Yonghe Road

Chapter 44 Impermanence
"Life is like a candle in the wind, swaying unpredictably. We always assume tomorrow is inevitable, but forget that the unexpected is the norm. Fate never plays by the rules; it's like a mischievous child, sometimes generously bestowing, sometimes capriciously plundering. Our carefully woven plans are but a fragile spider's web in its eyes. Yet, it is precisely this uncertainty that makes life so precious. Every morning when I open my eyes, I am presented with an unexpected gift. So, instead of worrying about the unknown, why not cherish the present moment, because every breath I take is fate's greatest mercy."

This is what Xie Anmin wrote in the book.

Many days later, when Zhong Ziqi looked at Zhong Ziwang clapping and laughing in front of him like a child, he finally understood what Xie Anmin wanted to express in his words.

But that early morning, Zhong Ziqi was still unable to understand the impermanence of life. He was just caught off guard by the reality that the accident would come earlier than tomorrow's sun.

For the person involved, Zhong Ziwang, that cold late night in a foreign land was a watershed in his life.

Before that late night, he was the eldest son of an orphan and a widowed farming family in a small village. He shared his widowed mother's unfortunate fate, hard work, sad tears, and heavy sighs. In his childhood and youth, he never seriously enjoyed the bright sunshine, refreshing breeze, and vast sky and earth of this world. The love of a young woman named Lin Yingying brought him the few beauty and warmth in his life, but he lost it soon after having it briefly.

After that late night, he completely lost that woman.

He lost the beauty of love that the woman brought him, and began to forget all memories related to that woman.

After that late night, Lin Yingying became a name that Zhong Ziwang would never remember, and the face that he once deeply loved and relied on also became strange and insignificant.

Even his relatives - his mother, brother, and sister - all became strangers and insignificant.

He forgot their names and his relationship with them. They went from being the most important people in his life to bubbles that passed by him, water plants that swayed with the waves and were accidentally touched. He turned into a goldfish, with the ability to store memories for only three seconds.

Many days later, Lin Yingying finally saw the husband she had been thinking about day and night, but Zhong Ziwang had become a child with the intelligence of only three years old.

He squatted in front of Lin Yingying, staring at the baby in her arms. His mouth was wide open, showing his teeth, and he made a "giggle" sound.

He was completely unaware of the snot running down his nostrils, and just kept clapping his rough palms, making a "pa pa" sound.

Saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, leaving a wet mark on his collar.

His eyes were pure and warm, as if he had discovered the most interesting toy in the world. He was completely immersed in pure joy and completely forgot everything around him.

Finally, he raised his hand high towards the baby and slapped him...

Time goes back to that late night in a foreign land. Zhong Ziwang, full of expectations of a father for his own flesh and blood, follows his coworkers on the night shift.

They were heading to a large tunnel project site that was under intensive construction. Zhong Ziwang's team was responsible for some basic construction work inside the tunnel.

When Zhong Ziwang and his fellow workers entered the tunnel, the dim environment was barely illuminated by a few dim lights.

The tunnel was filled with a damp smell and was surrounded by hard rock walls. The roar of machines and the sound of dripping water could be faintly heard in the distance.

They moved carefully along the narrow road, and everyone knew that when working in such an environment, safety must always be put first.

Zhong Ziwang and several other workers were responsible for pouring concrete in a tunnel branch.

In order to meet the deadline, the construction schedule was arranged very tightly and no one dared to relax for a moment.

According to normal operating procedures, the top of the branch hole should be reinforced and inspected first to ensure that there are no safety hazards before pouring concrete.

However, that night, the squad leader was eager to complete the task and neglected this important safety link.

At that time, some rocks at the top of the branch tunnel had begun to loosen due to long-term excavation and vibration, but no one noticed the abnormality, and they were only focused on completing the work as soon as possible.

Zhong Ziwang and his fellow workers began to operate the mixer, pouring concrete into the branch hole little by little.

As concrete is continuously injected, the pressure at the top of the branch tunnel gradually increases.

Suddenly, a dull bang broke the silence in the tunnel.

