Amian and her family were completely unaware that after worshipping Buddha, they went to eat vegetarian food.
On the table were small wooden bowls, and the pilgrims filled their bowls with mixed grain rice according to their own portions, then lined up to wait for the young monks to serve them.
The rule here is to eat quietly and not make loud noises.
Ah Mian kept her mouth shut and looked at each dish with wide eyes: there was vegetarian chicken with sesame oil, pickled radish, shiitake mushroom gluten, stir-fried broad beans, stir-fried cabbage and wood ear mushrooms, and mixed mushroom soup. You can get the rice and soup yourself, but you must finish them and not waste any. You can only choose two dishes.
Ah Mian had three things she wanted to eat, and after some deliberation, she chose pickled radish and stir-fried cabbage with wood ear mushrooms.
For some reason, the monks in the temple made these vegetarian dishes taste so good; the vegetarian dishes I cook at home don't taste nearly as good.
Meng Chijian chose vegetarian chicken with sesame oil and stir-fried broad beans, which was exactly the opposite of what A Mian ordered. The vegetarian chicken with sesame oil was exactly what she wanted to eat as well.
Although there was no meat, it brought a sense of peace and tranquility to the heart.
Ah Mian buried her head in her food and ate; the vegetarian meal was delicious.
After eating, I strolled around the temple and heard people say that the temple often took in children from nearby farms who couldn't afford to raise them. I also chanted "Amitabha" a few times and donated another ten coins.
After returning from the temple, everyone felt refreshed and protected, whether it was psychological or not. Even Meng Chijian felt he slept more soundly.
Two months passed in this way, and then came the month of Zi (November).
Amian was tidying up the dishes in the shop when she saw her boss, who had gone on a long trip to buy things, rushing back with his assistant, Wangwang.
What happened?
Even though Song Dongjia was a man of many experiences, his face was ashen. “We were originally going to a neighboring county to buy mountain products, but when we got there, we found the city gates were closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave. We thought we might as well go directly to the prefectural city, but while we were still on the way, we saw many people running around... saying, saying that there was an epidemic in our prefectural city! I didn’t dare to come into contact with them and rushed back!”
"What did you say?!"
Even the diners gathered around.
"I don't know if it's true or not, but it shouldn't be in our county yet. They say that people who have contracted the plague will develop a high fever, vomit severely, and their neck, armpits, and waist will swell up terribly! They will die within a few days!"
"We need to close our city gates quickly too!"
"Yeah yeah!"
Distressed, Song closed the shop early and sent her employees home. She instructed A-Mian, "Your home is in the countryside, so you don't need to come after the city gates are closed. Come back when the situation improves. Don't worry, you won't be without work. But if this wave is serious, the shop might not be able to open for ten days or half a month."
A-Mian nodded; she had heard about such things since she was a child.
There have been cases of villagers developing pockmarks on their faces, and one year, chickens raised by villagers collapsed one after another. In short, major and minor epidemics occur every few years, and no one knows why.
Amian ran back to the blacksmith's shop in a flash, gesturing excitedly as she told Meng Chijian what had happened.
Upon hearing this news, Meng Chijian took it to heart. His family owned no land, and if there were a major epidemic, the price of grain in the city would surely skyrocket!
Without saying much, he said, "Go and bring Adou here. I'm going to the grain shop now. We'll make a few trips to bring grain home so we can have peace of mind."
Amian hurriedly ran home, but suddenly remembered something and took a detour to the small pharmacy where she learned "kung fu".
Mo Man was providing free medical consultations. Although she wasn't queuing, the anxious look on her face clearly indicated that something serious had happened.
"Dr. Mo, I'd like to inform you that there seems to be an epidemic in the city." A-Mian described the symptoms.
Mo Man's expression remained unchanged as she said, "I understand. Go home now. Try to stay home as much as possible these days."
"Oh dear, look how worried she is! The prefectural city is a million miles away from here!" shouted a passing peddler. "It's not that serious!"
"Yes, it really made me anxious. I haven't heard a thing about it." This was a young lady from some unknown, veiled family.
"Young lady, stop talking nonsense! Go away!"
The city was far from them, and there were no patients in the city. Others just thought Ah Mian was dull-witted, so they didn't listen to her. Instead, they rushed to deliver bad news as if she were a plague carrier.
Ah Mian wasn't too angry. She said earnestly, "I also hope that nothing happens in our city! I just hope it doesn't get back to us."
Well... how can you say for sure?
Strangely enough, although Ah Mian did not argue with them, those who had just heard the news and swore that nothing would happen began to have doubts in their hearts.
She sighed, "I hope I'm just talking nonsense. When I first heard it, my heart was pounding in my chest."
Ah Mian left, leaving behind people looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Oh dear, I just remembered I have some urgent business at home."
"That's right, even if she's talking nonsense, it won't hurt us to listen..."
"My sister married someone from the capital city, I wonder how she's doing..."
"That concludes today's free clinic. Please refrain from contact with patients or suspected patients, avoid crowds in the coming days, and try to maintain cleanliness!"
Amian ran very fast on the road, and hurriedly rode Adou back to the blacksmith shop before sunset.
Meng Chijian carefully considered every item he bought in order to avoid attracting attention and just in case.
There were three shi (360 jin, four large sacks) of rice piled up in the courtyard. They bought it at a fair price, costing one tael of silver and two hundred coins. With the grain they had stored at home, it was enough for their family of four to eat for two or three months.
A bushel of cheap bran cost only ten coins. It was very filling, but had almost no nutritional value. It could be mixed into staple food to replace some grains, and farmers often bought it to stave off hunger when food was scarce. Meng Chijian thought that if nothing serious happened, he could use it to feed the chickens and donkeys.
He didn't buy any more food, mainly because he was worried that it would be too conspicuous and cause unnecessary trouble.
We grow some vegetables and pickles in our backyard, and we also raise a few chickens that lay eggs, so we can manage to make ends meet.
The rest were miscellaneous items: a bag of mugwort, a jar of lard (150 coins), a ceramic jar of honey (a small jar cost two taels of silver), and a packet of medicinal herbs from Doctor Wen, including Bupleurum, Isatis leaf, and Patchouli.
Seeing how much he had bought, A-Mian became a little uneasy: "If my information is wrong, will you yell at me?"
"What's the big deal? It's something we need to eat and drink anyway. Besides, if we don't buy it now, and the city doesn't let us in, we'll be in trouble."
When that time comes, it's hard to say whether other people will sell to you if you take the money to buy grain.
However, it seems their worries were unnecessary.
For several days, the city remained calm and peaceful.
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