Chapter 18 p2
The Li Family
Returning home with weak hands and feet, Li Yi collapsed on the bed, her mind still numb.
Now that she had come to her senses, she felt that she had been really brave just now!
At such a critical moment, she could actually think so much. But after calming down, she felt that perhaps Ji Yang hadn’t thought of killing them to silence them.
Mrs. Li followed her in, first pouring a bottle of hot water to warm her daughter’s hands, then exclaimed, “You child, how can you be so bold? You scared me to death!”
Mr. Li nodded in agreement, also still shaken.
Li Yi scratched her head in embarrassment. “I… I just thought too much.”
The Li family was silent for a moment. Grandma Li said worriedly, “What now? This is murder, and you participated in disposing of the body. If the police investigate, will you go to jail?”
Speaking of this, Li Yi’s expression instantly became serious. “Probably not!”
“Ah?”
The family looked over in confusion.
Li Yi sighed. “Dad and I went out to collect supplies, and we were following the main group from the community. We were still almost robbed several times. If it weren’t for the fact that they confirmed we had many people and were united, they wouldn’t have dared to really come up. We might not have been able to come back in one piece.”
Mr. Li nodded in agreement and said in a low voice, “The outside world now… is indeed a bit like the scenes in the doomsday novels my daughter talks about. Order has disappeared, and now it’s the law of the jungle. There’s something I’ve been afraid to tell you…”
Everyone’s eyes looked over, full of anticipation.
Mr. Li said slowly, “A few days ago when we went to chop wood, we chatted with a guy and found out that the situation over there is much more serious than here. The community was directly taken over by a gang. They collect protection fees every month and also send people to guard the entrance to collect entrance fees. He had to hand over half of the two bundles of firewood he chopped to enter the community. If he didn’t, he would be beaten, and after the beating, all his firewood would be confiscated!”
“Hiss!” The Li family gasped.
This family was all academics. The most rebellious was Li Yi, who, after failing as a travel blogger, concentrated on being a full-time daughter and full-time granddaughter at home, living off her parents’ and grandparents’ salaries and pensions.
So, suddenly hearing such a dark side of things, they were all stunned.
Especially Li Yi, who liked to read novels, immediately understood why these people didn’t kill, but only took half the firewood. It was for a long-term plan, to control this group of free labor, so that there would be a continuous supply of offerings in the future. But if the other party was disobedient…
A gang that could intimidate a community must have killed people.
Grandpa Li’s beard trembled. “Doesn’t the government do anything?”
Mr. Li: “They can’t. The government doesn’t have enough manpower now. You saw what it was like when they distributed supplies last time. This group of people is also good at disguising themselves, and now there’s no electricity or internet. Phones will just freeze and shut down in this cold weather. There’s no evidence to report them. That guy said someone reported them, but they denied it. The government can’t just arrest people randomly. After a search, they only took away a few who were caught in the act and confiscated some supplies. As soon as the people left, that family all jumped off the building that night.”
“Jumped off the building?!” Mrs. Li looked incredulous.
“It’s not clear if they jumped themselves,” Mr. Li rubbed his hands and said with a bitter smile. “This is actually quite good. A few days ago, a group of people came to collect protection fees. It was probably this girl who took action. It can be seen that she is not a bad child. Being neighbors with such a person, as long as you don’t harm her, there are many benefits.”
After he finished speaking, the entire Li family fell silent.
Especially Mrs. Li and Grandpa and Grandma Li. After the disaster intensified, someone had to stay at home, so the three of them hadn’t gone out. They didn’t know that the once harmonious society had become like this.
It was really… too scary.
Li Yi wiped her face. Seeing her family’s not-so-good expressions, she put on a smile to comfort them. “Hey, don’t look so down. We’re still quite lucky. Let’s not think about these things. As long as we work hard, we can always live a good life.”
Her voice was clear and cheerful, like a little sun.
The four of them couldn’t help but show a smile. “That’s right.”
