Chapter 67 Chapter 67 [VIP]

His heavy and tired heart was instantly lightened when he saw the person standing outside the door waiting for him, and a ray of light came into it.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here. I made your favorite beef brisket with tomatoes at home. Let's eat it together."

"Um."

I had no time to rest all night, and the rations I brought were locked in the cabinet, unopened. Didn't you feel good while working? When I got home, my mind relaxed, and my body felt revived. My heart rate quickened, and my stomach felt sore. When Bai He brought the bowl of rice, Su Xing didn't even have time to say a word before he wolfed it down.

Bai He, who was sitting opposite him, pushed the dishes towards him.

Before, Su Xingye was the one who cooked at home most of the time. He enjoyed the fun of cooking and even more the happiness of tasting delicious food with his lover. Every time he saw Bai He's satisfied look while eating, he felt very fulfilled.

But since Su Xing also went to work at the construction site health center, cooking, housework and other chores had to be handed over to Bai He.

After a period of practice, Bai He's cooking skills improved significantly, but his talent was lacking, and the taste was mediocre. Bai He himself didn't eat much, but Su Xing always devoured it with gusto.

After they finished eating, Bai He brought out a big box.

"Aye, this is for you."

Su Xing was also pleasantly surprised to find that it was full of medical skills and some medical equipment.

Joy filled his heart, and Su Xing also felt that it would be better if time could go slower.

…

As time passed, layers of buildings were built on the wasteland in the village.

People from the city kept flowing here, and the dark corners of the village that were difficult to notice also bred a lot of filth.

Su Xing was also on duty that day when a girl was dragged over by her parents.

"Doctor, please help me check if my girl is sick."

The little girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, very thin, with round eyes like a deer. Because of the heavy expressions of her parents, she was filled with fear and anxiety.

"Doctor, my daughter has lost a lot of weight recently and has nightmares all night long. Could you please take a look at her?"

The parents stared at Su Xingye intently. The girl stood beside them, head bowed, face frighteningly pale, fingers twitching constantly. Occasionally, her eyes met Su Xingye's before she hurried away.

Su Xing, who had learned some psychological knowledge, also frowned.

"Let me check the child first."

"Excuse me, doctor."

As Su Xing approached, the girl became noticeably more frightened. When his hands touched her body, she began to tremble like a sieve.

The child's parents also noticed something was wrong. "What happened to Niuniu?"

Su Xing also stopped the examination and called over an older and more approachable nurse. The nurse was a pediatrician who had been working with children for a long time and had her own set of methods. With her help, the girl completed the entire examination.

After the examination, Su Xingye's expression was very solemn. Seeing the girl huddled tightly in the nurse's arms, her body stiff with fear, Su Xingye relaxed his expression and said, "It's okay."

He asked the mother to take the child outside and talked to the child's father alone first.

After hearing Su Xingye's words, the girl's father collapsed and couldn't believe it.

"How could this happen? My child is such a well-behaved child, how could he be violated?" The father's rapid breathing echoed in the room. As he said this, he turned around and was about to confront his wife and children.

Su Xing also stopped him in time. "If you don't want your daughter to get hurt, calm down. When encountering such a thing, the psychological damage to the girl is far greater than the physical damage.

Su Xing also explained to him the seriousness of the matter and the treatment the child needed.

The girl was brought in by her mother again, and the first thing she did was to observe her father's expression. Although her father was not angry, the unnaturalness in his expression was still keenly noticed by the girl.

Panic and fear filled every corner of her brain and body. The girl regretted that she should not have been greedy that day.

Some fragments have been deliberately blurred for the brain's self-protection, but those disgusting feelings still remain in my heart.

The girl was fourteen or fifteen years old and was in a state of confusion. She knew that something bad had happened to her, but she was also afraid that her parents would be angry and worried, so she kept it hidden.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad." Seeing the tears in her parents' eyes, the girl felt sad and guilty.

The mother hugged her daughter tightly. What had she done wrong? The fault lay with the parents, who had failed to properly care for and protect their child.

The couple had only one child, and they had always cherished him, raising him to be innocent and kind. But in today's society, it is difficult for innocent people to survive.

Later, a migrant worker in the village was knocked unconscious in a corner. When he was found, his penis had been turned into a pulp and he was barely breathing. Everyone who heard the news gasped.

This wasn't an isolated case. Su Xingye, who worked at the clinic, was more informed than most. The influx of outsiders into the village had increased the risk factor, and in this tense environment, impulsive crimes were common.

In particular, some people in Sheshui Village were able to live a stable life during the disaster and their family members were still alive, so they naturally suffered hatred and envy from some people.

Why should our families be broken up and we suffer so much, while you can still be the same as before?

