When the Xiao family got the news and crowded into this narrow bungalow, Xiao Mo was drinking rice soup.
The rice soup was very thick. Although nothing was added, the sweet taste of the rice itself was enough to arouse the appetite. Xiao Mo drank most of the bottle in one go.
"Second brother, you're awake!" Xiao Da pushed open the unlatched door with a bang and rushed in.
Then came the eldest brother of the Xiao family and his nephew Xiao Leduo, with the father of the Xiao family walking quickly at the back.
"Second brother, you really scared everyone to death. Have you not recovered from your illness last time?" The Xiao family's father's loud voice was as penetrating as ever.
"Second uncle!" Xiao Leduo was the first to rush to the bed and occupy a favorable position.
"You're finally awake!" Xiao Wen slapped his younger brother on the shoulder, with surprise and a sense of relief and relief in his eyes.
"Brother, thank you for your hard work." Xiao Mo said this sincerely. After a simple wash, he looked much more energetic.
"Just wake up, just wake up." Xiao Wen pushed his obstructive son away, and sat on the bed with his butt tilted. As soon as he sat down, he made a sound of comfort: "It's better to sit on your bed to cool down. Back then, Why didn't you buy two more sets of these cool summer beddings? What are they made of? They're so comfortable. If you weren't still sick, I would have snatched them up for you."
Xiao Leduo didn't dare to compete with his father for territory, and looked longingly at Xue Lihong sitting on the bedside.
Seeing that this boy was always obedient, Xue Lihong gave way to the bedside and climbed into the bed.
Xiao Leduo was overjoyed and rushed to occupy it.
Xiao Mo didn't say anything when his elder brother asked. He didn't even know where he bought the cool bedding he slept on. But he knew the source, and it must have come from Xue Lihong's contribution.
Glancing at the stone ax stuck on his eldest brother's waist, he noticed that both young and old in the Xiao family were carrying one or two relatively primitive weapons, including stone axes, bamboo poles, rolling pins, and stone hammers.
"That's right, second brother. It's so cool to sleep on your bed. I also want to come over and sleep with you, but your son won't let me!" Xiao Da also squeezed and wanted to climb onto the bed, and by the way, he gave Xue Lihong a small black look. .
Xue Lihong stretched out her little foot, crossed Xiao Mo, and kicked Xiao Da.
Xiao Leduo also refused to make room for his third uncle.
Xiao Da couldn't really compete with the two little ones, so he had no choice but to half-lean on the bedside, hoping to get some coolness.
Father Xiao relied on his status as an elder to occupy a position at the foot of the bed.
Seeing this situation, Xiao Mo couldn't help but mutter in his heart, I asked you, why do you come to my house so often, and like to have meetings in my house when you have nothing to do, so you all come here to enjoy the cool air
"Third brother, you have the nerve to fight for the bed with your nephew?" I didn't even get to sleep! The eldest brother, Xiao Wen, casually grabbed the wet towel lying on the bedside and threw it at Xiao Da. He turned to Xiao Mo and said, "I said you are awake, second brother. If you don't wake up, things will be really troublesome."
Xiao Wen thought of the many people he met on the wheat field today who were asking whether his second son had an infectious disease. Some of them, under the banner of caring for the villagers, clamored for other villagers to tell their family to get rid of the disease quickly. Xiao Mo sent him away or dealt with him, otherwise they would take action directly regardless of the Deng family's feelings.
He was simply angry, anxious and scared at the time.
"I'm sorry, brother, for causing you trouble."
"My family is talking about trouble." Xiao Wen patted him again. God knows that when he heard Xiao Da say that his second son had woken up in the wheat field just now, he almost cried with joy.
"But even if the second brother wakes up, as long as the Cao family is here, our family will still be in trouble... Hey, Xiaohong, what are you doing?"
Xue Lihong suddenly stood up and grabbed the wet towel Xiao Da was about to wipe on his face.
Xiao Da glared at him, and Xue Lihong slapped him on the back of the head.
Xiao Mo didn't react for a moment, but when he did, he blushed. The towel had just wiped his lower body, cough!
Others just thought Xue Lihong was playing around with Xiao Da and didn't pay much attention.
"Third brother, what trouble do you mean...?" Xiao Mo quickly asked to eliminate the embarrassment.
