Chapter 69: A Little Color on Him
In the early morning, the sky was pale.
There were several clay pots placed next to the fire, with the water inside bubbling and gurgling.
The sky gradually brightened, as if an invisible hand was slowly lifting a black curtain.
In the morning light, the air was exceptionally fresh. Lin Zisu got out of the car with dark circles under her eyes, took a deep breath of fresh air, and then exhaled vigorously.
Lin Youfu was sitting by the fire, and when he heard the noise, he turned his head to look in the direction of the RV, "Su girl, you got up so early today!"
"Good morning, uncle... Good morning, everyone." Lin Zisu shrank her body and rubbed her arms. It was too cold and white steam came out of her mouth when she spoke.
"Good morning!" Zhao Zhuang grinned, but halfway through his smile, the corners of his mouth trembled and he couldn't help but hissing. He wanted to touch his mouth, but it was difficult to raise his right hand, so he gave up.
Shi Yong smiled and nodded, "Good morning," and slowly moved the pottery pot of boiling water with a wooden stick. Finally, the water for everyone was boiled.
As the fire burned, each family would line up their pottery jars filled with water by the fire. The night watchman would move the water from each family and boil it for use the next day.
The sun slowly rose from the east, and its light dyed the sky red. The red gradually spread, dyeing the entire sky with a warm color. The sky became brighter and brighter, and everything around became clearer.
Lin Zisu waited for everyone to go to the toilet together. Ever since they encountered a pile of corpses while taking a shit in the wild, everyone had a shadow in their hearts. But this was the only condition, and it couldn't be more particular. After all, a living person couldn't be suffocated to death by shit and urine!
"Ah~ha~~~~~" Lin Zisu finished relieving herself and stood aside waiting for someone, yawning. Tears welled up in her eyes from yawning and she reached out to wipe them.
Last night, in the RV and the rooftop tent, there were people either grinding their teeth and farting, or talking in their sleep and snoring, plus people waking up from nightmares and crying...
Lin Zisu felt like she didn’t sleep for long that night. She was woken up just as she fell asleep, and she kept falling asleep and waking up...
"What's going on? You're crying so early in the morning?!" Old Mrs. Wang came over with her pants tied around her waist.
"Ah?" Lin Zisu turned around, "I'm crying?! I'm...Ah!! Ha~~" She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, "I'm sleepy..."
"This child..." Old Mrs. Wang said as she walked back.
Dahei ran towards Lin Zisu from a distance, followed by three dogs.
When Dahei came closer, Lin Zisu quickly stopped him, "Dahei! Stop! Don't move! Don't come so fast!!" Looking at the gray mouse that was squeaking and shaking its body in Dahei's mouth, the other three dogs excitedly circled around Dahei.
Lin Zisu gave a thumbs up, "Good dog! Dahei is awesome!" She pointed to where they were landing, "Go find Lin Xianwen! Lin Youcai would be fine too! Dahei, go now!"
Dahei ran in the direction he was pointing, and the four dogs came and went like the wind. Although they were thin, they had muscles on their bodies and were very lean.
Lin Zisu and a group of women returned to their destination, but the dogs were nowhere to be seen.
"You didn't see it just now, but Dahei caught a very big mouse this morning!" Lin Xianwen gestured with his hands to measure the size.
Lin Zisu: "Oh, it gave you mice to eat?!"
Lin Xianwen: "No, it gave it to my uncle."
"...No...are they going to eat rats?" Lin Zisu looked at the expression of an old man on the subway looking at his phone.
"How can that be possible! There is not much food to feed the dogs, so they have to hunt for food on their own. A mouse... We are not at that stage yet! What we caught is not a rabbit. If it is a rabbit, we have to share some with them. Otherwise, they will starve to death, and there will be no dogs to guard!" Lin Xianwen moved closer, "I think dogs are more useful than people for guarding!"
"Humans can't compare to animals' hearing and sense of smell!" Lin Zisu whispered, "If dogs were useless, they wouldn't have raised them at all, and they would have been eaten long ago."
Lin Zisu opened all the car windows and doors to allow the air to circulate.
The straw mat still covers the car body, but it does not affect the ventilation inside and outside the car.
Lin Zisu walked over to roast the fire. It would be great if there were sweet potatoes or potatoes. She could throw them into the ashes and stew them until cooked. Corn would also work. It would be delicious when roasted. She could sprinkle some chili powder on them and wipe the corners of her mouth.
Where can we find these crops? If the territory here is the same as it is today, do we have to go to other continents to find them? It's so early in the morning, what a foolish dream!
Lin Zisu was lost in thought when she heard someone calling her. She looked up and saw her uncle, Zhao Zhuang, Tian Daniu, Lin Youxing... There were more than ten of them at random, all with bruised faces and noses. Some had black and purple eyes, and some had swollen and blue faces. Some still had blood on their faces that had not been wiped clean.
Lin Zisu didn't see the man's face clearly when she just woke up in the morning. She was in a hurry to get on the road yesterday afternoon, and she was busy stitching her wound when she stopped. After dark, she didn't pay attention to him.
Seeing everyone with wounds on their bodies, how miserable it was! They had no means to wash themselves, and after a fight yesterday, they were covered in wounds, their clothes were dirty and torn, and they looked even more like refugees.
Of course, she herself was not much better, her hands were still wrapped and she couldn't use them, couldn't touch water. Life was so troublesome that she even felt that she smelled.
"Let's go have breakfast." Lin Xianwen waved his hand in front of her and raised his voice.
Lin Zisu: "I heard it, my ears are going to be deaf!"
Lin Xianwen: "Aren't you the descendant of the deaf?"
"The successor of the deaf, isn't that the exclusive title you have had since childhood? I dare not snatch the title from you!" After saying that, Lin Zisu quickly walked forward.
Lin Xianwan: "Descendants of the dragon?! I know dragons, but there are descendants of dragons, right?"
Lin Xianhe: "What do descendants of the dragon do?"
Lin Xianshan: "If you are born in the Year of the Dragon, you are a descendant of the dragon?! Then I am born in the Year of the Sheep, so I am a descendant of the Sheep!!"
Lin Xianwen took a deep breath, "...We are all descendants of the dragon, and it has nothing to do with the zodiac. You have to ask my father for the reason, I don't know either. Let's go, the breakfast is getting cold!"
Lin Zisu waited for the vegetable porridge in the bowl to cool down a bit, and squatted next to her father. "Dad, what did you say to those soldiers yesterday?"
Lin Youcai: "Based on what we saw and guessed, they put the accusation on the person they were looking for, and then said that the gangster said it when he was arrogant and boastful."
Lin Xianwen squatted down beside Lin Youcai holding a bowl, "How can you be sure that the cavalry will let us go?"
Lin Youcai drank his porridge slowly, "I'm not sure! Let's take it one step at a time! However, since they let us go, I don't think they will kill us all."
Lin Zisu: "There are so many of us, plus the number of bandits, there are estimated to be more than 4 people. If they were all killed at once, there would be rivers of blood. Although human life is worthless here, they shouldn't be so cruel! What's more, we are just refugees passing by, and innocent victims! I think they are busy figuring out the truth and dealing with the bandits, so they don't have time to deal with us."
"There are so many of us, and some of us are old, young, and children. They checked all of us and our vehicles the day before. We have documents, household registration, and travel permits. Although not everyone has a travel permit, it is normal that not all travel permits are available since people are fleeing everywhere. Compared to that group of bandits, we are more trustworthy, we are just ordinary refugees.
Although I don't know why they went back, they probably didn't know we found the pile of things in the bushes. Of course, with the gangsters around, it doesn't matter whether they found it or not. In fact, apart from Uncle Zhao who brought more than ten people to see it, you few unlucky ones saw it."
Lin Zisu looked at her left hand: …
Lin Youcai lowered his voice and said, "There is nothing new under the sun. At that time, I thought that if the situation was really as we thought, then they would definitely not want to make it public and would just want to cover it up quickly. The three cavalrymen who went there last night must have gone back to report the news. If it was really the official's female relatives who were killed, they would definitely not let anyone know that anything had happened, and after a year or so, they would say that a female relative in the family died of illness. In this era, there are countless people who died young due to illness, it is a common thing."
Lin Xianwen: "That's why I didn't travel all night last night."
Lin Zisu: "So many people are injured, we need to stop to treat them! There's no point in hurrying! They are light cavalry, it will be easy for them to catch up with us! It will be easy for them to kill us."
Lin Youcai: "They didn't kill us, that's just a necessity! Less trouble is worse than more!"
Lin Xianwen: "We are innocent to begin with. The most hateful ones are the bandits."
Old Lady Wang came over and looked down at the three people squatting with their bowls in their hands, talking endlessly, "What are you talking about! Finish your drinks quickly, everyone is waiting for you three!"