boyutpedia Chapter 256 Shaking
Chapter 256 Shaking
Jiang Li's almond-shaped eyes widened like copper bells. In all her years, she had never seen such a shameless person.
"What does your granddaughter's poor health have to do with us?" Ye Jingmo stared coldly at the middle-aged woman, his eyes like those of a ferocious beast watching its prey from the shadows, fierce and extremely oppressive.
The middle-aged woman took a step back, frightened by Ye Jingmo's gaze. Her voice was no longer as arrogant as before. "Killing is not allowed in the base. You came up from the second basement level, so you must have a lot of points. What's wrong with having pity on us poor people?"
"Ha, our points are earned through hard work, unlike you who shamelessly begs for them," Jiang Li couldn't help but mock.
"Baby, it's Grandma's fault for not being able to save you."
The middle-aged woman held the little girl and cried her heart out, as if Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo had committed some heinous crime. The little girl in her arms also cried loudly.
However, Jiang Li keenly noticed that the middle-aged woman had just secretly pinched the little girl's waist, forcing her to cry along with her.
The patrolling soldiers heard the crying and rushed over like a gust of wind.
Jiang Li, of course, wouldn't give the middle-aged woman a chance to distort the truth, and stepped forward to speak:
"This person saw us coming out of the infirmary with medicine in our hands and demanded that we sell her a dose of medicine for two points, which is less than half the price of a dose. We refused, and she just started acting like a liar."
And I just saw her pinch that little girl's waist hard to make her cry. I suspect that little girl isn't her granddaughter at all.
The middle-aged woman's face immediately changed. "No, I just want some medicine for my granddaughter so she can get better. Why are you framing me if you won't give it to her? If it weren't for my granddaughter, how could I have swallowed my pride to beg for medicine? Soldiers, you must stand up for me!"
"Then just look at the little girl's waist and you'll know, won't you? Do you dare to lift up your clothes and let us see?" Jiang Li looked at the force the middle-aged woman had used; with a child's delicate skin, it would definitely leave red marks.
How can you look at a girl's body?
Jiang Li's suggestion clearly flustered the middle-aged woman, who frantically waved her hands in refusal, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Seeing this, the soldiers didn't know whose fault it was, so they immediately stepped forward and arrested the middle-aged woman.
"Let me go! Help! Soldiers are injuring people!"
The middle-aged woman screamed loudly, trying to attract the attention of those around her and cause trouble. She didn't believe that these soldiers would actually dare to touch her.
Before the natural disaster, she had finally managed to move into the city house her son had bought, but before she could even live there for a few days, the disaster struck. The days that followed the disaster were unbearable for her, as if she were living in dire straits.
However, to her delight, her daughter-in-law, who couldn't have a grandson, died in the natural disaster, leaving behind only a child.
The middle-aged woman had always wanted to get rid of this burden, but when she went out, people would subconsciously treat her better because she was an elderly woman with a child.
In this way, she can bring back more food for her son, and with the little left over, she can buy him a wife and have a healthy baby boy.
If she hadn't entered the underground base now, and her precious son hadn't fallen ill, she wouldn't have needed to bring the little girl out to beg for medicine.
The middle-aged woman glared fiercely at Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo. These people had so many points they couldn't use them all. She was just asking for some medicine; it wasn't like she hadn't given them any points.
And these soldiers—her son paid taxes before, were they just there to arrest her? Shouldn't they be protecting her?
A soldier walked up to Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo and said, "We will take this person back to find out what happened."
The soldiers had already seen the various injuries under the little girl's clothes, and their faces were filled with anger and heartache.
Watching the soldiers take the middle-aged woman and the little girl away, Jiang Li and Ye Jingmo walked straight back into their room without looking back. They were carrying medicine, and they had just had an argument with the middle-aged woman, attracting too much attention.
Back in her room, Jiang Li sat down in a chair, looking utterly dejected, as if she had lost all her vitality.
Her good mood before going out vanished instantly after she met that middle-aged woman.
"I wonder if that little girl is really that middle-aged woman's granddaughter? If she is, she's a beast. The little girl has so many scars; she must have suffered a lot of harm. It's absolutely inhuman. I don't know how someone like that survived a natural disaster."
Jiang Li spoke angrily, remembering the wounds she had just seen on the little girl's body.
“The little girl was her granddaughter, and she was asking for medicine for the little girl’s father, her son.”
