Supermarket entrance lined up in a long queue again, the magnificent scene of queuing for nucleic acid testing in the wind and rain a year ago occasionally comes to mind.
Now there is another long line to join, how can I not be excited?
Without hesitation, I joined the queue. It doesn't matter what we're queuing for, as the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. The wisdom of the ancients never fails!
I was about to ask, and the woman in front of me, Niu Erniang, said, "Teacher Wang, are we more civilized than those city people this time?"
The man in front of her, Mao Liushi, wearing a striped shirt and black-rimmed glasses, with a few white hairs but still neat, turned his face and smiled, "Very civilized. Our village has its own style, calm and composed. The supermarket manager just said that civilized queuing, salt is not in short supply."
Niu Erniang shouted ahead, "Xiuqin, Xiuqin, did you hear that? Teacher Wang praised us for being civilized. We have plenty of salt!" She whispered to Teacher Wang, "She was so anxious that her shorts were soaked, she came out to queue without cooking. Is it necessary?"
Xiuqin, the woman in front, turned her head, "When Teacher Wang speaks, we can rest assured. Niu Sao, how many packs are you planning to buy?"
Niu Erniang sneered, "How many packs? Are you kidding? I brought two thousand yuan, if I don't buy a few boxes to take back, would that be fair to the Bodhisattva? Besides, I still need to send a box to my middle school student studying in Shanghai. Young people don't understand anything, they called me yesterday and said that fighting for salt is useless, studying has ruined their brains. Teacher Wang, give us a fair answer, should we skip cooking dinner, stand in line for over an hour, and buy salt? Is it worth it?"
Teacher Wang pushed his glasses, "Well, theoretically speaking, this time the Japanese are discharging nuclear wastewater. Once the seawater is contaminated, there will be iodine-131 in the radioactive material, with a half-life of only 8 days. If it is absorbed by the human body, the consequences would be unimaginable. Taking potassium iodide can reduce the absorption of iodine-131. That's the general idea."
Niu Erniang waved her hand, and the basket almost hit my head, "Teacher Wang, you are truly someone who has been a principal before, your knowledge is far superior to those experts with their TikTok voices, you explained it very clearly. So, this matter is already clear, eating salt to prevent radiation, preventing radiation is preventing cancer, right?"
The old man next to her nodded, "That's absolutely right. I remember in 2003, I also fought for salt. Many people died at that time, you couldn't even buy a pack of salt in the small shops, and in the end, soy sauce ran out, and we used Banlangen in soup."
Teacher Wang nodded, "That's the point. Iodized salt contains iodine, although the effect is not very obvious, but it's better to have it than not. It's something we eat every day anyway, what's the harm in buying a couple of extra packs at home? It's not like it's a big deal, right? Niu Sao, you have a high salary from your labor insurance."
Niu Erniang laughed loudly, "Xiuqin, did you hear that? The country gives us such good retirement benefits, how can we not buy a few more packs? Is that fair to the Bodhisattva?"
At this moment, a man behind me who looked like a gangster kept pushing back, "Don't squeeze, people at the back, don't squeeze! All showing off, thinking we're fighting for something, just buying a few packs of salt, not eggs!"
A villager who knew him laughed and said, "Afa, if you don't buy now, there's still time, go home and have some old wine, we'll have one less person in line."
Afa, shirtless, patted his belly and said, "If I drink my mother's old wine and the Japanese poison the water, will I survive? Even crabs are afraid to peel now."
The villager took over the conversation, "If you don't want to eat, don't make me eat it. This batch of crabs is fine, I guarantee it. The next batch of seafood will probably be a problem. Keep your mouth shut, peel a few less crabs, be careful not to be poisoned by the Japanese."
Afa spat and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, threw one to the villager.
He lit the cigarette, took a puff, and said, "This world is a mess, sometimes it's a virus, sometimes it's poisoned water. It's hard to live, how can the younger generation manage it?" Smoke came out of his mouth and nose as he spoke.
Teacher Wang obviously knew Afa and pointed at him, "Afa, don't talk nonsense. This time it's obviously the Japanese targeting our country. They have always been bad people, doing things like killing and arson in the past. Now they're poisoning the sea, it's because our country is better than them."
Afa still respected Teacher Wang, so he gave him a cigarette, and Teacher Wang waved it away.
"I know, I know. It's all things caused by the Japanese devils."
They were talking lively, and my stomach growled with hunger. The line moved forward, already past the halfway mark.
In theory, I neither agree nor oppose buying salt. Like Teacher Wang said, a few yuan for a pack, it's a reassuring purchase.
The loss from a year ago is still vivid. They said there was sufficient supply of cold medicine, so I confidently stayed at home, but what happened? It happened suddenly, and I couldn't find a single pill. I begged and borrowed from friends and finally got a pack of ibuprofen.
I have to say, that medicine was truly effective. Once I took a pill, the virus disappeared. But it's really hard to endure, the sudden chills and fever, the body aches. So now, is there any truth to the idea that iodized salt can protect against radiation? I don't know. What if?
Young people have suffered from this loss, if they still don't learn their lesson, even the Bodhisattva won't help.
Regardless of the salt, regardless of its use, regardless of the experts, I will always stand with the masses.
Skipping a meal, standing in line a few more times, a few yuan for a pack of salt, buying peace of mind.
Luckily it's salt for radiation protection, if it were sea cucumbers for radiation protection, even the Bodhisattva would be useless, we can only leave it to fate.
At this moment, the supermarket manager came out and shouted, "Last pack of salt."
The queue fell silent for ten seconds, and then suddenly a thunderous roar, "Grab it!"
Buzzing, people turned into locusts, everyone rushed forward, villagers cursing and pushing ahead.
Rules are meant to be followed when they can be enforced.
Teacher Wang's glasses were knocked off in the chaos, "Everyone, don't be chaotic, queue up in a civilized manner! The supermarket will restock soon!"
Niu Erniang used her shopping basket to cover Afa's head and shouted, "Middle school student, you dare to grab my salt, may the Bodhisattva curse you and your offspring!"
Seeing the situation getting out of control, I quickly hid to the side, even more convinced in my heart that I must continue to queue for salt tomorrow.