Chapter 24p1: The Bus
When Li Mi said she wanted to study, Jiang Wuni spent that evening rummaging through chests and cupboards on the third floor. When Jiang Zao went in to get something, she was taking a thick stack of books from the top of the wardrobe and throwing them on the floor.
The room was filled with dust.
Jiang Zao covered her nose and stepped back.
“These are antiques. Didn’t I tell you to sell them for scrap?”
Jiang Wuni untied the hemp rope binding the books and carefully wiped the dust off with a cloth.
“You can sell anything, but not books. Without these books, you wouldn’t have been able to go to college. And these certificates, you worked so hard for them. It would be a pity to throw them away.”
“Let me see.”
Jiang Zao took a stack of books from her hand and flipped through a couple of pages. Jiang Wuni had even kept her calligraphy practice book from the first grade. Looking at the crooked characters “Jiang Zao” on the cover, she could almost see her own clumsy self holding a pen for the first time.
“It’s one thing to keep the books, but why are there still workbooks?”
Jiang Wuni snatched them away with a grunt. “What do you know? This is the first time you learned to write your own name…”
Jiang Zao laughed. “Aren’t you illiterate?”
“So what if I’m illiterate? I was the one who registered your household. I only need to recognize…”
Jiang Wuni stopped mid-sentence, seemingly annoyed, and waved her hand for her to leave.
“If you’re not going to help, don’t be a nuisance here!”
But Jiang Zao put down the workbook and said seriously, “What were you going to say when I named Little Mi?”
Jiang Wuni stood on the ladder and threw down another stack of books. “Nothing. I was just going to praise you for choosing a good name.”
“What about you? Do you want to change your name?”
The name Jiang Wuni, without a doubt, was because she was the fifth girl in the family, with no personal characteristics.
Jiang Wuni’s movements paused for a moment. She continued to rummage through the things on top. “I’m already this old. What’s the point of changing my name?”
Jiang Zao was about to say more when Li Mi heard the commotion upstairs and also ran up.
“Grandma, Big Sister Jiang, what are you doing so late?”
“Didn’t you want to study? Look, Grandma found a lot of books for you. They’re all the ones your Big Sister Jiang used to read.”
Besides the colorful textbooks, there were also many certificates mixed in with the stacks of books. The certificates in the house used to be pasted on the wall. When the house was renovated a few years ago, she had thought Jiang Wuni had torn them all down and thrown them away, but it turned out she had kept them.
Li Mi looked through them one by one.
“Big sister, what’s this?”
“Outstanding Class Cadre.”
“And this one?”
“Three-Good Student.”
“And this one?”
“School Sports Meet Sprint Champion.”
“Big sister, what about this one?”
“Third prize in an English competition I participated in.”
“Wow! Big Sister Jiang is so amazing!!! You’ve won so many awards. No wonder you got into college!”
The little child held her cheeks, her eyes sparkling again.
“What’s the use of getting into college? It’s not like…”
It’s not like I could get into graduate school, failing every year. It’s not like I could find a good job after graduating from college. And even if I found a job, I could still be laid off.
Jiang Zao hesitated, then patted her head.
“Forget it. It’s always good to read more.”
She picked out some books suitable for lower grades.
“These books have pinyin and pictures. They’re relatively simple and suitable for your current comprehension level.”
Li Mi caressed the books, unable to put them down.
“Thank you, big sister. Thank you, Grandma.”
“Go on, go to bed early. I’ll teach you how to write tomorrow.”
***
Without internet or television, Jiang Wuni would often turn on the radio to try and get information from the outside world, but all she got was static. Life had returned to the most primitive state of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. But perhaps because there were too many things to do, it didn’t feel boring.
For example, it had finally cleared up recently.
Jiang Wuni planned to make dried sweet potatoes and sun-dried potato chips. Anyway, there was more than they could eat, so making snacks was a kind of pastime.
Sun-drying potato chips was a little simpler. First, peel the potatoes, wash them in a basin, then slice them, not too thin. Jiang Wuni had been cooking her whole life, and her knife skills were excellent. The potato slices were of even thickness. As she cut, she had to soak them in clean water, otherwise the sun-dried potato chips would turn black.
After soaking for a night, they were washed several times to remove the excess starch, drained, and then blanched until they were eighty percent cooked. After another rinse in cold water, they could be taken out to dry.
Jiang Wuni took out the large bamboo baskets from the house, spread the slices out to dry, and finally, Wen Zhao put the two baskets on the roof.
Two days later, the potato chips were ready. Jiang Wuni found a few jars to store them, kept some for stir-frying with cured meat, and made the rest into fried potato chips. Sprinkled with salt and chili powder, they were comparable to potato chips, and the few of them were so fragrant that they kept licking their fingers, wanting more after they finished.
