Chapter 39 Chapter 39 (Inverted V) [VIP]
It was a little after five when Bai and his companions arrived at the village. It was already completely dark, but at the entrance to the village, a group of people were gathered around candles.
The crying sound of someone asking for a number came from the middle.
"What's going on?" Bai Yu saw an old mother wearing a red cotton jacket in the crowd at first sight.
"The child of Zhang Dacheng and the child of Wu Jun at the head of the village are gone."
"He died of illness at school. It's such a pity he was only seventeen or eighteen years old..."
"Isn't it because my child is in his third year of high school that I dropped him from school because I was worried about him affecting his studies? Who knew something like this would happen?"
…
Everyone learned the reason from the crowd's discussions.
Bai He didn't linger, leading the horse and donkey, but a hint of melancholy filled his eyes. He wasn't familiar with these two children, but he couldn't remain numb as he watched their lives slip away.
The deaths of these two children have weighed heavily on many families. The outside world is far more unstable than they imagined, and nearly every household in their village has someone working away from home, leaving many people without news.
Perhaps because the snow had stopped today and people were able to go out and come in, the village, which had been deserted for a long time, had regained some of its life. Many villagers were walking on the streets with lanterns. Lights could be seen in almost every house.
On his way home, Bai He had to pass by his uncle's house. He went in first to report that he was safe. When he entered, he saw only his grandmother, who was alone at home, stirring the bacon roasting on the brazier.
"Your grandfather went to help Zhang Dacheng's family."
"The village organized young people to go to the mountains to cut wood, and a group of strangers came to sell grain. Your uncle has been staying at the village committee since the afternoon and hasn't gone home."
"Zelan's parents went out with your aunt."
Grandma Bai explained while working nimbly with her hands.
Bai He nodded and put down the things Bai Yu and Ning Zelan had bought. When asked by Grandma Bai, he informed Bai Zhuo of the postponement of his wedding.
When Bai He returned home and opened the door, he saw Hei Dou, who was already squatting behind the door, waiting for him. At that moment, Bai He felt a warmer heart. In the countless days he spent alone, Hei Dou had always been his channel to connect with reality.
Its black eyes and wagging tail showed its happiness, and it immediately pressed its body against Bai He's legs. Bai He squatted down and rubbed its head lovingly.
Heidou, who had been enjoying the intimacy with Baihe, seemed to sense something different. He sniffed and then poked his head out from under Baihe's palm to peer into Baihe's arms.
Beneath Baihe's clothes lay a frail tiger, curled up in a ball. Its once imposing appearance looked rather pathetic. It met Heidou's gaze, glaring fiercely and defiantly, its tail tense.
Baihe reached out to soothe its stiff body, pointed at Heidou and introduced him, "This is Heidou, he's my older brother."
At the same time, he said to Heidou, who was full of curiosity and vigilance, "Heidou, this is Dahu, and he is also a member of our family. You two must get along well with each other in the future." Baihe squatted down, let the two dogs get familiar with each other's smell, and then took Dahu into the kitchen.
Because the room was freezing cold without anyone around, and the air was a white haze, Bai He took out a few thick sticks and lit them in a basin. He then pulled out a new doghouse from the space and placed Da Hu inside. Da Hu couldn't even move, so Bai He used a syringe to feed him a mixture of warm goat's milk and egg yolk.
We cannot favor one over the other, so Baihe also prepared dinner for Heidou, which included goat milk dog food and a can of food.
After finishing these tasks, Bai He immediately moved the newly purchased donkey and horse to the greenhouse. He glanced at the thermostat in the greenhouse; it was currently -2°C. There was a patch of land dedicated to livestock, covered with dry hay. Chickens, ducks, geese, and sheep huddled together for warmth, a thin layer of ice forming on one side of the vegetables. Bai He added wood to the greenhouse stove, and the heat spread through the pipes throughout the greenhouse.
Then Bai He moved the items in the car into the house.
Only then did Bai He finally have time to lie down on the sofa and take a breath. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and Bai He didn't want to bother with cooking anymore. He just made a bowl of noodles with the leftover mutton soup from last night, adding a handful of vegetables and an egg. It tasted pretty good. Bai He ate a large bowl. Because of the pepper and chili in it, he felt a little hot after eating it.
Outside the house, a bustling crowd filled the air, the cacophony of voices echoing. Through the glass windows of the main entrance, Bai He watched as carts, large and small, hauled heavy loads of branches and tree trunks descended from the hills behind. The thick snow on the road made it difficult for these rickshaws to maneuver, so nearly every wooden-wheeled cart was hauled by four or five people, creating a tremendous commotion.
It wasn't until the next day that Bai He realized they were the villagers organizing the logging. Logging in this weather is not only strenuous but also much more dangerous than usual. Just yesterday, four or five people were injured and lying in wait at the village clinic. Yet, many people still planned to go up the mountain today. There was no other way. Few people in the village, like Grandpa Bai, were accustomed to storing large quantities of firewood. It was said that many families, to keep warm and save firewood, were cramming seven, eight, or even more than ten people into one room.
