Chapter 95 A Lifesaving Grace
Grandma Zhang was awakened by a loud knocking on the door.
Elderly people are light sleepers, but for some reason, she slept very soundly this time, perhaps because she had been in a good mood recently, which had also improved her sleep quality. The knocking at the door went on for quite some time before she slowly woke up from her nap.
It was noisy outside, but she couldn't hear what they were arguing about. After calming herself down, she got up to open the door.
"Who is it? Why are you in such a hurry..."
Grandma Zhang muttered something, peeked through the peephole, and was surprised to find that standing outside the door were her daughter Zhao Ya and granddaughter Ya Ya.
Zhao Ya held Ya Ya in her arms, her sun-protective clothing splattered with blood. Her face was deathly pale as she pressed her daughter's head tightly against her chest, her hand trembling uncontrollably as she covered the back of Ya Ya's head.
Grandma Zhang, who had been somewhat drowsy, suddenly woke up and cried out in a panic. She instinctively tried to touch the bloodstains on Zhao Ya's body and then checked on her granddaughter Ya Ya's condition. She was flustered and confused.
"What happened? Where did the blood come from? Is anyone injured?"
Seeing Grandma Zhang appear unharmed before her, Zhao Ya's eyes were already red. Hearing this series of concerned questions, she choked up and said, "This isn't my or Ya Ya's blood, don't worry."
He asked again, "Mom, are you alright?"
"I was taking a nap at home, what could possibly happen?" Grandma Zhang was completely bewildered.
"That's good, that's good..." Zhao Ya said in a daze. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she cautiously looked back, pushed Grandma Zhang into the door, and said, "Let's go inside and talk."
It's too unsafe outside; she's scared just standing there.
As soon as the heavy security door closed, Zhao Ya finally felt relieved. She collapsed onto the sofa, feeling utterly exhausted. Ya Ya was finally put down from her mother's arms and looked at her and her grandmother helplessly.
Zhao Ya protected her well, covering Ya Ya's eyes immediately, so she didn't see the bloody scenes and wasn't very scared. However, children are very perceptive, and her mother's unusual state made her a little uneasy.
Grandma Zhang went to get Ya Ya a bag of cookies and told her to sit in the room and eat them, but Zhao Ya jumped up from the sofa and, without taking a break, grabbed Ya Ya's hand and went to check all the windows in the rooms.
She was terrified after her trip outside and dared not let her daughter out of her sight.
It was then that Zhao Ya unexpectedly discovered that the glass, which was originally a single layer, now had protective railings installed on the outside.
Grandma Zhang lives on the third floor, which is neither too high nor too low. In the neighborhood, only residents on the first and second floors usually install security grilles for protection; very few residents on the third floor or above do. But when Zhao Ya saw her own security grille, she vaguely remembered that on her way here, she had indeed seen quite a few residents on higher floors install security grilles as well.
The original wooden front door has also been replaced with a brand new security door.
The key to the new door hadn't been given to Zhao Ya yet, which is why she couldn't come in directly and had to knock on the door for a long time.
It's only been a few days since she last came home, how come there have been such big changes in the house?
And... it was just in time.
Zhao Ya found it strange. Her mother was getting old and it was inconvenient for her to do many things. Usually, if they needed to add or replace anything at home, they would call Zhao Ya and ask her to contact someone. But this time, they replaced all the doors and windows at once, and she was completely unaware of it.
But the unexpected appearance of the security bars and security door gave her great comfort. She was finally completely relieved and whispered to Ya Ya to eat cookies in her room. She returned to the living room, her hands trembling as she quickly took off the blood-stained sun protection clothing, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.
Not content with just throwing it in, they tied the garbage bag in a knot and twisted it tightly before throwing it into a corner of the balcony where it couldn't be seen.
Grandma Zhang was confused: "What happened?"
Zhao Ya's voice was hoarse when she spoke: "Something happened outside. Many people are attacking passersby on the streets, and quite a few people have died. When I look at those murderers, I feel... something is not right."
She witnessed one person pounce on another and bite him.
And those who were bitten soon became just like them.
...No, not "them", but "them".
Thinking of what she had just seen, Zhao Ya felt nauseous.
She forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit, looked at her mother's thin and frail figure, and then remembered her daughter who was still in the room. She composed herself.
With elderly parents to care for and young children to raise, she had to be strong.
Grandma Zhang had seen dead people before, and although she was startled by what she heard, she quickly calmed down: "Are there many people who hurt others?"
"There were many. I saw at least seven or eight along the way." As Zhao Ya carried Ya Ya away, she kept a close eye on her surroundings, quickly moving away whenever she noticed anyone acting strangely. It was thanks to this vigilance that she was able to run so far with a child.
The two of them drove over to see Grandma Zhang on a whim today.
After her last phone call with her mother and brother, Zhao Ya couldn't sleep well for several nights, tossing and turning, feeling only regret.
