Chapter 20

Xiaoguo managed to figure out what he was saying. Zhuang Zhuang was feeling insecure. Xiaoguo hated herself for forgetting the time as soon as she saw the coconuts. She was no longer alone and had a young child at home. How could she do this?

Xiaoguo hugged Zhuang Zhuang and put him on her lap. He looked at Zhuang Zhuang’s swollen eyes and said sincerely, “Zhuang Zhuang, I’m sorry. This is my first time being a mother, so there are many things I need to learn. Can you forgive me?”

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang had completely calmed down. He was touched and nodded repeatedly. “I forgive you, Mother, but you can’t leave me behind no matter where you go in the future. We have to go everywhere together.”

Xiaoguo had to promise him multiple times before he broke into a smile. Right then, his stomach rumbled loudly. Xiaoguo pinched Zhuang Zhuang’s face and said, “Okay, I will go cook for us.”

Zhuang Zhuang happily followed his mother to the kitchen.

Xiaoguo carried the basket to the kitchen and decided that it was too dark, so she lit another three candles. Once the candles were lit, the room instantly brightened up. When Xiaoguo entered the kitchen, she didn’t see the little cows, so she asked Zhuang Zhuang where they were. Worried that they would be cold, Zhuang Zhuang had brought them to his granny’s room. Xiaoguo nodded her head and asked Zhuang Zhuang to feed them some grass. She promised to show him something cool when he was back. As she spoke, she handed the grass-filled basket to Zhuang Zhuang. Zhuang Zhuang couldn’t wait to see the surprise, hence he dashed out of the kitchen to bring the feed to the cows.

When he returned, Xiaoguo took out the coconuts and pheasant from the bottom of a basket. Zhuang Zhuang had never seen anything like this before, so he squatted down and pointed at the round fruits. “Mother, what is this?”

Xiaoguo squatted beside Zhuang Zhuang and said happily to him, “This is a coconut. It came from a type of tree that usually grows by the sea. It is called a coconut tree. The fruit that the tree bears is the coconut.”

Zhuang Zhuang did not understand why his mother was so happy. This fruit was so hard. Xiaoguo explained to Zhuang Zhuang, “The water in this fruit is fragrant and sweet. You can’t eat the shell though. I’ll make coconut chicken for you tomorrow.”

Zhuang Zhuang was happy to know that it was edible. Everything his mother made was delicious.

As it was too late, Xiaoguo made a few simple dishes for dinner. She stir-fried some shredded potatoes and cooked a pot of porridge. She also made some pancakes to accompany the meal. After dinner, Zhuang Zhuang was so sleepy that he could barely open his eyes. He did not even have the chance to wash the dishes. Xiaoguo also felt a little tired—which was rare. It had been a real hectic day for her. She brought Zhuang Zhuang to wash up and put him to bed. Shortly after, she fell asleep.

Peach Blossom Village slowly turned dark as the light went out. The villagers were asleep, but the fishing village nearby was still well-lit and bright.

A soldier dressed in armor paced anxiously outside a house, glancing into it from time to time. Finally, under his vigil, an old man with gray hair came out from behind the main door. The man rushed forward and asked, “How is it?”

The old man nodded calmly. “He’s fine. The bleeding has stopped. If he doesn’t get a fever tonight, he’ll be completely fine.”

After saying that, the old man turned towards the girl who came out with him. He instructed her to prepare boiling the medicine. The girl, with her rosy cheeks, turned to leave with a pack of herbs in her hands. The man thanked the old man and walked into the house hurriedly. He lifted the curtain and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the man sleeping on the bed. Luckily he didn’t lose his life.

The injured man was sound asleep. His body was covered with wounds of various sizes. They were scattered across the man’s fair and powerful chest. It was quite a sight, enough to make one’s scalp tingle. One could just imagine how much blood the man had shed to become like this.

In the middle of the night, for some inexplicable reason, Xiaoguo felt irritable and restless. A loud clap of thunder woke her up. She sat up and saw that the winds were gusty outside. She quickly got up to check if the windows were closed.

After checking around the house, Xiaoguo had just sat down on the bed when lightning began flashing across the skies simultaneously. That lit up the whole night sky in an instant. After a while, the storm came. Xiaoguo felt extremely unsettled as she listened to the loud drumming sounds of torrential rain hitting the ground.

Xiaoguo felt strange. During the apocalypse, rainfall was sometimes even heavier than this. Before she could think further, Zhuang Zhuang began stirring in his sleep. He shuddered with each rumble of thunder. Seeing this, Xiaoguo quickly comforted him and he fell into deep sleep again. Even though she was still feeling uneasy, Xiaoguo dozed off shortly after.