The World Turned into Zombies, So I Went Back to the Countryside to Farm 41p2

Chapter 41p2: New Year’s Eve

After dinner, they had to find some entertainment to digest. But now, without internet or television, Jiang Wuni suggested playing mahjong.

Wen Zhao shook her head repeatedly. “I don’t know how to play this.”

Li Mi also blinked her eyes. “Grandma, I don’t know how to play either.”

Jiang Zao’s eyes lit up.

“Then let’s play Fight the Landlord!”

“You can’t even see with your eyes, and you’re still playing cards,” Jiang Wuni teased.

“I’ll play with Little Mi. Little Mi can just tell me what cards I have. It’s more than enough to beat the two of you.”

She had played this before. Wen Zhao rubbed her hands together.

“What if we lose?”

“If we lose… hmm… if we lose, we’ll stick a strip on our face. Whoever has the most strips will wash the dishes tonight.”

“Come, come, come.” Jiang Wuni couldn’t hold back any longer and started to shuffle the cards.

Li Mi contributed all her old workbooks that she had finished.

The night grew deeper.

But the lights in the main hall were always on.

The firewood in the stove was crackling.

Some of the chestnuts they had picked in the autumn were still left and were now being roasted on the stove. From time to time, one would burst open with a pop.

While Jiang Zao was playing cards, the chestnuts by her side were never lacking. When she finished, someone would always put new ones.

A room full of people were laughing and talking around the stove.

In the end, it was Kele who had the most strips of paper on its face.

Li Mi looked at Kele’s pitiful eyes and its soft whimpering, and she fell on the sofa, holding her stomach and laughing.

Seeing that it was almost midnight, Jiang Wuni put down her cards. After all, she was old and couldn’t stay up any longer.

“Aiyo, my eyes are blurry from looking at the cards. I can’t do it anymore. I’m going to bed first. You guys can stay up for the New Year.”

Jiang Zao said casually, “Are you sleepy or do you not want to wash the dishes?”

“You brat, haven’t I washed enough? By the way, there are still some firecrackers from previous years under the altar in the main hall. Let Little Mi play with them later,” Jiang Wuni said before she went up the stairs.

And so, the important task of washing the dishes fell to Wen Zhao in the end.

When she came out of the kitchen, Li Mi was waving a sparkler in the courtyard and playing with Kele.

The person and the dog were chasing each other, and the fireworks illuminated Li Mi’s little face, making it red.

Wen Zhao also brought a chair and sat down next to Jiang Zao.

“Are these the firecrackers that Grandma Jiang bought?”

She knew that there was a custom in the countryside to set off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve to drive away the Nian beast, but she didn’t expect it to be this kind of firecracker.

Jiang Zao was wrapped in a down jacket and chuckled lowly.

“When I was a child, I went to the market with Jiang Wuni and saw this kind of sparkler for sale. I was ignorant at that time and cried and shouted to buy it. She didn’t buy it for the New Year, but for…”

Just now, when Li Mi had taken out the sparklers from under the altar, Jiang Zao had touched them and knew that they were not for the New Year.

They were for her to come home for the New Year.

Jiang Wuni might also be using her own way to make up for her childhood, which was full of regrets because the family had no money.

But for so many years, she had never even looked under the altar. Those sparklers were placed together with the candles and incense that Jiang Wuni cherished the most, which were offered to the Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Jiang Zao turned her head, a smile on her lips, but she sniffled. “Wen Zhao, I think I’m starting to like the feeling of coming home.”

Li Mi also ran over at this moment and stuffed the sparklers into their hands. “Big sisters, let’s play together!”

Wen Zhao lit the sparkler for Jiang Zao and watched her wave it in her hand. Although her eyes still couldn’t see, and she could only vaguely feel the heat in her hand, a smile still appeared on her lips.

The snowflakes fell on her eyebrows and the tips of her hair, and the cloth strip behind her head also flew with the wind. The fireworks cast a holy glow on her face.

She was so beautiful, like a nimble elf flying in the snow.

A thought came to Wen Zhao’s mind.

“Jiang Zao, can I borrow your camera?”

Click

Jiang Zao turned her head, and Wen Zhao had just captured this moment.

“Big sister, I want to take a picture too, I want to take a picture too.”

Jiang Zao put her arm around Little Mi’s shoulder and then looked at Wen Zhao. “Alright, then let’s take a picture together. Wen Zhao…”

“Coming.”

