"Borrow something?" Lin Wanqiu raised an eyebrow. "Do you need to climb through a window to borrow something? And with a cloth bag no less? Besides, what do you want to borrow? Why can't you say during the day? Why do you have to come in the middle of the night?" She squatted down, her gaze falling on Old Mrs. Shen's bleeding ankle, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Old Mrs. Shen, I'm not trying to criticize you, but in the middle of the night, instead of staying in your own bed, you're running around stealing from someone else's house. Getting caught in a mousetrap is your own fault. If I hadn't woken up tonight, were you planning to steal all my eggs?"
Old Mrs. Shen's face turned pale and then red when her secret was exposed, but she still stubbornly insisted, "You're talking nonsense! I didn't steal your eggs!"
"You didn't steal it?" Lin Wanqiu stood up, walked under the bed, took out the earthenware jar where the eggs were hidden, opened the lid, and waved it at Old Lady Shen. "Then tell me, what were you trying to do by sneaking into my kitchen in the middle of the night? You couldn't have just been there to see if my stove looked nice, could you?"
Grandma Shen stared wide-eyed at the eggs in the earthenware jar, but the sharp pain in her ankle left her too weak to fight for them. Seeing the situation was dire, Zhang Lan tugged at Grandma Shen's sleeve: "Mother, let's go quickly! If we're discovered, we're finished!" Grandma Shen finally snapped out of her daze, realizing she wouldn't get away with it tonight. Gritting her teeth, she limped out the window with Zhang Lan's help, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Lin Wanqiu before leaving: "Lin Wanqiu, you just wait! This isn't over!"
Lin Wanqiu watched the two disheveled figures disappear, sneered, and casually closed the window. She went to the kitchen, looked at the bloodstains on the floor, and frowned slightly—Old Mrs. Shen would definitely not let this go; she would have to be more careful in the future. She tidied up the mousetrap on the floor, checked the eggs in the ceramic jar again, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that none were missing.
The next morning, news of Old Lady Shen being caught in a mousetrap spread throughout the village. Some said she had been stealing something in the middle of the night when she got caught, while others said Lin Wanqiu was too cruel and shouldn't have used a mousetrap on an elderly person. Lin Wanqiu heard these comments but didn't care at all—if she hadn't set the trap, Old Lady Shen would have only become more demanding and might have caused even more trouble in the future.
After breakfast, Lin Wanqiu took Shen Nian'an to school. Just as they reached the village entrance, she saw several villagers gathered together, talking animatedly, their faces filled with anxiety. She walked over and asked curiously, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Upon seeing Lin Wanqiu, a villager exclaimed, "Wanqiu, something terrible has happened! The chickens at Old Wang's house in the east and Li's house in the west have all contracted a strange disease. They're not eating or drinking, and they're dropping white droppings. Several have already died!"
Lin Wanqiu's heart tightened—the chickens weren't eating or drinking, and they were dropping white droppings—these were clearly symptoms of fowl plague! Medical conditions were poor in the 1960s; if fowl plague broke out, all the chickens in the village would likely suffer, including her own. She remembered a "Basic Livestock Disease Prevention Technique" on her spatial storage, complete with a matching powder, which she could use to prevent fowl plague.
"Don't panic, everyone!" Lin Wanqiu said quickly. "I read in a book before that this disease is fowl plague. As long as you use medicine in time, it can be cured! I have some fowl plague prevention powder at home. Come with me to get it and feed it to the chickens. Maybe we can save the rest of them!"
The villagers' eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. Old Wang's wife grabbed Lin Wanqiu's hand and said excitedly, "Wanqiu, really? If you can cure the chickens, our whole family will thank you!" Lin Wanqiu nodded, "I'll go back and get the medicine powder now. You wait here, I'll be right back!"
She turned and ran home, calculating in her mind—this chicken plague was both a crisis and an opportunity. By curing the villagers' chickens with the magic powder from her spatial dimension, she could not only save her own chickens but also gain the villagers' trust in her more. This would give her more support if she wanted to start a breeding business or open a workshop in the future. However, she needed to come up with a reasonable excuse to explain the origin of the powder and not reveal the secret of her spatial dimension.
Back home, Lin Wanqiu opened her spatial storage and redeemed several packets of "Basic Livestock and Poultry Disease Prevention Powder" from her skill panel. The powder was pale yellow and emitted a faint herbal scent. She put the powder into an old cloth bag and made up an excuse, saying that she had bought it at the commune's supply and marketing cooperative before, intending to keep it for her own chickens, but now she was offering it to everyone in an emergency.
Returning to the village entrance with the medicine powder, Lin Wanqiu found the villagers already anxiously waiting. She distributed the powder to everyone and carefully explained its usage: "This powder should be mixed into the chicken feed and fed once a day for three consecutive days. The chickens should recover. If any chickens are already dying, mix the powder with water and pour it into their mouths; it might save them."
The villagers, carrying the medicine powder, left, profusely thanking her. Lin Wanqiu watched their retreating figures, a sigh of relief washing over her—as long as the chicken plague was under control, her chickens would be safe, and her reputation in the village would rise even higher. Little did she know, this chicken plague not only earned her the villagers' trust but also alerted someone lurking in the shadows to her unusual behavior…
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