When their mother asked them to share her recent life, they only poured cold water on her. She knew how to encourage and educate Ya Ya, so why did she lose patience in front of her own mother who gave birth to her?
Thinking of her mother's joyful expression when the call connected, Zhao Ya felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She was indeed very busy with work during that period, and she also had to take care of her daughter, which made her irritable. Finally, she finished her work this week and took Yaya back to see her grandmother as soon as she had some free time.
Grandma Zhang has lived alone for a long time, and she is happiest when she sees her daughter and granddaughter.
Zhao Ya wanted to give her a surprise, but she didn't contact her in advance. No one expected to encounter such a thing on the road.
The two had originally driven to a supermarket near their home, intending to buy some things before coming over, but before they could even enter the supermarket, chaos erupted around them. Zhao Ya didn't even dare to go back to the underground parking lot to get the car; she picked up Ya Ya and ran all the way over.
She took a sip of water and continued, "I see it's quite chaotic outside, and it probably won't calm down anytime soon. Let's stay home for a while and not go out for the next couple of days."
She was afraid that Grandma Zhang's heart condition wouldn't be able to handle it, so she didn't dare to describe the situation outside in detail.
In Zhao Ya's view, with burglar bars and security windows, the three of them were not at risk staying at home and could simply wait for the military to quell the riots.
Grandma Zhang thought for a moment, then her expression grew serious: "I'm afraid this isn't just happening around here. Do you know of any other places where this biting person has appeared?"
What if it happens elsewhere too...
Grandma Zhang's reminder chilled Zhao Ya to the bone. She quickly pulled out her phone, scrolled through dozens of messages, and then gave up, feeling utterly hopeless.
"The whole country is in chaos... even overseas."
With such a large-scale outbreak, there will definitely be a shortage of rescue personnel, and it is probably impossible to wait for rescue quickly.
Moreover, judging from the speed of transmission, one bite can cause another person to mutate. Zhao Ya only saw seven or eight people just now, but in such a short time, it may have become more than a dozen or even dozens.
One day later, two days later... how many more will there be?
Even if the police and military wanted to rescue them, they would have to fight their way through first. Just imagining it made Zhao Ya feel a wave of fear and unease. The mutants were all ordinary people; this was far more cruel than war.
“We can’t wait for someone to rescue us; we have to find a way to save ourselves.” Zhao Ya tried to cheer herself up. “We need to be prepared to stay at home for at least a week… no, two weeks.”
Still holding onto hope, and fearing her mother wouldn't be able to bear it, she didn't say how long it would take.
Grandma Zhang shook her head: "If it's really that serious, it probably won't be resolved in a week or two."
"Come with me."
She showed no sign of panic and gestured for Zhao Ya to go to the kitchen with her.
As soon as Zhao Ya stepped inside, her eyes lit up.
The kitchen was piled high with rice, flour, and cooking oil, some of which were still unopened, along with several boxes of canned goods such as eight-treasure porridge, luncheon meat, and fruit. Looking into the cupboards, there was a full range of seasonings, as well as a considerable quantity of millet, red beans, mung beans, soybeans, and oatmeal for making porridge—clearly, the kitchen had just been restocked.
There was even a bag of puffed rice and a bag of peanuts on the dining table, presumably bought by Grandma Zhang when someone came downstairs to sell them from a cart.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Liang both thought these traditional snacks were not tasty, and usually only Grandma Zhang ate them at home. But now Zhao Ya doesn't mind at all. She thinks they are cheap, plentiful, and the peanuts are very nutritious. If they are dried and sealed, they can be stored for more than a month.
Grandma Zhang's surprise wasn't over yet, and she added, "There are still some snacks at home that I bought for Yaya, like chocolate, biscuits, jelly, and potato chips."
Those things could withstand being stored for a while, and she was afraid of troubling Song Rushuang too much, so she bought a lot of them at once.
"And those unopened rice and flour packages are what I was thinking of having you take with you next time you come over." Grandma Zhang pointed to the things on the ground. "Didn't you say before that you're usually busy with work and don't have time to buy things, and that Yaya often eats takeout with you? So I thought I'd buy them for you and take them back, which would be so convenient... Anyway, you drove here, so it won't be a hassle to carry them back. And I saw that they're really cheap on those shopping websites, and there are discounts if you buy a certain amount."
If it were any other time, Zhao Ya would probably have complained.
These things are so heavy, it would be too much trouble for her to carry them back herself. She could just call a delivery service.
Even if there were a discount, how much would it be? It's not worth her carrying a bunch of stuff back from another city.
And buying so much at once, it's obvious that this is my mother's first time shopping online. Just like TV shopping a decade or so ago, she probably had an impulse to buy things because of her shopping addiction!
But now, Zhao Ya was so moved that she was about to cry.
Ya Ya is a little girl with a very small appetite, and Grandma Zhang doesn't eat much either. The three of them together probably only eat the amount of food that two adults would eat. This amount of food will last them for a very long time.
