Chapter 181 Chapter 181 Update.
When Ji Xu saw that Tian had bought so much realgar wine, he knew that she had used the ten taels of money from selling stolen goods and said that she shouldn't have done that.
"My dear daughter, I know I was wrong and will never do it again. I can give this ten taels to the government instead of letting you go to jail. It's just sitting there anyway, so why not use it now?"
The rumors are really bad. Yang Liu's face is rotten to the point of being in disrepair. I think it's his retribution in this life. It's a pity for Wang'er. Why did he follow an old man like that? Sigh..."
As he said this, he asked Wu Fu Liu Gu, two strong men, to carry the wine to the west room. Ji Xu was naturally not so cruel as to hand over the money to the authorities and have Tian arrested and put in jail. He just wanted Tian to remember the pros and cons and never take the risk of stealing again.
Now that I saw that she had bought realgar wine, I knew that her whole heart was for her family, so I told her the truth:
"Mom bought the wrong thing. This realgar wine is quite toxic. I don't dare to consume too much. Mom bought so much and I don't know how long it will last."
Tian was dumbfounded. "My money, my money!"
At one point, he told them not to carry it to the west room, but to return it to the tavern. Ji Xu stopped them:
"Just now I heard that the rumors outside were so fierce, and now you're still going out. Put it in the west room. Keep the door closed for the next few days. Don't go out except to dispose of ashes in the morning and evening."
Finally, the wine was carried to the west room. Ji Xu and the maids burned Atractylodes macrocephala and fumigated every corner of the room. They also made sachets for everyone to ward off epidemics, and put Atractylodes macrocephala inside.
What she was most worried about was that Tian Shi could not change her habit of gossiping with others when she went out, but in the past two days, Tian Shi had a headache about the realgar wine issue.
Seeing the big jar of wine in the west room, it was as if a lot of money had flowed away. It was just as my daughter said. These days, everyone only drank a small cup of realgar wine. Feng and Zhu were still young, and they didn't even drink it. Instead, they wiped their foreheads with wine. This big jar would really take forever to finish.
Therefore, he became lazy and leaned on the kang, saying that his heart ached for the ten taels of silver.
"My daughter, please think of a way to get rid of this wine."
That day, Tian Dou came back from leaving the ashes and whispered to Tian:
"I heard from people outside that everyone is scrambling for realgar wine these days, and the price has risen to one ounce of silver per dou."
"Tiandou, Tiandou, you are such a smart and clever girl."
Tian's illnesses were cured, and she looked at the jar of wine as if it were a treasure. It was like ten taels had become twenty taels. She said to Ji Xu:
"My dear daughter, it's a pity that you wouldn't let me go out. Now the price of the wine has doubled. You must have anticipated this and wanted me to make a lot of money."
As she said this, she went to the west room to look at her valuable realgar wine. It was really a blind cat catching a dead mouse, and Ji Xu had no way to do anything to her.
A major event also occurred in the past two days. The petty officials went from street to street, beating gongs to announce the event:
"Anyone who buys silk or cloth must report it to the government and have it destroyed."
When Tian heard the gong, she opened the door a crack, stuck her head out and looked out. She saw that the street in front of the gate was still the same as before, with people walking on donkeys and gossiping in pairs.
Wu Dou, who was addicted to cockfighting, was still holding a big rooster and was going to the West Market to fight with others.
"Wu Dou, it's already this late, why are you still out there fighting cocks?"
Wu Dou said, "I have a body of righteousness, and the plague dare not enter my body. The plague is only contracted by cowards like Yang Liu."
Some of the nuns in Mulberry Alley were still eating their breakfast, while others had already eaten and came out to chat with others. They stopped the clerk who was beating the gong and questioned him.
I just realized that the Lingnan silk cloth sold in those cloth shops recently was not clean and was contaminated with disease. No wonder Yang Liufan was the first one to be infected with the plague when he came in.
In addition to Yang Liu and his son, more than ten cases of plague occurred in the five mausoleum towns of Anling, Maoling, Yangling, Changling and Pingling.
