Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Breakfast didn't take long. I wiped my mouth and said with righteous authority, "Although you just got back and there are some things you shouldn't have to do, your previous mistakes were too serious. You must be given the chance to make amends through labor. Clean up the table before you leave."
Fatty, seemingly transformed, obediently began to clear the leftover food from the table. Suddenly, while wiping it down, he exclaimed, "I'm not leaving. Where would I go?"
I was puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to go back to your place? Are you planning to stay here? You can't seriously have a problem with your orientation, can you?"
"Damn it, you're the one with the problem," Fatty retorted angrily. "The money I want—none of the houses you've shown me are satisfactory. You're right; I plan to stay here."
Then, in my astonished gaze, Fatty poured himself another pot of tea.
"Go on, you haven't finished yet."
"Brother Jiang," he said with a long face, "you can sit there and listen without getting tired, but I can't handle this after a whole night. Can I take a break? Look at me; my eyes are swollen. I need to sleep for a bit."
Fatty grabbed my arm. "Qiangzi, don't you understand me? You start telling a story and then fall asleep; what am I supposed to do? Can I even sleep? I'd just be anxious digging into the wall! Besides, if I let you sleep, would you really be able to?"
That was true; with Fatty's personality, leaving him hanging mid-sentence would drive him crazy. He definitely wouldn't let me sleep peacefully.
I picked up my teacup and took a sip, nearly choking on the bitterness. When I lifted the lid of the teapot, I found no water left; the tea leaves had swelled up to the brim.
"What a waste," I silently cursed.
However, that sip of tea did help wake me up. As I felt my tongue go numb and my palate tingle, my spirits lifted all at once.
As I think back, memorizing the details of Liu Squad Leader's situation had shocked everyone. It was under these circumstances that Xiao Guolin made me a promise. He couldn't be sure who would make it out alive, but he recognized my value if I did. He believed I was someone who could take responsibility and keep my word.
In the darkness, Xiao Guolin began to ramble about his daughter. From elementary school to high school, I suddenly interrupted him, asking, "How old is your daughter, Xiao Ting?"
Xiao Guolin replied slowly, "She'll be taking her college entrance exams next year. Time flies. It feels like just yesterday she was bouncing around in pigtails on her way to kindergarten, and now she's all grown up."
As he continued to talk, I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. I wasn't even married yet; in my parents' eyes, I was still a child. And now he wanted me to take care of a blossoming young woman? Was this some kind of joke? What kind of father does that? It was incredibly irresponsible!
I tightened the sleeping bag around me; the heat generated by the compressed food wasn’t enough to fend off the cold here. I regretted agreeing to Xiao Guolin's request and decided right then that no matter what, I had to ensure he made it out alive. Ignoring his rambling introductions, I began preparing to find water on my own.
If I was going out to look for water, I definitely needed to take the penlight with me; even its weak and unstable light was currently the best source available. The lighter—my Zippo—was a reliable heat source, so it had to come along too. If I encountered anything flammable on the way, I could use it to start a fire for warmth or light. Glancing down at my luminous watch dial, which emitted a faint glow in the dark, I noted that most members of the Archaeology team wore such watches so they could tell time even in darkness. However, using it as a light source seemed ridiculous; it might very well be my last source of illumination.
Morphine—if Liu Squad Leader insisted on coming along, I'd bring it. Even though I knew there was a chance I might not return from looking for water, I hadn’t planned on giving those two doses of Morphine to Liu Squad Leader. Instead, I intended to hand them over to Xiao Guolin so that either he or I would always have leverage in negotiations with Liu Squad Leader.
As for the little bit of water we had left, I didn’t plan on taking it with me. If I couldn’t find a water source, returning would be pointless. If I did find one, my survival would be assured; however, those waiting behind might not last until my return. That jug of water represented hope for both Xiao Guolin and Cao Mingzhe.
Xiao Guolin and I huddled closer together as the cold air continued to sap our body heat. We had no extra clothing; our makeshift outfits from sleeping bags provided some warmth but were still inadequate against the chill. Liu Squad Leader and Cao Mingzhe were even worse off in their summer clothes. Thankfully, the work uniforms in the desert weren’t short-sleeved; otherwise, they would have been even more miserable. Oddly enough, after sleeping for over twenty minutes without freezing to death, I realized how resilient I must be.
Whether it was due to low temperatures or exhaustion from overexertion, after sitting back-to-back with Xiao Guolin for a while, we began to feel drowsy.
Suddenly, loud footsteps jolted us awake, followed by a beam of light approaching from a distance, swaying as it drew nearer.
“Is that you, Zhao Squad Leader?” Liu Squad Leader shouted, his voice echoing for a long time. This place was much larger than the reservoir above.
“It’s me,” came Zhao Squad Leader's voice in response.
I quickly had Xiao Guolin turn on the penlight to guide Zhao Squad Leader. Before long, Zhao Squad Leader and Xu Xinming emerged from the darkness. Xu Xinming was carrying several water bottles, looking heavy and flushed with excitement and fatigue, but his spirits were high. As soon as he saw us, he shouted excitedly, “We found water! We’re saved!”
Xiao Guolin jumped up like a kid, hugging Xu Xinming while laughing and shouting. Yes, with water we could survive; we had hope for rescue. I needed to vent my feelings too, so I clenched my fists and let out a loud cheer, striking a pose like Bergkamp celebrating a goal. Oh, he was a Dutch football star; to today’s youth, he was a figure of the past.
Strangely, half of the six people did not join in the celebration. I could understand Cao Mingzhe’s poor mental state. Liu Squad Leader seemed troubled, which I also understood; our primary mission was to find water. Even I prioritized finding water above all else—until that issue was resolved, everything else was secondary. But Liu Squad Leader was different; he had pushed himself to come here for reasons beyond just finding water. Unlike me, who had two motives for being here, I was more convinced than ever that he had come solely for Song Guilong. Finding water meant little to him because he couldn’t possibly climb up the crevice.
However, Zhao Squad Leader's inscrutable expression left me puzzled. He not only refrained from joining in the celebration but also showed little emotion—he was cold but not calm!
Comment 0 Comment Count