“But from now on, we can’t let that grandfather and grandson in again!” Mrs. Li brought up this topic again.
The family nodded vigorously, with firm determination.
Li Yi suddenly said, “Huh, speaking of which, it seems they haven’t come up these past few days?”
“That’s right.”
—
Actually, in 0702
It wasn’t that Zhu Mandao didn’t want to bring his grandson up to do something.
It was that the building was in chaos.
He was afraid of thieves, so the family took turns resting. His son and daughter-in-law had to go out to collect supplies during the day, so he could only stand guard at night and sleep during the day. He didn’t dare to leave the house for a moment.
Naturally, he had no time to come over.
Especially in the past few days, the wind and snow had subsided, and his son and daughter-in-law’s harvest was a little more than before. He had to be even more cautious, afraid that someone would come to steal from their family.
He stood guard at the door at night, with a charcoal stove, a chair, and two blankets.
He often heard noises at night.
Two incidents had already happened in their building.
Zhu Mandao was shrewd. He could guess who did it without looking. It was the two men from 0602 downstairs. These two were a brother-in-law and his brother-in-law. The brother-in-law and his wife had come to pay a New Year’s visit and were trapped in the community by the heavy snow. Four adults and three children, seven people in total, the food they had hoarded was not enough, and they quarreled every day.
But those two men were also lazy and gluttonous. They rarely went out to look for supplies, complaining that it was cold.
But in the past few days, their house had been lively for a while, and they hadn’t quarreled. At mealtimes, there was even the smell of food wafting out. Of course, it wasn’t as fragrant as the damn girl’s house on the fifteenth floor, but it was still something his family couldn’t afford.
The noise in the building at night, if it wasn’t them, he would eat shit!
Especially tonight, Zhu Mandao heard it again!
The footsteps this time were even more excited than before. It sounded like they were going all the way up. He thought idly, Who’s the unlucky one today?
Forget it, whoever it is, as long as it’s not my family.
It wasn’t until it got later and later that Zhu Mandao, unable to stay awake, drifted off to sleep. He was still thinking, How come it’s been a few hours and I haven’t heard them come down?
When he woke up again, he was awakened by the sound of a woman crying.
Zhu Mandao was groggy. He heard the crying getting louder and louder, also heading upstairs. Soon, the sound stopped going up and stopped at the eighth floor. The woman cried out in a long-drawn-out voice, “Building Leader Qiao, my husband and brother are missing. Please help me find them!”
Qiao Huijun’s voice also appeared. “Calm down, don’t be anxious. What happened?!”
“You know we don’t have much to eat at home. My husband and brother were just going to borrow some. This… I don’t know what happened, but they went and didn’t come back. I’ve already slept and woken up, and there’s no sign of them! Wuwuwu, if they don’t want to lend, then don’t. What did they do to my husband and brother?!” The woman cried so hard she was out of breath. It sounded very tragic.
A woman next to her was also wiping her tears. Behind her were three children, looking pitiful.
Qiao Huijun’s eyelids twitched. He didn’t want to deal with this matter.
Even a pig would know that these two weren’t going to borrow.
They were clearly going to rob!
Sensing Qiao Huijun’s reluctance, the woman threw herself at him and grabbed his hand. “Building Leader Qiao, you can’t just ignore us! You’re the building leader we chose!”
With that, she gritted her teeth. “If you can find my husband, I’ll give you ten jin of grain!”
At this time, a family couldn’t be without a man.
Otherwise, they would be as miserable as those families who were robbed.
So, her husband must be found!
—
As soon as Tang Fang’s reward was announced, the crowd, which had been avoiding the matter, instantly became excited. Ten jin of grain was not a small amount, and it was worth a try. Someone immediately became eager. “I think I heard him go upstairs.”
“I slept soundly last night, I don’t know. Why don’t we ask door to door?”
“Are you stupid? Who would admit it at a time like this?”
Zhu Mandao listened, his eyes sparkling. He said in a loud voice, “I have a clue!”
