2020.3.1 The 39th Day of the Wuhan City Closure 中文日记最下
First of all, I wish myself happy birthday!
When Wuhan was first closed I always felt that it would still be closed on my birthday. I never imagined that I would have such such an unusual birthday. Having lost my freedom, being cooped up inside during the dark days of the epidemic, “the future” to me today seems to be vaguer and more uncertain than during any of my other birthdays.
We don’t have any butter but I baked myself a cake anyways. That was all I did for my birthday. I made three birthday wishes: first of all health for the whole family; second, that I pass the language exam planned for this year; and third that this year I will earn more money for my travel expenses.
The epidemic has affected me most by changing my attitude about money. Before, I thought if having enough to live comfortably would be enough. On “days of the full moon” I have always been very happy. When the epidemic came, however, I realized that I don’t have any ability to stand up to danger.
If we hadn’t been well-stocked with food and supplies before the epidemic, I would have been very worried about paying the prices they charge now.
Another effect on me has been that I am even more determined than ever before to get away.
Being forced to stay at home for so long has been even harder on my stomach than on my nerves. Every day I think about what I like to eat barbecue, fried chicken, cola, milk tea, hot pot, skewer what I miss most is Wuhan breakfast cuisine.
Wuhan, as a universe-level city that unite urban and country life and as the city that
August 6, 2018 issue of Sanlian Life Weekly with cover stories on the breakfast foods of Wuhan, Xi’an, Xiamen, Guizhou and Yangzhou.
has more universities than any other, but at heart it a city with a seaport atmosphere. The “Wuhan Breakfast” is the outstanding representative of Wuhan’s urban culture. The Sanlian Life Weekly devoted a special article to the “Wuhan Breakfast”. Some say that you could eat a month of “Wuhan breakfasts” without eating the same breakfast twice. That is no exaggeration. What I think of most fondly is the breakfast vendor stall near my company. What I love best are soup noodles + noodle nests; hot dried noodles + eggnog; tofu + tofu pudding. I can only hope that that little shop survives the epidemic.
A few days ago, my mother made hot dry noodles. The only drawback is that there is no alkaline noodles. The sesame sauce tastes so delicious it makes you want to cry.
I saw the price of fresh vegetables published on the official Weibo miniblog “Wuhan Announcements” two days ago. It was probably posted with the intention of showing that Wuhan prices are stable. Among them, the cheapest pork costs 16 RMB per jin [Note: 500 grams; approximately one pound. End note] , I sent the notice to a friend who joked that this was “The Emperor’s New Meat“. It’s really good to think about it that way.
A few days ago the finance magazine Caijing visited the Wuhan Baishazhou agricultural and sideline products market, the largest vegetable wholesale market in Wuhan. First-tier wholesale prices have not risen significantly and supplies are adequate. Why then are things either getting more expensive or out of stock at the retail level?
Donations have also been coming in from outside Wuhan. My family hasn’t gotten any of those yet although the communities of some friends have gotten them, but only a few and I don’t know where they were dragged off to.
Recently, I read Camus’s The Plague. I bought the book a long time ago and hadn’t had time to read it. Now, living in a closed city during a contemporary plague, is the the right time to read it. The book has a magical feeling.
Last night I saw online a book entitled A Great Country’s Battles the 2020 Epidemic – China Fights the New Coronavirus Epidemic, and immediately ordered a copy just in case. Those old newspapers back in the day that reported “production of 10,000 jin per mu” are now all historical relics.
During the Great Leap Forward many reports of fantastic increases in grain production were published. Pictured is August 13, 1958 issue of People’s Daily reporting a new rice production world record at a people’s commune of over 36,900 jin per mu [6000 lbs per acre]. The Great Leap Forward was followed by the 1959 – 61 famine that killed over 30 million people, largely as a result of ideologically-inspired eccentric agricultural policies.
3月1日 武汉封城第39天
Day Wuhan Diary 武汉日记
首先，祝自己生日快乐！
封城之初还有侥幸，总觉得不至于要封到过生日吧，没想到真的就过了这么特殊的一个生日。失去自由、笼罩在疫情的阴影中，“未来”对于现在的我而言，比以往的任何一个生日所面对的，都更加模糊和不确定。
没有奶油，自己烤了蛋糕，就算是过了生日。许下了三个生日愿望：一愿家人健康，二愿今年计划的语言考试可以过关，三愿今年可以多赚些跑路经费。
疫情对我最大的影响，可能就是对钱的态度，以前总觉得自己的生活过舒服快活就好了，“月光”的日子也很开心，突然而至的疫情让我意识到原来我一点抵御风险的能力都没有。如果不是提前囤的食物和物资，我面对现在的物价大概已经抑郁了。
另一个影响，就是更加坚定了跑路的信念。
在家禁足这么久，胃比神经更难坚持。每天都有好多想吃的，烧烤、炸鸡、可乐、奶茶、火锅、串串……想念最深的就是武汉的过早。
作为宇宙级别的城乡结合部，虽然武汉是全世界拥有大学生最多的城市，但骨子里是混合着码头气息的市井味道，“过早”就是市井文化最好的体现，《三联生活周刊》专门做过一期“武汉过早”的专题。有人曾说武汉的早餐可以一个月不重样，绝对一点都不夸张。我现在最想念的就是公司附近的早点摊，汤粉+面窝、热干面+蛋酒、豆皮+豆腐脑都是我的挚爱，现在只能希望这家小店也能挺过疫情。
前几天妈妈自制了热干面，唯一缺憾就是没有碱面，芝麻酱的味道真是香得人要哭出来。
前两天在“武汉发布”的官方微博上看到公布的蔬菜生鲜的价格，大概是想借此展示武汉物价的稳定。其中猪肉一项最便宜的16元/斤，发给朋友看，他开玩笑说这是“皇帝的新肉”，想想还真贴切。
《财经杂志》前几天走访了武汉白沙洲农副产品市场，这里可以算是武汉最大的蔬菜批发市场，一级批发商的价格没有明显上涨且货源充足，为什么我们买到的商品不是涨价，就是没货呢？
还有外地捐赠的爱心菜，我家到现在也没有收到，有些朋友的社区倒是发过，不过也不多，也不知道拖到哪里去了。
最近在读加缪的《鼠疫》，书买了很久，一直没时间看，现在这个时候正好，在当代瘟疫的封城闭户中看这本书，有种魔幻的感觉。
昨晚在网上看到一本书《2020大国战疫—中国阻击新冠肺炎疫情进行中》，果断下单买了一本。
万一呢，当年“亩产万斤”的报纸，现在都是历史文物了。