Chapter 91: She Doesn’t Want to Be Hungry

Wei Lingxia’s face was full of disdain.

“What’s with your attitude? Still think you’re the group leader’s wife or something?”

Back when the wasteland first began, this group was pretty well-known. Everyone banded together to fight against the chaos after the apocalypse.

“But now it’s been five years. Look around—there are groups everywhere, and most of them are a hundred times stronger than yours.”

Wei Lingxia no longer considered herself part of this group.

Every word out of her mouth was “your group.”

Everyone knew that Captain Qiao’s group was bound to be swallowed up sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

Wei Lingxia really didn’t understand what Xu Xuejiao was still so proud about.

Xu Xuejiao was shaking with anger.

“This is my attitude. You want to hurt me and my two daughters, and you still expect me to be grateful?”

“Wei Lingxia, don’t take me for a fool.”

Wei Lingxia immediately jumped up, pointing at Xu Xuejiao at the bottom of the ditch and sneering,

“You act all righteous after being a whore?”

“You and your girls, if you stay here, you’ll not only be used by men, but you’ll have to do hard labor too. I’m trying to save you from this misery, don’t you get it?”

Xu Xuejiao didn’t get it. She grabbed a hoe and started climbing out of the ditch.

“Get what? My daughters and I are doing just fine here. Following you would be the real stupidity.”

“Don’t act like you’re some good person. Who doesn’t know all those men out there are monsters?”

She was furious. Xu Xuejiao had her own sense of dignity and morals—she refused to accept such a fate.

If she could vent her anger at Shi Yuebai, she could vent even more at Wei Lingxia.

After all these days at Shi Yuebai’s place, Shi Yuebai hadn’t even once suggested her daughters should sell themselves.

In fact, inside the Shi family’s walls, aside from a weirdo who only tinkered with parts, there wasn’t a single adult man.

As for Pang Zhenggong, who was lying unconscious on the ground, he hardly counted as a man.

Compared to the Chen family, the Shi family always gave off a positive, hopeful vibe.

It felt like as long as you were willing to work hard and sell your labor, a woman could live with dignity.

But with the Chen family, women lost not only their bodies, but also their self-respect.

They had to lie down to earn food, and even then, there was no guarantee they’d get any.

Now, the ditch had been dug unevenly deep, but it was already quite long.

It was almost enough to completely seal off the entrance of the “Tong” frame.

Xu Xuejiao was proud, but when she said she’d dig the ditch, she really did it—no slacking off.

She climbed up from a slightly shallower spot, hoe in hand, and went after Wei Lingxia.

Wei Lingxia scrambled up and ran, cursing as she went,

“Xu Xuejiao, are you crazy?”

“What’s the difference between following us to the Chen family and staying here?”

Isn’t it all the same—being forced into prostitution?

Xu Xuejiao shouted angrily, “At least here at the Shi family, women get to keep their lives.”

“But would the Chen family let women live?”

She’d been eating well these past few days and had regained some strength.

She chased Wei Lingxia for quite a distance, almost out of the riverbed.

Only then did Xu Xuejiao storm back to the Tong frame.

Her daughters still had no idea what had happened.

They’d already climbed into the Tong frame, huddled with Pang Ziyuan and Shi Yaoyao, looking at today’s menu posted on the wall.

Xu Xuejiao stood at the edge of the ditch, watching her two daughters.

At some point, the girls had gotten themselves cleaned up, wearing two long dresses Nong Yasi had found for them.

They even had underwear on under their dresses, and shoes on their feet.

In the wasteland, most girls didn’t bother with such things anymore.

For one, the adults were too busy scavenging and surviving to pay attention to such details.

And for another, even if a girl’s body had developed, it had probably already suffered at the hands of others by then.

Xu Xuejiao and Captain Qiao had done a remarkable job protecting Da Jiao and Xiao Jiao.

Xu Xuejiao’s feelings were complicated.

Just then, Da Jiao ran over, holding a small hoe.

“Mama.”

Da Jiao said happily, “Auntie asked me to help dig the ditch.”

Xu Xuejiao snapped out of it and frowned, “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s carrying stones.”

As she spoke, she climbed down the soft ladder by the ditch.

Xu Xuejiao quickly followed her down, looking at Da Jiao with a pang in her heart.

After a busy morning, Xu Xuejiao scooped dirt into a basket and climbed up the ditch to dump it out.

But the ever-persistent Wei Lingxia showed up again.

“Da Jiao, do you want to come with Auntie?”

Maybe it was seeing Da Jiao now, looking just like a vibrant, hopeful girl from before the apocalypse, that made the Chen family unwilling to give up.

So Second Uncle Chen sent Wei Lingxia again, and this time she pulled out a deformed lollipop.

“Da Jiao, come here. Auntie will give you this to eat.”

