I brought back many picture books for the children. How expensive these little books used to be! They say it's easiest to make money from children, and it's true—what parent would hesitate to spend on their child? So, nothing for children is cheap! Sigh...
I still haven't figured out how to explain to my son why he must stay indoors and can't go outside. For now, I tell him it's because it's snowing, too cold outside, and his handsome little nose might freeze off. This is such a blatant lie! I dislike lying to children, dislike deceiving them. But how can I tell him the truth? If he knew there were terrifying monsters outside wanting to eat him, would he fall into immense fear and lose his carefree happiness?
For a child, even the mention of a "big bad wolf" can make them fearfully rush into their mother's arms, even if they've never seen a real wolf. And zombies? Sigh, such a horrifying existence! I'm afraid it's far beyond a child's psychological limits!
I didn't dare risk it, so I chose to lie to him.
Looking at the pure, thick snow covering the compound grounds, I thought, if there were no danger, I would have taken him out to build a snowman long ago. Shuaishuai is an incredibly curious baby; he would love the snow! Because his mommy loves snow very, very much too. As a northerner, loving snow is a joy; we get to see it for half the year annually.
Moreover, this is the first time he's seen snow since he was born! Well, he was born in winter, but he was just a newborn then, bundled up tightly when brought home from the hospital. He stayed in bed until spring arrived, gradually learning to roll over and sit. By summer, he was crawling all over the floor, and Grandpa and Grandma took him downstairs daily to experience the outside air and sunshine.
During the first snowfall, Shuaishuai couldn't experience nature's wonder personally. Those damned zombies have robbed us of so much joy!
Now, I can only hold Shuaishuai by the window covered in condensation, letting his little hand rub against the glass, making squeaky sounds. He's thrilled, giggling happily. Children are so easily satisfied!
Sometimes, watching the snowflakes fall outside, Shuaishuai will gaze curiously for a long time, completely focused. Who knows what goes through that little mind.
The heavy snow will cover the sins committed outside, burying all the filth!
We brought back a considerable amount of infant formula from Carrefour. Most families in our compound have children. I hope we can help the surviving families who aren't able to venture out for supplies themselves.
At Carrefour, we found some wide, long red cloth. We wrote our frequently used phone number on it with a thick black marker and attached ropes to both ends.
Back home, we hung the red cloth outside the north-facing balcony. This way, neighbors across the way can call us if they need help.
Almost as soon as the number was displayed, calls started coming in constantly. Sigh...It turns out many families only have the elderly and children left at home. The children's parents, being young, went out to play on that Sunday and never returned.
The elderly and children at home are too scared to come out, surviving only on whatever food they had left. Unlike the young people who dare to replenish supplies, they desperately need help!
Seeing so many families needed food, water, and children's supplies, and our own stockpile might not be enough to share, we made several more trips to Carrefour. Just for diapers, we hauled back several cartloads. Then we distributed them to these families.
Food wasn't the worry, but now our biggest concern emerged: several children had fallen ill. Fear and malnutrition had made them sick. And among our group, there was no doctor!
What to do! I was at a loss. Shuaishuai is a healthy child. Apart from some jaundice at birth, which cleared up in a month with more milk and water, he has never been sick or hospitalized. So I didn't know any pediatricians.
Fortunately, among the parents, some knew a few doctors from the Children's Hospital and had contact numbers. We quickly started calling them.
Very disappointingly, out of four doctors' numbers, three were unreachable—probably met with misfortune. The fourth one finally got through!
"Is this Doctor Xiaoshuang?" I asked, surprised and relieved as the call connected.
"Yes, it is. Who is this?" The voice on the other end was exceptionally calm, as if nothing had happened at all! A doctor indeed! So composed and steady. Doctors are mighty!
"I'm a survivor from Wanxiang Compound. Several children in our compound are sick and need a doctor. May I ask where you live? We have defensive capabilities and can bring you here! Our compound is very safe. We have vacant rooms and ample food and water. Could you move in with us? The children need you!" It seems I have a talent for negotiation; I laid out all the enticing conditions in one breath. Yes, I wanted her to come live with us and stay, not leave. There are too many children in the compound. Without a pediatrician, what would we do if the children got sick?
"Wanxiang Compound? Your compound hasn't lost power? Our compound is in chaos; the heating is off too. My family and I are freezing! If you can come get me and my family, I'm willing to move there and provide free medical care for the children!" Doctor Xiaoshuang's voice lost its composure, becoming excited.
Doctor Xiaoshuang gave us directions to her compound. It was quite far, but still within a round trip of one morning. I instructed her to pack all necessary personal belongings and wait for us to pick them up tomorrow morning.
