Zisu took some cornbread to exchange for the medicine. There was still more than half a jar left. She poured the medicine into their own jar and then returned the other person's jar.
These children are most susceptible to catching colds; some of them cough at night. It's always good to give them medicine as a precaution.
Zisu instructed each person with a cough to drink a bowl first, and then everyone could share the rest.
Some elderly people in the village carried large jars with baskets over them, and used bamboo tongs to scoop large pieces of charcoal from the fire.
A child asked curiously, "Grandma, why are you putting these charcoal pieces in here?"
The old man said earnestly, "The weather will get colder and colder, so we need to store up some charcoal as soon as possible."
Not long after the group set off, they learned that the group from Peach Blossom Village was following behind them again, which made everyone furious.
"These bastards are like little shadows, I can't shake them off no matter what I do!"
This time, everyone really wronged the people of Peach Blossom Village. They didn't want to travel at night, but all the villages in their alliance had set off. Their village only had so many people, and without the advantage of numbers, they couldn't reach Youzhou Prefecture, so they had no choice but to follow.
The village chief frowned and said, "Be more vigilant, everyone. Be careful not to let any unfamiliar faces in."
The Chen family was also worried that someone might do something malicious in the dark, so they arranged for a dog to follow the children in each carriage.
Suddenly, a hurried voice came from over, "Village chief, village chief, my family has been humiliated! Please help me find them!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Chuan and Chen Nong immediately went over to them.
“Tell me where you lost the person first,” said the village chief of Dashan Village.
The old woman said anxiously, "My two granddaughters went to relieve themselves in the grove behind the house, and my eldest daughter-in-law went with them. It's been a while and they still haven't come back. I felt something was wrong, so I took my son and went to look for them, but they were gone."
The village chief of Dashan Village said, "Don't worry, I'll send someone to look for him. Your son should come along, and the rest of you can continue on your way."
Finally, the village chief of Dashan Village sent out ten men to search. Chen Nong and Bai Chuan, seeing that something was amiss, couldn't help but follow them.
The leader looked at the two kids with a headache and said, "Nonsense! What are you doing here? Go back now!"
Daji said, "We're here to help. We can help you find people."
The leader's lips twitched. "We don't need your help. Your return to the team is the greatest help you can give us."
Chen Nong and Bai Chuan wouldn't listen and continued to shamelessly follow them.
When persuasion failed, the leader had no choice but to let them follow, telling them not to run around or leave their sight.
By the time we arrived at the scene, the sun had already risen.
They searched the surrounding area and found a drag mark that stretched into the woods.
The missing person's husband frowned and said, "When my mother and I came here, there was no trace of this. I remember it very clearly; there wasn't one."
Chen Nong said, "Such obvious marks, be careful, it might be a trap."
The adults looked at Chen Nong. Although they agreed with him, they couldn't give up on this clue. They couldn't find any traces around, so this was their only lead.
"Let's follow them and see," the leader said.
They followed the tracks until they reached the woods, where the tracks disappeared.
"ah--"
Suddenly, a person fell into the trap.
The two men were standing close by and were about to run over to check on the pit when they accidentally stepped on something and were hoisted up by ropes.
The leader shouted, "Watch out! There's a trap. The rest of you, don't move!"
The person who fell into the pit was still screaming in agony, and the situation seemed dire.
The leader took a stick and carefully probed the ground. Seeing that there was no danger, he ran to the edge of the pit and shouted down, "Da Niu, are you alright?"
Da Niu hissed, "There are bamboo splinters at the bottom of the pit. My thigh got pricked, it really hurts."
The leader turned to the others and said, "Come here, all of you, and be careful."
Fortunately, they brought ropes. After everyone arrived, they lowered the ropes and pulled the big cow up.
One of Da Niu's legs was bleeding profusely, and he appeared unable to walk.
The leader took a strip of cloth from one of the people's bundles and used it to bandage Da Niu's wound.
"Leave one person to watch over Da Niu, and you two kids stay here quietly. The rest of you continue the search."
Just as Shirakawa was about to retort, he was hit by a smoke bomb that appeared out of nowhere.
The smoke bombs emitted thick smoke, and they were soon surrounded by it.
The leader had a bad feeling. "Hold your breath, this smoke is poisonous."
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Shirakawa collapsed, and the adults also swayed and couldn't stand steadily.
When Chen Nong saw the smoke, he immediately held his breath. His uncle had shown him this thing before, but they didn't use it to stun people; they only used it to stun poisonous insects and ferocious animals.
My uncle specifically told them that licorice is the antidote to sleeping potion. Drinking water boiled with licorice or chewing licorice directly can relieve the numbing effect. If licorice isn't available, there are other methods: find some cool water and splash it on your face to stimulate blood vessels, causing the sleeping potion to evaporate quickly and thus reducing its effects.
Of course, this only works when the effects of the sleeping potion are relatively mild. If the dosage is too high and causes symptoms of poisoning, even if licorice can detoxify, it won't take effect quickly and will require a certain recovery time. At this point, the effect of cold water will also become very weak, or even ineffective, unless the entire face or body is immersed in cold water to have any effect.
During this escape from famine, just in case, every member of the Chen family wore a sachet containing licorice.
Thick smoke obscured his vision, and Chen Nong couldn't see the adults' condition, but he heard several thuds, indicating that more people had collapsed.
Just as he was about to take off the sachet around his neck, he heard a rustling sound approaching.
Chen Nong's heart tightened, and he quickly took out a piece of licorice from the sachet, put it in his mouth, and lay down to pretend to be dead.
After waiting for a while, instead of hearing anyone coming, I heard several more sounds of people falling to the ground.
Suddenly, the sounds of fighting broke out.
"Who are you people, and why are you attacking us!"
It was the team leader's voice; he guessed that the team leader must have broken through the thick smoke.
However, not long after, the leader's voice disappeared, and the fighting stopped too, so the leader was probably defeated as well.
Chen Nong was a little scared. He secretly opened one eye and saw that the thick smoke had not yet dissipated and he could not see anything. His eyes were stinging.
He listened for a moment and heard no one approaching. He guessed that the group was waiting for the smoke to dissipate or preparing something to cover their mouths and noses.
Before the enemy could enter, Chen Nong quickly took out another piece of licorice from his sachet and reached for Bai Chuan. He found it soon enough, then reached into Bai Chuan's mouth and stuffed the licorice inside.
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