64 Chapter 64
Perhaps it was the medication, or perhaps it was the fire that hadn't gone out all night, but for the first time in six months, the five students slept so soundly.
Early in the morning, Tong Shu brought them millet porridge that she had cooked in the car, making sure it was a little thin to take care of their stomachs.
The students were deeply moved as they held the hot porridge. It seemed that these visiting brothers and sisters were not very wealthy, yet they still shared their food with them. The students were very polite, glancing gratefully at the visitors after each sip of porridge.
Tong Shu was really overwhelmed, so she left Wang Jie inside and went out for some fresh air.
“Miss Hua!” Ren Ya called out to her from a distance, “We dug up some sweet potatoes and potatoes from the mountain, and also picked some wild fruits. We’re going to use them to exchange for the medicine we got yesterday. I don’t know if it will be enough.”
Tong Shu walked over and peeked into the bag of grain. She could tell that the sweet potatoes and potatoes had been carefully picked out by the teachers and students, and the soil on them had been thoroughly cleaned. Besides, it was only nine in the morning; these teachers and students were probably waiting for the killer vines to recede before heading into the mountains to dig for grain.
"So much? Aren't you going to eat yourselves?" Tong Shu asked.
Ren Ya smiled sheepishly: "Grain can be replanted, but medicine is used up little by little, and I'm worried that we won't have enough to replace it. There's a valley on our mountain where it's not particularly cold when the temperature drops, and we've planted a lot of grain there, so you don't need to worry."
Seeing that Ren Ya didn't seem reluctant, Tong Shu accepted the food with peace of mind. She told Ren Ya to wait there for a while, then ran back to the tent to ask Wang Jie for some new medicine to give to Ren Ya.
“Food is scarce outside, and the medicine you gave me today can last for another day.” Tong Shu handed the medicine to Ren Ya: “This is today’s dose. Are those who took their medicine yesterday feeling any better?”
"Thank you! Thank you..." Ren Ya's nose tingled again: "The medicine is very effective. The fever that hadn't gone down has also dropped a lot. I wonder how the five children are doing?"
“They can eat and sleep well, so they should be in good physical condition. If they don’t have a fever today, you can take them home,” Tong Shu said.
Ren Ya finally breathed a sigh of relief. She bowed to Tong Shu and, without waiting for Tong Shu's reaction, quickly ran away.
Tong Shu dragged two burlap sacks onto the vehicle, and Shu Hua, who was cooking, rushed over to help: "Oh my, what are all these?" She opened the sacks and saw, "So many sweet potatoes and potatoes? Did that school grow them? With so many students, are they bringing so much to exchange for supplies? Are they even having enough to eat?"
“They said it’s enough, it’s fine. We’ll put these away separately for them and take them to the school gate after we leave,” Tong Shu said.
“That’s right, these teachers and students have had a tough time,” Shu Hua nodded.
Today, my family made braised pork ribs with chestnuts. Tong Shu hadn't eaten chestnuts in a long time, so she ate a lot of them with the soup and rice.
Several students in the tent were concerned about their classmates and teachers. After confirming with Wang Jie that they were all in good health, they said goodbye to Tong Shu and the others. Tong Shu was worried that their condition might relapse if they returned to the crowd after their illness had just improved, so she packed some disinfectant and masks for them.
"Don't you think something's a little strange?" Tong Shu asked Wang Jie after the person left.
Wang Jie suddenly understood what Tong Shu was talking about. He nodded, his brow furrowed: "Indeed, compared to before the disaster, these students have recovered remarkably quickly."
"Ren Ya came over this morning and told me that a group of teachers and students whose symptoms were milder yesterday had their conditions improved significantly after taking the medicine you gave them. Do you think it's due to the medication or...?"
“The supplies on our island are exactly what they were when they were recorded in the catalog. I’m more inclined to believe that the human body has changed. People who have lived in this environment for more than half a year should have a different constitution,” Wang Jie concluded.
“Our family has always eaten supplies produced on the island and has very little contact with the outside world. I’m a little worried. If the environment gets worse and worse, will we still be able to adapt?” Tong Shu said with some concern.
"Don't think about it too much. I'm more inclined to find an opportunity to collect faith points. Once we complete the mission and get the rewards, everything will be back on track, and then you won't have to worry about these things anymore," Wang Jie comforted him.
Tong Shu was not optimistic about this. Now, there were only three NPCs on the island, including the returning Douzi and Doudou. When she traded with Wen Shaocheng before, she was almost able to complete the progress bar for the fourth NPC. However, the disappearance of Duoka always made her doubt the mission. It looked like a trap no matter how you looked at it.
Having reached a deal with D County No. 1 Middle School today, Tong Shu thought that the progress on the fourth NPC might already be maxed out. With this in mind, she quickly got into the car and entered the island.
As soon as it landed, it bumped into a row of neatly standing furry creatures.
"Island Master, Island Master! Look!" Nini shouted excitedly, "Bhuto is back!"
A small, snow-white dog was pushed in front of Tong Shu. This was Buto, the director of the island hospital, and it was a Samoyed.
