In the refugee camp, everywhere one looked were people either lying or sitting, their lifeless eyes hollow and sorrowful, the entire camp filled with an air of listlessness and despair.
A young woman, sick and at the brink of death, was nursing her child with breast milk. Her shriveled breasts were like withered pears, taken into the mouth of her emaciated child. In fact, there had been no milk for a long time, but to soothe her hungry child, the mother had no choice but to endure the pain of being suckled...
This scene deeply pierced Mo Yan’s heart; the refugees were in much worse shape than she had imagined. She could envision how the elderly and the frail could not compete with the stronger youths, growing weaker day by day until the last moment of their lives.
If it weren’t for the Space, she feared her family might have ended up as one of them, a thought that sent shivers down her spine.
Dragging her heavy legs away from the camp, all that filled Mo Yan’s mind on her way home were those pairs of longing eyes, yearning for food, yearning for survival...
If at first the desire to help these people aimed to upgrade the Space as soon as possible, at this moment, she simply wanted to help them for the sake of helping.
She began to vaguely understand why every time she committed a good deed, red lines would appear on the bead in the Space. From the Buddhist perspective, those lines probably represented merit. When merit was consummate, the Space would upgrade, and then, through the Space, she could help even more people, forming a virtuous cycle.
She wasn’t too convinced about the idea that good is rewarded with good and evil with evil, but the existence of the Space and the emergence of the red lines seemed to have an intricate relationship with merit, like with this peculiar rebirth; she couldn’t afford not to treat it seriously.
Back home, seeing her siblings’ carefree smiles made Mo Yan feel less oppressed. She mustered her spirits and, under the envious gaze of her siblings, began to cook chicken.
There were only three people in the family, not enough to eat much, so Mo Yan planned to make two dishes, one tomato chicken and one ’tiger skin’ peppers.
She cleaned the rooster and cut it in half, saving half for the tomato chicken, and the other half was used to make soup to drink in the evening.
As Mo Yan cooked, she pondered how to help those refugees. She had seen a few porridge stands distributing food, but there was nearly always an outbreak of violence at each stand. She did not want such things to happen when she distributed porridge.
Yet by the time the meal was ready, she had still not come up with a good solution. Absent-mindedly picking at the grains of rice in her bowl, even the taste of the tomato chicken in her mouth didn’t feel that delicious.
Seeing their elder sister in low spirits, Xin Er and Zhenzhen did not dare to speak much. They just kept putting pieces of chicken into her bowl, hoping it would cheer her up.
By the time Mo Yan came to her senses and saw the chunks of chicken filling her bowl, she was both amused and touched.
During the night, when Xin Er’s face glowed red with sleep, Mo Yan, preoccupied with her troubles, couldn’t sleep at all. Maybe the silence of the night made her mind more agile, for in a flash of inspiration, she finally came up with a good idea!
Why not ask the young and able-bodied men in the refugee camp for help?
This time, the people needing help weren’t just one or a few, but hundreds or more, more than she could manage alone. Just transporting the food and cooking utensils was difficult for her; asking the young men for help would not only aid others but also herself. She thought some would be willing to help.
However, these men had to be of good character, at least never having bullied others. As for how to choose, she would have to go there again tomorrow and observe in secret to decide.
With a plan in mind, Mo Yan finally felt the weight lift from her shoulders and soon drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The next morning, after Mo Qingze left, Mo Yan worried about not returning in time to cook lunch. She made some pancakes and told Xin Er and Zhenzhen that if they got hungry, they could heat up last night’s leftover chicken soup to eat with the pancakes, after carefully giving a few instructions, she locked the door and left with a clear mind.
As it happened, she ran into the same old man driving the cart as the day before.
"Miss, why are you heading there again?"
Elder Meng was puzzled to see Mo Yan. If she had just been curious yesterday and wanted to take a look, her return today would certainly raise some questions.
Finding the same person two days in a row must be fate. Mo Yan, looking at the honest-faced Elder Meng, suddenly had an idea and chose not to hide it, "Seeing those people in such wretched condition yesterday, I wanted to see if there was any way to help them."
Elder Meng was somewhat surprised, sizing her up from head to toe. He hadn’t expected that to be the reason, yet, judging by the young lady’s clothing, she clearly wasn’t from a rich or noble family. This...
Mo Yan noticed his suspicion and had no choice but to make up another story, "I have a distant relative who once made a living by growing and selling vegetables, but not long ago, the elder of their household passed away. The family had to hold a funeral and return to their hometown. Before they left, they asked us to take care of the vegetables in the field. My father is too busy, and there’s no other labor at home. We planned on letting it rot in the field, but thinking of so many people starving in the North Suburb, it seemed better to give it to them to fill their stomachs."
Elder Meng slapped his thigh on hearing this, "That’s a great idea! Miss, you are a very kind person. You are sure to receive great fortune in the future!"
Mo Yan heard his words and felt embarrassed. She already had the Space and had experienced rebirth; she felt these were great blessings already, and she didn’t wish for more...