Ding Youtian returned from sleeping at Blind Liu's house. Seeing the main door unlocked, he immediately took the quilt back to the couch. As expected, a home is better than your own. After just one night, returning to his own bedroom, even with just a bed, he felt incredibly at ease.
Jian Ning thought he would sleep with Dabao for the night, but when she saw him coming in with the quilt in his arms, she knew he had gone to Blind Liu's place.
"Didn't you invite Uncle Liu to go to Zhuling County to celebrate the New Year together?"
"I asked, but he refused to go."
He didn't sound angry. Jian Ning turned to look at him. He immediately straightened his attitude and said with a smile, "Master said that many people would come to listen to the story during the New Year, so he will move to the town from now on."
Jane Ning rolled her eyes at him.
On the morning of the 28th, she got up, finished her exercises, and prepared breakfast and lunch. She put the lunch in a lunch box and placed it in the Baicao Room. She also put in the local specialties she had bought two days earlier for Uncle Qin and Aunt Feng, leaving only the wind-smoked wild boar, pheasant, and rabbit outside.
After breakfast, Uncle Ding San came and drove them to the dock.
Jian Ning hadn't expected the shipbuilding technology of this time and space to be so advanced. They were on a passenger and cargo ship, as tall as a building, with high bows and sterns, flanked by protective panels, and three decks: the bottom for cargo, and the top two for passengers. There was also a kitchen and toilet on board, and the rowers alone numbered over twenty.
When the sails were raised, they looked like huge butterfly wings. Da Niu and the other three were very excited from the moment they boarded the boat, but Da Bao was calm and composed, looking like a mature young man.
After the anchor was raised, the boatmen started shouting "Hey, hey, hey, yo!", which made the three little girls even more excited. Even Qiaofeng became curious. The little girls wanted to run to the bow to take a look, but someone on the boat was already shouting, "Don't stay on the deck."
"Okay, just take a look. Come in, it's windy outside." Jane Ning called them all into the room.
They had booked a superior room with a bed, a table, chairs, and benches, but the mattress felt damp and didn't look very clean. As soon as Jian Ning got on board, she went into the room to disinfect it and opened the window to let in some air.
"Mom, when will we arrive?" Dabao asked.
"If everything goes well, we'll arrive at 3 p.m." Ding Youtian asked the captain of the boat. If they drove there by carriage, it would take about five or six days, but by boat, it would only take one day.
Less than half an hour after setting off, the three girls became noticeably less talkative, and Dabao was feeling unwell, so Jian Ning asked them to lie down on the bed and get some sleep. Turning to look at Ding Youtian, he was completely pale.
Except for Jian Ning, Ding Youtian and the others were all experiencing a boat trip for the first time. Jian Ning had already given them seasickness medicine before they came, but Ding Youtian refused it. The reason was that Jian Ning had not taken it and was not prone to seasickness. He was trying to be tough, but Jian Ning didn't care. After all, he would be the one to suffer from seasickness.
"Are you still insisting on not taking the medicine?" Seeing that his face was getting paler and paler, and he was obviously extremely uncomfortable, Jane Ning couldn't help but ask.
He shook his head.
"Okay, if you want to eat later, I won't give it to you."
After a while, Ding Youtian opened the door and went outside to get some fresh air. When he felt better, he returned to the room.
At noon, Jian Ning brought out the lunch he had prepared that morning. Qiao Feng saw the table was full and asked in surprise, "Master, you only brought one lunch box, how did you manage to fit so much food in it?"
"Your master can perform magic tricks." Ding Youtian finished speaking, covered his mouth and rushed out. After a while, he came back and Jian Ning handed him a glass of water, "Drink some water to calm down."
Jian Ning dissolved the seasickness medicine in the spiritual spring water. He took it and drank it all in one gulp. Afterwards, feeling much better, he ate some food. After finishing, he rubbed his chest and said, "I should have eaten earlier. I feel much better after eating. I finally made it through."
Qiaofeng smiled without saying anything. She saw her master dissolve the medicine in the cup of water.
In the afternoon, Dabao and the others may have adapted to the situation and became energetic again. The family talked and laughed, and time passed by unknowingly.
However, what Jian Ning and his companions did not expect was that after the ship entered the harbor, they were told that a large-scale outbreak of Gu disease, also known as big belly disease, had occurred in Zhuling County since the day before.
Ding Youtian's face paled when he heard this. He had heard from the elders in the village that Gu disease was extremely difficult to treat. It was because of the spread of Gu disease, coupled with famine, that the people had left their homeland and fled all the way to Dingjia Village.
He pulled Jane Ning to the stern and asked her quietly, "Do you have any way to cure the poison?"
"It can be cured, but the problem is that the government is not allowing ships to dock."
As soon as Jian Ning finished speaking, a voice suddenly rang out from the front, shouting, "Is Madam Jian from Dingjia Village on the boat?"
"mother!"
"Master"
Dabao and Qiaofeng came one after another.
"Mom, Uncle Qin has sent someone in a small boat to pick us up." Dabao said.
Ding Youtian had previously written back to Qin Yifan, informing him that he would take his family to Zhuling County on the 28th, so he had sent someone to wait here early.
Jian Ning returned to his room and retrieved seven sets of protective clothing, shoe covers, and masks. After everyone was fully armed, they boarded the boat amidst the astonishment of the crowd. Qiao Feng's admiration for Jian Ning was truly like a torrent of water, flowing endlessly.
Dabao and Da Niu are no longer surprised.
After landing, before even entering the city, Jian Ning saw several patients with sallow complexions, thin bodies, and large bellies. The Gu disease was actually schistosomiasis. This disease had been prevalent in her previous time and space for over two thousand years and was only completely eradicated after liberation.
"Don't touch anything, especially water," Jian Ning warned them. He then told Qiao Feng, "This disease is also called schistosomiasis. Parasite eggs enter the water source through feces and are then ingested by another intermediate host, a snail, where they become the parasite's larvae. If local people eat these snails, the disease will spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred."
When Qiaofeng heard this, her stomach immediately started churning. She used to collect snails from everywhere and had eaten quite a few of them. She didn't want to become a pregnant woman, and she turned pale with fear.
Jian Ning looked at her and said, "As long as it's cooked, there won't be any problem if there are no schistosomiasis eggs. Otherwise, you would have had an attack long ago, and how could you be safe and sound?"
"I won't eat it even if I'm beaten to death."
"It's better not to eat it. It's prone to attracting parasites."
The situation inside the city was even worse; it was no exaggeration to call it hell on earth. When Jian Ning and her group entered the city with the escorts, what they saw reminded her of something she had read in a medical book, describing the tragic scene of an entire village infected with schistosomiasis: "Thousands of villages are deserted, with people left eating feces, and thousands of houses are deserted with ghosts singing."
This disease is not only extremely contagious, but also extremely harmful. Once infected, in addition to swelling of the liver and abdomen, the patient will also suffer general weakness and has a very high mortality rate.
There were few people on the street, and the few who were seen occasionally were staggering and bloated. The shops on both sides of the street were mostly open, but again, there were few people inside, though faint wailing could be heard.
In the past, if a few yamen runners had led a group of people in strange attire past, the public would have gathered to see the strange sight. But now, even if someone saw them, they wouldn't have the energy to even glance at them.
"Mrs. Jane, is that you?"
A sedan chair came on the empty street ahead. The maid following the sedan chair lifted the curtain. Mei Niang, wearing a veil, stuck her head out and looked at Jian Ning.
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