Chapter 69 Fried Taro Chips
After Lu An left, Zhao Xuan started actively looking for work to do. In the afternoon, amidst the chirping of cicadas, 460, having eaten its fill, disappeared without a trace. Zhao Xuan simply locked the courtyard gate and began organizing the household inventory.
Organizing inventory is something that happens irregularly. When I'm in a bad mood, I do some organizing, and seeing a full pile of supplies instantly makes me feel better. When I'm in a good mood, organizing can make me feel even better, and it's also a good way to kill time.
On this increasingly sunny afternoon, staying indoors and doing housework is the most pleasant activity.
Zhao Xuan tidied up from the first floor to the third floor. The third floor contained the grain harvested last year, with plenty of staple foods such as rice, corn, and potatoes. Even if the harvest was poor this year, this old grain could sustain them until next year. In addition to these, there were also several jars of taro harvested last autumn. The taro was buried in dry sand and could be stored for more than half a year.
When they came to this village in late autumn two years ago, they ate mostly taro. Later, with a bumper harvest, they ate much less taro, so even now, they haven't finished eating the taro harvested last year.
Zhao Xuan dug out these dried taro roots, intending to fry them into taro chips to eat with mung bean soup that evening.
Last year's peanut harvest was good, and they pressed a lot of oil, so there is no shortage of oil.
She sliced the taro into thin slices, washed off the starch with water, and then fried them in a pan. The process was extremely simple. The crispy fried taro slices were then coated with some salt and chili powder and ready to eat. They made a crunchy sound when you bit into them. She also coated the remaining fried taro slices with some sugar, which tasted pretty good too.
Sitting on the steps at the entrance of the hall, Zhao Xuan ate half a bowl of fried taro chips like a squirrel. Suddenly, he thought that he should fry more to send to Sister Xiaohe and the others. He should also keep some for 460, because maybe it would bring its friends back with it.
Thinking this, Zhao Xuan went back into the kitchen and fried two large basins of taro chips. He sent one basin to Sister Xiaohe and kept the other for 460. He sealed the two basins of fried taro chips with precious plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator's crisper drawer to ensure that the taro chips would still be crisp when he took them out tomorrow.
The next day, Zhao Xuan got up very early, grabbed some fried taro chips, and went out.
The dog would graze the sheep before sunrise, and she would wait for him on the path he always took.
The dog would deliberately avoid the fields of two families when herding sheep. After the sheep finished eating one field, he would move to another. During this period, the dog had gone quite far. Zhao Xuan had encountered it once or twice when he was picking wild fruits. There was a pavilion nearby for people to rest. Calling it a pavilion is not quite right. It should be a simple house with walls on three sides where passersby could rest and take shelter from the rain.
Looking from the direction of the pavilion, you cannot see the two villages where they live.
At that time, Zhao Xuan was tired from picking wild fruits and happened to be squatting in the pavilion to rest when she met the dog herding sheep by. So she knew the dog's sheep-herding route recently.
As the Yao family's flock of sheep grew larger, the dog worked hard herding them. Sometimes she would see the dog holding a book in its hand, but it didn't have time to read it.
As Zhao Xuan carried the fried taro chips out the door, two hours earlier, at the crack of dawn, the dog had already gone to herd sheep, wearing a straw hat and carrying a backpack.
His schoolbag contained books, a water bottle, and his breakfast.
Breakfast was rice cakes made by Zhang Xiaohe. Yao Yuan took most of the rice cakes with him, and the rest became the dog's breakfast. The dog is not a picky eater. He wrapped the leftover vegetables and meat from last night in rice cakes and took them with him. He usually eats while walking with the sheep. After eating, he can drink some water and read a few books.
Perhaps because his life had settled down that year, he had grown quite a bit taller. When we first met him, he looked like a little bean, but now he looked like a little man. However, the older he got, the more silent he became. Perhaps it was because he lacked the company of peers. His growth had no reference points, so he often seemed more like an adult.
He was a man of few words, always pursed his lips, and wore an old man's shirt that had been washed until it was transparent, which made Zhao Xuan always say that he wanted to shout "Hello, Commander!" whenever he saw this kid.
So Zhao Xuan really likes to give her dog some children's toys: she brings him toys from Taiping Town, and she also brings him a portion of the delicious snacks she makes.
Zhao Xuan hopes that dogs can be happy every day, just like children before the apocalypse.
The dog had no idea that Zhao Xuan had brought him snacks today, so when he saw Zhao Xuan squatting there at the intersection, holding a large basin in her arms, a hint of surprise appeared on his face: "Sister Xuan!"
Zhao Xuan smiled and waved to him.
The two followed the flock of sheep. Zhao Xuan carried his schoolbag, while the dog ate a bowl full of fried taro chips with great satisfaction.
"Is it good?" Zhao Xuan handed him some water. "Drink some water to soothe your throat."
The dog took the drink as instructed and gulped down several mouthfuls. He said, "Sister Xuan, even if you hadn't come to see me today, I would have come to see you after I finished herding the sheep. My mom invited you over for dinner today. She stewed a wild duck and wants you to try it."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I've already left the rice cooking in the pot!"
“My mom knew it, she told you to bring the rice cooker over. She didn’t cook rice today,” the dog said, looking up at the sky. “It’s still early, I’ll bring the rice cooker for you after I finish herding the sheep.”
The two, one big and one small, walked and talked as they walked toward the empty pavilion.
Zhao Xuan planned to walk with the dog for a while, as she wanted to pick some wild vegetables from the edge of the field.
When they were still some distance from the pavilion, Zhao Xuan suddenly stopped. She tugged at the dog and pointed to a patch of lush wild chives by the edge of a wasteland, saying, "Doggy, go over there and help me cut some wild vegetables. I'm wearing low heels today, so I can't step in the mud."
