Chapter 25: Saving People

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with fiery hues of red, the commune members finished their day’s work and headed home in groups of three or five.

Lin Yue carried two heavy wooden boards in one hand and a shoulder pole with two large baskets on either end in the other. Her two little ones sat in the baskets, one in front and one behind, happily singing a song she had made up: “I am a little flower, growing under the sun. Wind and rain I don’t fear, I will grow up happy and strong!” As they sang, they put their hands on their cheeks, mimicking the shape of a flower.

This made Liu Jianhua next to them very fond of them.

She reached out to hug Xiao Wanli, but he dodged her. He even frowned and said, “I’m a man, I can’t let others hug me!”

Liu Jianhua teased him, “Little man, who was crying and wanting to be hugged by your mother yesterday?”

Xiao Wanli turned his face away and ignored her.

Liu Jianhua then went to tease Xiao Lingling, “Lingling, good girl, come here, let Auntie hug you!”

Lingling was still waving her little hands back and forth, but when she heard Liu Jianhua wanted to hug her, she giggled, “Auntie, Lingling is a little flower, already planted in the soil. You can’t take Lingling out, or Lingling won’t grow up.”

Liu Jianhua didn’t get to hug the child, but she didn’t seem angry. Instead, she was amused by the two little ones and burst into laughter, “You two little rascals, you’re not two or three-year-old babies! Come on, let Auntie give you a kiss!”

She then rubbed her face against Lingling’s face a few times, making Lingling completely dazed.

Lin Yue didn’t rush to rescue her children. She watched the fun with a smile.

She wasn’t going home right now. She said goodbye to Liu Jianhua on the road.

Before parting, Liu Jianhua leaned close to her and whispered, “Be careful of Wang Baodong. Don’t pay any attention to him.”

Lin Yue didn’t say anything but gave her a knowing look.

Lin Yue carried her two children to Zhang Daniu’s house.

Zhang Daniu was still very strong, but her sons didn’t want her to tire herself out. They persuaded her to stop working, and she just stayed home to cook.

She had many sons, all of them good workers, and her daughters-in-law were also capable. They didn’t need her work points, and the family needed someone to cook, so she agreed.

Lin Yue was going to the county to collect her allowance tomorrow. Her children were too young to take with her.

She had come here to ask Zhang Daniu to help look after her two children tomorrow.

Zhang Daniu was cooking. When she saw Lin Yue enter, she wiped her hands with a cloth and came out to greet her.

The two little ones in the baskets were vying to call out to their grandmother. Zhang Daniu was delighted. She responded repeatedly, took the children out of the baskets, and let Lin Yue enter the house, “Your team finished work early today. You haven’t gone home yet?”

Lin Yue smiled, “Yes, Auntie. I just got off work and came here first. I’m going to town tomorrow, so I need you to help me watch over these two little ones.”

Zhang Daniu pursed her lips and said unhappily, “I told you before, just leave the children here when you go to work. I’ll take care of them. You wouldn’t listen. You keep taking the two children to the fields every day. It’s inconvenient for adults, and the children also suffer.”

Zhang Daniu treated her like her own child. Because there was no conflict of interest, she was even kinder to Lin Yue than to her own daughters-in-law.

Lin Yue also treated her as her true elder and was grateful for her kindness. She knew she was speaking from the heart.

But she couldn’t be so reckless.

She chuckled and didn’t respond.

Zhang Daniu had no choice but to glare at her and instructed, “Bring the children over early tomorrow morning. Don’t rush back after you go to town tomorrow. It’s a rare day off, so go out and have a look around. Let them eat lunch here.”

Seeing that Lin Yue agreed, she said, “You have good taste. Go to the department store tomorrow and pick out a few yards of cloth for me. Wait here, I’ll get the money and cloth tickets.”

Lin Yue asked, “Auntie, what kind of cloth do you want to buy, and who is it for?”

Zhang Daniu said, “Oh, it’s for Guixiang. She’s reached the age to get married, so she needs to be dressed up nicely. Pick out a bright-colored fabric for her tomorrow. I’ll make her a new dress. It’s been years since she had a proper dress.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the curtain was lifted from the outside, and Zhang Guixiang, blushing, entered the inner room with her head down.

Zhang Guixiang was Zhang Daniu’s only granddaughter. She was 17 years old this year and had reached the age to be introduced to potential suitors.

Zhang Daniu called out to the inner room, “Look at this girl, why didn’t you call out before entering? Guixiang, come out quickly. It’s time for dinner.”

A muffled response came from inside.

Lin Yue smiled, knowing they were about to eat. She didn’t stay long and left after taking the money and tickets.

