Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

“When I was chatting with your father the day before yesterday, he mentioned that the family had run out of salt. I was thinking of giving him some yesterday to last until the salt merchant came, but I was busy all day and almost forgot.”

Fang Xiaoshi looked somewhat surprised as he took the bag of salt from the village chief.

The village chief put his hand on Fang Xiaoshi's shoulder and said with a sigh:

"Xiao Shi, your father hasn't been feeling well lately. You, as his son, are all grown up now and should know how to take care of him."

Last year at the ancestral temple, I was furious, but when we couldn't find you, everyone in the village was really worried. Thankfully, you came back; it was truly a blessing.

"You're not blaming me anymore?" Fang Xiaoshi asked in surprise.

"...At least don't make the same mistake again next time," the village chief said with a wry smile.

Fang Xiaoshi lowered his head again, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Looking at Fang Xiaoshi's expression, the village chief, having lived for quite some time, discerned something from the young man.

"You seem to have something on your mind?" the village chief said kindly. "Tell me about it, maybe I can help you."

"The villagers don't like me."

This time, it was the village chief's turn to show surprise.

He looked around but didn't see any villagers to ask, so he looked down at Fang Xiaoshi and asked:

"Did someone bully you?"

Fang Xiaoshi lowered his head and remained silent.

The village chief said gently, "I watched you grow up, and I know your personality."

We're all from the same village. It's not just you; other people have had arguments and even physical altercations before. We're all neighbors, so let bygones be bygones. Life goes on.

After speaking, the village chief paused and muttered to himself:

"In the end, it's because I haven't been a good enough village chief. If I could make everyone live in peace and every family become prosperous, why would we have these troubles?"

But what can I do? How can I fight against fate?

The village chief looked up at the azure sky.

The clear, bright sky did not dispel the village chief's pent-up frustration; instead, it gave him a suffocating feeling of being swallowed up by the deep sky.

Fang Xiaoshi looked at the village chief, unable to understand the old man's feelings.

"Look at me, why am I telling you all this?" The village chief came back to his senses, seemingly amused by his own words. "Anyway, live your life well, grow up well, and don't act impulsively when you encounter problems."

Patting Fang Xiaoshi on the shoulder, the village chief turned and left, preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Fang Xiaoshi didn't know how he got home.

He was haunted by his hazy memories all the way. In the past scenes, many familiar yet unfamiliar figures appeared on the edge of the dark memory. He couldn't see their faces, only their constantly opening and closing mouths and raised arms pointing at him.

For a fleeting moment, he even saw his father, also hidden in the shadows, standing with the villagers.

He alone was out of place with everyone around him.

Back home, Fang Xiaoshi didn't say a word to the hunter, but went back inside and lay down on the bed.

He just felt tired, very, very tired.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard a sound approaching from beside his bed, and then a blanket was placed over him.

The hunter gently placed his rough hand on Fang Xiaoshi's forehead. After confirming that he did not have a fever, a faint sigh echoed in the room. The hunter's hunched figure pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

As night fell, a small meeting was held in the ancestral temple of Moushan Village.

Representatives from each household in the village were gathered together by the village chief, who quietly watched the village chief worshipping in front of the ancestral sculptures in the ancestral temple.

After meticulously completing the worship ceremony, the village chief turned around and glanced at the familiar faces present.

"Everyone, Xiao Shi is back, which is good news. Our village will also soon receive infrastructure subsidies from the government, which is also good news."

The village chief spoke slowly, as if he was also thinking about his decision: "After thinking it over, I think it would be better to take this opportunity to do something good for the village. Let's change Xiao Shi's surname, and from now on, his family will be a native family of our village."

There's no such thing as being a "foreigner" or "outsider"; we're all family. What do you think?

The delegates immediately began to whisper among themselves.

After a moment, one of them tentatively asked, "Village chief, what have you discovered?"

The village chief's face was somewhat somber as he nodded and said:

“I hope everyone will stop being prejudiced against Fang Xiaoshi. He is also a child from our village, just like your own children.”

The representatives began to whisper among themselves again.

However, this time it didn't last long, and many representatives immediately chose to speak out.

“I have no objection. Hunter Fang has lived in our village for so long, and everyone trusts him.”

"Xiao Shi has always had a knot in his heart. I hope that after changing his surname, he can have some sense of belonging."

The village chief nodded with satisfaction, seeing that his proposal had been supported.

"However, this matter still needs to be taken more seriously. We'll call Hunter Fang over tomorrow and talk to him about it. Then we'll hold a village meeting the day after tomorrow to finalize this matter."

The internal meeting in Moushan Village ended amidst a generally positive atmosphere.

After everyone else had left, the village chief bowed again to the ancestral statues in the ancestral temple before respectfully closing the temple gate.

The next second, Qi Yan jumped out from behind the ancestral statue, plopped down on the offering table, and started eating the offerings.

Three graceful figures floated down from the crossbeam of the ancestral temple.

"Your behavior is very impolite," Chen said, frowning.

"Fruit is for eating, not for rotting in front of clay sculptures." Qi Yan remained unmoved, continuing to gnaw on the fruit. "Besides, I've done plenty of impolite things; if you really wanted to manage me, you'd be exhausted."

List:"……"

Qiu Bai interrupted their bickering: "I don't understand. The situation in Moushan Village is logically developing in a positive direction, so why do you still want to stay?"

"Do you think I don't want to leave? Actually, I'm more anxious than any of you."

Qi Yan threw away the fruit pit, saying he was anxious, but his face remained calm: "But since this has happened, I have to deal with it. Fortunately, what I'm best at is being inhuman."