Wen Zhao flipped the lens, aimed at everyone, and using the posture of taking a picture, she gently placed her hand on Jiang Zao’s shoulder.

Kele also obediently squatted by Li Mi’s feet.

That photo was later developed by Jiang Zao and given to Wen Zhao. She then sewed it into her military uniform pocket, along with the photo she had torn from the school notice board, in the place closest to her heart.

But that was a story for later.

Right now, she actually had other things she wanted to say to Jiang Zao.

After playing outside for a while, Jiang Zao’s hair was covered in snowflakes. As soon as they entered the house, Wen Zhao quickly helped her take off her jacket.

“Quick, sit by the fire and warm up.”

Jiang Zao moved her almost frozen fingers and warmed herself by the stove. “Little Mi is a child, after all. She has so much energy.”

Li Mi and Kele had played for a while and then went to build a snowman.

“Of course. At this age, who knows what cold is?”

Wen Zhao threw some firewood into the stove, then poked it a couple of times with the fire poker. A hint of wine fragrance overflowed from the wine pot on the stove.

Jiang Zao’s nose twitched. “You’re warming wine.”

Wen Zhao picked up the pot. “You can’t drink this.”

“I’ll just have a sip to warm up. It’s too cold.”

In her pleading tone, and looking at her red ears, Wen Zhao still compromised and poured her a small cup.

Seeing her sipping it, frowning from time to time from the spiciness, Wen Zhao couldn’t help but laugh. “You haven’t had it before?”

“I have… but it was a long time ago.”

Jiang Zao thought for a moment. The last time she had gotten drunk was when she found out that Qingshan was already married and had a child. It was also around the time that Chen Jianing and Xiao Yu got engaged. She had been drowning her sorrows in alcohol for a while.

“When a friend… got engaged.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Zhao, who was sitting next to her, held her breath for a moment and didn’t speak for a long time.

Jiang Zao noticed a strange gaze on her face and belatedly realized that her words were very ambiguous. She quickly explained.

“No, it’s not because my friend got engaged that I drank. I drank at my friend’s engagement party.”

“Oh—” Wen Zhao let out a long “oh,” as if she were relieved. She leaned back on the sofa and also poured herself a glass of wine.

“A male friend or a female friend?”

“Of course… a female friend! But strictly speaking, I don’t know if we’re still friends now…”

“A friend is a friend. How can you not know if you’re still friends or not…” Seeing that she wanted to talk, Wen Zhao pressed on.

“Do you believe in past lives?”

Wen Zhao glanced at the place in the center of the main hall where the statue of Guanyin should have been hanging. “I… I shouldn’t have believed in it, but if it’s not supernatural, how can you explain the appearance of zombies? Maybe this thing is just something that exists if you believe in it, and doesn’t if you don’t.”

Jiang Zao lowered her head, her gaze as if it were tangible, staring at the fire in front of her, and she began to speak slowly.

“I used to have a best friend. We were so close that we were inseparable. We met in high school and agreed to go to Linhai University together. Besides you, she was the only one who knew about my claustrophobia. In high school, I was sensitive, had low self-esteem, and was often bullied by my classmates. One time, after school, while I was on duty, I was locked in the computer room by some disgusting male classmates, and they also pulled the power switch.”

“When my claustrophobia acted up, she was the one who came and saved me. So, I naturally thought that we would be best friends for life. I would do my best to satisfy any of her requests, even when she asked me to lend her all my savings to buy a house in Linhai City, I transferred it to her without hesitation.”

“Until—”

“The zombie outbreak. We were trapped in the residential complex. We went out together to find food. On the way back, we were discovered by zombies. She fell, and I saved her. But when I was pulled down by a zombie because I had saved her, she and her partner left without looking back, taking the supplies we had gathered together and taking over my house…”

At this point, Wen Zhao noticed that she had clenched her fists and was even gritting her teeth.

“I hate them. I hate her for betraying my trust. She clearly knew, she clearly knew that she was my only friend in this life…”

Wen Zhao gently pried her hand open. There were already deep and shallow nail marks on her palm.

“She’s not worthy of being your friend. Don’t hurt yourself for some trash. And now…”

Wen Zhao looked up and met her blindfolded eyes.

“You have other friends now.”

