All the renovation workers washed their hands and then gathered in the lounge to eat dinner.
At the dinner table, everyone chatted and reviewed their experiences over the past month.
On the morning of September 25th, when they first arrived for renovations, the weather was still very hot.
At that time, electricity had not yet been restored, and air conditioning was not available, so they were unbearably hot every day. In many cases, they could only work at night with lights on.
After the White Dew (寒露) on October 8th, the temperature dropped daily, making things a little better.
However, gradually, they found the nights becoming colder and colder.
By last night, the lowest temperature had dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, with a diurnal temperature range of over 40 degrees Celsius!
Now, everyone has to carry two sets of clothes when they go out every day; they wear short-sleeved shirts during the day and might need to wear down jackets at night.
Almost everyone could feel the abnormality of the weather.
But no one knew what the weather would do.
Fortunately, on October 15th, after more than half a month of urgent repairs, A City's electricity had been restored.
Regardless of whether the weather was too cold or too hot, everyone could use air conditioning for regulation.
After a dinner, both hosts and guests dispersed in good spirits.
Tang Li planned to invite them again tonight after the extreme cold season began, to help her modify the windows of the supermarket, her home, and Tang Guo's home, and to install a few more carbon heaters.
After eating, she escorted them to the door.
At this time, the outside world had already turned dark.
Watching their departing backs, Tang Li felt a bit emotional.
These people would not have imagined that this might be the last time they would have such a lavish meal at a group gathering in their lives.
In the future apocalypse, even after years or decades, as long as they were still alive, they would never forget this meal.
Food was precious now, and in one meal, everyone ate everything they could.
While Tang Guo was tidying up the dishes in the lounge, Tang Li took a walk around the supermarket.
The supermarket was now empty everywhere; there was not much left on the shelves or in the storeroom.
On one hand, there was no place to get new stock at the moment, and on the other hand, Tang Li wanted to wait until she became an official partner before making any plans.
Next to the lounge, there were two utility rooms.
One of them had been converted into an office. This was to facilitate tasks such as distributing relief supplies after becoming an official partner.
The other room had been converted into a central control room. It could control the electricity supply to various parts of the supermarket, making it convenient to control power from diesel generators and solar panels after the power outage during the extreme cold season.
The diesel generator was also placed inside, along with a barrel of 159 liters of diesel, enough for the supermarket to operate at full capacity for a month without sunlight.
Two additional doors had been added to the back wall of the supermarket.
Since Tang Li's supermarket was connected to the two residential buildings, two doors were opened directly, one serving as an entrance and the other as an exit.
"Boss, when will we open for business?"
After Tang Guo finished tidying up the dishes, she looked at the empty supermarket and asked Tang Li.
"No rush. Tomorrow I'll go to the物资交易所 (Material Exchange) to get some stock."
Tomorrow, after the extreme cold season began, Tang Li would be able to apply to become an official partner.
Tang Li was not worried about not being able to become an official partner.
Even without her connection with Zhao Xiaoqing, with the conditions of her supermarket, she would definitely be able to become the official distribution center for materials in Tang Guo's residential area.
Hearing Tang Li say this, Tang Guo asked, "Then... is there anything else that needs to be done?"
"No more. Guo Guo Jie, you can clock out. You leave through the back door, and I'll leave through the front door."
Tang Guo's home was upstairs from the supermarket. By leaving through the back door, she could take the elevator directly upstairs.
Before leaving, Tang Li also reminded Tang Guo, "Remember to keep warm when you sleep tonight."
"I know. Li Li, you should also keep warm."
Tang Guo didn't grasp the deeper meaning and only thought it was a simple greeting, so she replied.
After leaving the supermarket, they each went home.
Upon exiting the supermarket, Tang Li could already feel it was quite cool.
She took out a thermometer and saw that it was only 7 PM, and the temperature had already dropped to 10 degrees Celsius.
She checked the weather forecast, which predicted a low of only 0 degrees for tonight.
Tang Li shook her head. The current weather forecasts were truly unreliable.
Soon, she drove home, turned on the air conditioning, washed up, and went to bed.