As the saying goes, “Early morning red sky, stay indoors; evening red sky, travel far.” This old saying was true.

Yesterday evening, she had seen a fiery red sunset, and Lin Yue knew that today…

It was definitely going to be a sunny day.

But she didn’t expect it to be so hot at noon.

This year’s weather was really strange. There was a lot of rain, and the temperature was higher than usual.

It was only April, and it was almost summer.

Lin Yue had made an appointment with the chubby woman to meet at her old house in the afternoon.

She had nowhere to go at noon, so she came to the quiet alley early and hid in the space to wait.

It was still cold when she left in the morning, and she was wearing a lot of clothes. Now, she was sweating profusely. It was still early for the appointment, so she decided to take a bath.

As soon as she finished bathing, Lin Yue heard a noise outside the space.

She looked out and saw a man in military uniform lying on the ground. Blood had flowed all the way behind him, pooling where he lay. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

They say it’s best to mind your own business, but seeing a life in front of her, Lin Yue impulsively left the space.

She didn’t dare to approach and turn him over. She just stood nearby and asked softly over and over again, “Comrade, can you hear me? What’s wrong with you?” After asking several times, the man raised his head without warning.

What a face it was! The right side looked like it had been rubbed repeatedly on the ground. Long, thin wounds were still bleeding. The left side of his face was even worse. A wound ran from the top of his head to below his left ear, as if cut by a sharp blade. It was only a centimeter away from blinding his eye. His entire face was bloody and mangled, with the flesh torn open.

The visual shock was too much. Lin Yue swallowed and involuntarily took a step back.

The man thought she was going to leave and quickly stopped her, “Comrade, please don’t leave yet. I’m a soldier from the HeX Military District. I have a very important document here. Please help me deliver it to Comrade Yang Wen at the local Public Security Bureau!”

He tried to get up, but his injuries were too severe. He couldn’t get up, so he let go of his hand, allowing the thing in his hand to fall.

Lin Yue finally saw that he had been holding his other arm. The forearm was almost severed, with only a piece of skin and flesh still connected.

Lin Yue could even see the white bone inside. The wound was still bleeding profusely, and the blood on the alley came from this.

Lin Yue had never seen such a scene. She was so scared that her legs were trembling. She covered her mouth, afraid that she might accidentally cry out.

Before she could ask anything else, the man suddenly straightened up, alert.

Lin Yue felt something was wrong. She listened carefully and heard the sound of people running noisily outside the alley.

This alley was connected to the bustling street where the department store was located. At the end of the street, there was a longer, narrower alley. Further ahead were dilapidated houses with crisscrossing paths, and the sound of the man’s alert came from that direction.

The man urged, “Comrade, there’s no time. Leave quickly. If someone sees you, it will bring you trouble!”

Lin Yue didn’t hesitate. She took a stone from the space, walked to the man, and smashed it behind his ear.

Seeing that the man had fainted again, she immediately collected all the blood she could find into the space and then disappeared into the alley with the man.

Lin Yue placed the man on her bed. This was the first time she had hit someone. She was afraid that she hadn’t controlled her strength well. She fed him a full bowl of spiritual spring water and then carefully examined his body.

The man had countless large and small wounds all over his body, and many old scars. It was clear that he had been in many dangerous situations.

Lin Yue remembered what he said about the document, but she searched his tattered military uniform and only found a sharp military knife. There wasn’t even a single coin or ticket, let alone the document he mentioned.

Influenced by the times, most young people at this time admired soldiers and even considered wearing a military uniform a fashion statement.

The man’s military uniform didn’t have any shoulder boards or armbands that could prove his identity, so Lin Yue couldn’t confirm if he was really a soldier as he claimed.

Lin Yue just felt that she couldn’t stand by and watch him die. She didn’t want to get into trouble. She placed a stone by the bed, repeatedly confirming that the man was truly unconscious, ready to hit him again at any time.

The man’s most serious injuries were his almost severed arm and the gruesome wounds on his face.

Lin Yue, in her two lifetimes combined, was just an ordinary person. She had never experienced such a bloody scene.

She forced herself to overcome her fear and repeatedly cleaned the two injured areas.

Her movements weren’t gentle. Even though the man was unconscious, he still frowned and groaned in pain.

Lin Yue was afraid that the pain would wake him up. She thought that she had spiritual spring water, and he wouldn’t die anyway, so she was about to hit him with another brick. However, she noticed that the man’s groans suddenly stopped, and his head slumped to one side.

Lin Yue was startled. She quickly checked his breathing. Thankfully, he wasn’t dead. He must have been in a deep coma from the pain.