"Miss Island Owner, it's been a long time." With his cute appearance and serious tone, this dean had always been a favorite of Tong Shu during her gaming days.
Seeing the fourth NPC return safely, Tong Shu breathed a sigh of relief. She greeted Buto and then asked about Doka's situation: "Did you see Doka when you came out?"
Buto shook her head: "Unfortunately, I didn't see Doka either. Not long after I got back, Nini and Douzi asked me about it. Like Douzi, I don't know where Doka went either."
It seems that Doka may have really encountered some accident. Tong Shu couldn't help but feel a little worried. However, she thought again that this might be some kind of side quest set up by the game. Based on her years of experience playing games, she knew that a quest with such obvious rewards might suddenly release an emergency side quest at the crucial moment when she was completing the main quest to prevent her from successfully obtaining the reward.
After saying goodbye to the furry creatures, Tong Shu went to the bulletin board again to check the progress of the task. Now, if she wanted to complete the Faith Point collection task, without the stable consumption of the community and Wen Shaocheng's help, she really had to think of a new way.
However, the most urgent task is to leave this place as soon as possible and reach our destination.
After leaving the island, Wang Jie knocked on the car window to let her out. After Tong Shu got out of the car, Wang Jie brought an adult man over: "This is Mr. Zhou, the physical education teacher at their school. He came over and asked if we wanted to drive the car to the playground, saying that it would be safer there at night than outside."
Since this was the kind offer from the teachers and students, Tong Shu did not immediately refuse. "Teacher Zhou, I don't know how your other students are doing. Why don't you take me and Dr. Hua in to take a look?"
Teacher Zhou was surprised by their enthusiasm and immediately nodded vigorously, leading them into the school.
The students and teachers are all in the senior high school building, which is located on the north side of the school. It was originally built to provide a quiet environment for high school students to prepare for the college entrance examination. However, due to the natural disaster, this building became the last building to be preserved.
"The girls' dormitory is also built high, but there's a lot of greenery around it. Right now, it's full of grass and shrubs. Teacher Ren is taking the students there to collect useful materials," Teacher Zhou explained.
“The students who have a fever are all in this auditorium,” Teacher Zhou said, taking out a mask and putting it on. It was brought by a student who had returned from Tong Shu’s place and given to the teachers. “Several students were a little confused, but fortunately Dr. Hua gave them medicine. They sweated a lot and felt much better. Some of them have already moved to the next classroom, where students with mild symptoms are under observation.”
Tong Shu and the others pushed open the door and went inside. The tables and chairs in the auditorium had all been dismantled, and the not-so-clean bedding was neatly laid out on the floor. The students who had taken their medicine were all lying in the blankets to rest.
The wooden stools were chopped into firewood to boil water in a large pot in the corner. Two teachers would guard the pot and fill it with water to feed the students from time to time.
Wang Jie went over to take a look. After hearing Teacher Zhou's introduction, the two teachers stood up to greet him. Wang Jie was wearing a mask and protective clothing, so the others couldn't see his expression. He could only nod as a greeting.
Wang Jie took out a box of powder from his backpack and handed it to the two teachers: "Put three packets in a pot of water and drink it like water."
The teacher quickly took the medicine given by the doctor, and the students visibly improved. Now they obeyed Wang Jie's every word.
After leaving the auditorium, Tong Shu and Wang Jie followed Teacher Zhou to see several classrooms, and the situation inside was almost the same as what Ren Ya had described.
Just as the two were about to leave the school and return to the camp, a student ran out and grabbed Tong Shu: "Sister, sister, wait a minute..."
Tong Shu stopped and looked at the girl with a puzzled expression. The girl must also be sick, as she staggered over and was out of breath. She coughed twice, touched her pocket apologetically, took something out and handed it to Tong Shu: "...This, this piece of chocolate is for you. Thank you for saving Xiaoyun."
Tong Shu was still puzzled, so Teacher Zhou explained, "Xiao Yun is one of the five students we sent outside. She is out of danger now, and her good friends are very grateful to you."
The girl's face was flushed with a sickly redness. She nodded in agreement with Teacher Zhou's words and handed the chocolate forward a little further.
This chocolate is a flat, thin piece, clearly melted and re-solidified at high temperatures. It hadn't been eaten yet, probably because the girl couldn't bear to part with it. I never expected that she would be willing to take out this chocolate, which she had kept hidden for so long, to thank her good friends.
Tong Shu accepted the gift with great care, and took out a pack of face masks and a bottle of hypochlorous acid tablets from her backpack and gave them to the girl: "Take care of yourself and your classmates."
The girl's face flushed even more. She hadn't given the gift in return for it, and she waved her hands frantically, "No need... really no need..."
Tong Shu thought for a moment and said, "How about this, we'll drive the car to the playground tonight. Think about whether you have anything worth exchanging, and bring it to the playground tomorrow to exchange with me. In addition to medicine, we also have food, clothes... oh, right, we also have sanitary napkins in the car."
The girl's eyes lit up immediately; heaven knows how much girls need this: "Okay! Sister, you must wait for us. I'll go back and tell my classmates right away!"
Watching the girl's joyful and excited back, a corner of Tong Shu's heart slowly softened.
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