The World Turned into Zombies, So I Went Back to the Countryside to Farm 44

Chapter 44: Recovery

After that, Jiang Zao’s eyes slowly got better. On the day of the Lantern Festival, she finally took off the bandage that had been covering her eyes.

Her vision went from blurry to clear, finally focusing on Wen Zhao’s face. The two of them looked at each other and both smiled slightly.

Since her eyes were better, the injury on Wen Zhao’s arm could no longer be hidden. The moment she took off her clothes and unwrapped the bandage, although Jiang Zao had expected it, her eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

“You…”

She tentatively reached out her finger, wanting to touch the uneven skin of varying depths, but she couldn’t bear it and her hand trembled as she pulled it back. Some of the blisters on her arm had not yet completely disappeared and were still oozing fluid. From her shoulder to her right wrist, it was all covered, so densely that there was almost no good skin left.

Jiang Zao knew that burns were very painful, especially over such a large area. If it weren’t for the low temperature in the winter, an injury of this degree would definitely have gotten infected.

With the current medical conditions, there was no way to give Wen Zhao a more scientific treatment plan. Her arm would be scarred for life. Thinking of this, Jiang Zao’s voice trembled slightly.

“Why… did no one tell me?”

“I asked Little Mi and Grandma not to tell you. You were already very upset about your eye injury. I didn’t want you to worry. Besides, it really doesn’t hurt anymore…”

So, for all these days, she had been enduring the severe pain in her arm while rushing to do the housework, taking care of her meticulously, and even… even on the night of the injury, she had stayed up all night cutting bamboo to make wind chimes for her, just so that she could find her way in the dark and no longer be afraid.

Wen Zhao waited for a long time for an answer, but suddenly, a cool tear dripped down and landed on her finger.

Wen Zhao’s whole body trembled. After realizing what it was, she turned her head in disbelief.

Jiang Zao’s tears fell drop by drop, down her cheeks and onto the bed.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Her heart felt like a piece of paper soaked with water, so sour that it was about to overflow at any moment.

She was clearly not a crybaby and had long passed the age of being emotional. She hated her weakness at this moment, but she was helpless. So, she just lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and said in a trembling voice, “I told you… to… not mind me…”

A hand gently touched her cheek, and an index finger wiped away her tears. Wen Zhao lifted her head bit by bit.

“How could I not mind you…”

As she spoke softly, she slowly caressed her cheek. The hot tears burned her fingertips, and a raging fire slowly ignited in Wen Zhao’s heart.

Looking into her eyes, Jiang Zao thought of that line again.

“Eye contact is the spiritual kiss of humanity, without desire.” [1]

Her breathing was also a little chaotic. She even forgot to resist, letting Wen Zhao’s fingertips slide from the corner of her eye to her chin, and finally to her lips, repeatedly caressing and gently pressing.

Tears were still on her eyelashes, but her expression was a little innocent.

Her unconscious swallowing was like an invitation, and her slightly parted red lips, which had been played with, were like a feast.

Wen Zhao’s gaze gradually deepened.

Li Mi burst in at this moment. “Big Sister Wen…”

Jiang Zao came to her senses, pushed her away, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She got up and went out as if she were fleeing.

“Little Mi, you’re just in time. Help your Big Sister Wen apply the medicine.”

Li Mi looked at the iodophor cotton swabs that had been thrown into her hand, a little confused.

“Big Sister Wen, why did Big Sister Jiang leave as soon as I came? And why are her eyes so red? Did you guys have a fight again?”

Wen Zhao was silent for a long time. “…”

“Little Mi, can you please knock before you come in next time?”

Li Mi: “Ah? But Big Sister Wen, you didn’t even close the door!”

Wen Zhao cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment.

“What’s wrong, Little Mi? Why did you suddenly run in?”

“I was playing on the balcony just now and saw some movement at the entrance of the village.”

Wen Zhao suddenly put on her clothes and stood up. “I’ll go and see.”

“Hey, big sister, you haven’t applied the medicine yet!”

When Wen Zhao ran upstairs, Jiang Zao was already squatting on the balcony with a gun. She picked up the binoculars and took a look. It was three or five zombies that had wandered over from the direction of the town.

