The spring breeze in February is like a pair of scissors.

Shi Qing wrapped the torn headscarf around his face again and looked ahead. He could vaguely see the checkpoint and the soldiers checking the passers-by.

It's almost here.

Shi Qing looked at the bamboo basket in front of him.

Shi Qing was not a peddler entering the capital, and the bamboo basket did not contain fruits, vegetables, rice, or grains from his home, but a child wrapped in a quilt.

There was more than one child. There was a child in each of the two baskets, front and back, one older and one smaller.

"Daniu, we're almost there, just hold on a little longer." Shi Qing reached out to tuck the quilt in and said to the child inside.

The child didn't respond at all, as if he was asleep.

Shi Qing sighed and looked back.

"Erniu?" he shouted.

A head popped out from under the quilt, revealing a little kid with chapped cheeks and big eyes that blinked.

A smile appeared on Shi Qing's face.

"Have a seat, and let's get on with our journey," he said.

The child nodded and huddled back into the quilt.

Shi Qing was just about to pick up the shoulder pole.

"My fellow villager," a passerby suddenly came up and whispered, "Are you going to Guanghua Temple?"

The passerby stepped forward but kept his distance, his eyes scanning the two bamboo baskets in front and behind, unable to conceal his wariness.

The capital city is surrounded by children suffering from smallpox. Nowadays, few people bring their children to the vicinity of the capital city, unless those children are already suffering from smallpox.

Shi Qing didn't intend to hide it either.

"Yes," he said.

The passerby looked somewhat sympathetic.

"You'd better not go." He said in a low voice, looking ahead with some uneasiness, "You don't know yet, do you?"

Don't know? Don't know what?

"I know that Miss Jun, the miracle doctor, is treating acne at Guanghua Temple," Shi Qing said.

The passerby waved his hands.

"That's all a lie," he said in a low voice. "The pox there can't be cured at all."

Can't be cured? A lie? Shi Qing was surprised. How could it be...

"No one is telling you there now, they are afraid you will run away, so they will lock you up once you get there." The passerby lowered his voice and said, "I heard that there are piles of people dead in Guanghua Temple."

Is it really like this?

Shi Qing was somewhat incredulous.

"You are not allowed to say this. The government in other places has already begun to strictly prohibit children with smallpox from going out. You are not allowed to say this near the capital, because they are afraid that you will run around." The passerby whispered with some sympathy, "Go back quickly, you will die if you go there."

He stopped talking and walked away quickly.

Shi Qing stood there in a daze.

There's no cure? Going there is just waiting to die.

He looked at the child in the bamboo basket in front of him. He knew that the child would die wherever he went. He gritted his teeth, bent over, picked up the shoulder pole, and strode forward unsteadily. Even though it sounded so scary, Guanghua Temple was the only place with hope.

After passing all the checkpoints smoothly, Shi Qing carefully asked the soldiers if Guanghua Temple could cure smallpox. The soldiers said yes without hesitation, and then personally escorted him to Guanghua Temple.

If he had not met that passerby, Shi Qing would have been extremely grateful for this treatment, but now he was just getting more anxious in his heart.

This is actually not an escort, but an escort, just as the passerby said, because they are afraid that they will run away.

In any case, Shi Qing carried the two children to Guanghua Temple.

"Come here to register."

He was greeted by handymen wearing the same clothes. Everything seemed orderly and their expressions were relaxed and warm, not as depressing as hell on earth.

"Are both of your children?" asked a handyman.

Shi Qing shook his head.

"This is the older one, the younger one is not sick." He said with a somewhat sad expression, looking at his younger son sitting in the bamboo basket, "Their mother is gone, and there is no one else in my family. The older one is sick, and everyone is afraid. I have no place to send the younger one, so I have to carry him myself."

Otherwise, who would dare to bring a healthy child to this place where children with smallpox are concentrated? There would be no time to hide.

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard.

"Brother, brother." A child's voice called out, "Where are the bamboo poles?"

Shi Qing looked over subconsciously and saw a boy about seven or eight years old running towards him, his face flushed, perhaps from running.

This is a healthy child.

Are children still needed to do odd jobs here? Shi Qing was very surprised.

"Xiao Si," the handyman waved to the child, "I'll take the bamboo pole. You take this old man and his child in to see the doctor first."

The child called Xiao Si responded by waving to Shi Qing. Shi Qing picked up his shoulder pole and followed him with an uneasy look on his face, his eyes constantly on the child.

"How long have you been here?" he couldn't help asking.

Xiao Si was skipping along and turned around when he heard the words.

"About ten days ago." He thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember clearly."

How many days?

"Are you here to work?" Shi Qing asked again.

"Not really." Xiao Si said.

Shi Qing wanted to ask something when he saw Xiao Si quicken his pace.

"Doctor Kuang," he called, "there's another patient."

A doctor came over when he heard the sound, looked at Shi Qing and greeted him with a warm smile, then bent over to check on the child in Shi Qing's bamboo basket.

"He has been ill for quite some time," said Doctor Kuang.

Shi Qing nodded shyly.

"Please, doctor, save the child." He choked and was about to kneel down.

Doctor Kuang hurriedly supported him.

"We're doing the best we can," he said, "but you know pox is hard to cure."

As expected, there was no mention of a cure. Shi Qing felt a little disappointed, but what could he do? He nodded.

"Let me take a look at this child..." Doctor Kuang said, and then he looked at another bamboo basket and exclaimed.

"The child is not sick." Shi Qing said.

"He's not sick." Doctor Kuang said, looking at the child thoughtfully, "You brought him here too."

Shi Qing hurriedly told him about his difficulties, and then looked at Xiao Si who was still standing beside him. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't hold back.

"Doctor, are the children who are not sick all right here?" he said.

Doctor Kuang smiled and looked at Xiao Si.

"Children who are not sick are really safe here." He said, and looked at Shi Qing again, "Although we may not be able to cure sick children, we can prevent healthy children from being attacked by smallpox."

What?

Azurite is like a lightning strike.

Can healthy children be protected from acne? Is it true?

"Of course." Doctor Kuang smiled and pointed at Xiao Si, "He is the one. Not only him, we have four other children here."

As if to verify his words, children's laughter came from inside, and Shi Qing saw four children coming out carrying a large basin of clothes, apparently to dry them.

The oldest of the four children was eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest was only three or four years old, and they followed behind like little tails.

"Brother, brother, let me carry it too. Let me carry it too."

A baby voice echoed in my ears.

Shi Qing felt numb all over and he suddenly fell to his knees.

"Doctor, please save my child and let him not be infected with smallpox," he shouted.

If I never have to worry about acne in my life, that is hope, that is hope.

…

"Miss Jun."

Old Doctor Feng walked into the Buddhist temple and looked at the girl standing in front of a row of medicine boxes.

These are the smallpox vaccines collected during this period.

"How is the new child who was vaccinated?" Miss Jun turned around and asked.

Doctor Feng nodded.

"No problem. I didn't even lie down. I had a fever yesterday, so I followed Zhou Maomao around today." He said with a smile.

"Does anyone have any concerns?" Miss Jun said.

Old Doctor Feng shook his head.

"No more," he said.

"Then, let's announce the news." Miss Jun said, standing at the entrance of the Buddhist temple and looking out, "It will also let everyone know that our Guanghua Temple is not a place for killing people. This has always been a place for living people to save their lives."