Chapter 20 Chapter 20
"Are you going up yet?" Bai He said impatiently.
"Get on board"
Zhang Yan was startled and became extremely obedient. He quickly pulled the suitcase and sat in.
After Zhang Yan gave in, Bai He returned to normal, holding the steering wheel with both hands, looking forward with his eyelids half-closed and looking listless.
There was no need for Bai He to ask on the way, Zhang Yan couldn't help but blurt out everything.
At that time, Zhang Yan was working in Sanyu, but her mother went to his workplace to ask for money, crying, making a fuss, and even threatening to commit suicide, which scared the company boss and colleagues. If it were an ordinary person, they might choose to keep quiet for the sake of the overall situation and reputation. But Zhang Yan had been living outside since junior high school. She was thicker than a city wall and colder than iron. She fought hard for her job but didn't want it, and she had a quarrel with her mother. She even made a red banner and went to his mother's community with gongs and drums. The banner read "Zhang Jiao, the "three good stepmother", forced her own son to buy blood in order to buy a pineapple three-piece set for her stepson." It really made the whole family lose face.
After getting his revenge and relieving his anger, Zhang Yan went back to looking for a job. There were plenty of factories in the modern world, and just as Zhang Yan had quickly found a second job, his grandmother called him. It was her 73rd birthday and she wanted her grandson, Zhang Yan, to come home and see her.
Zhang Yan has very complicated feelings towards his grandmother. Although he really doesn't want to go home, he returns home after she repeatedly asks him to do so, out of gratitude for the kindness she showed him in raising him since childhood.
She returned unsurprisingly, asking for money. However, her grandmother wasn't as direct as her mother, instead playing the emotional card. Zhang Yan understood her grandmother's perspective. If her only daughter couldn't be trusted, how could she count on her grandchildren, a generation apart? Relationships were illusory; the money she held was her only true support in her old age.
Zhang Yan had no qualms about giving money to his grandmother. Even though she had many faults, she had raised him and given him a place to live. Without her, Zhang Yan wouldn't be alive today. Zhang Yan hated returning to Sheshui Village, mainly because he hated the way his relatives and friends used various moral blackmail tactics to reconcile him and that selfish woman.
Why should he forgive all her mistakes and be willing to give her everything for his whole life just because he is her son? She never asked him whether he wanted to be born from her belly.
Zhang Yan had originally planned to leave after her grandmother's birthday, but because the village was closed due to the epidemic and the roads were closed due to floods, she had to stay for more than 20 days.
Some people are not suitable for long-term relationships. Especially in this family where besides her grandmother, there is also her stepmother's husband and his family. Zhang Yan feels uncomfortable no matter how she stays.
The same is clearly true of her grandmother's current husband's family. Zhang Yan's grandmother, Zhou Cuihua, and her current husband, Wu Qiushi, remarried in their sixties. Calling it love is ridiculous; it was all about pure profit.
Wu Qiushi's family was demolished that year. Wu Qiusheng, a widower, wanted to get an extra 300,000 yuan in compensation, so he introduced Zhou Cuihua, a widow who had been widowed for a long time. Zhou Cuihua married Wu Qiushi, and Wu Qiushi gave her 50,000 yuan.
The two had agreed to wait two years for the storm to subside before agreeing to a divorce, and from then on, they would go their separate ways. But Wu Qiushi was getting older, and he was suffering from various health issues, including high blood pressure and diabetes. His children, due to work and personal commitments, were unable to care for him. Zhou Cuihua, a few years younger than him, was a capable and responsible woman, the one who managed the household. Wu Qiushi was tempted and made another agreement with her: if she took good care of him, he would give her 2,000 yuan a month.
This money was very attractive to Zhou Cuihua, who could only make a living by doing odd jobs. She agreed without hesitation.
Zhou Cuihua moved into Wu Qiushi's house and was essentially a nanny hired by Wu Qiushi. Naturally, she could not bring her grandson Zhang Yan to live with her.
Wu Qiushi, who married to defraud a birth fee, was clearly not a respectable man. With prices skyrocketing amidst the pandemic and floods, Wu Qiushi was responsible for all household expenses. The added burden of Zhang Yan naturally gave him pause. Wu Qiushi's constant pressure and sarcastic remarks led to small arguments between Zhang Yan, who couldn't stand being wronged, and the Wu family, who were constantly arguing.
After staying at the Wu family for three days, he couldn't help but move back to his old house. Even though the small red brick house was dirty and messy because no one had lived there for a long time, Wu Qiushi couldn't take care of it anymore.
The rain finally stopped today. Zhang Yan couldn't stay any longer and went out with her luggage.
"Wu Qiushi scolded me for being a freeloader, but my grandmother stood there without saying a word, pretending she didn't hear anything. I felt really disappointed! I used to give her a lot of money." Zhang Yan covered her face with her five fingers spread out, with a self-deprecating look and a depressed look in her eyes.
"The situation outside is terrible now. If you really can't get along with your grandmother's family, you might as well build or buy a house in the village."
After listening to Zhang Yan's complaints, Bai He did not comment on their family's private affairs, but calmly gave suggestions.