"The Deng family's house is our family's food reserve. This is our family's trouble."
The eldest brother, Xiao Wen, stopped the third child and took over the conversation.
"I'll tell you from the beginning, so that you won't be confused about what's going on."
"Okay." Xiao Mo put on a posture of listening attentively.
Xiao Wen wiped his sweat and recalled: "We asked the town doctor to check on your disease from the beginning, but they said it had to be sent to a big hospital for a thorough examination with instruments. He said he couldn't tell whether you had it or not. What kind of disease is it? But at that time, let alone using instruments to check, you couldn't find a doctor even if you sent it to the hospital. So we had no choice but to let you lie at home."
"But Xiaohong said you were fine, you were just too tired to fall asleep, so let's not worry." Xiao Da interrupted.
Xiao Wen obviously didn't believe what the child said, so he waved his hand and said: "Later, the resettlement area was established and a temporary hospital was established. We originally wanted to send you there, but after inquiring, we said that the patients sent in, except for those with mild illness, Many patients died, and some with strange conditions simply disappeared. The hospital said that the patients' bodies were kept for medical research, and that they bought the bodies after giving some food to the patients' families."
Xiao Mo thought to himself, Lei Jun told him last time that the higher-ups planned not to take action against people with superpowers, but to take gentle measures, why now...
"When we heard about this situation, how could we dare to send you there? And your son..." Xiao Wen suddenly laughed, "Second brother, you have cultivated a good son! At that time, this kid heard that we were going to send you to a temporary hospital. The hospital got a wooden cart from nowhere and asked the third child to carry you onto the cart and drag you away."
Xiao Mo sneered, wondering how Xue Lihong told the Xiao family that the whole family thought he was his adopted child.
"Yes, yes, we were all shocked by this kid at the time. You don't know how serious he was at that time, like a desperate little Saburo who would fight anyone who didn't let him take you away. "Xiao Da also laughed.
Xiao Mo turned to look at Xue Lihong.
Xue Lihong looked back at him expressionlessly.
"Son, come here and let your dad kiss you." Xiao Mo joked.
Xue Lihong stared at him for three seconds, then leaned over and took a bite on his face.
Xiao Mo stayed...
The rest of the Xiao family laughed together, thinking that the father and son had a good relationship.
The boss of the Xiao family smiled and affirmed again: "Your son is really good. He is smarter than you and smarter than anyone in our family. He doesn't act like a child at all. Compared with him, our family Duoduo looks like him." Like a younger brother."
"Dad!" Xiao Leduo was unhappy. Even if it was the truth, there was no need to tell it in front of so many people, right? How shameless he is!
Boss Xiao rubbed his son's head and sighed: "You have slept for so many days and don't know anything. The day after the accident at Duoduo School, the government began to ask citizens to evacuate. You didn't see it at that time. The entire Zhongshan City They all went crazy. They robbed cars, food, and everything else. Fortunately, your son is alert. On the day you fainted, he asked us to pack you up and put you in the car."
"Brother didn't want to leave at first. The building collapsed and he still had to go home." Xiao Da stood next to him and exposed his eldest brother's shortcomings. "It's Xiaohong who said it's better to transport things out a little and then come back when everything is fine. My sister-in-law also supports it. We were able to avoid the worst chaos by using a light truck to transport all the things and people we could get out of our homes here in three trips, and General Qiu also helped a lot."
Xiao Mo showed gratitude to Xue Lihong.
Xue Lihong stretched her little feet to his waist and stepped on him.
Xiao Mo felt a little itchy.
"However, something happened on the road. Everyone ran out of the city. Our car was blocked on the highway, and we got into a fight with someone because we were trying to get through. Fortunately, there are many men in our family, so we didn't suffer much. Everyone also We were in such a hurry that we didn't end up fighting to the death. If it were one more day late, tsk tsk, without one or two casualties, there would be no way we could escape."
The eldest brother of the Xiao family saw that the third child was always nagging and not getting down to business, so he couldn't help but tell him to shut up.
"Anyway, our family finally arrived at your sister-in-law's house safely. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are all honest people. When they saw us coming, they made room for us and even found a doctor in the town to treat you. But how could you expect a stable life? Within two days, your sister-in-law, eldest brother, and family also brought people to seek refuge."