They were about five hundred meters away.

She glanced at Jiang Zao. Although her eyes were still a little red, her face had been replaced with a calm and resolute expression that she only had when facing an enemy. She deftly loaded the gun.

Wen Zhao nodded.

“Perfect. Let’s test your training results.”

Before she could finish, Jiang Zao had already pulled the trigger.

With a bang, a zombie in the distance fell to the ground.

Wen Zhao looked through the binoculars. The zombie was shot in the chest. Although it had temporarily lost its ability to move, it was not fatal.

“Just like archery, the wind speed, wind direction, and the distance to the target will all affect the deviation of the bullet. You have to learn to correct the direction yourself. And this distance is a bit of a stretch for a submachine gun. You can let them get closer before you shoot.”

Jiang Zao looked up from the stock and glanced at her, a hint of a determined smile on her lips. She pulled the trigger again.

The zombie that was twitching on the ground was shot in the forehead. A mixture of red and white flowed out, dyeing a large area of the snow red.

Hearing the noise, the zombies roared and charged in this direction. Jiang Zao was not flustered. She calmly pulled the bolt and aimed one by one.

Bang, bang, bang.

After a few gunshots, the world was silent.

Wen Zhao looked through the binoculars. The fallen zombies were either shot in the forehead or the temple. She couldn’t help but praise, “Good marksmanship.”

Jiang Zao stood up with the gun and raised her eyebrows.

“Of course.”

A while ago, because they had wiped out all the zombies in the village, everyone’s tense nerves had relaxed.

It wasn’t until they saw the zombies appear again that they were reminded that the apocalypse was not over, and they still had to be vigilant at all times.

And so, the nightly watch system was restored. But now, there were more people who could keep watch. Besides Wen Zhao, each person would take turns to keep watch for two hours every night, which was much easier than when Jiang Zao had to keep watch all night by herself.

Because Jiang Wuni was old, she was scheduled for the first half of the night.

“Why? I can also keep watch.”

The only one who was dissatisfied with this arrangement was Wen Zhao, who was shut down by a single look from Jiang Zao.

“You have an injury on your arm. We’ll talk about it when it’s better.”

Besides this, they would also conduct daily patrols in the village when they went out to get firewood.

Jiang Zao had another idea, which was to seal off the village.

During dinner, she used her finger to draw a rough map on the table with water. “The town is not close, but not far either. If one comes, a second will follow. Sooner or later, they will wander here. Yuanxi Village is surrounded by mountains, and there is only one road in and out of the village. We have to find a way to block this road.”

Jiang Wuni suggested, “Why don’t we just dig up the road?”

Jiang Zao thought for a moment but still felt it was inappropriate.

“If we dig it up, we won’t be able to get out ourselves. We should find a way to prevent the zombies from coming in without affecting our own travel.”

“We can use bamboo to make cheval de frise, use sand and stones to make sandbags, and then drag the abandoned cars in the village to form a barrier. As long as we can keep the zombies out, it’s fine. When we patrol every day, if we see any wandering zombies, we can just clean them up.”

Jiang Zao glanced at Wen Zhao and also felt that this plan was feasible.

“Besides these, we also need to build an outpost at the entrance of the village for emergencies and observation, and put some simple weapons, food, and water there for emergencies.”

Wen Zhao continued.

Jiang Zao also understood the principle of having three burrows for a cunning rabbit. There were many empty houses in the village now, so they could do as they pleased.

“Alright, let’s do it then.”

When it was time to cut bamboo to make the cheval de frise, Jiang Zao did not let Wen Zhao participate.

“You just draw the blueprint and tell me how to do it.”

Wen Zhao was about to argue, but she was silenced by a glare from her watery eyes. She obediently shut her mouth like a clam and went to draw the blueprint for Jiang Zao.

“The height should be over 1.5 meters, and the length should be at least 2 meters. Use a thick bamboo as the keel, drill holes in the keel, and then find a bamboo pole as thick as a wrist, sharpen it into an inverted triangle, and pass it through this hole…”

Jiang Zao threw the cut bamboo into the courtyard, put on her goggles, and began a busy day of work.

