Zhan Bei Jue pretended not to understand, "What do you mean, how I think?"
"About marriage. I used to not bother you, thinking you had good judgment. Who knew you'd be so careless and marry someone like that, and bring the child to this state..."
"It's not like you don't have a grandchild to hold. Does my single status matter so much to you?"
Mrs. Zhan: "Of course it matters. As my son, continuing the family line isn't the most important thing. What I hope for is a companion who knows how to care for you, to be by your side every day."
"In this life, working hard every day is already tough. When you get home, if there's no one to talk to, do you think such a life is meaningful?"
At this point, his mother was a bit speechless. "A Jue, since you won't seek someone out yourself, don't blame me for making decisions for you. Mom is doing this all for your own good."
Zhan Bei Jue didn't want to discuss this. He got a headache just hearing his mother speak in such a earnest tone.
"I understand, but I'm really not in the mood lately. The company has a lot of things to deal with. Let's talk about it after this period."
After speaking, he got up and left, returning to his room.
The room was luxurious but empty. The lights were off. As he stepped in, he was instantly engulfed by loneliness.
Zhan Bei Jue's state had been off all day. No one had provoked him, but he inexplicably felt annoyed and empty.
Without rhyme or reason, he kept wanting to look at his phone, but over and over again, nothing appeared that could make him happy.
He didn't know what he was expecting. He just sat alone in the dark, repeatedly checking his phone for an hour. "Snap!" He finally threw his phone aside.
He couldn't continue like this. The Northwest project was just a small, insignificant sesame seed of a project. It wasn't worth this much attention. Stop looking!
He threw the phone away, took a shower, and went to bed. He thought that if he slept, he wouldn't think about it anymore, but damn it, in his dream, he dreamt of Jiang Nan Fang again.
However, this time it wasn't a rehash of old dreams. In the dream, it was pouring rain. In a vast desert, Jiang Nan Fang seemed to have lost her way. She ran around disoriented, calling his name as she ran.
Zhan Bei Jue wanted to reach out and pull her, but he couldn't. His heart tensed, and he woke up.
It was already dawn. The sun was shining brightly outside, with birds singing and flowers fragrant.
On the weekend, the two children woke up early as usual. Zhan Jing Ge skillfully ran to his room and hugged his neck, "Daddy, you're awake? Come paint with me."
Zhan Bei Jue lay there without moving, stroking her smooth little face. "Why have you been so fond of painting lately? What are you painting today?"
"The desert. I couldn't finish it last night and didn't know how to paint it well. Didn't you say you'd search for a picture for me to see?"
Looking at her face, which was exactly like Jiang Nan Fang's, and thinking about the scene in his dream just now, Zhan Bei Jue reached for his phone and, as if possessed, typed in the name of the desert where Jiang Nan Fang was.
The browser popped up tens of thousands of results. The first was Baidu Baike, and the second was real-time weather.
Zhan Bei Jue clicked on the second one to take a look. For the past week, there had been continuous heavy rainfall there, with precipitation expected to break a forty-year high, reaching a maximum of 7.8 millimeters per minute.
His brow furrowed. He suddenly felt agitated again.
"If you like painting, Daddy will find a professional teacher to teach you. Go change your clothes. Uncle A Zhong will take you and your brother to the art studio later."
After sending Zhan Jing Ge away, he called Vice President Gao. "Why aren't you following up on the Northwest project today?"
"But it's the weekend, Mr. Zhan. The company is off."
"Weren't you eager to show me results? Why aren't you eager anymore?"
"..."
"Go ask now."
He didn't expect Mr. Zhan to be so concerned about the electrical company's affairs lately, asking about it almost every day. Vice President Gao felt pressured by his constant inquiries.
Zhan Bei Jue stared at his phone. Within a minute, as expected, a message from Vice President Gao came into the group, asking everyone how they were doing and about their work progress.
Li Gong was still the first to respond, reporting the work progress and then saying,
"It's raining heavily here. It hasn't stopped since yesterday afternoon. We're all trapped inside and can't get out."
"Not only is it cold and damp, but Engineer Jiang is also sick. I heard it's malaria. She has a fever and diarrhea, and it's contagious. I don't know when this rain will stop."
