The Village Would Almost be Empty
The Village Would Almost be Empty
"You can eat, drink, and sleep as usual. Don't think too much," Wang Yao said. "You just think too much under pressure."
The middle-aged man was still doubtful. It was not only him who had such an idea. Everyone in the village was scared so much these days.
The situation was hard to accept. People they had known for years, with whom they would meet in the street and chat, had suddenly gotten sick, quarantined, and died. The disease was also contagious.
These days, Wang Yao also received a lot of phone calls from Tian Yuantu, Li Maoshuang, Wei Hai, and others asking about the situation. Even Sun Yunsheng called to ask whether he needed any help.
This incident did not have much impact on Wang Yao, but fewer patients came than in the past.
…
In Jing, spring was full of blossoms. Su Xiaoxue stood alone in the yard looking at the sky with her thoughts swirling.
"What are you thinking about?" Song Ruiping asked from behind.
"I want to go out," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Where?" Song Ruiping asked.
"Well, I want to see Mr. Wang," Su Xiaoxue said.
"You can't. There is an outbreak of an infectious disease in his village," Song Ruiping said. She had known about this, but she never mentioned it to her daughter.
"Infectious disease? Is there any trouble there for Mr. Wang?" Su Xiaoxue quickly asked.
"It's OK. Drugs to treat it have been found," Song Ruiping said.
"That's good," Su Xiaoxue said.
"It was discovered by Dr. Wang," Song Ruiping said.
"Mr. Wang is very skillful," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Yeah." Song Ruiping nodded.
While they were talking, someone approached them.
"Madam, Guo Zhenghe is waiting outside," her maid said.
"Please, have him come in," Song Ruiping said.
After a short while, Guo Zhenghe walked in with a bright smile on his face like the spring sunshine. He was carrying two boxes of tea in his hand. "Auntie, Xiaoxue."
"Come on, have a seat," Song Ruiping said.
They sat in the courtyard.
"This is the spring tea produced in the county," Guo Zhenghe said. "Although it is not a famous product, it has a special flavor. So, I brought some for you to taste."
"You are so kind," Song Ruiping said.
Spring tea should be picked before and after the Tomb-sweeping Day. In some places in the south, it might be a little earlier.
"Xiaoxue, have you been going out recently?" Guo Zhenghe asked.
"I went out to Xiangshan." Su Xiaoxue smiled.
"Where else do you want to go?" Guo Zhenghe asked. "I am free these days. Let's go out together."
"Well, there is no place I want to go for a while," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Let me know if you change your mind. I'll take you," Guo Zhenghe said.
Su Xiaoxue smiled. While talking, her brother arrived.
"Brother!" She seemed to be extraordinarily happy when she saw her elder brother.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Su Zhixing was very fond of his sister.
"I'm very good. I went to Xiangshan a few days ago," Su Xiaoxue said.
"Mom, Zhenghe," Su Zhixing said.
"Brother Zhixing." Guo Zhenghe nodded.
"Why did you come back?" Song Ruiping asked.
"For some business," Su Zhixing said.
Guo Zhenghe was sensible, so he left.
"Did he have something to do here?" Su Zhixing asked.
"There was something," Song Ruiping said.
"What was it?" Su Zhixing asked.
"It has to do with your little sister!" Song Ruiping smiled.
"Mom!" Su Xiaoxue was embarrassed.
"We have to carefully consider it," Song Ruiping said.
Su Zhixing did not say anything. He knew Guo Zhenghe was interested in his sister. He had secretly arranged someone to check into him. Of course, it was a sneaky investigation with two results. First, his performance was extremely good, and he was a rare young talent. Second, he was good at plotting and grabbing power. He was overly shrewd at a young age. Being shrewd was a good thing but also not a good thing. The key was to see how it was used.
"What do you think, Sister?" he asked.
"I don't like him," Su Xiaoxue decisively said.
"If you don't like him, then never mind," Su Zhixing immediately said. He had her same attitude. Everything would depend on her wishes.
"You really are siblings!" Song Ruiping smiled and pointed to her children.
"OK, I still have something to do. You can take your time to talk," Song Ruiping said.
"Brother, what do you have to do this time?" Su Xiaoxue asked.
"I need to see an old friend to ask for something. Oh, I am still going to pop into see Mr. Wang," Su Zhixing said.
"Why are you going there?" When he mentioned Wang Yao, her eyes began to sparkle.
"Of course, I want to consult him. His martial arts are at the peak, and he is very skillful!" Su Zhixing, who had the privilege of seeing part of his ability, praised Wang Yao's achievement.
"When are you going?" she asked.
"Well, you want to go too, don't you?" Su Zhixing knew what his little sister was thinking.
"Could I?" Su Xiaoxue asked.
"Well, why not?" Su Zhixing replied. "We have to wait until I settle the official business in Jing."
Troops were under highly strict rules. They were not free to come and go as they pleased.
"Well, I am afraid that we can't go even if we wanted to," Su Xiaoxue said.
"What do you mean?" her brother asked.
"There is an infectious disease outbreak where Mr. Wang lives. It is under martial law," Su Xiaoxue said.
Su Zhixing was shocked. "Is he alright?"
"He is alright, and he has also developed a drug to treat the infectious disease," his sister replied. "They are being produced on a larger scale, but the mountain village is still under martial law."
"How could it be like that?" Su Zhixing frowned.
In addition to his official business, he wanted to go to the mountain village and invite Wang Yao to come to instruct and teach them how to fight. This was a half-private and half-public matter, but he did not expect to encounter such a situation.
"It must be put off," Su Xiaoxue said.
"If I can't go this time, there must be a next time," Su Zhixing said.
"OK," Su Xiaoxue said.
"If I can't go there, I'll stay with you, little girl, at home," he said. "Tell me, where do you want to go?"
"Wudang Mountain," Su Xiaoxue said.
"What?" Su Zhixing asked. "Where?"
"The Taoist Holy Land," Su Xiaoxue said.
Her reason made him feel a little confused. "Well, if you want to go, I will accompany you."
…
In the mountain village, people were still panicking. There was another infected person.
Wang Yao called Professor Wu. On the same day, around dusk, a large amount of medicine was transferred into the mountain village. According to the number, it was distributed to every family. Everyone had to take it for prevention, no matter if they were sick or not. This also was to give the villagers a little peace of mind.
Before long, another seven days passed. No one in the village got sick.
Martial law became more relaxed. People were allowed to enter and exit, but they still had to be registered. They had to answer questions when they returned about where they had gone so it could be recorded.
"I want you to accompany me to see your grandfather since we haven't for a while. They are worried about us," Zhang Xiuying said.
Wang Yao drove his parents to his grandfather's house. The two elders were relieved that the family was fine.
In the evening, Wang Zhili, the village party secretary, came to their home. He looked sad.
They had a few phatic words while drinking tea.
"Recently, there have been many villagers looking for me." Wang Jianli lit a cigarette.
"What happened?" Wang Fenghua asked.
"They want to leave the village at once," Wang Jianli said.
There was a short silence. Wang Fenghua deeply inhaled and exhaled smoke. "They are all afraid!"
"Yes, they are all afraid," Wang Jianli said. "The Sun's real estate in town has been built. The people who originally planned to stay in the village now plan to leave!"
"How many families will be left?" Wang Fenghua asked.
"Oh, around 30, maybe even less," Wang Jianli said.
"So few?" Wang Yao was surprised.
"Hey, is this still a village if there are so few families?" Wang Jianli asked.
It couldn't be seen as a village with such a small population. A village in decline would eventually vanish. This was not a rare case.