"Thank you for reminding me, Miss Luo. By the way, now that I'm here, may I sit in your pharmacy for a while? I don't have any friends, so may I consider you a friend?"
No friends?
Seeing his pitiful look as he said those words, Luo Zhiwan felt even more sorry for him.
"How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-one, but my birthday is early, so my mother says I should be counted as twenty. How old is Miss Luo?"
I'm nineteen.
"That's perfect."
Xie Jiaxun looked at her with excited eyes, then blushed and scratched his head.
"What I mean is, we're about the same age, so we could be friends. I never imagined that Miss Luo, at only nineteen, would possess such superb medical skills and manage her own pharmacy. I truly admire her from the bottom of my heart..."
Hearing his praise, Luo Zhiwan chuckled inwardly. Little did he know how helpless her father felt when he put her in charge of the family pharmacy!
She looked up at the sky and said to him again:
"Young Master Xie, it's noon. You should go home for lunch. I also have things to attend to, so I won't keep you company any longer."
"Miss Luo..."
He called out to her.
"Um...can I treat you to a meal at a restaurant?"
Go to a restaurant? At this time, she dared not go; she had to make sure she didn't catch the plague.
Just as she was about to answer him, she saw his face suddenly turn red, sweat begin to bead on his forehead, and he begin to have difficulty breathing.
"What’s wrong with you?"
She asked in surprise:
Are you feeling unwell?
Xie Jiaxun shook his head, suppressing his discomfort. He didn't want to lose face in front of Luo Zhiwan. He then replied, panting heavily:
"Miss Luo, I'll head back now. I'll invite you again next time... if there's a chance."
He left those words behind and shuffled forward, one step at a time. From his back, you could tell he was struggling to walk, as if he were completely powerless.
Just then, several people ran towards them. One of them, not paying attention, knocked Xie Jiaxun to the ground. Before he could apologize, he shouted:
"Stop wandering the streets! Someone has caught the plague! Go home and hide!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Zhiwan instantly tensed up. She wanted to go forward and ask where anyone had contracted the plague, but she saw that the group of people had already run far away.
At that moment, she suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Xie Jiaxun.
"Young Master Xie..."
Just as she was about to walk over quickly, she heard someone call out.
"Girl, don't move him. He's infected with the plague. Don't touch him."
Luo Zhiwan looked up and saw a gaunt middle-aged man standing in front of her, covering his mouth with one hand and pointing at Xie Jiaxun, who had fainted on the ground, with the other.
"Girl, quickly cover your mouth and nose and hurry home. Don't get infected. Many people in the east of the city have already contracted this disease. It is said that the medicine to treat the plague is all in the Luo family's pharmacy. You should go and buy some medicine to keep on hand!"
After saying this, the middle-aged man turned and strode away. Luo Zhiwan looked at Xie Jiaxun lying on the ground, her brows furrowed tightly.
She couldn't ignore him, but she also had to make sure she didn't get infected.
Thinking of this, she tore a piece of fabric from the hem of her dress and used it to cover her mouth. She then prepared to go to the Xie family to search for him. Just then, several constables ran over, one of them shouting:
'Don't touch the young city lord.'
She shuddered in fright, and saw the officers preparing to surround her. She quickly shouted,
"He has contracted the plague, everyone stand still."
Her words made the officers stop in their tracks, and one of them asked urgently:
"Young lady, I heard that the plague has spread to the east of the city. You're saying that Shaocheng has also been infected? Is that true?"
“It’s true. His symptoms are those of someone who has contracted the plague. Now, do what I’m doing: tear off a piece of fabric from your clothes and wrap it around your mouth and nose. Then take him back. Remember, once you get back, put him in a separate room. Then send someone to the Luo family’s pharmacy to get medicine. Also, tell your city lord to immediately seal off the city and minimize the losses. I have urgent business to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”
After saying those words, she glanced at Xie Jiaxun lying on the ground, then turned and ran away.
She was really anxious. The plague had already begun to spread in the east of the city, and the people there would definitely rush to various pharmacies to buy medicine. Once they found out that the Luo family pharmacy had medicine to treat the plague, they would flock there.
In addition, since she bought up all the medicinal herbs for treating the plague in Phoenix City, the people in the herbal medicine shops who wanted to make a quick buck would definitely also go to Luo's herbal medicine shop to buy herbs.
If she guessed correctly, the Luo family's pharmacy would be packed with people after noon, and she needed to make sure Zhiruo and Jiawang were on guard before these people arrived at the pharmacy.
The more she thought about these things, the faster she walked, until finally she was running.
When she arrived at the pharmacy, thankfully there was hardly anyone there. She quickly instructed Zhiruo:
"Quick, go to the backyard and find some handkerchiefs, like this, to cover your mouth and nose. Tell Dad and Mom to close the back door, there's a plague in the streets."
Zhiruo always listened to her eldest sister the most. Judging from her sister's urgent tone, she dared not delay or ask any questions, and hurriedly ran to the backyard.
Da Ming, who was working, looked at her curiously.
"Young Miss, where is there a plague outbreak? Don't scare me."
"There's an outbreak of plague in the east of the city. It's highly contagious, so everyone should take precautions."
Upon hearing this, Da Ming loosened his grip, and the medicinal herbs fell to the ground. He then said in a panic:
"Plague? No, it's too dangerous here. I have to go home, I have to go home."
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