Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1247: Chapter 1249: Someone Died of Illness_1

At dawn, a woman’s scream startled Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun awake, and both sprang up instantly.

Fearing some emergency during the past two nights, both had slept fully clothed and therefore rushed out of bed at the first sound, heading towards the direction of the screams.

”Old man Zhang is dead! Old man Zhang is dead! What should we do, will I be next?” A woman’s emotions collapsed, and as she wailed, she began to speak incoherently; other patients had also shrunk back into the corners, their eyes filled with both fear and despair, as the atmosphere of death once again enveloped the quarantine zone.

Bai Ruozhu quickly walked over, checking Old man Zhang’s pulse only to find, indeed, he had died!

But how could it be? Although Old man Zhang’s plague had been quite severe and he was older, she had checked his pulse just yesterday and everything had been fine, his condition temporarily controlled by the medicine, so how could he have suddenly died?

Her first thought was murder. She glanced at Jiang Yichun, who seemed to share her suspicion as he was already putting on a mask and gloves to examine Old man Zhang’s body.

”Didn’t you say you could save us? Why is Old man Zhang dead? Were you lying to us?” the woman whose emotions had collapsed suddenly glared at Bai Ruozhu and shouted, with pus from the torn sore on her face oozing, making for a frightening sight.

Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat at a loss for words. It wasn’t that she couldn’t defend herself, but the patients’ emotions were easily influenced, and now the cries of pain and agony had resumed, taking the quarantine zone back to the situation she found upon her arrival.

Sun Jia heard the commotion and hurried over, putting on his isolation suit while running, a disheveled sight, and when he saw Old man Zhang’s body, his movements halted abruptly, leaving his half-worn suit hanging off his back.

”How is this possible? Old man Zhang’s condition was clearly under control yesterday. He was bound to turn a corner in two or three days. The prescription couldn’t have been wrong; how could he suddenly be dead?” Doctor Sun exclaimed with agitation.

Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath and said to all the patients looking at her, ”Old man Sun didn’t die from the plague, but from heart disease, probably because of his advanced age and too much worry, which led to a sudden heart attack last night.”

Doctor Sun came closer to take a look, then suddenly turned to Bai Ruozhu, who subtly shook her head at him, and he quickly understood and stepped aside.

Jiang Yichun, with furrowed brows, said, ”Everyone, don’t worry. Old man Zhang’s death from heart disease was accidental and not due to worsening plague. Don’t overthink it.”

The crowd was skeptical but the atmosphere was much better than before.

Jiang Yichun ordered his subordinates to remove Old man Zhang’s body. Even though he hadn’t died from the plague, his body couldn’t be handed back to his family for random burial—it had to be cremated to prevent the spread of the virus.

Bai Ruozhu followed Jiang Yichun out, Doctor Sun told everyone to rest well, then chased after them in a hurry.

Reaching a place where they were alone, Doctor Sun caught up with Bai Ruozhu and asked, ”Doctor Bai, what is going on? Old man Zhang seemed to have died from worsening plague, how could you say it was heart disease?”

Bai Ruozhu sighed, ”You saw his condition yesterday too, do you think he would suddenly die from the plague?”

Doctor Sun vigorously shook his head, ”How could that be? Even if his condition hadn’t been controlled, he would not have passed away so quickly.”

”That’s why there’s something fishy going on here. I suspect there’s someone causing trouble in this quarantine zone. Right now I don’t know how they managed to make Old man Zhang die so suddenly. We don’t yet know who the person is. If word gets out and everyone knows, it will only create greater panic and even mutual suspicion—who would want to stay under the same roof as a murderer?” Bai Ruozhu said.

Doctor Sun inhaled a breath of cold air, ”What, what can we do about this?”

”I’ve arranged for my men to covertly surveil everyone at the drying ground. Once he makes a move, he’ll inevitably reveal a flaw. Additionally, I will increase the number of patrols at night,” Jiang Yichun said. ”Doctor Sun, you’re familiar with the people in town, aren’t you? Is there anyone here who is not a regular resident of the town?”

After pondering for a moment, Doctor Sun said, ”No, it seems they are all people who originally lived in the town.”

Bai Ruozhu rubbed her forehead, remembering the little girl Xiuxiu, and sighed, ”I’ll go see Xiuxiu. Knowing that her Grandpa has passed away, she must be very upset. Also, have someone notify the Zhang Family members.”

”Good, be extra careful. I’ll have Muyu and the others follow you,” Jiang Yichun said with concern.

Bai Ruozhu didn’t put on a brave front; who knew which of these patients was the one who hurt old Mr. Zhang yesterday? Or if someone was hiding in an unknown secret passage in the drying ground, ready to come out and kill at any time.

This feeling was very unsettling; they were in the open, while the enemy lurked in the shadows, invisible to them, always managing to lead them in circles.

Bai Ruozhu dared not dwell on it further; she didn’t want her emotions to be affected. She couldn’t afford to be downhearted at this point. As she approached the patients with the early stages of the plague, she could hear the giggles of the little girl, Xiuxiu, who was playing with a woman who had been brought in just the morning before.

It was probably thanks to Xie Er’s efforts that the mood of the five new arrivals had stabilized. The woman who had been crying before was now playing with the little girl Xiuxiu, and they all seemed quite at ease.

”Sister, stop tickling me. I won’t tease anymore,” Xiuxiu said, giggling so much that tears came out.

Seeing Xiuxiu so happy, Bai Ruozhu hesitated to approach, not wanting to break the news of her Grandpa’s death to her.

”Aunty, you’re here!” Xiuxiu suddenly saw Bai Ruozhu and, like a happy little swallow, darted toward her and hugged her legs.

Bai Ruozhu crouched down and embraced Xiuxiu in her arms; the little girl was soft and fragrant, truly adorable. Xiuxiu laughed and wrapped her little arms around Bai Ruozhu’s neck, a gesture very much like Little Dengdeng’s, making Bai’s heart soften.

”I came to check on you all, and it seems everyone is feeling a bit better,” Bai Ruozhu forced a smile, but when it came to speaking the words, she found she simply couldn’t say them. Perhaps it would be better to wait a bit longer.

”Aunty, I feel much better. Your ointment is so soothing,” Xiuxiu happily extended her little arms to show Bai Ruozhu, who had applied ointment to the red rash on the back of her hand.

”Yes, Xiuxiu will get better soon and you’ll be able to go home and see your mom,” Bai Ruozhu said affectionately as she stroked the little girl’s head.

Xiuxiu, acting a bit spoiled, rubbed her little head against Bai Ruozhu’s neck and suddenly asked, ”Is Grandpa feeling better? Can he come home with me?”

Bai Ruozhu stiffened and set Xiuxiu down, ”Your Grandpa’s condition is more serious, he needs to undergo treatment for a while longer.”

After speaking, she found her mouth tasted bitter; how could she tell such a lie? How did these lies suddenly come to mind?