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墨書 Inktalez
The hail fell heavily, creating a cacophony of sounds that stimulated Yezhi's sensitive nerves. She felt a bit scared; she knew this was a hail disaster. Having never experienced it before, she had no intuitive understanding and thought that television and movies exaggerated the situation. In reality, things were often more shocking than what was portrayed on screen.
The hail lasted for about ten minutes, which felt like the longest ten minutes of Yezhi's life. Each second dragged on, turning her wait into deep torment.
After the hail stopped, heavy rain began to pour. At that moment, Aunt Zhou rushed into the house anxiously, "Girl, are you hurt?" Yezhi had been outside in the yard when the hail fell, and Aunt Zhou worried that she might have been injured. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became; there had been a hailstorm in the past that had even killed people.
Without waiting for questions, Yezhi hadn’t felt much at first, but when Aunt Zhou asked, she suddenly felt pain from the two or three hits on her head and shoulders. She touched her head and found two large bumps forming.
Seeing Yezhi wince, Aunt Zhou furrowed her brow and exclaimed, "What happened?"
Yezhi grabbed Aunt Zhou's hand and pressed it against her bump, saying, "Fortunately, I only got hit on the head twice; it doesn't hurt much." Aunt Zhou finally relaxed her grip.
Both of them stood by the window, staring blankly at the misty rain outside. Suddenly, Aunt Zhou's voice turned hoarse as she quietly said, "There was a hailstorm years ago with hailstones as big as eggs. That time, our village's crops were severely damaged, and several houses were smashed. Some even... died." As she spoke, Aunt Zhou wiped her face. Yezhi's eyes turned red and her nose tinged with sadness. She held Aunt Zhou's slightly cold hand tightly, and Aunt Zhou squeezed back firmly. "We can only wait for government relief supplies, but even with those supplies, people still starved to death that winter in Zhoujiatun." Aunt Zhou held on tightly, even causing Yezhi's hand to turn red from the pressure. Yet Yezhi only blinked back tears and softly reassured Aunt Zhou, "Nothing will happen... nothing will happen!"
Finally, the rain stopped. The ice pellets on the ground were washed away by the heavy rain until only a few remnants remained.
Aunt Zhou and Yezhi hurried to check the damage at home. Big Yellow and the chicks were still alive; aside from a mess in the yard and two spots on the thatched roof that had collapsed, everything else seemed fine. Yezhi let out a sigh of relief.
After checking their home, they rushed towards the fields. Before they reached the fields, they saw a large crowd of villagers gathered ahead. Aunt Zhou and Yezhi squeezed through to look into the field and felt a chill run down their spines.
The field was a heartbreaking sight—chaos everywhere. The once vibrant green wheat lay flat on the ground; any green wheat heads that had sprouted were nowhere to be seen. The soybeans had been stripped bare with not a single leaf left; most of the sorghum and corn lay crookedly in the field while what remained was battered beyond recognition.
"Oh God, how can we survive this... what are we going to do now!" Aunt Ren Er cried out in despair as she sat down in the muddy ground.
Yezhi supported the sobbing Aunt Zhou as tears filled her eyes while looking at the villagers. Most of them were soaked through; they must have rushed over immediately after the hail stopped without waiting for a moment longer despite the pouring rain. Now they stood helplessly in the mud.
Village Uncle seemed drained of energy as he sat motionless in a puddle with a pained expression. His mouth moved as if he wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing at all.
In this oppressive sadness, Yezhi's tears streamed down her face, her heart aching. The crops in this field represented the villagers' hard work and dedication, nurtured with care to grow strong. These crops were the villagers' hope. She didn't know what to say; even the most comforting words felt pale and powerless. At this moment, sadness and crying were a way to release emotions.
"Stop crying!" Village Uncle suddenly shouted. "What, do you want to cry until next year? Wipe your tears dry! What is our revolutionary spirit? We must be determined, unafraid of sacrifice, overcoming all difficulties to strive for victory. We cannot lose our fearless revolutionary spirit. We fight against heaven and earth; if the crops are gone, we will plant again."
Cart Master stood up and clapped with laughter. "Well said! I refuse to believe that living people can be defeated by something as trivial as this."
These words broke the sadness. Everyone wiped their tears, straightened their backs, and their eyes sparkled with determination. Yes! As long as they were alive, what was there to fear? They would fight against heaven and earth, enjoying every moment of it.
Yezhi also wiped her tears away. Village Uncle's words warmed her heart. In fact, she wasn't worried about the future; she still had Cosmic Mall as her backing. As for Bodeton, One Gun Brother's family still had tiger skins and whips, while Village Uncle's family had Tiger Bone Wine soaking. Exchanging some food to ensure the villagers wouldn't go hungry was not a problem.
Village Uncle called out to Cart Master to hurry and harness the cart; he needed to report the situation to the Commune and instructed Big Zhu and Old Accountant to take people to check the actual damage.
The villagers, now in high spirits, dispersed. Aunt Zhou and Yezhi walked along the path home when they passed Barefoot Aunt's place. Looking inside, they saw herbs scattered everywhere and a crowd gathered. Yezhi and Aunt Zhou walked in with concern and found Barefoot Aunt busy bandaging Zhou Xiaomu's head, which had been injured. Nearby were several other children who had already been bandaged. When the little ones saw Yezhi, they blinked their tear-filled eyes and softly called out, "Sister Ye."
There were several adults who had also been injured; they endured the pain with solemn expressions while waiting for Barefoot Aunt to finish bandaging the children. Once Zhou Xiaomu was bandaged up, instead of running into his mother's arms, he got up and hugged Yezhi's leg, saying in a baby voice, "Sister Ye, it hurts so much! Zhou Xiaomu wants candy."