Although she couldn’t see her appearance, she could always feel a gentle gaze on her.

A wisp of a smile appeared on Jiang Zao’s lips.

“So when you asked me why I was so wary of you, why I stockpiled so many supplies at home, it’s all because I’ve been through it before.”

“I know. I told you at that time that I never blamed you for your bad attitude towards me. Even if one day, I mean if, you hurt me, I would still think that you have your own difficulties.”

A hint of moisture seeped through the cloth strip that was covering Jiang Zao’s eyes.

“Then do you think I’m a lunatic, a psycho, or mentally ill for telling you these things?”

Wen Zhao was obviously flustered, but not because of her question, but because of the tears that were constantly flowing from the corners of her eyes.

In her haste, she didn’t even have time to get a tissue. She just pulled her into her arms and wiped the tear stains from her face with her sleeve.

“Don’t… don’t cry. How could I? I would only feel sorry for you. Why didn’t I know you at that time, to protect you? If you had met me at the beginning, I would never…”

“Never, ever, betray, you.”

Wen Zhao said word by word, gritting her teeth, with certainty, both to her and silently making a promise in her heart to protect her for the rest of her life.

Jiang Zao actually didn’t like to have close contact with people. She believed in the set of rules that there must be boundaries between people. But for some reason, leaning against her chest, smelling the faint, fresh scent of grass and wood on her, and listening to her steady and powerful heartbeat, she felt an inexplicable sense of security, a security she had never felt before.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps she was tired from crying. She clutched Wen Zhao’s clothes, a little drowsy, and then she heard Wen Zhao’s voice, filled with pity, say in a low voice:

“I may not be the first person to know that you have claustrophobia, but I may be the only one who knows why you have claustrophobia. Jiang Zao, you are much stronger than I thought.”

In the sea of fire at the school, she had accidentally glanced at the desk that had fallen beside Jiang Zao.

That desk seemed to have been replaced from a student classroom. The wood was already polished, and the desktop was carved with deep and shallow words:

“Jiang Zao is a big fat pig.”

“Jiang Zao is a big idiot.”

“NC, go die.”

“I f*** you.”

…

And many other unsightly words that even the current Wen Zhao found heart-wrenching to read.

After understanding Little Mi’s experience, she knew that the saying “poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people” was not false.

Moreover, the evil of a child comes with no reason, is indiscriminate, and is full of malice and aggression.

It’s not like she hadn’t experienced it before…

Wen Zhao’s fists clenched at once.

Jiang Zao must have been bullied, insulted, and beaten since she was a child, and even locked in a dark classroom or any small, crowded place, which was why she had developed severe claustrophobia.

Wen Zhao couldn’t even imagine how the naive Jiang Zao in the photo on the school notice board, with her small and thin body, had persevered. She might have asked the school teachers and Jiang Wuni for help, but life was not a TV drama, and no one could come down from the sky to save her.

Even Jiang Wuni was busy with her livelihood at that time. As Jiang Zao had said, she would only boil two eggs for her and then tell her to fight back next time.

She was just like that, alone, walking through her long and oppressive student days.

And it was this person who would occasionally show a bright or flamboyant smile, and was even so kind.

Her kindness was more like a piece of raw jade. It was cold to the touch, and only after being carefully carved would the brilliant inner light be revealed.

Wen Zhao held her even tighter. As the tear slid down the corner of her eye, Jiang Zao also gently closed her eyes.

When Li Mi finally got tired of playing and ran in with Kele, Jiang Zao had also fallen asleep in her arms. Wen Zhao gently made a “shh” gesture and then carried her in her arms.

Translator’s Notes

[1] “Don’t think about the endless things outside of yourself, just enjoy the cup of wine in front of you.” (莫思身外无穷事，且尽身前酒一杯) – This is a line from a famous Tang Dynasty poem by Du Fu, titled “To Vice-Prefect Du” (赠杜二拾遗). It’s a classic expression of carpe diem, urging one to seize the present moment and not worry about things beyond one’s control.

[2] “Confession is for children. Adults, please be direct: Become a cat, become a tiger, become a dog drenched in the rain.” (告白是小孩子做的，成年人请直接：变成猫，变成老虎，变成被雨淋湿的狗狗。) – This is a popular internet quote in China, often used in romantic or shipping contexts. It suggests that adults should express their feelings through actions and vulnerability rather than just words.