Chapter 42: Having a Nightmare

Ji Ling finally dug up the memory of that catastrophic, unthinkable earthquake from the recesses of the distant past.

After a moment of thought, Ji Ling reached into her bag and took out a container of cold-dressed mutton. It was a cold dish, convenient and easy to carry.

"Sister Li, I overheard your conversation in the room just now. I still have some food here and would like to give it to you." Ji Ling looked toward the proprietress behind the counter and handed over the package in her hand.

The drivers were indeed starving. They took the package from Ji Ling, opened it, swallowed hard, and then looked at Ji Ling with a mixture of helplessness and restraint. "Young lady, this is meat."

"Masters, please don't be so polite. You are all true heroes of the people. The earthquake in the southwest region has just passed, and danger lurks everywhere, yet you drove off without a moment's hesitation to deliver supplies. You are like a light shining in the darkness, rushing forward with hope while everyone else struggles in despair."

"The journey was fraught with peril, but you didn't shrink back in the least, keeping the people in the disaster area solely in your hearts. Masters, with such lofty spirits, what is a little meat of mine compared to that?" Carried away by her emotions, Ji Ling's tears spilled uncontrollably, her voice choking with sobs.

Hearing Ji Ling's words, everyone present fell silent. An older driver's eyes flickered with gratification, and then he broke into an honest, broad smile. "Lass, as tiring as this trip was, hearing these words from you makes it all worthwhile!"

A younger driver chimed in, wiping away his tears as he spoke. "Yeah, I was so scared along the way. I haven't even taken a wife yet. Before we set off, I prayed that nothing bad would happen to me. But once we got there, I found myself praying that everyone would just get better quickly. That kind of suffering is truly inhuman."

Another driver slapped the table, let out an appreciative exclamation, and gave a thumbs up. "That's right! I've never met anyone who understands us so well. Little sister, from now on, we're family."

The commotion in the lodge drew out the other guests; those easily moved to tears began to weep on the spot.

Although Ji Ling's words carried a touch of flattery, she admired these people from the bottom of her heart. In the face of disaster, the people of the entire nation were worthy of praise. The people in the disaster zone refused to give up, and the people outside the zone refused to abandon them—it was precisely this spirit that forged the soul of the nation.

The group chatted cheerfully about matters far and wide. When the conversation reached its peak, someone asked Ji Ling what she was here to do, telling her that if she needed any help, she should just say so and not stand on ceremony with her own family.

Sister Li rubbed her red, swollen eyes from crying. "I know about this. When she arrived, she asked me if I knew any truck drivers because she wanted to transport a batch of sheep back."

Ji Ling pulled Sister Li gently by the sleeve, signaling her to say no more.

"Is that all? Little sister, our transport team often takes on private jobs. As long as we pay a portion of the vehicle maintenance fee and don't delay our official duties, it's fine."

"Where are you going to transport the sheep from, and where are they headed?" the young driver asked.

"I've already arranged it with the Agricultural Bureau. Two hundred sheep, to be delivered to Shixi Village." Ji Ling looked somewhat troubled. "However, I can't pay the money upfront. I'll have to discuss the payment with the village head when I get back."

"Little sister, we trust you. We'll go haul them for you bright and early tomorrow morning. Are you riding back with us?"

"Alright then, thank you, big brothers." Ji Ling stopped putting on airs. She would just have to ask Branch Secretary Li to pay for her tomorrow first.

As for when the money would be repaid, she would naturally have to wait until Village Head Hua came to beg her. Ji Ling reckoned it would be by the end of the month at the latest; otherwise, she would have to cover the cost out of her own pocket.

With these thoughts on her mind, Ji Ling drifted off to sleep, only to suffer a series of nightmares throughout the night, dreaming of events from her past life. Startled awake by her own dreams, Ji Ling sat up on the edge of the bed. Outside, a few sparse stars still hung in the sky. An overwhelming sense of unease gripped her heart. In her previous life, minor tremors had preceded the massive earthquake, but failing to draw people's attention at the time, they had led to heavy casualties later on.