The rock at the top of the branch tunnel could no longer withstand the pressure and collapsed. Huge rocks fell like raindrops, instantly burying Zhong Ziwang and several nearby workers.

The other workers were frightened and panicked by this sudden change, but they quickly reacted, shouting for help and quickly organizing a rescue.

Rescuers rushed to the scene as quickly as possible and started rescue work against the clock.

After some difficult digging, Zhong Ziwang and other workers were finally found buried under the rubble.

Fortunately, Zhong Ziwang still had vital signs, but his injuries were very serious. He suffered a severe head injury, multiple fractures, and fell into a coma.

The ambulance rushed Zhong Ziwang to the nearest hospital.

The doctors immediately gave him their all-out rescue efforts. After several hours of emergency surgery and treatment, Zhong Ziwang's life was finally saved.

However, the accident caused irreversible damage to his brain.

Due to the severe impact on his head, his brain nervous system was severely damaged, causing his intelligence level to drop sharply after he woke up, leaving him with only the intelligence level of a three-year-old child.

Fate is so fickle. Zhong Ziwang originally wanted to draw strength from the example of the security guard Lao Xie, replicate Lao Xie's power as the pillar of the family, earn a lot of money, and improve his family's living conditions.

Zhong Ziwang never imagined that he did imitate the security guard Lao Xie's way of working to get rich and made some quick money in the short term, but he also replicated the tragic fate of the security guard Lao Xie and failed to avoid the accident that he could have avoided.

As Zhong Ziwang's wife, Lin Yingying thought that if Zhong Ziwang hadn't gone into debt because of the high bride price he spent on marrying her, he wouldn't have to work outside and take on high-risk jobs...

As Zhong Ziwang's mother, Huifang thought, if her husband had not died early, if she had been as capable as other women, her son would not have to suffer so much hardship and misfortune...

As Zhong Ziwang's brother, Zhong Ziqi blamed himself even more. It was because of his incompetence that he couldn't make a lot of money, couldn't bring happiness to his family, and couldn't help his elder brother. That's why his elder brother left home and met with an accident...

Of the two sons of the Zhong family, he is the only pillar of support from now on.

Zhong Ziqi had to cheer up, wipe away his tears, grit his teeth, travel far away to a foreign land, take care of the seriously injured Zhong Ziwang, handle Zhong Ziwang's work injury compensation, and bring Zhong Ziwang home safely.

"Zi Qi, can you do it alone?" Huifang said tearfully while helping Zhong Zi Qi pack his luggage.

She had to do it no matter how hard she tried. She was just an illiterate peasant woman, and her companions would only be a hindrance and would not be of any help.

"I'll go with you." Lin Yingying said.

Zhong Ziqi took a look at Lin Yingying's belly, which was about to give birth, and Lin Yingying stopped talking.

As the women of the Zhong family, the most important task at hand is to ensure the safe birth of the little life in their belly.

However, Zhong Ziqi went to that strange city alone. It was hard enough for him to take care of the seriously injured Zhong Ziwang alone. He also had to deal with compensation matters, shuttle between companies and social security departments, deal with cumbersome procedures, and possibly cope with the indifference of the project contractor. He encountered countless setbacks and was bound to be overwhelmed and his schedule was in a tangled mess.

The party responsible for the accident may think that he is easy to control because he is alone, and will be unwilling to easily offer a reasonable compensation plan, which will make the situation even more difficult.

How could Wang Zian stand by and watch Zhong Ziqi fall into such a situation?
He decided to go with Zhong Ziqi.

Secretary Wang Kai said that it was not enough for just two young people to go, so he organized several She ethnic minority relatives to go together. More people would provide support and help fight for compensation rights for Zhong Ziwang.

At this point, recovering from his injuries as soon as possible is one thing, but getting more compensation is the most important thing. After all, Zhong Ziwang had such an accident, and he needs to have a place to live for the rest of his life, and he also has a hungry baby to support, so money has become a serious situation.

Every penny earned will provide more security for Zhong Ziwang and his children's future.

As for Lin Yingying, everyone in Baile Village tacitly agreed that she would remarry.

(End of this chapter)