Chapter 136: "Cannot Call the Police.
Seeing the situation, Wang Daguo rushed forward to restrain Fang Ming’s father and stop him from going on a rampage.
Fang Ming’s father was quite scrawny, but at that moment, he summoned some kind of brute strength and flung Wang Daguo’s hands off him.
Wang Daguo staggered back. Clenching his jaw, he lunged at the man again.
This time, he finally managed to grab him. He told Fang Ming to find some sturdy steel rope to tie his father up securely.
Fang Ming wiped the tears from his face and went over to help his mother, who was lying on the floor, too weak to get up.
"Mom? Mom, are you okay?" Seeing his mother’s lifeless state, fresh tears welled up in Fang Ming’s eyes.
"I’m... I’m fine," Fang Ming’s mother rasped, her voice barely a whisper. A ring of dark purple bruises circled her neck, a testament to how much force her husband had used.
Even tied up, Fang Ming’s father didn’t settle down. He thrashed like a rabid dog, craning his neck in an attempt to bite Wang Daguo as saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Wang Daguo narrowed his eyes. ’There’s something strangely familiar about the way he’s acting.’
Wang Daguo found something to gag him with. Unable to spit it out, Fang Ming’s father struggled even more violently, letting out muffled, protesting groans.
"What on earth happened?" Wang Daguo asked.
Sniffling, Fang Ming replied, "I don’t really know. We had just finished dinner, and I went to my room to do my homework. A little while later, I heard Mom screaming. I ran out and saw Dad hitting her. I couldn’t stop him, so I had to run out and get help."
Wang Daguo’s gaze shifted to Fang Ming’s mother. The woman was extremely weak, her eyes half-open and her chest rising and falling faintly. She clearly didn’t want to speak.
’Fine. If she doesn’t want to talk, she doesn’t have to. But this problem still needs to be solved.’
"The news said last time that if any abnormal situations occur, we should report them to the police immediately. What do you plan to do?"
The mother and son both fell silent. Fang Ming looked at his father, then at his mother, and made a decision.
"Let’s call the police."
"No..." Fang Ming’s mother grabbed her son’s clothes and shook her head. "We can’t call the police."
’If the police take him away, her husband will definitely never come back.’
’This family can’t be without a man.’
The mother and son couldn’t agree. After a brief discussion, they decided not to call the police for now. Instead, they would lock Fang Ming’s father in the spare bedroom, adding several more lengths of steel rope to bind him securely.
Fang Ming’s mother choked back a sob. "Your dad can definitely be saved. H-He’s always been so healthy. When morning comes, I’ll go out and buy some medicine."
Fang Ming remained silent. Though he was only fourteen, he already understood a great deal.
With the situation handled, Wang Daguo decided to leave. Fang Ming walked him out.
"Thank you, Brother Wang."
"It’s nothing." Wang Daguo stopped at the foot of the first-floor stairs. "Alright, this is far enough. You should go back."
Fang Ming nodded. "Okay."
Just as he was about to leave, something occurred to Wang Daguo. He whipped around and called out to the boy, "Fang Ming, I remember you went to the junkyard to scavenge for nutrient liquid before, right?"
"Yeah, I had the day off, so my mom and I went together. We even found a few vials."
"Who drank those vials of nutrient liquid?"
"We sold half of them, and my mom saved the rest. Yesterday, Dad said he had some tightness in his chest, so Mom gave him a vial." Fang Ming was a sharp kid. "Brother Wang, are you saying there’s something wrong with the nutrient liquid?"
Wang Daguo pressed his lips together. "No, it’s just a wild guess. After all, the nutrient liquid that ends up in the junkyard is all expired."
"That’s true."
"You should head up. My place is just a short walk from here."
Fang Ming nodded. He didn’t dare be away from home for too long, afraid something else might happen.
His mind heavy with worry, Wang Daguo returned home. By the dim light, Grandma Wang and Mrs. Wang were doing needlework while his two younger sisters played with small toys. The atmosphere was one of harmony and warmth.
Grandma Wang looked up. "You’re back. It’s so late, you must be tired today, right?"
On his way back, Wang Daguo had been stopped by Ma Dao and his group, and then he’d gone to help out at Fang Ming’s house. He was more than an hour later than usual.
"Not tired." Wang Daguo closed the door. His two sisters put down their toys and gathered around him. "Brother, did you bring anything good to eat today?"
Wang Daguo pulled a food container from his coat. "I did. Share it with Grandma and Mom."
Every meal, Wang Daguo would save some of his food for his family. Shen Lu knew about this but didn’t mind. After all, he was saving from his own portion and not taking anything extra from the store.
The four women, young and old, stopped what they were doing, and each took a bite of the food Wang Daguo had brought back.
The container of food wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t a small one either. Combined with the Insect Cakes, it was enough for the four of them to have a simple, filling meal.
Wang Xiaoci licked her lips and sighed with genuine feeling, "Brother, your new job is really great."
It was so much better than his old job. He could bring back delicious food every day, and his boss was so nice, even inviting them over for a meal.
Although most of Grandma Wang’s worries had been put to rest, she remained a bit wary. "Your boss hasn’t been making you do anything strange recently, has she?"
Wang Daguo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Boss Shen is just a legitimate business owner. What kind of strange things could I possibly be doing?"
Mrs. Wang patted her chest in relief. "That’s good. We’re not asking to be rich; all that matters is that our family is together and safe."
"I know." Wang Daguo sat down. He hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "None of you have been feeling unwell recently, have you?"
The half-box of nutrient liquid he had snagged last time was from the same batch as Fang Ming’s. His family had all drunk some, and he was worried a similar situation might occur.
"Not at all. I haven’t felt unwell," Grandma Wang said with a smile. "In fact, I feel a bit better than before. I have more energy."
Mrs. Wang felt this deeply. Childbirth had taken a toll on her body, and with their family’s poor living conditions, she had never properly recovered. She often felt drained and weak, unable to do much work.
But recently, she had clearly felt more strength in her limbs. She could even spend a full hour scavenging at the junkyard, unlike before when she would have to go home after half an hour at most.
"That’s good. But if you do feel unwell, you have to tell me right away, understand?" Wang Daguo urged, still uneasy.
"We know."
The family chatted for a while longer. When it got late, they all went to bed.
Lying on his mat on the floor, Wang Daguo’s heart was filled with a sense of unease.
’He rarely felt like this. Could it be because of his old job as a corpse collector? Maybe seeing so many dead bodies left him with some psychological trauma?’
’No, that can’t be it. In this society, isn’t death a common sight?’
’Only the lives of upper-class citizens mattered. For lower-class citizens like them, struggling below the poverty line in the Lower City District, death just meant becoming fertilizer. They didn’t even have the right to a proper burial.’
With his mind racing, Wang Daguo didn’t sleep soundly all night. The next morning, it was Grandma Wang who woke him up for work.
By the time he arrived, Shen Lu had already finished making breakfast.
"Did you have insomnia last night?" Shen Lu asked, pointing at the dark circles under his eyes. "They’re so heavy."
"I didn’t sleep well," Wang Daguo admitted honestly. Too many things felt strange, and he couldn’t make sense of any of it, which was frustrating for someone who wasn’t very bright to begin with.