At the entrance of Guhuai Town, the carriage slowed down.
"Zhuangzhuang, what's wrong?"
Zhu Yuanyu felt the carriage stop and opened the curtain and asked. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew why. The atmosphere of the small town in front of me is a bit strange. It's not dark yet, and every house on the street has closed its doors, making it very deserted. There were not many pedestrians on the road, and even those who were there were walking by in a hurry.
"It's strange, it's not dinner time yet..."
Tall Niu looked up at the sky. A red sun hung in the sky. It was just Shenshi at this time, and it was still early before dark.
"Master, look -"
Zhu Yuanyu looked in the direction pointed by Li Zhuangzhuang. There seemed to be white flags hung on the doorways of several houses on the street. There must be a funeral...
Gao Daniu felt a little uneasy, thinking about his mother and wife at home. He said to Zhu Yuanyu: "Brother Zhu, I'm a little worried about the situation at home. I'll go home with Danwa first and have a look. Oh! My home is at the end of the alley. , you can come to me anytime if you need anything! Let’s go now - come here, Danbaby! Daddy will hug you!”
Danwa obediently stretched out his hands and hugged the tall cow's neck. He looked back at Maotou reluctantly and sniffed.
Zhu Yuanyu touched his head, smiled and said nothing.
Watching the father and son and a mule walk away, Zhu Yuanyu asked Li Zhuangzhuang to drive the carriage into the town.
The horses pulled the cart for a while and found that several inns along the street were closed. Some were dark, and some could see a ray of light through the cracks in the doors.
"Master, let me knock on the door and ask."
Qi Ao jumped off his horse, strode over, and knocked heavily on the door several times.
"Is anyone there? Open the door!"
No one responded.
I knocked again at another house, and this time someone answered through the door.
"Let's go, we won't entertain you today!"
"why!"
No one in the inn responded anymore. No matter how many times Qi Ao knocked on the door, there was a deathly silence.
"Go further down and take a look."
Zhu Yuanyu's voice came from the carriage, and there was no emotion. Qi Ao led the horse in front.
Just when Zhu Yuanyu thought he was going to sleep in the wilderness tonight, Gao Daniu came.
"Brother Zhu, stop looking! They won't open the door! Come to my house. Although my house is not big, we can still squeeze in. It's better than sleeping in the wild..."
Everyone looked at the curtain in unison.
Zhu Yuanyu opened the curtain and smiled at Gao Daniu: "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey. It will cause trouble to Brother Gao!"
"Hey, what a big deal!" Gao Daniu smiled, and then frowned worriedly as if he thought of something.
Gao Daniu's home is said to be at the end of an alley, but in fact it's almost on the outskirts of the town. Although it is said to be small, it is actually quite small. There are three adobe houses with front and back yards. There is also a well and a large stone mill in the front yard. The tall mule is tied in the shed next to it, eating quietly. The feed is mainly made of grass, and the mouth is grinding and moving.
"Just put the carriage and horses over there. The house over there is empty. It can be occupied by people after tidying it up."
Gao Daniu pointed to the side of the mule and then to the adobe house on the right side of the main house.
Zhu Yuanyu got off the carriage, looked around, smiled faintly at Gao Daniu, and said, "Brother Gao, I'm really troubling you!"
"Since you call me Brother Gao, can I not help you with this? As long as you don't dislike it..."
"Daniu, is this the guest you are talking about?"
Zhu Yuanyu turned his head, and a plainly dressed old woman, about sixty years old, walked out of the main room. Her expression was very peaceful, and she squinted her eyes as if she wanted to see clearly what was standing in front of her.
"Mom, why did you come out!"
Gao Daniu stepped forward and helped the old woman.
The old woman, also known as Gao Auntie, smiled and patted Gao Da Niu's thick hand, and said in a kind voice: "Let me take a look. It's rare for guests to come to the house. It's not good to neglect... Oops! This is what Danwa said. Dog!”
Maotou squatted at Zhu Yuanyu's feet, looking around, the tip of his tail wagging slightly.
"Ms. Gao, I'm disturbing you."
Zhu Yuanyu bowed his hand to Gao Auntie.
"it's okay no problem……"
Aunt Gao smiled and waved her hand.
Cui'er hugged the bundle and whispered to Zhu Yuanyu, "Master, I'm going to clean up the house first."
"Go ahead."
"I'll help you!" Li Zhuangzhuang followed.
Aunt Gao glanced at Cui'er and said with a smile, "What a beautiful girl..."
Cui Er lowered her head shyly and quickened her pace.
"Come on, come in, the food is being cooked..." Gao Auntie greeted.
After entering the main room, Danwa was not there, so Zhu Yuanyu asked curiously.
Gao Daniu was silent, feeling a little depressed.
Aunt Gao glanced at her son and the smile on her face disappeared. She sighed and said, "Danwa is in the room with his mother. His mother...is ill..."
"What kind of disease is it? Have you seen a doctor?"
"Looking for it, it's useless... everyone is like this..."
Zhu Yuanyu frowned. These words seemed to have profound meaning, but he didn't ask any more questions. He would always say what he wanted to say.
