âWas society just too vicious, or was he simply too naive?â
âWhy hadnât he seen the immense hatred Xiao Huang Mao harbored for Wang Han and Guangzi...â
"Carry all the bodies out."
"Tai Xian, arenât you supposed to get the car? What are you dawdling for?"
"Oh, right." Ji Taixian started running out, but glanced back at Zhu HuiZhen, who was kneeling in a daze beside the bloody corpse. Unable to bear it, he said, "Have your men burn this body. Otherwise, itâll attract zombies."
Leaving her with those words, Ji Taixian hurried off to get the car.
Song Youzhi and Song Youâai never expected that Ningning would leave with two men only to return with seven.
Three vehicles were parked neatly at the entrance: a Jinbei van and two sedans.
âAre those stolen supplies?â Song Youâai wondered, but she didnât dare to ask.
The moment she returned, Xie Ning was a whirlwind of activity, putting them to work laying bricks for a wall and having her uncle, Song Youzhi, supervise.
Farmhouse courtyards are designed with feng shui in mind, with the yard built to protect the main house. Typically, the walls wouldnât be more than two meters high.
But these were extraordinary times, so there was no room for such details.
As long as they had the materials, they would build the wall as high as they could.
Everyone had worked until evening and was famished. Old Mrs. Song and Song Youâai cooked a large, fragrant pot of rice and prepared steamed pork with rice flour for all.
The nine from the Rescue Association, plus Annie and Xiao Huang Mao, were all looking exhausted after their session of "labor reform."
However, no one was slow with their chopsticks, and it wasnât long before the serving platters were scraped clean.
Old Mrs. Song, Sun Meiying, asked with a look of concern, "Is everyone full? If not, I can go make some noodles."
"Weâre full, weâre full," everyone nodded in unison.
The four young men who had come to confiscate their supplies looked particularly sheepish. "Grandma Sun, weâre so sorry. We were brainwashed by Wang Han, which is why we followed him and did all those terrible things. Weâll never do it again."
Old Mrs. Song smiled benevolently. "Itâs a good thing when young people can recognize and correct their mistakes."
She sighed. "Sigh... No one knew the world would suddenly turn out like this. Itâs understandable to be lost for a while."
"Grandma Sun, can we go home now?" one of the young men asked cautiously.
"Youâll sleep on the floor in the courtyard tonight. Tomorrow morning, youâll leave with me," Xie Ning said coldly, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
"Where are we going?" Everyone from the Rescue Association, except for Xiao Huang Mao, looked uneasily at Xie Ning.
"You donât need to know where. All that matters is that youâll be far, far away from my home."
"B-but we know we were wrong! Um, weâll never disturb your family again."
Xie Ning turned her head and fixed the speaker with a cold stare. "Unfortunately, I donât believe you."
The atmosphere instantly grew oppressive.
The once-harmonious mood around the dinner table was shattered, replaced by an icy chill.
"Grandma Sun, I donât want to leave the village. My whole family is dead; Iâm the only one left. Grandma Sun, you watched me grow up. You know Iâm not really a bad person," one young man pleaded, his voice on the verge of breaking into tears.
Old Mrs. Song looked at the young man, her expression troubled. âHe looks like the grandson from the family at the village entrance.â
With a loud CLACK, Xie Ning slammed her chopsticks down. "Fine, you donât have to leave Song Family Pavilion."
She pulled a knife from behind her back and slapped it hard on the table. "Death. Pick one."
In an instant, all the chaotic noise vanished...
Ji Taixian silently shoveled rice into his mouth, his head bowed.