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◎The Twenty-Fourth Day of the King of Scrolls◎
Shen Xinglian pointed to the pig's hind leg: "There is blood here. Although it has been wiped clean, you can still see it if you look closely."
Upon closer inspection, everyone indeed found faint bloodstains on the inside of the pig's leg.
"So what do we do now?" Jiang Weiguo asked.
"Continue with the original plan." Shen Xinglian's voice was steady. "First, drag the dead pig away and bury it, bury it deep, and sprinkle lime on it to prevent the spread of germs. Clean the pigsty again."
"Uncle, have you found the cause of the sick pig? Who noticed the pig was passing blood but didn't say anything?"
Aunt Li exclaimed in surprise, "Could this be deliberate sabotage?"
Shen Xinglian said solemnly, "Uncle, I think we should tell the commune about this."
"I think so too!" The first villager to speak responded, "How could someone from our own village do such a thing? I also believe in Renzhou's wife! I believe in the People's Liberation Army!"
"Yes! We'll listen to Comrade Shen!"
Once the first person responded, others followed suit.
Jiang Weiguo gritted his teeth: "Do as Comrade Shen said. Tell the Party Secretary to wait for me at the village entrance with my bicycle! Old Li, take a few people to buy a pig and bury it! Gou Dan, bring over the ashes and hot water!"
The commune members immediately sprang into action, ignoring Jiang's mother who was still muttering to herself.
Jiang Wanzhou, carrying the child, watched Shen Xinglian giving instructions and breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are you standing there for?" Shen Xinglian turned around and saw her standing still, so she handed her the shovel and held the child herself.
"Coming!" Jiang Wanzhou took the shovel and was about to rush in when Shen Xinglian stopped her: "Wait a minute, wrap your headscarf around your head."
She pulled a headscarf from her pocket: "Put it on and cover your mouth and nose."
"Xingxing, you should go back first. I'll watch over things here." Jiang Wanzhou looked at her, somewhat worried.
"It's alright, this little bit of work won't tire me out." Shen Xinglian teased Shen Mingyuan, "Look, the dirt at the base of this wall is the easiest place for viruses to hide, so we have to clean it up."
Jiang Wanzhou was a little worried: "Xingxing, the proof is in my room. Why don't you go to town?"
"Wang, Renzhou's wife, Zhou Zhiqing is here!" came a shout from outside.
Jiang Wanzhou looked up and saw Zhou Qingyu standing at the entrance of the pigsty, carrying two cloth bags in her hands.
He wasn't wearing a white shirt today; instead, he wore a gray cloth jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms.
Zhou Qingyu walked straight up to Shen Xinglian and handed her a cloth bag: "This is disinfectant powder I borrowed from the county health center. It works better than wood ash. Use it according to the instructions."
Shen Xinglian paused for a moment, then said, "Thank you, Zhou Zhiqing."
"And this too." Zhou Qingyu handed over another cloth bag. "Inside are masks and gloves. Wear them while you're working, and be careful."
Jiang Wanzhou looked at the bag of masks and gloves and felt a little uneasy.
This person didn't even glance at her once after coming in.
"You're so kind, Zhou Zhiqing." Shen Xinglian took the cloth bag and thanked him sincerely.
Zhou Qingyu nodded, her gaze sweeping over the busy people in the pigsty before finally settling on Jiang Wanzhou. She frowned slightly and said, "I'll do it."
Zhou Qingyu didn't argue with her and turned to Jiang Weiguo, saying, "I went to town this morning to pick up a package and told Dr. Li about the situation here. He said he would come over to take a look this afternoon when he has time."
"Really?" Jiang Weiguo was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! With Dr. Li here, I feel much more at ease!"
Zhou Qingyu didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Jiang Wanzhou watched his retreating figure and pursed her lips.
Shen Xinglian glared at her, "Mind your image."
Jiang Wanzhou stuck out her tongue and dared not cause any more trouble.