Because nails were a scarce resource, most of the cheval de frise were made with a mortise and tenon structure, which meant there were a lot of manual processes such as cutting, splitting, drilling, and chiseling. Even with gloves on, sometimes, if she was not careful, she would be pricked by the sharp bamboo splinters.

“Hiss…” Jiang Zao hissed lightly, her hands not stopping. Blood had already seeped through her gloves.

Wen Zhao was filling sandbags in the courtyard. It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Before Jiang Zao could speak, she had already leaped over.

“Are you okay?”

Jiang Zao shook her head. “I’m fine, just got…”

Before she could finish, Wen Zhao had already taken off her gloves and was squeezing the blood from her fingertip.

“You have to pull out the splinter and disinfect it. I told you I should be the one doing this kind of work…”

Jiang Zao looked at the strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes and couldn’t help but wonder if she had also been like this that night when she was making wind chimes for her, getting her hands full of injuries.

Her tone unconsciously softened.

“There’s no ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t.’ What you can do, I can do too.”

Day and night, dawn and dusk.

Jiang Zao had been cutting bamboo in the courtyard for five days before she finished making the two cheval de frise. Jiang Wuni and Li Mi had also prepared the sandbags.

Jiang Zao loaded the sandbags onto the car first. The cheval de frise were too long, so they could just be carried over when they came back.

“I’ll drive.”

Just as Jiang Zao was about to open the driver’s door, someone beat her to it. She smiled, said nothing, and sat in the passenger seat.

The two cheval de frise were placed two meters apart, and Wen Zhao had also wrapped them with barbed wire. Sandbags were piled up behind the cheval de frise.

The few remaining farm tractors in the village were also towed over by the Hummer, completely blocking the only entrance and exit to the village. Now, let alone zombies, even people would have to think twice about whether they could easily cross the blockade.

The outpost was established at the Qian family’s house, the tallest building in the entire village. Standing on the balcony, one could have a panoramic view of the entire Yuanxi Village, not a single corner was missed.

The days passed by one by one, and the injury on Wen Zhao’s arm also slowly healed. After the scabs fell off, a series of shallow red scars of varying sizes and depths were left from her wrist to her shoulder.

Jiang Zao was carefully applying medicine for her and said, “Next time we go out, besides Jiang Wuni’s medicine, we also have to find some scar removal medicine.”

Wen Zhao looked at her furrowed brow and smiled.

“It’s not a big deal. If there are scars, then there are scars.”

“How can that be? You’re a girl too.”

Jiang Zao looked up at her, and Wen Zhao fell silent. She looked at the sunlight shining on her through the glass window, and even the fine hair on her cheeks was clearly visible.

The snow has just cleared. What a beautiful day.

A thought suddenly came to Wen Zhao’s mind.

“I haven’t stretched my muscles in a long time. Do you want to have a match with me?”

“Alright.”

Jiang Zao put down the cotton swab and readily agreed.

In the open space in the courtyard, the two of them stood opposite each other, both in their stances. Jiang Zao’s pupils shrank, and she was the first to pounce, a roundhouse kick aimed at her head. Wen Zhao blocked with her elbow and took a few steps back on the mud.

Before Jiang Zao could move again, she had taken the initiative, changing her fist into a claw, and was about to grab Jiang Zao’s leg. Seeing that the situation was not good, Jiang Zao did a somersault in the air. Before she could stand firm, Wen Zhao had already punched her in the face. Jiang Zao tilted her head and dodged.

The wind from the punch lifted the strands of hair on her forehead.

But Wen Zhao did not want to let her escape so easily. She changed her footwork, and in a flash, she was behind Jiang Zao, grabbed her arm, and her right elbow was aimed at her temple.

Good one.

Jiang Zao did not get angry but smiled. She blocked this fatal blow with her left hand, then bent down and arched her back, escaping from her grip with a dragon’s tail swing, and at the same time, pushed her palm towards her abdomen.

Wen Zhao defended with both hands downwards. In a flash, fists and feet met, and the two of them exchanged several more blows. Wen Zhao grabbed her arm and, with a burst of strength, threw her over her shoulder. Jiang Zao took the opportunity to do a somersault, pushed off the locust tree, and took a few steps back, stopping by the well.

She caught a glimpse of the ice axe on the stone table and casually picked it up, pouncing on Wen Zhao again.