Ye Jingmo replied, a flash of disgust for the middle-aged woman in his eyes.
Jiang Li turned to look at Ye Jingmo, wondering how he could be so sure that the middle-aged woman was the little girl's grandmother.
"The relevant announcement has already appeared on the watch."
Since the middle-aged woman was taken away in full view of the public, the government still issued a related report.
"No, her son is so fat and chubby even in the face of a natural disaster. How can you tell that he is deficient in qi and blood?"
Jiang Li looked at the image of the middle-aged woman's son that had been exposed above, and the corner of her mouth couldn't help but twitch. She really couldn't see any signs of his blood deficiency.
“That middle-aged woman was also a repeat offender. Once she entered the underground base, she would drag her granddaughter around asking people for things. Many kind-hearted people would secretly give the little girl some things. In the end, she would take them back and give them to her son to eat.”
Upon reading the report, Jiang Li immediately realized that this middle-aged woman was a sexist who favored sons over daughters.
"Speechless. There are still people who favor sons over daughters during a natural disaster. Is their family destined to inherit the throne?"
Jiang Li complained.
"Some people's minds are imprisoned their whole lives, and they have no way to change."
Ye Jingmo also looked down on men who made their mothers and children beg to survive; they were hardly human.
"This middle-aged woman was only punished by cleaning the lobby, sigh."
Jiang Li understood that in this environment, the government couldn't possibly set aside a special place to deal with people who committed minor offenses, but she still couldn't help but feel sorry for the little girl's misery.
"This kind of punishment is the best approach available right now."
At least the patrolling soldiers would pay special attention to the little girl's situation, preventing her from being openly bullied and making her life a little easier.
Jiang Li knew there was nothing they could do, so she simply put the matter out of her mind.
Ye Jingmo began processing the Chinese medicine he had brought back. He asked Jiang Li to bring out a clay pot, soak the Chinese medicine in water, and then simmer it over low heat.
Jiang Li was changing the wood shavings in the guinea pig's cage in the living room. Looking at the guinea pig, which had become thinner, she felt helpless. Why was it getting thinner instead of fatter? Would it lose all its meat if it continued like this?
The room was filled with the distinctive smell of Chinese medicine.
Yawn~
Jiang Li heard a sneeze and turned to look. Pudding was covering its nose with its front paws, seemingly disgusted by the smell in the air.
"What's wrong, Pudding? Don't you like the smell?"
Jiang Li walked over to Pudding and asked him a question she already knew the answer to.
Woof~
What an awful smell! This is practically testing my nose! Waaah, I hope I don't get pickled by this smell!
Pudding's watery eyes were full of grievance; it didn't like the taste.
"Brother Mo, even Pudding dislikes Chinese medicine."
Jiang Li watched Pudding's little antics with amusement. As if understanding Jiang Li's teasing, Pudding ran to its doghouse, buried its head inside, and acted as if ignoring everyone.
"Don't use pudding to avoid taking your medicine."
Ye Jingmo carried the bowl and walked to Jiang Li's side.
Looking at the dark liquid in the white porcelain bowl, Jiang Li silently swallowed, feeling full even before she was full.
"Brother Mo, let's drink after dinner."
Jiang Li tried to escape, grabbing the hem of Ye Jingmo's clothes in a fawning manner and swaying slowly.
"There will be another bowl tonight, so this counts as lunch."
Ye Jingmo said firmly, his eyes fixed on Jiang Li.
Jiang Li had no choice but to pick up the bowl. She knew she was going to die sooner or later, so she steeled herself, closed her eyes, and drank it all in one gulp.
A sour and bitter sensation spread from her tongue to her stomach, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
"Open your mouth."
A calm, unwavering voice rang in Jiang Li's ears, and a sweet sensation came from the tip of her tongue, suppressing the bitterness of the Chinese medicine.
"Brother Mo, where did you get the candy from?"
Jiang Li had a candy in her mouth, her favorite mint-flavored candy, and her face was full of curiosity.
"I saw it at a stall at the base before, bought it, put it in a bag and then forgot about it. I only found it today when I was cleaning up."
Ye Jingmo explained.
"By the way, Brother Mo, I noticed that those guinea pigs have lost weight, even though we haven't been starving them."
Jiang Li, with a candy in her mouth, felt a little unhappy thinking about the guinea pig's thinness.
