Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Coming Right Away
Although Song Yufang had lived a pampered life before, she was now constantly trying to find ways to improve their living conditions for the sake of their small family.
With limited manpower, they had only managed to chisel eight small caves out of the large one. These were divided up equally, and the perk of Zhang Aihua being the leader was that his family got one all to themselves.
They had also been allocated a large number of vulture feathers and down.
The vulture feathers were waterproof, so Song Yufang used them to make capes, raincoats, and a curtain for their private space. Zhang Yiwen slept on a small wooden bed next to them. Beneath the blanket Jiang Si had given them, she had laid a thick mattress made from vulture down.
Zhang Yiwen absolutely loved it, treasuring it far more than any expensive mattress he had ever owned. Every morning, he would fold his quilt neatly, only feeling comfortable once everything looked tidy.
Song Yufang discovered that the vulture down was even better and warmer than the finest wild duck down in the world. She did her best to dig out Zhang Aihua’s and Zhang Yiwen’s old clothes, took them apart, patched them up, and stuffed them to create two very "fashionable" vulture-down jackets.
When Zhang Aihua and Zhang Yiwen wore them, they didn’t feel the cold even in temperatures of forty or fifty degrees below zero. Plus, the jackets were incredibly light.
Song Yufang wanted to make one for herself, but unfortunately, they were out of vulture down. The feathers wouldn’t work, so she gave up the idea.
The heavy snow outside had stopped, so Song Yufang asked, "It’s so cold out there. Could the vultures freeze to death?"
’If they do, we can go collect them and pluck their feathers.’
To prevent the cave entrance from being sealed by the snow, Zhang Aihua was about to go clear it with the others. Hearing Song Yufang’s question, he said, "I’ll go see if any of them froze."
Zhang Yiwen, who was roasting fish, looked up and offered a clever analysis. "Dad, we’re wearing their clothes, and we haven’t frozen to death. How could they freeze? Please don’t go. I don’t want to lose you."
Zhang Aihua was taken aback. The boy had a point.
But then, another worry struck him.
’When the vultures can catch fish in the sea, they don’t attack humans. But now the sea is frozen solid. With their food source gone, won’t we become their prey again?’
Zhang Aihua saw the others use their shovels to clear an opening in the snow blocking the cave entrance. As sunlight streamed in, he was just about to shout for them to stop when—BOOM!
A massive vulture flapped its wings, its sharp talons sinking into Lao Er’s shoulder blade, and began to drag him away.
Zhang Aihua lunged forward, grabbed Lao Er by the legs, and yelled to the others, "Quick, hit it with something!"
The others swung pieces of wood, smashing them violently against the vulture. It thrashed but refused to release the prize in its grasp. Its sharp talons only drove deeper into Lao Er’s body.
Lao Er groaned in agony, while the others still inside the cave were so frightened by the sight that they began to cry.
BANG—
Somehow, Zhang Yiwen had gotten his hands on a gun and fired a shot at the vulture.
He was inexperienced with the weapon, and being just a child, the gun’s powerful recoil knocked him to the ground. The bullet went wide, missing the vulture, but the sound startled it. It thrashed wildly, causing snow from the top of the cave entrance to fall down. This finally frightened it enough to release its prey, and with a flap of its wings, it flew off into the distance.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and quickly blocked the cave entrance with wood. Zhang Aihua, meanwhile, checked on Lao Er’s injuries.
Lao Er’s wounds were terrifyingly deep. The bleeding wouldn’t stop, and it looked as if his heart might have been injured.
They could handle simple external wounds; Jiang Si had even given them some medical supplies when she allowed them to stay.
But now, they needed someone who could perform actual surgery.
None of them knew how. The situation was critical. Gasping for breath, Lao Er forced a weak smile. "I’ve lived long enough. It’s been a good run. You all just be careful... Don’t go to any trouble."
After going through so much together, facing life and death side by side, who could bear to just stand by and watch another comrade die before their very eyes?
Zhang Aihua quickly pulled out some gauze, told Brother Qiu to stanch the bleeding, and, clinging to a sliver of hope, managed to get a call through to Jiang Si on the pager.
"Hello?"
Jiang Si’s clear voice came through, and a flicker of excitement passed through the group.
Without wasting a second on pleasantries, Zhang Aihua quickly explained the situation.
Jiang Si’s expression faltered. She hesitated.
’If I save him now, they’ll just keep asking for help every time something happens.’
’Honestly, they have nothing of equal value to trade for this kind of medical treatment.’
’Gratitude is the most useless currency in the apocalypse when it’s just empty words.’
Jiang Si had already given them more than enough support.
During her moment of hesitation, Qin Shen suddenly said to her, "Help them. You’ll feel better if you do, won’t you?"
’It’s true. I would feel better if I helped.’
’After all, we have the ability to help, and it’s not like we’re in the middle of a major crisis right now.’
’Besides, Zhang Aihua and his people have always kept to themselves and caused no trouble.’
That was the real reason for her hesitation.
Qin Shen added, "If you don’t want to help, we won’t. If you want to help, we will. Either way, I’ve got your back."
Although she was a strong woman and felt she could live perfectly well without Qin Shen, the feeling of being understood, of having someone support her, of having someone to lean on—it was a wonderful feeling too.
’Besides,’ she thought, ’Zhang Aihua’s people know Qin Shen is a brilliant doctor. Even if they were to get any funny ideas, they wouldn’t dare try anything, if only for the sake of their own lives.’
’Otherwise, who would be there to save them next time?’
Jiang Si smiled and spoke into the pager, "Hang tight. We’re on our way."
Zhang Aihua was ecstatic. He had heard Jiang Si’s silence and thought all hope was lost.
He never imagined they would actually agree to help.
’The fact that she didn’t refuse outright must mean they’re confident they can save Lao Er.’
Zhang Aihua relayed the news to the barely conscious Lao Er. "Hang in there! The doctor’s coming right away! You damn well better stay alive! We made a deal, remember? We’re going to grow tons of barley and make beer!"
Brother Qiu chimed in, "Hold on, just hold on! Just you wait, I’m gonna shoot down that damn bird and make a soup for you to get your strength back!"
’Who would want to die if they had a choice?’
Lao Er managed a smile, his face deathly pale. "Alright! I’ll hold on a little longer."
Jiang Si and Qin Shen arrived in a transport vehicle. If necessary, they would take Lao Er back to the Icebreaker for the operation.
Its medical bay was equipped with proper surgical instruments.
Hearing the sound of the transport vehicle, everyone immediately stood up and moved the wood blocking the entrance to let Jiang Si and Qin Shen inside.
Qin Shen glanced at Lao Er’s injuries and said to Jiang Si, "It’s not as serious as it looks, but we can’t delay. Find a clean spot, and I can perform the surgery."
’There are two huge holes in him, and he says it’s not serious?’
Everyone was both shocked and overjoyed. Zhang Aihua quickly said, "How about over there? We can push some tables together to make an operating table."
Jiang Si shook her head. "We brought a portable operating table. Just clear a space where we can hang a surgical curtain."
