338 The Twelfth Store
◎An unsolvable situation.◎
Taking care of two immobile elderly people by oneself must be a huge pressure both physically and mentally.
However, most people living in the town have a natural dullness. When faced with hardships, even if they complain in their hearts, they will still silently endure.
The residents of Tonghua Town have a narrow vision. They can only see the crops in the fields and the rice in the pot. They don’t have much knowledge, just like the weeds growing in the countryside, knowing very little. They
have never thought of resisting the hardships of life, but just buried their heads and turned over this mountain.
Just like what Teacher Yu Hua wrote in "To Live" - the power of "to live" does not come from shouting, nor from attacking, but from endurance.
Lu Yao sometimes felt that the residents of Tonghua Town were like a living "To Live".
In the afternoon, Lu Yao took Aspirin and went to Tian's house, which was the home of the daughter-in-law that the villagers talked about in the morning.
She wanted to see the condition of the two elderly people. She was scared enough last night. She still felt a little cold when she thought about it during the day. But escaping is not her personality. The bigger the knot in her heart, the sooner she should figure it out. Lu Yao
walked along the main road and met a few villagers halfway. When she heard them say that they were going to take a look at Tian's house, she smiled and said that she would go with them.
Tian's house is a two-story small villa with tiled walls on the outside. It is not far from the elderly activity area.
When they arrived, the daughter-in-law of Tian's family was having lunch.
A man stood by the stove, holding a half bowl of porridge with watery soup and two small plates of salted vegetables. He looked tired, as if eating was a particularly painful thing, but he had to do it.
Seeing someone coming home, the wife of the Tian family put down the bowl and asked the person to come in and sit down.
The villagers like to talk about family matters while standing for a long time. They sit in the main room and will not go to other people's bedrooms.
However, everyone knows the situation of the Tian family. The wife of the Tian family seems to have a lot to say. She stood at the door and exchanged a few words, then turned around and led everyone to the side room to see the old man.
The door was pushed open, and the stale smell of mold and rot mixed with an indescribable stench came out. The people who entered the room all paused, and then stepped in as usual.
Lu Yao wanted to see the old man's condition, so he took two quick steps and stopped by the bed.
The old wooden bed was covered with a thick mattress. The skinny person, whose only skin and bones were left, looked like a core trapped in a ball of rotten fruit flesh, wrinkled and dry, and even less alive than what Lu Yao had seen last night.
The wife of the Tian family walked up to the old man and lifted the quilt in front of his chest, revealing a skinny skeleton. The smell of rotten meat and rotten fruit became stronger.
Some people couldn't help vomiting and hurriedly turned around and ran out the door.
Lu Yao followed the villagers out. It was impossible for such a weak and unconscious patient to go out late at night and crawl for several miles to find her residence.
But the shadow last night was very similar to the old man on the bed, so it should not be a mistake.
The villagers sat in the main room for a while, and the urge to vomit gradually eased. Then they walked into another side room, where another old man was lying.
The Tian family's daughter-in-law went in first, glanced at the bed, and was slightly surprised.
Her mother-in-law was actually with her eyes open.
Compared with the father-in-law next door, the mother-in-law would occasionally wake up, but she couldn't speak.
The old woman's cloudy eyes trembled, as if she noticed that many people had come to the room. Her lips, which were so pale that they were almost invisible, opened and closed with difficulty, but unfortunately no one could hear her voice.
Everyone in the room was regretful. The Tian family's daughter-in-law kept talking about the bad things about taking care of the two old people. She knew that some things should not be said outside, but she was uncomfortable keeping it in her heart. She was doing all the dirty and tiring work, and she was not allowed to complain a few words?
To put it bluntly, these days, we are just waiting to die.
When everyone was chatting, a tear fell from the corner of the old man's eye. Lu
Yao did not stay for too long, turned around and walked out, stood under the eaves, and looked at the rocks opposite.
Not long after, the villagers followed the Tian family's wife out.
The villagers advised the Tian family's wife to eat well, otherwise they would not have the strength to take care of two bedridden elderly people.
The Tian family's wife shook her head, her face full of sorrow: "It's not that I don't want to eat, I really can't eat. Sometimes when I'm washing and cutting vegetables, I suddenly remember to change their diapers and I vomit."
It has nothing to do with emotions, it's a completely physiological reaction.