Xu Xuejiao was on the other side of the ditch, near the Shi family’s wall.

She turned her head, face changing dramatically, and shouted at Wei Lingxia,

“Are you crazy? My daughter’s not going with you!”

Wei Lingxia just rolled her eyes at Xu Xuejiao.

“If you want to suffer here, don’t stop your daughter from taking the easy way out.”

Then she tried to tempt Da Jiao again,

“Isn’t digging dirt tiring? Auntie can take you somewhere else, and you’ll never have to dig again.”

“All you have to do is lie down, and food will be brought right to your mouth. It’s much more comfortable than here.”

Xu Xuejiao threw down her basket, absolutely furious.

She looked everywhere for a hoe, only to realize it was still at the bottom of the ditch.

So she ran around the ditch to chase after Wei Lingxia.

Of course, Wei Lingxia ran too, taunting Xu Xuejiao as she went,

“Hey, Mrs. Group Leader, look at yourself now—do you look like an educated woman at all?”

“Stopping me is just pushing your daughter to her death!”

But Xu Xuejiao knew that wasn’t true. With Shi Yuebai, she and her daughters would never be forced down a dead end.

But she couldn’t quite put it into words.

She hadn’t seen the true nature of the Shi family.

She didn’t agree with Shi Yuebai’s temperament.

But even so, she believed that only here could she and her daughters be safe.

Xu Xuejiao chased Wei Lingxia far away.

Da Jiao lowered her head, about to continue digging, when Zhang Xueyao’s head popped up from the edge of the ditch.

“Hurry, Da Jiao, your mom’s not here—come with us.”

Zhang Xueyao motioned for Da Jiao to climb up.

But the ditch was deep now, so Da Jiao would have to climb the soft ladder on the other side and circle around the whole ditch to meet Zhang Xueyao.

It would take too long.

Da Jiao shook her head. “Too much trouble. It’s time to eat.”

Pang Ziyuan said lunch was about to be served, so she couldn’t go anywhere.

Otherwise, if she missed out on the red mushroom and potato stew for lunch, there’d be none left for her.

She didn’t want to be hungry.

—

This morning I went to the renovation company to change the design."

"**Chapter 92: Espers—A Kind of Existence She Never Dared Imagine**

Zhang Xueyao was getting anxious. This was her first time doing something like this with Wei Lingxia.

Seeing that Dajiao still refused to come up, her face twisted with menace.

“Hurry up and do as you’re told, or I’ll beat you and your sister to death, and your parents too.”

Dajiao looked up at Zhang Xueyao, her eyes welling with tears.

Zhang Xueyao cursed inwardly. That Commander Qiao and Xu Xuejiao really raised two pretty little sluts.

Even when Dajiao cried, she had the delicate beauty of a wronged young girl.

In the past, the Qiao sisters were always kept inside the tarp by Xu Xuejiao.

The Qiao family never let anyone see what was inside their tarp.

They wouldn’t let the girls come out, either.

Whenever Commander Qiao organized scavenging missions for the group, Xu Xuejiao would stay behind to guard her daughters.

If anyone tried to enter the Qiao family’s tarp, Xu Xuejiao would fight them off desperately.

Out of respect for Commander Qiao, no one ever tried to force their way in.

But now the group had broken up, hadn’t it?

The girls had grown up, too.

Fifteen or sixteen—just the prime of youth for a girl.

And now Dajiao was all cleaned up, wearing a pretty, well-fitted dress.

She was clearly being prepared for the men.

Zhang Xueyao saw that Dajiao just kept crying, standing at the bottom of the pit, refusing to move.

Furious, she jumped down from the edge of the ditch, ran over, and dragged Dajiao.

“Come with me!”

Dajiao resisted, screaming, “Aaaahhh!”

Zhang Xueyao was terrified that the Shi or Pang families would hear.

Even though they were all women, there were so many of them—she couldn’t win against them all.

She slapped Dajiao twice, cursing loudly,

“You little slut, shut up and come with me!”

“Auntie, Auntie, help me! Aaaahhh!”

Dajiao refused to leave.

She knew she’d be beaten if she went with this bad woman.

Zhang Xueyao sneered, “Auntie? Which auntie?”

“You mean that fat cow Shi Yuebai?”

“I’m telling you, even if you scream your lungs out today, no one’s coming to save you.”

Just as Zhang Xueyao turned around, she was suddenly confronted by a paper airplane.

On reflex, she raised her hand to swat it away.

But the paper airplane shot upward, its tip stabbing straight into Zhang Xueyao’s eye.

“Ahhh!”

Now it was Zhang Xueyao’s turn to scream.

Xu Jiaoxue, who had been chasing after Wei Lingxia, heard both Dajiao’s and Zhang Xueyao’s screams in quick succession.

“Oh no!”