"It must be because they're all crammed into one cage; the space is too small."
Ye Jingmo speculated that the possible cause was that the guinea pigs would need to be dispersed to resolve the issue.
"If we separate, it will be difficult to carry things if there are any unexpected situations. Let's leave it at that. We'll talk about it again if I lose too much weight."
Jiang Li was even considering getting rid of the guinea pigs. After all, she didn't know what would happen next, and it would be better not to keep the guinea pigs if they got thinner, as it would be a waste of her food.
"If that doesn't work, just kill them."
Ye Jingmo remained expressionless; his thoughts coincided with Jiang Li's.
For dinner, we had tomato and egg noodles with braised chicken legs – simple yet delicious.
Jiang Li didn't know if it was because of the Chinese medicine she had taken, but she went to bed early and slept very soundly.
When Jiang Li woke up the next morning, she felt refreshed and energetic, without the tired feeling she had experienced when she woke up before.
After breakfast, Jiang Li leisurely lay on a recliner, watching American dramas on her tablet.
Suddenly, a shaking sensation came, like a cannonball exploding on the ground.
Pudding and Jelly were startled and ran to Jiang Li's side, clinging to her for a sense of security.
The moment Ye Jingmo felt the swaying sensation, his eyes sharpened, and he rushed to Jiang Li's side as fast as he could, pulling her to hide in a corner.
Jiang Li's tablet fell to the floor with a crisp sound, but neither Jiang Li nor Ye Jingmo had time to care about the tablet's condition. Instead, they were staring at the ceiling, fearing it might collapse.
Fortunately, the thing the two were worried about did not happen, and the shaking stopped after half a minute.
"What happened?" Jiang Li clutched her chest, still shaken, her almond-shaped eyes wide with worry and confusion.
This is underground. What else besides an earthquake could cause such a noticeable shaking?
"I don't know, but it's definitely not a good thing."
Ye Jingmo's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and he felt a vague unease in his heart.
"Are you injured?"
He looked down at Jiang Li. He had pulled her away so quickly that he hadn't had time to look after her and didn't know if she was hurt.
"fine."
Jiang Li shook her head, picked up the tablet that had fallen to the ground, and put it into her spatial storage. At this moment, she had no interest in watching the show.
There was a knock on the door.
"Sister Jiang Li, are you alright?"
Jiang Li opened the door and was greeted by Qin Yue's worried inquiry.
"We're fine, we were just startled by the shaking."
Recalling the shaking she had just experienced, Qin Yue's face was still filled with fear and unease, but she was not worried about herself, but about Qin Yu in the lobby on the first floor.
Today happened to be the day Qin Yu went to the first floor to watch the big screen. For safety reasons, he left Qin Yue in the room, but unexpectedly, an accident occurred.
After the shaking subsided, Qin Yue immediately contacted Qin Yu. Fortunately, he was alright, but he asked her to find everyone and have them gather in the room.
Before Qin Yue could say more than a few words, Qin Yu hurriedly hung up the call.
After hearing Qin Yue's words, Jiang Li and the others gathered in Qin Yue's room.
"I wonder what information Qin Yu got? That shaking just now was terrifying."
Holding her daughter Xiao An, Lin Panpan still felt lingering fear as she recalled the scene.
Liangzi reached out and put his arm around Lin Panpan, letting her lean against his shoulder, trying his best to ease her anxiety in this way.
Qin Yue anxiously stared at the door, wondering when her brother Qin Yu would return.
"It's alright. Since Qin Yu has contacted you, he will definitely come back safely."
Jiang Li held Qin Yue's hand and gently comforted her.
A layer of mist welled up in Qin Yue's eyes. Since the natural disaster, she had never been separated from Qin Yu. He was her only family in the world, and she did not want anything to happen to him.
Time ticked by, and Qin Yue sat on pins and needles, glancing at the door every now and then, hoping it would open at any moment.
Jiang Li knew Qin Yue's worries and sighed inwardly before turning to look at Ye Jingmo.
"Brother Mo, do you think this could be an earthquake? If an earthquake and dense fog come together, it's practically impossible for people to survive."
If it's an earthquake, staying in the underground base is unsafe, but outside there's thick fog and birds, so going out won't be safe either.
This is a real dilemma.
"I don't know, but if it's an earthquake, we might need to make some other preparations."
Ye Jingmo's gaze was deep and unfathomable.