"Sit down first. I'll go in and see if the dishes are ready..."
Aunt Gao smiled at Zhu Yuanyu and Qi Ao and entered the kitchen.
The three of them sat down. Gao Daniu was always a talkative person, and he soon told everything about his family situation without Zhu Yuanyu asking.
Danwa was sick before, and the doctors in the town were helpless. Fortunately, a kind-hearted neighbor had just returned from overseas. When he learned about Danwa's condition, he asked Gao Daniu to take Danwa to seek medical treatment elsewhere.
Gao Daniu was a carpenter with a good craftsmanship and earned some money. So he listened to his neighbor, packed a few clothes, and led the only mule in the family on his way to seek medical advice.
This is also why I met Zhu Yuanyu and the others at a tea shop. At that time, Gao Daniu and Danwa were cured of their illness and were about to go home. Although Danwa has not recovered and his nose is still running, the doctor who treated him said that he only needs to drink a few more medicines according to the prescription he prescribed to get rid of the problem.
Originally, bringing the cured Danwa home was a matter of joy and celebration, but who knew that Danwa would actually get sick, and it was a strange disease.
"It was fine when I went out... When I came back..." Gao Daniu suppressed his voice and looked very painful, "I heard that a dozen people in the town had died of the same strange disease... How could this happen... Danwa is still young, he can’t live without a mother..."
"Is it because of this strange disease that the inns along the streets of the town closed before it got dark?"
"...I heard from my mother that the doctor can't cure the strange disease. Everyone is saying that it is an evil thing causing the demon...but there is no way...I thought that the inn was not open, so I went to pick you up..."
Gao Daniu looked up and smiled helplessly at Zhu Yuanyu, shaking his head.
"Brother Zhu, please listen to my advice and leave this town tomorrow morning. I don't know if this strange disease is contagious..."
Zhu Yuanyu and Qi Ao looked at each other and remained silent.
It seemed that the atmosphere was a little heavy. Gao Daniu smiled again. He didn't know whether he was comforting himself or others, but his smile was a little forced.
At dinner time, everyone was here except Danwa’s mother.
As expected, Danwa's mood was not very high, he was depressed, and he didn't even pay much attention to Mao Tou, whom he liked.
"Here, these are farm dishes, you're welcome!"
Aunt Gao greeted.
"Thank you, Madam Gao, then we'll be welcome!"
Seeing Gao Daniu pick up the chopsticks, Zhu Yuanyu started to move, and then Qi Ao and the three of them also started to move.
"Eat more, there's still more in the pot!"
"good."
Seeing Danwa sniffing and barely touching the rice in his bowl, Zhu Yuanyu picked up a chicken leg and put it into his bowl.
"Egg baby? Eat it!"
This chicken is a free-range chicken. The meat is very smooth, tender, sweet and refreshing, but it does not arouse the egg baby's appetite, and it still looks listless.
"Are Danwa worried about mother?"
Danwa raised his head, his eyes were wet. It turned out that he had been crying for some time, but he lowered his head so it was not easy to see.
Zhu Yuanyu put down the bowl and chopsticks, took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was heavy for a while.
Li Zhuangzhuang and Cui'er, who didn't know why, looked at this and that, a little at a loss.
After finally finishing their meal, Zhu Yuanyu and the others returned to the adobe house on the right. After Cui'er and Li Zhuangzhuang's cleaning, the house is now habitable. It was an empty room for storing some sundries before. It didn't take much time to clean it up. There are two rooms in it, one for Zhu Yuanyu, one for Qi Ao and Li Zhuangzhuang. In Zhuangzhuang's room, Cui'er and Gao Auntie slept together.
"Master, let me boil some water for you to take a bath."
Qi Ao said softly to Zhu Yuanyu, his cheeks feeling a little hot.
Zhu Yuanyu nodded and said, "Well, try not to disturb others."
It was rare that he didn't have to sleep in the open, so of course he had to take this opportunity to take a hot bath, otherwise he might have to wait a few days next time. In the past few days, he just took a bath casually by the stream or the lake.
After taking a bath, Zhu Yuanyu put on his dirty clothes and said to Qi Ao: "You don't have to keep vigil for me. Go and sleep in your bed and refresh yourself. You haven't slept well these past few days."
Qi Ao could only swallow the words that came to his lips and watched Zhu Yuanyu put down the door curtain and rush in.
Late at night, everyone was immersed in sleep.
A crescent moon hung high in the sky, and clouds and mist were blown over by the wind, blocking the moonlight. The world seemed hazy and unreal.
Because he was afraid that Danwa would be infected with a strange disease at some point, he was huddled on the kang with Aunt Gao and Cui Er tonight.
Danwa couldn't sleep, staring at the dark ceiling with his eyes open.
He missed his mother.
He used to sleep with his mother and father, and he slept in the middle.
He fully thought that as long as he recovered from his illness, he could sleep in his mother's warm arms again, but who knew that his mother was ill...
He knew it. He heard it when grandma and dad were whispering. Grandma said that mother might not live long...
The Goudan Niangqin he played with died and was buried alone in the ground. He didn't like this.
He doesn't want his mother to die...
Who can help him...
Save his mother...
