On the 14th of March, Bei Mian Village was in an uproar.
Low-rise houses were scattered around the farm, wooden fences encircling the front yard. The yard was also filled with fruits and vegetables, chickens and ducks roaming around.
"Kid, look, helicopters!" The sun rose at 6: 46 am. When it was past 8 am, one of the families' mothers, Zhang Shuqin, carried her child in her arms. She pointed happily at the sky in the yard. Her five-year-old son was excited to see a few military helicopters flying past.
The child's father, Guo Lei, was also watching but immediately sensed something was wrong. He mumbled, "Why are the helicopters stopping at our place?"
The five helicopters landed on the ground, it was the lumberyard owned by Old Tian.
Old Tian had committed a crime? Something so serious?
Guo Lei was baffled by his own conjecture. There were only about three to four hundred people in the village and everyone in the neighborhood knew each other. Old man Tian was famous for his hard work. He did not gamble or fight. Others farmed while he planted trees. There were no conflicts in the fields, so what could he have done?
After a while, a fleet of vehicles passed by. The vehicles had the Phecda logo, something must have happened.
Guo Lei was worried. He followed a few villagers to the lumberyard but they were stopped by the police. The road to the lumberyard was sealed.
An hour later, it was almost 9.30 am.
More helicopters and a larger fleet of vehicles entered Bei Mian Village. There were buses, ambulances, armored vehicles …
Old Man Zhang, Old Man Wang and the rest of the elders were playing chess, the villagers were busy working on the farm, and Guo Lei and the rest were discussing the situation at the village entrance.
Suddenly, all the villagers heard a loud voice. It was a helicopter hovering in the air broadcasting to the ground. "Dear villagers, something has happened at the nearby forest. For the sake of everyone's safety, we will immediately evacuate the entire village."
At the same time, the village head and the rest of the officials were rushing to inform everyone to follow the government's orders, pack up and evacuate immediately.
"Don't even bring food or clothes! The most important thing is to bring along your medical records, ID cards, household registers, bank cards, and any valuable gold wares. Hurry up! "
The villagers were stunned. Listening to the broadcast, looking at the helicopters and the vehicles … an outbreak? But no one in their village had fallen ill recently …
"Mom, so many cars!" The little baby didn't know any better. He pointed excitedly at his mother, but Zhang Shuqin couldn't say anything. She just hugged the child tightly.
The broadcast was repeated over and over again. The vehicles stopped at the entrance of the village, and teams of people got out of the vehicles. They were all wearing different colored protective suits and had different responsibilities. Most of them walked quickly into the village, and the vigilant barking of dogs could be heard everywhere.
Some people walked towards the houses and led the villagers to evacuate. Most of the people in the village were elderly. These uncles and aunties followed them, trembling.
Some of the people were holding some unknown detection equipment and probing around the village, using walkie-talkies to report.
Guo Lei went to look for his elderly parents while Zhang Shuqin quickly found a duffel bag. She took out the family's identification, money, and valuables and put them inside. Although the radio said that there was no need to bring clothes, Zhang Shuqin still grabbed a few of her favorite clothes and the children's clothes to take with her.
Someone in protective gear came into the house and told her that it was time to leave. She grabbed her duffel bag, carried her child, and left the house.
At the entrance of the village, more than four hundred villagers boarded one bus after another with the help of the people in protective gear.
Before getting on the bus, every villager had to show their identification to verify that they were indeed a villager. However, there were many elderly people in their seventies, eighties, and even nineties. Normally, it would be difficult for them to find their identification, let alone now. These people who couldn't show their identification were all gathered on the bus at the back.
No one's phone was taken away, but the signal seemed to be blocked. They couldn't go online or make calls.
When the bus was full, the door closed, and the driver immediately left for a destination that the passengers didn't know.
Guo Lei met up with his parents and wife at the entrance of the village. At this time, the family was on one of the buses, sitting near the back. The people around them all knew each other. Some were silent, some were sighing, and some were complaining.
"Mom, mom, where are we going?" The child asked in a small voice. Even though he was young, he could feel the gloomy atmosphere and was a little scared.
"It's okay." Zhang Shuqin patted the child's hand. "Didn't mom tell you that those aunties and uncles are good people? We're going to go have fun with them."
"Then mom, will we come back?" The child seemed to understand this was comforting. He blinked his eyes in anticipation of a positive answer.
Regardless of what they said or did, the adults on the bus were haunted by a fear of their family's survival.
Now that they heard the child's question, the same question popped up in their minds. 'Will we come back?'
Guo Lei looked at his son and then at the village and the wilderness outside the bus window. An inexplicable sense of anxiety rose in his heart.
He had explored the city many years ago. The cost of living was too high, and he didn't like that lifestyle. In the end, he chose to return to his hometown. He hoped to live a good life here, to build up the village. He wanted to learn from Elder Tian and contract some land to plant trees …
But now, would they come back? Would they come back?
"Yes, of course we will." Zhang Shuqin nodded. She forced a smile at the child. "This is our home."
At this time, the bus was already on the road, gradually leaving the village.
There were some people in protective gear on the bus. One of them, a middle-aged woman, stepped forward. "Dear villagers, my name is Fang Tian. I'm a doctor. If any of you feel unwell, please let me know immediately. I'm going to do some research. Have any of you had thyroid disease before? "
The villagers cooperated with the questioning. Guo Lei's family had no history of thyroid disease.
After the questioning, Doctor Fang had a few other people give those villagers who had no history of thyroid disease a small pill and a small paper cup of water.
"This is an iodine pill." Doctor Fang said, "Take it now."
Iodine pill? Guo Lei and Zhang Shuqin had no idea why they had to take it. Some of the villagers asked for the reason and some of the elders had already swallowed it obediently.
"Dear villagers, the cause is a radiation problem at the forest." Doctor Fang said. She had been given permission to explain to the villagers to a certain extent.
When she mentioned radiation, the elders did not understand but the younger generation's expressions changed. 'Radiation? What radiation? '
"There's no need to panic. We did not detect any radioactive substances in the village. The contamination is only limited to the forest. Everyone should be fine. In other words, you're all fine now. Evacuation is a safety precaution. Taking the iodine pill is an emergency precaution but if you have thyroid disease, taking it will cause problems. When you arrive at the settlement, you'll be given a detailed physical examination. If you're fine, you'll only take the iodine pill once. "
Doctor Fang's tone was positive. She tried to make her words as plain as possible so that the elders could understand her.
However, the elders still looked at each other. If they did not understand, they would just follow the country's arrangement.
The young people on the bus sighed in relief. It was not the legionella pneumonia, it was not the plague, it was radiation. At least the village was not polluted and they were fine …
Zhang Shuqin hugged her child. Guo Lei was about to ask, "Doctor Fang …"
All of a sudden, a loud rumbling sound came from behind them! Perhaps it was because of this, or because the road was uneven, the bus bumped a little as it moved forward.
"Ah … What, what's going on?"
"Is that an explosion? It sounds like an explosion … "
"What explosion?"
The passengers panicked, and the haze on Guo Lei, Zhang Shuqin and the rest's faces that was about to dissipate instantly became even heavier. They turned to look out the window but they could not see any smoke or fire. However, the explosion came from the direction of Elder Tian's forest.
"Everyone … don't worry." Doctor Fang's voice was slow. She, the driver and the other Phecda members frowned under their protective gear.
This explosion was not part of the plan.
It was still morning, the sun was shining brightly but they only felt cold.
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