These villagers aren't exactly bad, but it's a pity they ran into me while I was in a hurry. I hope Wei Lao Er can make it back in time to rescue them.

Chapter 951 Evil

Another new day.

Along with the morning light spreading throughout Moushan Village, two rumors also emerged.

Firstly, Fang Xiaoshi is about to change his surname and become a full member of Moushan Village.

Secondly, Fang Xiaoshi's relationship with the official named Wei Yanwu was not actually close; Fang Xiaoshi simply bribed Wei Yanwu with money.

Compared to the first rumor, the second one spread much faster and changed more frequently.

The hunter was excitedly called away by his neighbor to a meeting early in the morning, leaving Fang Xiaoshi alone at home, chopping wood in the yard with nothing to do.

"Fang Xiaoshi!"

A childish voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard wall.

Fang Xiaoshi turned his head and saw a child from the village, two years younger than him, leaning against the courtyard wall, looking at him with curiosity.

"What do you want?" Fang Xiaoshi asked, puzzled.

He still vividly remembered everything that happened yesterday, and he didn't believe that the child had come to play with him.

The child said mysteriously:

“I already know, you don’t need to hide it anymore.”

"What have I been hiding?" Fang Xiaoshi's brows gradually furrowed.

"That guy named Wei Yanwu, you hired him, didn't you!" the child said smugly. "You spent half of the money you swindled and cheated out of people all at once, and someone saw it last night."

"Neuropathy."

Fang Xiaoshi didn't care for any of that empty talk; he coldly tossed out a rebuke and turned back to chopping wood.

But the child wasn't scolded away; he remained perched on the wall, continuing to press for answers:

"Fang Xiaoshi, how much money do you have left?"

Fang Xiaoshi ignored the gossiping brat, piled the chopped firewood under the courtyard wall, then turned around, slung his basket over his shoulder, and prepared to go to a family in the west of the village who also kept pack animals to buy some fodder.

Halfway there, the child who had been bothering Fang Xiaoshi, seeing that he was not getting a response, quickly turned around and ran away.

But Fang Xiaoshi noticed that many people on the street were looking at him with strange eyes.

He quickened his pace instinctively and went to the house to ask to buy some fodder.

Unlike the child, the other person didn't ramble on. Instead, before Fang Xiaoshi left, they suddenly asked:

"Are you really going to keep that pack animal? Keeping a pack animal isn't cheap."

Fang Xiaoshi casually voiced his thoughts:

“My family also has farmland. My father’s health is not very good, and having a pack animal can make things much easier for him.”

"That's good, that shows great filial piety."

"I'm leaving now, thank you for the fodder."

Fang Xiaoshi said goodbye to the other person and carried the basket full of hay home, but was stopped by someone on the way.

"Fang Xiaoshi, did you know that your father promised the village chief a good thing?" the man asked with a smile.

After saying that, he didn't wait for Fang Xiaoshi's reply and took the initiative to reveal the answer:

"You'll be added to the Moushan Village genealogy now, and you'll be called Zhou Xiaoshi from now on."

"Why?!" Fang Xiaoshi exclaimed in surprise.

"After all, you did a good deed this time, so this is a reward from the village."

"Who wants this kind of reward?" Fang Xiaoshi said angrily. "My name is Fang Xiaoshi. I was born Fang Xiaoshi, and I will die Fang Xiaoshi. Why should my name be changed?"

"Why are you still so ungrateful... Hey, where are you going?"

Before the man could finish his reprimand, he saw Fang Xiaoshi turn around and run away at breakneck speed.

When Fang Xiaoshi arrived at the ancestral temple, exhausted and out of breath, the meeting had already ended. He only heard the village chief finalize the matter of changing the surname.

The hunter stood in the crowd, listening to the village chief announce the outcome, and was then surrounded by congratulatory applause.

"I won't agree!"

Fang Xiaoshi's angry shout interrupted all the noise inside the ancestral temple.

The village chief's gratified expression froze instantly. The hunter slowly turned his hunched back and looked at him quietly with an expression that Fang Xiaoshi couldn't understand. The surrounding villagers exchanged glances, their faces showing some anger.

The hunter didn't scold Fang Xiaoshi for the first time; he simply walked over step by step until he was beside Fang Xiaoshi.

Then, he turned around and looked at the village chief and the villagers.

"Please forgive me, everyone. I need to go back and say a few words to Xiao Shi."

After the hunter finished speaking, he ignored the reactions of the village chief and the others, and half-forcefully pulled Fang Xiaoshi away.

After the father and son left, the atmosphere in the ancestral temple became lively again.

“Village chief, this Fang Xiaoshi is still too wicked and needs to be taught a lesson.”

"Don't say that. Xiao Shi did a good job this time. Let's not ruin the harmony."

"Speaking of which, I have something I'm curious about. Can that Wei Yanwu really decide such an important matter as the number of places for the Chidao with just a word... Village Chief, what do you think?"

Upon hearing the last person's question, the village chief's eyelids twitched.

He immediately said seriously, "You are not allowed to question Lord Wei. His background is definitely not simple. I can judge that much."

The person who had spoken saw the village chief get angry for the first time and quickly fell silent with a forced smile.

Meanwhile, Fang Xiaoshi was led home by the hunter. As soon as he entered the house, Fang Xiaoshi couldn't help but shout:

"Father, why did you agree to that kind of thing?"

The hunter didn't answer, but simply pulled over a wooden chair, sat down, and remained silent for a long time.

Fang Xiaoshi suddenly felt a pang of panic, and his voice slowly lowered: "Dad, what happened?"