Chapter 18 Chapter 18
This was the best meal they had had in days.
Although it was their first meeting, Bai Duan's comrades were all warm and welcoming, quickly engaging in lively conversation with Grandpa Bai and Uncle Bai. They constantly praised the delicious home-cooked food, and the Bai family members were all beaming. Grandpa Bai and Uncle Bai were proud of their good care of the livestock and their quality ingredients, while Grandma Bai and Aunt Bai were proud of their cooking skills.
In the end, the few strong young men cleaned up the entire table of food, which made the Bai family members like them even more.
After eating, my aunt-in-law took the quilt and prepared to make beds for several people.
Bai Duan showed a trace of embarrassment on his face. "Mom, I asked for leave to come home. I have to rush back to the army before ten o'clock. I have a mission tomorrow."
The smile on the aunt's face disappeared. She put the sofa in her hand on the bed, looked at her guilty son, sighed, and smiled again, "Mom knows. Be careful when you go on the mission."
Soldiers put the interests of the people first and are always on the front lines in the face of any danger. A mother worries about her son even when he's thousands of miles away. Unlike Uncle Bai and Grandpa Bai's pride in Bai Duan, Aunt Bai is more worried about him.
Bai Duan and his companions came and went in a hurry. The only good news left was that Bai Duan would be settled in a nearby military unit, making it easier for him to travel home, and the Bai family would be able to see him more often. Unlike before, when they could not see each other all year round.
After Bai Duan left, the Bai family felt deeply depressed. With floods now so frequent, it was obvious that Bai Duan's mission was related to disaster relief. The news was constantly ravaging the bravery of soldiers responding to disasters and the arduous and tragic nature of the rescue efforts. The Bai family was so consumed by the news that they eventually stopped watching similar news, the intensity of the story so strong.
Besides reporting on the extent of the damage in various regions, the news also focused on statistics on the number of infections and deaths. Due to the nationwide floods, epidemic prevention and control efforts have been extremely difficult, and medical personnel are facing a shortage of supplies. Currently, the number of infections nationwide has reached tens of millions, and the death toll has reached three million.
This death toll is terrifying regardless of the era. The panic caused by the epidemic has also led to a significant increase in the rate of crime across the country. □□... People with fragile or already dark minds have begun to use the epidemic as a shield to vent their negative emotions and create more panic.
People on the Internet called it a dark year.
On the seventh day of heavy rain, not only was there no electricity, but the cell phone signal was also unstable, and Bai Yu had not returned yet.
On the tenth day of the heavy rain, the signal completely disappeared from the phone, and Bai Yu still hadn't returned. My aunt was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night.
Sometimes my aunt would go to the village entrance to check, but the road leading to the outside world had been flooded, and cars couldn't get in or out.
The epidemic and floods seem to have isolated the entire village from the world.
During this period, Bai He's kang was also finished with the help of the whole family.
Gaolin City experiences frequent rain in spring and autumn, but never before had it been this heavy. For ten days straight, the rain continued day and night, as if a hole had been punctured in the sky. The rain poured down like a cascade, its forceful force overwhelming. The most noticeable effect was the once-dry village river, which had once surged again, flooding the village ponds and fields, leaving them awash in a swamp. The more superstitious villagers had already gone to the temple to pay their respects to the land god.
On the twelfth day of the heavy rain, village cadres braved the rain and knocked on every door.
"Changqing, Ding Wei from Guosheng's family is about to give birth and needs to be taken to the hospital. But the water has flooded the roads. Can someone from your family help dig a ditch to divert the water?"
As soon as the village cadre finished speaking, Ding Wei's father Ding Guosheng behind him took out a pack of cigarettes from the plastic bag in his hand and stuffed it into Bai Changqing's hand.
Ding Guosheng was wearing a raincoat with his hat tilted. The rain soaked his hair. His face was red from the cold and his mouth was shaking, not sure if it was because of the cold or panic.
"Changqing! There's no other way. My daughter is about to give birth and I have to rush to the hospital. Please help me."
"Guosheng, what are you talking about? We're all from the same village. How can we not help someone when their life is at stake?" Bai Changqing touched his hand and found it was as cold as ice. Ding Guosheng kept stuffing cigarettes into Bai Changqing's pocket, and Bai Changqing knew he wouldn't feel at ease unless he took the cigarettes from him.
Grandpa Bai, who was inside the house, heard the commotion outside and followed over. He looked at Ding Guosheng's anxious face and the bag of cigarettes he hadn't finished distributing. "You go notify the others first. We, father and son, will grab our tools and head straight to the village entrance."
"Okay, thank you Changqing! Thank you Uncle Bai too."
