Chapter 68 Chapter 68 [VIP]
Next to the young man, a child of four or five licked the last drop of water from his own small cup. Then, with longing eyes, he turned to the water bottle in his father's hand. His tender lips were covered in layers of dead skin from dryness, and in some places, tiny cracks appeared.
"Dad, I want some more water. I'm thirsty."
The white and tender skin was covered with layers of small red rashes due to lack of cleaning. From time to time, he would twist his body to relieve the pain.
"Baby, bear with it. You've already had a small glass of water. You can drink the rest later." The man held the child and comforted him. But the child was not understanding. He only followed his body's instincts.
"I want to drink."
The child cried with his mouth opened, and the small wound on his mouth burst open, and trickles of blood flowed out.
"Feed my share to Xiaobao! I'm not thirsty." The woman on the sofa felt sorry for the child and said weakly.
"You haven't had any water since yesterday. If you don't drink water, you will die of thirst." The man looked at his wife's haggard face with heartache.
"I'm fine. These grass roots are full of water. Eating them will fill my stomach."
The woman grabbed a handful of roots and leaves from a nearby basket and stuffed them into her mouth. It was a plant with a certain amount of water and fiber. It did replenish water and fill her stomach, but the taste was terrible, bitter and astringent. After eating it, her sense of taste was lost for almost an hour or two.
Although the woman tried her best to keep a calm expression while eating to reassure the man, the taste was still too unbearable for her, who had always been picky about food. The food kept sliding up and down her throat, and her face turned blue before she could finally swallow it.
"Drink water."
The man forced a half-full bottle of water into his wife's hands.
"Drink it."
The man said without letting anyone refuse.
"Tomorrow I will go to the neighboring city with Captain Wang to find water."
Worry flashed in the woman's eyes. She wanted to say something, but when she saw her son's longing gaze towards Aquarius, she closed her mouth helplessly.
…
The importance of water to humans is self-evident. Some capable people who are unwilling to wander on the brink of life and death every day and leave everything to fate have formed teams to resell water and supplies in various regions and even cities.
Due to the collapse of communications and technology, as well as repeated natural disasters, national power is unable to control every region. Security in many remote areas is precarious, and dried blood and corpses can often be seen on abandoned roads and desolate mountains. Working in this industry is like hanging your head on your waist, but the profits are also terrifying.
As soon as the man signed the life-long contract and officially joined Captain Wang's team, he was allocated a bucket of water and a bag of rice.
On his first mission, the man was assigned a daunting task: to a mountain town hundreds of miles away, where there was an abundance of spring water. The caravan had to walk the entire way, using donkey carts and horse carriages for transportation. The journey would take at least a month.
This trip was entirely for the city's top brass. Ironically, while many people were exploiting the grassroots and drinking urine to get a sip of water, some of the city's rich and powerful second-generations were actually planning a pool party.
This journey involved passing through numerous mountain passes and cities, and many lives were bound to be lost. However, the caravan was willing to take on this mission, firstly because the other party was generous with the food and provisions, and secondly because they couldn't afford to offend these people. These days, business inevitably involves some drastic tactics, and if the higher-ups investigate closely, there's no escape.
…
…
The high temperature weather has lasted for four or five months. Now it is November and the temperature still shows no signs of dropping.
Unspeakable panic spread in people's hearts, and many people suffered from heliophobia. Looking at the scorching sun hanging above their heads every day, they felt as if a stone was pressing on their hearts and they could not breathe.
"There's a fire."
"There's a fire."
During the day, the piercing sound of gongs, accompanied by cries for help, echoed throughout the village. Fearing the sun, few braved the immediate danger. Following the billowing smoke, several tightly wrapped people arrived at the fire site.
It was a private house. Because it was dry and there was a lot of firewood stored in the house, the fire spread quickly. The back house was completely engulfed in flames, and the front house was also surrounded by fire. As soon as people walked outside the wall of the house, they felt a heat that almost roasted their skin.
The two people who had managed to escape from the house knelt in front of everyone with tears streaming down their faces, begging them to save their families.
Everyone fell silent. Going into such a big fire would undoubtedly mean death. Those who were able to act took a bucket of water from their neighbors and poured it on the fire, but it was of no use.
"Hey, kid, get up! It's not that we don't want to save you, it's that we really can't!"
As if to prove it, there was a loud "boom" and the entire backyard collapsed. The fire instantly grew higher and higher. Hot wind mixed with sparks rushed forward, and everyone was frightened and retreated again and again.
"Mom and Dad."
Seeing this, a man on the ground used his hands and feet to get up from the ground and was about to rush in, but the villagers stopped him in time.
It took three people to hold the crazy girl back. Everyone tried to persuade her earnestly, "Ningning! Don't do anything stupid. The fire is so big. Not only will you fail to save anyone, but you will also lose a life. You also have your brother."
