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墨書 Inktalez
By the end of April, the weather finally cleared up. When the first rays of sunlight shone upon the earth, all the villagers erupted with joy. Perhaps everyone across the continent was celebrating as well; it was the first time they realized how precious sunlight and warmth were. The gentle warmth on their faces and skin was an unparalleled delight.
However, enjoyment was short-lived as the temperature began to rise at an unimaginable speed. It was still below twenty degrees in the morning, but by evening, it had nearly reached fifteen degrees. Ice and snow quickly melted away, with snowdrifts that were almost half a person high turning into water that flowed everywhere.
The melting snow was particularly cold, numbing those who came into contact with it. Just as everyone was busy with disaster relief efforts, Jiang Chao from the neighboring village drove over. After a winter apart, he had become so thin he resembled a bamboo pole. He seemed to have gone through a lot and no longer displayed his previous arrogance and complacency, but his words were still hard to hear. "Those newcomers are too much; we need to unite so they can live well. If they gain control…"
Zhang Zhong eventually took him home to talk, as most villagers now listened to Li Yan and his group. Li Yan made it clear that they were farmers, and what was a farmer's responsibility? To farm and live their lives.
Let those who are well-fed engage in struggles and counter-struggles; as for Zhang Zhong, he probably had lost his mind too. After talking with Jiang Chao for an entire afternoon, he surprisingly called for a mobilization meeting that evening, asking everyone for suggestions and ideas. Zhou Miao and Li Yan finished a large cup of green tea, touched their lips, and left.
Jiang Chao was like Yuan Shikai—he lacked the fate to be an emperor yet remained undeterred. He probably thought that since they had land and grain now, becoming a local emperor would be feasible. Zhang Zhong seemed to have entertained this thought as well; he wanted to balance both factions and truly become the local emperor of Zhangjia Village.
Of course, the result was—no result at all. Every household faced flooding issues; who had time to manage anything else? When Li Yan returned home, Li Ming was wearing rubber boots and shoveling water with Yu Tian, struggling against the flood in their yard. Wonton and dumplings were too exhausted to work; their journey through ice and snow had not even allowed them to dream big before it all shattered at its inception.
The New Households had electric pumps that drained their yards dry without managing the snow outside their doors. They only bothered to clean up when snowmelt flowed into their homes. Although the villagers envied them, they all had too much pride to borrow anything. They were tired but were farmers accustomed to hard work; they couldn't let these newcomers look down on them.
As expected, those melted snowwaters rushed into the homes of the New Households. The villagers had taken precautions; Zhang Sanye had instructed everyone to pile sandbags at their doorways, which proved effective. Although the village experienced flooding, most homes suffered little damage.
The villagers felt secretly pleased and did not want to help, which led to significant losses for those newcomers. Several people's food supplies were completely soaked; opportunistic thugs seized the chance to steal things and ended up losing their own food as well.
The weather turned hot abruptly while water still lingered everywhere in the village. As temperatures rose, snakes, insects, mice, and ants emerged from hiding. It was unclear where so many mosquitoes and flies came from. The town sent people over for drainage assistance; led by Liu Tao, who proved himself as a skilled technician by drawing several diagrams while soldiers dug holes at designated spots. Within days, the water receded.
However, Li Yan and Zhou Miao were quite worried; if the town was willing to send help, it meant they were already taking action…
As it got hotter, blankets needed to be put away; every household hung blankets out front to dry while fearing thefts. Thus, women and children sat at every door while at the Li Family's entrance stood Li Ming with two fierce dogs.
"Isn't that Zhang Yaoming?" A woman with sharp eyes pointed at a car at the village entrance that was barely recognizable.
Soon, several people got out of the car, looking as ragged as beggars. Their hair and beards were unkempt, and their faces were pale with a hint of green. It took several careful looks to recognize them as villagers. Zhang Yaoming was the son of the old man Zhang Xuan, who was once recognized as a capable person.
Among those who got out were a few other villagers. An elderly woman rushed over in tears, embracing a Young Person—who now looked much like the old man: "I told you not to go out! Look at you! Come on, let's go home. Mom will make you something delicious. By the way, where's your wife?"
"Mom, my wife... she... she died, and the child died too... they're all gone..." The man cried as he collapsed to the ground. "It's all my fault. Back then, the child's mother said not to go to the city; I was stubborn. The child and her mother starved to death. When the girl died, she said she wanted sweet potatoes..."
Everyone present had red eyes; they were all from the same village. That little girl used to sweetly call everyone uncle and aunt. She was just a child, and yet... life is so cruel, beyond anyone's control.
"Uncle and aunties, we really have no way out." Zhang Yaoming's lips were cracked, and his clothes were so dirty they could reflect light. His face no longer bore any semblance of leadership; in such a short time, it had become lined with wrinkles, likely from malnutrition. "The city has turned into hell; there's no humanity left. The leaders in the city have all run away. There's nothing left; people have gone mad, committing murder and arson.
Eventually, there was no food left; they... ate anything they could find. Zhang Ming... he was eaten alive! Uncle and aunties, we are all from Zhangjia Village. We are the only ones left. Please, for old times' sake, take us in."