After they finished their work, they headed home. They hadn't gone far from the pigsty when they saw Jiang's mother and Jiang Husheng squatting on a roadside stone, muttering something to each other.
Upon seeing them approach, Jiang Husheng quickly lowered his head.
Jiang's mother said sarcastically, "Oh, isn't this our team's great hero? The pig's dead, and you still have the nerve to come home for dinner?"
Jiang Wanzhou was about to retort when Shen Xinglian stopped her, saying, "Ignore her."
"I'm going to argue with you!" Jiang Wanzhou shook off her hand and walked up to her mother. "Mom, if you're so bored, why don't you go help out with some work for the team? It's better than gossiping here. Oh, I forgot, besides bullying my sister-in-law and my brother, you can't do anything worthwhile."
"You brat!" Jiang's mother jumped up in anger. "I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Try touching her!" Shen Xinglian stepped forward, blocking Jiang Wanzhou's path.
Her eyes were as cold as ice. "Mother, if you dare to lay a hand on A-Zhou again, I will report you to the commune for abusing military families. Zhou Zhiqing saw it with his own eyes."
Jiang's mother's hand froze in mid-air. She was fearless, except for the people from the commune.
Zhou Qingyu was an educated youth from Beijing. If he were to speak up for someone in the commune, he would definitely be in trouble.
Jiang Wanzhou looked behind her and, sure enough, saw Zhou Qingyu.
Xingxing is hiding something from her.
"Fine, very well!" Jiang's mother pointed at them, trembling with anger. "You two sisters-in-law ganged up on me! I... I'm going to go and ask my eldest son for justice!"
He turned and left without looking back, and Jiang Husheng quickly followed.
"Xingxing, you were so cool just now!" Jiang Wanzhou exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
Shen Xinglian rubbed her temples, looking somewhat tired: "If we don't teach her to behave herself, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause in the future."
She paused for a moment, then said, "I guess it's for your brother's demobilization allowance."
"These two little ones should be able to keep our cheap older brother occupied, right?" Jiang Wanzhou said with a grin.
Shen Xinglian looked at her and suddenly smiled: "Mm."
The two returned home and had just sat down to take a sip of water when they heard someone outside calling, "Is Comrade Shen home? Dr. Li is here!"
Shen Xinglian and Jiang Wanzhou quickly went out and saw Jiang Weiguo standing at the door with a middle-aged man in a white coat, and Zhou Qingyu was also beside him.
"Dr. Li, thank you for making this trip." Shen Xinglian greeted him.
"Comrade Shen, you're too kind." Dr. Li smiled. "Zhou, the educated youth, told me about the situation here, so I came to take a look."
The group then headed towards the pigsty.
Dr. Li carefully examined the sick pigs and the environment of the pigpen, and asked Shen Xinglian about the disinfection method. He nodded repeatedly: "Comrade Shen, your method is very scientific! Wood ash does have a bactericidal effect, and the separation of pens is also correct. Other brigades can learn from this."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Weiguo's anxiety completely subsided: "Really? There's hope for that pig?"
"As long as we persist with disinfection and pay attention to isolation, we can definitely control it," Dr. Li said. "I'll keep two more bottles of medicine and give the pigs an injection once a day so they can recover faster."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Li!" Jiang Weiguo said, tears streaming down his face.
Dr. Li gave a few more instructions and then followed Jiang Weiguo to the brigade's general office to get a prescription. Zhou Qingyu also went with them.
"Science students are learning how to make medicine?" Jiang Wanzhou nudged Shen Xinglian's arm.
A tired but gratified smile appeared on Shen Xinglian's face: "Yes, I'm best at making makeup remover."
As the sun sets, its golden rays fall upon the wooden fence of the pigsty.
Looking at Shen Xinglian's profile, Jiang Wanzhou suddenly realized that she had been saying "roll" all along.
I get up at four in the morning to steam buns, but I can't get up every few days.