Malaria? Zhan Bei Jue looked at the phone screen, his brows furrowing even deeper.
"A Zhong."
A Zhong answered the phone and quickly reported, "Mr. Zhan, we're almost there. What kind of painting do the young master and young lady want to learn? Comics, traditional Chinese painting, or oil painting? I've just looked up some information on famous painters..."
Zhan Bei Jue interrupted him, "We'll postpone the painting for now. Book four plane tickets to Ganshi for me."
"To Ganshi?" A Zhong was taken aback. Zhan Bei Jue's daily schedule was always handled by him, and there was no plan to go to Ganshi.
"The young master and young lady want to see the desert. Take them there for a trip."
This...
"Just you and the young master and young lady?"
"And you, aren't you coming?" Zhan Bei Jue said. "Stop wasting time, I need to get there today, arrange it quickly."
Hanging up the phone, Zhan Bei Jue went out to find his son and daughter and told them he would take them to see the desert today. Both were surprised.
"Why are you still standing there? Go change your clothes! We'll be staying there for a few days, so pack a few more outfits."
The two children were overjoyed.
Yay, they could finally go see Mommy! It seemed Daddy still had her in his heart, and a little hint was enough to move him.
They knew the relationship between Daddy and Mommy wasn't as bad as it seemed!
A Zhong arrived at the Zhan residence, and the father and his two children had already prepared their luggage.
Looking at the three ready to depart, he had to remind Zhan Bei Jue, "Our sudden trip to Ganshi, the company's schedule..."
"Postpone it. Say I've gone on vacation to relax. Any big issue can wait until I get back."
"Okay, Mr. Zhan. I just checked the weather in Ganshi. There's been heavy rainfall recently, and the temperature has dropped significantly. You and the young master and young lady should pack more warm clothes."
Zhan Bei Jue said he understood, and they immediately set off for the airport.
After a flight of more than five hours, at two in the afternoon, they finally landed at Ganshi Airport.
A Zhong was worried that the two Zhan children would be tired from the long journey and suggested booking a hotel in Ganshi to rest for the day and then heading to the desert when the weather improved.
However, Zhan Bei Jue said, "The company has a project team in Wangquan County. Since we're already here, it wouldn't be appropriate for me, as the president, not to visit them."
"Go rent a car, an off-road vehicle, and we'll head to Wangquan County now."
Thus, the four of them, big and small, rented a car and headed towards Wangquan County via the highway.
More than two hours later, at past four in the afternoon, they settled into the largest hotel in Wangquan County.
In the village, Jiang Nan Fang took the medicine given by the village chief. After a few hours, she not only did not improve but her diarrhea worsened.
From last night until now, she hadn't eaten or drunk anything, had a persistent fever, and was having diarrhea every ten minutes for a full twelve hours. At this moment, she was completely dehydrated, lying feebly on the bed.
As the sky grew darker, the village chief's wife became very worried, fearing Jiang Nan Fang wouldn't survive the night.
"Her illness is quite serious, almost like when Old Li's wife passed away. I think we can't delay any longer. She needs to be sent to the hospital quickly; if we wait any longer, she might not make it."
The village chief went to inform everyone. Upon hearing this, they were all terrified.
They had traveled so far on this business trip to make money. Instead of earning money, they might lose their lives here. Especially for such a beautiful woman, wouldn't that be too much of a pity?
But looking at the muddy road, the pouring rain, and the darkening sky, everyone was helpless.
"The car can't get out, and it's far from the county town. Even if we carry her out on foot, it would take almost a whole day. What can we do?"
The village chief offered a suggestion, "How about I escort you out using an ox cart? It'll be slow, but it's better than just watching her fade away."
"But with all this rain..."
"Cover her with plastic sheeting, lay some straw on the cart, and find two people to help me push the cart."
At this point, there was no better solution, so everyone agreed. They thanked the village chief and went to prepare the ox cart.
Just as everyone was anxiously preparing the ox cart in the rain to carry Jiang Nan Fang out, Zhan Bei Jue suddenly sent a message in the work group.
"I'm on a business trip to Ganshi. I'm in Wangquan County right now. Do you have any difficulties there? Let me know, and I'll try my best to resolve them for you."
President Zhan was actually in Wangquan County?