Xiao Qi drove the mule cart out of the village, and as far as the eye could see, everywhere was earthy yellow, a desolation, and not a single pedestrian on the road could be seen, and when he arrived in the town, he found that the doors of the shops on the street were closed, and even Fushengtang and Shouchuntang were closed.

After blowing the wind all the way, Xiao Qi's nose was a little red, she jumped out of the car and walked to the side of the car, lifted the curtain and asked Ah Fu: "Brother, how are you feeling now?" ”

Ah Fu's face turned red, and he whispered softly: "Sister, thirsty." Xiao Qi picked up the gourd beside Ah Fu, this gourd is relatively large in the family, and it can hold five or six bowls of water, and it was drunk by Ah Fu in only half an hour.

Xiao Qi wanted to find some water for his brother to drink, and by the way, he asked why the medical halls in the town were closed. She jumped on the wheel and drove the mule cart around most of the town, and finally saw a family with the courtyard gate ajar, and a hobbled old man was struggling to carry two buckets of water into the courtyard gate, and Xiao Qi hurriedly stepped forward to help carry the wooden barrel into the courtyard.

The old man saw that she was a chubby girl, and said with a smile: "You girl is not much taller than a wooden barrel, but her strength is very great." ”

Xiao Qi looked up and asked with a smile, "Old man, can you lend me a little hot water to drink?" ”

The old man listened to Xiao Qi's words with a little hesitation on his face, and Xiao Qi took out the money bag: "Old man, I won't ask for your water in vain." ”

The old man looked embarrassed: "I'm not asking for money, it's just that I don't have much firewood at home, and I haven't seen anyone come to the town to sell firewood for many days. ”

Xiao Qi glanced at the yard, there was only one house in this small courtyard, it was a three-room earthen house, which was relatively poor in the town, and there was a bare tree on the right side of the yard. Xiao Qi's eyes lit up when she saw that there were many branches on the tree, although she couldn't tell what kind of tree this was, but it was much easier to do with this tree.

Xiao Qi turned around and walked out of the yard, took out a woodcutter and a gourd from the carriage and re-entered the yard.

The old man was startled when he saw the little girl returning with a woodcutter in an imposing manner, "You, what are you going to do?" I'm an old man, I don't have much money at home. ”

Xiao Qi saw that the old man was frightened, and hurriedly put on an amiable smile and said to the old man: "Old man, don't be afraid, I heard that the big tree may grow better in the next year after pruning the branches, I will climb up the tree and get you some branches to come down, you can burn it in the sun for a few days, do you think this is okay?" ”

The old man stroked his chest and said, "Okay, do whatever you say, I'll go and boil hot water for you right away." ”

Xiao Qi took a woodcutter and quickly climbed to the tree and cut down a lot of branches.

After cutting the branches, Xiao Qi saw that the water had not yet boiled, so he lifted the wooden bucket and asked, "Old man, let me help you carry two more buckets of water, where is the well?"

The old man was sitting in front of the stove and burning the fire, sweating profusely, not knowing whether it was hot or scared, listening to Xiao Qi's question, he immediately replied: "There is an archway about thirty meters to the right when you go out, and there is a well next to the archway." ”

Xiao Qi quickly brought two buckets of water back, poured them into the water tank, and saw that the water had boiled, so she took out a gourd and filled a gourd full of water, she remembered that when she followed her father Liu Dahe to the town, it seemed that a penny could buy a big pot of water, so Xiao Qi took out a penny and put it on the pot table, and said to the old man: "Thank you, old man, do you know why the shops and hospitals in the town are closed?" ”

Old man: "A few days ago, I heard that someone in Guxian County had an infectious disease, and a lot of people died, people were panicked, and many shops in the town were closed, and then a few officials from the county town took away the doctors of Fushengtang and Shouchuntang, it is said that the county is not manpowered, so they were brought to the county to help." ”

Xiao Qi said goodbye to the old man and handed the gourd filled with water to Ah Fu in the carriage: "Brother, the water is very hot, drink it when it cools." ”

Xiao Qi turned the head of the car and drove the mule cart to the direction of the county seat, and knocked down a person as soon as he got out of Phoenix Town, but it seemed that he just wiped the person down, and it was not serious, the person quickly got up from the ground, Xiao Qi took a closer look at it and turned out to be a beggar with a big head, the big head was much thinner than the last time he saw it, and his face was yellow, and the corners of his mouth were chapped.

Xiao Qi was very surprised, and hurriedly asked, "Brother Datou, why are you here?" ”

The big head patted the soil on his body and said to Xiao Qi: "It's Xiao Qi girl, I stayed there all this time." As he spoke, he pointed to the two ruined temples on the side of the road, the walls of which were half collapsed, and a few figures could be faintly seen shrinking in the corners.

Xiao Qi touched a piece of cake from the package on his back and handed it to the big head: "Brother big head, you can eat a cake." ”

The big head didn't refuse, he took the cake directly and took a big bite, and said in his heart that this little girl was too powerful, and she drove the mule cart out at such a young age.

After the big head devoured the bread, he asked Xiao Qi: "It's rare to see people go out now, where are you going to drive the mule cart?" ”

Xiao Qi: "My brother is sick, he has a bad fever, there is no medicine at home, and when he came to the town, he found that the hospital was closed, I wanted to send my brother to the county seat to find a doctor, I remember my father told me that this road leads to the county seat, has the eldest brother been to the county seat?" Is it just a short walk along this road? ”

Big head: "I heard a beggar from the city say that Guxian has been closed down, and you probably won't be able to enter the city when you get there." After the big head finished speaking, he shouted loudly into the broken temple: "Do you know where there is Langzhong nearby?" ”

A little beggar with a dirty face ran out of the broken temple, his thin figure seemed to be blown out by the wind, and he said to Xiao Qi in a dumb voice: "My name is Xiaobei, I used to go to Xiaozhao Village to beg for food, Xiaozhao Village is not very far from here, there is a barefoot doctor living there, who often walks the village to see people. ”

Xiao Qi took a cake from the bag and handed it to Xiaobei: "Thank you, Xiaobei, I know where Xiao Zhao Village is, my father took me to deliver furniture once before, I will leave first, you take care." ”

The big head stared at Xiao Qi's burden and asked, "Xiao Qi, how many cakes do you have?" ”

Xiao Qi showed the cake in the baggage to the big head.

The big head's eyes lit up: "I'll accompany you to Xiaozhao Village to find a doctor, and when your brother is well, you can give me half of the rest of the cake." ”

Xiao Qi: "Brother Datou, you have helped my family before, no matter whether you go to Xiaozhao Village or not, I can give you all the remaining cakes when my brother recovers." ”

The big head looked very serious: "I only make transactions, and I don't need handouts." ”

Xiao Qi: "Okay, big brother, but you'd better not sit in the carriage, I'm afraid my brother will be sick to you." ”

The big head couldn't help but jump on the wheel and set off with Xiao Qi.

In the broken temple, Xiaobei broke the cake into several pieces, and each person divided a small piece, Xiaonan snorted and asked: "Brother Xiaobei, do you think we can live until the day when the spring flowers bloom?" ”

Xiaobei's eyes flickered: "Yes, the big brother has gone to earn cakes, and when he comes back, we will have food again, and everything will be fine when the spring flowers bloom." ”