."
Casually offering a perfunctory explanation, Ding Yun quickly changed the subject and asked, "By the way, when will the power come back?
If it doesn't come back soon, all the popsicles and frozen goods in the refrigerator will melt. I went to bed early yesterday, when did you guys get back, and where did Grandma and Grandpa sleep? Why aren't they here in the morning?"
"Uh... you've confused me!"
Ding Yun's barrage of questions left Ding Xia a little dizzy. After sorting her thoughts, she put down her bowl and chopsticks, took out her phone, and scrolled for a bit before replying:
"I saw the notice on the county's official WeChat account.
Several electricians repairing the circuit yesterday suffered heatstroke and were sent to the hospital. There's a shortage of personnel now. Even if they worked through the night yesterday, it's estimated that power won't be restored until around noon today, and that's if everything goes smoothly.
If it doesn't go smoothly, it will be delayed further.
Also, the dishes you posted in the group chat yesterday were very tempting, but it was too hot. You even made spicy dishes like boiling fish and sauerkraut fish. I really had no appetite, and neither did Grandma and Grandpa, I guess.
So we didn't come back immediately for dinner.
As for when exactly we returned.
I came back after nine o'clock, had dinner, and took a shower. Then Grandma and Grandpa returned with Xiao Yang.
They originally planned to take Xiao Yang to sleep under the locust tree. They heard that although there were many mosquitoes there, it was indeed cooler, and with a mosquito net, it would be easily solved.
However, Xiao Yang discovered you were asleep, and then found that sleeping on you was also quite cool, so he was unwilling to sleep outside. He insisted on staying at home. In the end, only Grandma and Grandpa went to sleep under the locust tree with the mosquito net.
The congee was cooked by Grandma last night on a timer.
Grandma just sent a message in the group chat saying they'll be taking public buses all day today and won't be back until the power is restored. She also said that if we find it too hot, we can take Xiao Yang to the supermarket in town. The supermarket still has power and has air conditioning, so it's better!"
"So they spent two yuan to ride the bus and get free air conditioning?" Ding Yun immediately understood.
"No, they have senior cards and don't need to pay. They probably didn't bring us because taking us on the bus would cost money. So they want us to go to the supermarket to get free air conditioning?"
Ding Xia instantly understood and corrected Ding Yun's mistake: they two don't need to pay for the bus.
"Sigh, I'm worried that soon the buses in the county will be full of our neighbors from the power outage area. They won't run out of things to talk about for a whole day.
It'll be like a special air-conditioned bus!
Forget it, sister, will you go to the supermarket?
I think there will be a lot of people in the supermarket too."
At this moment, Ding Yun felt she could already imagine what places with air conditioning like buses and supermarkets would be like. The number of people trying to get free air conditioning would definitely be more than the actual users.
"No, it's quite cool next to you. From now on, please continue to be our family's air conditioner."
Their distance to the supermarket in town, which still had power, was not close. Even riding their fastest electric bike to the supermarket for some coolness would take about half an hour.
When the power came back, they would have to ride back for another half an hour.
If it were unbearably hot, they would definitely have to go.
But wasn't there a way now?
Ding Yun could only shrug helplessly, acknowledging the matter. After that, the three siblings stayed together all the time. Ding Yang, uncharacteristically, became a shadow, no longer showing his usual reluctance to play with his sister. He was almost following her to the toilet.
Fortunately, the power company was quite efficient. Before ten o'clock, the power was restored. Ding Yang, like a fickle lover, abandoned Ding Yun and went back to his room to turn on the air conditioner.
After all, the cold jade's effect was mainly on Ding Yun. Whether she was close to her or hugging her, one could only get a slight benefit, lowering the body temperature to around thirty-two or thirty-three degrees Celsius. Without air conditioning, this temperature was indeed better than nothing. But with air conditioning, who would want this temperature? Of course, they would rush back to their rooms to turn on the air conditioner!
Starting directly from sixteen degrees, and turning on the strong mode. They would slowly raise the temperature later when it cooled down.
As the power was restored, those who knew quickly spread the news to those who didn't. People who were riding buses for air conditioning, or going to places with electricity and air conditioning like supermarkets to get cool, or even going to shadier places to cool off.
Soon, they all returned one after another.
And lamented how unbearable life was without air conditioning, saying it was life-threatening.
With the power lines repaired and electricity restored, everything seemed to return to normal. Normal interactions with Grandma and Grandpa, normal beatings of her younger brother while he was still young to prevent him from being disobedient in the future.
Ding Yun's slight personality changes, and her increased preference for acting alone, did not attract much attention. Especially after her closest sister, Ding Xia, was recalled by the school in early August.
After starting school early to prepare for the college entrance examination, even fewer people thought anything was wrong with Ding Yun.
Ding Xia starting her third year of high school and returning to school early was actually a good thing for Ding Yun. Because before, when her sister slept with her, it was very inconvenient for her to take out the Treasure Gathering Basin to play with. Now that she was alone in the air-conditioned room, she could do whatever she wanted.
Therefore, after Ding Xia left, Ding Yun quickly took advantage of the more than half a month before her own school started and fully utilized the Treasure Gathering Basin's replication function thousands of times.
Ultimately, she drew five basic conclusions.
First, the Treasure Gathering Basin could only replicate inanimate objects. Live fish were useless, but fish meat could be replicated. Fresh, plump grains of rice were useless, but husked rice could be replicated. Other inanimate substances could also be easily replicated.
Second, the Treasure Gathering Basin required energy to replicate items. At the same time, the Treasure Gathering Basin could autonomously absorb all usable energy from its surroundings. As long as it was not used frequently, or large quantities of a single item or a high-energy substance were replicated, then the Treasure Gathering Basin's autonomous energy absorption capability would be sufficient to support its normal use.
Third, the speed at which the Treasure Gathering Basin replicated items was related to the complexity of the item itself. Replicating graphite and replicating diamonds took about the same amount of time. The simpler the substance, the faster the replication. The more numerous and chaotic the elements contained within an item, and the rarer it was, the slower the Treasure Gathering Basin's replication speed would be.
Fourth, the Treasure Gathering Basin was absolutely non-stick. No matter how sticky an item was placed inside for replication, it would not stick to the Treasure Gathering Basin, making its non-stick effect far superior to any non-stick pan.
Fifth, and even more impressive, through refining with her divine soul, Ding Yun discovered that there was a vast, hidden space inside the Treasure Gathering Basin, with a total volume exceeding one million cubic meters. Once this hidden space was opened, as long as it was not blocked, the Treasure Gathering Basin would continuously replicate the items in the basin. If there was not enough space in the basin, the replicated items would automatically transfer to the hidden space.
This would continue until the hidden space was filled.
This eliminated the need to constantly scoop or retrieve items from the Treasure Gathering Basin when wanting to replicate a large quantity of something, absolutely saving a lot of time and effort.
In summary, this item, as a treasure, was quite satisfactory.