However, the next morning, they received a notice from the government that all shops at the dock were not allowed to open, including food vendors.
"Sir, how long is this ban on taking possession of the property?" Zhao Guizhi slipped some silver coins to the officer, hoping to find out some information.
The official was satisfied with the one or two taels of silver he had received, and replied, "We don't know either. We'll have to wait for the magistrate's instructions, and we'll notify you then."
Well, it's like I said nothing at all, just wasting a tael of silver.
"Last year, many refugees broke in and died, but the bodies were all burned and disposed of quickly, so no one contracted the plague. It's really absurd that it could be transmitted back from the north this time."
Knowing full well that the north is in turmoil and these people are risking their lives for money, if they can be cured, that's fine, but if they can't be cured and instead infect our people, then we'll be in deep trouble because of them." Zhao Guihua tends to ramble on when she's flustered, and once she starts, she can't stop.
"I don't think the dock will open anytime soon. Why don't my sister and brother-in-law come back to the village with us and come back when it opens?" Old Zhou was mainly worried about trouble, so it was safer to go back to the village.
"What about Dafu's children? Will they stop going to school for now?" Zhao Guizhi asked.
Zhou Laoda said, "Let's ask the Master for leave first, and talk about it after this period is over."
“Father, just tell the teacher. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the summer harvest is coming soon. The private school was supposed to have a two-week break anyway,” Zhou Dafu said calmly after listening for a while.
It was still early, and the children hadn't gone to the neighbor's house to study yet. Hearing what Zhou Dafu said, Zhou the eldest felt that there was no need to delay any longer. It would be safer to go back to the village sooner, so he immediately led the children to the neighbor's house to ask for leave.
After listening to Zhou Laoda's words, Master Gu pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, originally I was going to have a holiday in half a month, but the situation is complicated right now. In order to avoid any unforeseen complications, let's start the holiday tomorrow and resume classes when things are calm."
The reason for waiting until tomorrow to have a holiday is that other students came to class today, and Master Gu did not let the students go back. He decided to give these students another day of lessons.
Old Zhou drove the oxcart and brought the children and Zhao Guizhi and her husband back to the village. As for Mo Tianzhu's family, Old Zhou decided to come back to pick them up the next day.
It's no use having them just guard the houses in town; it's better to bring them home to help clear land and plant sweet potatoes.
Back in the village, Zhou Laoda and the others had barely entered the house when the village chief arrived. The village chief came to inform them of the next time they would go into the mountains to collect herbs, saying that they would depart in the morning three days from now.
Before Zhou Laoda could say anything, Xingxing tilted her little head and asked the village chief, "Uncle Village Chief, why haven't you collected enough herbs yet? Where did you put all the herbs you collected?"
"The herbs we collect will be collected by the officials and sent to the north. The people in this area are suffering from a plague and need a lot of medicine to treat them." The village chief did not brush off Xingxing just because she was young, and answered her question very seriously.
“But many merchant ships that came back from the north have stopped in our town. Some people have contracted the plague. All the taverns in our town have closed. We’ve come back to take refuge. Where is Brother Dongsheng? Has he returned to the village?” Xingxing’s pink face scrunched up, her tone filled with worry.
The village chief's expression changed. "When did this happen? How come we didn't know?"
Old Zhou quickly chimed in, "It should have been some time, but we only found out yesterday. The government issued a document ordering us to close the shop and not do business. We'll just have to wait out this period for now."
"Dongsheng and Zhaoxiu are still in town. No, I have to go and bring them back." The village chief didn't have time to ask any more questions and turned to leave.
A while ago, the village chief bought a donkey and now has his own donkey cart, so he no longer needs to borrow an oxcart from Old Zhou to go to town.
Seeing that it was still early, Zhou said, "After lunch, I'll go to town again to pick up my second brother's family and Mo Tianzhu's family. If there's not enough room, the village chief can bring a few more people."
"You decide what to do, but my second brother and his wife haven't been back to the village for several months. Is the second house still there? And can Dafa ride in an oxcart now?" Zhao Guihua asked two questions in a row.
Zhou Laoda paused for a moment, then said, "We'll ask Second Brother when the time comes whether he wants to go back to the village. It's up to him to decide. As for what happens after he comes back, how can we care? Isn't that Second Brother's own business?"
"It's good that you know what's going on." After saying that, Zhao Guihua went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
"Dad, next time you go into the mountains, if you see any fruit, remember to pick some for Xingxing to eat. Pick big fruits, as big as your fist, but not smaller than my fist," Xingxing asked in her childish voice.
Old Zhou wondered what would happen if they didn't pick any fruit, since they hadn't seen such big fruit before. But he quickly remembered his daughter's special qualities and whispered, "Looks like we'll be able to pick quite a few fruits this time. Xingxing, tell me what those fruits look like?"
Xingxing glanced at him, grabbed his hand and made him clench his fist, "I told you, a fruit the size of Dad's fist can't be smaller than my fist, so remember to pick it and eat it."
Old Zhou looked at his fist, somewhat incredulous. He had never seen such a big fruit before, unless it was a pear. Could his daughter be talking about a wild pear?
At the neighboring Song residence, Master Song had been guarding the west courtyard for a day and a night. The steward had tried several times to persuade him to go back and rest, but he refused and insisted on staying there.
By this time, his body was starting to give way, and he stumbled and almost fell over. Fortunately, the steward caught him in time. The steward was about to call for someone to help Master Song back to his room.
The door, which had been closed for two days and two nights without any movement, suddenly opened. The still dizzy Master Song suddenly woke up, stood up straight, and quickly stepped forward to grab the person who came out of the room.
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