Someone gave her an idea: "Did you see the robot that Lao Lu was carrying just now? Rent one. It's okay for an hour. At least it can help your parents-in-law change clothes and wipe their bodies."
Aspirin is a "celebrity" in the community. Villagers often see him strolling on the road with Yu Xiulan.
Many older people envy Yu Xiulan. Aspirin is really stable, considerate and safe. He is not cunning at all and doesn't need to read her face.
The wife of the Tian family shook her head: "Isn't that a nursing robot? I heard that it costs dozens of dollars to rent it for an hour. Our family doesn't have such good conditions and can't afford to rent it. Anyway, it will take time. It will probably be... not long."
The last sentence was so low that no one else could hear it.
Lu Yao turned around and saw that the wife of the Tian family was indeed haggard. She thought for a while and suggested, "Or you can rent the kitchen robot in our store for twenty yuan an hour. It can cook simple dishes in larger portions and eat them all day. Wouldn't it be easier for you to not have to cook for yourself?"
The wife of the Tian family was stunned for a moment, as if she was considering it. After a while, she slowly shook her head and declined. Lu Yao
did not persuade her anymore.
She had not considered whether she could make money just now. She just hoped to find a way to improve the mental state of the wife of the Tian family a little, but the decision was in the hands of the customer.
On the way back, passing by Lu Mingxiao's house, Lu Yao saw his own kitchen robot killing fish on the washing table.
There was a recliner on the dam. Lu Mingxiao was lying on the chair with a book covering his face. There were several children sitting beside him. Lu
Yao remembered that it was Saturday and the boarding students were on holiday.
The ones surrounding Lu Mingxiao were all middle school students in the town.
These children spent most of their time in school. When they came back from vacation, they were mostly taken care of by their grandparents. Their parents worked outside, and it seemed that they had attached themselves to the youngest-looking college student brother in the community.
Lu Yao did not stop, and walked home slowly with a group of villagers who were still sighing about the old couple in the Tian family.
It was almost dusk when they got home, and the smell of food wafted out from the kitchen.
Lu Yao wrinkled his nose and sniffed, smelling a sweet and sour flavor. The lingering moldy and stinky smell in his nose was finally driven away by the smoke of fireworks.
Halfway through dinner, Lu Yao received a call from the shopping street, and his phone kept beeping.
Harold called over via video. Lu Yao
hesitated for a moment, then clicked the answer button. The screen seemed to explode, and was filled with nail salon employees.
It had been nearly a month since Harold saw what Lu Yao looked like. She had always refused to video call him before.
The little black dragon had imagined many scenarios, but never thought that Lu Yao would become like this.
Her hair was gray, and she was weak and skinny.
They had just met in the star field not long ago, and she still looked the same as when they first met.
Can humans age so quickly?
Not only Harold, but the alien employees in the nail salon were all shocked by Lu Yao's appearance. They
were still noisy when they clicked on the video, but in an instant they were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Lu Yao blinked his eyes, smiled as he always did when they met, and whispered teasingly: "What's wrong? You don't say anything."
Merulu flew up from Edward's shoulder, rushed to the screen, and tears fell into Harold's hands.
She asked sadly: "Lu Yao, are you going to die?"
Lu Yao was silent for a moment, and said calmly: "Although it looks like it, it's not that fast."
Pu Xiu also flew over and squeezed Merulu away: "Lu Yao, I don't want you to die. When are you going back to the store? I still want to play building blocks with you."
Lu Yao looked up and looked outside the door. Outside the main entrance of the rental store was a continuous mountain, as if there was no end.
Harold picked up Merulu and Pushu with two fingers, his face looked terribly grim, and his dark blue eyes stared at Lu Yao on the screen: "I'm here to pick you up, and I will definitely find you."
Lu Yao narrowed his eyes and smiled warmly: "Don't be impulsive, and don't worry, I'm living well here."
Harold was so angry that he wanted to smash the phone: "Where is that guy? Where is the guy who follows you every time?"
The smile in Lu Yao's eyes deepened: "He is here too. He will protect me, so don't be impulsive. I will find a way. During the time I'm not in the store, the nail salon and the shopping street will rely on you."
The owner's tone was usually serious, and her words naturally carried the power of soothing. The clerk's anxiety, eagerness, uneasiness, and worry were slowly soothed.
Even if she was a little reluctant, she finally calmed down.
After hanging up the video, Lu Yao let out a long sigh.
