Chapter 151: Chapter 151: A Lingering Illness

“What?”

Mrs. Qi looked bewildered, even doubting if there was something wrong with her ears.

However, Yi Meng thought of something else and patiently asked, “Manbao, are you saying that your grandpa won’t get sick as long as he has tobacco leaves?”

“It’s not that he won’t get sick.”

Qi Manman’s little eyebrows furrowed tightly, unsure how to explain this issue.

Yi Meng saw her like this and felt as if something was not quite right.

If not sick, then what could it be?

Qi Manman scratched her head, not knowing how to explain, which made Mrs. Qi feel a wave of heartache. She directly made a decision and said to Yi Meng, “Let Sanlang go out to see if he can buy some tobacco leaves. The old man can’t live without that smoke, and on this journey, he doesn’t know how many puffs of cold air he’s inhaled.”

“Alright, I’ll arrange it now.”

Yi Meng also felt that this was the only way to handle it at the moment.

She wasn’t sure about how others would cope, so it was better to deal with what she could.

Qi Sanlang was summoned by Yi Meng and was still puzzled. After hearing about the task assigned to him, he was even more surprised, “Buy tobacco leaves? Fourth Aunt, hasn’t Grandpa not smoked for a long time?”

“He didn’t smoke before because there were no tobacco leaves. Here’s the money, keep it safe and if you find someone selling tobacco leaves, pick some good ones and bring them back for your grandpa.”

Yi Meng handed a string of Copper Coin to Qi Sanlang: “Don’t go alone, take Uncle Tao with you, go quickly and come back quickly, don’t delay outside.”

“Ah, alright.”

Qi Sanlang didn’t ask much, shoved the Copper Coin into his pocket, and ran towards the main gate.

Not long after Qi Sanlang left, there was a commotion outside the door.

Yi Meng had just come out of Ji Hu’s room, planning to find Yin Cheng to ask about the medicine brewing, heard the sounds from outside, and quickly went to greet them.

Before she could reach the door, she saw Qi Quanjin driving a bullock cart towards the entrance.

“Brother Jin, you’re back!”

Seeing her husband return, Yi Meng was very pleased and quickly went up to help.

Qi Quanjin waved his hand, “You stay out of it, we’ll handle it.”

After a pause, Qi Quanjin added, “Wife, is there hot water? Everyone’s freezing, we need to drink something warm quickly.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s all ready. Come in and warm up, I’ll prepare the hot water right away.”

Yi Meng called out, rushing into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, people were busy, chatting while working, so they didn’t hear the noise outside.

Seeing Yi Meng rush in, they were startled.

Wang Daya asked, “Meng Niang, what’s the matter?”

“Brother Jin and the others are back, hurry, get some warm water to warm them up.”

Yi Meng quickly explained the situation.

Upon hearing that the men cutting wood were back, everyone showed delight on their faces.

Although it was just for cutting wood, and so many people went out, there shouldn’t be any accidents.

But everyone’s hearts were still concerned.

These days are chaotic, and you never know if there are any wild beasts in the forest. They all feared that something might happen and if so, it would be impossible to find anyone.

Qi Quanjin and several others were ushered into the second house to rest.

A bunch of people going in at once, the already small room instantly became lively.

At this moment, Qu Laodi couldn’t care less about cleanliness, urging everyone onto the heated bed to warm up.

Warm water was brought in, with a little sugar added to each bowl, making it sweet and warm, comforting everyone.

“Fourth brother, guess who the fourth sister-in-law and the others ran into today?”

Qu Laodi handed out wet towels to everyone and didn’t forget to talk.

Before Qi Quanjin could answer, Qi Dafu asked, “Who did they meet?”

Qi Quanjin immediately said, “Was it those village folks?”

“How did you know?”

Qu Laodi looked at Qi Quanjin in shock, “Fourth sister-in-law already told you?”

“No, I guessed.”

Qi Quanjin sighed, “We’re newcomers here, unfamiliar with people and places, who else would we meet?”

“Ah, now that you say it, that’s exactly how it is.”

Qu Laodi sighed too, “They ran into Ji Hu and them, but there were only a few of them. According to Mr. Yin, if not for today’s encounter, by tomorrow, those few might have frozen to death.”

Others were shocked by these words.

Qi Dafu quickly asked, “How are those people now?”

“They’ve warmed up and had some soup, now they’re resting in the opposite room! But they’re not awake, and Mr. Yin said to wait until the evening, if they don’t wake, we’ll have to force-feed them soup and medicine.”

Qu Laodi continued, “But this way, the place we’re staying in won’t be spacious enough. Dad said when you all return, we’ll consider finding another place to rent nearby tomorrow. We can’t keep squeezing like this.”

Qi Ercai and Qi Quanjin instinctively exchanged glances.

The brothers saw the frustration in each other’s eyes.

Renting another house means more money.

Even though they sold the ginseng and got silver, they’ve already spent almost half of it, and at this rate, there won’t be enough left to buy land.

But they also know that in this situation, not lending a hand is not an option.

“Alright, I got it.”

Qi Quanjin handed the towel to Qu Laodi, then got off the bed, “Second sister-in-law, sorry for the trouble.”

“What trouble? You’ve all been out in the cold all day, take your time to warm up, don’t catch a cold.”

Qu Laodi collected the towels handed back to her and put them into a basin, planning to wash them again and hang them to dry.

Although each family has their own towels, there are also communal hand towels for everyone to use; whoever has time washes them, so they’re always ready for use.

Qu Laodi isn’t talented at cooking, so among the sisters-in-law, she tends to do less strenuous laundry tasks.

After Qi Quanjin got off the bed, Qi Ercai also climbed down.

Qi Dafu and Qi Sangui followed suit.

With that, everyone poured out of the room again.

Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai went to check on Ji Hu and the others, while everyone else started sorting the wood they brought back.

Yin Cheng had just returned from the front courtyard and upon seeing Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai going to see those people, he followed them into the room.

“They’ve been frostbitten and will need proper care to recover.”

With no one else around, Yin Cheng spoke frankly, “That old woman’s condition is the worst, she’s bound to have lingering issues.”

As he spoke, Yin Cheng pointed to Mrs. Lai Sr., “When preparing her, your wife found several cuts on her arm, likely made to let blood out for others to drink.”

“What?”

Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai were both shocked, “D-drink human blood?”

Yin Cheng nodded, his expression grave, “On our way here, we couldn’t find water, and I doubt they fared any better. When someone is extremely thirsty, they could drink blood, even urine, just to survive.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep