Although it was only an instant, Tang Li still caught it.
However, Zhang Yan quickly recovered, his expression returning to normal. He also realized that Tang Li was someone who didn't like to owe favors and was difficult to win over.
He accepted the bag of oil pancakes and changed the subject, saying:
"By the way, young lady, I haven't introduced myself to you yet, have I?"
"My name is Zhang Yan, you can call me Uncle Zhang."
"Speaking of which, I was quite familiar with your parents. We often met when they were alive."
"If I remember correctly, young lady, your surname is Tang, isn't it?"
Tang Li: "Yes, my name is Tang Li."
Zhang Yan sighed and said, "Little Li, the losses from this fire are truly too heavy!"
Then, Zhang Yan proceeded to explain the situation of the fire to Tang Li.
This fire was caused by the family on the 12th floor using wood to start a fire for cooking.
It was estimated that after cooking at noon, the fire had not been completely extinguished, igniting other things in the house, and it was not discovered in time, leading to such a tragedy.
Not only was that house burned down, but the houses on the 10th and 11th floors were also rendered uninhabitable by the water, and the family of three living in that house had also perished in the fire and could not escape!
"Such a tragedy must not happen again!"
Tang Li naturally understood what Zhang Yan meant by saying these things, but she pretended not to understand.
She simply put on a sorrowful expression and repeatedly agreed, "Yes, yes!"
Seeing that Tang Li still wasn't responding despite his words, Zhang Yan stopped beating around the bush and stated his intentions directly:
"My proposal this afternoon was to prevent such a fire from happening again."
"Cooking everyone's food together can reduce the possibility of fire, save fuel, save time, and save the effort of splitting firewood."
"We experimented with this method tonight, and it is feasible."
"Therefore, we have decided to form a 'Mutual Aid Union'. Those with supplies contribute supplies, and those without contribute more labor to help each other through difficulties."
"The families of those who are missing also have some stored food, which can be brought out for everyone to share."
"This way, we can last until the rescue team arrives, and even longer."
"Little Li, what do you think?"
Zhang Yan's words were extremely sincere, and Tang Li listened attentively, nodding from time to time.
"Uncle Zhang, I think your method is very good," Tang Li agreed.
It had to be said that Zhang Yan's abilities and ideas were quite good.
In her previous life, living at Tang Guo's house, no one had proposed such a method, nor had anyone stepped forward to lead everyone. Everyone had kept their doors shut and found their own ways to survive the thunderstorm period.
Seeing Tang Li's agreement, Zhang Yan pressed on with his persuasion:
"Moreover, Little Li, you are a girl, and splitting firewood must be very tiring, right?"
"If you join our 'Mutual Aid Union', such strenuous work can be left to the strong young men. You only need to do lighter tasks like cooking porridge or baking flatbreads."
"If you don't like crowds, you can also stay at home and not go out. I'll have someone deliver food to you, or you can take your prepared flatbreads out for us to bake..."
Before Zhang Yan could finish speaking, Tang Li interrupted him.
"Uncle Zhang, you might have misunderstood. I don't want to join the 'Mutual Aid Union'."
As Tang Li spoke, she opened a cabinet door. Inside was a sack of charcoal that Tang Li had previously replicated from her space.
"I have prepared charcoal and a charcoal grill at home. I originally intended to have barbecues at home when I had time. I didn't expect it to be useful now. It can be used to cook porridge, bake flatbreads, and so on."
"There's no need to spend effort splitting the wooden furniture at home into firewood. Moreover, using a charcoal grill is also very safe and won't cause a fire."
Zhang Yan was dumbfounded: "Ah, this..."