"Did you all buy that silk cloth?"
Tian asked from a distance.
"Yes, that's why we ask the buyers to report it to the authorities."
The clerk replied, struck the gong and walked away.
The nuns then noticed that Tian was peeking out of the door and laughed at her:
"What's wrong with you? You act like a thief? Why don't you stand closer so we can talk."
Tian said, "My daughter said that the plague is transmitted through the breath of the mouth and nose. It's not good to get close to people. If you get infected with the plague, it will be very serious. Why don't you spread out?"
Xiao Gu laughed even harder and said:
"Yang Liucai from Mapo Street is the one who has the plague. We are not sick, so why should we avoid talking to him?" He rolled up his arms and looked at
"You see, there's no blemish at all?"
Speaking of rashes, they were talking about how rotten Yang Liu's rashes were. It was very scary. Tian Shi also listened attentively, and was reluctant to step in. However, she also said as Ji Xu had taught her in the past two days:
"I heard that Yang Liu's illness didn't just come on suddenly, but it will be better in a while. He's been drinking everywhere, so it's clear that the plague is not obvious at the moment, and it may break out in the future. We should be careful."
Another girl said:
"Auntie Tian, didn't your family buy that big jar of realgar wine? Why are you afraid of getting the plague after drinking it?"
"That's right, Miss Tian, you are usually such a straightforward person, why are you being so shy now? Why don't you take off that handkerchief and come over so we can talk."
"That's true."
Tian thought about it and felt that it made sense. She was in good health and had taken realgar wine and smoked with white atractylodes, so the plague must not have entered her body. However, she also had a little more caution and asked,
"Have you consumed realgar wine?"
Some said they had eaten, some said they hadn’t. Aunt Liu said:
"Although I didn't drink realgar wine, I applied sesame oil under my nose."
Nowadays, realgar wine is no longer available anywhere, so a folk remedy has become popular, which involves applying sesame oil on the philtrum to ward off the pathogenic qi with its fragrance.
It is said that this method was suggested by the Taoist nun Ma from Baqiao. Nowadays, some people in Wuling apply some sesame oil on their philtrum when they go out. They drink some realgar wine if they can, and burn some white atractylodes to fumigate themselves when they get home.
"This is the method that was told to me by Taoist nun Ma from Baqiao. Don't you believe it?"
When she heard it was Taoist Ma, Tian believed it without a doubt and said:
"The Plague God we worship at home was invited into our home by Taoist nun Ma when we moved two years ago."
"My family also worships it."
"I just woke up and I worshipped the plague god."
Ever since the plague broke out in Wuling, every household has been offering sacrifices to the Five Plague Gods.
The five plague gods are Zhang Yuanbo of Spring Plague, Liu Yuanda of Summer Plague, Zhao Gongming of Autumn Plague, Zhong Shiji of Winter Plague, and Shi Wenye of Middle Plague. They are in charge of the plagues of the four seasons and the safety of livestock.
Tian believed in these things the most, and was no exception. The several wooden statues of gods in the hall of her house were brought home by Ma Dao Nun when she moved two years ago. They include the well god, the grain god, and the plague god.
Recently, the statue of the God of Plague has replaced the God of Grain and is placed in the middle position, and the Tian family has worshipped it more diligently.
"Since you're worshipping the Plague God, why are you hiding behind the door?"
"That's right, we have fried taro cakes at home. Do you want some?"
There was freshly fried taro cake in Xiao Gu's bowl. Others pinched a piece with their hands to eat it. She also extended her bowl to Tian Shi. The taro cake was round, plump and golden.
The taro cakes made by Aunt Xiao were the most delicious. Tian had always been greedy for a bite or two of them. Now, even from a distance, she seemed to smell the fragrance and was about to leave when she heard someone calling her from inside:
"Mother, mother?"
She was so busy that she retreated inside. Ji Xu came looking for her and asked her when he saw her coming in from outside:
"What is mother whispering to others over there?"
"We were talking about epidemic prevention. They were all healthy and good people. I only chatted with them for a while."
