"Sister A Jiu, I have to head back. I didn't find the suspicious person you asked me to look for, but I did find footprints."
Upon hearing this, A Jiu's eyes lit up.
"You... you didn't even ask me the reason, how will you report to your boss?"
"That's true. Then, Sister A Jiu, you tell me what the reason is."
"Just say this," A Jiu mused as she paced, "say that we are investigating the instigator of the plague."
A Jiu knew that the patrol envoy's men were primarily responsible for inspections and had no authority over the current situation at the burial house. However, if she put it this way, it would surely work.
"Alright, I'll return to the city tonight."
Tuoba Yan didn't linger for a moment.
"Jiu'er, is it really dead flesh from the plague?" Meng Shaode asked after a long pause.
"Yes, Father, but I don't think it's just this piece of meat. Can we go find Grandpa Lizheng now? If there's any other meat and someone picks it up, they might eat it."
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Cai Lihua's face remained pale. "Then... then what should we do?"
"Mother, how about we go door to door and tell everyone?" A Jiu suggested.
"Quick, go tell the villagers," Cai Lihua finally moved her legs and ran out.
Meng Shaode went to find Lizheng.
Cai Lihua suddenly rushed back, dived into the kitchen, grabbed a cast-iron pot, and a fire poker, then ran out.
As she ran, she banged the pot, "Villagers, villagers, wake up."
"All the meat found on the mountain is poisoned."
"Everyone, don't eat it! Eating it will cause the plague."
"Dong dong dong, villagers..."
"Villagers... don't pick up any meat found in the mountains," A Jiu shouted from behind.
Mao Lihua, not to be outdone, ran along an alley towards the few houses on the west side of the village, yelling.
"Daughter, what do we do? Not many villagers are coming out." Cai Lihua panted, her hand having already dented the iron pot she was holding.
"Mother, I don't know, but once this disease takes hold after eating it, it's planted in the body." A Jiu's eyes once again saw those lifeless gazes.
"Bang, bang..." The iron pot in Cai Lihua's hand broke, its sound like a broken gong.
With a clatter, only the handle remained, the pot shattered.
"These cast iron pots are really annoying," Cai Lihua stomped her foot in anger. "Jiu'er, don't run around. Mother will go back and get another pot."
With that, she ran home with the fire poker, her figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.
"Dang dang dang..."
A sound came from the head of the village.
It was the sound of a gong.
With a clang, the echo reverberated.
The residents of the entire Heba Village came out, the village paths crowded.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know."
"I just heard someone say something about not eating the meat they found."
"Esteemed elders and villagers, an urgent notice. If anyone has found meat from the mountain, please report it immediately, because that meat is plague-ridden. Others, do not pick it up if you see it. Dong..."
The gong's sound was incredibly loud, making A Jiu's ears buzz.
Meng Shaode stood beside Lizheng and also urged, "That meat absolutely cannot be eaten."
"Dead people's flesh?"
"Meat in the mountains?"
"Meat in the forest?"
A Jiu heard these discussions and realized the situation was not going as planned.
Many people weaved through the crowd and rushed towards the mountain.
"Come back, that meat cannot be eaten..." A Jiu screamed hysterically.
Meng Shaode stared blankly. Was this... the bandwagon effect?
"Come back, eating that meat will kill you," Meng Shaode also yelled hysterically.
Lizheng, holding the gong, was also stunned. Were these villagers crazy?
"All the villagers' savings were used to buy grain and seeds. Where is the food? Where is the food..."
A Jiu took a step back. When she looked up again, a group of villagers were racing towards the mountain.
A Jiu stood frozen. Was there anything more terrifying than death?
Yes, starvation.
"Eat it if you want, I don't want to die."
The person who arrived was Cai Lihua.
A Jiu didn't know when her mother had returned, but she must have seen the scene.