The dog glanced at Zhao Xuan's rain boots with surprise, then nodded, "Okay." With that, he put down the bowl of fried taro chips, and the two of them began to back away.
"Forget the sheep," Zhao Xuan suddenly whispered to him after the two took a few steps back, "Run!"
Just now, Zhao Xuan saw a campfire in the pavilion, which should have been empty. The fire had obviously just been extinguished, and there were still sparks flickering in the ashes. In the weeds around the pavilion, she saw several clumps of tall weeds move strangely.
—Someone is lying in ambush over there, just waiting for them to walk over.
The dog sensed something from Zhao Xuan's deathly pale face. When Zhao Xuan said "run," it didn't think twice and ran after Zhao Xuan!
The moment they started running, several tall figures suddenly sprang out of the weeds in the direction of the pavilion; they were several unfamiliar men!
Zhao Xuan had never run with such force before; her heart was pounding. But to make matters worse, she was wearing rain boots today—she was used to wearing rain boots on such humid mornings to cope with the muddy ground.
She wasn't running fast and was easily caught up. With a violent yank on the back of her neck, she fell to the ground, covered in mud. The next second, a foot stomped heavily on her back, so hard that Zhao Xuan almost coughed up blood!
"You're quite alert!" A strange male voice came from above. The man stomped his foot, causing Zhao Xuan to let out a shrill scream of pain!
A few seconds after Zhao Xuan grabbed him, the dog was also caught up. He tried to fight back, but he was no match for an adult male. He was slapped hard, and half of his face swelled up immediately. Then he rolled to the ground.
Zhao Xuan and the dog were tied up one after the other and thrown back into the empty pavilion.
Two figures stood amidst the weeds. A narrow-eyed man was carrying a woman who was so thin she looked like a ghost. The narrow-eyed man was dragging the woman roughly, throwing her against the wall like a tattered piece of clothing, while spitting viciously, "All you do is move, move, move! You've scared the piglet. If I hadn't caught the piglet, I would have beaten you to death!"
After being stomped hard, Zhao Xuan became still. When she was thrown back into the pavilion, she seemed to have completely lost consciousness. She was slammed against the wall, landed on the ground, and then slumped against the wall, with blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
The last man with narrow eyes to appear saw that Zhao Xuan was only exhaling and not inhaling, and angrily cursed again: "Black pig, you're so ruthless! You trampled someone to death, but I'll take your life too!"
The man nicknamed "Black Pig" was quite overweight, weighing over 300 pounds. He seemed thoroughly fed up with the narrow-eyed man. He spread his hands, showing no fear, and taunted, "Come on, come on, if you've got the guts, go for it! You've been talking the most the whole way here!"
The narrow-eyed man's eyes widened, and he made as if he was about to rush forward.
The remaining tall, thin man stepped in to separate the two men, who were already on the verge of a fight: "Alright! Third Brother's only been gone a little while and you two are already at it? You don't want to live anymore, do you?!" He dropped the dog he was holding, squatted down, grabbed Zhao Xuan's hair, and pulled him up. Looking at Zhao Xuan's fair face, he couldn't help but curse after a few seconds: "Black pig, you're really going to hurt such a pretty piglet?!" He then reached to lift Zhao Xuan's clothes: "Don't kick anything that might hurt you..."
Even though the dog was tied up, he still shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't touch my sister!"
The black pig slapped the dog across the face, hitting both cheeks. The dog's eyes were bloodshot, and he was somewhat disoriented. He stumbled and fell against someone.
The person was the thin woman that the narrow-eyed man had dragged out last. The thin woman was also tied up. The dog's vision was already blurry, and it took him several seconds to see the person in front of him clearly.
This was a woman who was so thin she was practically skin and bones, with greasy hair and dirty clothes. She was so thin that when the dog rolled over her, it felt like it was hitting a few hard bones. Because she was so thin, she cried out in pain when the dog bumped into her.
The dog saw that her mouth was full of black blood.
All her teeth had been smashed—a frail woman whose only weapon was her teeth, and now they had been cruelly pulled out.
The woman howled and looked at the dog. Suddenly she stopped. She looked closely at the dog's face, and then suddenly raised the corners of her mouth and curved her eyebrows—she seemed to be smiling, but to the dog, her expression was more terrifying than a ghost.
The dog had no time to pay attention to the stranger. He watched as the tall, thin man lifted Zhao Xuan's clothes and began to grope Zhao Xuan's body. Suddenly, his mind went blank.
He found the scene disgusting.
When the serious illness broke out, the dog, though small, miraculously remembered many things. Perhaps the scenes were too bloody, which forced him to remember these past events: he remembered being held in his mother's arms, his father running away with an iron bar protecting them, and a woman's pitiful screams coming from a dark alley, accompanied by a man's arrogant laughter.
He had seen pale, naked female corpses dumped on stinking streets, with men dragging them away, their purpose unknown. He had also seen women who sold their bodies for a bite to eat, their faces withered, yet forcing smiles as they dealt with all sorts of men.
The apocalypse has inflicted immense physical and psychological trauma on every child who has managed to survive.
Dad said: It's already hard enough for women to live in this world, so when the dog grows up, he mustn't learn to be inhumane and hurt other, weaker women.
He must protect Sister Xuan today.
The dog gritted its teeth, suddenly sprang up from the ground, and crashed into the tall, thin man.
Caught off guard, the tall, thin man stumbled when the dog bumped into him, his head hitting the wall hard. The black pig and the narrow-eyed man didn't help; instead, they laughed as if watching a show.
Enraged, the tall, thin man punched the dog hard in the chest. The punch caught his breath, his throat burned, and then he knew nothing more.
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