GBP Chapter 167 Looking for Water 1
Chapter 167 Looking for Water 1
Meng Linshi's death added another layer of gloom to the already somber atmosphere of the procession.
The epidemic came on fiercely, and from the onset of the disease to death, there was simply no time to react.
Witnessing the death of a fellow traveler evokes a different feeling than seeing corpses by the roadside; it's as if the shadow of death has finally loomed over them.
Upon hearing the news of Meng Linshi's death, the faces of Meng Linlang's family members grew increasingly grim.
Meng Linlang couldn't help but shed tears.
The grandparents favored the eldest son's family, and the siblings had always regarded the elderly couple as their grandparents, which saddened them greatly.
"Linlang, didn't you say before that we were both fine in your dreams?" Meng He was very puzzled.
"You said we successfully escaped to Jing'an Prefecture, and that Second Grandpa and Second Grandma passed away peacefully in their old age..."
“He’er.” Yuan Qian’s mother wiped away her tears and stopped her, “These are just your sister’s childish words. I told you long ago that I wouldn’t let you believe them.”
Meng Cheng'an also didn't understand. Ever since the beginning of their escape, he hadn't understood why Meng Fuqing had become the pillar of the team, while his family wasn't as sought after as his daughter had dreamed of.
After so much time has passed, he has long since come to terms with things. He said, "Listen to your mother, don't mention it again."
Meng Linlang felt her cheeks burning, as if she had been slapped.
She couldn't help but feel glad that she hadn't told her family about the Spirit Spring Space before she obtained it, because she wanted to surprise them; otherwise, she feared she would have disappointed them even more.
Meng Linshi's body was disposed of on the spot. Meng Shitou tried to rush forward several times but was stopped by others. A man in his thirties cried loudly like a child.
When examining Meng Linshi, Zheng Yi wrapped himself up tightly and took the pulse of the quarantined person in the same way. In the end, he found that all three of them had clear pulse patterns.
This included Meng Qi, who ate and drank with Meng Linshi.
Zheng Yi, feeling utterly overwhelmed, began flipping through medical books after ordering these people to be isolated.
As a physician specializing in treating injuries, he wasn't particularly proficient in internal medicine. He took out all the medical books he had brought and flipped through them several times, deliberating for a long time before finally choosing a prescription.
They looted quite a few kinds of medicinal herbs, which came in handy.
Meanwhile, Meng Fuqing was also busy. She had someone boil water, let it cool, and then add salt. When no one was looking, she added some medicinal powder to it.
Due to the plague, the convoy remained in place for several days.
Several more people fell ill during this period of quarantine, including Meng Linlang.
After falling into the water, Meng Linlang contracted a cold. Her body was weak, making her more susceptible to infection. As a result, she suffered from persistent high fever, vomiting, and diarrhea after the onset of the disease.
She lost a lot of weight in just a few days, and no longer had her previous pretty and charming appearance.
Despite having one foot in the grave, Meng Linlang pulled through thanks to the meticulous care of her parents and brothers.
But not everyone is as lucky as her.
Meng Qi, for example, was not in good health to begin with. If it weren't for the care of Meng Linlang's family along the way, he wouldn't have been able to keep up with the speed of the caravan.
He survived longer than Meng Linshi, but eventually passed away.
Having lost both his parents in just a few days, Meng Shitou's temperament has matured somewhat.
He clumsily buried his father's body next to his mother's grave. Finally, looking at the two bare mounds, he rubbed his red and swollen eyes and thought about putting up a wooden plaque in front of the grave with his parents' names engraved on it.
Meng Fuqing didn't know why Meng Shitou had found her; she seemed to have never had any interaction with this cousin of the original owner.
Seeing the pleading look in Meng Shitou's eyes as he anxiously circled around her, she thought to herself that if Meng Qi and Meng Linshi knew about this, they would probably be furious.
So she carefully carved the two names, "Meng Qi" and "Lin Qianniang," onto the wooden plaque.
In order to get the caravan on its way as soon as possible, she had everyone who fell ill after Meng Linshi drink salt water mixed with her medicine powder, but she still couldn't completely stop people from dying.
Why bother arguing with a dead person?
Meng Fuqing probably didn't realize that Meng Shitou only came to him because he thought Meng Fuqing was the luckiest person.
He believed that the words carved by a blessed person would allow his parents to rest in peace and be protected in the afterlife.
After hastily burning the clothes and belongings of their companions who had died from the plague, the caravan reached a point where it had to leave immediately.
If patients with dysentery do not receive timely replenishment of saline solution, they will die from dehydration. Therefore, the water consumption has been very high in the past few days, and if a new water source is not found, the convoy will not be able to sustain itself for more than a few days.
The deeper one ventures into the Cangxia Plain, the drier and cracked the earth becomes, and the surrounding area is desolate and uninhabited. The plain, once covered with fertile fields, now seems to have become a lost land.
They traveled like this for three days. During these three days, the adults avoided drinking water as much as possible. When they were extremely thirsty, they would only moisten their throats or take a small sip. Most of the water was left for the children or the animals pulling the cart.
Even so, the water stored in the convoy had run out. When Du Zhong received the message from the scouts he had sent out, he was overjoyed and ordered everyone to stop and rest in the woods outside Ningyuan County.
"What's wrong with Chief Du...?" Meng Bochang came to the front of the group, somewhat puzzled. They were discussing leaving the Cangxia Plain as soon as possible last night, so why did they stop to rest in the afternoon?
"Village Chief Meng, my men just brought back news that there's a long convoy of cars lined up at the entrance of Ningyuan County. After inquiring, we learned that they're going into town to buy water."
Du Zhong's lips were already cracked and bleeding, but he couldn't help but grin. "They say that a deep pool in the county town that had dried up suddenly started to gush with water three days ago. Right now, there are a lot of people queuing up to buy water at the town gate. Let's buy some too, and if we stock up on some water, we should be able to reach Qingzhou soon."
Qingzhou was the last prefecture they passed through before arriving at Jing'an Prefecture.
Upon hearing this, Meng Bochang showed no joy. He had encountered many scams and swindles along the way, and he was afraid of being scammed again.
"Why don't we send someone into the county town to investigate first, so we don't get scammed again? What do you think, Chief Du?"
Du Zhong slapped his forehead, "I'm afraid I was in such a hurry that I forgot about this."
Before he could call for help, Xie Jin suddenly spoke up: "I'll take some men, hurry up."
The two of them were naturally more than happy to have Xie Jin go.
Before long, Xie Jin and his men changed their clothes and rode quickly to Ningyuan County.
After learning about the situation in Ningyuan County, Yan He wanted to invite Meng Fuqing, who was stuck in the carriage, to join in the fun.
Meng Fuqing couldn't understand why she had so much energy. After traveling for several days, and with Xie Jin handling things, she just wanted to rest.
After sending Yan He away, Meng Fuqing drank some hot water and began to doze off again in the carriage.
Seeing this, Meng Ranran, who was also in the carriage, couldn't help but feel worried. She reached out and touched her older sister's forehead, but there was no fever.
Seeing her older sister open her eyes and look at her, Meng Ranran quickly explained, "Sister, are you feeling unwell? I've seen you sleeping all day."
Meng Fuqing yawned and leaned lazily against the carriage. "You must be tired from traveling."
As she said this, she was also thinking that she was feeling a bit sleepy today, even though she shouldn't be sick.