allendalepharm Chapter 552: Like ants in troubled times
Chapter 552: Like ants in troubled times
Yan Shu and Jiang Ci took a carriage and took the old man to the ditch three miles away to fetch water.
As soon as I arrived here, I smelled a pungent smell.
The old man got off the carriage first and pointed to the river in front of him: "This is where we draw water. Look, there seem to be a few deer over there!"
Yan Shu and Jiang Ci looked in the direction of the old man's finger, and vaguely saw several puddles of various sizes in the river. The largest puddle was seven or eight meters long. At this time, there were several four-legged puddles. The black shadow stood by the puddle and leaned over to drink water. It looked like a wild deer.
Several wild deer seemed to hear the old man's voice. One of them barked a few times, and the others hurriedly stopped drinking water and followed the leading wild deer into the forest not far away.
The old man shook his head: "These animals in the mountains all come to inhabited places to find water to drink. It can be seen that the environment in which they live is also very short of water. It is a pity that all the strong laborers in our village have gone away, otherwise this place would be terrible." What a great place to hunt.”
As he spoke, the old man had already walked to the larger puddle.
Jiang Ci and Yan Shu followed. Judging from the old man's fetching of water, the depth of the puddle should be only about one meter. In this weather, the stagnant water will deteriorate in a few days. It is conceivable that the puddle has already grown in it. How many bacteria and microorganisms.
"Old man, this water already stinks. You will have health problems if you drink it."
"There's nothing we can do about it. You can't die of thirst while you still have one breath. Several old people have died in the village in the past two days. Hey, it's good to leave. You don't have to suffer anymore after you leave."
Yan Shu felt quite uncomfortable after hearing these words. She was brought up by her grandfather and had a natural affinity for the elderly. Looking at the skinny old man in front of her, a sense of sadness filled her heart.
The old man filled the water, and Jiang Ci took the initiative to help carry it to the carriage. The old man thanked him repeatedly.
"I'm really grateful to you and your wife. It usually takes me three or four hours to carry water back and forth. I'm not afraid of your jokes. This is my first time riding a carriage, old man."
Jiang Ci asked: "Is there no one else in your family?"
The old man sighed: "My wife went away last winter. We are the only two at home. The other relatives who were able to leave fled long ago last year. People are dragging their families to escape, so they won't take me with them. This useless old thing, I am the only one left in the family now. I have to live one day at a time. In the current situation, in a few days there will be no water left to drink from the stinking ditch. Who knows which day I will die? I’ve gone to bed and gone to find my wife.”
Seeing that the old man had no fear when facing death and his tone was quite calm, Yan Shu felt that when life pushes people to a desperate situation, maybe they are not so afraid of death.
After sending the old man home, Yan Shu asked if there were any wells in the village before. The old man said: "Under the big locust tree in front is the well drilled in the village. The old man said that it has been used for hundreds of years. This is the first time it has appeared. Dry well phenomenon.”
Jiang Ci looked at Yan Shu: "But you want to go over and have a look?"
Yan Shu nodded, and the old man beside him said, "Wait until I put down the bucket and take you there."
The old man was very enthusiastic. He put down the bucket and took Yan Shu and Jiang Ci to Dry Well. He also introduced the situation in the village on the way.
"There used to be thousands of people living in our village, but now all the young people have left, and there are only some seventy or eighty lonely old people left. From last year to now, more than a dozen people have died. At this rate Soon this village will be wiped out."
The future old man's eyes were a little desolate when he mentioned this village. He had lived here since he was born and had lived here for more than sixty years and had too many memories. Thinking that this place would become a dilapidated and empty village in the future made him feel uncomfortable.
"This is the well in the village. It has been without water for more than a year."
Yan Shu held up the torch and looked into the well. It was so dark that he couldn't see the bottom.
"Heizi, is this a relative coming to the house?"
A trembling old woman walked out of a family living next to the well. The old woman had white hair and a thin body.
She walked over curiously and looked Yan Shu and Jiang Ci up and down.
"These two beautiful children, could it be that gods from heaven have descended to earth?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the old lady's eyes as gray as a dry well suddenly lit up, and she knelt down in front of Yan Shu and Jiang Ci with a plop.
"Are the two gods here to save us? Please ask the gods to show us a way to survive. The old woman is here to thank the gods... thank the gods..."
Yan Shu hurriedly reached out to help the old lady, but she held her hand tightly.
"Fairy, the old lady wants to see my parents. Please take me to see my parents, as well as my husband-in-law and my child who died long ago. Woo hoo hoo... I miss my parents. Dad... Mom... come here. Have you picked up your daughter? I want to eat the vegetable pancakes made by my mother. Please give them to me. "
"Old lady, you get up first." Yan Shu noticed that the old man's eyes were distracted and hurriedly held her wrist to feel her pulse.
The deficiency of Qi and blood is severe, and the whole body is severely malnourished due to hunger. In addition, he is old and has some basic diseases. I am afraid that he will not be able to survive for a few days if this continues.
Jiang Ci stretched out his hand to help the old woman up. The old man hurriedly explained: "Aunt Zhang, these two are from Nanwei Mansion. They are not gods. You have always misunderstood. Let this girl go."
"Not a fairy? How could they not be a fairy? Old lady, I have never seen such beautiful people in my life. They look like they have stepped out of a painting. They must be gods."
Yan Shu took off the bamboo tube from his waist and handed it to the old man: "Drink some water first."
"Is it water...really water?" The old lady licked her chapped lips, unable to believe what she saw.
"It's water, all for you to drink."
The old lady hurriedly held the bamboo tube and drank heavily. She was really thirsty. She could barely get some water back a while ago, but in the past two days, her body was obviously unable to move. She was already waiting to die.
When the sweet spring water entered her mouth, the old woman's face was filled with shock.
It was the first time she drank such sweet water.
After the old lady drank the water, Yan Shu helped her sit on a stone pier next to the dry well.
The old lady always held Yan Shu's hand: "I was lying on the bed just now, and I vaguely saw my parents standing by the bed and calling me to wake up. The old couple asked me to get up quickly, saying that there were gods outside the door coming to save me. I couldn't move my body, so my parents carried me out of the yard..."
Yan Shu:......
Looking at the old lady's sincere eyes, she didn't know whether to believe it or not.
The old lady waved to someone not far away: "Father, mother, don't leave. The gods are coming. Come and pay homage to the gods!"
Yan Shu followed the direction of the old lady's finger. She pointed to a path leading outside the village. There was nothing there, and he felt chilled all over for no reason.
The old man on the side said: "Aunt Zhang has been in a state of confusion these past two days. We all think that she may not be able to survive. I heard that when people are about to die, they can see their relatives coming to pick them up. Maybe Aunt Zhang's parents have really come. "