The sun is scorching and burning the earth.
Under the bridge, three men and one woman were standing on the platform of the bridge pier, throwing several plastic buckets into the river, pumping water mechanically over and over again.
They looked like a family. The men were shirtless and the women were only wearing vests and shorts, and they were all sweating profusely.
As soon as the turbid river water was pumped up, the young man wanted to drink a sip, but was slapped on the back of the head by the older man.
"You bastard! What are you doing?!"
"Can I drink this water directly?"
"Master, I'm very thirsty." The young man licked his cracked lips, his throat was about to smoke.
Wang Dawei handed his son a mineral water bottle with less than a third of water in it. "Just moisten your mouth, don't drink too much."
"Dad, I'm thirsty too." Wang Meixin stared at the bottle of water and couldn't help swallowing, but she couldn't swallow it at all. Her throat was so dry that it felt like a razor blade was stuck.
Wang Dawei hesitated for a moment and handed the mineral water to his daughter first.
Wang Meixin took it and took a sip carefully. She didn't give it to her brother, but gave it to the old man. Wang Zhongyi shook his head and said, "You little kids drink it. I'm not thirsty."
How could he not be thirsty? The family came here to fetch water, and the only half bottle of water was basically drunk by the two children. Wang Dawei also took a sip, but the old man didn't drink a single sip.
"Master, you should drink something." Wang Meixin said, "We still have to walk for an hour to get back. I won't be able to hold on if I don't drink."
Wang Zhongyi hesitated for a moment, but still took the water. When the water touched his lips, he really wanted to take a big gulp, but he couldn't.
If he drank it, his son and grandchildren would definitely not make it back.
He tried his best to control himself, only touched his lips, and handed the water to his grandson who was waiting anxiously beside him: "Grandpa drank it, and you can give it to your child."
Wang Junfei took the water, hesitated for a moment, and didn't drink it, so he handed it back to his father.
"After I carry these buckets of water back and filter it out into fresh water, I'll drink it to my heart's content."
Wang Dawei felt bad. Thinking of his seriously ill mother who was still waiting for water at home, he gritted his teeth and said, "Please fetch another bucket of water. I'll carry it!"
"Dad, don't be so stubborn. My brother and I can carry it." Wang Meixin said, "Your waist can't carry so much. Your waist injury is serious. It will be even more annoying later."
The family members were talking, their hands busy.
"Hurry up, otherwise when it gets dark and the temperature drops, those desperate people will come to grab water along the way, and our efforts will be in vain." Grandpa Wang reminded.
The temperature is extremely high now, and running so far to fetch water is risking your life.
But there is no other way. If we come after dark, not to mention the large number of people, it will be even more dangerous. There will always be people who like to get something for nothing and just grab the water along the way.
The Wang family lives too far from the river, and it takes an hour to walk there, so they can only come out to fetch water at this time.
Not to mention, there is an old lady at home who is suffering from severe dehydration.
The family was working together to fetch water when they heard the sound of a vehicle passing above. The sound startled the Wang family.
"Is it a car?" Wang Junfei asked uncertainly, "Is it a car that drove in from outside?"
Both Mr. Wang and Wang Dawei looked surprised and soon became nervous again.
"Be careful!" Old man Wang picked up the kitchen knife at his feet and pulled his granddaughter behind him. Wang Dawei also picked up the steel rod beside him. Wang Meixin and Wang Junfei also picked up their weapons and were on guard vigilantly.
There is a small path diagonally to the right of the bridge pier where they are. If a vehicle passes by the bridge above, it only needs to turn left when getting off the bridge and will not be able to find this small path.
The sound of the vehicle was getting closer and closer, and the family's hearts began to pound. When the front of the vehicle appeared in front of them, the family quickly hid behind the bridge pier.
"It really is a car! This direction, it must have come from outside!" Wang Junfei asked in surprise: "That thick fog..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com