Divorced woman with child travels through time

Two days have passed since Wu Liang was arrested, and the two missing elderly people are still nowhere to be found, nor are there any clues. The area around the nursing home has been thoroughly searched, and Ma Liu is very frustrated. He wanders aimlessly through the streets, thinking about the case and analyzing possible scenarios.

As he was walking, a student from the Huimin Bureau grabbed him. "Sir Ma! Come with me to the Huimin Bureau! Something terrible has happened."

Ma Liu immediately followed him to the Public Welfare Bureau and asked, "What is it?"

The student, Anmin, had been studying medicine since elementary school, coming from a family of doctors. He was currently an assistant at the Huimin Bureau, essentially an intern. He replied, "This morning, as soon as the door opened, three patients arrived, all suffering from severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. Doctor Wang found this strange. Then, within two hours, five more patients arrived, all with the same symptoms. One patient was particularly severe, having started to develop a fever. Doctor Wang then ordered me to report the case to the county government. Just as I came out, two more patients arrived, raising suspicions of poisoning."

“If that’s the case, the Huimin Bureau might not be manpower enough.” Ma Liu said, then waved to a vendor selling pastries by the roadside, “Boss Wang, could you please go to the county government and ask them to bring people to the Huimin Bureau? I’m afraid we’re in trouble.”

As Wang Qiang was gossiping with the owner of the tailor shop next door on his way, he saw several people being helped to the Huimin Bureau for medical treatment. He remarked, "What's going on today? So many people are going."

"Alright!" Wang Qiang packed up his stall, left it in a nearby shop for the owner to watch, and then ran off towards the county government office. He knew about the incident at the Huimin Bureau from the market; he had just been talking about it with someone.

Wang Qiang ran straight to the county government office and happened to meet Ah Li, who was about to leave. He told Ah Li what had happened. Ah Li took out some large sum of money to give to Boss Wang, but Wang Qiang waved his hand and said, "Sir, you should go and take a look. I heard that the Huimin Bureau is getting more and more crowded. It's no trouble for me to run an errand."

Ah Li thanked Boss Wang and quickly called a few of his brothers to rush to the Huimin Bureau.

When we arrived at the Huimin Bureau, there were already more than twenty patients. Fortunately, their symptoms were not serious; only one or two had fevers and needed observation. The others were able to go home on their own after receiving their medication. The problem was that patients kept arriving.

Ma Liu had already gathered enough information and quickly relayed the situation and his analysis to Ah Li. "Sir, I've questioned about ten patients and their families. They haven't had any gatherings or meals together, nor have they bought any food together, ruling out food poisoning due to accidental ingestion. Then, I discovered that they all come from Willow Lane. Could there be something wrong there? This needs to be investigated."

Just as Ma Liu finished speaking, a commotion arose outside the Huimin Bureau. A group of people squeezed in and carried in a family of five, who had been brought in by their neighbors and were already in a coma with a high fever. "Doctor, doctor, save this one first, hurry, help us!" the crowd shouted.

Anmin hurriedly came out to greet them, saying, "The patient is quite seriously ill. Please help carry him to the back. Those who have received their medicine, please leave first. There's no room left, and we're worried there might be other seriously ill patients in the back. Please understand."

Ah Li and the others lent a hand, carrying the person to the backyard together. After dealing with this unexpected incident, Ah Li assessed the situation and instructed, "Ma Liu, take four men to Willow Lane and see where the problem lies. The rest of you stay at the Huimin Bureau to help maintain order. I'll go report to the higher-ups and get more manpower. With so many patients, the few people at the Huimin Bureau simply can't handle it."

Everyone agreed. After leaving the Huimin Bureau, Ma Liu and the others headed towards Willow Lane, only to find that more and more people were falling ill, and the pharmacies in Lijia Town were packed with people. Things were probably getting serious.

Inside the corner of the dilapidated house, the sun's heat woke Chu Yi, who was sleeping outside. Chu Yi was thirsty, and seeing that Shi Wu was still asleep, he went to the stream to wash his hands and face, drank his fill, and then fetched some more water to leave for Shi Wu. Less than fifteen minutes later, Chu Yi experienced excruciating abdominal pain, so severe that his groans woke Shi Wu. Shi Wu rubbed his eyes and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"

The pain left Chu Yi no time to think. His face turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat streamed down his face. "Don't drink the water I just got. It's poisoned. My stomach hurts so much. I can't take it."

"What should we do, brother? I'll go find a doctor."

"No, don't see a doctor, we don't have any money."

"But brother, what if it hurts a lot? Will you die?"

"No, no, go find her, find Madam Chen, she's a good person, she'll save me." Chu Yi struggled to say a few words, then was in too much pain to speak.

Fifteen hurriedly said, "Brother, don't be afraid, I'll go find someone to help. I'll go find her." Then she ran out.

Just as Ma Liu and the others crossed the street in the market, Fifteen came running out. The little boy stumbled and staggered as he ran, and randomly asked a passerby, "Can you save my brother?"

A passerby asked, "What happened to your brother?"

"My brother is sick. He has a stomachache and a high fever," Fifteen replied, her voice trembling with tears.

"Your brother is probably sick and needs to see a doctor. I can't save him."

"Doctor? Do you know Madam Chen? My brother sent me to find Madam Chen."

"What do you want with Madam Chen? She lives far away. Are you going to the pharmacy to find a doctor?"

Where is the pharmacy?

"Go straight across this street, turn left, and there's a pharmacy right there," the passerby said.

"Thank you, Uncle." Fifteen said politely and hurried away. He ran to two pharmacies, but there were so many people that he couldn't squeeze in. What should he do? Fifteen started to cry, stamping his feet and pacing anxiously.