Hunter Xu said anxiously:
"Da Zhuang's Mother? You're only taking Heizi? Aren't we all going together?"
Qin Sang shook her head faintly:
"If it weren't for the fact that we can't carry all these Medicinal Herbs by ourselves, I wouldn't even want to trouble everyone to make this trip. Too many people attract attention. I think it's better not to draw the attention of those Government Soldiers."
"Everyone should wait here at the back mountain. If there's a need, I'll send Heizi to notify everyone."
Tian Youdi also felt this wasn't appropriate:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, you must not get into trouble. How about taking a few more people?"
Qin Sang shook her head resolutely:
"I'm not only worried about those Government Soldiers, I'm even more worried that the Plague might break out in the Town. This is much more serious than the common colds we've been dealing with in the mountains."
"If it weren't for my desire to have a clear understanding of the situation and the need to find charcoal stones for the village to keep warm, I would absolutely turn around and head back to the camp right now, not taking a single step out of the mountains."
Seeing the gravity in her expression, a look they hadn't seen in a long time, everyone knew what she said was likely true and could only nod in agreement:
"Then you two must be extra careful."
Qin Sang nodded:
"I know. You all need to be careful too. For the next few days, you absolutely must not drink unboiled water. Also, any food that has been secretly nibbled on by rats or birds must be thrown away immediately."
Hunter Xu immediately caught the key point in Qin Sang's words:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, are you saying the Plague is spread by rats and birds?"
Qin Sang nodded:
"Perhaps, and also mosquitoes. In short, from now on, everyone should try not to eat any food found in the wild. Even if you do eat it, make sure it's thoroughly cooked."
In her past life, Qin Sang had seen a child in the hospital contract the Plague from eating a piece of bread left uneaten from the previous night and not thrown away.
At first, it was similar to a cold, then came a high fever that wouldn't break and vomiting blood. They only saved his life after finally diagnosing it as the Plague. Even then, he spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit before being discharged.
"The Plague can cause Hemorrhagic Fever, which is very difficult to treat. What everyone can do is prevention. Prevention is more important than treatment."
Infected by the solemnity in Qin Sang's words, everyone's faces turned serious:
"We will follow your instructions, absolutely not drinking unboiled water or eating unclean things."
Hunter Xu placed his hand on his knife hilt:
"We'll go catch rats, kill them all."
Qin Sang nodded:
"Setting traps is fine, but be careful not to get bitten or scratched when catching them. Also, don't eat the meat of the rats you catch. Burn them all and then bury them."
After giving some more instructions, Qin Sang finally took Heizi down the mountain.
Along the way, they could see headless, rotting corpses being gnawed on by rats by the roadside from time to time. Both Qin Sang and Heizi wore masks and gloves, dressed like medical practitioners. Besides the two of them walking on the dirt road, no other living people could be seen.
The two first went to Chen Family Village, as people from two villages had previously said they wanted to return to their village. They could ask them about the situation first, avoiding dealing with the Government Soldiers.
After walking all morning, they finally reached Chen Family Village. Many villages were built near water sources and rivers, and Chen Family Village had also been flooded.
No people were seen.
Heizi, being fast on his feet, circled around Chen Family Village and returned with a grave expression:
"Auntie, there's no one. Not a single person."
Qin Sang pondered in her heart:
"The rain has stopped intermittently for several days now. After so long, if they had come out of the mountains, they couldn't possibly not be here."
Heizi guessed:
"Could they all have gone to the Town? After all, the Town has Government Soldiers stationed there, so it's safer."
Qin Sang thought this possibility was very slim: "Rather than guessing that, it's more reliable to guess they might not have come down the mountain at all."
Heizi was somewhat troubled:
"Then are we still going to the Town today?"
Qin Sang looked at the desolate and dilapidated village before her and said solemnly:
"Yes. We'll investigate the situation and then come back to look for the charcoal stones."
The two continued on their way. When they were near the Town entrance, Qin Sang told Heizi to rest as well, eat something, and replenish his energy.
She told Heizi to give her everything he was carrying except the Medicinal Herbs to hide, leaving only one wood-cutting knife.
Qin Sang applied old woman makeup on herself—wrinkles, sunken eye sockets, and a large mole. She also dirtied her clothes with mud, swapped her leather boots for straw sandals.
After putting everything away into the Warehouse, Qin Sang emerged from behind the rocks and continued on the road with Heizi.
Heizi looked at Qin Sang, who seemed like a different person, and was somewhat puzzled:
"Auntie, why did you paint yourself like this? Old and ugly."
Qin Sang laughed:
"Old and ugly is safer. Remember later, don't call me 'Auntie' anymore. Call me 'Mother'."
Heizi was taken aback for a moment, then shouted loudly without any psychological burden:
"Alright! Mother. Ah Niang."
Qin Sang nodded with satisfaction:
"Mm."
"Mother..."
"Yes."
Not far along, Heizi called out again:
"Ah Niang..."
"Yes."
After hearing Heizi call her 'Mother' once more, Qin Sang stopped, turned to look at him. The question in her eyes didn't even need to be spoken:
Are you teasing Auntie?
Heizi hurriedly scratched his head and explained:
"N-no, Auntie, don't be angry. It's just... my Mother passed away when I was little... I haven't called anyone 'Mother' in a long time. I just wanted to say it a few more times."
"And... and Auntie is good to me, just like my Mother. In my heart, I've long regarded Auntie as my own Mother..."
Heizi's voice grew softer towards the end. Qin Sang was taken aback for a moment, then understanding dawned on her.
This kid still has his eye on her Er Fu.
"Alright, don't be afraid. Auntie isn't angry. Call me whatever you want. It's good practice anyway."
With her permission, Heizi became happy again and started calling out 'Mother' from time to time, until Qin Sang ran out of patience.
The area near the Town was relatively better. Perhaps due to higher ground, although damp, there was no mud left by the floodwaters, nor were there corpses everywhere.
A squad of Government Soldiers holding long spears was patrolling right at the Town entrance. The Mounted Officer leading them spotted the two and immediately cracked his whip, riding his horse over:
"Who are you people?"
Heizi immediately stepped forward to answer:
"Official, we are villagers from Xiakou Village. My Mother knows some medicine and even saved Steward Huang's son. Here is my household register, please take a look."
"We used to gather herbs for Steward Huang. Later, when the Rebel Soldiers came, Steward Huang told us to keep the herbs stored and deliver them after he returned."
"Now that we've heard the Government Soldiers have arrived and driven the rebels away, my Mother and I wanted to come ask if Steward Huang has returned to Songbai Town."
"If he's back, we can deliver the herbs we've gathered these days to exchange for some money and grain. Otherwise, we won't be able to survive."
"We were also afraid Steward Huang might still be up north and hasn't returned, so we only brought a little bit of herbs to try our luck. Official, look, my Mother's and my baskets are full of herbs, nothing else."
This was the script Qin Sang had taught Heizi. Mentioning Steward Huang was to let these soldiers know they weren't ordinary farmers.
Mentioning medical skills proved they were useful.
Saying they only brought a little bit of herbs implied they had quite a lot more.
As long as these soldiers weren't utterly foolish, they probably wouldn't give them trouble.
The leader, sitting tall on his large horse, scrutinized the two for a long moment, then leaned down and questioned sternly:
"Other refugees are all skin and bones. How come you two are not only not thin, but your complexions look so good?"