Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Yesterday, Yezhi endured stomach pain and rode for two hours. By the time it got dark, she returned to Zhoujiatun, exhausted. After dinner, she went to bed early! Just as she finally fell asleep despite the pain, she was woken up by Xiao Fang, who said there were two urgent emails. With a thoughtless response of "Don't bother me, you take charge!" she fell back asleep, free from stomach pain.
However, when she woke up in the morning, her stomach still hurt terribly. Yezhi, pale-faced, insisted on finishing the class for the Kids. One Egg, Er Zhu, and the dog had placed extra assignments in front of her. Yezhi pulled a stool over and quickly skimmed through them. Upon seeing the third Kid's daily sentence, she couldn't help but chuckle. The first was from the dog: One Egg ate round fish at Teacher Ye's house the day before but didn't invite me. The second was from Aunt Ren Er's Xiao Shuan: One Egg said the fish made by Teacher Ye is round and strange. The third was from Zhou Li: When can I eat the white and round fish made by Teacher Ye? After reading through the seven Kids' sentences, all centered around her Fish Balls, she smiled and put down the assignment book.
The seven Kids looked at her with bright eyes. One Egg, possibly feeling guilty for eating alone, pleaded, "Sister Ye, we catch the fish and scrape the fish paste; you just make it for us to eat!"
Yezhi thought for a moment and said, "I can do that!..." Before she could finish her sentence, the seven Kids jumped up joyfully. Yezhi took out her teaching stick and tapped it on the wooden table a few times. "Come to my house on Sunday; I'll make it for you! For today’s corrected mistakes, copy each word 20 times. If you don’t understand anything, we’ll discuss it tomorrow. Now go home."
Once all the Kids left, Yezhi slumped over the table; she was so tired! In the 21st century, many modern people like her suffer from gastritis and ulcers due to irregular lifestyles. Since coming to Northeast Village, Yezhi's daily routine has become much more regular—she generally goes to bed early and wakes up early, feeling more energetic than before. This illness reminded her that she was in a state of sub-health and often suffered from minor ailments.
Getting timely medical attention is important. She went to Barefoot Aunt's house where Barefoot Aunt was cooking. Madwoman squatted on the ground holding a peach while watching black-headed ants scurrying under a tree. Yezhi felt a sense of familiarity; perhaps living too long in concrete high-rises made her forget watching ants move houses as a child—discovering ant holes and cruelly pouring water into them to drown ants or using her grandmother's magnifying glass to burn them under the sun... Oh! She didn’t realize how mischievous she had been as a child!
"Yezhi, come here! Why are you so quiet?" Barefoot Aunt came out of the kitchen and asked in surprise upon seeing Yezhi.
Yezhi turned her pale face toward Barefoot Aunt. As an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Barefoot Aunt could tell immediately that Yezhi was unwell. She pulled her into the house and asked about her condition while gently checking her pulse.
After examining her pulse confidently, Barefoot Aunt said, "It's nothing serious; I'll prepare some medicine for you!" Yezhi relaxed and nodded.
A little later, Barefoot Aunt brought over a bowl of steaming brown soup filled with honey, brown sugar, and herbal aromas. Yezhi blew on it to cool it down and took small sips. "Auntie, are those red strips in the bowl safflower?"
Barefoot Aunt nodded and explained: "Yes, it's safflower. Brew it with boiling water for ten minutes with a lid on; then mix in honey and brown sugar while it's hot. It helps with digestion and alleviates pain."
After drinking the medicine, whether it was psychological or not, Yezhi felt much better. They chatted about Madwoman's situation while subtly asking Barefoot Aunt if she had any extra Fo-Ti; unfortunately, the answer was disappointing. Holding onto five packets of medicine given by Barefoot Aunt, she returned home.
Aunt Zhou saw Yezhi enter with herbs and anxiously asked, "What happened?"
"Auntie, it's nothing; I just have a bit of stomach pain and went to see Barefoot Aunt," Yezhi replied. Aunt Zhou took the herbs from her hands and stopped Black Treasure from jumping at Yezhi while serving simple sorghum rice water for lunch. Yezhi only ate half a bowl; after lunch, Aunt Zhou took Black Treasure away so it wouldn’t disturb Yezhi. With her eyes closed, Yezhi fell into a deep sleep.
That evening after eating sorghum rice water and drinking the medicine boiled by Aunt Zhou, Yezhi lay flat on her bed with closed eyes when Black Treasure quietly approached the edge of the bed. It tried hard to stand upright with its chubby body resting its round head on the edge of the bed while staring at sleeping Yezhi with its little black eyes for a long time. When Yezhi turned over and opened her eyes, Black Treasure’s naked worry made her heart warm; who said Black Treasure didn’t understand? As long as there is life, there will be feelings. Yezhi smiled as she rubbed Black Treasure’s fluffy round head; unsteady Black Treasure rolled into a ball with a thud.
Wearing a self-sewn tank top and shorts, Yezhi jumped off the bed and playfully ruffled Black Treasure all over. Black Treasure squealed happily while Aunt Zhou entered to find them playing together; each gave Black Treasure a pat on its back thinking Aunt Zhou wanted to join in too. Black Treasure responded with two happy grunts before enthusiastically leaping towards Aunt Zhou...!
After a bout of laughter, the two humans and one bear each bit into a fresh peach for a late-night snack. Aunt Zhou blew out the candles and soon fell asleep, while Yezhi, having slept too much during the day, found herself unable to doze off. She logged in with her consciousness, and Xiao Fang was sitting amidst a pile of envelope-style emails, writing furiously.
"Xiao Fang, what are you doing?"