It seemed that she had to find the clues and complete the task as soon as possible, otherwise it would not be her who would collapse first, but the shopping street and her partners.
Late at night, Lu Yao was awakened by a familiar, painful groan.
After a brief moment of confusion, she was startled and sat up abruptly.
There seemed to be one more voice outside the door.
Lu Yao quickly put on his clothes and got up, taking Xingtang, Yan Gui and Hua Wei with him as usual.
The moonlight was as bright as last night, sprinkling on the ground like snow.
Lu Yao did not hear wrongly.
Two voices, also two people.
The old lady from the Tian family is here too.
Two skinny and old faces emerged from the shadows. Lu Yao was too late to dodge and was hooked by the old lady's leg.
The old lady struggled to crawl over and prostrated at Lu Yao's feet: "Please... untie... it's... you... who... can... help me."
Lu Yao's scalp went numb.
What reacted faster than Lu Yao was the shadow under his feet. Since entering the godless land, the shadow that was as quiet as if it didn't exist became agitated. The exploding shadow flew up as fast as a thorn and cut off the dry hand that grabbed Lu Yao's leg without hesitation. A
miserable scream rang out, and the old man covered his wrist and rolled on the ground in pain. Lu Yao
was startled and broke out in a cold sweat. He was about to ask Xingtang to wake up a nursing robot and bring it over to treat the old man's wound, but he saw the severed hand wriggling like a worm, slowly outlining another human figure, and he stopped talking.
The old lady's severed hand turned into another bedridden old man that Lu Yao had seen before. It was said that he had liver cancer and could not get out of bed before the rental shop opened.
He was wrapped in a thick cotton coat and stretched out his hand to Lu Yao. There were patches of ulcers on his skinny wrists, and pus was oozing out. The cool breeze of early summer blew away the foul smell.
The old man lay on the ground, uttering the same desperate plea: "Please... help... me... free..." Lu Yao
took several steps back, suppressed the restless shadow, and felt confused for a moment.
Why were these old men looking for her?
Who were they?
And how did they judge that she could help them?
Also, the shadow hidden under her feet was not bound by the godless land like the other half-body tokens.
They just had been sleeping.
Now they were awakened and furious. Lu
Yao squatted down, and the shadow under his feet peeled off the ground like a piece of paper, and the sharp thorns slowly melted like ice cream, turning into a round black cat head.
Lu Yao reached out and stroked it gently. A small black tail rose up and swirled slowly, as if it was very comfortable.
Lu Yao stroked the shadow that had come down obediently, as if thinking about something.
The moonlight was obscured by clouds. Lu Yao stood up, trying his best to ignore the three old men in front of him who were blending together like wax, and turned around and strode home .
The door of the rental shop opened and closed, and the surroundings returned to peace.
Under the shadow of the moon, only the strange and weird shadow was still groaning and squirming in pain.
Amid the sounds of insects and frogs, Lu Mingxiao walked out of the shadow in the corner of the house, staring at the twisted "rotten meat" on the ground, with a bit of disgust in his eyes.
Many times, the greed of human beings makes gods and demons look sideways.
Most of the time they want to live, and only in very rare cases do they want to die.
People are born into this world without knowledge or awareness. As they grow older, they gain knowledge, experience, faith, ideals, dignity, wealth... and then one day, they lose all these things that they spent decades or even tens of years to obtain. Their bodies are no longer healthy, their incomes gradually decrease, and they slowly lose their ideals and wealth. If they live one more day, their dignity will be trampled underfoot, and shame and fatigue will make people lose their desire to live.
How tricky is the test set for the evil demon in the godless land? How will she choose to use her abilities to comfort these suffering and desperate souls?
Humans have never escaped from the cycle of nature. After decades in the world, they will eventually become the food of the mountains and forests, or become a tiny, invisible stone under the feet of the world, just like the beasts whose corpses are exposed in the wilderness.
Death is the last mercy that time bestows on the living.
If the evil demon is tempted by the desperate souls and kills the living, his god-killing knife will gently rest on her neck.
If she wants to be a merciful god, she will wander in this godless land with the endless desperate souls for the rest of her life, listening to their painful and twisted voices every moment until she is devoured and her will collapses.
This is the rule of the game.
The evil demon is facing an unsolvable situation.
【Author's words】
Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2024-04-30 21:06:30~2024-05-02 00:27:31~
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