"Alas!" Dad Xiao, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, suddenly sighed.
Xiao Wen paused for a moment and said: "The buildings in the city are collapsing one after another, and the houses in the town are also the same. In addition, animals, plants and insects are going crazy. The situation is too strange, so everyone has to retreat outside the town. But the countryside How much better can a village, a village, or a suburb be? How many people can live in such a small house? There are still jealous people trying to rob you of the shabby bungalow you sleep in."
When Xiao Mo opened his eyes, he could see how dilapidated the ward was. It was as if a utility room that had been there for many years was temporarily packed up for people to live in. It's just that I didn't have time to ask Xue Lihong in detail at that time, and Xue Lihong didn't mention it. She didn't seem to care about how bad the environment she lived in was.
"The Cao family came here to cause trouble when they had nothing to do. Didn't they just want us to free up this room so that we can rent it to those outside the wall in exchange for some food?" Xiao Da muttered.
"You didn't live here at first. You lived with us in the old house with two entrances in the Deng family. But... Anjie and her eldest brother's family also came back, and just like us, her eldest brother's wife and family also followed. Come here." Dad Xiao spoke, with dissatisfaction and helplessness on his face.
"When so many people came, the house couldn't fit in. In the first two days, everyone could maintain a superficial courtesy and pretended to be humble to each other. Then... well, I said I shouldn't come!"
"Dad! Where else can we go if we don't come here?" Xiao Wen stopped Xiao's father from complaining, but when he turned to tell his younger brother, he also had an angry look on his face: "Then one day Deng Anfei's wife's younger brother Cao Xiang suddenly suddenly You shouted at the dinner table, saying that you had an infectious disease and that you had been living in the isolation area before. Now your condition must have relapsed, and you wanted us to send you to the temporary hospital in the resettlement area for isolation. Of course we didn't agree, so we just talked with you. Their family had a falling out.”
Xiao Da clenched his fists and said angrily: "Second brother, you don't know how outrageous the Cao family is! They are all here to stay. They insist on having the best of everything. They are picky about the rooms assigned to them, and they are all in the Deng family." They spoke ill of our family in front of two old people."
"Don't keep interrupting!" Xiao Wen scolded the third child, then turned around and continued: "We also told them carefully that if you had an infectious disease and stayed here for so many days, you would have infected everyone long ago. But the Cao family didn’t listen and kept saying that our family wanted to harm others. In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that they were just looking for excuses to kick our family out.”
Xiao Mo was thoughtful.
Xue Lihong put away the towel and was playing with the water gun.
Xiao Leduo looked excited, but was too embarrassed to ask him to come over to play.
Xiao Wen pressed his forehead and was silent for a while before continuing: "Your sister-in-law is in trouble, and the Deng family is also in trouble. At this time, Deng Anfei's attitude is very important, because he is the eldest son of Deng. But if Deng Anfei doesn't have that intention, the Cao family will be in trouble." How dare you make such a fuss? He's just afraid that your sister-in-law will snatch the inheritance rights of this old house and the twenty-some acres of land from him! It's ridiculous that Deng Anfei said before that he inherited the three-story building and the facade house in the town. , the old house in the village was used as a dowry for your sister-in-law, but now..."
"That's just a joke at the wine table, do you take it seriously?" Dad Xiao sneered, laughing at his eldest son's whims.
"We don't even want that old house! We're just here to stay temporarily, but look at their faces!"
Seeing that the topic was getting further and further away, Xiao Mo coughed and asked, "Then the current situation is...?"
Xiao Wen calmed down the anger on his face a little, scratched his scalp, and said a little embarrassedly: "Your sister-in-law was upset by them, and the Deng family was somewhat partial to their eldest son, so they talked to your sister-in-law. Let's talk to your sister-in-law first. You move here. This room was originally used by the Deng family to look after the woods. Later, when the woods disappeared, this bungalow was put aside and used to store some sundries. It is quite far from the old house of the Deng family, but it is not too far away. It’s far away, just ten minutes’ walk away.”
Having said this, Xiao Wen also specially praised Xue Lihong and said: "Your son is really good! I am worried about you. No matter what we say, he will stay here with you. He knows how to take care of people at such a young age. You see He has served you well, and thanks to him, we can be free to deal with the Cao family and the messy things outside."
