The World Turned into Zombies, So I Went Back to the Countryside to Farm 13

Chapter 13: The Changing Skies

Ever since the zombie outbreak, the nights in the mountains had become increasingly quiet. There were no roosters crowing or dogs barking. If it weren’t for the rustling sounds of the zombies that roamed at night, Jiang Zao would have thought this small village had been abandoned by the world.

Living like this for a long time was a bit boring. She had to find something to do.

As a social media blogger, she was used to documenting her life with images. So, every night during her watch, she would bring her camera.

Tonight was no exception.

She squatted under the balcony railing with her camera, recording the scene of a zombie hunting a pheasant through the gap.

While reviewing the footage, she accidentally pressed the previous video. It was from a hike with Qingshan on the MacLehose Trail. They had camped by the sea that night, lit a bonfire, drank beer, and talked about everything under the sun.

Qingshan had talked about her profession, so Jiang Zao had asked her curiously, “Do you police officers always carry a gun with you?”

Qingshan had smiled. “Although a gun is like a second life to us, we don’t carry it with us all the time, at least not when we’re on vacation.”

Jiang Zao thought of Qingshan, and Wen Zhao’s face flashed in her mind. Her attachment to the gun didn’t seem fake. If she had taken it from a dead person, she probably wouldn’t have valued it so much. Moreover, she had answered all the questions about her identity fluently, and they matched the information on the ID perfectly. There were no flaws.

There probably wasn’t time to memorize answers while fleeing for her life.

In the darkness, the light from the camera screen was like a bright star. A zombie foraging in the field suddenly turned its head.

Jiang Zao turned off the camera and hid herself in the night.

Two days later, as promised, Jiang Zao untied the rope from her wrist. As she was changing the dressing on her abdominal wound, Wen Zhao looked down at her actions. “Are… are you a doctor?”

For the past two days, besides changing her dressing and bringing her food, she had barely come in and never initiated a conversation. Wen Zhao knew nothing about her except for her nickname “Zao’er,” which she had heard from Jiang Wuni.

“No, I learned it from a book.”

Wen Zhao looked down at the crooked, centipede-like stitches on her stomach and said, steeling herself.

“Oh… it’s… it’s stitched very well.”

Jiang Zao was noncommittal, but the corners of her eyes under the mask curved slightly for a moment, and she seemed to be in a good mood.

Wen Zhao took the opportunity to ask.

“Can I know your names? After all, you saved me.”

Jiang Zao put the tweezers back on the tray.

“What, are you going to send me a silk banner?”

Wen Zhao sat up in bed and looked at her eagerly. “If conditions permit, I definitely will. I can repay you in any way, but can you please give me back my gun?”

Before she could finish, the tweezers in Jiang Zao’s hand were already pressed against her throat. “Do you think I have a high tolerance for you, and that I won’t really throw you out to feed the zombies, hmm?”

The cold touch on her skin made Wen Zhao swallow. She licked her lips, and a drop of cold sweat slid down her temple. She wisely fell silent.

Jiang Zao let go, picked up the tray, and turned to leave, not forgetting to lock the door of the small room.

Hearing the sound of the padlock at the door, Wen Zhao sighed. Forget it, I should focus on getting better first.

She had been lying in bed for five days, eating, drinking, and relieving herself in this dark little room. When Jiang Wuni finally came in to bring her food, she finally asked to get out of bed for a walk. Jiang Wuni looked at her eager eyes, she was about the same age as her granddaughter, and her heart softened. She nodded and helped her out of bed.

Because of the long period of bed rest, her muscles were a little sore and weak. Jiang Wuni brought her a crutch to lean on.

Wen Zhao walked out of the dim room one step at a time. The moment she pushed open the main door, sunlight poured in.

The sunlight was too dazzling. Wen Zhao squinted her eyes. After a moment of darkness, this was the first time she had seen the true appearance of the small courtyard.

It was a typical three-story self-built rural house, built against a mountain, with a lush bamboo forest behind it.

It was early summer, and the mountain wind was cool and not stuffy. Under the sunlight, dandelion seeds floated in the air.

Because of the clear weather, even the snow-capped mountains in the distance were clearly visible. Wen Zhao couldn’t help but stop and gaze for a long time.

Until a voice came from the locust tree.

“Who let you out?”

Wen Zhao looked up at the sound. In the locust tree in the center of the courtyard, Jiang Zao was on a ladder, holding a bamboo basket and cutting locust flowers. A green windbreaker was tied around her waist, and she was only wearing a tank top. Her skin was a healthy wheat color under the sun, and the muscle lines on her arms were beautiful.

