In the first few days after the news broke, cautious families took action and stockpiled rice and flour.

The Meng family brought over a bag of glutinous rice.

These two families have always had disagreements, otherwise they wouldn't have split up. There were several unpleasant incidents when they split up, and there have been occasional frictions, both big and small, since then.

Meng Jing looked at the bag of rice: "It's really strange that my second brother is not content to stay around his lazy wife, but actually thinks of us."

As Meng Chijian inspected the courtyard wall, he casually replied, "It was delivered this morning."

"Next time you go on a long trip, could you please not invite them? Every time they come, we end up running around like crazy!"

“That won’t do. With just the three of you at home, what if two bad guys break in? Even if you don’t do any work, you’re still a family, and people will think twice before they make a move.”

Even if bones are broken, tendons still connect them. No matter how bad the relationship is normally, you still have to help each other in times like this.

No matter how much you hate Meng San, you can't just stand by and watch his family starve to death.

Meng Jing knew she couldn't change his mind, so she could only mutter softly, "A-Mian has already learned martial arts, and besides, there aren't that many bad people in the world..."

"There's nothing I can do. If only my older brother were here, he'd always be so reliable. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so worried about you guys while I'm away," Meng Chijian said calmly.

Meng Jing was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, she said, "Yes, I miss my older brother too."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard Meng Chijian shout angrily, "Lu Amian! What are you doing with the bundle on your head? Get down from the wooden ladder!"

Amian also exclaimed, "Let me practice! This way I feel like I can run faster!"

Meng Chijian turned to grab the person, just then the courtyard gate creaked open, and it was Aunt Wang from next door: "Oh, everyone's home. Everyone's been worried these past few days, but I came to tell you all that everything's alright! Everyone's been rushing to get the talisman water, saying it's incredibly effective!"

What is this thing?

"I heard it's incredibly popular in the city right now! I thought you guys had some, but my uncle has already gone to town to buy some. I just wanted to let you know, otherwise you might miss out!"

Amian became curious and dragged Meng Chijian into the city that afternoon to see what was going on.

Lu Weiwei changed into the appearance of a Taoist nun, holding several talismans in her hand. She lit the talismans and immediately threw them into a bowl of water.

In an instant, the bowl of clear water turned red, like fresh blood!

"This talisman was given to me by a passing immortal. It can suppress all evil spirits and demons in the world, and can drive away any 'plague ghost' or 'plague god'! It's only five hundred coins a set! After you take it home, soak the talisman in water and drink it, and it will make you immune to all poisons!"

"How could this be!" A-Mian exclaimed in astonishment. "Could she really capture the 'plague demon' and turn this clear water into blood?"

However, I had never heard of Lu Weiwei having any reputation or ability to catch ghosts before.

Five hundred coins is not cheap.

Many farmers work diligently for a year, but can only save two or three taels of silver; those who work as waiters or apprentices in the city earn more, but in the end they can only save four or five taels.

Many of these people have to support their elderly parents, feed their perpetually hungry children, and always manage to provide them with clothes for all four seasons. Which family doesn't live a life of careful budgeting and extreme frugality?

At that stall, most people could only afford to buy one piece, not for themselves, but because they thought of their five or six-year-old daughter who had barely survived and hadn't died, or their silly son who was as mischievous as a mud monkey. It felt like a piece of flesh was being cut off with a knife!

The adults can still tighten their belts, hoping that their families will be safe and sound during this epidemic, which would be the greatest fortune.

In just half a day, Lu Weiwei had earned at least several dozen taels of silver!

“I’m going to buy some medicine too,” A-Mian suddenly said.

Meng Chijian kept his brows furrowed, but he couldn't explain this strange phenomenon either. "I always feel like something's not right here."

Amian came up with an idea: "Let's buy a set, tear it in half and throw one half into the river and the other half into the well, so that everyone in the world can drink it and no one will get sick! And everyone won't have to spend money to buy it individually!"

“…Okay.” Meng Chijian nodded thoughtfully. “Then I’ll go buy two sets, and you can drink one.”

He wanted to buy something for peace of mind, so he squeezed into the crowd and said to Lu Weiwei, "I'll buy two."

Lu Weiwei raised her head and asked softly, "Brother Meng, who in your family is buying this for?"

Meng Chijian's suspicions resurfaced. "Why are you asking this?"

Lu Weiwei glanced at the guy who couldn't squeeze into the crowd, and said in a still-friendly tone, "Brother Meng, I'll explain in detail later. Your family's constitution is different; they need a special talisman, which costs three taels of silver. Since we know each other, I'll give you a discount out of respect for you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Meng Chijian turned and left.

Seeing his empty hands, Ah Mian, standing outside the crowd, was also somewhat dejected: "Could she be refusing to sell to us? But... but this..."

Just as she was about to go up and talk to Lu Weiwei herself, two servants at the end of the street started banging gongs, and then a bunch of yamen runners surrounded the stall.

"You heartless bastard! How dare you spread rumors and sell fake medicine!"

A tall, burly constable stepped forward and roared, "Arrest him!"

"Why are you arresting me?! Who said I'm selling fake medicine?!" Lu Weiwei straightened her back. "Fine, you don't believe me? You'll have nowhere to cry when you get sick!"

She kept chanting incantations and lit several talismans on fire at once, once again staging the scene of "clear water turning into fresh blood".

A-Mian clung tightly to Meng Chijian's clothes, both afraid of the seemingly omnipresent "plague ghost" and curiously watching the "ghost-catching."

The crowd also said, "Officials, you can't arrest them!"

"This is a scam!" Mo Man, who had rushed over because she found the sedan chair too slow, exclaimed before she could even catch her breath, "Don't be fooled! It's just paper coated with alum. After it's burned, the alum evaporates, and the remaining cinnabar on the paper turns color when it comes into contact with water! This stuff has no medicinal effect whatsoever; it's a complete swindle!"

The group remained confused. They knew about alum and would occasionally add it to wells to clarify muddy water, but they didn't understand why burning it would change the color of the water.

Ah Mian's mind raced. "I've got it! Does anyone have some yellow paper? Let's borrow it and see if she really has the ability to turn water into blood!"

Immediately, someone in the crowd quickly handed over several sheets of paper they had brought with them to Lu Weiwei.

Lu Weiwei bit her lower lip, swaying for a moment before regaining her balance: "I already told you this was taught by an immortal, only the paper given to me by an immortal is useful! If you don't believe me, then I'll stop setting up the stall and let you fend for yourselves!"

"Is that so? You think you're the only one who knows this magic trick?"