…

The high temperatures and drought that lasted for more than two months caused most rivers and ponds to dry up.

In the past, many villagers would sleep by the waterside at night, tents and mats, to stay cool. Now, people have had to go back home.

Experienced farmers, looking at the dry, cracked and desertified land, had a premonition that this year would be difficult.

The water level in the river channel within Sheshui Village has been dropping at a speed visible to the naked eye. Recently, only thigh-deep water remains.

The two waterfalls above the village, originating from Xiaguo's third longest river, were once magnificent and spectacular, a key attraction the city had already secured for development. Now, the flow has dwindled, the raging current reduced to a thin stream, lingering beneath the scorching sun, forcing the buried rocks to reveal a pale, helpless presence.

Such a phenomenon has not occurred in more than 20 years.

Every day, old people sit silently by the river, with sadness and pain almost overflowing in their eyes, but children don’t have such worries. They look at the fish, shrimps, snails that are forced to appear in the gradually exposed riverbed... their eyes are shining.

People today have an extraordinary craving for food. Children, in particular, are unable to control their instinctive desires. Anyone who tries something delicious out of the house is guaranteed to receive a pair of gleaming eyes.

Fish is a delicious meat, and dried fish preserves for a long time. Pan-fried small fish are so fragrant and crispy that children can lick their fingers and savor the taste for a long time. Loach and eel are also a rare delicacy when used in soups or dishes.

At this time, the children in the village no longer went into the woods without their parents' knowledge to look for dry wild fruits or chase those extremely sharp rabbits.

The river became their new paradise. The children counted the time until dark every day. As soon as it got dark, they would gather in groups with small buckets to search and play in the river.

There was no risk of drowning at this time, and the adults were very relieved. Besides, except for those who needed to work, almost everyone who could move in the village came to the river.

Free meat is so hard to come by! Especially with more and more outsiders joining in, it only adds to their sense of urgency.

The first few workers at the construction site discovered this valuable land, and gradually more and more people came. How could Sheshui Village give up the interests at the door? A violent conflict broke out between the two sides, resulting in casualties and alarming the police.

In the end, it was determined that the people of Sheshui Village were responsible, because although the river was located in Sheshui Village, it was publicly owned and everyone had the right to fish.

No matter how angry the villagers were, they couldn't stop the increasing number of people flocking to the river. Inch by inch, the riverbed was dug up, and the shrimp, small fish... everything edible hidden within was fished out.

With meat to eat, everyone should have been in a much better mood. But the villagers of Sheshui Village looked at the shriveled rice ears and withered leaves in the fields, and felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on their hearts, unable to sleep.

Because of the scarcity of seed this year, the initial rice planting was limited. Now, due to the ongoing drought, the rice is not growing well. Even though the villagers of Sheshui Village work day and night to fetch water for the fields, it's of little use. These parched fields are like endless black holes; a single bucket of water wipes out the remains, leaving a trace of them vanishing in an instant. It's truly despairing.

Now that the village's rivers and ponds have dried up, villagers have to climb up the mountain to fetch spring water. Although there are stairs, the path is extremely steep and high, and a round trip takes three hours. How can this be enough to feed the fields?

No one wanted to experience the feeling of being hungry, so some people inevitably set their sights on the village reservoir.

…

Even Sheshui Village, a place with a superior geographical location, is facing a water shortage, not to mention most cities in the country.

A young man in City C was sobbing as he held the 500ml of water his community had distributed. The daily limit was 500ml per person, but it wasn't enough to drink anything. Even standing in line would sweat more than that. The young man sighed repeatedly, but when he saw the eager, greedy eyes of the people around him looking at his water bottle, he felt a chill down his spine and quickly stashed it in his pocket.

Although the community has volunteers and police officers to maintain order, people are often robbed. If they are robbed, they have to work all day. If they lose too much water during this period, they will have to bear the consequences on their own.

The life in the past two years has worn away people's hearts.

After entering the crowd, half the gazes disappeared, and the young man breathed a sigh of relief. The crowd was so dense, and when he inhaled, a mixture of sour, sweaty, and body odor...an incredibly disgusting odor filled his nose. The young man couldn't help but cover his nose, trying to suppress the nausea.

All he saw were greasy, shiny faces, sticky hair, and clothes as wrinkled and yellow and black as pickles. For a moment, the young man had the illusion that he had arrived at a mobile garbage dump.

He used to be miserable without a shower for even a day, but now he could survive lying in a garbage dump without a shower for ten days or half a month. Humans are truly adaptable creatures. The young man gave a self-deprecating laugh, quickened his pace, and followed the patrol back home.

Fortunately, his family had an underground garage, which saved him from having to live with a group of people in a resettlement area. Not only was the environment there very poor, but the order was also very chaotic.