Everyone now realizes that electricity and heating won't be restored anytime soon. To save yourself some winter heat, the only way is to head to the mountains now that the snow has stopped and chop more wood to bring home. If the wood is still wet, there's nothing you can do about it; you can just burn it and keep it warm.
The next day, Bai He came to his uncle's house. As the village secretary, they were always the first to get in touch with all kinds of news.
"Uncle, when you heard that someone in the village bought grain yesterday, what was the village's reaction?" Bai He asked.
Uncle Bai frowned and said, "The village chief and I don't agree with selling grain. We don't know what the harvest will be like in the future. But these people asked for a high price, and I'm afraid some people will be tempted by money." Although they are village cadres, this is a democratic society now, and we can't force people not to sell!
Uncle Bai sighed. He had no contact with the outside world and didn’t know that the situation outside was so bad. There were people starving to death, freezing to death...
Bai He nodded. There have been many greedy and short-sighted people since ancient times, and this cannot be prevented.
"Do you have anything to do today? If not, help me with my work." Uncle Bai said.
Since they couldn't buy feed, the amount of hay at home was limited. Uncle Bai planned to kill most of the livestock before they starved for meat. It was a big project.
Three sheep, three pigs, a cow, and dozens of chickens, ducks, and geese. It was too much meat, and considering the family's labor and food storage, the Bai family didn't plan to sell it all themselves. They had already informed the villagers of the news, and those who needed it would come to buy it.
Bai He, Bai Yu, Ning Zelan, and their group had experienced the town. Uncle Bai took their advice and decided to accept only grain and agricultural products, not money. Even though it wasn't worth it to exchange them at current prices, and even if prices recovered, almost two years of hard work would be wasted, Uncle Bai accepted it. Money lost could be earned back, but if the next year was bad and people starved to death, they would be gone.
The villagers were happy that they didn't have to pay for it. After all, meat prices were sky-high, and no one would be willing to pay for it. But agricultural and sideline products were fine. Sheshui Village was close to the mountains, and the more diligent people would pick mushrooms, chestnuts, pine nuts, etc. in the mountains when they had free time... so it was almost free.
With this in mind, and with the Lunar New Year approaching and every household stocking up, the meat at Baihe's house was quickly snatched up. However, exchanging various items during settlement was a hassle, and by the time everything was settled, the Bai and Ning families were practically hoarse.
After buying the meat, the next task became more challenging. Uncle Bai and Grandpa Bai planned to follow Bai He's example and dig a hidden cellar to store some of the food. The meat also needed to be cured and air-dried. The three members of the Ning family felt bad about living and eating for free at the Bai family's house. Now that something was needed, both the respectable Father Ning and the sophisticated Mother Lin rolled up their sleeves and worked diligently, regardless of the dirt. Grandma Bai and her aunt watched all this and nodded silently.
The snow stopped, and Bai He knew it was only the quiet before the storm. He had been thinking about getting his grandmother dentures for a long time. With her age, she only had a few teeth left, making eating difficult. Bai He observed that because of her difficulty chewing, she had consciously avoided meat, and she was already showing signs of malnutrition.
Before dawn that day, Bai He had already put a frame on her donkey cart, covered it with canvas to block the wind, and spread a thick quilt on the cart. Grandma Bai was stubborn and reluctant to spend money at first, but later, when the whole family joined in, she reluctantly got on the cart.
Bai He took his grandmother to the town hospital and found that the dental department was closed. After asking, he learned that due to limited resources, the hospital was concentrating all its efforts on the important departments of surgery and internal medicine, and all other unimportant departments were closed.
The other dental clinics in town had long since closed, and the hospital was the only place capable of making braces. The city was too far, and taking her there wouldn't be enough for her. But Bai He was definitely willing to go back like this.
Bai He learned the information of several dental doctors from a nurse in exchange for a pack of biscuits.
Bai He impressed a dentist with the price of 200 kilograms of rice and 30 kilograms of meat, and he secretly took the job.
The price was undoubtedly prohibitively high at the moment, but Bai He still felt it was worth it. The city's equipment was practically paralyzed, and getting a set of braces that would suit Grandma's needs would require considerable effort on the part of the doctor.
Moreover, Bai He was not afraid that the doctor would run away. He was a native of the town and all his family and relatives were in the town.
The dentures would take two weeks to come out, so Bai He paid half of the deposit and returned to the village with Grandma Bai. Because Xueting Town had many immigrants and a mixed crowd, Bai He didn't dare stay any longer with Grandma Bai.
In the days since the snow stopped, some villagers who had been working outside have been returning home. They look incredibly shabby, wearing a mix of summer, autumn, and winter clothes, seemingly piled high on everything they can wear, looking even more like beggars. Everyone has varying degrees of frostbite, some even having their toes and fingers frozen off.
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