Chapter 202: The Choice of Xidaying Village

"Hey!"

Ma Changshou opened the car door and stepped out, his face beaming with delight—anyone seeing him would think he'd just gotten a grandchild, he was so joyful.

A middle-aged man in his forties or fifties stepped out from the driver's side.

But the moment both men stepped down, they froze.

Ma Changshou saw that Zhang Su was followed by someone whose face was painfully familiar—they'd had some unpleasant dealings not long ago…

"This… Boss Zhang, you, he, heh…"

Ma Changshou awkwardly pointed at Guo Dachao and rubbed his hands.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Su feigned ignorance, then suddenly understood: "Oh oh oh, I get it—Big Chao came out of the city earlier, and you charged him a toll, right?"

"Right!" Guo Dachao angrily pointed at Ma Changshou: "It's him—had people take a bunch of stuff off my vehicle!"

"Qingxian? There are plenty of people in the county seat—are you really going there?"

"Of course borrowing is fine, but Boss Zhang, we held a meeting today and made a decision you should hear."

"Hahaha, thanks a lot, Village Chief Ma! My young brother's had bad luck—he just got out of the city! Just a little misunderstanding, let's clear it up."

"Good." Zhang Su glanced around, closed the trunk, clapped his hands, and said: "Village Chief Ma, same as before—when the pigs give birth, lend me one professional who knows postpartum sow care. Hahaha."

"Even the stink smells sweet now, hahaha."

"Ah, Boss Zhang's word is law—five, ten, fifteen…"

"After discussion among the village cadres, we've unanimously decided to migrate northward, possibly to scout the Qingxian area."

Zhang Su and the others walked to the back of the van. Three large pregnant sows stood neatly side by side inside—even after removing the rear seats, it was still cramped.

Zhang Su stepped forward, pulled a plastic bag from his pocket, and handed it to Ma Changshou without hesitation: "What you asked for. Count it."

Lu Yubo playfully sniffed the bag, showing no disgust—these days, to smell pork, you first have to smell pig shit.

Zhang Su raised an eyebrow—Ma Changshou wouldn't say these things without reason. The situation was clear: Xidaying Village had chosen to join the Azure Dragon Corps!

"We don't necessarily need to reach the county seat—anywhere with fertile soil and water will do. Don't worry, Boss Zhang, I know your camp is near Ni Quanzi Town—we won't set up anywhere near there."

Since the other side hadn't mentioned the Azure Dragon Corps, he wouldn't bring it up himself.

Ma Changshou spoke with certainty.

"You're telling me your village's meeting decision? What's it got to do with me?" Zhang Su's mind stirred.

Ma Changshou waved his hand and smiled: "Here's the thing—there's a Survivor Alliance in the city now, mostly gathering survivors from the north. Fewer and fewer people are leaving the city; we haven't seen a single traveler in days. Some even walk straight through the river without a vehicle. We're getting nothing here."

"Oh my, young man, I had no idea you knew Boss Zhang! If you'd mentioned his name earlier, I'd never have asked you for anything—it's a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!"

Ma Changshou turned to those beside him: "Quick, get back the toll we took from Halanda last time!"

"Yes, the quantity's correct, Boss Zhang. Come, take a look at these fat sows!"

With that, Ma Changshou opened the van's rear door.

Zhang Su didn't care about this minor matter—his eyes kept scanning the village, watching busy villagers, but found no suspicious signs.

He claimed to believe, but his hands swiftly opened the plastic bag, pulled out the medicine bottle, poured the pills into his palm, and began counting—each pill mattered, he couldn't afford any loss.

Zhang Su curled his lips slightly, sounding slightly regretful: "What a shame—we've lost a good neighbor. When will Xidaying Village set out?"

Ma Changshou glanced back at the village: "We'll leave after this harvest—ten days at the earliest, maybe half a month at most. Winter's coming fast—we need to hurry."

"So when you leave, what about this place, and that…?" Zhang Su pointed toward the bridge. "You're just abandoning it?"

"Abandoning it!" Ma Changshou said decisively. "If you've got spare hands, you can take over the bridge—but like I said before, it's pointless. No one's left."

