Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 96 The Herb Gatherer (Third Update)

"Mr. Qin."

Zhao Pu was standing outside the door.

He was holding a notebook in his hand. "I've compiled a list of all the residents in our Unit 1."

"Let's go upstairs and talk." Qin Ziwen and he went upstairs.

602 is now their usual meeting place and chat spot. They have too many secrets in their home, and it's not convenient for others to go in.

“There aren’t many people with symptoms in our building. I checked them all, and only two households had cough symptoms: one is 202 and the other is 901.”

If Qin Ziwen remembers correctly, 202 is Grandma Li's house.

He wasn't familiar with 901; he'd only met him once before when dealing with 801. He seemed to be a tall, chubby man.

Zhao Pu said, "There aren't many people showing symptoms right now, so I didn't have them live together in a concentrated area. The family in 901 has a bit of a temper, and his wife was the one who got infected, but I feel like he might also have some symptoms."
202 are two elderly people. They're quite old. After I gave them some instructions, they said they would stay at home and not go anywhere.

At this point, Zhao Pu said with some helplessness. He had been turned away several times when he went to inquire today, as these neighbors were very wary.

If he hadn't pointed out the severity of the infectious disease, no one might have opened the door.

Qin Ziwen asked, "What's the situation like in the other units of the building?"

Zhao Pu shook his head: "I don't know the overall situation, but when I went there today, I met a few of the building owners. Basically, every unit had infected people. Some had one or two, like us, while others had four or five. If you include those who concealed their illness, there might be even more."

Renhetang Pharmacy is also temporarily closed. They don't directly handle patients; they only prepare the medicine. They're currently cooperating with a mutual aid association.

"It seems that not many people in our unit have been infected yet." Qin Ziwen thought this was good news.

Zhao Pu said with a worried expression, "People who only show symptoms still have an incubation period. We need to observe them for two or three days to be absolutely sure they are safe."

Qin Ziwen said, "Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Zhao."

Zhao Pu sighed, "It's not hard work, it's just bad luck. To be honest, I really don't want to be the host. There's so much to do, I don't even have time for my own things."

As he spoke, Zhao Pu looked at Qin Ziwen and said, "Mr. Qin, when I went to the mutual aid association today to report the latest situation, Zou Jianghe invited me to join them, but I declined."

"Dr. Zhao is a rare talent, so it's normal for him to be sought after," Qin Ziwen said with a smile. "He invited you, so you can join him first."

Zhao Pu thought Qin Ziwen was being sarcastic, but observing Qin Ziwen's expression, he realized it wasn't. "Mr. Qin, do you mean you want me to infiltrate their ranks?"

Qin Ziwen waved his hand, "I didn't say that."

After a pause, Qin Ziwen said, "The Alliance Mutual Aid Association is a public welfare organization dedicated to the entire community. I think we should have someone in Building 8 to benefit everyone."

Zhao Pu understood. "Okay, then I'll infiltrate the enemy first."

Seeing Zhao Pu's hesitant expression, Qin Ziwen knew what he was thinking. "Deng Guang has reserved tomorrow's cards. I'll give you one of the cards later."

Zhao Pu was overjoyed, "Thank you very much, Mr. Qin!"

Watching Qin Ziwen's retreating figure, Zhao Pu secretly rejoiced, realizing that following Mr. Qin was indeed the right choice.

He learned from other forum members today that some teams have fallen apart and some have even turned against each other over a single card.

However, the community is too large and has a large population, so some news has not spread widely.

Back home, Du Yu came out of the Tianxing Arrow Corridor and found Qin Ziwen: "Sir, when I was getting the cards during the day, I felt like something was watching me from the depths of the cave, so I turned off my flashlight and only dared to turn it on after I got the cards and walked away."

Qin Ziwen frowned.

Last time, a sound came from deep within the cave, and this time something is staring at Du Yu, indicating that there really is something deep inside. Du Yu clasped his hands in a fist and said, "My lord, we must be careful. Next time, I'll go to the cave myself. I have a feeling that what's inside is very dangerous, ten times more dangerous than when I encountered the tiger on the mountain!"

"Okay, I understand. How's the ring knife that Li Tieshan made for you?"

Mentioning this, Du Yu's lips curled up, "It's a good knife, and it's quite easy to use."

After dinner, Qin Ziwen went to Tianxing Archery Gallery to practice archery for a while. An hour later, he felt that his skills had improved a lot.

Then I took a warm shower, changed into new clothes, and went to the tavern.

He felt that he was not a very dedicated tavern owner.

The opening hours are random each day, only one or two hours.

But the core reason was that there were too few people in the family. Li Tieshan was the only blacksmith, and he was indispensable for forging ironware. When the finished products were not yet made, he was casting wrought iron ingots.

Du Yu is a waiter and needs to protect the tavern owner at all times.

However, there's nowhere to spend the money I've earned right now, so there's no rush to welcome guests.

As night fell, Qin Ziwen and Du Yu sat in the lobby of the tavern for a while, but no one came in.

Qin Ziwen sighed, "Is it possible that we won't be able to attract any customers tonight?"

The same thing happened last time; there were no customers at night, but people started arriving as soon as it got light.

Du Yu asked in surprise, "Sir, are you planning to solicit customers?"

"Hmm, otherwise what would we be doing here?"

After a moment of silence, Du Yu looked at the extinguished lanterns outside the shop, found a stool, took down the lanterns, and searched the house. "Does the master have any candles?"

"No," Qin Ziwen shook his head, there really were no candles at home, "but you can try this."

Du Yu took the flashlight and fell into deep thought.

A moment later, lanterns hung from bamboo poles outside the tavern, emitting a bright light, even brighter than candles, but the light source was a bit strange, shining in only one direction.

"Excuse me, is the shop owner here?"

A short while later, there was a knock on the door, and a head peeked in, asking cautiously.

"Yes, what would you like to eat, guest?"

Outside the door, an elderly man carrying a basket on his back first wiped the mud off his feet before carefully stepping inside.

"I am a herb gatherer from the nearby mountains. A sudden flash flood blocked my way, so I am taking a detour home and passing by your shop. May I ask if I can rest here for a while?" The old man first explained his background.

Qin Ziwen gestured for the old man to sit down, "Alright, come in and sit down."

A hint of gratitude appeared on the old man's face, but he was a little awkward after sitting down. He touched his pocket and said shyly, "Do you have any cheap food in the shop? I'll have some."

Qin Ziwen noticed his embarrassment and smiled slightly, "It's alright, old man, just sit down and rest, there's no need to order anything."

The elderly man expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

Qin Ziwen then talked with him for a while. The old man was a herb gatherer from a nearby village who made a living by gathering herbs all year round.

He didn't know the current reign title, only that there seemed to be a reign title called Yongjia a few years ago. The reason he remembered it so clearly was because in that year His Majesty the Emperor granted a general amnesty, exempting them from taxes for half a year.

(End of this chapter)