Growing up without a father and neglected by his mother, Zhang Yan began earning his own living before finishing junior high school. He appeared capable, but beneath his tough exterior lay a deeply insecure person. He valued money because, having endured a difficult childhood, it provided him with a sense of security. Having his own house alleviated the insecurity that came with living under someone else's roof.
Zhang Yan, however, found Bai He's words ridiculous. He dreamed of buying a house, but not in Sheshui Village, dozens of miles from town. Was it because it was poor, remote, or because it had a bunch of enemies?
Sheshui Village didn't bring back any fond memories for Zhang Yan. Only embarrassment and bitterness. Zhang Yan will probably never forget the disdainful looks his classmates gave him when he wore smelly clothes to school every day. He also can't forget the time he secretly picked up bubble gum someone had spit on the ground and chewed it all day... That was the past he hated to recall. Everyone here had seen him at his most embarrassing.
After his grandmother passed away, Zhang Yan thought he would never come back here again.
"The difficulties are only temporary. You have to believe in our country. Wasn't SARS also quite serious more than ten years ago, but it's all over." Zhang Yan's tone was full of trust and enthusiasm for the country.
This country has created so many miracles. Everyone believes that this epidemic and flood disaster are just like the difficulties they have faced in the past. After the storm, there will definitely be a rainbow. If it weren't for God's unwillingness to let people live, the people living in Xiaguo would be truly blessed, because this country will never abandon its people.
"Bai and you can't just look at the bad side of things."
"In fact, you know that I will not return to Sheshui Village in the future, and you can't bear to leave me, so you think of a way to let me buy a house in Sheshui Village. But Bai told me that even if we are not in the same city, we are still good brothers. Our relationship..."
Zhang Yan winked at Bai He as she spoke. Bai He ignored her and stared straight ahead. His monologue was failing. Zhang Yan said dejectedly, "You're becoming increasingly boring."
"I don't know who will be able to bring this Buddha of yours back to life in the future."
"That's right."
Zhang Yan slapped her head, remembering something. "My phone's been out of battery for days, so I'd like to borrow your car to charge it."
Zhang Yan couldn't wait to turn on her phone after it had just charged up a bit, but saw that the signal at the top was still an X. "Fuck, why is there no signal? When will it be back to normal?"
After working for many years in various factories, Zhang Yan has become accustomed to swearing due to the influence of her surroundings.
After saying that, he realized it belatedly and looked at Bai He.
Bai He didn't even raise his eyelids. As long as Zhang Yan's swear words didn't involve him, Bai He didn't bother to care about him.
Although Bai He's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, his mind was reminiscing about the dream. After the rain, the entire Blue Planet's magnetic field was destroyed, causing all electronic signals to fail, and the communication network would never be restored to its previous state.
Later, due to extreme weather and resource depletion, scientific researchers were unable to solve the problem.
In a few days, people will discover that all network communications have failed. This will also be the prelude to the collapse of the social order that the country has spent decades to stabilize.
Strangely enough, he rarely dreams after the rain. All his dreams are fragments of the future from God's perspective, but the future for himself and his family is unclear.
Bai He's mindset is now much calmer than it was at the beginning. Blue Planet treats all creatures equally, providing a home for all its children, sunshine, flowers, and dew. Humanity, however, has become a parasite on Blue Planet, driving countless species to extinction in pursuit of its own survival. Far from being grateful for the planet that sustains them, they are actively exploiting it. While humanity thrives on Blue Planet, Blue Planet endures all manner of torment.
Blue Star had given humans a warning, but humans ignored it out of arrogance.
Blue Star has its own way of operating. When parasites on its body continue to cause trouble and threaten its survival, it chooses to destroy them directly, just like it destroyed various powerful creatures that claimed to be the masters of Blue Star ten thousand years ago.
Various natural disasters are its most powerful weapons. Therefore, the extinction of species on the blue planet may also be a form of self-protection and self-healing.
Those who do not respect life and their homeland will naturally end up in destruction.
He had already done what he needed to do. There was nothing he could do if he couldn't survive. He just felt sorry for the children. Bai He looked at the children who happily ran out of the house after the sky cleared. They were lively and innocent, yet they hadn't yet enjoyed the good times, but were about to face the cruelest of life.
The troops near Sheshui Village had already cleared the roads in advance to facilitate assistance, but Bai He's drive to the town was difficult.
There were a lot of cars on the road, some leaving, some trying to get in, and the country road was narrow, only allowing two cars to move forward at a time. Just getting to the town took three times longer than usual.
Arriving in town, Bai He went to the gas station first. The gas prices there were more than double what they were before the flood, but Bai He didn't even blink, filling up two large tanks of gasoline and diesel. Because of the power outage, gas station regulations were less stringent, so Bai He only needed to register his ID card.
Gasoline and diesel are both precious resources, and they will be used less and less in the future. Bai He has developed a habit of filling up his tank whenever he goes out. With information flow being difficult at the moment, Bai He has no qualms about buying fuel at gas stations.
When passing through the town, Bai He also paid close attention to the situation of the local people.
The author has something to say:
I was planning to post all my drafts this week, but they didn’t make the list (crying). If they do, I’ll definitely post them next week.
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