Xiao Xiong was not in a hurry, his hand was handed forward, and Niu Sheng hesitated to take the bread. He hadn't eaten anything from last night until now.

On weekdays, some neighbors and villagers will also send food to Niu Sheng, and the simple town government will also send staff to visit Niu Sheng from time to time, bringing him some rice, eggs, vegetables in the field and other necessities, but in recent days, the epidemic has been spread more and more mysteriously by the big guys, because Niu Sheng went to the health center, and no one dared to contact him again.

Everyone is afraid of getting sick, which is understandable, but a sixteen-year-old child is in the most important stage of physical development, lack of food and clothing, such a life is too crippled, it is really pitiful.

Chewing and swallowing the food heavily, Niu Sheng's immature face finally saw a little childishness, perhaps because his guard was relieved, so his expression full of vigilance and hostility gradually eased.

Xiao Xiong patted Niu Sheng's back and said with a light smile: "Eat slowly, don't choke, no one will rob you, these are all for you." ”

Unscrewed the mineral water and handed it to Niu Sheng, Xiao Xiong secretly sighed in his heart, when did he take such good care of others?

Qi Bang, who was standing at the door, smoked three or four cigarettes in a row, and couldn't hear what Xiao Xiong and Niu Sheng said, thinking to himself, such a strange child, who came to see him with good intentions, but he had such an attitude of refusing people thousands of miles away, so he simply left.

"What do you want to know, I'll tell you, you ask......" After Niu Sheng was full, his sharp eyes became much gentler, and he looked at Xiao Xiongdao.

I didn't know how to start a conversation, and for the first time I felt stupid and didn't know how to communicate with this half-grown child.

After thinking about it, Xiao Xiong took out a cigarette and didn't light it, and said with a friendly expression: "Let me introduce myself first, you can call me Xiao Xiong, I am a doctor, I came here from far away, because there is an unknown epidemic in Pingshan County, and we are a medical rescue team." ”

"Xiao ...... Xiong ......" Niu Sheng pronounced Xiao Xiong's name in an extremely slow tone, he also heard about the epidemic from the people in the village, and he didn't know what the epidemic was, only that someone had an infectious disease.

From birth to the death of his parents, the farthest place he has been to is Pingshan County, this child in the mountains was once full of curiosity and longing for the outside world, and there was an uncontrollable thirst in his heart, but these have become extravagant hopes that he does not want to mention with the breakdown of the family and the forgetting of his parents.

The stunned eyes implied a childlike atmosphere, the corners of Niu Sheng's mouth twitched, and there were some bread crumbs on his lips, "I'm sick too......"

"Well," Xiao Xiong said lightly, "You tell me what is uncomfortable in your body, and I will help you heal, and we will be friends in the future, okay?"

The tone was full of sincerity, Niu Sheng's face was full of surprise, and his heartbeat intensified, and in his memory, few people had ever said that they wanted to be friends with him, except for his childhood friends.

"I felt cold...... Headache...... The diarrhea has never stopped, more than a dozen times a day, and the soles of the feet are very hot. Niu Sheng's Mandarin was very obscure, mixed with local accents, and Xiao Xiong didn't understand it.

Xiao Xiong frowned, thinking in his heart that the symptoms Niu Sheng said were not too different from the Qin Sheng he had seen before, which could not provide a valuable reference at all, and the investigation of the epidemic was still clueless.

"Then have you eaten anything unclean in the past few days?" Xiao Xiong then asked, but most of the diseases are from the mouth, especially infectious diseases.

Niu Sheng's face was dirty, his tattered clothes had many holes, and he had long been accustomed to the state of not covering his body, so he paused slightly, and said with a flat expression: "I haven't eaten in the past few days, I went to the road to find something to eat, and the rest of the garbage heap, whether it is clean or not, can fill my stomach." ”

The sadness in the words made Xiao Xiong feel pity, he shouldn't bear such a life, it was a state of reluctance, maybe it wasn't life, it was just survival in the cracks.

Xiao Xiong was silent, his mind was a mess, and he suddenly remembered what Qin Sheng had said, and then glanced at Niu Sheng, "Have you ever drunk the well water in the village?"

Niu Sheng disagreed, and replied casually: "There are several wells in the village, and if you are thirsty, of course you have to drink water, and I have drunk all of them." ”

"Have you drunk the well water next to the big tree in the past two days?" Xiao Xiong asked in surprise, he clearly remembered that this was how Qin Sheng described the well.

Niu Sheng looked surprised, and said to himself, how did he know that there was a well next to the big tree? Niu Sheng nodded, "I drank it yesterday." ”

Before Xiao Xiong could speak, Niu Sheng seemed to remember something, "My stomach hurts after drinking! It still hurts at night! I haven't slept all night!"

Last night's overnight rain, the cold and damp in the dilapidated house, and the tumultuous stomach turned over and over, Niu Sheng tossed and turned all night, and no matter how he curled up, he couldn't sleep.

A strong intuition in his mind, Niu Sheng and Qin Sheng's illness, could it be related to the well water? Xiao Xiong's expression hesitated, hesitating to think about what to do next.

