Chapter 307 The Tragic Conditions of Other Villages
Over three consecutive days, the situation in Dahe Village improved rapidly.
Those refugees who had been suffering from illnesses looked much better after taking their medicine three times a day.
The village patrol team sends people to Ping'an County and nearby villages every day to find out the latest situation. A group of women were discussing it together.
"I heard that the county magistrate does not give out food for free. The refugees must work in order to receive food. They need to repair river embankments and irrigation canals. Both of these jobs are very tiring."
"Hahaha, isn't this just like our Dahe Village? We only get food if we work."
"It's much better in our Dahe Village, at least we have a place to stay and blankets to keep warm. Those migrants in the city can only squeeze into dilapidated temples."
"..."
The displaced people who were working felt inexplicably at peace upon hearing this.
Humans need to compare; once they do, happiness arises.
They get up at 7 AM to work, have a bowl of porridge for lunch, can rest for a while, and then work until early 3 PM, when they have another bowl of porridge. The rest of the evening is their own time, and they can do whatever they want, as long as they don't go outside the designated area.
At night, a dozen or so people would squeeze into a thatched hut. The house would block the wind, and the blankets would keep them warm. They didn't have to worry about being beaten or bullied while sleeping. After three or four months of wandering and fleeing, living like this again would naturally make the refugees feel extremely secure...
As for those ten heinous refugees, Cheng Wanwan has already interrogated them about their crimes. The four leaders ate at least thirty children along the way... and the remaining few abused countless women along the way, their hands stained with blood. These people deserve to die.
She wasn't an official and didn't have the right to behead people. She locked up these ten people, feeding them only a bowl of watery porridge a day to keep them alive.
Cheng Wanwan was scribbling on a piece of paper, working on a lesson plan for teaching Wu Xiaochui that evening. The child learns very quickly. Once Xiaochui has mastered the skills, the warehouse will be handed over to someone else, and Xiaochui will be specifically in charge of the finances...
As she was writing, a figure walked in: "Cousin."
The person who came was He Xiao. He saw Cheng Wanwan drawing many small squares on the paper with a charcoal pencil and found it strange, so he took a second look.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't understand it.
He was, after all, the pride of the He family in the capital. He started studying at the age of three and practicing martial arts at the age of five. He was a man of considerable experience. However, after coming to Dahe Village, he couldn't understand many things about this Lady Sui.
Cheng Wanwan closed the ledger, looked up, and asked in a gentle tone, "Is there something you need?"
"I've come to ask about what happened that night," He Xiao asked earnestly. "On the night of the refugee raid, why did the dozen or so women at the front suddenly collapse and lose consciousness? I've been thinking about it for days but I still can't figure it out. I would appreciate it if my cousin could enlighten me."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
That's because they used the electrical conductivity of water to place stun guns, which is how they electrocuted a group of people.
She couldn't explain it.
"They must have been starving for too long, their bodies were weak, and they were scared, so they fainted." Cheng Wanwan's explanation made perfect sense. "After all, they were forced to come, so they might have been faking it, right?"
He Xiao frowned. Is that how it is?
He looked at Cheng Wanwan and noticed that her eyes were somewhat evasive.
Some ancient martial arts families pass down unique skills, and every martial arts gang also has its own unique techniques... My cousin's identity may be extraordinary.
My cousin has a secret, and so does he.
A wise person should not be so persistent in trying to find out secrets that others don't want to tell.
He Xiao nodded: "I understand."
"What do you understand?" Old Mrs. Zhao stepped over the threshold and came in. "I asked those women, and they said that at the time, their whole bodies felt numb, their mouths twitched, and they fell down uncontrollably... These symptoms are the same as Zhao Fugui's back then... Eldest daughter-in-law, this must be the eldest son protecting our Dahe Village from heaven, right?"
Cheng Wanwan immediately agreed: "Yes, yes, it must be Zhao Youjin. He's protecting his wife and children, and everyone in the village."
