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墨書 Inktalez
As everyone was waiting for summer to arrive, no one expected that the real disaster was just beginning. A heavy rain turned the entire Zhangjia Village into a world of ice and snow.
The rain poured down heavily, and after the snow melted, the temperature dropped to a level that could freeze bones. If it were just the snow melting, that would be one thing, but it was melting and freezing at the same time. Zhang Sanye's warning had indeed proven useful, but what about the rainwater in the courtyard? That had to be dealt with manually, inch by inch, moving the ice outside.
At first, the men in the village worked hard, but soon everyone realized that the rain was too heavy, comparable to a summer downpour. Just standing in the rain for a moment left them soaked through. The villagers dared not continue shoveling ice in the rain; they could only hope for it to stop soon. If there were a flood in this weather, they would truly be doomed.
Fortunately, after three days of continuous rain, it finally stopped. The first person to arrive in the village was Liu Tao, who looked quite dapper. He wore a military cotton jacket that left only his eyes exposed, and he even sported sunglasses over his shifty eyes. He had somehow acquired two large dogs that were pulling a wooden cart at a surprising speed.
He knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an invitation; it was just in time for dinner. Liu Tao was quite polite, flashing a sunny smile. "Oh, you’re having dinner! What a coincidence! I just came to find you all about something while you’re eating. Perfect timing! Don’t mind me; I’ll serve myself."
Liu Tao really didn’t hold back; he filled half a pot with rice and took some leftover rabbit meat and a plate of scrambled eggs with green peppers. Little Li Ming had gotten used to guarding his food; seeing someone else take food made him stuff rice into his mouth quickly, cheeks puffed out like a groundhog.
After they finished eating, Yu Tian poured everyone a cup of water. The Li family still drank well water as part of adapting to their new life. Liu Tao was full and satisfied; he patted his belly and asked Yu Tian for a toothpick with an exceptionally arrogant attitude.
"Did you see those dogs outside? I searched the entire Safe Zone and couldn’t find a single Tibetan Mastiff. I heard from Yin Le that you have two Tibetan Mastiffs. I thought I wouldn’t lose face, but wow, this world is really something else."
Yu Tian couldn’t help but chuckle. Wasn’t he wearing military attire? Shouldn’t he at least maintain a soldier's image? Once again, Yu Tian experienced the demeanor of a rogue soldier.
"Alright, alright, you’ve shown off enough. What’s your business?" Zhou Miao looked at Liu Tao’s antics with annoyance; this was typical behavior for him. Couldn’t he do something about piracy?
"Considering how well you all treat my little Yin Le, I’ll let you in on some news. Once the weather warms up, this area will be designated as part of the Safe Zone. Just giving you a heads-up—make sure you hide your food and water well. It will be a socialist society then, with unified distribution."
"What do you mean?" Li Yan paused; this was indeed significant news that could affect their future lives. "Why so urgent?" Why did they want to change the Safe Zone boundaries as soon as it warmed up?
"Damn it, isn’t it because of this weather?" Liu Tao took a sip of tea; although there were no tea leaves, this water tasted better than what was available inside the Safe Zone. "At first it was manageable, but then it got colder and colder; more families have been taken in by the Safe Zone." When Liu Tao mentioned families, there was an obvious tone of sarcasm in his voice; it was clear he looked down on those people.
"The town has quite a few people, but they aren't real farmers, and their food supplies at home are insufficient. With the cold weather, the generator we brought is barely enough for everyone to use, and in the end, it can only guarantee basic lighting. Air conditioning and heating can only be supplied once every three days at most, and several people with weak constitutions in the town have frozen to death. Although we are trying our best to maintain the situation, we are unfamiliar with the town, so there are inevitably areas we cannot manage. Sigh, when people are hungry, they can do anything; several grain merchants in the town have died.
Recently, the refugees outside have been acting crazily, wanting to rush into the town. We really don't want to resort to gunfire unless absolutely necessary, but the situation in the town is also difficult. So after discussing it with his subordinates, the District Chief decided that as soon as the weather warms up, they will immediately build a wall to include all the nearby fertile land and villages into a Safe Zone. Only with food for logistics can management and life continue in the future."
Liu Tao's words clearly indicated that life in the town was tough. It makes sense; although the village isn't too far from the town, there are very few farmers, and at most their food supplies could last one or two months. Now that food from the village is no longer for sale, they can't even afford to eat it. "I say this isn't something that can be decided on a whim; how does your District Chief determine that the common people will agree? Are you implying he plans to use force?"
"I don't care about that; I have several hundred people following me into the Safe Zone, and it's my responsibility to ensure they survive." Liu Tao continued to speak cheerfully, but everyone present understood his helplessness.
This man carries a significant burden; those with a strong sense of responsibility often bear heavy loads and endless constraints. It's hard to say whether he is a good person or not, but it's certain he is not a bad person.
Liu Tao observed around Li Family's place and concluded—this family is just a landlord plus a nouveau riche! Look at them; they're still eating White Rice! I should have had another bowl earlier!
Li Yan admired this man; he was quite a man! Although he ate a lot of rice, he never asked for any more. Was he lacking food? The answer is certainly yes, but he could smile calmly amidst all this chaos—something not everyone can do.
"Captain Liu, I want to ask if anyone from Zhou Family in A Province has come?" Zhou Miao asked.