She climbed down from the ladder angrily. Seeing the situation, Jiang Wuni quickly stood in front of Wen Zhao. “It was me, it was me. I helped her out to get some sun. It’ll help her get better faster!”

“Jiang Wuni!” Jiang Zao raised her voice.

“Who are you calling! Who are you calling! Is that how you talk to your elders?! I’m telling you, what you’re doing, locking someone up, is illegal. Don’t think I don’t know the law!”

Jiang Zao was so angry she almost laughed.

Wen Zhao weakly raised her uninjured hand. “I, really, just wanted to come out for some fresh air. The smell inside is too bad…”

Jiang Zao’s gaze moved from her pale and haggard face to her left arm, which was wrapped in a bandage and tied with a branch, and then to the crutch she was leaning on.

Wen Zhao added in a timely manner, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just sunbathe here.”

Besides, she had nowhere else to go. There were zombies outside.

Jiang Zao turned and walked away with the bamboo basket. Jiang Wuni brought a stool out from the main hall. “Perfect, since you’re up, you can have breakfast here.”

“Okay, I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself.” Wen Zhao quickly stood up with her crutch and helped with her uninjured hand.

“You sit, you sit.”

While eating, Wen Zhao curiously observed the courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, about fifty square meters. On the east and west sides were the kitchen and the latrine, both built with bricks and covered with tiles to keep out the rain.

A lot of firewood was piled up under the kitchen window. A few steps further was a well that required a hand crank to draw water.

The latrine also seemed to be a dry toilet, separated only by a simple, liver-colored wooden door.

Jiang Zao was using the collected night soil to water the fields.

Wen Zhao watched her movements. She seemed to be used to doing these things, very skilled. “Have you eaten?”

Jiang Zao was busy with her work and ignored her.

Jiang Wuni set the bowls and chopsticks, then brought out two steamed buns from the kitchen and put them in her bowl.

“Don’t mind her. We’ve already eaten.”

The steamed buns were handmade, not as white as the ones sold outside, slightly yellow, but one bite filled her mouth with the fragrance of wheat. The porridge was just simple white porridge with some pickles, but to be able to eat a hot meal in the apocalypse, Wen Zhao already felt very satisfied.

She couldn’t help but bite into the steamed bun in her hand and eat with relish. But when she lowered her head, a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes.

It seemed that this family was not well-off. In fact, while most rural areas were modernizing, her family was still using a well and a dry toilet. But it was this seemingly poor and backward family that had built a three-meter-high courtyard wall, topped with barbed wire and broken glass. Even the two courtyard gates were bulletproof.

What were they guarding against?

“Grandma, where are we?” The steamed bun was a bit dry, and Wen Zhao swallowed with difficulty.

Jiang Wuni was washing the freshly picked locust flowers by the well. She stole a glance at Jiang Zao and, seeing no reaction, said.

“We’re in the territory of Cangchuan City, in a place called Yuanxi Village.”

Wen Zhao nodded thoughtfully. She had some impression of Cangchuan City. It seemed to be an eighteenth-tier city famous for its natural scenery. As for Yuanxi Village, she had no impression of it at all.

But that was normal. China was vast, and a small village like this was just a drop in the ocean in the nine hundred and sixty million square kilometers of land.

She watched Jiang Wuni washing the locust flowers, a little curious.

“Is this edible?”

Jiang Wuni smiled. “Yes, scrambled eggs with locust flowers. Zao’er loves it. When she was a kid, she secretly climbed the tree to pick locust flowers for this dish and got stung by bees until her face was swollen.”

Speak of the devil, Jiang Zao clicked her tongue, as if annoyed by her chattiness, and put the night soil bucket down by the well.

“It’s done. You should go back.”

The latter half was directed at Wen Zhao.

Wen Zhao was still holding half a steamed bun in her hand and quickly stood up. Jiang Wuni helped her up and handed her the crutch.

“I’ll help you inside.”

After they entered the room, Jiang Wuni helped her sit down on the bed before speaking. “Don’t mind her. Zao’er wasn’t like this before. It’s all because of these terrible times, turning people into something that’s neither human nor ghost. Ever since the zombie outbreak, Zao’er hasn’t had a good night’s sleep. The dark circles under her eyes are so heavy, I’m afraid she’ll ruin her health!”

“I know, I don’t blame her. I’m already very grateful that you saved my life and gave me a bowl of rice to eat.”

“When I’m better, I’ll keep watch at night and help you with the work.”

