Chapter 29: A Difficult Choice Part 2

Mother Jiang said, “But I’ve seen on the news that when it’s hard to reach people, the government sends supplies by plane. What if people outside think no one’s left in Kecheng and don’t want to waste their rescue resources?”

“Of course they don’t think that.”

But the more Mother Jiang thought about it, the more convincing it seemed. “The internet and power are down, so we can’t contact the outside. They can’t contact us, either. They must think we’re all dead.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could that be? Think about major disasters, like a plane going down. Everyone says there can’t be any survivors, but the rescue teams still search the sea for bodies. They say, ‘If they’re alive, bring them home; if they’re dead, bring them home.’ The country wouldn’t abandon us.”

Father Jiang kept talking, but Mother Jiang didn’t take in a word. She was more emotional by nature, and the longer she dwelled on it, the harder it became to control her fear. Her voice trembled as if she were about to cry.

“I’m fine. I’ve lived long enough. But Dandan and Yingying are still so young. They’re only in primary school. Their lives have barely begun. What are we going to do?”

When comforting her didn’t work, Father Jiang scolded her. “I told you not to let your imagination run wild. What’s wrong with you?” Then he pulled her into his arms and softened his voice. “Don’t cry. You’ll wake the girls.”

Mother Jiang sniffled, choking back tears as she tried to calm herself.

Father Jiang held her close. “Don’t scare yourself. Go to sleep.”

The couple thought they’d spoken quietly and settled their emotions quickly. But the next day, Dandan told Tong Xiangyu about it.

“Sister Yuyu, do you think the firefighters aren’t coming?”

“Of course they’re coming.”

“But my mom said maybe the firefighters don’t know we’re still here, so they won’t come to save us. She also said we’re almost out of rice at home, and we’re all going to die.”

Tong Xiangyu froze. Then she quickly recovered and glanced at the others. When she saw that no one was paying attention, she led Dandan aside and asked quietly, “Did your mom really say that to you?”

Dandan shook her head. “She said it after Yingying and I fell asleep. She was talking to Dad, but I wasn’t asleep. I heard them.”

Tong Xiangyu felt a weight settle in her heart, but her voice stayed gentle and soft. “Dandan, promise Sister Yuyu you won’t tell anyone else about this, okay?”

Dandan nodded hard.

Tong Xiangyu thought for a moment, then took Dandan’s soft little hand. “The firefighters are coming. They’ll know we’re here. Let me teach you something.”

“What?”

“Come on. I’ll draw it for you.”

With her finger, Tong Xiangyu wrote three English letters in the dust on the floor tiles.

Dandan carefully sounded them out. “Ess, oh, ess.”

“That’s right. Put those three letters together and they spell SOS. It means ‘Help!’ When the firefighters see it, they’ll know someone here needs help, and they’ll come rescue us.”

“But how will they see it?”

Tong Xiangyu thought for a moment. “Dandan, do you have any red strips of cloth or red clothes? And can you find me a pair of scissors?”

“Come with me, Sister!”

Song Ge had no idea what Tong Xiangyu was up to with a child who wasn’t even ten, but she wasn’t particularly interested in finding out.

By the time Zhu Lulu reached the rooftop, Tong Xiangyu had already cut a pile of red strips. She was tying them together with the two girls, bending them into the shapes of letters and sticking them to the floor.

Zhu Lulu saw the “S” on the ground and immediately understood what Tong Xiangyu was doing.

“Are you making a distress signal? But…”

Tong Xiangyu glanced at the two sisters, who were enthusiastically helping. She quickly shushed Zhu Lulu, then led her aside.

Zhu Lulu sighed. “Someone would need binoculars, or they’d have to be up in the air to see it. But there hasn’t been a single plane these past few days.”

Tong Xiangyu said gently, “There’s no harm in being prepared. Are we supposed to wait until we hear a plane before we put this down? By then it’ll be too late.”

Zhu Lulu’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. I’ll help, too!”

For lunch, they had rice. As usual, everyone lined up to serve themselves.

After one round, Wu Senjun got up to refill his bowl. He scraped the bottom of the pressure cooker with the rice paddle and frowned.

“Auntie Jiang, you didn’t cook enough rice today!”

“Oh, I ate a little extra,” Mother Jiang said. “Sorry, Xiaowu. I was busy this morning and got hungry. I’ll skip this. You can have my bowl.”

Wu Senjun glanced at the bowl she’d already filled with food. He didn’t like taking it, but in a situation like this, eating his fill mattered more. He took it without hesitation.

Father Jiang looked as if he wanted to say something.

Mother Jiang tugged at his sleeve and told him to stay quiet.

Song Ge, sitting nearby, knew that Mother Jiang hadn’t touched the rice at all. How could she have eaten “a little extra”? She’d seen the couple’s little exchange, but pretended not to notice. After eating, she set down her bowl and lifted the plastic wrap over the dishes.