Liu Tao's expression stiffened; he squinted at Zhou Miao for quite some time before speaking: "The old one has come. Sigh, Zhou Family has also faced turmoil; that whole family has been affected by those refugee issues. In the end, only Zhou Family Old General came here, likely because of District Chief's influence. As for others... they were probably locked up. You know how things are in the city; those who got locked up basically never came out..."
After Liu Tao left, Zhou Miao felt an added layer of gloom. He had contacted his family before; the phone rang for a long time without anyone answering. He sensed something was wrong then, but given this weather, even if he wanted to take risks, going all the way to A Province wasn't realistic. Now that even landlines were cut off, it was even harder to make contact. Fortunately, his grandfather could come here; he had to go check on things in town.
"Don't think about it too much; if it really comes down to it, we can learn from Liu Tao. Our family's Wontons and dumplings are much better than his two shabby dogs," Li Yan said, knowing Zhou Miao was feeling down. Gathering those supplies wasn't easy; they had anticipated today's outcome back then. Now that Grandpa Zhou was in town, this news was already fortunate for them. They would take things step by step; things would gradually get better.
The yard looked like an ice rink; all those planted bok choy and radishes were completely gone. Life in the countryside became increasingly difficult day by day; everyone's faces looked like green vegetables—clearly lacking oil and nutrients. No one went hunting anymore; it was too cold for any accidents to happen. Now men were the pillars of their families and were naturally well protected. As for those new households that arrived, food shouldn't be an issue for them, but they weren't keeping their lights on every night either. Some even came asking for firewood but mostly returned empty-handed; once they even sent someone over demanding it. After being taught a lesson by Zhou Miao and Li Yan several times, they dared not try again—every time ended badly now that medicine is expensive!
In winter, daylight hours are short; basically everyone goes out after eight o'clock. The unlicensed doctor in the village has been quite busy lately; several elderly people can't withstand this weather and have become too weak to speak much while lying down. That doctor had foresight and stored up a batch of medicine long ago; now it's all coming in handy.
New Households They often let him go over there, and just by looking at his joyful expression, one can tell they treat him well. However, the villagers dare not call him a traitor, as he is the only doctor in the village. After all, who hasn’t had a headache or fever these days?
Yu Tian Now he practices whenever he has free time. He has always been diligent in his studies since childhood, and now he hopes not to hold everyone back. He even recites formulas before falling asleep at night. The only one who practices while playing at home is Li Ming's Little Friend, mainly because the child’s daily schedule is too busy. In the morning, he has to accompany Wonton and Dumplings to strengthen their bond, and then he has to practice chasing games with Duck and the chickens to improve their lung capacity. By the time they finish, it’s time for lunch, and after eating, they need to take a nap. He estimates that he can only practice for about two hours a day, but what makes Yu Tian feel inferior is that the results of others’ playtime practice are better than his.
Li Xiaoming’s progress even surpassed Li Yan, which puzzled everyone, ultimately attributing it to the saying that foolish people have good fortune. Recently, Wonton and Dumplings have been practicing to be proper cart-pulling dogs. The villagers have seen Liu Tao a few times and now think that if Li Yan's dog can pull a cart, it could also help the village with some tasks. So they occasionally go out to check on them and offer words of encouragement.
Recently, there have been many refugees coming to the village, each carrying thick bundles, and it’s hard to tell whether they are male or female. Those who dare to come out in such weather must be truly desperate. When they arrive, they often cry for help. For a bit of food, they are willing to do anything. Once, someone even abandoned a child at a villager's doorstep, hoping that the villagers would show compassion and take in the child. If it weren’t for their own dire situation, no one would abandon their child.
Unfortunately, these people underestimated the villagers' harshness. The child froze outside for an entire day until he could no longer cry; that household stubbornly refused to open the door. In the end, the child died of exposure during the night; it was said he was only about six years old. The next day, his body was frozen solid like an ice block. The child's parents were worried and initially wanted to sneak a look at how their child was doing but ended up seeing their child's corpse lying at that villager's doorstep, banging on the door and shouting for them to return their child's life!
This incident caused quite an uproar later on. The refugees clung to this issue and extorted that household for food since now that the child was dead, they demanded compensation. Seeing so many villagers gathered around them, that couple even attempted to break into their house, claiming blood debts must be repaid with blood.
In the end, Zhang Zhong led the villagers out with sickles and iron rakes. The refugees had heard about Zhangjia Village's reputation for violence; seeing how fierce the villagers looked made them flee in all directions.
The couple left behind refused to leave; now that their child was gone, they insisted on dying at that household's doorstep, vowing not to let them go even in death. Eventually, that household paid ten pounds of grain before this matter settled down. However, unexpectedly the next day several households found children left at their doors.
It seems those parents have become too heartless; for just a few pounds of grain, they could abandon their children without a second thought. The villagers were furious but knew taking those children back would be even worse; no one could afford to feed so many mouths.
The villagers devised a plan to leave all these children at the doorsteps of New Households under cover of night. This way, if any children died, those people would have no choice but to deal with it. It’s not that the villagers were cruel; everyone just wants to survive.
As a result, children continued freezing to death day after day for several days. After some commotion from the refugees, the villagers hadn’t even had time to enjoy the spectacle when those refugees suddenly quieted down. Later they learned that New Households had reported them to the town authorities, threatening to imprison them if they didn’t leave immediately. Now locked up in cells, they faced either starvation or freezing to death; those refugees were much more informed than the villagers and feared for their lives. Coupled with how intimidating New Households appeared individually made them back off completely; thus this matter came to an end—what a pity for those children who were abandoned by heartless parents before life had even begun...
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