Ding Guosheng bowed his hands repeatedly in gratitude. Unfortunately, Ding Guosheng had been born during the birth control era, so he only had one daughter. His wife was then forced to get an IUD. But he was a man of old-fashioned ways, believing in the "son as a safeguard in old age" mentality. He felt he had to have a son to carry on the family line, to honor his ancestors. Otherwise, his family would be extinct, with no one to inherit it. He would also be looked down upon by his neighbors, losing face and even bringing shame.
However, due to the policy, they could not have more children, so after raising their daughter, Ding Guosheng found a husband for her, which could be considered as continuing the family line.
My daughter and son-in-law were in their prime, so they should have good news soon. However, they had been married for several years but still couldn't get pregnant. After taking her to the hospital for a checkup, they found out that my daughter's fallopian tubes were blocked, making it very difficult for her to conceive.
Upon hearing the news, Ding Guosheng was struck by lightning, his face uglier than his daughter's. Returning home, thinking that his family's lineage would be extinguished in this generation, he felt so sorry for his ancestors and so hopeless about his life that he pulled out a rope and threw it over the beam. Fortunately, his wife spotted him.
Despite being dissuaded, Ding Guosheng lost his energy and spirit. He was completely devastated, not wanting to work or do anything. Since he had saved money but no one would use it, he spent his days playing mahjong and drinking. It wasn't until he heard from the hospital that he could try IVF that he regained his spirits.
IVF is expensive and extremely challenging for pregnant women. Ding Wei lost her first child at three months old. When she became pregnant with her second child, the family treated her like a treasure, attending the hospital for regular checkups, and she managed to make it to October.
Ding Wei's due date was in a few days. Her pregnancy had been difficult, and the child was precious to the Ding family. She had originally planned to go to the hospital to prepare for the birth, but due to the pandemic and two days of heavy rain, she stayed home until now.
If you want to give birth now, you have to go to the hospital. People nowadays have different physical constitutions than in the past. You can't just stay at home and give birth alone. This can easily result in two deaths.
The Ding family can't afford to gamble.
Ding Guosheng was a craftsman who had helped every household, so he went door to door to invite people. In this way, every household in the village contributed people.
In fact, besides the Ding family, many families in the village were also anxious to leave, such as those with children in school, those missing relatives outside, or those with health problems who needed to go to the hospital for treatment... It's just that they were not as anxious as the Ding family. In short, draining and clearing the road was a very important matter for the entire village.
In some kind-hearted families, all the adult men come out.
Downhill from Sheshui Village, wastewater piled up chest-high, and the level was still rising. Village officials planned to divert it to nearby farmland and then dig a canal to bring it to the village reservoir.
Working in the pouring rain was twice as tiring as usual, and the pace was much slower. Fortunately, everyone was used to farm work, and the Ding family was the hardest working. Besides the men, even Ding Shengguo's wife came, leaving an old lady at home to take care of Ding Wei.
Dozens of people worked, and several pumps kept running. The water on the road temporarily dropped to knee level, and cars could pass through.
Ding Wei's husband immediately drove her to the hospital, and then several other cars followed from the village.
Driving in this kind of weather is dangerous, but there are always things that take precedence over safety. Take, for example, children, who were first quarantined at school due to the pandemic, and then unable to return home due to the floods. Before, when there was signal, parents could call their children every day to check in, which eased their anxiety. Now, with no signal, parents are becoming increasingly restless.
My aunt also wanted to drive to pick Bai Yu up herself. But Uncle Bai still had some sense. Bai Yu had been out of touch with them for several days, and their location was unresolved. It would be a waste of time to go out and there was a high possibility of an accident. She would feel guilty for the rest of her life if Bai Yu came back.
My aunt was persuaded to stay, but she was very anxious at home. She could only find things to do to relieve her panic.
The vegetables harvested a few days ago had to be dried to preserve them properly. Thankfully, Grandpa and Grandma Bai cooked with firewood from time to time, so they had enough firewood at home to dry so many vegetables. These past few days, thick smoke billowed from Uncle Bai's and Bai He's homes, with several stoves burning and bonfires built outside. Bai He felt like he was completely smoky.
The rain kept falling, and although there was no shortage of food for the family, there was a shortage of vegetables. Uncle Bai was about to kill the fat pig he had raised.
After Bai He's persuasion, Uncle Bai decided not to sell the pork from this pig and kept it for his family. The excess would be made into bacon.
Because of the epidemic and heavy rain, no one goes out. Otherwise, the whole village will know about slaughtering pigs. And in the countryside, it is difficult to refuse your neighbor if he wants to buy a pig if you slaughter one.
Besides slaughtering the pigs, Auntie Bai and Grandma Bai also prepared to slaughter some chickens and ducks. With the continuous heavy rain and humid weather, chickens and ducks crowded together are prone to illness. This is when the several large refrigerators Bai He bought came in handy.
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