He took one and popped it into his mouth. He squinted slightly at the slightly sour apricot, then happily ate it.
"Is it delicious?" Su Ruojin asked softly.
"It's delicious, thank you, Auntie." Zhuang'er thanked her again.
Why didn't you dare come over just now?
Zhuang'er shrank back and answered timidly, "Grandma said that Auntie is pregnant and doesn't want me to bother her. But I think Auntie is so beautiful, she reminds me of my mother."
Su Ruojin smiled, thinking of how pitiful Zhuang'er was, having lost his mother at such a young age. "It's alright, you can come and play with your aunt anytime in the future."
"Really?" Zhuang'er's eyes lit up.
"real."
"That's great. Zhuang'er likes his master."
Looking at Zhuang'er, Su Ruojin gently stroked her belly, thinking that the baby should be as well-behaved and sensible as Zhuang'er.
"Master, Zhuang'er must grow up quickly so he can fight the mutants," Zhuang'er said between bites.
"Isn't Zhuang'er afraid?"
"It bit my mother to death, but Zhuang'er isn't afraid!" Zhuang'er said, his eyes reddening. He raised his sleeve and wiped his eyes hard, trying hard to hold back his tears.
It was heartbreaking to see a child of just over three years old so restrained.
She gently hugged Zhuang'er and said, "Zhuang'er, if you want to cry, then cry. You still have your grandparents, your aunt, and many other relatives."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang'er burst into tears. "Master, Zhuang'er misses his mother. His mother told him that she went to a very far place. Grandma also said that when Zhuang'er grows up, his mother will come back."
But Zhuang'er knew that his mother would not come to see him.
Zhuang'er saw that the uncles, elders, brothers, and sisters in the village had been bitten by monsters and had all turned into monsters.
"Mother was bitten too. Zhuang'er knows that Mother will turn into a monster too, and she will never come back to see him. Zhuang'er will have neither father nor mother anymore."
Zhuang'er cried very sadly, and Su Ruojin took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears.
She was relieved to see Zhuang'er cry like that.
If a child experiences too much stress and keeps their emotions bottled up inside, unable to release them, they may develop dementia, like Xiao Bao did before. Being able to cry is a good thing.
"Zhuang'er, be good. From now on, your grandparents, aunt, and master will take care of you."
Zhuang'er sobbed, "Auntie, you and Grandpa and Grandma won't abandon Zhuang'er, will you? If you don't abandon Zhuang'er, Zhuang'er will have no family."
"No, Zhuang'er, you must stay by your grandparents' side and be filial to them, okay?"
Zhuang'er nodded vigorously. "Zhuang'er knows. It was Grandpa and Grandma who saved Zhuang'er. Zhuang'er will definitely treat them well."
"Alright, stop crying. Auntie, take Zhuang'er to eat." Su Ruojin led Zhuang'er back to the tent.
By nightfall, Yan Luo and the others still hadn't returned, and Su Ruojin knew that mutants weren't so easy to find.
That makes sense. The villages outside Liuzhou City had already been ravaged by the mutants, and those mutants had all fled, making it very difficult to find them again.
Just as Su Ruojin had predicted, Liu Jing and his group searched all the nearby villages but couldn't find a single mutant, let alone anyone who had just been bitten by a mutant.
To find someone, we would have to search in even more distant villages, which would take even longer.
What should we do?
Liu Jing came up with a plan: "Senior Ye, there are demonic Gu soldiers in Liuzhou City. I'll find a way to sneak into the city and lure one out."
Yan Luo hurriedly said, "Commander Liu, even if you can lure out a demonic Gu soldier, so what? We are looking for the person who was just bitten."
Ye Xunzhi guessed Liu Jing's idea; clearly, Liu Jing wanted to sacrifice himself to be an experiment for everyone.
He was naturally unwilling to let Liu Jing take such a risk. After pondering for a while, Ye Xunzhi suddenly thought of a solution.
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