On the Rearing of Zombies and Children - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I began looking into treatment options and vaccines, but there was very little concrete information available.

The authorities had only released research findings regarding the stages of zombie transformation.

During the first week after being bitten, one only experiences intense hunger and dizziness.

Over the following three weeks, consciousness, memory, and speech gradually fade away, replaced by extreme aggression.

It takes only four weeks to turn from a human into a zombie.

After some thought, I decided to keep Liang Que hidden for now.

At Liang Que’s suggestion, I started taking inventory of our supplies.

Lately, Liang Xiaodou had become obsessed with playing a game with his dad. The game was called hide-and-seek.

They played it eight hundred times a day, and Liang Xiaodou, perched by the small iron window, won eight hundred times a day.

He was winning quite ruthlessly.

Liang Que started playing dirty. He asked me for some tools and welded a sliding window for himself on the inside.

If Liang Xiaodou wanted to play with him, he had to knock on the window and give the secret password first.

Yesterday’s password was “1+1=2.” The young and innocent Liang Xiaodou had easily agreed to this password system.

Today, the password abruptly changed to “Spring River Flower Moon Night.”

Unaware of the world’s cruelty, Liang Xiaodou had been sitting by the basement door for four hours, reciting it until his face looked haggard.

To be this ruthless to a six-year-old… Liang Que really lacked a conscience.

While I was organizing our supplies in the adjacent garage, I pulled an exquisite box out from under a pile of rice, flour, and oil.

Opening it, I found a bouquet of long-dried flowers and a card.

The card read: “Happy Birthday, my darling wife!”

The day Liang Que went out… it had been my birthday.

Looking at it made my chest tighten with a dull ache.

Forget it. I’ll finish organizing tomorrow. Today, I’ll go join Douzai and tackle the password.

In the end, Liang Xiaodou couldn’t memorize it. He was so frustrated he was wailing, “I’m only a six-year-old child!”

I couldn’t memorize it either, but I knew how to cheat. I had a Bluetooth earbud playing one line at a time, and I just repeated what I heard.

Anyway, Liang Que was currently in the stage where his consciousness and memory were slowly fading.

Once I finished reciting, I knocked on the window. No movement inside.

I knocked again. The sliding window whipped open, a Bluetooth earbud was tossed out, and it whipped shut again.

Liang Xiaodou was quick. He snatched it up and stuffed it into his ear.

My face turned beet red. “Douzai, let Mommy explain.”

His face was flushed with anger. “Last time you secretly bought that bag, you said I’d always be your favorite little baby! But you didn’t even include me when you cheated!”

I hurried to cover Liang Xiaodou’s mouth.

But it was too late. The sliding window whipped open again.

Liang Que’s face was dark. “When you secretly used Liang Xiaodou’s New Year’s money to get a facial, you said I’d always be your favorite big baby in this house!”

Liang Xiaodou: “Fickle woman!”

Liang Que: “Fickle woman!”

I felt like a total player. “One favorite little baby, one favorite big baby… there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”