“Weren’t we just sparring? Why are you using a weapon?”

“Did we say we couldn’t use weapons in a spar?”

Faced with her fierce attack and her focus on the lower body, Wen Zhao retreated repeatedly. After another roll to dodge the tip of the axe that was coming at her eyes.

Li Mi just happened to come out of the main hall.

“Big Sister Wen, your knife!”

Wen Zhao leaped up, the cold light reflecting in her eyes. The sharp blade was already out of its scabbard, and the tip was pointed straight at Jiang Zao.

After spinning the ice axe in her hand, Jiang Zao met the tip of the blade and crashed into it. For a moment, the sound of clanging was endless in the courtyard.

The weather in the mountains was ever-changing. It had been clear just now, but now it was snowing again, and the snowflakes were falling on them.

Even though the ice axe was also extremely sharp, an inch longer is an inch stronger. Jiang Zao was at a disadvantage because of her weapon and was a little unable to dodge. Wen Zhao pressed her advantage, and the blade was aimed at the opening in her chest. Jiang Zao had to raise her ice axe to block. Seeing the tip of the blade pressing down inch by inch.

A half-smile appeared on her lips, and then she gave up her resistance and let go of the ice axe.

The tip of the blade was about to pierce her clothes. Wen Zhao’s pupils shrank, and she quickly withdrew her attack. This also gave Jiang Zao an opportunity. Her left palm hit her wrist. Wen Zhao’s wrist hurt, and she instantly lost her strength. The Tang-style horizontal knife in her hand fell to the ground.

Jiang Zao took the opportunity to pick up the knife, passed by her, and the cold light of the blade picked off her hair tie.

In a flash, Wen Zhao’s hair had grown long enough to be tied up, and her black hair fell like a waterfall.

Jiang Zao sighed, “So beautiful.”

“Ah? What did you say?”

Wen Zhao had not yet come to her senses, letting the breeze gently sway her hair.

But Jiang Zao smiled slightly. After twirling the Tang-style horizontal knife in her hand, she handed the hilt back to her.

“I said… this knife is not bad. A good knife. A treasured sword is hard to come by, and it is rare to meet. Why don’t you give it a name?” [2]

“What about you? Does your ice axe have a name?”

Jiang Zao picked up the ice axe and looked at it, remembering the tag that was on it when she bought it.

“It does. It’s called Mountain Stream.”

Wen Zhao looked up. The mountains were shrouded in the heavy snow, and the eaves were white again. But the branches of the locust tree in the courtyard had unknowingly sprouted green shoots.

“Then… let’s call it Mountain Stream Snow.”

May this mountain be evergreen.

May this snow be endless.

“This should be the last snow of this winter, right?”

“Yes, spring… is almost here.”

At night, after Wen Zhao had washed up, she returned to her room with her hair half-wet and dried it with a towel. She sat down at the table, picked up the scissors as usual, but her gaze suddenly fell on a hair tie on the table, with a note under it.

“Here, to compensate you. It’s new, never used…”

This sentence was followed by a long string of ellipses, as if one could see the owner’s hesitation when writing it.

In the end, Jiang Zao bit her pen and wrote:

“You look beautiful with long hair too.”

Then she drew two big smiley faces.

Wen Zhao picked up the note and looked at it for a long time. A gentle smile appeared on her lips, and she finally put down the scissors.

Forget it. Although I’ve been like this for the past ten years and am used to my hair not being longer than my shoulders, since Jiang Zao likes it, it’s not a big deal to change for once.

Wen Zhao put the hair tie on her wrist and played with the black and white fluffy panda head on it. With her hair still not completely dry, she threw herself into the soft bed and then started to roll around with the quilt.

Translator’s Notes

[1] “Eye contact is the spiritual kiss of humanity, without desire.” (对视是人类不带欲望的精神接吻。) – This is a quote from the movie “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” The original line is slightly different, but the sentiment is the same, emphasizing the intimacy and connection of a shared gaze.

[2] “A treasured sword is hard to come by, and it is rare to meet.” (宝剑不可得，相逢几许难。) – This is a line from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. It speaks to the rarity and preciousness of finding something or someone truly valuable.