"Yes, we're meddling too much. Whatever happens, happens..."
Meng Shaode jumped up in anger, pushed through the crowd, and pulled Ah Jiu along: "Let whoever wants to die, die. Daughter, let's go back. These desperate folks aren't worth our worry this late at night."
Ah Jiu initially resisted her father's grip, but as she saw the villagers milling about, discussing in hushed tones, her heart turned cold. What were they saying? That even if it were a fever, a doctor would be sent to treat it, but if they were starving and wouldn't die immediately, they should just wait for the imperial court to send help. This thought chilled Ah Jiu to the bone.
That night, Ah Jiu didn't sleep a wink. War? Drought? Plague? These three calamities and man-made disasters had ultimately clouded people's minds. She wondered how heartbroken the King of Nanming would be if he knew his diligently rescued subjects held such thoughts.
From the next room, Cai Lihua let out a soft sob, "Let's just eat the fox meat, Old Meng. I won't be picky anymore."
"It's alright, don't cry. Your pickiness is for our daughter's sake. Fox meat is gamey, but I'll go further away from now on and see if I can catch a wild pheasant or something," Meng Shaode comforted his wife, his heart heavy.
Just as dawn was breaking in the latter half of the night, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Me, Jiu'er." Their voices drifted through the window grilles, and Ah Jiu heard every word.
The door opened, and Cai Lihua quickly wiped her eyes and smiled, "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Mother, I've thought about it. It's better not to have Father go up the mountain to hunt. I'm worried that animals eating that meat might indirectly spread the infection."
As soon as Ah Jiu said this, Meng Shaode gasped. He hadn't considered that: "Then what will we eat? The wheat we planted has just sprouted. We won't have a harvest until next summer."
Ah Jiu whispered something into her parents' ears.
"Eh, really?"
The couple's eyes lit up. Meng Shaode smiled so broadly his mouth couldn't close, "Then we'll do as our daughter says."
"Yes, alright, then tomorrow night," Cai Lihua saw a glimmer of hope.
At this point, Meng Shaode asked suspiciously, "What about Uncle Niu?" They had initially agreed to express their gratitude for his hospitality upon his return and return the old ox and the house to him intact.
Ah Jiu lowered her eyes suddenly. She hadn't been allowed to go anywhere in the yi zhuang, but she had looked for the patients there, and there was no Grandpa Niu among the survivors. However, she couldn't guarantee he wasn't among those in the mass graves. Thinking this, Ah Jiu pursed her lips and said, "I'll write a letter tomorrow and have Tuoba Yan deliver it. Ask sister-in-law to thoroughly check the death registry." This was the only way. If he was found, this house would no longer have an owner, and the old ox would have no master.
As she spoke, the sky brightened. Cai Lihua put the last handful of rice into the pot to make porridge, rice saved by stretching their rations, for fear their daughter would have nothing to eat when she returned.
"I'll go chop some firewood on the mountain," Meng Shaode said, picking up the Niu family's cleaver and heading out.
Mao Junlan had also heard about the matter and was too frightened to speak. "The last time I saw Mrs. Qian, people with this kind of illness are terrifying."
"What's there to fear?" Cai Lihua stirred the bottom of the pot and hummed, "Jiu'er said that if we don't eat the meat of the dead, we won't get infected. We're not eating it, so whoever those villagers want to eat can eat it."
"But Jiu'er can cure such illnesses, otherwise she wouldn't have been snatched away to Nanzhou County. In the end, it would still be Jiu'er who has to treat them?"
"This time, I won't let Jiu'er treat them. They know they'll die, yet they still go looking for death. It's like trying to save someone who is determined to die – wouldn't that be delaying their good deed of reincarnation? I won't let Jiu'er be involved in such sinful deeds." Cai Lihua's words were sharp. She couldn't stand ungrateful people.
Ah Jiu heard the sound of horses' hooves in the courtyard. She opened the courtyard gate and walked out into the alley. Sure enough, Tuoba Yan and Zhao Kun had arrived with five or six others.
"Little sister Jiu'er, where is Uncle Meng? He's familiar with the terrain of this area; we need him to lead us to find it." Tuoba Yan was quite spirited this time, with a distinctive waist token clearly visible.
Ah Jiu looked at Tuoba Yan with lingering fear. Finding meat on the mountain now seemed like the least pressing matter.