Chapter 36 Waiting for Spring to Come

February breezes cut like scissors.

Shi Qing adjusted the torn headscarf covering his face and looked ahead, where the checkpoint and soldiers inspecting passersby were now faintly visible.

They were almost there.

Shi Qing looked at the bamboo basket in front of him.

Shi Qing was not a peddler entering the capital; inside the bamboo basket, covered by a quilt, was not household produce but a child.

Not just one child—there was one child in each of the two baskets, one bigger and one smaller.

"Daniu, we're almost there. Just hold on a little longer," Shi Qing said as he adjusted the quilt and spoke to the child within.

The child did not respond at all, as if asleep.

Shi Qing sighed, then turned to look back.

"Erniu?" he called out.

A head popped out from under the quilt, revealing the chapped red cheeks of a small child, whose large eyes blinked rapidly.

A smile spread across Shi Qing's face.

"Sit tight, we'll keep moving," he said.

The child nodded and withdrew back under the quilt.

Shi Qing was just about to lift the carrying pole when a passerby suddenly approached, lowering his voice, "Are you going to Guanghua Temple?"

The passerby drew near but maintained a distance, his eyes sweeping over the two bamboo baskets, unable to hide his wariness.

These days, few people dared bring children near the capital due to its encirclement by children with smallpox, unless those children were already infected.

Shi Qing did not intend to hide his purpose.

"Yes," he said.

The passerby's expression turned sympathetic.

"You better not go," he said in a hushed voice, looking anxiously ahead, "You don't know, do you?"

Don't know? Don't know what?

"I know that Divine Doctor Miss Jun is treating smallpox at Guanghua Temple," Shi Qing replied.

The passerby waved his hand.

"That's all a deception," he whispered. "The smallpox there is incurable."

Incurable? Deceptive? Shi Qing looked shocked, How could that be...

"Now they don't even speak of it, fearing you might wander off. Once there, they just lock you up," the passerby continued in a low voice. "I've heard that people are dying in piles at Guanghua Temple."

Could that be true?

Shi Qing was somewhat disbelieving.

"They don't allow this to be discussed; other local feudal authorities have already started enforcing a strict ban on infected children leaving their homes. The officials here don't mention it, fearing you might wander off," the passerby said in a low voice, his face showing some sympathy. "Better head back. Going there is like awaiting death."

With that, he ducked his head and hurried away.

Shi Qing stood there, stunned.

Could it truly be incurable? Going there was like awaiting death.

He looked at the children in the bamboo baskets; wherever they went seemed like awaiting death. Clenching his teeth, he bent down, lifted the carrying pole, and strode forward unsteadily. Despite the terrifying descriptions, Guanghua Temple was the only place left that offered any hope.

They passed through the checkpoint smoothly, and Shi Qing, being careful, inquired whether the soldiers could cure smallpox at Guanghua Temple. The soldiers confidently asserted they could and then personally escorted him to Guanghua Temple.

Had Shi Qing not encountered that passerby earlier, he would have been exceedingly grateful for such treatment. But now, his heart only drummed more with fear.

This was not an escort; it was more like a deportation, just as the passerby had mentioned, fearing they might wander off.

Regardless, Shi Qing arrived at Guanghua Temple carrying the two children.

"Come here to register."

Workers dressed in identical clothing called him over, looking orderly and relaxed—not at all like the oppressive hell he had imagined.

"Are both these children infected?" one of the workers asked.

Shi Qing shook his head.

"The older one is, but the younger one isn't sick," he said with a somber expression, looking at his younger son sitting in the bamboo basket. "Their mother is gone, and there's no one else in our family. With the older one sick, everyone is scared, and there's nowhere to send the younger one. I had no choice but to bring him along."

Otherwise, who would dare bring a healthy child to a place concentrated with smallpox-infected ones? It's avoidance one would seek, not entry.

As he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps approached.

"Brother, brother," a child's voice called out, "where are there more bamboo poles?"

Shi Qing instinctively looked over and saw a boy about seven or eight years old running towards them, his cheeks flushed from the exercise.

This was a healthy child.

Are they still using children for odd jobs here? Shi Qing was very surprised.

"Xiao Si." The worker called to the child, "I'll deliver the bamboo pole; you take this uncle and his child to see the doctor who will examine them."

The child called Xiao Si waved to Shi Qing in response. Shi Qing, looking anxious, picked up his burden and followed, his gaze constantly returning to the child.

"How long have you been here?" he couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Si, bouncing along the path, looked back.

"A couple of weeks, I guess," he said after a moment's thought. "I can't remember exactly."

A couple of weeks?

"Did you come here to work?" Shi Qing asked again.

"Not really," Xiao Si replied.

Shi Qing wanted to ask more, but Xiao Si quickened his pace.

"Doctor Kuang," he shouted, "another patient has come."

A doctor, hearing the call, walked over. He looked at Shi Qing with a warm smile, greeted him, then bent down to examine the child in Shi Qing's bamboo basket.

"The illness isn't new," Doctor Kuang remarked.

Shi Qing nodded tentatively.

"Doctor, please save my child," he choked out, about to kneel.

Doctor Kuang hurriedly supported him.

"We will do our best," he said. "But you know that smallpox isn't easy to treat."

As expected, there was no promise of a cure. Shi Qing felt a bit disappointed, but what could he do? He nodded.

"Let me check this child," Doctor Kuang continued, moving to another basket. He paused, "Huh."

"This child isn't sick," Shi Qing noted.

"He isn't, is he?" Doctor Kuang remarked thoughtfully, looking at the child. "You brought him along too."

Shi Qing quickly shared his concerns, his gaze shifting back to Xiao Si, becoming increasingly restless.

"Doctor, is it safe for a healthy child to be here?" he asked.

Doctor Kuang smiled, glancing at Xiao Si.

"Healthy children are indeed safe with us," he said, looking back at Shi Qing. "Although we can't always cure those who are ill, we can keep healthy children from contracting smallpox."

What?

Shi Qing felt as if struck by lightning.

Could they really protect healthy children from smallpox?

"Of course, we can," Doctor Kuang laughed, pointing at Xiao Si. "He's just one case, and we have four other children here."

As if to prove his point, cheerful voices of children came from inside. Shi Qing saw four children carrying a large basin of clothes, apparently heading out to dry them. The oldest was around eleven or twelve, and the youngest was only three or four, all running and following along.

"Brother, brother, let me carry it too!"

Their sweet voices chimed in his ears.

Shi Qing felt a tingling sensation all over; he suddenly knelt down.

"Doctor, please save my child. Keep my child safe from smallpox too," he cried out.

If he could live his life without worrying about smallpox, that indeed was hope; that was real hope.

............…

"Miss Jun."

Doctor Feng stepped into the Buddhist Temple, looking at the girl standing in front of rows of medicine boxes.

These were the smallpox vaccines collected over time.

"How's the new child who was vaccinated?" Miss Jun turned and asked.

Doctor Feng nodded.

"There's no problem at all. He didn't even lie down; he had a fever yesterday and is already running around with Zhou Maomao today," he said with a smile.

"Do people still have any concerns?" Miss Jun asked.

Doctor Feng shook his head.

"Not anymore," he said.

"Then let's announce this news," Miss Jun said, standing at the door of the Buddhist Temple and looking out. "It will let everyone know that Guanghua Temple isn't a place of death; this has always been a place where lives are saved."

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Thank you Sunflower Seeds, Little You from the South, Bing Yi, and md12 for your gifts and He's Bi.

Well, this plotline has come to an end.