She counted the items and found there were quite a few, with brand-new packages hidden deep inside the cabinet. She realized her mother probably knew she had bought too much and, embarrassed to let her see, had hidden some beforehand.
Now that this has been brought up, Grandma Zhang herself turned her head away uncomfortably: "Let's go get some water first. You said those people assimilate others by biting them, it's probably some kind of infectious disease. We don't know if the virus will contaminate the water source later, so let's save some water just to be on the safe side."
"Soybeans and mung beans can be soaked and rehydrated. If you stay at home for a long time and there are no fresh vegetables, you can eat these. If you don't have enough containers, I have some plastic bottles that I've collected on the balcony. Just cut them open and you can use them."
Zhao Ya remembered that there was indeed a pile of "scrap" that Grandma Zhang had collected on the balcony of her home.
She wouldn't go so far as to rummage through trash cans outside, but she would clean up and store all the plastic bottles, buckets, cardboard boxes, and other waste paper that she had used up, and then sell them for money when she had enough.
In case the gas is shut off, waste paper can be used to start a fire, and plastic bottles can be used as containers. When you can't go out, these are not garbage at all; everything can be turned into something useful.
Zhao Ya had never been so grateful and fortunate that her mother had kept the habit of hoarding goods and collecting scraps.
Of course, she hoped that those so-called "what ifs" were just her overthinking...
After visiting her mother's house, Zhao Ya felt completely relieved. Thinking back to her and Ya Ya's home in the neighboring city, they realized they had practically nothing. The mother and daughter went to the supermarket once every week or two, only buying fresh fruits and vegetables and groceries for the week. Even rice was bought in small bags because they couldn't finish it all. Apart from seasonings and toilet paper, they had no habit of stockpiling.
This lifestyle isn't bad, but in such an emergency, if they were really trapped at home, they probably wouldn't last even a week.
Zhao Ya didn't even dare to think about the consequences of not being able to hold on.
After hesitating for a long time, she sincerely apologized to Grandma Zhang: "I'm sorry, Mom. I was too busy when I called last time and I wasn't in a good mood. I shouldn't have said that to you. Please don't be angry with me."
She's not a child anymore; her daughter is all grown up. She did a lot of mental preparation before coming, but she still didn't know what to say.
But once she actually said it, Zhao Ya realized that apologizing wasn't so difficult after all.
Grandma Zhang rolled her eyes at her: "Why would I really get angry with you?"
Despite saying that, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
Zhao Ya laughed along, but remembering the situation outside, her smile quickly faded, and she said sincerely, "But I'm not saying this to be mean, but you were incredibly prescient. You stockpiled these things at the perfect time, and that security door too..."
“That wasn’t because I had foresight, you should thank Xiaoshuang.” Grandma Zhang shook her head. “Have you forgotten what I said before? Xiaoshuang helped me download the shopping app. She said it’s inconvenient for me to go to the supermarket to buy things since I live alone, so she taught me how to use the shopping app.”
"But I learn slowly, so she took advantage of her summer vacation at home to buy me a lot of things, which saved me a lot of trouble."
Grandma Zhang genuinely liked Song Rushuang; once she started talking about her, she couldn't stop.
"And the security windows and doors, she also suggested that everyone replace them together. Oh, and I haven't told you yet, not long ago a child in our neighborhood almost fell from an upper floor..."
Grandma Zhang recounted Song Rushuang's heroic deeds in detail, and also mentioned that she had asked the police to hold a safety lecture and to arrange for the installation of security doors and security grilles.
Zhao Ya was stunned: "...Xiao Shuang just started college, right?"
I remember she got good scores on the college entrance exam, was smart and athletic, dared to climb stairs to save someone with her bare hands, and was also kind and caring towards elderly people living alone. She was courageous and kind... How did her parents raise her? How could she be so outstanding!
Speaking of which, what was I doing when I was eighteen or nineteen?
Zhao Ya thought about it again and her face flushed: Not to mention comparing her to herself when she was eighteen or nineteen, even compared to herself now, Song Rushuang is much better.
While she was away from home, Song Rushuang had quietly done so many things for her mother.
And each of these things helped their family at that particular juncture.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, if the family is trapped for a long time in the future, what Song Rushuang did will be a life-saving grace for Grandma Zhang's family.
And she saved more than just their family...
Zhao Ya silently made up her mind that once everything was over, she would definitely go to their door to thank them.
As she was thinking, her expression suddenly turned sour: "Wait, I just saw a news report saying that things are in chaos overseas too?"
Her younger brother, Zhao Liang, lives in country A.
Grandma Zhang panicked too: "Quick, call him and ask what's going on."
Zhao Ya didn't need to be reminded; she had already made the video call, but it rang for a long time without anyone answering.
The two exchanged a glance, their expressions turning extremely unpleasant.
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