Two or Three Events in the Last Days 026
Chapter 26: Meeting
When Zhao Zhiwen and the others came over, they were carrying sticks and various tools just like Jing Lin. As they walked, they continuously beat at the surrounding vegetation to drive away insects lurking in the grass.
The overgrown grass was filled with strange insects no one had ever seen before. Disturbed by their approach, the creatures scattered in all directions. At one point, a brightly patterned snake as thick as a wrist slithered past Yan Lu’s feet. Even bold as she was, her face turned pale with fright. Zhou Feifei let out a scream and immediately hid beside Yan Ruifeng.
Jing Lin and the other men felt goosebumps rise all over their backs as well.
The journey to Zhao Zhiwen’s house normally took only a few minutes, but today it was unusually difficult. It felt as though they were traversing a remote wilderness. Half-person-high weeds covered everything, and towering trees had exceeded their natural growth limits. Twisted roots had pried apart the concrete road and spread across it. Zhao Zhiwen said he had nearly tripped several times while coming over. The grass was still damp with moisture, and everyone’s pants had long since become soaked. Jing Lin’s trousers were wet within minutes, clinging uncomfortably to his legs.
When they arrived at Zhao Zhiwen’s house, Zhou Yu was waiting outside. Beside her stood Liu Yinghua and Ma Xiaomei, both wearing worried expressions. Liu Suqin was absent, likely caring for Ma Xiaoyuan at Zhao Anguo’s home.
No one looked particularly well, nor did anyone have the mood for casual conversation. They silently headed toward Ma Renshan’s house. If not for the fact that the houses were still tall and recognizable, they felt they might have become lost in the village they had known all their lives. The changes were simply too drastic.
For years, Ma Renshan’s family had grown an osmanthus tree near the roadside corner of their courtyard. Every September, it bloomed and filled the surrounding area with fragrance.
When everyone arrived today, however, the two-meter-tall tree was gone.
In its place stood a giant tree taller than a three-story building. Its trunk rose straight upward, with layers upon layers of branches and leaves extending toward the sky. Countless white spheres hung among the foliage, resembling blossoms. From a distance, the tree looked like an enormous umbrella spread wide overhead, casting its canopy over the entire row of two-story buildings beneath it.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Nearby, Ma Renshan and Ma Rencong’s families were using hoes to clear away weeds, exposing the cracked concrete pavement that had been forced apart by roots.
“You’re all here?” Ma Renshan said when he saw them. “Go wait over there for now. There are still some villagers who haven’t arrived.”
The village had always operated this way. Whenever something happened, people naturally gathered at his home without needing to be notified. So after waking up and discovering the massive changes around him, he had gone nowhere. He simply stayed home and started clearing the area around his house. Otherwise, stepping outside would have made him think he was living deep in the wilderness.
Several families had already arrived. Benches had been set up in a cleared area, and people sat together discussing what had happened.
Big Mouth Zhang’s family had come early. He wore a miserable expression as he said, “I was too sleepy last night. I heard some noise, but it wasn’t very loud, so I thought it was just mice and didn’t bother getting up. This morning I found that the peach tree in my backyard had become enormous! It punched a hole right through the chicken coop, and every single chicken escaped. The vegetable patch where I pulled weeds yesterday evening is now filled with grass taller than I am.”
Someone else shouted, “You know the ivy climbing the wall on the left side of my house? This morning I woke up and found my room completely dark. I thought dawn hadn’t come yet and almost went back to sleep. Then my mother knocked on the door. When I sat up, I realized it wasn’t because the sun hadn’t risen. The ivy had completely covered all the windows! It tore through the screens, crawled into my room, and even climbed onto my bed. There wasn’t anywhere left to put my feet. It was terrifying.”
“Even the cactus I keep in a flowerpot mutated. Its spines are now longer than chopsticks. I touched one this morning—it was sharp and hard as iron.”
At that moment, Zhao Shaoqian arrived. Looking directly at the man who had mentioned the cactus, he said sternly, “Li Feiyu, you actually dared to touch something that changed?”
He continued, “Uncle Honghai woke up this morning and found his dog dead in the backyard. A loofah vine had wrapped around it and strangled it. There was blood everywhere. While he was examining it, his arm brushed against a heaven-facing chili pepper* plant that had mutated too. A huge blister immediately formed where it touched him. He’s still at my house right now, gritting his teeth while my dad applies medicine.”
*朝天椒 cháo tiān jiāo chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens var) – facing heaven pepper – grows upwards towards the sky
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Hearing this, Li Feiyu quickly curled the finger that had touched the cactus spine into his palm and rubbed it nervously. Finding nothing wrong, he looked at Zhao Shaoqian, forced a smile, and said, “Brother Qian, don’t scare me.”
Zhao Shaoqian snorted. “I don’t have the time.”
Nearby, Jing Lin and the others were exchanging stories about what had happened at their homes. Zhao Zhiwen already knew about the walnut trees in Jing Lin’s backyard.
The concrete in Zhao Zhiwen’s front and back yards had been split apart by roots that seemed to have erupted from nowhere. Yan Fei’s backyard suffered similar damage. In his kitchen, a root as thick as a bowl had burst straight through the floor. The bok choy planted only recently in front of the house had grown to full size overnight. The autumn tomatoes had reached over a meter in height and stood upright without any support stakes, already bearing flower buds.
Jing Lin briefly recounted what had happened the previous night. Yan Fei immediately said that after the meeting, he would help clean up the walnut trees. As Jing Lin’s close friend, Zhao Zhiwen was not about to be left behind and declared that he would help too.
More and more villagers arrived, and the conversations grew louder.
One villager said optimistically, “Before coming here, I checked the rice fields. The rice looks exactly the same as before. Thank goodness at least that hasn’t changed.”
Under the current circumstances, the rice fields represented the village’s future food supply.
Jing Lin and the others, however, were not nearly as optimistic.
Sometimes, not changing could be a change in itself.
Once most of the villagers had arrived, Ma Renshan set down his hoe, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and addressed the gathering.
“Everyone’s seen what’s happened today. If you’ve got thoughts or suggestions, let’s hear them.”
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Liu Yinghua spoke first. “Second Brother Shan, could we organize some people to go look for those who went out to work and still haven’t returned to the village?”
“That’s right. My husband still hasn’t come back.”
Some villagers immediately supported the idea. Others were reluctant the moment they heard it. “My family’s all here already. If you’re organizing a search team, don’t count my household.”
“Mine’s all here too.”
Ma Renshan glanced at the families who had spoken up first, then exchanged a look with his older brother. His expression was troubled.
“This isn’t something I can decide by myself. How about this: anyone with family members who haven’t returned should register with me afterward. We’ll count how many people are missing, then ask around in the neighboring villages.”
Most of the migrant workers from nearby villages did similar construction jobs. They usually worked in the same area and under the same foremen. Other villages also had people who had not returned.
Zhao Shaoqian then said, “The village roads are completely covered by weeds. Today, every household should contribute some manpower so we can clear them.”
Everyone agreed. The shorter villagers practically disappeared into the weeds whenever they stepped off the cleared paths. Add in the strange insects hiding inside, and clearing the roads had become a necessity.
Yan Fei spoke next. “We don’t know what’s happening outside the village. Tomorrow or the day after, we should organize a group to go investigate.”
Everyone agreed to that as well.
After some discussion, they decided that anyone willing to join the expedition would register their name with Ma Renshan, and the group would set out early the next morning.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Two of two for the week.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
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