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墨書 Inktalez
Zhou Miao's skills were acceptable; at least from an outsider's perspective, they seemed to be keeping up with the trends. Although they weren't disheveled, they appeared somewhat listless. Of course, aside from Li Ming's Little Friend, Li Ming couldn't take on such a high-skill job as acting. He still spent his days proudly playing with Wonton and Dumpling near their home. The villagers had their own speculations about this; which family would let their child suffer? With Li Ming's intellect, it was unlikely he could accomplish anything significant.
After several days of hard work and rescue efforts, the Zhuang family finally improved a bit. However, Zhang Agou realized that simply fetching water wouldn't suffice. If necessary, they could harvest the corn a few days early, but what about the rice? Looking at the fields of rice with shriveled ears, some areas of the land were nearly cracked from dryness. Zhang Agou found himself unable to sleep through the night. Having lived for so many years and encountered various challenges, he had never faced a natural disaster like this.
"Wife, buy some paper money tomorrow," he said. Burning more money for their ancestors might help... sigh...
Zhang Agou's wife remained silent. Their children had all gone out to work and sent money home every year, so they weren't worried about food and drink. That's why they had initially taken two acres of land. But who could have predicted that the world would change so suddenly? These days, her husband was busy both outside and at home; how could he handle it all? She remembered that their daughter and son had called yesterday, suggesting they plant more food at home. She had intended to discuss it with her husband but swallowed her words at the last moment. Perhaps she would bring it up later.
Yu Tian spent a fixed three to four hours online each day. On one hand, he wanted to check the news or browse forums; Zhuangjia Village was remote and isolated from information, so he relied on the internet to learn about what was happening in the outside world. On the other hand, he could chat with old friends. Since that flood incident, he had lost many friends, colleagues, and family members.
The news reported that the drought had caught the government's attention, and rescue teams had been organized. This news was certainly uplifting, but it was unclear how long it would take for them to reach this area. Recently, a wave of "illegal organizers" had emerged online; they called themselves saviors and engaged in rampant slandering of the Communist Party while posting malicious attacks against national leaders. Occasionally, they even resorted to vandalism and damaging others' property without offering compensation. According to netizens, several of them had already been arrested.
Yu Tian deeply despised such people. At a time when the country was facing difficulties, they fancied themselves saviors but were merely despicable parasites. If they truly cared for the people, they should engage in meaningful actions rather than spreading rumors that sowed discord and panic while harming themselves and others.
Yu Tian turned on the television; it was still filled with songs and dances, with idol dramas occupying a large portion of programming. After flipping through several channels, he lost interest. However, Li Ming seemed to enjoy it; recently, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf had released a new series, and the child sat glued to the TV every day.
Noticing that it was getting late, Yu Tian began cooking porridge while also cutting half a chilled watermelon for Li Ming.
Li Ming held his half watermelon while eating; the shape of his stainless steel spoon resembled a cute Winnie the Pooh. This child showed signs of wasting food; when eating watermelon, he would take a bite for himself and then scoop out a piece for Wonton and Dumpling. Before long, there were several chunks of watermelon scattered on the floor—after all, have you ever seen a Tibetan Mastiff eat watermelon?
"You two are wasting food! You always say wasting is shameful! You shameless dogs! I’ll let Zhou Miao bite you!" Li Ming's Little Friend pointed at a large piece of watermelon on the ground indignantly. In his mind, Zhou Miao and Wonton belonged to the same category of species.
Wonton lifted an eyelid to glance at his little master before looking over at Dumpling who didn’t even bother to lift an eyelid in response. Wonton turned away and continued pretending to nap with his eyes closed. Recently spending more time in space had sharpened their intelligence; they firmly resisted food on the ground because dogs also have dignity! They wanted food served in bowls!
Li Ming's Little Friend looked at Wonton "admitting fault" with satisfaction before continuing his watermelon-eating endeavor while not far away by a pile of stones stood a group of ragged children who occasionally glanced over.
The village children all knew that Li Ming was foolish—and not just any fool but one with an abundance of snacks. Initially, some kids came over to trick him into giving them food; however, ever since Li Yan let Wonton and Dumpling out along with Zhang Liang’s incident, fewer dared approach Li Ming. The weather was too hot; Wonton and Dumpling were panting with their tongues hanging out, revealing their sharp teeth which made some bolder children retreat while drooling over the chilled watermelon.
When Li Yan and Zhou Miao entered the house, they saw their child wearing a white tank top sitting obediently at the door enjoying his chilled watermelon happily. A neighbor passing by couldn't help but swallow hard upon seeing the watermelon. This year there had been little rain; watermelons were incredibly expensive—almost as if no human could grow them.
Li Ming spotted Li Yan from afar and bounced over excitedly before taking a big bite of watermelon for his brother. "Brother, it's from 'the hotel,' eat!"
"The hotel" was a term used by the Li Family to refer to their space mainly to avoid raising suspicions among outsiders. Now that water levels were decreasing significantly across the riverbank due to heat waves in addition to long queues for water during afternoons causing skin irritation from sunburns leading to peeling skin; several villages agreed that everyone should fetch water in the morning while leaving some people stationed by the riverbank in the afternoon to prevent anyone from going there for water.
Li Yan was sweating all over after taking a bite of the cold watermelon, feeling instantly refreshed. Looking at his child's adorable little face, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
As he gazed at Li Ming's delicate little body, he recalled the boy he had seen that morning, who looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. Judging by his appearance, it seemed that his family was not well-off; the boy had to carry a water bucket nearly as tall as himself because there were no adults at home to fetch water. Many people had given way to the child, and Li Yan wondered if the boy would receive so much sympathy if he were in the city.
