Liang Shuyan was squatting by the stove, tending the fire, when she suddenly coughed violently and quickly covered her mouth.

Madam Liu immediately frowned and grabbed her mother-in-law's arm: "Mother, what's wrong with you? Have you also been infected by the illness?"

Liang Shuyan shook her head: "No, I'm fine."

Although Liang Shuyan denied it, she felt dizzy all over, as if she couldn't control her balance. When she stood up, she almost fell to the ground.

Madam Liu quickly helped her mother-in-law up, saying anxiously, "Mother, you absolutely cannot have anything happen to you, otherwise, otherwise, what will we do?"

"Stop yelling. There are so many people outside. Do you want the whole world to know that your mother has been infected with a disease, don't you?"

Liu hurriedly covered her mouth and helped her mother-in-law lie down on the bed.

Then, Liu handed a bowl of medicine to her mother-in-law, saying, "Mother, you can't neglect your health. Drink your medicine quickly."

Liang Shuyan couldn't just occupy the bed like that. After resting for a while, she felt hot all over and got up. She couldn't just lie there like that.

She tried to comfort herself as she struggled to get up, but as soon as she stood up, she was hit with a violent cough.

"Quickly, how could you let yourself catch this illness? Lie down and rest immediately. Don't do anything. Erniu's wife, quickly take care of your mother-in-law and don't do anything else."

Liang Shuyan still refused to believe that she was the one who had been infected with the disease, but she felt weak and sore all over and had no way to help it.

Now, Liang Shuyan is in charge of the situation. If she were to fall, Lizheng would be thrown into chaos.

Li Zheng is almost fifty years old this year, and his health is rather weak. In addition, he often does manual labor, which makes him look much more haggard.

"Young man, you can still fight off this kind of disease. You and I are already this old, so you have to be careful. Don't let the King of Hell take you to make up the numbers."

Liang Shuyan was displeased to hear this and kept refuting it in her heart: "What kind of talk is this? How can I compare to you? I'm only in my thirties, and you're over fifty. How can they be the same?"

Seeing Liang Shuyan's unhappy expression, Li Zheng said awkwardly, "Actually, you are a bit younger than me, but we are both grandparents. In the village, your mother is the oldest, and then it's us grandparents."

Liang Shuyan was unhappy whenever this was mentioned. How could someone in their thirties be counted by the King of Hell? When did the King of Hell become so bold?

Although she repeatedly denied it in her heart, she didn't say anything.

In addition, a strong medicinal aroma wafted from the pot of boiling medicine. Aunt Liu, wearing a mask, came in and instructed two women from the village to bring the medicine to the sick.

“I’m afraid that won’t work, my dear in-law. Look, Dashan’s mother and I are both from Daling Village, while these people are all from Guangtou Village. How can we lump them together? We must separate them. Otherwise, wouldn’t Dashan’s mother be infected with the illness by the people from Guangtou Village? That’s not fair to the people of Daling Village.”

He dared not refute Aunt Liu's words, especially since there was some truth to them. He exclaimed in surprise, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that? Our Daling Village should be separated from other villages. We must not let the disease spread and bring it back to the village. Wouldn't that be a waste of all the hard work we Daling villagers put into fighting the plague?"

Liang Shuyan waved her hand and said, "It's already like this. I thought of it before, but I couldn't find anyone from Guangtou Village to help, so I took care of it myself. Who knew?"

The plump auntie, with her honest and kind manner, raised her spoon and said, "Don't worry, Auntie Dashan. No matter what, we can't let you work any harder. We will deliver these medicines to all the patients. As for those with more serious conditions, they can come and pick them up themselves."

Liang Shuyan looked up and noticed that the fat aunt's mask was showing her nostrils. She immediately said sternly, "You, who did you learn this from? This mask must be worn properly. You have to gently pinch the wire in the middle of the nose to make it stick to the bridge of your nose. You, you're showing your nostrils. What if you get infected?"

Seeing Liang Shuyan's stern expression, the plump aunt quickly pulled her mask up and gave a simple smile: "I, I just felt a little short of breath, and that's why it showed when I was talking to you. Don't worry, Aunt Dashan, I'll put it on properly."

The plump auntie put on her mask, gave a good-natured smile, and went off to do other things.

Liang Shuyan was very pleased. The men, women, and children of Daling Village didn't seem united when there was nothing going on, but when something happened, you could see how united they were. This small act moved her deeply for quite some time.

The people of Daling Village all wore masks and had a red cross tied to their sleeves. They were constantly running around delivering soup and medicine.

The magistrate's voice rang out from outside the tent: "Quickly, all those who have recovered after taking the medicine, go to tent number two for a three-day observation period. After the observation period, you can go home!"

The men said excitedly, "Thank you, sir! We will never forget your kindness!"

The magistrate waved his hand and said, "Get up quickly. This is not thanks to me, the magistrate. It is all thanks to Madam. It was Madam who gave you the prescription, which made you recover so quickly!"

"Madam? Madam Tea?"

Everyone started looking for Liang Shuyan. Liang Shuyan heard the voices inside the tent and then said, "No need. This is all thanks to the magistrate. If the magistrate had prevented you from entering the city gate like others, even if I wanted to save you, I wouldn't have been able to."

Everyone turned their attention to the magistrate, who waved his hand helplessly: "Never mind, as long as you recover, that's all that matters. Now that the lady has also been infected, you should all go back to your tents to avoid further cross-infection."

After being persuaded by the county magistrate, everyone returned to their tents.

At this moment, a murmur of discussion arose from inside the tent, a murmur that seemed to concern people more than the illness itself.

"Madam, so you're saying we were saved by you this time? You even paid for the herbs for us out of your own pocket and personally delivered them to us. Now we've been infected with your illness, what are we going to do?"

"What else can we do? We can only remember your kindness. Once you recover, we'll all go and properly thank you, okay?"

A cacophony of voices erupted from inside the tent: "Good! Good!"