Tang Fang looked over with hope.
But Zhu Mandao refused to say more. Instead, he smiled and rubbed his thumb, index, and middle fingers together. In the peaceful era, this would mean money, but at this time, it meant supplies.
Tang Fang secretly hated this person for taking advantage of the situation, but she still gritted her teeth. “Two jin of grain for a clue!”
“Five jin,” Zhu Mandao said firmly. “I know where he went last night!”
Tang Fang’s eyelids twitched. “Fine!”
“I want to see the supplies first,” Zhu Mandao said unceremoniously. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you as soon as I get the things. With so many neighbors watching, I can’t cheat you.”
Tang Fang was furious, but she had no choice but to compromise. She gave her sister-in-law a look, and the woman immediately nodded and ran down to get the grain.
And here, more and more people were gathering to watch.
After being cooped up for so long, it was rare for there to be something new in the building to join in the fun. They had to come out and see.
Soon, the grain was brought over. Tang Fang’s eyes, like they were dipped in poison, stared at Zhu Mandao. He had to give her a clear explanation!
Zhu Mandao dared to make this offer, so naturally, he was not afraid. He was old and cunning. What had he not seen in his life? He immediately cleared his throat and said, “Last night, I was on watch. I heard your husband and brother go upstairs.”
Tang Fang almost cursed. “Is that it?!”
The others booed.
Zhu Mandao puffed out his chest. “I’m not finished. They didn’t come down until daytime. Upstairs, everyone should know, there’s a single girl on the fifteenth floor, hehe…”
His smile was lewd, but he had a plan in his heart. Last time, he had been fooled by Li Yi and thought that Ji Yang really lived with a young and strong brother, so he didn’t dare to be presumptuous.
Later, he found out that Ji Yang lived alone!
Thinking of the way she had lectured him with a superior attitude last time, Zhu Mandao was filled with hatred. With so many people, so what if she had a knife?
Her complexion was so good, she must have a lot of supplies at home. If a group of people went up together, he could also get a lot. So, he continued to add, “What kind of situation would make two men not come back all night? It must be a love nest. I didn’t hear any other noise last night, which means that door was opened by itself, and no one resisted. If it were any other family, there would definitely be a commotion, right?”
Everyone’s expressions gradually changed.
At first, some people wanted to say that he was just speculating wildly.
But as they listened, they suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense. A strange light appeared in their eyes, and a hoarse voice said, “That’s right. The girl on the fifteenth floor must have supplies at home. We all go out to look for supplies, but she doesn’t. I heard that many young people like to stay at home and hoard a lot of things. She’s at home alone, and the government also distributed grain. She probably can’t eat much, so it’s all left at home, right?”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people’s breathing became heavy, and they became eager to make a move.
Tang Fang, on the other hand, knew what kind of person her husband and younger brother were. This kind of thing was very normal. Before the disaster, she had been on guard against it. She had thought that he had really just gone out to rob some food, but she didn’t expect him to be sleeping with a woman!
She didn’t doubt Zhu Mandao’s words at all and said with a pale face, “So there’s a little slut. I was wondering why they washed their faces when they went out last night! Damn it!”
She turned to go up.
Suddenly, she thought of something and looked at the crowd pleadingly. “Could you all please come with me? My orphans and I have been worried all night. These two men have been sleeping in a love nest and haven’t woken up. My life is so hard!”
The people who had come early felt their mouths twitch. They remembered that this person had said that she had woken up to find that her husband and brother had not returned.
Her sister-in-law was weak and had been crying all along, not saying much. The three children, on the other hand, had stopped crying when they heard news of their father, which made people feel a little more sympathy.
At this time, the man had run away. It was quite tragic.
And they had other ideas. With many people, it was easy for things to get chaotic, and it was a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters. So, they immediately shouted, “Let’s go, let’s go up together!”
“I didn’t expect there to be a vixen in our building?! This is so embarrassing!”