Xiao Fang lifted her cat-like face and said, "Master, your Social Network inbox is full again. One-third of it is paid emails that can't be deleted without being opened first. Xiao Fang is helping you check and reply!"
Yezhi sat on the grass. "What do the two urgent emails say?"
"The first one is an urgent notification from Social Network about clearing your inbox. The second..." Xiao Fang didn't finish her sentence before bursting into giggles, her eyes filled with images of money! Money! Money!
"What is it?" Yezhi asked curiously.
"Master, it's the endorsement contract from Cosmic Mall!" Xiao Fang exclaimed excitedly, waving her arms.
For the first time, Yezhi felt like a celebrity. Oh no, she felt a bit light-headed... In disbelief, she exclaimed, "Xiao Fang, is my master really, really famous?"
Xiao Fang proudly replied, "Master, in the Bodria Star System with ten trillion people, one-fifth know you! More than half have heard of the Earth Anthem. Look!"
Xiao Fang pointed to the starry sky where countless three-dimensional images floated. They showed aliens from the Bodria Star System singing and dancing gymnastics routines—there were trendy guys with pig ears, blue-skinned children, and muscular elephant men... Xiao Fang exclaimed animatedly, "Master, this was collected from Cosmic Network! You're a celebrity! So does that make me a famous robot too? Ha~ha!" Countless rose petals appeared above Xiao Fang's head as a group of square robots chased after her for autographs!
Yezhi interrupted Xiao Fang's daydreaming as they excitedly opened the endorsement invitation email from Cosmic Mall. The endorsement fee of ten million Bodeton made both of them eager to reply immediately.
Sitting back on the grass, Yezhi casually opened another email: a plump middle-aged woman squeezed out from the envelope. "Miss Leaf, are all the people on Earth dark and ugly? Please don't feel inferior! Although your singing isn't great and your dancing is quite stiff, your spirit of bravely showing your flaws has moved me and everyone on Parola Planet! Keep it up!" After finishing her message, the Fat Woman pulled out a handkerchief from under her arm and waved it in the air while shouting twice, "Keep it up! Keep it up!"
This email was like a wake-up call for Yezhi, bringing her back to reality. Oh! It turned out that besides seeking confidence from her, there were also sympathy votes! Xiao Fang leaned in curiously and laughed along without understanding. "Master is happy; Xiao Fang is even happier! Master, do you want to reply to the email personally?"
Yezhi quickly shook her head and gave Xiao Fang a trusting look. "Xiao Fang, I’m counting on you to handle these emails."
The capable Xiao Fang patted her chest confidently and assured her, "Don't worry, Master; Xiao Fang will take care of everything." Seeing Xiao Fang so busy, Yezhi opened Social Network and logged into her account. Red Bean, Xiao Nan, Tiansuo, and Dulisa were all absent. She left an apology message on Dulisa's social page before logging off.
...
Two days passed like flowing water. With her stomach issues completely resolved, Yezhi decided to visit the county town again. She strapped on a large Cloth Bag and rode her folding bike straight to the Department Store.
As soon as Yezhi stepped through the doors of the Department Store, a cool breeze greeted her. Looking up, she saw four rows of fans spinning continuously from the ceiling. She remembered how, when she was seven or eight years old, having a ceiling fan in every room felt so trendy, yet it terrified her; she was always worried that the fan would fall down.
"Coming from the countryside, are you going in or not?" a young female Salesperson shouted at Yezhi while holding a Sorghum Brush, looking down on her. Yezhi raised her head and huffed, striding inside. The young Salesperson spat behind her back, cursing under her breath: "Country bumpkin!"
Yezhi didn't hear it; otherwise, she would have retorted with something like, "Arrogant chicken!" She walked over to the clothing and footwear section and bought two short-sleeved shirts, two pairs of pants, and four pairs of sandals. She also grabbed two pieces of plain cotton fabric and rushed to the food section to buy Sweet Rice Sticks for Aunt Zhou, One Egg, and her favorite Peanut Candy, along with Solid Sugar Balls for the Kids. She intended to buy some seasonings and spices but learned from the Salesperson that she needed to go to the Vegetable Store for those. After paying, Yezhi took her receipt to collect her items, stuffed everything into a burlap sack, and slung it over her shoulder as she exited the Department Store.
After asking several people for directions, she followed an Aunt carrying a basket to the Vegetable Store. Upon arrival, Yezhi felt deflated; outside the Vegetable Store, city folks were lined up in a long queue to buy vegetables. She stood at the end of the line for a while; it was quite cramped with people pushing against each other—stepping on toes and bumping shoulders—amidst the bustling crowd filled with shouts of impatience. It was too overwhelming, so she quickly squeezed out of the line.
Her hopes of buying seasonings and oil were dashed, leaving her with no choice but to head to her final destination: the bookstore. The bookstore was located in a somewhat shabby single-story building along the street. Inside, she purchased two agricultural books for herself and a set of Comic Books titled "Stories of Idioms" for the Kids.
In total, she spent only five yuan. Compared to books that now easily cost twenty or thirty yuan each, Yezhi wished she could take them all home to treasure; they might even appreciate in value!
With her burlap sack in tow, Yezhi walked into an alley and called Xiao Fang to activate the Light and Shadow Concealment Technique. After securing her sack, she rode back to Zhoujiatun.
...
"Where did she go? This girl runs too fast!"
"What if Zhu Team really wants us to deliver money to Zhoujiatun?" complained a Round-Faced Policeman in a White Police Uniform to his expressionless partner, a Handsome Police Officer.
The Handsome Police Officer did not respond but instead gazed thoughtfully down the alleyway...
Comment 0 Comment Count