The figure leaning against the window heard this and turned to leave.

Perhaps it was because of the medicine, but the days of recuperation were always particularly drowsy. There was nothing else to do. When Wen Zhao woke up, she found that the afterglow of the sunset was shining on the cement floor through the window.

She sat up in surprise and only then realized that at some point, the window had been opened a small crack from the outside.

Wen Zhao slowly got out of bed, stood up with the help of the crutch by the bed, and walked to the window one step at a time, greedily looking at the spring scenery outside.

The sound of something cutting through the air came from the courtyard.

Jiang Zao shot an arrow at a cloth strip tied to a locust tree branch. The locust flowers fell like snow. She reached out to catch them, but a moment later, her gaze suddenly sharpened. She drew her arrow and turned, and the arrow shot through the air, hitting the window frame with a crisp “clang.”

Wen Zhao was startled. The speeding arrow had almost grazed her eyes. She quickly took a few steps back.

Jiang Zao walked over to pick up the arrow, her cold voice coming from outside the window, “Is it a good view?”

“Your archery is really good.” Wen Zhao smiled sheepishly and praised her sincerely, “I wasn’t peeking, it’s just that the window happened to be open…”

To be honest, Wen Zhao was really a little curious about her. It seemed that Jiang Zao was in charge of this entire family, and she had the final say. And Jiang Zao was taciturn, cold, highly self-disciplined, an excellent archer, and very guarded. She was ruthless when dealing with zombies.

Those monsters had the appearance and form of humans. The thought that they were once living people before they were infected made it difficult for even well-trained team members like them to act when they first faced zombies.

Wen Zhao found it hard to imagine how Jiang Zao, if she were just an ordinary person, could kill zombies without batting an eye.

Jiang Zao leaned against the window, about to close it for her.

“Has anyone ever told you that curiosity killed the cat?”

“Don’t…” Wen Zhao quickly stopped her, the panic on her face visible to the naked eye. “Leave a crack for me to breathe.”

Jiang Wuni came out of the kitchen at this moment. “What are you doing, Zao’er? I’ve been calling you for a while. Come and get the food!”

Tonight’s dinner was braised chicken cooked over a wood fire. The fiery red sauce coated the chicken pieces, and the cornmeal pancake at the bottom of the pot was fried to a golden brown. The only drawback was the lack of fresh vegetables. The side dishes had to be made with rehydrated dried long beans and dried shiitake mushrooms, but it was still a rare delicacy.

Jiang Wuni brought the whole pot directly to the stone table under the locust tree.

Jiang Zao took her bowl and chopsticks and sat down.

Wen Zhao could smell it from across the window. She looked at it eagerly and swallowed.

Jiang Zao walked over, opened the window, and handed her a bowl. Wen Zhao took the bowl, thanked her, and began to eat with relish.

She had been drinking clear porridge for the past few days. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “What’s the occasion today? We’re eating so well.”

“I’ve noticed more and more zombies during my watch these past few nights. Everyone in the village should be dead by now, so we don’t have to worry about being discovered.”

Wen Zhao: “…”

Jiang Wuni picked up her chopsticks and called out, “We’re eating, why are you talking about this! Little Wen, eat up, don’t be shy. Try my cooking!”

“Okay, thank you, Grandma.”

After dinner, Jiang Zao and Jiang Wuni were cleaning the pots and bowls in the kitchen.

Jiang Wuni said while scrubbing the pot, “I think Little Wen is an honest child. Not only do you keep her locked up in the room all day, but you also took her gun. In the past, you would have been in trouble for this, I’m telling you. Why don’t you just give it back to her?”

“I have my own plans, don’t you worry about it,” Jiang Zao said indifferently while sweeping the floor.

Jiang Wuni snatched the broom from her hand. “If I don’t worry about you, who will! Your mother died early, and your old man doesn’t care about you! Besides me, who else takes care of you! Feeds you and clothes you! All you think about all day is eating meat, you killed all my chickens. There were only a few of them, let’s see what you eat when they’re gone!”

To this day, she still held a grudge against Jiang Zao for killing all her chickens.

“You cried your heart out when I was killing them, but I didn’t see you eat any less.”

To prevent Jiang Wuni from coming at her with the broom, Jiang Zao had the foresight to have one foot out of the kitchen when she said this. When she saw the sky outside, she suddenly stopped.

Jiang Wuni chased after her, and the broom hit her back, but Jiang Zao still stood there. Jiang Wuni was confused. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Zao murmured, “The sky is about to change.”