(This side story partially fulfills the request of "Fangkuai Bang Law Enforcement Elder - Jian".)
"Er Wazi! Er Wazi!"
In his sleep, Feng Xian, groggy and confused, heard someone calling his name.
Just as he was about to impatiently shout back, he suddenly felt something was wrong and his eyes snapped open.
"It's over, it's over, I'll definitely get beaten by my great-grandpa for waking up so late today!"
This was his first day back in the village, and he had slept until noon.
As expected, the moment he went downstairs, he was berated by his great-grandpa.
"...If you sleep this late again, I'll beat you to death! Bad habits picked up in the city! If you came back to farm, you'd be the first to starve to death!
Here, go to the fields and work!"
Feng Xian touched his face and shook his head helplessly. He grabbed the hoe and followed him to the fields.
It wasn't too late in the day, but in the eyes of the elderly, he had indeed wasted the good morning light.
So Feng Xian couldn't say anything. Read here.
The rice in the fields would be harvested in about ten days.
They were going to tend to the vegetable patch now.
The old man had a good plot of land at home, planted with chilies, eggplants, and cucumbers.
The eggplants and chilies were separated by trellises, creating a colorful, not just plain green, and somewhat pleasing sight.
"San Wa's aunt, where are you going?"
"To dig up some wild chilies from the mountain (ps: pronounced 'jiao' with a fourth tone. The author can't type this character, but it's not a chili, it's similar to wild scallions but different, very fragrant used as a seasoning) to use as seasoning."
"That's great! Remember to share some with me then!"
"Hahaha, you come and get it, I'm not stopping you. Er Wazi is back, you should also grind some tofu for him. Why are you saving your soybeans? Are they going to bear children or something!"
"Do I need you to remind me? I've already soaked them. I was just waiting for your seasoning!"
"Hahahaha, alright, you guys go ahead and do your thing, I'm afraid if I go too late, others will dig them up and run off!"
"Alright, alright, take your time. Be careful of venomous snakes in the heat (ps: dialect, more academic names include Chinese pit viper, Chinese moccasin, rock python. Some species are highly venomous, common species are toxic but not fatal... Amputation is common. Seek medical attention promptly if bitten by a venomous snake.) Oh."
"Heh, I know. If I encounter one, I'll catch it and make dragon-phoenix soup, it's quite nutritious."
"I'm not afraid you'll get into trouble (interjection), you'll suffer misfortune later."
"Let's go, let's go, I need to hurry."
With that, she darted away like lightning.
Conversations in the countryside are like this. When you meet someone, you have to chat for a while, especially when there are guests at home, you chat even more.
If the conversation continued, it might turn into a matchmaking session. Fortunately, Feng Xian woke up late today, and farm work was more important, so his great-grandpa didn't continue chatting. kanδん
The vegetable patch was actually well-maintained. The hoe easily completed the work of weeding and loosening the soil.
"This should be enough. Tomorrow we'll water them with liquid fertilizer. Er Wazi, pick two cucumbers to take back and eat. The eggplants and peppers still need a few more days."
"Okay," Feng Xian had always been afraid of his great-grandpa since he was young, so he naturally had nothing to say and just did as he was told.
After returning home and finishing lunch, he lay down on the bamboo mat in the shade and didn't move.
The sun outside was too strong. In such hot weather, and with no harvest to be done, even the most diligent farmers wouldn't move.
People aren't soy sauce; if you sun them for 180 days, they become more fragrant.
It would kill them.
"Hoo—hoo—."
In his sleep, Feng Xian had a nightmare. He dreamed that an old man with a black body, looking like a consumptive patient, kept chasing and hitting him, telling him to wake up quickly.
"I'm not sleeping, damn it..."
"Bang!"
"Ouch!"
Falling off the mat wasn't a light fall, and he cried out in pain.
"Damn, good thing it didn't break the skin. What was that sound just now?"
"Hoo hoo—", a sound like someone choking on phlegm echoed from above.
On the second-floor balcony?
With half fear, half confusion, and nine-tenths the haze of his dream, Feng Xian stretched his head up to look.
As a result, his eyes met his great-grandpa's.
"Great-grandpa, you..." Before he could finish speaking, a stream of bloody phlegm fell from his great-grandpa's mouth.
Good thing he dodged, or he would have caught it. Just thinking about it made him feel disgusted for half a month.
But Feng Xian didn't care about being disgusted; he only wondered if his great-grandpa had some kind of illness and needed to be taken to the hospital immediately.
However, just as he put on his sandals to go upstairs, he heard a dull thud behind him.
Something heavy had fallen.
Recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Feng Xian felt that something was not right.
"Am I still having a nightmare? Is this a dream within a dream?"
Slowly turning his head, his great-grandpa flipped over and stood on his limbs, his neck craned, his entire head facing Feng Xian upside down.
"Great-grandpa, your old body is so good..." By the end of his sentence, Feng Xian's voice was trembling.
The thought of taking his great-grandpa to the hospital instantly vanished. He was truly scared.
Who wouldn't be scared in this situation?
He could cosplay Spider-Man after falling like that!
What else could he do? Run!
The moment Feng Xian moved, the old man on the ground also moved, with incredible speed, and was almost upon him in two seconds.
Feng Xian, in his panic, stumbled into the chicken coop. Beside it were several large black plastic barrels used for collecting urine.
They were good for making farm manure or for direct application.
But now, they were about to become Feng Xian's demise.
Didn't he see the old man behind him practically leaping to gnaw on him like a duck's neck!
At the moment of life and death, Feng Xian couldn't care about anything else and pounced directly into the chicken coop.
He didn't care about the chicken droppings sticking to him, nor did he bother to distinguish the bitter or salty taste in his mouth.
He just watched to see if his great-grandpa had fallen into the urine barrel.
"Splash!"
The old man did not disappoint him, plunging headfirst into the barrel with extreme precision.
The splashing water all over him.
Perhaps it was due to the early stages of his mutation, or perhaps the old man couldn't swim, but after struggling in the barrel for two minutes, he stopped moving.
Feng Xian, too, was covered in filth and bitterness.
"Little old man, your exit pose is so undignified."
Indeed, his floral shorts were showing.
"Alas, where did great-grandpa's cigarettes go?" Feng Xian, who had never smoked before, was for the first time so desperate to smoke.
Covered in chicken droppings and urine, he didn't rush to clean himself. He rummaged through the entire house and finally found a pack of Furong Wang cigarettes under his great-grandpa's bed.
The old man had kept them in a small box, treasured until now.
"Hoo—, Grandpa, I'll try it for you first. If it's not good, I won't bring any more over."
He took out a lighter, his hands still slippery, and pressed it three times before holding it steady.
"Hiss~ It's really like my dad said... *cough cough cough cough*, it's good to smoke, *cough cough*."
Through the smoke that was almost coughing up his lungs, Feng Xian forcefully finished the cigarette.
"A few more cigarettes and I should get used to it." There was still some discomfort in his body, but the mental stimulation had greatly improved.
Carrying the cigarette, he went downstairs. The old man was still stuck in the barrel, motionless. He had likely completely departed this world.
After washing off the filth from his body, Feng Xian picked up his phone and started checking his messages.
He had tried calling earlier, and the public phone didn't work, but the home phone was still functional. Fortunately, it was hot, and his parents were still at home and hadn't gone out.
"The zombie apocalypse..."