Relieved, Lin Yue became more reckless with her actions.

It was definitely a bright sunny day.

 But she didn’t expect it to be so hot at noon today.

  Speaking of which, the weather this year is really strange, there’s been an unusual amount of rain, and the temperature is higher than in previous years.

    It’s only April now, it’s almost summer.

   Lin Yue had made an appointment with the fat lady last time to meet at the old house in the afternoon.

    She had nowhere to go at noon, so she came to the secluded alley early and hid in the space to wait.

     It was still cold when she went out in the morning, she was wearing a bit too much, and now she was sweating profusely, it was still early before the appointed time, she simply took a bath.

     Just after taking a bath, Lin Yue heard a noise coming from outside the space.

     She looked out and saw a man in military uniform lying on the ground, blood flowing all over the ground behind him, accumulating more and more where he lay down, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

     They say it’s best to mind your own business, but seeing a life right in front of her, Lin Yue impulsively left the space.

     She didn’t dare to go forward and touch the man, she just asked softly over and over again: “Comrade, can you hear me? What’s wrong with you?” After asking several times, the man raised his head without warning.

     What kind of face was this, the right half of it looked like it had been rubbed repeatedly on the ground, there were long, thin wounds still oozing blood, the left side of his face was even worse, a wound went from the top of his head all the way down to his left ear, like it had been cut by some sharp blade, it was only a centimeter away from cutting his eye out, his whole face was bloody and flesh was torn.

     The visual impact was too great, Lin Yue swallowed, unconsciously taking a step back.

 The man thought she was going to leave, and quickly spoke to stop her: “Comrade, please don’t leave yet.

    I’m a soldier from the River X Military Region, I have a very important document here, please help me deliver it to Comrade Yang Wen at the local Public Security Bureau!” He tried to get up, but because he was too badly injured, he couldn’t get up, so he let go of his hand, letting the thing in his hand fall down.

    Lin Yue then saw clearly that he had been holding his other arm, the forearm was almost severed, only half of the flesh was still connected.

    Lin Yue could even see the white bone inside, the wound was still bleeding constantly, that’s where the blood in the alley came from.

    Lin Yue had never seen such a scene, her legs were trembling, she covered her mouth, afraid that she would accidentally cry out.

     Before she could ask anything else, the man became alert and straightened up.

    Lin Yue had a bad feeling; she listened carefully and heard the sound of people running noisily outside the alley.

     This alley leads to the bustling street of the department store, at the end of the street, there is a longer and narrower alley, and further ahead is a dilapidated house, the small roads inside are crisscrossed, the man’s alert voice came from there.

     The man said anxiously: “Comrade, there’s no time, you go quickly, if someone sees you, it will bring you trouble!” Lin Yue didn’t hesitate, she took a stone out of the space, went to the man’s side, and smashed the stone on the back of the man’s ear.

    She saw that the man had fainted again, so she immediately collected all the blood she could find into the space, then took the man with her and disappeared into the alley.

     Lin Yue placed the man on her bed, this was the first time she had done this, she was afraid she hadn’t controlled her strength, she fed him a full bowl of spiritual spring water, then carefully examined the man’s body.

    The man had countless large and small wounds, as well as many old injuries, it was obvious that he had been in danger many times.

     Lin Yue still remembered what the man said about the document, but she searched through his tattered military uniform and only found a sharp military knife, not even a single coin or ticket, let alone the document he mentioned.

     Influenced by the times, young people at this time mostly admired soldiers, and even considered wearing military uniforms to be fashionable.

    The man’s military uniform didn’t have shoulder straps or armbands that could prove his identity, so Lin Yue couldn’t confirm whether he was really a soldier as he claimed.

     Lin Yue just felt that she couldn’t just stand by and watch, she didn’t want to get into any trouble, she put a stone by the bed, made sure that the man was really unconscious, and was ready to give him another blow at any time.

     The man’s most serious injuries were his almost severed arm and the hideous wounds on his face.

    Lin Yue, in her two lifetimes, was just an ordinary person, she had never experienced such a bloody scene.

    She forced herself to suppress her fear and repeatedly cleaned the two injured areas.

     Her movements were not gentle, even though the man was still unconscious, he still frowned and groaned in pain.

    Lin Yue was afraid that the man would wake up in pain, thinking that she had spiritual spring water, and that the man wouldn’t die anyway, she was about to give him another blow, but she found that the man’s groaning suddenly stopped, and his head slumped to one side.

     Lin Yue was startled and quickly checked his breathing, thankfully he wasn’t dead, the man must have been in a deep coma from the pain.

    Lin Yue felt relieved and her movements became more careless.