People in the city were not devoid of compassion, but they had become wary due to being deceived; eight out of ten beggars were con artists. There had been numerous media reports exposing such scams, and after seeing so many cases, people's hearts had grown cold.
Zhou Miao gently stroked Li Ming's warm hair as she led Wonton and Dumpling into the house. Seeing Yu Tian busy pouring freshly made juice for them warmed her heart considerably.
Yu Tian felt a bit embarrassed; he thought that since they went out to fetch water every day, he, as a man, should take turns doing it too. "How about I go tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Mingming should go too." Li Ming looked enviously at the neighbor's child who was also going to fetch water. He stretched out his fair arm and pointed at his slightly bulging bicep, saying, "Brother, fetch water!"
Li Yan and Zhou Miao exchanged glances; the process of fetching water had become increasingly intense. Every time they went to get water, they were met with welcoming hands from everyone. The verbal exchanges were light-hearted, but if it weren't for the village leaders standing guard every day, it could easily turn into a physical confrontation. Especially among some wealthy farmers who fetched large amounts of water—ten or eight buckets at a time—those watching from behind often felt envious and could easily lose their temper.
"What's wrong?" Yu Tian wasn't foolish; he could tell from their expressions what they were worried about. "We have you guys here, and besides, we only fill two or three buckets."
"Brother." Seeing that his brother and Zhou Miao weren't speaking, Li Ming placed the watermelon on the table and looked eagerly at Li Yan. "Mingming wants to eat fish that has fainted."
Li Yan was just thinking about how to persuade Yu Tian and Li Ming when he suddenly froze. "Fainted fish?" He looked at Yu Tian for clarification.
"It's just some ponds near our village where the water has almost dried up. The fish died from lack of oxygen. Many women in the village have been picking up these fish lately, saying that since they died from lack of oxygen, it's safe to eat," Yu Tian explained with a hint of helplessness.
Zhou Miao could guess that Yu Tian must have tried to dissuade them from eating the fish; as for the outcome… Yu Tian wasn't a good actor; it was clear his advice hadn't been taken seriously, so they dropped the topic. As for Yu Tian wanting to help with this matter, Li Yan entrusted this honorable task to someone else, hoping he could communicate well with Yu Tian later in the evening.
The vegetables and fruits in their space were growing well; during summer, everyone's appetite wasn't strong. A bowl of porridge and some vegetables would suffice. Recently, Yu Tian's cooking skills had improved; he had learned to make steamed buns and spring rolls. He prepared red bean paste for filling and fried some spring rolls to accompany their preserved egg and lean meat porridge, which tasted quite good.
Just as they were eating, someone knocked on the door. Zhang Agou rushed in anxiously. His aged face was filled with worry. "Quickly, quickly! Li Yan, get your car out! Something big has happened!"
When Li Yan and the others arrived at the scene, they saw several men and women with swollen faces; one of them was Zhang Zhong's wife. She was already not slim to begin with but now appeared several times more swollen—her original appearance was hardly recognizable.
"What happened?" Yu Tian was startled; he realized he hadn't seen Zhang Zhong's wife leave home in days.
"Don't ask! Li Yan! Drive a few of them to the hospital first! I think this illness can't be exposed to wind. You're the only one in our village with a car; can you manage? Take those who are seriously ill first; we'll send the rest later," Zhang Agou hurriedly directed them. A few days ago, he heard someone mention itching and swelling on their face but hadn’t paid much attention then. It was only when Zhang Zhong came looking for him today that he realized how serious it was.
Zhang Agou feared nothing more than this being an infectious disease; he had already asked around and found out that there were over ten cases like this in total—each varying in severity—with even his wife having red bumps on her skin. After realizing how serious it was, Zhang Agou immediately called for help; this illness could not be delayed under any circumstances.
Li Yan's family members were all consuming food and water from the space, which made their health much better than others, and they were not afraid of infections. Naturally, they did not refuse Zhang Agou's request.
Li Yan and Zhou Miao drove the patients over. Although summer was a peak season for illnesses, they were still taken aback when they arrived at City People's Hospital. The hospital was packed with people, and doctors were dressed in white protective suits. The scene looked just like the outbreak last year.
When the nurses saw Li Yan bringing in four or five people at once, they quickly sent someone to help. Li Yan and Zhou Miao looked around and found that many people's symptoms were similar to those of Zhang Zhong's wife.
There were several doctors in the internal medicine department. When one of the doctors came over to examine the patients, he immediately threw out a few questions: "Did you eat Hypoxic Fish? Was the fish not cleaned properly? Has it been several days, and is it getting worse each day?"
As soon as these questions were asked, the people from Zhangjia Village looked at the doctor with eyes full of hope, as if he were a miracle worker. They detailed their medical history, fearing that missing any detail might delay their treatment.
The doctor quickly wrote several prescriptions and firmly stated, "Go get checked."
Well, there were only two people left unscathed, and one had to go back to pick up more patients. Zhou Miao patted Li Yan on the shoulder and said, "Brother, the party and the people need you right now. I have faith in you."
"Get lost." Li Yan rolled his eyes and resigned himself to paying the fees. Each family had prepared money for this trip, so Li Yan didn't have to pay out of his own pocket.
To be honest, the doctors were professional; they quickly issued several bills totaling over two thousand before even examining any injuries. Next came a series of blood tests and CT scans. By the time Zhou Miao and the others arrived, the checks had not yet been completed.
Just as Li Yan handed over the examination forms to the doctor, Zhang Zhong's wife suddenly fainted.
The author has something to say: Thank you for your support! Mei Mei will continue to work hard and will definitely not let you down.
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