Early the next morning, we set off. The journey was relatively smooth. But right outside Doctor Xiaoshuang's building, we encountered a small group of zombies. What upset me was that among them were several child zombies. This was the first time we'd seen them in all this time!
We wouldn't hesitate to strike against adult zombies. In our eyes, they were no longer human. But facing these small zombies that also preyed on people, we all fell silent.
I simply couldn't bring myself to do it. As a mother, how could I bear to crush the heads of such young children? Watching their small, broken bodies, my heart trembled violently. What pain they must have suffered when they were bitten...
I truly couldn't bear it! My long knife hung powerless in my hand. I could only watch them stagger towards us.
With a sigh, I turned away. It was the men who ended their suffering. May the children rest in peace.
Doctor Xiaoshuang lived in a multi-story building, on the fourth floor. There weren't many zombies in the stairwell, only three, all crowded on the third floor, wandering aimlessly halfway up. Probably former residents of the third floor who turned and hadn't left their territory. The stairwell was narrow; the long knife was impractical. The men's short knives came into play: left hand grabbing the zombie's shoulder, controlling it from advancing, right hand thrusting the knife upwards from under its chin—the most effective method in tight spaces. They quickly dispatched the three zombies and hurried up to the fourth floor, apartment number one, Doctor Xiaoshuang's door.
I knocked gently, not wanting to make noise. Who knew how many zombies were upstairs? Best not to attract them.
At first, Doctor Xiaoshuang didn't respond. Probably, zombies had knocked before, and she wisely learned to pretend no one was home. This trick really works on zombies!
"Doctor Xiaoshuang, we're here to pick you up," I whispered through the door crack, lowering my voice.
The door opened immediately. Doctor Xiaoshuang's family had been waiting by the door for some time, just for us!
There were three people in Doctor Xiaoshuang's family: her and her parents. Turns out, at 28, she wasn't married yet. High-achieving women focus on their careers!
Doctor Xiaoshuang didn't bring much, just some changes of clothes for herself and her parents. I told her we have Carrefour; all daily necessities are available, including clothes. Warmth and hygiene won't be a problem.
As we headed downstairs, Doctor Xiaoshuang asked if we could stop at a pharmacy. She needed to pick up common children's medications. As a pediatrician, she knew which drugs were effective and inexpensive. Of course, now she could take as much as she wanted without us spending a cent.
On the way back, we found a large pharmacy: Shuncheng Pharmacy, a city-wide chain with a very comprehensive range of medicines.
Naturally, there were plenty of staff inside too. We probably wouldn't get the free medicine easily.
The main door of Shuncheng Pharmacy was wide open, the glass shattered. Peering inside from outside, the pharmacy looked empty, with no sign of zombies. Were we that lucky?
The pharmacy was large. Just looking in from the door gave a general view; some blind spots were unseen. So, we didn't dare be careless, approaching the door with extreme caution, stepping on broken glass as we slowly infiltrated the interior.
This Shuncheng Pharmacy had only one floor. Entering led to a main hall. After we all entered, we found it truly seemed zombie-free! Maybe staying in this medicine-scented building offered no fresh flesh, so the turned zombies all left through the door!
The pharmacy had no power. Being daytime, it wasn't too dark inside. We clearly saw dried bloodstains and dismembered limbs and flesh on the floor, frozen solid and emitting no unpleasant odor. But the entire pharmacy was as cold as the outdoors.
Two people stayed at the pharmacy entrance to monitor the situation outside. The others spread out to check behind the counters for danger. Under our cover, Doctor Xiaoshuang went straight to the children's medication counter. The counter area was empty. Without a word, she entered, swiftly opened the large travel bag she brought, placed it on the counter, and started grabbing handfuls of boxed medicines from the shelves, stuffing them into the bag.
She packed many medicines into the travel bag, along with infusion sets, needles, etc. I just provided protection, not understanding what she was taking and didn't ask blindly. Although I'm eager to learn and should learn these things in this world, now wasn't the time for study.
While Doctor Xiaoshuang was busy, Liu Yuxuan discovered a small, tightly shut door in a corner of the pharmacy. Curious, he approached it. Just as he was about to try opening it, he suddenly noticed a line of words written in blackened blood on the door: "Ghosts inside! Do not open!"
Liu Yuxuan quickly retracted his hand reaching for the doorknob. Presumably, someone in the pharmacy had locked a turned colleague inside this room and kindly left a warning. However, this kind person likely fell victim themselves! Judging by the blood used to write the message, if it was their blood after being bitten, they certainly didn't survive.
Doctor Xiaoshuang quickly filled the travel bag. Taking one last look at the warning on the small door, we swiftly evacuated from Shuncheng Pharmacy. Since those zombies couldn't get out, we didn't want to tempt fate! Let them rot inside.