Wu Senjun ate his extra rice and complained that the meat was too salty, his brow furrowed tight. “Auntie Jiang, you’re off your game today. This is way too salty.”

“Oh, is it? I’ll be more careful next time.”

Tong Xiangyu couldn’t take it anymore. She put down her chopsticks and said, “Uncle, if the food’s too salty, you can eat less. Please don’t nitpick. Have a little respect for the work someone put into cooking, unless you’re willing to cook for us yourself.”

It was the first time Tong Xiangyu had spoken directly to the cheating man in glasses.

Wu Senjun had been about to get worked up, but when he heard her call him “Uncle,” he paused. His expression soured at once. They were only seven or eight years apart! Did he really look old enough to be called Uncle?

Still, he kept his irritation to himself. He adjusted his glasses and smiled. “You’re right, Yuyu. Quite right. Sorry, Auntie Jiang. I’m not very good at expressing myself. Don’t take it to heart.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Mother Jiang said quickly. “Of course I won’t. Don’t argue on my account.”

Fan Mingyuan spoke up. “Uncle? We’re not exactly close, are we? How come you’re calling her ‘Yuyu’? That’s what classmates and friends call her.”

Wu Senjun heard him emphasize the word “Uncle,” and a vein jumped in his forehead. Fan Mingyuan used to call him “bro,” but he swallowed his anger and laughed it off. “We live under the same roof and eat at the same table. No need to be so formal. One of these days, I’ll cook for everyone, too. How about this? When we get rescued, dinner’s on me!”

Fan Mingyuan scoffed. “Who asked you to?”

The atmosphere at the table was about to turn ugly when Grandma Tian picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks. “I think it tastes pretty good. We have to get along in a situation like this. We shouldn’t let things turn sour between us.”

With Grandma Tian putting it that way, everyone gave her the courtesy of letting the matter drop. The tension at the table eased.

But after lunch, Song Ge didn’t stay on the rooftop. She looked at Tong Xiangyu, who happened to be looking at her, too.

Their eyes met.

Downstairs, Song Ge went inside and locked the door behind them.

“Song Ge, I need to talk to you.”

“What happened?”

They spoke at the same time.

Song Ge saw the worried look on Tong Xiangyu’s face and thought of what had happened at lunch. “Is there not enough food?”

Tong Xiangyu was startled. “How did you know? Did you hear them?”

“I guessed.” Song Ge asked, “What do you want to do?”

Tong Xiangyu knit her pretty brows, hesitating. “Weren’t we planning to leave tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Before we go, I want to help Auntie Jiang and the others if I can.” She immediately looked at Song Ge. “Of course, this is really risky, so I know it has to be up to you. Here’s what I’m thinking: that creepy Wu guy keeps staring at me, and Fan Mingyuan is awful, but the others are all kind. If there isn’t enough food, like Grandma Tian said, people are bound to start fighting among themselves.”

“You want me to go to the supermarket and get rice and flour.”

Hearing Song Ge put it so bluntly made Tong Xiangyu even more hesitant. She’d spent enough time with Song Ge to understand her. Song Ge had always believed in looking after herself and minding her own business.

She probably wouldn’t agree to risk their lives for people who had nothing to do with them.

But since Song Ge had laid it all out, Tong Xiangyu hesitantly nodded and watched her anxiously. “We have Grandma Tian’s electric scooter now. And, well, it was hers to begin with…”

“But there are monsters everywhere outside. There could be some in the supermarket, too.”

Tong Xiangyu instantly understood what Song Ge meant. Her lashes fluttered, and she lowered her eyes.

“Let me think about it,” Song Ge said.

Song Ge hadn’t rejected her outright, which only left Tong Xiangyu more conflicted. She twisted her fingers together, unsure whether she was trying to guilt Song Ge into agreeing. “Forget it. If it’s too dangerous, we shouldn’t go.”

Song Ge looked up at her. “The Jiangs have been cooking for us the whole time we’ve been here, and Grandma Tian saved us. We should repay them.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes lit up. “You’ll do it?”

Song Ge knew that this kindhearted little Bodhisattva hadn’t really meant it when she said to forget it. If Song Ge refused, Tong Xiangyu would feel guilty enough to sneak off and cry for ages.

“Yeah,” Song Ge said. “Let me think it through and make a plan.”

“But that’ll use up a lot of the scooter’s battery.”

“It’s fine.” Tong Xiangyu sounded eager. “The scooter was a lucky break. Even without it, we’d have to run. I’ve been exercising every day since my eyes got better. I won’t slow you down this time!”

Song Ge’s decision had put Tong Xiangyu in such a good mood that her face practically glowed. “Besides, wasn’t our original plan to find a car? Once we find one, it won’t matter whether the scooter has any charge left.”

Song Ge looked at the young lady’s bright eyes and animated expression. Suddenly, giving in didn’t seem so foolish after all.

“That’s true.”