Chapter 386: Grandma Qin Is Going to Take Care of the Sick
Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Grandma Qin Is Going to Take Care of the Sick
Chen Ye stepped forward without hesitation. "I’ll go. My mother is sick, and it’s my duty to care for her. I’ll look after the other uncles and aunts, too. You can entrust it all to me."
The old village chief nodded, somewhat gratified.
His gaze fell upon the others. "And you?"
No one spoke. They all hung their heads, a silent, dark mass.
The mad scholar couldn’t help but step forward. "I can..."
Before he could even finish, the old village chief waved his hand dismissively.
"Don’t volunteer, mad scholar. It’s not that I look down on you, but you’re too frail. This plague is vicious. I’m afraid that if you go, you’ll fall ill yourself after just a few days."
The mad scholar insisted on going, but the old village chief was adamant in his refusal.
The old village chief’s gaze fell on one of the men.
"Heiwa, your brother is sick, too. Aren’t you going to look after him?"
True to his name, Heiwa had a dark complexion.
But at the old village chief’s question, a flicker of visible shame crossed his face.
"Village Chief, I... I..." He wrung his large hands, sweating buckets. "My wife just had a baby, and my parents died a long time ago. If anything happens to me, what will she and the baby do?"
The old village chief waved his hand. "Alright, then you don’t have to go."
In the end, a few lanky men stepped up to volunteer, but the old village chief didn’t pick any of them.
Because they were all the only sons in their families.
If they died from the plague, their family lines would be extinguished.
The old village chief’s gaze fell upon Uncle Liu.
"Head of the Liu Family, what do you say?"
Just as Uncle Liu was about to speak, Sister-in-law Liu secretly grabbed hold of him, stopping him.
She answered for him, "Village Chief, my husband is an only son, too. Besides, our Hu Zi has been feeling a bit unwell recently. If you take him away, what are the two of us supposed to do!"
The old village chief’s expression darkened, and he let out a silent sigh.
Uncle Liu had been wanting to step forward all along, but his wife kept a tight grip on his hand under his sleeve, forbidding him from going.
Finally, Uncle Liu shook off his wife’s hand and strode out from the crowd.
"Village Chief, I’ll go. You can count me in."
Sister-in-law Liu flew into a rage. She rushed forward and grabbed him fiercely by the collar.
"Have you lost your mind?! What are you going for? What are Hu Zi and I supposed to do?"
"It’s just for a few days. Ningning will be back soon."
"Bullshit!" Sister-in-law Liu’s eyes turned red. "Didn’t Chen Ye go into the city to ask around? Ningning is at the Xie Mansion treating people. She’s so busy she can’t even leave the estate! When will she have time to come back?"
’Given the situation in the city, Shen Ningning won’t be back for a good long while!’
’By the time that little girl actually gets back to the village, Uncle Liu will probably have already caught the plague.’
Sister-in-law Liu grabbed his arm. "I absolutely forbid you from going!"
Uncle Liu grew angry.
"Why are you being so selfish? Don’t you know that this plague is in our village because of the trouble your two brothers caused!"
Sister-in-law Liu shuddered.
The old village chief quickly interjected, "Alright, head of the Liu Family, that’s enough out of you!"
Some of the villagers already knew this but hadn’t said anything. Sister-in-law Liu, however, had been kept completely in the dark.
"What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!" Sister-in-law Liu shoved Uncle Liu, determined to get an answer.
"What do you think I mean? Go ask around in the city yourself! Your two brothers already had the plague! Their neighbors all knew it. When they came to fix Sanhua’s well, they claimed it was just a common rash!"
So, when Sister-in-law Liu had taken them door to door looking for work, some villagers had likely been infected.
The old village chief had told Uncle Liu about this in private. He hadn’t expected that the upright Uncle Liu, wracked with guilt over the matter, would start arguing with his wife in front of everyone.
The old village chief looked uncomfortable. "Forget it, head of the Liu Family. You stay home. I’ll find someone else."
Uncle Liu shook his head. "No, I’m going!"
The crowd looked at Sister-in-law Liu’s face. She was completely stunned and dazed, unable to process what she’d heard.
She was famous in the village for never letting herself be taken advantage of.
While she never took advantage of others, she demanded every bit of what was due to her and refused to shoulder any trouble that wasn’t her own.
’With Uncle Liu starting a fight in public, wouldn’t a woman with her personality raise absolute hell?’
Yet, she just stood there stunned. It took a long moment before she finally whispered, "So... I’m the one who brought this disaster to our village."
Sensing something was wrong with her tone, the villagers quickly tried to console her.
"Liu Family’s Sister-in-law, don’t blame yourself. This is just our bad luck."
"That’s right. Even if it wasn’t your brothers, it could have been someone else. The plague is everywhere in the city; it was bound to reach us."
"Maybe it wasn’t your brothers at all. People have been coming and going in the village lately; someone else could have brought it in."
Sister-in-law Liu closed her eyes in anguish.
The villagers understood her personality. They knew she wasn’t truly selfish, just someone who refused to be short-changed. At heart, she was a good person.
Suddenly, Sister-in-law Liu opened her eyes and said to the old village chief, "In that case, count both me and my husband in. We’ll both go help!"
The old village chief was taken aback. "Nonsense!"
"If you both go, what will happen to your Hu Zi?"
Sister-in-law Liu pushed her child directly toward Dong Sanhua, who was standing nearby.
"Sister Sanhua, I know I haven’t been good to you, and I took a lot of your silver for that well. Once this is all over, if we’re still alive, I will personally apologize to you."
"I know you have a good heart. Can I ask you to look after my child? Hu Zi, you listen to Aunt Sanhua, you hear!"
Dong Sanhua said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law Liu, what are you saying? I’m going with you to care for the sick. Ever since I came to Xiangyun Village, Brother Deng and the village chief have treated me like family. Now is my chance to repay their kindness."
"So you shouldn’t go. You have to look after your own child. Can you really rest easy leaving him with someone else?"
But Sister-in-law Liu’s mind was made up. She pushed the crying, distraught Liu Hu toward Heiwa’s family.
Everyone said the same thing, trying to persuade her not to go.
Otherwise, if something happened to both of them, Liu Hu would be left an orphan.
Just as Sister-in-law Liu was insisting on entrusting her child to someone else’s care, the mad scholar stepped forward.
"I’ve been in Xiangyun Village for a long time, and everyone has looked after me. Sister-in-law Liu was kind enough to give me a few meals. Since I can’t help in other ways, let me look after the child for you."
Tears streamed down Sister-in-law Liu’s face. "mad scholar, thank you."
Now, three men and two women had been chosen. They were still one person short.
An elderly voice came from behind them. "You’d best let me go."
The crowd turned in surprise to see Grandma Qin, leaning on her cane and walking toward them through the fading late-summer light with a kindly smile.
Behind her followed a pack of wolves. Each one carried a bucket in its mouth, filled to the brim with Spiritual Spring Water.
The Black Wolf King carried nothing, padding silently beside Grandma Qin.
He hadn’t been able to dissuade the old woman, so he could only come along.
Seeing that Grandma Qin intended to help, everyone was horrified and immediately objected.
"Absolutely not! If something were to happen to you, Grandma Qin, how could we ever face Ningning?"