As night falls, a cold wind blows on the top of the mountain, blowing through the dense treetops, making a whistling sound, as if telling the secrets of the night.

After a whole night of gentle shining of the stars, the more than a thousand originally wet masks have been completely dry. They appear particularly neat under the moonlight, as if they are little guards protecting the health of the mountain people.

Yesterday, the men blamed their wives for wasting money by purchasing masks, but today, each of them had a pious expression as they received the packages of masks and medicinal materials belonging to their family, with curiosity and anticipation flashing in their eyes.

They held in their hands this palm-sized piece of mysterious cloth with thin ropes tied at both ends. They looked at each other with confusion and doubt on their faces.

"How do I use this little gadget?"

One man finally couldn't help himself and took the lead in raising his doubts.

Last night his wife only told him that it was called a mask and that it could block disease, but she did not explain in detail how to use it.

There was a hint of shyness in his voice, as if he was asking about something extremely private.

Seeing this, Zhang Laoer smiled, took out his mask from his arms and began to demonstrate on the spot.

As he moved, the eyes of the onlookers gradually brightened and expressions of sudden enlightenment gradually emerged.

It turns out that you only need to easily hang the thin ropes at both ends behind your ears, and this simple yet magical little prop can fit firmly on your face.

Although only villagers from Zhangjia Village were left on the mountain top at this moment, the patrol team did not slack off in the slightest as night fell.

Every morning, they would take aged vinegar and carefully spray it around each tent, just in case, to ensure that the epidemic prevention measures were foolproof.

At the foot of the mountain, security is extremely tight. Anyone who intends to go up the mountain must first go through a mugwort fumigation ceremony as a preliminary screening for possible diseases.

A few days of such peaceful days passed quietly, and the team that went out to gather information returned in a hurry, with anxiety and panic written all over their faces.

Grandpa Guo, the elder of the village, appears at the foot of the mountain on time every day and watches quietly.

This evening, when he saw several people staggering back with panicked looks, he couldn't help but have an ominous premonition in his heart - the thing he was most worried about might have become a reality.

The group was quickly ushered into the camp, where the patrol immediately disinfected them with mugwort smoke.

Before Grandpa Guo could ask, they began to tell the story impatiently:

"It's a plague! Mr. Guo, there's a plague in this town!"

Uncle Guo's heart sank, and he muttered to himself, "It is so."

When the patrolmen nearby heard the word "plague", their faces suddenly turned pale and the atmosphere became solemn.

"Tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"

Just at this time, Zhang Laoer was walking down from halfway up the mountain, and unexpectedly met a few people who had returned. Then he followed them down to the foot of the mountain.

As soon as he arrived, he heard discussions about the plague.

"Master Zhang!"

When they saw him, everyone greeted him quickly, their eyes full of hope.

"Everyone sit down and tell us in detail what the current situation in the town is."

The older man in the team took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner turmoil, and slowly said, "When the five of us arrived at the village, we left two people here and the other three continued to go to the town. The town was in a mess, with houses leaning to one side and shops closed, and pedestrians on the road looked dull. After asking around, we found out that they were refugees washed here by the flood. They were short of food and were planning to go to the county town for help. On the way, we encountered several people who were coughing continuously, their cheeks were red, and some even vomited continuously. In a hurry, I immediately pulled the other two companions back."

His words were still mixed with fear and anxiety that were difficult to conceal.

"Master Zhang, is this really a plague?"

The question was trembling in the voice, full of uneasiness.

"Most likely."

Zhang Laoer answered calmly. All the signs before him pointed to the most terrifying answer.

Hearing this, the three of them panicked. Although they had not come into direct contact with the patients, they were not far away. What if...

“Will we be infected too?”

The shadow of fear hangs over everyone's heart.

Seeing this, Zhang Laoer tried his best to comfort them: "When you were in town, did you wear masks and carry medicine bags?"

Several people nodded repeatedly and said in unison: "Yes, yes."

"That's good, but for safety reasons, we shouldn't go up the mountain tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll ask my wife to check you and make sure you're all right before we go up the mountain. What do you think?"

Zhang Laoer was very worried, fearing that they had inadvertently come into contact with the patient and that blindly going up the mountain would only make the situation worse.

Naturally, everyone had no objection, especially when they saw that Mr. Guo, Mr. Zhang and the patrol team members were willing to stay and observe together. Not only did they not feel isolated and helpless, but they felt a warm current flowing through their hearts.

As long as we get Mrs. Zhang's confirmation tomorrow, everything will be clear.

As long as there is any movement at the foot of the mountain, people on the top of the mountain can always capture it keenly.

Supplies were scarce at the foot of the mountain, so the villagers could only raise their voices and shout towards the mountain, reminding everyone not to go down the mountain easily, and to deal with any needs at the foot of the mountain. Everyone should stay there tonight, and at the same time request the patrol team to throw down some emergency supplies for emergency use.

They said nothing about the plague, so most people remained in the dark about it.

Their shouts were so loud that even from the top of the mountain one could vaguely hear a few unclear words.

Xu Liyun's heart tightened. If they didn't go up or down the mountain, could it be that the people who went out of the mountain encountered trouble?

Her thoughts naturally wandered in negative directions.

"Sister-in-law, everyone said we have to wait overnight, which means they are still trying to understand the situation. You will understand when you go and take a look tomorrow morning. Don't take it too seriously."

Although Zhang Laoer had his own plans in mind, he still tried his best to comfort Xu Liyun first, fearing that she would go down the mountain alone on impulse, leaving them to take care of her crying little niece. The thought of that scene gave him a headache.

"Okay, I know."

Although Xu Liyun was worried, she could only pray silently, hoping that things were not that bad.

The sky was just beginning to turn pale. After Xu Liyun had settled her daughter down, she handed her over to Zhang's eldest sister-in-law, and then she lifted her skirt and hurried down the mountain.

Mrs. Zhang understood what Xu Liyun meant, knowing that she was worried about Zhang Laoer who had gone down the mountain, so she did not stop her and took the initiative to take on the task of taking care of Xiao Jiaojiao, relieving their worries.

Zhang Laoer immediately saw Xu Liyun coming down the mountain first, and he knew that what happened last night could not be hidden from her eyes.

Helplessly, he could only stretch out his arm and let Xu Liyun take his pulse.

When Xu Liyun saw that Zhang Laoer was fine, she finally felt relieved.

She didn't say much and checked everyone one by one.

"No problem."

It wasn't until she checked the last person that Xu Liyun finally felt relieved.

That night, the bonfire at the foot of the mountain continued to burn, resisting the bone-chilling cold in the mountains and ensuring that everyone was protected from the suffering of the cold.

When everyone heard Xu Liyun's announcement that everyone was safe and sound, they finally felt relieved.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like