The third family had always bullied the weak and feared the strong. Seeing Zhang Defu retreat, they did not dare argue further and could only leave in frustration.
After they left, the village chief Zhang Ruoan and several village elders came to find Zhao Chunhua.
"Sister Zhao, there are too many sick people in our group. Your masks are very useful. Can you teach us how to make them?"
Zhao Chunhua did not hide anything and answered frankly, "They're easy to make. Just find a piece of breathable cloth and sew a few stitches."
Then she added, "But now that so many people are sick, wearing masks alone is not enough."
Her brows knitted together, and her expression grew increasingly solemn as she looked at the villagers around her who kept coughing.
"If this continues, it could truly turn into a plague. We must hurry to the mountains and find herbs to treat the illness."
But we don't have a doctor, and no one knows which herbs to use. What should we do?
Hearing this, Zhang Ruoan finally realized how serious the situation was, and panic crept into his heart.
"I know a few medicinal herbs. My husband taught me how to identify them."
Zhao Chunhua took the chance to mention her former husband. Since he had joined the army and gone to the front lines, there had been no news of him. Perhaps he had truly died in battle. In any case, no one could verify it.
Hearing this, their eyes lit up at once.
"That's wonderful. Take some people to gather herbs. We can't afford to waste any more time."
Zhang Ruoan immediately began arranging for people to prepare and head out to collect medicinal plants.
However, there were very few able-bodied people left in the group who could still run about. After days of continuous travel, everyone was exhausted, and only a handful were willing to go.
"Mom, I'll go with you!"
Zhang Heizi stood up and spoke firmly.
Soon after, Tianbao and Dajun also stepped forward and volunteered to join.
Tianfu hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I'll go too."
Even Baozhu, who usually disliked going out, did not want to be left behind and offered to go with them.
Only Xie Lanqin remained silent, holding her belly.
"Dajun, Tianbao, and Tianfu will come with me. Baozhu and Heizi, stay behind and help your sister-in-law look after the house."
After making the arrangements, Zhao Chunhua turned to the others.
Several young men stepped forward and said, "Aunt, we'll go up the mountain with you to gather herbs too."
In the end, a small team was formed of Zhao Chunhua and her sons, along with Zhang Youcai and five strong young villagers and they set off toward the mountains.
It had just rained, and the mountain path was muddy and hard to walk. They searched for a long time but found very few usable herbs, only gathering a small bundle of toad grass.
With so many people sick, this little medicine was far from enough.
They had no choice but to go deeper into the mountains. Just as they were about to enter the dense forest, Zhang Youcai suddenly stopped.
"We can't go any further," he said seriously. "The deep mountains are dangerous. The elders say there are black bears inside. If we really run into one, none of us will survive."
Zhao Chunhua glanced at the fog-shrouded forest, shivered slightly, and immediately agreed with Zhang Youcai.
"Yes, let's not take the risk of going any deeper."
"But we still haven't found enough medicine. What should we do?" someone asked unwillingly.
"Everyone split up and search," Zhao Chunhua suggested. "We'll meet back here in half an hour."
They all nodded, chose different directions, and quickly dispersed.
Seeing Zhang Tianbao and the others heading north, Zhao Chunhua chose to go northwest instead.
If anything happened, she would be close enough to help in time.
Not long after walking, she was lucky enough to find two or three plants of toad grass and bupleurum.
Toad grass could treat coughs, and bupleurum could reduce fever.
These two herbs were exactly what the villagers needed.
But when she looked at the small bundle in her hand, her heart sank.
"With this little amount, it's not even enough for everyone to take a sip…"
She sighed softly. "It seems I have no choice but to go farther."
After walking for a while, Zhao Chunhua's eyes suddenly lit up when she saw a honeysuckle tree covered in blossoms.
"Honeysuckle—this is excellent for treating coughs!"
Delighted, she hurried toward it.
But when she drew closer and saw something tangled among the branches, her smile froze.
It was a snake.!
And Zhao Chunhua happened to be someone who was especially afraid of snakes.
The snake also seemed to notice her. It lifted its body, fixed its cold eyes on her, and flicked its tongue in and out repeatedly.
Zhao Chunhua was so frightened that she didn't dare to move, standing there helplessly.
At that moment, Zhang Dajun was digging out a herb nearby. He turned around excitedly when he saw her.
"Mom, look what I found! Is this the toad grass you mentioned?"
Holding the plant in his hand, he ran straight toward her, completely unaware that a snake was coiled in the branches ahead.
"Don't move!"
Zhao Chunhua's scalp went numb, and she screamed in panic.
But it was already too late.!
Frightened, the snake lunged straight at Zhang Dajun.
Zhao Chunhua was too late to stop it. She watched helplessly as it sank its fangs into her son's arm.
"Ouch! That hurts so much!" Zhang Dajun screamed, instinctively trying to pull the snake away.
"Don't move your hands!" Zhao Chunhua shouted, her face pale with fear.
She squatted down, grabbed a wooden stick, and struck the snake with all her strength.
The blow landed perfectly, and the snake was knocked down in a single strike.
Zhao Chunhua immediately dropped the stick and rushed to Zhang Dajun's side.
"Dajun, how are you feeling?" she asked anxiously.
Zhang Dajun's face had gone pale. He collapsed to the ground, trembling with fear.
"Mom… will I die?" His voice shook as tears welled up.
Moments later, he broke down completely. "I don't want to die! I don't want to leave you… wuwu…"
Hearing the commotion, Zhang Tianbao and the others hurried over, only to see that Zhang Dajun had been bitten by a snake.
"Dajun, what happened?" they asked.
"This… this looks like a snake bite. It's dangerous!" someone exclaimed.
A young man looked at the bite and said nervously,
"Earlier, Uncle Wang from our village died from a poisonous snake bite."
Hearing this, Zhang Dajun began crying even harder. His face, already pale, now looked almost ghostly.
"Er Gou, you really deserve a beating for saying that! My brother will be fine!" Zhang Tianbao snapped angrily.
The young man realized his mistake and fell silent, though his eyes were still filled with worry and sympathy.
There was no doubt Dajun was in serious danger and might not survive.
The snake bite had already turned black and swollen.
Although Zhang Tianbao and Zhang Tianfu usually looked down on their silly young brother who could only do manual work, seeing him in such danger made their hearts ache. Their eyes were red with worry.
"Dajun, why were you so careless? What are we going to do? If you die, we'll lose a brother," Tianbao whispered, voice trembling.
"I treated you badly before… I was wrong. In your next life, find a good family and don't suffer anymore," Tianfu added, tears in his eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense, you unlucky pair! Mom is still here!"
As soon as the two brothers began speaking again, sobbing uncontrollably, Zhao Chunhua's patience ran out.