"Xiao He, do you know who Zhao Youjin is? He's my eldest son, your cousin's husband, and the father of Dashan and his three brothers," said Old Mrs. Zhao with pride. "When our eldest son was alive, he was very righteous. Whenever anyone in the village had any trouble, he would help without hesitation. He was strong and powerful, able to take on seven or eight people by himself. Because he was so strong, he joined the army, but we never expected... But even in death, our eldest son was still more powerful than many living people... Xiao He, don't be fooled by your martial arts skills. If you really went up against our Youjin, you might not have a chance of winning..."
Cheng Wanwan's lips twitched slightly.
Zhao Youjin was just an ordinary rural man, a bit burly and strong, who knew a little bit of martial arts... But through the lens of his mother, Old Mrs. Zhao, he was transformed into a martial arts master comparable to He Xiao...
"Mother, let's not talk about this for now." Cheng Wanwan interrupted the old lady's boasting about her son. "The plague is almost under control. The soap workshop will resume work tomorrow. Please go and inform them."
Grandma Zhao nodded; the important matter of making money couldn't be delayed.
The soap workshop reopened, and classes resumed at the school. Dahe Village gradually returned to its usual peace and tranquility.
But that only applies to Dahe Village.
That afternoon, the village heads from several nearby villages all came.
The village head dared not let these people into the village, so the group talked in a sheltered mountain hollow outside the village.
Cheng Lizheng of Chengjia Village sighed, "The county magistrate gave us a new prescription and some medicinal herbs, but we've already used them all up. We can find honeysuckle and forsythia in the mountains, but scutellaria... it doesn't grow here. What are we going to do?"
Sun, the village head of Guihua Village, said with a face full of grief: "Four elderly people in our village have already died of illness, and we are in serious need of medicine. Please help us, Village Head Zhao."
“Yes, another child died in our village…” Li Lizheng wiped away tears, “He was only two years old, the only son in the family, and he just died like that. His parents are almost going crazy.”
“We went to the county this morning, but there are still many sick people there, so we didn’t dare to go in.”
"Only if the plague in your Dahe Village is under control, has all the Scutellaria baicalensis in the county been bought up by your Dahe Village? Share some with us."
"Village Chief Zhao, please help us!"
The village head knew that the plague in other places was still not under control, but he did not expect it to be so serious.
If even one ingredient is missing, the medicine cannot be prepared, and more people will surely die.
On the very first day that Da Shan Niang sensed the plague, their Dahe Village bought nearly a hundred taels of silver worth of medicinal herbs. At that time, there was a surplus of the three main medicinal herbs in the city, and they bought as much as they could... However, he really didn't know exactly how much Scutellaria baicalensis was left. These herbs were all stored in Da Shan Niang's storeroom, and each time they were taken out, Da Shan Niang's approval was required. Doctor Zheng personally prepared and decocted the medicine, so he had no idea how much was left.
“We do have some Scutellaria baicalensis left in Dahe Village,” Cheng Wanwan’s clear voice came through. She was wearing a mask, but her voice was still clear. “However, you will need to pay for it; we can’t give it away for free.”
The Scutellaria baicalensis that Dahe Village bought before was not much, and it was all used up yesterday. She had to buy more from the mall to make up for it.
Fortunately, these medicinal herbs were stored in her home, and even Zheng Langzhong, the person in charge, didn't know how much was used each day or how much was left, let alone the other villagers.
The Scutellaria baicalensis in the mall isn't expensive because it's artificially cultivated and mass-produced; the price is 40 wen per jin.
In this era, Scutellaria baicalensis was only produced in the north and needed to be transported over. It was also dried manually, so the price was higher.
Cheng Wanwan said calmly, "Just pay the price in the city, two hundred and twenty coins per catty."
The villagers breathed a sigh of relief. They had thought that Dahe Village would ask for an exorbitant price and had even prepared themselves to be ripped off.
...The vision of Lady Sui far surpasses that of these people.
Cheng Lizheng: "Chengjia Village needs ten catties of Scutellaria baicalensis."
Li Lizheng: "Our village has few people, so let's start with five jin."
First, they paid the money, then the Scutellaria baicalensis was transported out, and the village head rushed back to brew the medicine to save the life...
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