After such a mishap, Ji Zong could think of no better solution than to work tirelessly to earn money. He worked even harder than before, toiling in the brick factory during the day and working as a porter in town at night, working day and night, rain or shine.
Sometimes he worked too late in town, so he would just find a roof or an old house to stay overnight and then rush back to the brick factory to work the next day.
Seeing Ji Zong working so tirelessly, Shu Mei was really worried that he would collapse from exhaustion. However, looking at the crying children in her arms and their handsome faces, she could only watch Ji Zong work hard.
One day, it was pouring rain. Normally, Ji Zong would have called it a day and gone home, because the brick factory had a rule not to work during heavy rain. Even if the factory didn't have this rule, no one would have braved the downpour and risked their lives to go to the quarry to quarry stone for brickmaking.
Brick making is piecework; the more bricks you make, the more you earn. As his fellow workers returned home one by one, Ji Zong, hiding under the brick shed, showed no sign of leaving.
After a brief inner struggle, he braved the heavy rain, pushed a wheelbarrow, and went to the quarry to quarry stones, intending to quarry and make bricks himself.
As if the heavens were deliberately trying to make things difficult for this unfortunate man, the weight of the rain intensified. With a loud crash, a loose boulder from the top of the mountain, mixed with mud, tumbled down. Before Ji Zong could react, he was pinned to the ground by the rock and mud. Feeling a piercing pain in his back, he struggled to crawl out from under the rock, but his legs wouldn't move, and he had no strength left, as if he had completely lost all feeling. At first, Ji Zong thought his legs were broken, but when he looked back, he saw they were still attached. Helpless, he could only scream for help, hoping the guard at the gate or the cook in the cafeteria would hear him and come rescue him.
"Help! Lao Li, Lao Jiang, come and save me, I'm Zhang Jizong, someone come! Help!"
Perhaps the rain was too loud and those people did not hear his calls. His body was already exhausted from days of hard work, and with the wind and rain, he was cold, hungry and tired, and soon fainted.
The rain fell from morning till evening, and even as darkness approached, Ji Zong still hadn't returned. Shu Mei was getting anxious. With the brick factory closed in such heavy rain, there was no work to be done in town. Where on earth could Ji Zong have gone? Her heart was in turmoil, and she fidgeted restlessly in the room.
"Dad, Dad..." She was still in confinement after giving birth and had a child to take care of, so it was impossible for her to go out to look for Ji Zong. Helplessly, she could only ask Zhang Binglin for help.
"What's wrong? Shumei."
Zhang Binglin heard this, put out the leaf cigarette in his hand, and walked to the door of Shumei's room. After the last "sowing seeds for his son" incident, Zhang Binglin dared not step into their room again, and he would talk about anything at the door.
"It's getting dark, and the rain seems to have stopped. My right eyelid is twitching violently. Dad, go look for Ji Zong!"
"Okay, don't worry too much. I'll go to the brick factory to find him."
Zhang Binglin agreed without hesitation. Wu Ju, who was pulling at the soles of her shoes in the house, did not object. No matter how unreasonable she was, she was still concerned about her son's safety. Zhang Binglin put on rain boots and took a flashlight. Fearing that it would rain again, he also took two straw hats and hurried out.
About two or three hours after Zhang Binglin left, Shumei heard dogs barking in the village. Her sixth sense told her that it must be Jizong and his friends returning.
Sure enough, heavy footsteps were soon heard in the yard. She twitched her ears and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes. These heavy footsteps were not the footsteps of Ji Zong that she was familiar with.
"Come on, slow down, Da Huang, don't shout, can't you see it's Ji Zong?"
Zhang Binglin scolded the barking big yellow dog. Ji Zong? Impossible? Those footsteps were clearly not Ji Zong's. Besides, Da Huang usually greeted Ji Zong by wagging his tail. How could this be so abnormal?
Wu Ju heard the sound and went out to greet Ji Zong and Zhang Binglin.
"Oh my god! What happened to Ji Zong?"
Shumei could tell from Wu Ju's frantic voice that something must have happened to Jizong. She didn't care that she was in confinement, so she jumped out of bed and ran to the door. By then, the brickyard guard and Zhang Binglin had already carried Jizong to the main hall.
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