“Hmph, let’s go quickly!”
Qiao Huijun was surrounded by the crowd. He was reluctant, but he couldn’t refuse, so he had to brace himself and go up. He had a gut feeling that the girl on the fifteenth floor wouldn’t do such a thing. Last time, he had just been a little frivolous with his gaze, and he had been taught a lesson with a knife.
What kind of worthless goods were Tang Fang’s husband and brother? How could she possibly be interested in them?
But he definitely wouldn’t say this. He could only hope that the girl was just putting on a show.
A large group of people went upstairs.
Li Yi, who had felt that something was wrong when Zhu Mandao spoke, had already slipped away in advance. She went to knock on the door of the fifteenth floor, panting. Help, she really didn’t expect this group of people to lock onto their target so quickly!
At the same time, she didn’t expect Zhu Mandao to be so disgusting. For five jin of grain, he had framed a girl based on a few clues, without knowing the full situation!
If he had known the situation clearly, it would have been one thing, but the problem was that he didn’t!
Li Yi once again regretted being a busybody at that time.
—
It was still very early, just past seven o’clock.
Normally, most people would actually be asleep.
But today, everyone had gotten up for this matter. However, because Ji Yang’s soundproofing was too good, and there were several floors between them, her sleep was not disturbed. It wasn’t until Xixi suddenly barked wildly.
That was the good thing about having a dog. You didn’t even have to keep watch yourself.
Ji Yang was sighing as she got up. When she came to the living room, she heard Li Yi’s voice from outside the door. It was as if she wanted to be loud, but was trying to keep it down for fear of startling someone. However, it still came through.
She listened for two seconds and, after confirming that it was only her, she opened the door directly.
She saw Li Yi’s joyful expression, which then turned to panic. “The families of the two people from last night are here. The uncle who was looking for you before said they went to your place…”
There were some things she couldn’t say, but the meaning was already very clear.
Ji Yang understood and said calmly, “I know, thank you.”
Li Yi: “You’re not afraid?!”
Ji Yang smiled. Seeing her sincere concern, she explained a little more, “There’s no evidence. Just deny it, that’s enough. They can’t force me.” After a pause, she added, “You should go home. Don’t worry about whatever happens.”
Li Yi: “…”
That’s right.
She had a gun.
And from the way she held the knife before, she must have practiced. Even if the people downstairs were unruly, they wouldn’t dare to bet their lives.
She had heard that the hospital was no longer admitting patients and had closed down.
Her heart settled a little. She didn’t say much more, turned around, and went into the house. She just managed to pull her parents, who were one step behind, in and closed the door.
The Li parents were still surprised by her actions, but the noise from downstairs was getting louder and louder, and someone was already leading the way up.
But by the time he came up, both households on the fifteenth floor had their doors closed, and he didn’t notice anything.
Then came the furious Tang Fang. As soon as she came up, after locking onto her target, she immediately went to smash the door. “Xue Lian, you damn bastard, get out here!”
“Xue Lian!”
“I’m at home guarding, and you’re actually here having fun!”
She alone shouted with the momentum of a crowd. The others who followed were just there to watch the fun. A few men gathered together and said some obscene things. “If I had known this girl was willing, I would have knocked on her door earlier.”
“Do you think she’s pretty? I’ve never seen her face.”
“Me neither, but she should be quite pretty, right? Otherwise, how could a single person eat well every day? It must have been given by some adulterer. Look at this…”
The latter words were not loud, but Tang Fang still heard them and immediately became even angrier. She wished she could break down this iron door and teach the adulterous couple a lesson.
Her sister-in-law, on the other hand, took her three children and tried to shout, “Husband! Husband, come out!”
But the door was too sturdy. After knocking for a long time, it was still very stable and didn’t even shake.
Just as Tang Fang was getting discouraged, there was the sound of a door opening from inside.
Her movements paused, and her eyes, like fire, stared intently. “Xue Lian, you get out here for me!”
—