Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1246: Chapter 1248: A Small Trick to Delivering a Letter_1

Bai Ruozhu, hearing the commotion, hurriedly put down her porridge bowl and walked towards the Main Gate; stepping outside, she saw Jianqi and his group also rushing over upon hearing Zhou Shu’s voice.

Just outside the Main Gate, Zhou Shu and his party had brought five patients, each of whom was not seriously ill and could walk over by themselves, still in the early stages of the Plague. All five appeared dispirited, and the woman at the back was even sobbing as she said, ”I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.”

Bai Ruozhu frowned, ”Weren’t all the patients quarantined? And didn’t we disinfect everything yesterday? How come there are five more now?”

Zhou Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking frustrated, and said, ”I asked them on the way here. Only one person said that a neighbor had caught the Plague and been quarantined, possibly catching it from the neighbor. But the others don’t remember having contact with any sick person. They were fine yesterday, and only today did they feel something was wrong.”

”Could it be that there’s someone who’s ill and scared to report it?” Muyu interjected from the side.

One of the five patients, a middle-aged man, said, ”No, the people of Guangqi Town are honest. Everyone knows that you must report your illness to get treated. If not, you’d not only infect your family, but also delay your own treatment. Nobody would fail to report.”

The weeping woman echoed, ”Yes, even though I’m scared to death, I wouldn’t conceal it.”

Muyu scratched his head and sheepishly smiled at the five patients.

If the sudden increase in patients wasn’t due to unreported cases by the aware but fearful, then their sudden appearance was quite strange.

Indeed, getting infected by a neighbor seemed possible, especially if the incubation period showed no symptoms initially. But an increase of five people overnight, four of whom had not had contact with patients, was rather perplexing.

”Let’s not talk about this any longer. Quickly bring the people to the area for patients in the early stages. Discovering and treating them early means there’s a good chance for a quick recovery,” said Bai Ruozhu.

Jianqi, without wasting words, opened the gate and instructed Zhou Shu to hand all five patients to him, then took them to where Xie Er and the others were.

Xie Er was a talkative one. Seeing the five newcomers with gloomy faces, he immediately began narrating like a storyteller how Bai Ruozhu had treated them the day before. He then confidently patted his chest and said, ”Look at me, don’t I seem more lively? I believe I will certainly get better, so you all should rest assured.”

Bai Ruozhu, who had followed shortly after, nodded silently to herself. Having someone like that among the patients wasn’t bad at all.

Bai Ruozhu went over to take the pulses of the five newcomers, quickly wrote out Formulas, and Doctor Sun took the initiative to start the Decoction. In just one day’s time, he had been completely won over by Bai Ruozhu. Whenever he received a Formula written by her, it was as if he had obtained the world’s most precious treasure, treating it with utmost care. His eyes would shine while reading it, and his hands trembled slightly.

”Such a good Formula, really good Formula. We indeed have met a Divine Doctor!” muttered Doctor Sun.

At first, the people who came to help almost thought Doctor Sun had been infected too, displaying his symptoms. But by the second day, everyone had grown accustomed to it. Yet, because of Doctor Sun’s behavior, everyone’s trust in Bai Ruozhu grew even more.

After attending to the new patients, Bai Ruozhu pulled Xie Er aside for a chat.

”Xie Er, you did well just now,” Bai Ruozhu said and gave him five taels of silver. ”Take this, and buy some gifts for your family once you’re well.”

Xie Er’s face suddenly grew pale as he tried to return the silver, ”My parents have passed away, and I’m all alone. I don’t need to buy anything for anyone.”

”I’m sorry, that was presumptuous of me,” Bai Ruozhu said, a bit embarrassed. She had intended to commend Xie Er but had instead misspoken.

To his surprise, Xie Er looked at her. Wasn’t this woman a fourth-rank Imperial Court official? The highest official in their area was only a seventh-rank officer, and wasn’t she also a Divine Doctor? That status was incredibly prestigious, so why was she apologizing to him?

While Xie Er was spacing out, Bai Ruozhu tossed a silver into his arms and said, ”Then buy something nice for yourself, too. With your lively spirit, try talking more about positive things with these patients in the future, especially the newcomers.”

Xie Er snapped back to reality and suddenly asked with a smile, ”Does this mean I’ve been conscripted by you and become one of your subordinates?”

Bai Ruozhu also smiled, ”That’s right.”

”Alright, I understand what you mean. Leave this to me. Being gloomy will only worsen their conditions. They are all neighbors, and I can’t bear to see them suffer,” said Xie Er.

”Hmm, thank you,” Bai Ruozhu said before turning to leave and continuing with her busy work.

Xie Er, however, stood frozen in place, muttering to himself, ”She just thanked me, the big officer has never thanked me before.”

After a while, Jiang Yichun arrived with Chu Hai. Bai Ruozhu went over to greet them, looking somewhat displeased, ”Chu Hai, what are you doing here? You’ve only just recovered from the poison, and your injuries have not fully healed. You’re so weak and could easily get infected. If there’s something to discuss, we can talk outside.”

Jiang Yichun huffed beside her, his handsome face darkening, his whole being seeming to turn into a block of ice.

The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. Here comes the jealousy again—does he think she’s too concerned about Chu Hai? She does not want Chu Hai to get infected. But with so many people in the team, she does not want anyone to catch the infection; the fewer patients, the better.

Chu Hai’s expression remained cold, and after this series of events, he had become even more silent.

”Don’t worry, the poison I’ve contracted can suppress other poisons. I won’t catch the plague,” said Chu Hai.

Bai Ruozhu hadn’t thought of this. Her understanding of the Reincarnation poison wasn’t deep, but thinking carefully about what Chu Hai had said, it indeed made some sense.

”Fine, but still be cautious. If you get infected, it will be difficult to carry on with what follows,” Bai Ruozhu whispered.

Jiang Yichun coughed lightly to express his discontent and spoke, ”Chu Hai says he cannot send a message to the Saintess, for it would expose his master’s hiding place and bring great danger to them.”

Bai Ruozhu furrowed her brows in thought. There was certainly something wrong with this town. If they sent out a message now, the ones plotting against them would definitely trace the direction of the letter.

The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the open. It really is troublesome.

Suddenly, a glint shone in Bai Ruozhu’s eyes. She beckoned the two men to the side and said in a low voice, ”We still need to send a message; let them follow the trail. The further, the better.”

Jiang Yichun immediately understood, the corner of his mouth curving up.

”You mean send it to a fake address to draw them away?” asked Chu Hai.

”Not just that. In three days, we’ll send out another letter. The other side will certainly think the first one was just a decoy, and this one must be real. Even if we can’t draw many of them away, we’ll at least distract them,” Bai Ruozhu said with a sly smile.

Jiang Yichun gave her a thumbs-up, and Chu Hai nodded, saying, ”Good, let’s do it this way.”

The plan continued as usual. The night passed without incident, but come the next morning, a big problem emerged in the quarantine zone...