Ji Xu knew that his mother, who loved to chatter her teeth, could not sit still, so he told her those words again, and said them in a harsh way, which frightened her so much that she said she dared not go out.
"The Tian family prays devoutly to the Plague God for protection. May the plague stay away from our home, stay away from our home. One day we will definitely make a golden statue for the Plague God."
He was also afraid that the other two gods would be angry, so he also said that he would make golden bodies for them.
He also found a small bottle of sesame oil from the kitchen, which he had used for cooking, and moved it to the east wing where he lived. Every day, he asked whoever went out to dispose of ashes to apply some on the philtrum.
"Don't disbelieve me, this is the method used by Taoist Nun Ma. The gods she summoned are the most effective. Is there anyone in our family who has contracted the plague? This is all thanks to the Plague God's blessing."
Broad beans believe it the most, and they are reluctant to wash off the scent of sesame oil even before sleeping.
"Dirty girl, aren't you afraid of being bitten by rats?"
Only after hearing Yindou's threat did she go to wash, and then went out to find Tian to apply it.
That day, Huaer from the master's family in Yangcheng came back from outside and told Shen about the silk cloth. Shen was so scared that she burned the silk cloth she had just bought a few days ago.
Ever since Master Yangcheng started building a building for someone else, her family has become much better off and can afford silk and cloth. She bought this cloth to make clothes for her daughter.
Now it was burned to ashes, and white atractylodes was smoked all over the house. Her daughter Si Niang said:
"Mother, let's report it to the police."
"No, no, didn't you hear Hua'er say that those who bought cloth were arrested by Yulinlang and taken to the shelter?"
The shelter was built by the Yulin Guard in the eastern suburbs to accommodate people infected with the plague. It is said that Yang Liu and his son, who were the first to discover the plague, were also there. They were in Anling Town and could see long, straight blue smoke coming out of the fire from afar.
The people all said that it was the smoke from burning people, and that the people who were harmed by the plague were burned wherever they were caught.
"But the notice outside says the shelter is a place to treat people suffering from the plague."
"Those are all excuses to arrest people. Has anyone who went there ever been cured and returned?"
There were only the mother, daughter, and Huaer at home. Master Yangcheng went to Hongnong County to build a house for someone a while ago and has not returned yet. No one knows what the situation is like there.
Shen decided to keep the matter secret and no one was allowed to tell anyone about it.
But the truth cannot be hidden. Somehow the Yulin Guards found out that her family had bought silk cloth. A team of Yulin Guards rushed to Sangshu Lane and knocked on the door of Yangcheng's house loudly.
Shen asked Hua'er to stay away, and they broke in. They looked at Shen's arm, which was covered with rashes. The leader said:
"take away!"
Even Yang Chengsi and Hua'er, two people without blemishes, were taken away. Shen said:
"It's fine for me to go there and suffer, but they haven't contracted the disease, so why should they go there?"
"The plague is spread through breath and exudates from the mouth and nose. You and your family live and eat together. Even if you are fine now, there is no guarantee that it will break out in the future. If you all go to the shelter together, who can harm her?"
"She's a boudoir girl. If she goes there, how will she eat and sleep? Just leave her at home."
The commotion here attracted the neighbors to come out and watch. Tian Dou happened to be going to the butcher to buy meat when he saw the wife and daughter of Yang Cheng's family at the corner of the alley being captured by Yu Linlang. He just stood at a distance and watched for a while.
The neighbors pointed and talked about it. They had lived for most of their lives, and some of them had only heard about the severity of the plague from generation to generation, but had never encountered it once.
Some of them were still young, and had never even heard of it. They had no idea that the plague was transmitted through oral transmission, but they still gathered here to join in the fun. They only dispersed after the Yulin Lang drove them away.
Seeing that Tian Dou had a towel covering his face, with strings hanging from his ears, he asked:
"Is this Tiandou? Where did you pick up this weird-looking thing? You can't even recognize it if you cover it up."
Tian Dou said:
"This was made by my lady."
Having said that, he carried the meat into the house and did not leave.
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