"Alright then, let's leave it at that. It's getting late—we need to get back and settle the sows. Hahaha!"

Zhang Su patted the van and said to Lu Yubo: "Since you don't mind the stink, you drive."

"Hahaha, fine!"

Lu Yubo accepted gladly.

"Boss Zhang, may I ask a bold question—what happened to Beita Ziying in the end?"

Ma Changshou had been curious about this for a long time, and finally asked.

Zhang Su smiled faintly: "Beita Ziying? It's gone. All gone. Goodbye."

With that, he led his people into the car and left Xidaying Village.

"Village Chief… I think they seem to know nothing. Did the Azure Dragon Corps not discover their camp?"

As the two vehicles slowly drove away, the middle-aged man beside Ma Changshou spoke softly, having said nothing until now.

Ma Changshou frowned: "Maybe. But as long as they stay near Ni Quanzi Town, the Azure Dragon Corps will find them eventually. When that happens, there'll likely be a fierce battle. Speaking of which, we must find a way to assign our villagers to logistics roles—so they don't get thrown into combat and become cannon fodder!"

"But what can we do? Xiao Ga, Mengzi—they're clearly tough fighters. They'll definitely be assigned to combat units."

"What can we do? Figure something out! We've stockpiled so much grain—how could we fail to grease some palms? There's always a way!"

Ma Changshou's principle: avoid violence if possible. Whatever it takes to survive, as long as they live safely, that's all that matters.

Zhang Su drove over a kilometer from Xidaying Village. Even with his superior hearing, he couldn't hear Ma Changshou's conversation—but that didn't stop his judgment.

Twenty minutes later, the two vehicles passed by the bonfire where zombies had been burned. Dusk had just begun to fall; a black patch the size of a dining table still smoldered alone in the field, glowing with yellow flames, while the surrounding land lay in ruins from the fire.

"Huh?"

Guo Dachao peered out the window: "Boss, aren't the zombie corpses all burned up?"

Normally, no matter how thoroughly you burned them, so many corpses should leave some residue. But now, the field was indeed a vast black patch—with no trace left at all.

"Looks like it. The combustion efficiency of zombie corpses is… strange."

Zhang Su was also surprised. Human corpses could never burn down to nothing like this. Those who knew the truth would realize eight hundred zombie bodies had been burned—but anyone unaware would never guess.

"That defies science—even inorganic matter left nothing?" Guo Dachao, who had some basic knowledge, frowned at the fire, deeply puzzled.

"Hah, then if you put it that way, no need to study it. Zombies are unscientific to begin with. Interesting enough—leave it to the surviving scientists to figure out!"

As they spoke, the car turned onto the makeshift road and soon reached the hill.

Several guards at the gate had already received word of their return—the roadblocks had been cleared.

The two vehicles parked, and camp members immediately gathered around—every return was met with enthusiastic welcome.

"Fat sows, fat sows, where are they? I want to see!"

Zheng Xinyu craned her neck, looking everywhere.

"Woof!"

The corgi, Good Luck, tugged at Zheng Xinyu's pant leg, pulling her toward the van.

"Sister-in-law, over here, hahaha!" Lu Yubo ran to the back of the van and opened the door.

Oink. Oink.

The three sows, jolted by the bumpy ride, were desperate to get out—but the height made them hesitant. Only after a wooden plank was placed did they slowly step down.

"Hey, don't run around!"

"Damn, how can they run so fast with big bellies?!"

But as soon as the sows hit the ground, startled by the unfamiliar environment and smells, they began rooting wildly everywhere.

"Wooof! Woof woof!"

Just as everyone was at a loss, Good Luck darted nimbly left and right, using bites to their hooves and tails, plus barking, to scare them into submission—and managed to corral all three sows.

"Hah! The herding dog's become a pig herder!"

Zheng Xinyu watched Good Luck circling the three sows with perfect discipline, laughing until her eyes vanished.

Zhang Su watched the three giant sows panic-strickenly pacing around the camp and sighed: "Enough. Get these pigs into the pen before they give birth early!"

Every piglet was precious. If they farrowed prematurely, it'd be devastating.

Everyone pitched in, and soon the sows were in the pen, the grain stored away.

(End of chapter)