"You still need to take people to search house by house in the entire village. Last night someone specifically went up the mountain to look for meat."
As soon as Ah Jiu finished speaking, Tuoba Yan's pupils contracted. "You two go to the east, you two go to the west of the village, and search house by house to see if anyone is hoarding diseased meat."
Tuoba Yan gripped his sabre and gestured, truly exuding a heroic spirit.
"Huh?" Several people exchanged bewildered glances.
Only then did Tuoba Yan scratch his head, realizing he had said the wrong thing, and looked at Ah Jiu.
"Cut it open. If there are many small worms inside, it's poisoned meat," Ah Jiu added.
"Alright, brothers, let's split up and check," Zhao Kun began to issue orders.
Instantly, the sound of horses' hooves shattered the morning glow of Heba Village.
"Why did Zhao Kun go in too?" Ah Jiu only then noticed Zhao Kun wearing a military uniform with a large character '巡' (Xun, patrol) on his chest.
"Isn't this easy? I'm good with my words. I said a few nice things to the chief in front of him, and Zhao Kun got himself a runner's job," Tuoba Yan said with a smile. He seemed to never grasp the seriousness of a situation, nor did he worry about the potential consequences.
"Oh, then hurry up and search. My father went into the mountains to chop firewood."
"Alright, Sister Ah Jiu, don't worry. I'll definitely find out. Our chief also said that if I perform well, he'll apply for a promotion for me with the inspector."
With that, Tuoba Yan, beaming and seemingly brimming with endless energy, headed straight for the foot of the mountain.
Ah Jiu suddenly remembered she had promised Little Yan Yan to get some fruit for their Chief Zhang. She would plant it tonight.
They ate some thin congee in the morning. It was a restless day in the village, with the officials conducting a widespread search. Cai Lihua wisely kept her doors shut, not going anywhere.
They waited until evening, and the village was eerily quiet.
The family of three crept to the edge of the field in the dark and squatted, discussing, "Will Jiu'er's plan work?"
Meng Shaode had already prepared his sickle and straw rope.
"It will work," Ah Jiu said as she took out her waterskin and began irrigating the wheat field row by row.
Water was limited, so she planned to harvest this two fen of land first. This way, if she harvested a little each day, she would finish in no time.
As for water, Ah Jiu had checked during her nap. The spiritual spring, perhaps due to saving people at the Yizhuang, had expanded several times and now resembled a small pond.
It was more than enough to supply three to five buckets of water.
Ah Jiu also needed to save some for planting fruit.
The family of three sat at the edge of the woods at the foot of the mountain, waiting for good news.
"Daughter, can it really work?" Meng Shaode craned his neck to look at the field, but it was pitch black from the distance.
"Dad, you'll know if you go take a look," Ah Jiu calculated that it had been at least half an incense stick's worth of time.
Meng Shaode, delighted, pulled Cai Lihua and they hurried to the field. "Ah..."
"Hush, Dad, keep your voice down," Ah Jiu quickly shushed them, almost spitting with urgency.
"This is wonderful, Shaode. You cut some green wheat first. This is a valuable thing," Cai Lihua clearly suppressed her glee, her voice trembling with excitement.
"Alright." Meng Shaode made a few swift cuts with his sickle, filling his carrying basket with a large armful of green wheat. "Is this enough? If not, I'll cut some more."
"It's enough, it's enough. We'll need the rest when it ripens to grind flour," Cai Lihua quickly stopped him.
Ah Jiu suddenly saw a firelight in the distance at the village entrance. She stood up, but her view was blocked by the houses and treetops.
She decided to climb the mountain to get a better look.
What were so many people gathered there for?
At the entrance of the village, by Old Grandpa Zheng's house, five or six torches were held aloft, illuminating a circle of officials surrounding more than twenty villagers. One of the officials had a strangely contorted physique.
Bony and emaciated, with a hunched back and a withered face.
"Jiu'er, hurry, come here, quickly..." Cai Lihua called out from the foot of the mountain in a hushed voice.