Dried sweet potatoes were much more complicated to make, requiring three sun-drying and three steaming sessions. The initial steps were similar: wash, peel, and cut into thick pieces. After the water boiled, they were steamed for about ten minutes, then spread out to dry. After they were completely dry, they were steamed again for half an hour.
This process had to be repeated once more. After they were completely dry, they were ready to eat at any time—soft, sweet, chewy, and without any additives.
Jiang Wuni was already very familiar with making these things.
“Those snacks outside are expensive and unhygienic. Zao’er loved to eat this when she was a child. Here, try some.”
Jiang Wuni grabbed a large handful and handed it to them.
Jiang Zao took a bite. It was indeed the taste of her childhood, just a little hard from being sun-dried too much, and it got stuck in her teeth. It was naturally incomparable to the mass-produced products outside.
Seeing her chewing with a pained expression, Jiang Wuni snatched it away. “Why are you getting pickier as you get older! If you don’t like it, don’t eat it!”
“Hey, don’t. My mouth is bored. It’s fine to chew on it for fun.”
“You can’t have it even if you want to! These are all for Little Mi!”
The few of them were busy, talking and laughing, and the day passed by.
After dinner, Wen Zhao saw that she had taught Li Mi to read for a while and then went into the storage room. She followed her in.
“Is Grandma Jiang’s medicine almost finished?”
Jiang Zao’s movements of rummaging through things paused.
“How do you know?”
Wen Zhao smiled. “I saw you cleaning your arrows by the well yesterday. And the medicine we got from the village chief’s house last time, at a dose of three times a day, can only last for two months at most.”
Jiang Zao turned her face and stuffed the things she needed into her backpack. “Yes, I plan to go out tomorrow.”
Li Mi and Jiang Wuni were still in the living room. Wen Zhao closed the door. “Where do you want to go?”
“To the town. There are more pharmacies there.”
Wen Zhao pondered for a moment. “There… should be a lot of zombies there too.”
“I know, but it’s the only way. There are only a few households in the village. I’m not saying we can solve this once and for all, but at least we can stockpile a little more. For a year or two, who knows if there will be more and more mutated bodies like Li Mi’s mother in the future.”
“In that case, take me to a place first tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“The highway.”
“Where your convoy had the accident?”
Wen Zhao nodded. “Yes, but I was drowsy at the time and can’t remember the way clearly, so I need a guide.”
Jiang Zao also stated her own conditions.
“I can go with you, but if we find any weapons, you have to share them with me.”
“No problem. And I can also teach you how to use a gun.”
Wen Zhao agreed without hesitation, which surprised Jiang Zao. “Weren’t you always holding a grudge against me for taking your gun?”
Wen Zhao looked at her seriously. “What I mind is that the gun has been with me for a long time and has a special meaning to me, so I hope you will return it to me. And you haven’t learned how to use a gun. I’m afraid you’ll accidentally hurt yourself.”
Jiang Zao thought of the harmonica she carried with her and raised an eyebrow slightly. “Just like your harmonica?”
Wen Zhao touched her nose and said nothing, which was a tacit admission.
Since she didn’t say anything, Jiang Zao was not the type to pry into other people’s privacy. She pushed her aside and walked away.
“I know. I’ll give it back to you tomorrow.”
The next morning, when Jiang Zao pushed her bicycle out of the main hall, Li Mi also followed.
“Big sister, can I go with you? I’ve been practicing archery very hard recently and can already hit a bottle.”
Jiang Wuni was also worried.
“Zao’er, is the medicine finished again…”
“Don’t worry. Wen Zhao and I are going to the highway. I’ll contact you on the walkie-talkie if anything happens.”
With that, Jiang Zao handed a helmet to Wen Zhao. “Let’s go.”
After leaving the village, it was all uphill mountain roads. Jiang Zao led her through the dense forest. This kind of road was very demanding on the bicycle’s configuration. Fortunately, her bike was a racing model, and the wheels had been modified, making it very adaptable to the mountain terrain.
The two of them rode all the way to the place where she had saved Wen Zhao. The zombie she had killed here last time had already decomposed to a high degree.
Jiang Zao looked up at her watch, but it wasn’t lit. She must have forgotten to charge it last night. She pressed the brakes.
Wen Zhao also stopped. “What’s wrong?”
“My watch is dead. There’s no navigation. I found you here last time. This is not the regular route to the highway. It’s a long detour to go out of the village and take the main road. But it shouldn’t be too far from the side of the highway.”
“Do you have a compass?”
“Yes.” Jiang Zao took out a compass from her bag. Besides the compass, she also took out a map, a ruler, and a pencil.
Wen Zhao cleared the fallen leaves on the ground. Jiang Zao placed the map on the ground and also pressed the compass on the map.
Wen Zhao watched as she placed the ruler on the coordinate line on the map and gently turned the map until the compass pointed to the 0-degree line. “Do you know military topography?”
Jiang Zao didn’t look up and marked north on the map.
“I’ve learned some basic knowledge.”