As he spoke, six or seven people knelt down and bowed their heads repeatedly; it was unclear whether they were truly afraid of their previous lives or clinging to their last hope. Before long, their foreheads were bloodied from hitting the ground. The villagers were equally shocked; this was cannibalism! Thankfully, they hadn't left. What kind of world was outside? This reality was truly terrifying.
They were all relatives; which family in the village didn't have some connection? The six or seven people were taken back home. Unfortunately, their house was already occupied by others. However, their arrival made the villagers more vigilant; the outside world was unsafe. What about those children who went out to study? What about those in college? Some families began to cry; they had hoped that when the weather warmed up, their children would return. But after hearing about Zhang Yaoming and the others' experiences, who knew what had happened to schools in the city?
There was no electricity or food at school, nor enough winter clothing—what were the chances of survival? Anyone could predict it.
Recently, Li Ming had been particularly well-behaved; he understood why everyone was sad. After thinking for several days, he quietly tugged at his brother's sleeve and said softly, "Brother, I won't run around."
"Okay." Li Yan felt reassured but thought that the child's hair really needed a cut.
Zhou Miao is more skilled at this than Li Yan, and we don't need to worry about hairstyles anymore; a buzz cut will do. We have scissors and towels at home. So, we saw the four members of the Li Family all sporting buzz cuts, looking quite spirited, even Yu Tian appeared more refined than usual. Wonton and Dumpling looked down on them, thinking, "What are these bald heads so proud of? They have no sense of aesthetics."
As spring approached, everyone prepared for planting, and Yin Le showed up with a small team. After announcing the news, everyone realized that their village was now part of the Safe Zone. The surrounding area, including over twenty villages and fields, had been enclosed by walls. Some people doubted that they could complete this so quickly, but when they drove over to check, it was indeed true. The walls were thick and uniform, and they didn't seem to be made of concrete.
Some villagers were dissatisfied, questioning why they should be managed uniformly when the land and houses belonged to them. However, the wealthy families readily agreed, hoping to move into town. There were dissenters in the village who wanted to protest, but the response from the other side was straightforward. With guns pointed at their heads, they were asked directly: "Do you want to stay here or get out of the Safe Zone?" In the past, they might have argued back, but after Zhang Yaoming and others returned, no one dared to speak up anymore. Leaving the village meant certain death; starving was one thing, but being eaten... just thinking about it was terrifying.
The town mixed up all the villages and expanded them; in the end, twenty villages merged into five. Centered around the town, they spread outward. The five villages closest to town didn't need to be demolished, but new houses had to be built. Before the houses were completed, it was necessary for several families to share one house. The Li Yan family ended up sharing with two other families, so all four members had to squeeze into one room.
Li Yan and Zhou Miao also dared not enter freely into the space; they understood what Safe Zone meant. By dispersing people like this, it made management easier since everyone in the village had their own thoughts and wouldn't act too united. A military team would be stationed in each village under the pretext of ensuring everyone's safety; who knew what their real intentions were?
Zhou Miao remained worried about Grandpa Zhou, so they arranged for Liu Tao to meet with him. When Zhou General saw Zhou Miao, a single word escaped his stern face: "Good." Zhou Miao wanted to take his grandfather away, but since housing arrangements weren't settled yet, Grandpa Zhou still had his own place in town. When Zhou Miao asked about family matters, the elderly general who had been a soldier for decades was instantly brought low. He didn't shed a single tear; however, that heartache drove Zhou Miao nearly mad with a desire to rush back to A Province. His grandfather and his beauty-loving mother were there, but he didn't know whom to seek revenge against—was it the government or officials?
The power of humanity is limitless; when tens of thousands come together to build houses, that power becomes even more boundless. In just two months' time, five large villages were established. When it came time for housing distribution, Li Yan had already prepared for the worst outcome since his family's house was quite well-known in the area. Regardless of what happened, once housing was settled he would definitely bring his grandfather over to live as a sign of filial piety.
However, before they could go pick him up, Grandpa Zhou appeared on his own. At that moment when Zhou Laoyezi showed up, Li Yan knew things had taken a turn for the better. Grandpa Zhou said nothing at all; however, Liu Tao mentioned that he had pleaded with the District Chief on his behalf. If it hadn't been for the District Chief forcibly bringing him over back then, he would have wanted to go with his son and daughter-in-law. Grandpa Zhou had saved the District Chief once before; thus when he spoke up this time, the District Chief agreed without hesitation.
Once all allocations were settled, the Li Family faced another issue: their neighbors were no longer Zhang Dazhen's family but rather Li Jingfeng's family instead. Jiang Yuejiao's face darkened; she never expected that her father’s efforts for her would result in her living next door to this family.
Now everyone in the Safe Zone received a grain quota; this alone was enough to infuriate her—now even her house was entangled with that old fool's affairs. On moving day, Jiang Yuejiao's gaze was cold and vicious—District Chief? Just wait and see.
The author has something to say: Can you see this now?
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