Navigator: I have a double six-story house

On the original Blue Star, the sun shone brightly in the sky.

Suya rode her bicycle forward, wobbling along. Just as she turned into the alley, she almost crashed into a Mazda.

This Mazda, with its headlights damaged, was parked in the alley, covered in dust.

It seems the driver was among the last batch summoned to the Age of Exploration.

No one came to move the car, and no one came to tow it away; the transportation bureau is already short-staffed.

Suya bypassed the Mazda and continued riding forward.

Half of the shops along the street had their shutters closed, with faded yellow notices posted on the doors.

"The shop owner has already left the area; please contact 1xxxxxxxxxxx for rental inquiries."

Su Ya glanced at the notices and estimated that more than half of the contact methods listed were no longer working.

The number of conscripts in the tenth round was greater than in the previous nine rounds.

After the tenth conscription, the social paralysis became even more severe than before.

The power plant is short-staffed and unable to keep up with maintenance, resulting in ongoing power outages in some areas that have not been repaired.

The hospital is short-staffed, and most of the non-emergency departments have been closed.

Even schools are short-staffed; Suya's university has been closed for two weeks.

It's not a holiday; we genuinely can't find enough teachers.

Suya didn't care, after all, those teachers didn't teach much useful stuff anyway.

A short while later, with a screech of brakes, Su Ya's bicycle came to a stop outside a small courtyard.

She locked the car, took a metal toolbox from the back seat, and walked towards the courtyard.

There's a sign standing outside the courtyard.

Sunshine Orphanage.

The paint on the character "阳" above has worn off by half, but the sharp strokes are still visible.

That was done by my brother and Wang Yao a few years ago. Wang Yao bought the materials, and my brother wrote it by hand.

Under the sunlight that day, the two of them looked at the completion sign and laughed like idiots.

Su Ya pushed open the iron gate, and the laughter of children came from the courtyard.

Several children were playing in the yard. The oldest one looked to be only five or six years old and was drawing on the ground with a twig.

Suya took out several White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and handed them out to the children.

When the children saw the candy, they surrounded her, calling out "Sister Suya" in their childish voices.

The sounds of children drifted into the house, and a woman pushed open the door and came out.

A woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties, with completely white hair and white flour stuck to her apron, was carrying a basin of freshly washed clothes.

"Xiaoya is here!"

"Aunt Zhang." Su Ya put down her toolbox, took the basin from her hand, and naturally walked to the clothesline in the yard to hang up the clothes. "Which solar panel is broken?"

Zhang's mother also walked to the clothesline, shook the clothes in the basin a couple of times, and hung them up.

"The group on the east side of the roof has been without power since last week."

"I contacted three repair companies, but two of them didn't answer the phone, and one said I'd have to wait until next month."

Su Ya nodded, her hands continuing to hang the clothes to dry.

"I'll go take a look later."

Zhang's mother was very satisfied as she watched Su Ya hang the clothes out to dry.

Xiaoya has grown up and can take care of herself now.

At the same time, she was secretly pleased, thankfully Xiaoya was doing laundry, not cooking, when she arrived.

The two went up to the rooftop. Suya opened her toolbox and squatted down in front of the solar panels to check the wiring.

One of the MC4 connectors in the junction box is oxidized and has poor contact.

It's not a big problem; just replace the connector.

While Su Ya was working, Zhang's mother moved a plastic stool and sat down next to her, resting her chin on her hands and watching her child busy herself.

"Xiaoya, how long has your brother been gone?"

"The tenth sign." Su Ya didn't even look up, her hand gripping the wrench firmly. "It's been a month already."

"A month? It feels like so long..." Zhang's mother sighed.

"Your brother was stubborn when he was a child. Other kids would come to me crying when they were bullied, but he never did. He would always fight back himself, and after he did, he would protect you and bring you back."

Suya paused for a moment.

"I remember when you two first came to this family," Mrs. Zhang laughed, her wrinkles deepening at the corners of her eyes, "your brother stole two roasted sweet potatoes from Uncle Wang's stall next door. I caught him, and when I asked him why he stole them, guess what he said?"

Su Ya didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up.

"He said, 'Xiaoya said she wants to eat it, but I don't have any money.'" Zhang's mother shook her head. "She's only eight years old, and she's as stubborn as a mule."

"I told him to talk to Aunt Zhang, and she would buy it for him, but he refused. He said he would raise his own sister himself."

Suya inserted the new connector and tightened the screws.

"Later, I secretly settled the bill for Uncle Wang. When your brother found out, he helped Uncle Wang move goods all day the next day." Zhang's mother looked at Su Ya's profile. "An eight-year-old child, she moved until dark, and the next day she couldn't even lift her arms."

"I know." Suya stood up and brushed the dust off her knees. "His arm had been hurting for three days, but he didn't tell me."

The indicator lights on the solar panel lit up again, and the green indicator light meant that the system was operating normally.

Zhang's mother stood up, took Su Ya's hand, and walked downstairs.

"Now I'm the only adult left around here." Her tone was flat, as if she were saying the weather was nice today. "Old Li has been selected for the tenth time."

"Those new kids..."

"My parents were all summoned away." Zhang's mother pushed open the kitchen door. "They were sent over by the community, supposedly for temporary resettlement, but as you can see, the community itself is almost unable to function."

Su Ya helped Zhang's mother bring in the clothes that had been hung out to dry, folded them neatly, and divided them into several piles.

The smallest stack of clothes had sleeves that were only as long as her palm.

"Aunt Zhang, if you need anything, just give me a call and I'll bring it over."

"No need, no need. The government delivers supplies every week, enough to eat." Zhang's mother pushed Su Ya towards the door, "You need to take care of yourself too, don't keep coming here."

Su Ya walked to the courtyard gate and looked back.

Zhang's mother had already squatted down and was wiping the mud off the little boy's face as he drew.

The movements were very gentle and patient, exactly the same as when I wiped her face more than ten years ago.

But at that time, her face wasn't covered in mud, but in the blood from other children's noses.

Suya hopped on her bicycle and rode out of the alley.

The setting sun bathed the entire street in an orange-red hue.

The streetlights are not working. The power supply system for the streetlights in this area has been broken since last week, and there are no streetlights after 6 p.m.

She rode slowly, the wind whistling past her ears, carrying the coolness of early autumn.

A picture suddenly popped into my head.

Eight-year-old Su Qing, as thin as a bamboo pole, ran back carrying two roasted sweet potatoes, her face full of a smug smile.

"Xiaoya, here you go, eat it while it's hot."

Suya gripped the handlebars tightly, her eyes stinging.

Brother, are you doing well over there?

The bicycle chain creaked and groaned as it disappeared into the twilight at the end of the street.

May longing transcend mountains and seas, and may every thought of longing lead to reunion.

Meanwhile, Su Ya's brother, Su Qing, is preparing to enter a brand new instance.