The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 351 Wang Erxiao's New Year

border town.

Since the doctors from Kansai who were treating the epidemic arrived.

More than 10,000 patients from the five major garrisons in Huaiqing Prefecture and the border town were all transferred and isolated in a military settlement.

Residents living near this quarantine site could clearly hear the cries of children inside just a few days ago.

After that, there was silence.

The children are crying, and the family members are upset.

But at least it proves the child is still alive.

It is the silence that makes people worry.

The family members wanted to visit the sick person in the village.

Excuse me.

The doctors said that the quarantine site is a no-go zone, and that the toad plague is not immune to adults.

They wouldn't let anyone in, and no one informed the patients' families outside the military camp about their conditions.

What about the patients' families? Aren't they going through a lot of suffering?

I waited and waited, enduring the torment for over ten days.

Finally, news came out the night before last.

They said the families should come to pick up their children early this morning.

This infectious disease, known as toad plague, can infect all the unborn siblings in a family or neighbor's house within a few days if a child in the family or neighbor's house gets infected.

Therefore, the families were not sending away just one child, but all the children.

Even if you can give birth, raising a child is not easy.

This is not.

On a crisp early winter morning, even wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, the chill seeps into your skin.

Despite the freezing hands and feet, the entrance to the quarantine site was crowded with patients' family members.

Whoever's flesh and blood is yours to feel the pain.

Ninety-nine percent of those who came were women.

When meeting someone you know well, the first question you ask is:

"How many children from your family have been arrested? When the authorities issued the notice, did they mention how many had been cured?"

Much the same.

They all wanted to hear different versions of the story.

If you know them well, please let me know immediately:
"The Ang family's two sons and two daughters all contracted this plague. Before the youngest son was taken in, his face was swollen up like a pancake! To be honest, if he couldn't be saved, Ang wouldn't blame the doctors for being incompetent. The child's grandfather, who doted on this youngest, didn't eat or drink for three days and even made a small coffin for him himself."

"Sister-in-law! Your eyes are almost blind from crying, just like mine! My eldest son's condition was even worse than your youngest's; he was brought in on the second day after falling into a coma. My husband tries to comfort me every day, saying that no news is good news, but I just can't stop crying. I haven't had a full night's sleep in over ten days."

As they talked, they held hands and shed tears.

A woman in her forties standing nearby listened with great sorrow and quickly comforted the two:
“My two sisters, don’t worry too much. Ang’s eldest son is on duty outside this military village, and I’ve never heard him mention any dead children inside.”

"What did you say, sister? You mean you've cured everything?!"

"We can't let the children go home until they're fully recovered."

"Sigh! I don't even dare to think about it too deeply. It wasn't easy raising these kids, changing their diapers and feeding them, until they were old enough to help with the housework. The oldest one will be getting married in two more years."

The women can't stand hearing discouraging words anymore.

They encouraged and comforted each other.

After waiting for about half an hour, the gate to the quarantine site slowly opened.

A woman shouted loudly, "They're out! They're out!"

The family members, who were talking all at once, took a closer look.

Yo!
Isn't that kid from whose family the one who's leading the pack and running the fastest?
Just over ten days ago, he was carried in lying down, but now he's not only recovered, he even seems to have gained some weight.

Is it possible that after recovering from toad plague, there is a side effect of gaining weight?
The children also felt that they hadn't seen their relatives for a long time.

After finding his mother in the crowd, he naturally felt a warm embrace.

His cheeks were carefully touched by his mother.

Some of the more impatient children eagerly began telling their relatives about their treatment process inside:
"The doctors from Kansai are incredibly skilled; they personally brewed the herbal decoctions for us! The decoctions weren't too bitter, and the cactus juice applied to our faces was the most soothing—cool and refreshing, with a wonderful aroma."

"I've gained weight! I weighed myself naked before taking a bath last night, and I'm five pounds heavier than the day I went! What did I eat? Well, I had red date and millet porridge for every meal. As long as I can eat, I'm full for all three meals!"

"It's not that we're not allowed to eat meat, but the doctors say that mutton is a 'trigger food' and we can't eat it if we have this disease. Only drinking porridge is the safest option."

“Angcai didn’t cry. It was only in the first few days after my third brother went in that he cried every day, at every meal! A doctor said that any child under six who doesn’t cry should be given a handful of raisins every day. Raisins from the Western Regions are so sweet. My third brother ate them once and never cried again!”

"Who wasn't cured? Everyone's cured! Anyway, everyone in our house and the two houses next door are alive!"

"Mother, after Ang Chengding is born, he will also go to Guanzhong to join the army. The doctors say that Guanzhong has an endless supply of fat-tailed sheep and grapes, and even the medicine that cures the toad plague can only be grown in Huozhou."

The women couldn't believe what they were hearing.

They also inquired about the children in the neighbor's house.

In the end, it was discovered that none of the more than 10,000 children sent there actually lost their lives.

These doctors from Kansai are truly skilled!
Cacti are also good.

General Gan's discovery of this herb was a stroke of good luck.

Zhao Muyun discovered it.

Since this previously incurable toad plague was cured.

The number of centurions who expressed their desire to serve in the 9th Garrison of Kansai exceeded one hundred overnight.

Their reasons were quite valid: the doctor from Guanzhong and General Gan had given their entire family a second chance at life.

A debt of gratitude is as great as the heavens; it must be repaid!

The bearded guards were so angry they laughed: "Do you think we have too few opportunities to make a name for ourselves in this border town?"

"Want to fight and earn merit? It's not that hard! Where in the world is there any peace anymore! The Jurchen tribes near the King of Youzhou have been frequently harassing the border lately. I heard their leader wants to form a marriage alliance with the Tatar royal court. At that time..."

"Your Highness! Even if the Tatar royal court in the northern desert joins forces with the Jurchen tribes, they don't have many troops left."

“If they don’t send troops, they can still send horses, sheep, and grain! Or they can guide the Jurchen tribes through their territory.”

Last year I thought this year would be better, but I found that each year is harder than the last.

Everyone in the border town camp felt that life was difficult.

The business capital will only get more difficult.

After the merchants and minor officials left the commercial capital, the civil service and the powerful were all having second thoughts.

The money and food confiscated from various temples by the leaders of the Jingjun army were either sent to the palace or pocketed by the eunuchs.

Even though the palace's storerooms were already overflowing, the Empress Dowager and the Regent never considered giving them away.

This year, half of the fields have not been cultivated.

Who knows.

Will farmers continue to abandon farming next year and the year after?
The royal family has already paid the price of being ridiculed by everyone for offending all the monks in the world.

Then we must grasp at this last straw.
(End of this chapter)