My domineering ex-husband is living off his wife in ancient times.

Chapter 71 Full-Time Career Journey

Cheng Ruoan was stunned.

6.

If you can't solve the plague, solve the people who have it.

Xishan County's epidemic control policies are really simple and crude.

"Master, were you there when leprosy broke out in Xishan County?" She wanted to know more about the extent of the infectious disease at the time, which led the government to abandon the people.

"Well, not really. When I arrived, the leprosy mountain had already been there for seven or eight days, and there weren't many leprosy patients left in the city."

Cheng Ruoan: "At the worst point, how many people were infected?"

They've been traveling for the past few days, taking desolate mountain roads, so they're really out of touch with the outside world.

I have no idea how far the plague in Bachuan Prefecture has progressed to the point that Taiyuan Prefecture has started abandoning suspected cases in the mountains to fend for themselves.

Si Shilang squeezed his way to the city gate but didn't get any information about Bachuan Prefecture.

"At that time, the most dangerous period in Xishan County was when one in five days was the most dangerous."

Cheng Ruoan: !!!

"So, isn't it true that at least 20% of the people in Bachuan Prefecture are now infected with the plague?"

After setting up the last tent, Si Shaoheng walked over and sat down next to Cheng Ruoan: "When my brother-in-law and I went to check the situation outside Huilan City that day, we actually saw that the city gate was already crowded with people, all of whom seemed to want to enter the city to escape the plague."

But many of those people were already coughing and had a fever.

Cheng Ruoan's heart was pounding. "Why didn't you say so back then?"

That feeling of brushing shoulders with death is truly enough to send your blood pressure soaring.

"Did I tell you to stop worrying for nothing? Just follow my arrangements and plans. There's no need to scare you by telling you." Si Shaoheng's explanation was very chauvinistic.

"No wonder you didn't let us stop for a moment and kept us on our way." Doctor Hu scoffed and glanced at him. "In that situation, if Hulu Village could be defended, you could still survive in the dilapidated temple. But once Hulu Village was invaded by refugees, every single one of you would be infected with the disease."

Cheng Ruoan became increasingly frightened by what the two of them were saying, and said anxiously, "Then do we still have to go into Xishan County? The methods used to treat the plague in this place are so cruel, and there are so many people outside the city gates. There might be some people who are in the incubation period of the plague."

After reading "Treatise on Epidemic Diseases," Dr. Hu understood the concept of "incubation period" and nodded, saying, "Most of them still use face towels to cover their mouths and noses. The gauze masks that you came up with are not as effective as the ones you suggested. They cannot stop the spread of plague at all."

"Even if we want to continue our journey, four horses are not enough, and our rations are also insufficient." Si Shaoheng still hoped to stay in the city for one night to reorganize the resources for the journey before continuing on his way.

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Cheng Ruoan, as if asking her: "How are you going to take out the food from your space without an excuse?"

Cheng Ruoan pursed her lips, her teeth unconsciously biting the dead skin on her lips. After a long silence, she suddenly thought of a way.

“Why don’t we just send out a message outside the city and find a security escort agency to take us to the next county town to resupply our food?” Cheng Ruoan asked Si Shaoheng.

Si Shaoheng frowned slightly: "Okay."

"The next county is Gong County. At our current speed, it will take us about five or six days to get to Xishan County. But the horses will not be able to keep up. If we hire a security escort, we can slow down the speed, and the horses will not die of exhaustion. We can also rest when we reach Gong County."

They rushed on their way mainly because they were afraid of being overtaken by refugees infected with the disease.

There were only four able-bodied men in the group; there was no way to manage if there were more refugees.

In particular, they don't want more people to know about Shaoyang's kung fu, which means they would be at a disadvantage if refugees came rushing at them.

However, if they are escorted by a security escort agency, the refugees will not dare to rush forward recklessly.

Escorts are all legally armed. If they brandish their weapons and you still rush at them, you're either planning to kill yourself or trying to rob the shipment.

Dr. Hu was pleased with Cheng Ruoan's quick thinking, but couldn't resist trying to scare her a little.

“Disciple, haven’t you considered that if Gong County is in the same situation as Xishan County, we still won’t be able to get in?”

Cheng Ruoan pouted, her eyes showing some dissatisfaction: "Then let's find another bodyguard to escort us to the next county town."

She didn't understand why her master would ask such a mindless question.

Dr. Hu: ...

"I'm curious, how did your family, a family of scholars and farmers, become so wealthy? Do you know how much silver it costs to hire bodyguards to escort you along the way?"

"Disciple, did you find those ten thousand taels of silver notes in that mountain stronghold?"

Cheng Ruoan choked, and after swallowing hard, she said weakly, "No, I only picked up less than three thousand taels..."

Unlike Mr. Qian, Dr. Hu guessed the first time he saw the children who hadn't woken up from the drugging that they were not some refugees hiding in the mountains.

He just didn't say it to my face.

Later, after becoming a disciple, he asked Cheng Ruoan again while traveling in a carriage and learned that it was the bandits of Panlongzhai who had kidnapped the Si family's children.

Dr. Hu chuckled: "Then there's not much money left, is there, my apprentice?"

Cheng Ruoan was drenched in sweat.

She still has a lot of money left!

But it's all illicit money that hasn't been laundered yet, and we can't let anyone know!

Cheng Ruoan glanced at Si Shaoheng, who then took the initiative to explain for her.

“Our Si family’s ancestral home is in Taiming Prefecture in the north. Going back three or four generations, we were a prominent family there. My grandfather took the family’s property to Bachuan Prefecture to reclaim and cultivate land. At that time, he hired many farmhands to help with the reclamation…”

He didn't say exactly how much land and property his family owned, leaving Old Hu to guess for himself.

In any case, the guesses will be more numerous than the actual situation of their family.

The phrase "a large family in the north" alone is enough to evoke a lot of thoughts.

Cheng Ruoan quietly gave Si Shaoheng a thumbs up.

"Hmph, you're well-off, but you can't just squander it all like that. What will you do when you go to the North?" Doctor Hu pulled out a crumpled silver note from his pocket and stuffed it into Cheng Ruoan's arms.

Cheng Ruoan took a look and exclaimed, "Good heavens, a thousand taels!"

The master she reluctantly acknowledged turned out to be a rich man?!

"Master, I can't..."

"Take this and hire bodyguards to escort us directly to the North. They can arrange the entire journey, as long as we travel safely and comfortably. If we need more money, we can ask their master for more."

That way, my old back and butt won't have to suffer the whole way.

After saying that, Dr. Hu got up, rubbed his old back and buttocks, and walked towards the three tents.

He even asked casually, "Si Lang, which tent is this old man's?"

"This is your tent, Dr. Hu."

"Dr. Hu, are you going to rest now? The cured meat soup will be ready in a little while, wouldn't you like some?"

Doctor Hu waved his hand, "Just simmer a small pot of it for me, and wake me up in two hours to take your mother's pulse."

After saying that, the old man crawled into his tent, and soon, the sound of snoring could be heard.

Cheng Ruoan looked at the tent, then at the banknotes, and then at Si Shaoheng.

She panicked.

I am truly flattered.

Si Shaoheng patted her shoulder: "He truly treats you as his apprentice, so you should sincerely respect him as your master in the future. I asked my brother-in-law to go with me to find a security escort agency outside Xishan County. Now that I think about it, this kind of fully-supported travel is actually quite good."

After saying that, he left too.

Cheng Ruoan was left alone, holding the silver notes in her hands, feeling as if her entire palms were burning hot.