Xu Jiaoxue slapped herself—she’d fallen for Wei Lingxia’s diversion.

She immediately gave up the chase and ran back toward the ditch.

She stumbled to the edge just in time to see several white paper airplanes in the pit, pecking at Zhang Xueyao’s eyes like chickens pecking at rice.

Zhang Xueyao clutched her eyes, stumbling backward.

Behind her stood a woman in a red wedding dress, long black hair hanging loose.

Zhang Xueyao bumped into her.

The woman’s face was deathly pale, as if covered in powder. She raised a frail, ghostly hand.

From behind, she grabbed Zhang Xueyao by the neck.

Zhang Xueyao screamed, “Let me go! Ahhh! Let me go!”

But to Xu Jiaoxue, it looked like Zhang Xueyao was strangling herself, going mad at the bottom of the ditch.

Xu Jiaoxue jumped down, grabbed Dajiao in her arms,

“Hurry, climb up!”

Trembling, she helped Dajiao up the rope ladder, and they ran toward the Shi family’s compound.

“Auntie!”

Dajiao sobbed, clutching her bruised face, and collapsed to the ground.

As dusk fell, Shi Yuebai rolled out from inside the gate in her wheelchair.

A thick roll of fat hung from her chin, her face as pale and doughy as a steamed bun, utterly expressionless.

“That bad woman… she hit me.”

Dajiao crawled over, hugging Shi Yuebai’s waist, sobbing her complaint.

Down in the ditch, Zhang Xueyao’s screams continued.

Her cries grew more and more shrill, echoing through the whole camp.

Wei Lingxia, hiding in the shadows, felt her skin crawl. She was seized by an inexplicable sense of terror.

She didn’t dare approach the Shi family compound anymore and slipped away quietly.

At the edge of the ditch, Shi Yuebai moved her neck, looking down at the sobbing Dajiao clinging to her.

“Let go!”

Dajiao’s tears had soaked Shi Yuebai’s clothes.

Dajiao shook her head desperately, a clear handprint on her pale face.

“That bad woman… she hit me.”

Shi Yuebai frowned in annoyance. After a while, she sighed, unable to stand it.

“I’ve already hit her back for you. Now let go!”

Xu Jiaoxue looked back at the bottom of the ditch.

She hadn’t thought much of it before, but now she was startled.

Down below, Zhang Xueyao was strangling herself with one hand and slapping herself with the other.

It was horrifying.

Dajiao, pouting, loosened her grip on Shi Yuebai and peeked into the ditch too.

In Dajiao’s not-quite-right mind,

she saw a woman in a red wedding dress, one hand strangling Zhang Xueyao, the other slapping her.

Dajiao was delighted. She jumped up and shouted,

“Yaoyao! Yaoyao, come here!”

Shi Yaoyao and Pang Ziyuan ran over to the ditch, and Xiaojiao came too.

Everyone watched as if enjoying a clown’s performance, amused.

Perhaps only Xu Jiaoxue felt true horror.

She looked at Shi Yuebai with a complicated expression. “You—”

Shi Yuebai ignored her, coldly maneuvering her wheelchair back inside the compound.

Just because Shi Yuebai helped Dajiao didn’t mean she’d be kind to Xu Jiaoxue.

Xu Jiaoxue fell silent.

She waited until Zhang Xueyao had strangled herself into a foaming, unconscious heap.

Night had fallen.

Xu Jiaoxue didn’t know if Zhang Xueyao was dead or alive. She dragged her out of the ditch and dumped her by the roadside.

Some people, in the wasteland, are better off dead than alive.

When Xu Jiaoxue returned to the ditch, Commander Qiao had come back with a few battered followers.

“Did you know all along that Shi Yuebai…”

Xu Jiaoxue didn’t know what to say. She sat in the pit, staring blankly at Commander Qiao.

Espers—a kind of existence she never dared imagine.

But if Shi Yuebai wasn’t an esper, how could she explain Zhang Xueyao’s sudden madness today?

Commander Qiao said nothing, just sat at the edge of the pit, silently looking up at the sky.

Xu Jiaoxue fell silent too.

The night passed in silence.

The next morning, Xu Jiaoxue took Dajiao by the left hand and Xiaojiao by the right, and stood before the Shi family’s compound.

Dajiao asked curiously, “Mama?”

Xu Jiaoxue said sternly, “Bow to your aunt and thank her for saving you yesterday.”

Ahong came out of her house, glanced at Xu Jiaoxue, then hurried into the Shi family compound to make mushroom soup.

Xu Jiaoxue bowed deeply at the waist.

“I’m sorry, Yuebai. I was shallow before. I’m sorry.”

Pang Ziyuan and Shi Yaoyao walked by, glanced at Xu Jiaoxue, and went about their business.

No one paid her any attention.

Here I come, here I come, I’m here—where are you all?"