"You're taking me to see the well?" Xiao Xiong suggested.

"Okay. Niu Sheng patted his ass and stood up, lifted the bag containing food into the corner, and covered it with a straw mat.

Qi Bang followed behind Xiao Xiong and Niu Sheng, and asked Xiao Xiong with a puzzled face, "Where are we going now?"

Xiao Xiong didn't answer Qibang, when he was thinking, he was very attentive, and often couldn't hear the voices of the people around him.

It took about ten minutes, under the guidance of Niu Sheng, the three of them found the hundred-year-old tree, the trunk was more than one meter thick, and the branches were luxuriant, and it must be a good place to enjoy the shade in summer.

An old yellow dog pounced under the tree and squinted, looking like it was asleep.

Niu Sheng stood under the trunk of the tree and pointed to the well that was hidden by the trunk, "This is." ”

Xiao Xiong hurriedly walked over and saw that there was a bucket with a rope attached to the well next to it, and a wooden scoop was placed in the bucket.

"That's the water you drank yesterday?"

"Yes, yes. Niu Sheng walked over and picked up the scoop in the bucket, and there was less than a third of the water in the bucket, and the bottom of the bucket was clearly visible.

A few chickens "strolling" in the grass were frightened by the presence of someone and flapped their wings a few times.

"It stinks...... Where does it taste ......" Qibang pinched his nose, suddenly felt a feeling of nausea, and his face turned green.

Xiao Xiong and Niu Sheng also smelled the stench, Xiao Xiong's eyes wandered around, and he saw a hen lying in the grass.

When I stepped forward, I saw that the hen was dead, and then I realized that it was the stench emitted by the hen's corpse.

The thinking expression returned to Niu Sheng's side, Xiao Xiong had many doubts in his heart, could it be related to the well water?

Niu Sheng is a native child of the village, he should know something, Xiao Xiong immediately looked at Niu Sheng, his expression became more and more serious, "Is this well shared by humans and animals?"

"What, I don't know what you're talking about. Niu Sheng didn't hear what Xiao Xiong said, and Xiao Xiong then explained, "Let me ask you, do the people in the village, the chickens, ducks, geese, and other livestock drink the water from this well?"

"Drink," Niu Sheng nodded, "Whoever comes will use it, anyway, I don't need money." ”

Then his deep eyes floated with hesitation, looking at the dead hen in the grass, Xiao Xiong was full of doubts, is the death of the chicken related to the well water?

"Qibang," didn't ask any more, Xiao Xiong's doubts in his heart needed to be solved urgently, he looked at Qibang, and said in an anxious tone, "Go and help me find two chickens, and if you can't find it, ask the villagers to buy it." ”

Qibang's head was full of surprise and doubt, what does the well water have to do with the epidemic? What is Xiao Xiong looking for chickens?

"Hurry up!" Seeing that Qi Bang was stunned and motionless, Xiao Xiong stared at Qi Bang with eager eyes.

"Oh! I'll go!" Qi Bang turned around, black lines on his face, and said in his heart, this person is not familiar with the place, let me get you two chickens somewhere.

"Do you want to drink water?" Niu Sheng's surprised eyes looked at Xiao Xiong's actions, he picked up the rope and threw the bucket into the well.

"Don't drink it, bring some water back. ”

After fetching a bucket of water and carrying the hook, Xiao Xiong looked at Niu Sheng, "You come with me to the health center." ”

I don't know why Xiao Xiong had such a proposal, Niu Sheng silently followed Xiao Xiong's side and walked along the trail to the health center.

Dr. Fang and several other doctors have returned to the health center, and what they have investigated has made everyone worried, and they have visited the two connected villages from house to house, and found that eight more villagers are in abnormal health, with similar symptoms, high fever accompanied by diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

"Dr. Xiao, we are waiting for you......" Dr. Fang stood in front of the office door, and saw Xiao Xiong coming back with a bucket of water, followed by a child, his eyes full of surprise.

"You go to that room and wait for me, don't run around. Xiao Xiong's eyes fell on a ward on the far right side of the corridor and said to Niu Sheng.

In the office on the second floor, there is only one desk that has been used for more than ten years, and there are only four doctors in the entire health center, two or two shifts, day after day, and the little girl with a ponytail and an older female doctor are on duty today.

"What is the situation you have found, are there any new patients?" asked Xiao Xiong, sitting at his old desk with his fingers crossed, looking at the doctors.

Dr. Fang put the detailed record on the table, "Eight more suspected infected people were found, and when we came back, Dean Liu called me, and there was a suspected infected person in the county hospital who died of heart failure, and excessive heavy metals were found in the blood......

Speaking of these circumstances, Dr. Fang's heart was as heavy as his face, so far, it is the fourth person suspected of being infected who has died.

"What about the source of infection? Is there any special clue?" Xiao Xiong's face was extremely solemn, and his heart was full of anxiety, he had already realized that if the epidemic was no longer under control, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Read the first book of the novel