335: Aluminum poisoning

Thinking that Jiang Fei and the others were there to help, Wu Xiaowei said,

“Sister Lu said there’s no need for you to repair the houses; you should just stay home.”

“Oh, Miss Jiang, was your brick house corroded by the acid rain?”

“If there’s any damage, tell me, and I’ll arrange for someone to go and fix it later.”

“It might be a bit late.”

Wu Xiaowei told Jiang Fei and the others about the current situation of the Black Night Gang.

That day, when the acid rain suddenly fell, most of the Black Night Gang members were eating lunch in the cafeteria, so they escaped harm.

But all the brothers patrolling outside died.

Coupled with two-thirds of the houses being corroded and destroyed by the acid rain, the number of casualties exceeded one hundred.

Worried that the acid rain would fall again, Sister Lu told him and the other to inform everyone to hurry and repair the houses.

Fortunately, the Black Night Gang’s storage area for supplies, being in a cave, suffered no losses.

Neither Han Yang nor his people were injured or killed.

“Our house is fine.”

Jiang Fei handed the large backpacks that Lu Yu and Su Liuyuan were carrying to the Wu Brothers:

“The bags contain anti-puncture thermal clothing, tall boots, protective gloves, masks, and medicine to boost immunity.”

“The protective gear isn’t as good as what we’re wearing, but it’s not easily corroded either.”

“You and Wu Dayong each take a set of protective gear and a box of medicine. Please help me pass the rest to Han Yang, Sister Lu, and the others.”

“Thank you, Miss Jiang!” Wu Xiaowei thanked her excitedly.

Immediately after, he and Wu Dayong took off their cotton jackets, pants, and shoes.

The vests and shorts they wore underneath were already soaked with sweat.

Putting on the lightweight protective gear, the two of them grinned.

Finally, they didn’t have to bundle up in winter clothes anymore!

“Brother, you go deliver the items to Sister Lu and the others. I’ll continue calling people to repair the houses.”

“Miss Jiang, we’re leaving.”

After bidding farewell to Jiang Fei, Wu Xiaowei and Wu Dayong went their separate ways.

As Wu Xiaowei’s shouts rang out,

The survivors of the Black Night Gang emerged one after another.

Their protective measures were similar to those of the Wu Brothers.

They wore hard hats and thick winter clothing.

Some people’s faces were burned by the acid rain, and the wounds were covered with a thick layer of green mud.

These were medicinal herbs they had stockpiled at home during previous periods of extreme seasonal changes.

Some looked around nervously, fearing that acid rain would fall again.

More, however, had a numb expression.

It seemed that life and death had become unimportant to them.

Natural disasters followed one after another, tormenting people’s bodies and minds; who could remain positive?

Jiang Fei and the others did not go home but went to collect building materials and help repair the houses.

Some people saw Jiang Fei’s protective suit, and envy showed in their eyes.

But no one stepped forward to ask for it.

Firstly, they all knew Jiang Fei and couldn’t afford to offend her.

Secondly, they were not relatives or friends, so why should she share valuable protective gear with them?

Everyone wisely began to work.

The damaged houses mostly had leaking roofs or collapsed sections, requiring people to go up and repair them.

So they split into two groups.

One group was responsible for patching roofs, and the other was responsible for clearing away broken bricks and tiles that had fallen indoors.

Jiang Fei, Xiao Chuxia, and Ling Zhaorui chose to clear debris.

Lu Yu and Su Liuyuan went to patch the roofs.

Sister Lu also brought her sisters to help.

She also brought gloves and protective masks to distribute to everyone for protection.

“Sister Lu, I need to talk to you.”

Jiang Fei walked over and told Sister Lu about air pollution and the detox meal plan.

Unexpectedly, acid rain would have such a big impact, so Sister Lu quickly found paper and pen and wrote down the recipes.

Immediately, she sent someone to deliver the recipes to the cafeteria.

The Black Night Gang had stockpiled many crops not long ago during the extreme seasonal changes, enough for them to eat for a while.

“Sister Jiang, besides eating detox meals to boost immunity, are there any other ways to prevent aluminum poisoning?”

Jiang Fei shook her head: “People need to breathe to live; this is unavoidable.”

“Unless a large quantity of laboratory-grade protective gear can be found now.”

Sister Lu gave a bitter smile: “The Mos City Hospital research institute has long been abandoned, and there isn’t even a clinic. Where would we find that?”

Xiao Chuxia, who was beside them, spoke up: “Actually, drinking traditional Chinese medicine can also promote toxin excretion and alleviate the discomfort caused by aluminum poisoning.”

“The medicinal herbs you dug up before are basically for clearing heat and detoxifying.”

Sister Lu seemed to see hope: “Sister Xiao, are you a medical student?”

“Can you help us prepare the medicine?”

“Yes.” Xiao Chuxia readily agreed, took the paper and pen from Sister Lu’s hand, wrote down the required medicinal herbs, and reiterated:

“Besides the medicinal herbs, I also need clay pots and ceramic pots to boil the medicine.”

“The cafeteria kitchen has these pots. I’ll have Sister Sister Ma take you there, and we’ll boil it today.”

With that, Sister Lu called Sister Ma.

“You take Sister Xiao to the cafeteria, and then find a few people to go to the cave and retrieve the medicinal herbs according to the prescription.”

Sister Ma left with Xiao Chuxia.

With the issue of aluminum poisoning resolved, a weight was lifted from Sister Lu’s heart, and she joined her sisters in repairing the houses.

As evening approached, some people began to show symptoms of aluminum poisoning.

“Ugh—”

Three or four people bent over, uncontrollably dry heaving.

Their stomachs churned, but they couldn’t vomit anything.

Besides nausea and dry heaving, there were also those who felt dizzy, had headaches, and couldn’t stand steadily.

They stumbled and fell to the ground, unfortunately landing in a puddle of acid rain.

“Ah ah ah!!!”

The flesh on the man’s palm was instantly burned, making a sizzling sound.

Sister Lu immediately fetched anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medicinal herbs, chewed them, and applied them to the man’s palm.

“No more work today. Everyone hurry to the cafeteria to drink the herbal soup.”

Everyone put down their tools and carried their symptomatic companions towards the cafeteria.

The chef had already finished cooking, and Xiao Chuxia had also finished boiling the medicine.

Each person received a detox meal and a bowl of detoxifying herbal soup.

The dark medicinal liquid looked very bitter.

But to survive, everyone pinched their noses and drank the medicine.

Jiang Fei and Lu Yu tasted a sip of the herbal soup and immediately frowned together.

The taste was sour and bitter, like concentrated bitter gourd juice mixed with lemon juice.

Ling Zhaorui almost threw up.

He barely finished a bowl of herbal soup, quickly ate several large mouthfuls of food, and then recovered a bit: “This medicine tastes even more bitter than eating Coptis raw.”

Only Su Liuyuan savored it, smacking his lips: “It’s not bad; there’s a slightly sweet aftertaste.”

Ling Zhaorui looked suspicious: “Are your taste buds out of order?”

Su Liuyuan: “Don’t forget, I’ve eaten the Peace Pills developed in the Capital.”

“The herbal soup Chu Xia brewed tastes much better than Peace Pills…”

Suddenly, a piercing shout interrupted Su Liuyuan’s words.

“I’m not drinking it!”