"My name is Xiaosui!" The girl proudly puffed out her thin chest, "I am the ear of rice seedlings. My mother said that when spring comes and the ears of rice grow in the fields, we will have enough food to eat!"

Xie Yun's throat choked, and when his fingertips touched the candy that Zheng Wanqing had stuffed into his pocket, he seemed to hear Zheng Wanqing's gentle instructions before he died. He took out a few candies wrapped in colorful cellophane and spread them out in his palm: "Xiaosui, do you want to try some?"

Xiaosui's eyes suddenly lit up, and she stretched out her chilblained hands in surprise. The festering wounds were covered with dark purple scabs, and some were still oozing blood. These weather-beaten hands formed a sharp contrast with the brightly colored packaging of the candy.

She put the candy on her nose and sniffed it, then carefully peeled off the candy wrapper. When the sweetness bloomed on her tongue, she squinted her eyes in happiness. Xiaosui stood on tiptoe and left a honey-smelling kiss on Xie Yun's face: "Thank you, uncle!"

Xie Yun was stunned for a moment, and the warm and sticky feeling of the sugar stains on his cheeks made his heart tremble. He smiled and reached out to gently stroke the girl's dry hair. The refugees around him laughed kindly, but soon fell silent.

Several volunteers came hurriedly carrying a stretcher. The man on the stretcher had a purple face, half a moldy bean cake in his hand, and blood seeped from between his fingernails.

"Report to the young commander..." A soldier stepped forward quickly, his voice was very low, but he couldn't hide his trembling, "Starved to death."

Xie Yun's eyes darkened as he saw the dead body's sunken eye sockets and bony ribs, with its purple lips still slightly open, as if it was still craving for a bite of food before dying.

"Young Marshal." A clear voice came from behind.

Xie Yun turned around and saw Zheng Yuheng standing there wearing a mask and carrying a medical kit. He was wearing a white coat with a cotton robe on the outside, a red cross armband on his arm, and bloodshot eyes, revealing the fatigue and hard work of the past few days. His hair was a little messy, and the broken hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat and stuck to his face.

"Brother." Xie Yun stepped forward quickly.

"I didn't expect that the young marshal would personally deliver the food."

Xie Yun looked at Zheng Yuheng's thin face and asked: "How is the situation?"

Zheng Yuheng smiled bitterly, took out gauze from the medicine box and handed it to the nurse next to him: "We admitted a child yesterday, his stomach was full of Guanyin soil..." He suddenly stopped and said apologetically: "Sorry, I shouldn't say this." Then he handed Xie Yun a mask: "More and more people are getting sick, young commander, be careful."

Just as Xie Yun was about to thank him, Xiaosui suddenly grabbed his sleeve. The little girl stood on tiptoe, her face pale: "Uncle, look! That uncle is vomiting blood!"

Following her trembling finger, I saw an old man with white hair and beard curled up in the corner of the porridge stall. He hunched his back and coughed violently, and every heart-wrenching cough was accompanied by a large ball of dark red blood foam.

Zheng Yuheng rushed forward. He deftly opened the old man's blue-gray eyelids with his left hand, and pressed the index and middle fingers of his right hand precisely on the lymph nodes on the side of his neck. As soon as the stethoscope was placed on the old man's chest, a dull wet rales came out.

"It's the late stage of tuberculosis, and cavitary lesions have already appeared." Zheng Yuheng took off his stethoscope and said, "We must isolate them immediately, otherwise the whole camp will be infected."

Xie Yun's brows were knitted into a knot, and he immediately gestured to Captain Li: "Send a squad over to urgently build an isolation tent in the open space on the east side." When he turned to Zheng Yuheng, his voice softened unconsciously: "What else do you need?"

Zheng Yuheng wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and forced a smile: "Then I won't be polite." He took out a half-broken pencil from his pocket and scribbled a few words on the prescription pad: "These are urgently needed drugs..." He stopped talking and suddenly leaned close to Xie Yun's ear: "There are more serious things."

Xie Yun understood, pretending to check the grain bag, and took Zheng Yuheng to a secluded place. The cold wind blew the hems of their clothes, casting swaying shadows on the snow.

"At least ten children have gone missing in the southern suburbs." Zheng Yuheng lowered his voice very low, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. He looked around vigilantly, and after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he continued: "The families of each missing child mentioned..." At this point, his voice suddenly choked.

Xie Yun leaned forward unconsciously: "What did you mention?"

"A doctor in a white coat said he would take them to get vaccinations."

Xie Yun's pupils suddenly contracted, and the hand holding the gun tightened unconsciously.

In the distance, the laughter of a little girl was like a silver bell, which sounded particularly harsh at this moment. He turned his head sharply and saw the little girl was distributing candy to other children.

"When does it start?" Xie Yun's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Just last week." Zheng Yuheng took out a crumpled list from the medicine box. "These are the names and ages of the missing children. The youngest is only four years old..."

The ink on the paper had been smudged a little by the rain, but the handwriting was still clearly legible. Xie Yun folded the list and stuffed it into a secret pocket on the lining of his military uniform.

"I will send my trusted confidant to investigate. Brother..." Xie Yun paused, his voice lowered a little, "The epidemic area... let other doctors take care of it. If anything happens to you, Wanqing..."

Zheng Yuheng chuckled upon hearing this, his eyes were tired but still bright: "Don't worry, I'm in good health. But you have a difficult task ahead, Marshal." He patted Xie Yun's shoulder with brisk and powerful movements, "Let's go, the patients are still waiting for their medicine." As he said that, he turned and walked towards the medical tent.