Stattuce

  006 I used soapberries to wash my quilts. Another family lives on the left side of this tile-roofed house, close to the mountain. There is a big soapberry tree planted in the yard. A small stream in front of that family's house also flows to the front door here, becoming a small ditch. I picked this bag of soapberries last year, and now only half is left. In this day and age, industrial production has regressed as the human population has decreased, and lifestyle has gone back a hundred years. The laundry detergent and powder we used to use are no longer available, just being able to use soapberries is enough to make people feel satisfied. In fact, before I had never even seen soapberries, let alone used them. I only heard of it from Aunt Li. I was born and raised in the city, and for the first seventeen years of my life, I lived pretty uselessly. I couldn't cook, and I had never washed clothes except for intimate wear. When we were on the run, Aunt Li told me about a lot of...

005 Before placing the wild roots in the basket, I shook off the dirt off the roots, went over, picked up the small monster, wrapped it in the clothing again, and tied it around my chest once again. The little monster's hair was stained with dirt, and as soon as it came into my arms, it rubbed its head against me, rubbing all the dirt onto my clothes. Ignoring it, I started to head back with my things packed. Since I was out, I planned to bring back some vegetables from the fields. This little monster is really tenacious. Not too long ago, it looked weak, seemingly about to die, but now it looked even better than before, bleating from my arms. Its cries sounded just like a sheep's. Could it be that this thing actually eats grass? I walked to the field where I planted and started to harvest the cabbage. The cabbages that had survived through winter were very large. I thought they would rot after all the heavy snow pour, but after the snow melted away, they were still good. I ha...

004 The room where the little monster was staying smelled terrible. The scene inside stunned me as soon as I opened the door, but I reacted fast and entered. The little monster was lying on the bed, surrounded by what looked like vomited gunk, with undigested rat meat in it. It was still dark outside, and the faint light coming in through the window was not enough for me to see what was happening with the little monster, so I had to light the candle again. After the candle was lit, I saw that the little monster was dirty all over. I pressed on its shrunken belly, and it let out a faint whimper. Its breath was weak, and its eyes seemed unable to open, but at least it was still alive. I didn't dislike the little monster that was covered in its own vomit. After all, during my worst, I couldn't take a shower for several months in a row, and the smell was much worse than this. This thing is fortunate; it is still alive after all this torture. I think it probably can't eat mutant...

003 The room was really dark, I lit up a candle, picked up the hatchet, and pushed open the door that the little monster was locked in with my foot. It had rolled down onto the floor again, still lying there motionless, as if dead. I walked in and placed the candle onto the table, before squatting down to look at the little monster. I turned it over, but it still didn't move, its eyes were tightly shut. Is it really dead? I placed my hands on its chest, and it was silent. The little monster was no longer breathing, and its body was cold. The umbilical cord had also fallen off, but some bloodstains stayed on its belly, dried and mottled. I'm not a very compassionate person, at least not now, but I don't know why, at this moment, I felt an inexplicable discomfort in my heart. Humans are bizarre. I had clearly decided to kill it just moments before, but now that it really died, I became sentimental. I put down the hatchet and picked up its body. I was going to wash the dust an...

002 The little monster wasn't big; rather, it was thin and small. Curled into a ball, it rolled near the crook of my feet. I could clearly see a tail behind his butt, something humans wouldn't have. It was white, about the same length as its feet, and covered in thin scales on top. The tail wrapped from its legs to its chest, obediently sticking to the little monster's chest. From where the tail connects to the back of the spine, it is covered in tiny white scales, leading up to its neck. Its ears were different from those of a human, just like a small cone sticking by the side of its head, it looked stiff, and the tightly shut eyes seemed too big along with its mouth. Its hands only had three fingers, rather, it was probably closer to a claw, the same thin white scales covered it, and only when you reached the elbow could you see its skin. It was the same for its feet, three toes, covered in white scales, more like the claws of certain animals than the hands of humans. As ...

 001 The tenth year after the end, unsure of the actual date, but from the seasonal changes, it should be early spring. It's been about half a year since I've seen a living person. From waking up in the morning, I would feel faint pain coming from my stomach, holding onto the slightly protruding belly, I once again thought about what could possibly be inside. I feel like I'm probably pregnant, but reasoning told me that it's impossible, as the last time I had any close contact with a man was three years ago, and my stomach only started getting bigger three months ago, so what can be said from the timing, is that what's in my stomach couldn't be a child. In addition, women who are pregnant for three months time, wouldn't have a stomach as big as mine. During these three months, I could feel my stomach gradually becoming bigger, and I've been constantly thinking of the reasoning behind it. In the beginning, I thought I was sick from eating something I shou...

Chapter 6 3 days left until the college examination test.  Wen Lai gave one last look toward the numbers written on the blackboard, then walked out of the classroom with her schoolbag. "Wen Lai, wait for me." Lin Hanjia ran after her, seeing that she was fine she let out a breathe of relief, "Your back view looks so defeated, scared me half to death!" "My back view looks defeated?" Wen Lai pointed at herself: "Where do you see me looking defeated?" Jiang Shu and Cheng Rou arrived from behind, hearing this, Jiang Shu replied: "The look you have on right now is no different from someone facing death!" "Oh......actually I'm still ok." Lin Hanjia held onto her, and asked: "Have you bought your 2B pencils, ruler, and eraser yet?" "Not yet, I was planning on going down to buy them, what about you guys?" "I bought them already." Lin Hanjia replied. "I also bought them already." Jiang Shu sp...