"Mister Qin."
It was Zhao Pu at the door.
He held a notebook in his hand. "I've tallied up all the residents in our Building 1."
"Come on, let's go upstairs to talk." Qin Ziwen led him upstairs.
Unit 602 was now their regular gathering and chatting spot. His own home had too many secrets, making it inconvenient for others to enter.
"There aren't many people in our building showing symptoms. I checked them all. Only two households have cough symptoms: one is 202, the other is 901."
If Qin Ziwen remembered correctly, 202 was Granny Li's place.
He wasn't familiar with 901, only having met them once during the 801 incident. It seemed to be a tall, stout man.
Zhao Pu said, "Not many people are showing symptoms at the moment, so I didn't have them all live together. The 901 household has a bit of a temper. It's his wife who was infected, but I feel like he might have some symptoms too...
202 is home to two elderly people. They're old. After I gave them instructions, they said they'd just stay home and not go anywhere."
At this point, Zhao Pu looked somewhat helpless. Today, when he went door-to-door asking questions, he was turned away several times. These neighbors were all very wary.
If he hadn't explained the severity of this infectious disease, they might not have even opened their doors.
Qin Ziwen asked, "What about the situation in the other units of the complex?"
Zhao Pu shook his head. "I don't know the overall picture, but when I went today, I met a few building heads. Basically, every unit has infected people. Some have few, like us, one or two. Others have more, four or five. If you count those hiding their illness, there might be even more."
Renhe Hall has also temporarily closed. They don't directly contact patients, only being responsible for brewing medicine. Now they are cooperating with the Mutual Aid Society."
"So it seems our unit doesn't have many infected people." Qin Ziwen felt this was good news.
Zhao Pu wore a worried expression. "These are just the people showing symptoms. There's also the incubation period. To be completely sure it's safe, we'd need to observe for another two or three days to be safe."
Qin Ziwen said, "You've worked hard, Doctor Zhao."
Zhao Pu sighed. "Not hard work, just tough luck. Honestly, I really don't want to be this building head. There's just a pile of tasks. I barely have any time for my own things."
As he spoke, Zhao Pu looked at Qin Ziwen. "Mister Qin, today when I went to the Mutual Aid Society to report the latest situation, Zou Jianghe invited me to join them. I refused."
"Doctor Zhao is a scarce talent. It's normal for people to try to recruit you," Qin Ziwen said with a smile. "He invited you. You could just join first."
Zhao Pu thought Qin Ziwen was being sarcastic, but observing his expression, it didn't seem so. "Mister Qin, are you saying... you want me to infiltrate them?"
Qin Ziwen waved his hand. "I never said that."
After a pause, Qin Ziwen said, "It's just that the Alliance Mutual Aid Society is a public welfare group dedicated to the entire complex. I think someone from our Building 8 should be in it, so that everyone can benefit."
Zhao Pu understood. "Alright, then I'll infiltrate the enemy first."
Seeing Zhao Pu's hesitant expression, Qin Ziwen knew what he was thinking. "Tomorrow's card has been reserved by Deng Guang. After that, I'll give you a card first."
Zhao Pu was delighted. "Thank you, Mister Qin!"
Watching Qin Ziwen's retreating back, Zhao Pu secretly rejoiced. Following Mister Qin was indeed the right choice.
Today, when he communicated with other building heads, he learned that for the sake of a single card, some teams had fallen apart, and some had even turned on each other.
It's just that the complex is too big, with too many people. Some news hasn't spread very widely.
...
Returning home, Du Yu came out of the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery and found Qin Ziwen. "Sir, when I went to get the card during the day, I felt something deep in the cave was watching me. So I turned off the flashlight at the time. Only after I got the card and moved far away did I dare turn the light back on."
Qin Ziwen frowned.
Last time, there were sounds coming from deep within the cave. This time, something was watching Du Yu. This meant there really was something deep inside.
Du Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Sir, we must be on guard. Next time, let me go to the mountain cave. My intuition tells me that thing inside... is very dangerous. Ten times more dangerous than when I encountered a fierce tiger on the mountain before!"
"Hmm, understood. How is the monk's knife Li Tieshan is making for you?"
Mentioning this, the corners of Du Yu's mouth lifted. "It's a good knife. Feels quite handy to use."
After dinner, Qin Ziwen went to the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery to practice archery for a while. An hour passed, and he felt his skill had improved quite a bit.
Then he took a warm shower, changed into fresh clothes, and went to the tavern.
He felt he was a bit of an unprofessional tavern owner.
Opening hours were random every day, just for an hour or two.
But the core reason was still that there were too few people in the household. Li Tieshan was the only blacksmith. On weekdays, forging ironware couldn't be done without him. When not forging finished products, he was casting wrought iron ingots.
Du Yu was the waiter and needed to be ready to protect him, the tavern manager, at any time.
However, there was nowhere to spend the money earned now anyway, so there was no rush to welcome guests.
Night fell. Qin Ziwen and Du Yu sat in the tavern's main hall for a while. No one came in.
Qin Ziwen sighed. "Can we not attract guests at night?"
Last time was the same. When night came, there were no guests. As soon as dawn broke, people arrived.
Du Yu was surprised. "Sir, are you planning to attract customers?"
"Yes, otherwise why come here."
After a moment of silence, Du Yu looked at the extinguished lantern outside the shop. He found a stool, took down the lantern, and searched around inside the room. "Sir, do you have any candles?"
"No." Qin Ziwen shook his head. The house truly had no candles. "But, you can try using this."
Du Yu took the flashlight and fell into thought.
A short while later, a lantern hung from the bamboo pole outside the tavern, emitting a bright light, even brighter than candles. It was just that the light source was a bit strange, shining in one direction.
"Excuse me, is the shopkeeper here?"
Not long after, the door was knocked, and a head poked in, asking cautiously.
"Yes, what would the guest like to eat?"
Outside, an old man carrying a basket on his back first cleaned the mud off his feet, then carefully stepped inside.
"I'm an herb gatherer from the nearby mountains. A sudden flash flood cut off my usual path. I'm taking a detour home and passed by your esteemed establishment. May I rest my feet for a while?" The old man first explained his origins.
Qin Ziwen gestured for the old man to sit. "Of course, please come in and sit."
A trace of gratitude appeared on the old man's face. After sitting down, he seemed a bit uneasy. He patted his pockets and said shyly, "Does the shop have any cheap food? I'll have a portion."
Qin Ziwen saw his embarrassment and smiled slightly. "It's fine. Please sit and rest, elder. No need to order food."
The old man thanked him repeatedly.
Then Qin Ziwen chatted with him for a bit. The old man was an herb gatherer from a nearby village, making a living gathering herbs year-round.
He didn't know the current era name, only remembering that some years ago there was one called Yongjia. The reason he remembered so clearly was because that year the Emperor issued a general pardon and exempted them from half a year's taxes.
...