The villagers brought buckets of water from everywhere, but it was just a drop in the bucket. In just seven or eight minutes, the fire had completely engulfed the house. With all hope gone, the two men collapsed on the ground in despair.
"Why are you just standing there? Put out the fire! You're just waiting for it to burn down your house."
The Yu family's house burned down, but the fire didn't stop. It spread outward along the weeds and shrubs beside the house. The village chief rushed over and saw this scene, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Who could remain silent after hearing this? But the river had dried up. How could anyone put out the fire without water? Fires rarely occurred in Sheshui Village, near the water, and when they did, firefighters responded immediately. This left villagers with a serious lack of experience and knowledge in firefighting, leaving some standing there, unsure of what to do.
The village chief was furious and said, “Go dig a protective belt and pick up sand and soil to put out the fire.”
"All of you follow Bai He and obey his instructions." The village chief randomly pointed out more than ten people to Bai He. He then gradually assigned some smart and reliable people to lead the team to work.
As the safety of the village was at stake, residents were called out one by one. Meanwhile, workers at the construction site, seeing the severity of the fire, rushed over to put it out. With everyone working together, the fire was finally put out after several hours.
The Yu family home, where the fire originated, was reduced to a pile of ashes. Four other houses were also affected, and many of those fighting the fire suffered from heatstroke and dehydration. By the time the village chief and police officers had dealt with the situation, it was past 10 p.m., and they were finally able to question the survivors about the cause of the fire.
"I don't know. We were all resting in the hall when suddenly there was a burst of white smoke from behind. My grandparents were resting in the backyard. My dad wanted to rescue them, but he went in and couldn't get out. My mom told my brother and I to run for our lives. She wanted to take the half bag of rice out of the house, but..."
"I tried to stop her from going in, but she wouldn't listen..." The girl tore her hair, regret and pain almost drowning her.
"If only I had been more resolute, I should have held her back."
The girl was crying breathlessly. The village head's wife couldn't bear it. She hugged her, patted her shoulders gently and comforted her, "It's not her fault."
The girl's sixth-grade brother has begun to understand things. With red eyes, he holds his sister's hand like a little adult and says firmly, "Sister, you still have me."
The village chief and the police were unable to get any clues from the two siblings, so they had to investigate on their own.
The Yu siblings, still minors and without relatives willing to take care of them, were placed in a relief center. Their apprehensive expressions before leaving made the villagers sigh with sorrow.
"These are some things that everyone in the village has collected for you. Please keep them well." The village chief's son followed the two siblings, pushing a dirt cart.
"The relief center is right in the village. If you have any problems, just come to us. We won't let you bully us."
"Tingting, you will be the head of the family from now on. Take good care of your brother."
The sudden destruction of her family made the innocent girl grow up a lot overnight. She was very silent along the way, just holding on to her brother tightly, as if grabbing a life-saving straw.
…
As the two siblings of the Yu family moved into the relief center, the tragedy of the Yu family became the hottest topic in the village. Everyone in the village turned into Sherlock Holmes and made countless guesses about the cause of the fire.
Just two days later, when the topic of the Yu family had not yet cooled down, two more families caught fire.
The family was having dinner at a relative's house at the time and there were no casualties.
Another family all died in the fire. They had a lot of dry firewood stored at home, and the weather was dry, so the fire spread extremely fast and surrounded the house in an instant. When the fire was extinguished, only the frame of the house was left, and the people and things inside were burned to ashes.
As fires broke out one after another, everyone felt that this was no accident. Everyone was worried, and the atmosphere in the village, which had finally settled down, was once again shrouded in panic.
Naturally, the police station would not tolerate such a vicious incident. They arranged personnel to patrol day and night, and police officers also continued to talk to villagers to look for clues.
When the sun sets and the light disappears, the village comes alive. The closed doors of each household open and people come out.
Zhang Yan's grandmother, Grandma Zhang, walked slowly into her home carrying a woven bag in her hand.
"Grandma, why are you here?" Zhang Yan, who was having dinner, quickly put down her chopsticks when she saw this.
Zhang Yan took the thing from the old lady's hand, which was heavy at least 20 to 30 kilograms. Her brows immediately furrowed and she said unhappily, "The village has been very unsafe recently. What are you doing out here, a 70-year-old lady? If you have anything to say, just ask someone to tell me."
"It's just getting dark and the village is full of people. Besides, I'm an old woman who is about to die. Who would want to harm me?" Grandma Zhang covered her knees and slowly sat down on the stool, breathing heavily.
"You're just being stubborn."
Zhang Yan opened the bag and saw potatoes, bean sprouts, a handmade broom, a vegetable basket, and even a kitchen knife. Her brows furrowed instantly and worry appeared in her eyes.
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