Xiao Mo remembered that he seemed to have lived here since he was conscious. In other words, he had lived here for at least ten days
Xue Lihong, who was sitting next to him, suddenly said: "We have been living in this room for half a month."
Xiao Mo turned to look at Xue Lihong. Now he could move his whole body more freely except his neck.
The Xiao family also noticed that Xiao Mo had difficulty moving. Xiao Wen couldn't help but asked worriedly: "Second brother, are you physically... able to move?"
Xiao Mo turned to look at his elder brother again, "It's okay, I just slept for too long. I just need to exercise in the past two days."
"That's good, that's good!" Xiao Wen exhaled a long breath, and the faces of the other Xiao family members also relaxed a lot. No one dared to imagine what would happen if Xiao Mo was really paralyzed, and this was at a time when the world was in chaos.
"I asked you, Third Brother, what's going on? Why did you faint suddenly? How long did it take you to faint?" Xiao Wen finally couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Mo smiled. He had already thought that his family would ask him this question, and he had already thought of the answer.
"I was very tired from being busy for the past few days, and my head hurt very much. It hurt for several days. But when I heard that the Duoduo school building had collapsed that day, I felt so excited that my brain exploded, and I didn't know anything after that. I don’t know what’s going on.”
"I have a headache. Could it be... cerebral infarction?" Xiao Da said uncertainly.
Xiao Wen rolled his eyes at him and said, "The second brother is so young, how could he have a cerebral infarction? Don't talk nonsense!"
"Maybe it's hereditary, isn't it my mother..."
"Xiao Da!"
"Third brother!"
Xiao's father and Xiao Wen stopped at the same time.
Xiao Da stuck out his tongue and secretly glanced at his second brother.
Xiao Mo coughed dryly: "By the way, where is my sister-in-law?"
"She went to find a doctor for you."
"Is it okay for her to go alone?" It's almost two o'clock now, right
"Someone also wanted to find a doctor, and we happened to go together with her. Moreover, this time period is not bad. There are not many large locusts in our village. If you are brave and alert, you will usually be fine."
Xue Lihongduo explained: "Giant locusts have certain intelligence and generally do not go to crowded gathering places. There are many people in the village, so they only dare to fly to the village to hunt at night, and occasionally appear during the day."
Xiao Mo said "Oh".
The room fell into an unusual silence for a moment, and Xiao Leduo moved uncomfortably.
The death of Xiao's mother Liu Ying is definitely a taboo topic in the Xiao family, especially in front of the second child Xiao Mo, almost no one dares to mention Liu Ying's death.
Dad Xiao felt a little irritably in all his pockets, but couldn't find a cigarette. The night his wife died, he stayed out all night playing mahjong. He and his old wife have not had much relationship as husband and wife for a long time. They only maintain a superficial relationship for the sake of their children. The three children in the family also know this.
But... He didn't want his old wife to die so early. If he were at home that night... Alas, it's too late to say anything now! After that, the second son became a little indifferent to him, and soon he bought a house and lived alone.
Xiao Mo looked at everyone's expressions and felt a little funny. In fact, he didn't care that much anymore. People have been gone for so long, and no matter how deep the wound is, there are scars. Dad always thought he hated him, but he didn't know that he hated himself the most. , if he could care more about his mother's body!
"Dad, are you tired?" Xue Lihong's voice suddenly sounded.
"Hmm... a bit." Xiao Mo was stunned for a moment. He was shocked by the sound of "Dad". This boy actually called him so naturally. When he thought that the other party was not actually a child, Xiao Mo did not dare to take advantage of this and hurriedly followed the trend. admit.
For a moment, everyone seemed to have found the ladder. Xiao Da was the first to jump up and said: "Second brother, you must be tired after listening to us talking for so long, right? Then you have a good rest. We will come to see you tomorrow. I'll leave first." Yes, the village needs manpower to bake bricks, so I came here temporarily."
Xiao Da, the culprit, ran away. Xiao Wen and Xiao's father were too embarrassed to stay any longer, so they both found excuses to leave.
Xiao Leduo wanted to stay with his second uncle for a while, but his father forcibly took him away in the name of "not disturbing his second uncle's rest."