Chapter 33: Chaos

……

Shen Qingquan followed Uncle Ding and the others to Denggu Alley, the settlement area for the quarantined.

Compared with yesterday, in just a single day, more than a dozen people have arrived here, and more keep being brought in.

"Ding Tai!"

Uncle Ding waved at Ding Tai a short distance away; Ding Tai hurried over, nodded at Shen Qingquan and the others, and said, "Uncle, many people in Nan Peng Qu have been infected; over thirty have developed fevers. This place is already overcrowded, and we've run out of food. The medicinal herbs were cut off three days ago. If it weren't for Xiao Huang's assistance, we probably wouldn't have held out any longer."

Every face I saw was a wailing person.

Their complexions were wax‑yellow, bodies gaunt, expressions numb; many had collapsed directly onto the mud‑slicked road, their faces full of despair and hollowness.

As we walked further, the number of people we saw kept increasing, some as young as three or four years old.

The children stared with bewildered big eyes, seemingly not understanding why the adults all looked panicked, unaware that the shadow of death had already fallen.

Some, not even knowing why they were sad, naïvely grinned at Shen Qingquan.

Shen Qingquan felt a pang of sorrow, stepped forward, and took out a sweet potato left unfinished this morning, handing it to the child.

The child's eyes widened, staring straight at the sweet potato, and gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

"This… miss, it's too valuable; we can't take it."

The child's mother, a bit startled by the compliment, waved her hands repeatedly.

"It's fine, take it."

The woman hesitated, looked at the child's hopeful gaze, and finally could not refuse, crying with joy, "Thank you… miss."

She shakily extended her hand to receive it, her voice choked, "Mi Jieer, thank you, sister."

"Thank you, sister~"

When she spoke, Shen Qingquan realized she was actually a little girl, her voice carrying a hint of milkiness. Because her hair was so short, he had mistaken her for a boy.

She opened her mouth, showing a set of white millet‑colored teeth. The woman carefully broke off a small piece of the sweet potato, fed it to her, and quietly slipped the rest into her sleeve.

"You don't eat?"

"I… am not hungry," the woman stammered, but Shen Qingquan understood.

She sighed inwardly, then took out a steamed bun, actually taken from the warehouse.

Her warehouse stored plenty of hot foods—millet porridge, steamed buns, sweet potatoes… When there was no emergency, her mother would make extra cooked food just in case. Hence the warehouse had accumulated many of these items.

Seeing the suddenly appearing white steamed bun before her, the woman was stunned.

She seemed to even smell the bun's fragrance! How long has it been? She had never seen such a white bun before. Saliva welled up, her stomach growled even more, yet she restrained herself, "Miss, put it away quickly! This is absolutely forbidden! I've already taken your sweet potato; I can't take this as well!"

While speaking, she still cautiously glanced around, lowering her voice, "This thing draws too much attention; you'd better keep it hidden, miss, lest someone watches you, otherwise it could be dangerous…"

The woman was indeed not greedy and kind‑hearted; even while starving, she still reminded her to be careful.

Shen Qingquan felt goodwill toward her, bent down and slipped the bun into her arms, whispering, "Keep it safe, give it to your sister to eat."

"That won't do…"

She hurriedly looked around, fearing being seen, and quickly put it away.

The little girl blinked her big eyes, staring straight at her. This reminded Shen Qingquan of Sixth Sister when she was a child… She slightly curled her lips and patted the girl's little head.

"Mother!"

At that moment, a coarse voice rang from afar; Shen Qingquan turned and saw Ding Tai stride over.

The person he called was this woman.

Surprise flashed in Shen Qingquan's eyes as she watched him rush forward, supporting the woman, "Mother, why did you come here? Didn't I tell you not to come?"

"You're here, Mother can't rest easy."

It turned out the woman was Ding Tai's mother; worried about Ding Tai, she came looking for him and also wanted to help care for the patients.

Because the sick here…

There is Sanhu's mother; she is close with Sanhu's mother, so she truly can't rest easy.

"Mother, didn't I tell you? This disease is extremely severe; I asked you not to come. Why won't you listen?" Ding Tai stamped his foot impatiently.

Because they feared causing panic, Uncle Ding concealed the plague; only he, a few brothers, and Xiao Huang's group knew. He never expected that while he was inattentive, his mother would run here!

He even brought his younger sister along; her health has always been poor, and if she gets infected, won't it be fatal for him?

His reaction made the woman suspicious.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly is this disease? Why have so many suddenly fallen ill? Are you and your uncle hiding something from me?"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Ding Tai, his voice wavering, "N-no, there's nothing, Mother, you're overthinking… Ouch, Mother, let go, let go! It hurts…"

Before he could finish, the woman immediately grabbed him, twisted his ear a full 180 degrees. Shen Qingquan watched as the burly man was reprimanded by his mother, not daring to utter a single word.

Meanwhile, the little Millet was adorably gnawing on the sweet potato, seemingly unfazed.

She suddenly recalled that Uncle Ding had once mentioned his sister—Ding Tai's mother—has a fiery temper; she had thought her a gentle woman, but now realized she could be misjudged.

At that moment, a warm hand appeared on her palm; the little girl, having come beside her, clasped her with her tiny hand, thinking she was scared, and in a baby‑like voice comforted, "Sister, don't be afraid. My mother only scolds my brother, not others."

Shen Qingquan found it both amusing and absurd, squatted down to meet her eye level, and said, "Don't be afraid, sister. Are you called… Mi Jieer?"

"Yes! Mother calls me Mi Jieer. My full name is Ding Xiaomi. Mother said millet is delicious, so she gave me this name."

The little one spoke earnestly; although her diction was a bit unclear, she was understood.

"How old are you this year?"

"Millet is seven years old!"

"Seven years old?"

She was surprised, because the girl looked at most like a three‑ or four‑year‑old, small and thin. She then thought that in these times, most people can't get enough to eat; judging by her condition, she must be under‑developed, hence appearing younger.

She compassionately stroked the girl's slightly yellowish hair, prompting the little one to beam brightly.

"Mother! It's really nothing, please stop pulling, so many people are watching!"

Ding Tai stamped his foot.

The woman looked around, finally let go of her hand, "Hmph! I'll come back later to settle the score with you!"

Ding Tai finally breathed a sigh of relief, and only then realized that his embarrassed state had been seen by the woman beside him; his dark face flushed a little, "Miss Shen."

She nodded at him, and the woman, surprised, said, "Tai'er, do you know this Miss?" This book was first released on 17K Novel Network; read the official content immediately!