NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 90
In the last two days, three more items were sold from the shop, bringing in 980,000 yuan after deducting expenses.
After checking, He Zhiran hurried to search for medicinal herbs.
She now needed to purchase freshly picked herbs, only then would those people believe the herbs were just picked from the mountain.
Fortunately, everything imaginable could be found on Taobao.
He Zhiran was now considered quite wealthy, so she had no financial pressures when it came to spending.
Before long, she had purchased all the medicinal herbs she needed.
It was pitch black inside the tent. Mo Jiuye only felt something suddenly covering his feet.
Reaching out, it was all grass...
At this time, He Zhiran's somewhat guilty voice rang out.
"We'll take these herbs back with us in a bit."
"Can these herbs of yours cure the plague?"
It wasn't that Mo Jiuye didn't believe in her medical skills, but rather that the plague was too evil. If it could be cured so easily by these herbs, wouldn't that be too simple?
"If it's not late stage or critical, taking the medicine a few times will cure it. But if it's like Li Tiezhu, my silver needles must be used together with the medicine." He Zhiran said firmly.
Mo Jiuye heaved a deep sigh.
"Tell me what I need to do, I'll do whatever you say."
He Zhiran spread her hands. "Now that we have the medicine, you just need to help me conceal things a bit."
"No problem, I'll do my best."
The two fell silent again until an hour later, when He Zhiran packed up the tent and returned with Mo Jiuye, carrying the herbs.
Since they left, Peng Wang had been standing at the mouth of the cave, craning his neck in anticipation, hoping they would come back with good news.
Seeing two figures in the distance, he rushed out into the pouring rain to meet them.
"Brother, did you get the herbs?"
This was the only hope for everyone to survive.
"We got them." Mo Jiuye replied in a low voice.
When he got to them, Peng Wang took the herbs He Zhiran was holding without hesitation, pointing to the cave where the villagers were taking shelter.
"I saw them bring an iron pot when they went up the mountain, let's make medicine there."
Peng Wang didn't want to wait a second longer, only hoping the medicine could cure the sick.
When the three entered the cave with the villagers carrying the herbs, Village Chief Liu anxiously told He Zhiran that several more people had fallen ill since they left.
The current symptoms were still at the fever and vomiting stage.
Without a doubt, He Zhiran immediately asked Village Chief Liu to set up a large iron pot over the coals to prepare medicine.
However, a new problem arose.
No water...
Village Chief Liu was after all a native here, relatively familiar with the local environment.
"There is a mountain spring in the high ground, water can be fetched from there."
However, with how dark it was outside in this pouring rain, fetching water posed a big problem.
At this point, the most critical thing on Peng Wang's mind was living.
"I'll take people to fetch water right now."
He Zhiran was originally planning to use the trick from before again - pop out for a bit then take water from her storage space.
Now that Peng Wang had stepped up, she was spared some trouble.
Those in the know understood the severity of the situation, so there was no dragging of feet as actions were swiftly carried out.
Peng Wang borrowed several water containers from Village Chief Liu and called some guards to fetch water in the rain.
In less than an hour, just as Mo Jiuye was starting to worry and wanted to go take a look, Peng Wang and company finally came back with water.
Village Chief Liu arranged for people to decoct the medicine, while at the same time, He Zhiran also checked on and asked about the current condition of the villagers.
The first batch of medicine was decocted, He Zhiran let the villagers drink it first, leaving the rest for the guards.
The second batch was for the exiles.
The current situation was - treat the sick, prevent the healthy from falling ill.
After everyone drank the medicine, it was already light out.
Fortunately, the heavy rain had stopped by this time.
Peng Wang immediately sent people down the mountain to check on the situation.
The news the guards brought back was even more serious than imagined.
The village had been completely submerged in floodwaters, all houses had collapsed, and countless corpses were floating on the surface.
Hearing this, everyone sighed in dismay.
In the face of such an incident, Peng Wang was at a total loss on what more could be done. He even treated Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran as his main support and refuge.
"Brother, sister, do you have any good solutions?"
Faced with this, even Mo Jiuye felt somewhat helpless for a time.
"Given the current situation, I'm afraid all we can do is wait for the government to handle things."
But He Zhiran didn't think so.
"Great floods often lead to great plagues. There are already villagers who have contracted the plague. If those corpses aren't dealt with promptly, I'm afraid this plague will spiral out of control."
"What should we do then?" The same words spilled simultaneously from Mo Jiuye and Peng Wang.
"The best approach is to salvage and cremate those corpses as soon as possible. That's the most effective way to curb the spread of the epidemic."
In He Zhiran's understanding, this was the most viable solution.
Peng Wang and Mo Jiuye's eyes widened in unison. They found the notion of cremating corpses somewhat hard to accept.
In the eyes of these ancient people, respecting the dead was of utmost importance - only proper burials could put the living at ease.
Cremating corpses was the ultimate disrespect to the dead. Moreover, their family members surely would not agree.
"Sister, I'm afraid that wouldn't be appropriate?"
He Zhiran understood his feelings. Trying to change a person's deep-rooted beliefs was no easy feat.
But for the greater good, or rather, considering the lives of more survivors, she could only continue persuading.
"Elder Brother Peng, I understand everyone's wish for their loved ones to rest in peace with proper burials.
But consider this - those plagued corpses, left unattended, would not only give off extremely foul stench, but also contaminate our air and water supply, potentially triggering even more outbreaks.
Don't you think that poses immense danger to the living as well?"
After hearing He Zhiran's words, Mo Jiuye's original position immediately wavered.
"She's right, the survivors are most important now. If the plague spreads far and wide, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Peng Wang wasn't a stubborn old fossil incapable of seeing reason. When it came down to balancing interests and making difficult choices, he would be decisive.
"With floods this major, it surely wasn't just this village that was hit. There are too many bodies for us alone to handle."
This quandary truly had no easy solution. Even He Zhiran couldn't think of a better approach.
She merely made a general suggestion for the direction to take. As for detailed execution, she didn't have a clue.
In the end, it was Mo Jiuye who proposed a rather viable plan.
"It would be best to communicate this with officials, get their men to carry it out. But of course, that's contingent upon convincing the magistrates first."
Peng Wang mulled over it briefly. "Why don't I try, I'm relatively familiar with the county prefect here. Hopefully he isn't too traditionalist."
Things had come to this. He Zhiran felt she had done all she could.
It seemed reaching out to the county prefect was their only recourse now. As for whether the outcome would be ideal, that relied solely on luck.