Hearing about candy made the children's eyes light up with anticipation as they looked at Yezhi. She wished she could magically produce candy for them; however, she had already given away most of her stash at home and only had two Peanut Candies left—not enough to share.
Yezhi thought for a moment, squatted down to meet Zhou Xiaomu's gaze at eye level, gently stroking his injured forehead as she said, "Zhou Xiaomu, what's so good about candy? Sister Ye will let you eat chicken later, okay?"
Xiao Mu's Mother awkwardly pulled Zhou Xiaomu back. "Yezhi, don't pay attention to this little rascal." But Zhou Xiaomu ignored his mother completely; after breaking free from her grasp, he hugged Yezhi's leg again. When his mother tried to pull him away again, he began to wail loudly. She had intended to go home and prepare chicken soup but ended up having to pick up Zhou Xiaomu and comfort him.
Barefoot Aunt skillfully stopped the bleeding and bandaged all the injured villagers. Just as she wiped her sweat with her sleeve, Aunt Zhou entered with a bucket of chicken soup.
Yezhi exchanged smiles with Aunt Zhou before Aunt Zhou shouted, "Barefoot! Bring out all your bowls for everyone who is injured; serve them a bowl of soup to calm their nerves!"
A steaming bowl of rich and delicious Little Chicken Stew with Mushrooms truly relaxed everyone's emotions. The injured children ate eagerly like little kittens, their faces lighting up with innocent smiles.
After sending off the injured villagers and children, Yezhi and Aunt Zhou tidied up the yard before heading home with their empty wooden buckets.
Once they returned home, they got busy again. Aunt Zhou anxiously checked their food supplies, and seeing Aunt Zhou's worried expression, Yezhi asked, "What's wrong, Aunt?"
"Yezhi, it's already early June. It's too late to plant anything now. How are we going to survive the winter with this little food?" Just as Yezhi was about to tell her not to worry, Aunt Zhou raised her fist and said cheerfully, "Don't be afraid! We still have the Party, we still have the country."
Yezhi couldn't help but chuckle; Aunt Zhou's expression and words were just like those on television. After laughing, Yezhi imitated Aunt Zhou's gesture and said, "Aunt, there will be bread, there will be milk, everything will be fine."
"Girl, what's bread?"
"Um... it's something like Steamed Buns."
Aunt Zhou laughed heartily and said, "If we could eat Steamed Buns every day, that would be such a wonderful life." Yezhi shook her head with a smile; their expectations were really low.
The two of them worked together to clean up the messy yard. By the time they finished, it was getting late. At that moment, One Egg and Er Zhu rushed over to inform them that they wouldn't be coming for dinner. Yezhi sat on a small stool in the kitchen, sighing. Today should have been a happy evening, but a hailstorm had crushed the spirits of all the villagers in Zhoujiatun. Eating dinner would probably be tasteless. She stared blankly at the fish fillets pickled in the Large Earthen Jar and the sour Big White vegetables in the basket, completely lacking the motivation to cook.
"Girl, you should still make the fish. Later on, take some to Barefoot Aunt and One Egg's family," Aunt Zhou instructed.
Yezhi added some prepared wild boar oil to a large iron pot and stir-fried the Fish Fillet with Sauerkraut before adding water and Ginger Slices to simmer. Aunt Zhou quietly tended to the fire while sitting on a small stool.
After two quarters of an hour, Milky White Fish Soup was served on the kang table. Yezhi and Aunt Zhou drank the slightly sour fish soup along with their dry rations and hurriedly finished eating. In the kitchen, they divided the fish soup into two clay jars—Aunt Zhou would go to One Egg's house while Yezhi would head to Barefoot Aunt's.
Carrying a basket by herself, Yezhi walked along the dark path calling out, "Xiao Fang! Xiao Fang!"
"Master, you finally called for Xiao Fang!" Xiao Fang's voice was filled with joy.
"Why are you so happy?"
"Master, your emotions are really fluctuating today. You said that unless you allow it, I shouldn't make a sound, peek into your life, or casually mention Glasses. Xiao Fang is so anxious and doesn't know what's wrong with you," Xiao Fang said, almost crying from grievance.
"Xiao Fang, this afternoon hail fell, and the crops that the villagers worked so hard to grow are basically destroyed," Yezhi said softly.
"Wait, Master, is this what hail looks like?" As soon as Xiao Fang finished speaking, countless silver-glinting ice pellets fell from the sky, startling Yezhi nearly into jumping up.
"Master, don't be afraid, this is virtual," Xiao Fang comforted.
Yezhi was so angry that she wanted to drag Xiao Fang out and give her a good beating. "Master, is this what you call hail?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow! So scary! Are you hurt, Master?"
"I'm not hurt, Xiao Fang. It's time for us to take action! You should search well in Barefoot Aunt to see if there are any Tiger Bones or other valuable items worth Bodeton. We need to use them to exchange for food. You also need to check the grain prices in Cosmic Mall."
"Master, you want to buy food and have it delivered to Zhoujiatun via Cosmic Express," Xiao Fang exclaimed.
"Exactly! This way, the villagers won't have to wait painfully for relief supplies and won't go hungry," Yezhi said happily.
"Master, to avoid disrupting market balance, food is a limited purchase item—only 1,000 jin per year. Also, Good Universe Express and the Express Box for transporting goods from outer star systems are made of special materials and are limited in quantity—one per person. Master, didn't you notice the number 1555 written on it when you received the package? There are also weight requirements; each shipment cannot exceed 10 kilograms."
After hearing what Xiao Fang said, Yezhi really wanted to scream out loud. She wasn't afraid of slow delivery, but what good is 1,000 jin of food? The villagers would still go hungry!
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