The zoo is located near the Shuimenqiao train station, only a 20-minute drive away. An adult tiger can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour.
In other words, if the tiger escaped from the zoo and came this way, it might have arrived long before the news reached it.
After all, a tiger can run much faster than a human.
Thinking of this, Fang Qiao was startled and quickly asked, "What happened? How did the tiger escape from the zoo?"
The cadre who went door-to-door to notify the masses didn't know the specifics either. He rushed out after receiving the notification and didn't know much more than Fang Qiao.
“I don’t know the specifics right now, but Minister Chen next door has already arranged for people to search and investigate. They should be able to catch the escaped tiger by tomorrow. In short, we can’t let our guard down. Keep your doors and windows locked at home, be careful, and absolutely do not go out. I still have to go door to door to notify everyone, so I’ll have to talk to you now.”
Fang Qiao nodded hurriedly: "Okay, okay, then I won't take up any more of your time."
After ending his conversation with Fang Qiao, the cadre hurriedly went to notify the next household, banging the gong.
Fang Qiao peeked around and looked at the surroundings. It was pitch black and blurry, and he couldn't see anything clearly. It looked like a monster with a gaping maw, about to devour him.
Fang Qiao felt inexplicably panicked, her heart pounding wildly. She quickly closed the door and bolted it from the inside. Still not reassured, she used a thick wooden stick to brace the door from behind. Finally, she shook the door to make sure it was completely blocked before clapping her hands and returning inside.
Xiaojing and Tiantian huddled together, their expressions somewhat frightened. Xiaojing asked anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what's going on outside? Has a tiger really escaped from the zoo?"
Sweetie's voice trembled as she asked, "Auntie, has the big tiger really come?"
Because the power was out from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning, the lights were off in the room, and only a candle was lit. The shadow cast on the wall was stretched infinitely long, and the flickering candlelight added to the eerie atmosphere.
Fang Qiao's heart was pounding, but with Cheng Baidong not home, she, as the lady of the house, was the pillar of the family.
In front of Xiaojing and Tiantian, she, as their aunt and sister-in-law, couldn't be the first to show any timidity.
She forced herself to remain calm and reassured them, "A tiger has escaped, but you don't need to worry too much. Chen Yan's father next door has already taken people to catch the tiger. They are well-trained and can definitely handle a tiger without letting it into our residential area."
"Go to sleep, you'll feel better after a nap." Fang Qiao rubbed Tian Tian's little head and said, "When you wake up, the tiger will definitely have been caught."
Sweetie nodded obediently: "Okay."
Fang Qiao said to Xiao Jing, "Make Tian Tian a bowl of sugar water later. Drinking some sugar water will help her fall asleep faster."
Xiao Jing nodded in agreement.
Back upstairs, the three children were still sleeping peacefully on the big bed, and they were sleeping very soundly.
At this moment, Fang Qiao felt incredibly fortunate.
Fortunately, all the children sleep very well. Once they are asleep, no matter how big the problem is outside, it won't wake them up.
Otherwise, if everyone were awake, wouldn't they all be filled with anxiety and fear?
Fang Qiao got into bed fully clothed, but couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned for more than half an hour without getting any sleep, which woke up the little Zhuque sleeping at the foot of the bed.
"Sister Qiao, don't be afraid, it's just a tiger. Don't worry, I'm here, even if it comes, it won't get away with it."
Little Vermilion Bird yawned and comforted her, "Although I'm far too useless compared to my clansmen, dealing with a tiger is still a piece of cake."
Fang Qiao felt a warmth in her heart, and smiled, saying, "Yes, I'm not scared. You can go back to sleep."
Little Zhuque was very sleepy, so she nodded: "Then I'll go back to sleep, sister, please don't keep turning over."
"good."
The little red peacock yawned twice more, then buried its head under its feathers and went back to sleep.
Fang Qiao stopped turning over, but still couldn't fall asleep. So she lay straight on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open, until she finally drifted off to sleep just before dawn.
Because I had something on my mind, I didn't sleep very soundly, and I woke up at the slightest noise from the child next to me.
There was already some light outside the window. Fang Qiao glanced at the time on the wall; it was not yet six o'clock.
An'an got up to use the toilet, then climbed back into bed for a nap.
The two little ones didn't wake up from beginning to end, and Fang Qiao helped them urinate one after another to prevent them from wetting the bed again.
Afterwards, Fang Qiao commanded a paper puppet to watch over the children to prevent them from falling off the bed, while she carried a chamber pot downstairs.
Fang Qiao mixed the liquid in the urinal with water and poured it into the vegetable garden in the yard to fertilize the soil. Then she carried it to the tap and used a brush to clean the inside and outside of the urinal before letting it air dry, so that it wouldn't smell bad next time.
Back inside, Xiaojing also got up.
As Fang Qiao headed towards the bathroom, she asked, "Is Tian Tian awake yet?"
Xiao Jing shook her head: "No, she's still asleep."
Fang Qiao nodded and said nothing more.
Afterwards, one of them went to the toilet and the other went to the shower room to wash up separately.
After washing up, Xiaojing went into the kitchen to make breakfast. Fang Qiao said to her, "You start making breakfast first. I'll go outside and ask if that big tiger from yesterday has been caught yet."
Xiao Jing nodded: "Okay, sister-in-law, you go ahead."
Fang Qiao moved the wooden stake blocking the door, loosened the bolt, opened the door a crack, and peeked out.
It was quiet outside, and there were almost no pedestrians on the road. Fang Qiao hesitated for a moment before deciding whether to go out.
Just then, she heard the sound of water being splashed coming from Chen Yan's yard next door.
She immediately abandoned the idea of going out, locked the door again, walked to the wall shared with Chen Yan's family, and called out, "Sister Ling?"
Jiang Ling exclaimed, "Xiao Qiao, why are you up so early today?"
“There’s a big tiger outside, everyone’s scared and can’t sleep.” Fang Qiao moved a stool, stood on it, and stood on tiptoe to barely be half a head taller than the wall.
She leaned over the wall and spoke to Jiang Ling, asking, "Sister Ling, did your husband, Old Chen, catch any tigers yesterday when he took some men out to hunt them?"
"I don't know," Jiang Ling said. "He went out last night and hasn't come back yet."
"They haven't come back yet, Sister Ling. Do you think they caught the tiger or not?" Fang Qiao asked worriedly.
Jiang Ling shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.
Fang Qiao sighed: "So, is the child going to school today?"
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