She earns some work points by raising pigs, but she gets Xingxing to help her.
Even when choosing a revolutionary target, they would use a star to hint at it.
Although the family is wealthy, the money belongs to Xingxing and her husband.
I'm actually only twenty-five years old now.
Jiang Wanzhou had no choice but to decide that she should continue selling steamed buns in the morning.
With Jiang Renzhou away, Shen Xinglian has to attend classes during the day, and Jiang Wanzhou has to take care of the child during the day.
Just two days of peace and quiet followed when Jiang Wanzhou was cornered on the road by Jiang Weiguo.
That day, she had just changed the pig feed and was walking back when she saw Jiang Weiguo squatting under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Several uncles carrying hoes stood around, all sighing and complaining.
“Zhou’s here, just what I was looking for!” Jiang Weiguo saw her, quickly put out his cigarette and stood up. “Where’s your sister-in-law? Call her over later, we have something to discuss.”
Jiang Wanzhou's heart pounded: "My sister-in-law won't be finished with her get out of class for a while. What's wrong, Uncle? Did something happen to the pig again?"
"The pigs are fine, they're doing great!" Jiang Weiguo slapped his thigh twice, but his tone was full of worry. "It's just that this method of epidemic prevention is difficult to promote! The commune said that we should come up with a solution and asked our brigade to send people to other brigades to spread the word."
He pointed into the crowd and said, "Look at you bunch of useless uncles and elders. I told them to learn your sister-in-law's wood ash disinfection method, and they all shook their heads and said they couldn't remember it!"
Jiang Wanzhou then realized that Shen Xinglian's method of "mixing xx and xx in proportion" and "feeding in separate pens three times a day" was indeed too academic for these old commune members who toiled in the fields.
Forget about keeping track of proportions, even the word "bacteria" is a tongue twister to pronounce.
"Uncle, I have an idea. You don't need to call me sister-in-law." Jiang Wanzhou already had an idea in mind.
A dozen pairs of eyes were all staring at her.
She cleared her throat and called out to the onlookers, "Uncles and aunts, my sister-in-law's epidemic prevention method boils down to three things—"
She held up three fingers and said in a clear voice: "First, wipe the pigpen with disinfectant; second, feed sick and healthy pigs separately, this is called not cramming them together; third, boil the water before feeding the pigs, this is called drinking clean water."
The members looked at each other, and some scratched their heads: "The principle is right, but I still can't remember how to do it in practice."
"Easy!"
"I'll make up a little rhyme, and you can recite it along with me. I guarantee you'll never forget it!"
Jiang Wanzhou loved reciting rhymes when she was a child, especially when playing hopscotch.
"Wood ash, soaked in water and used for wiping, will clean the pigsty and kill bacteria;"
Piglets are fed separately and not mixed together, so they grow up to be plump and chubby.
Drink hot water, clean water, it'll keep you healthy and make you laugh.
"Come on, repeat after me!" Jiang Wanzhou pointed to the tree trunk and led the way by reciting it once.
Her voice was crisp and clear, with an indescribable strength.
Even Old Li, who is usually the most taciturn, opened his mouth.
"Wood ash, soak in water and wipe..." The commune members looked at each other and read it out haltingly. When they read "chubby" and "laughing", someone couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hey, this phrase flows so smoothly!" an auntie clapped her hands. "Much easier to remember!"
"Absolutely! It's just like singing a folk song!"
Jiang Weiguo chuckled, squatting down and slapping his thigh: "Zhou girl, how come I didn't realize how useful your brain is sooner! All that education was worth it!"
Shen Xinglian watched as Jiang Wanzhou was surrounded by a group of people seeking her advice.
The sunlight fell on her face, and her vibrant energy reminded me of her debating with a group of scholars in a university debate in my past life.
She quietly retreated to the back and saw Zhou Qingyu staring intently at Jiang Wanzhou, and the corners of her mouth slightly turned up.
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