CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 67: QINGSHUI VILLAGE’S FIERCE WOMEN

The influenza came fiercely, and in just a few days, the village became panicked, and everyone was too afraid to go out.

Contrary to what was expected to be very dangerous, Ye Manman and He Chen stayed home disinfecting by burning vinegar, applying all sorts of sanitizations. They used vinegar and alcohol as if they were free, doing it several times every day, and indeed, there were no symptoms of infection.

He Chen had already decided not to go to the town for deliveries recently. Now the influenza struck, so naturally, he couldn’t go, and he stayed home making delicious meals for Ye Manman every day.

Sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour tenderloin, farmhouse stir-fried pork, spicy chicken, Kung Pao chicken... with Ye Manman’s guidance, He Chen’s cooking methods became more diverse.

Every day, the He family’s courtyard was filled with the rich fragrance of meat, and the aroma drifting out made the neighbors’ mouths water.

Although the team leader ran around the village earlier, telling everyone to disinfect their homes more, most villagers were reluctant to spend money like He Chen to buy things such as vinegar.

These items were not so expensive when bought singly, but when considering a bottle that could last half a year was being used solely for its fragrance and not for cooking, people were reluctant to buy it.

Because of this, many households had cases of flu, especially among the elderly and children.

Gao Huifang also had flu symptoms in recent days: constant headaches, body heat, feeling lethargic, lying around in the educated youth dormitory, not wanting to eat or work.

She thought of trying to bump into He Chen again, but simply didn’t have the energy and gave up.

After all, she had already talked thoroughly with Liu Tiejun, asking him to keep in touch, preparing them both to win over the people they wanted.

However, Liu Tiejun was now slumped at home, his family of three coughing incessantly, no one having the strength to cook, and within a few days, they were starving to the point of misery, with Li Hongmei wailing in the house.

Liu Tiejun’s leg could no longer function properly, and he had no money to see a doctor, nor dared he tell Li Hongmei and Liu Dongliang that he got kicked while stealing. He could only say he fell from hunger.

Their family was currently having the hardest time in the entire Qingshui Village, others, no matter how poor, had some food, houses were repaired, but theirs, no one knew how to fix a house, living every day in something that collapsed halfway, like homeless people.

Actually, Liu Dongliang and Liu Tiejun had thought about repairing the house, but when they lived in the He family’s house, any leaky roof or ruptured hole was always fixed by He Chen alone, and none of them knew how to do it.

Let alone repairing a house that had collapsed halfway.

Seeing that the days were getting colder, and fearing they’d fall sick, freeze or starve to death at home, Li Hongmei finally stopped hoarding her last bit of money.

"We’re going to the town to see a doctor; life is unbearable like this. If it goes on, the whole family will die."

Li Hongmei took out two crumpled big yuan bills hidden in her shoe insoles, feeling the pain of parting with the money. Yet, she planned to take the family to town.

The village health center was utterly ineffective; even the medication wasn’t helping.

These twenty yuan were the last money He Chen handed over to her before the wedding. She had the foresight to always hide the money without letting anyone know, which is how they got through the tough two months without spending it.

But now, it obviously wasn’t feasible. She felt she was going to fall seriously ill; even walking was tiring. If the money stayed hidden in her insoles till she died, it would be wasted, and Li Hongmei thought she wouldn’t die in peace.

Liu Dongliang and Liu Tiejun wondered where she got the money from but prioritized survival. No one asked more, and they just followed Li Hongmei, wobbling toward town.

Now there were no tractors heading to town; the team leader was afraid influenza would spread out, so he banned tractors from taking people to town.

Li Hongmei’s family trudged on foot to town; none had the strength, taking them until dark to reach the town.

"Doctor, our family has the flu; we came to see a doctor."

Li Hongmei took out the two big yuan bills, her face flushed red either from a fever or cold, and the other two were the same, all three looking gravely ill.

The doctor took one glance at them and didn’t take the money.

"Let’s check first before charging money; you three look very severe. This amount won’t probably cover the IV and medication, come over and do a check-up first."

The doctor was all business; Li Hongmei widened her eyes, still red and filled with bloodshot veins, looking particularly frightening when opened wide.

"What? Twenty yuan is not enough? Does it cost so much to see a doctor?"

"Doctor, is our condition serious? Can it still be cured?"

She wanted to grab the doctor, but the doctor anticipated it and dodged.

Li Hongmei could only sit weakly, glaring, on the ground.

At this time, a familiar voice came from behind them.

"Doctor, my wife has had a cold for many days; the medication doesn’t work, could you please see what’s going on?"

It was none other than Yang Xiumei and Ye Guoqiang.

Yang Xiumei had already started having a fever on the day of the flood; she took antipyretics that day, and indeed the fever went down, but that night, the headaches and fever started again, so she didn’t go out, and nobody knew.

It was not until the team leader notified everyone that it might be influenza that Ye Guoqiang realized Yang Xiumei was the first to catch it.

Afraid of the villagers’ blame, he didn’t dare to say anything and secretly brought Yang Xiumei to the hospital.

Who would have thought they’d run into villagers, and not just any, but Li Hongmei?

When these enemies met, their eyes turned bloodshot, and as soon as Li Hongmei saw Yang Xiumei, she remembered the scene where she said Ye Manman was small and timid, easy to handle.

"Yang Xiumei! You wretched woman, it’s all your fault, shoving Ye Manman, that damn girl, into our family, making us look like this now. If He Chen hadn’t gotten married, I’d be living a better life!"

Originally lying weakly on the ground, Li Hongmei suddenly got up as if invigorated, lunging directly at Yang Xiumei.

Yang Xiumei was a bit less sick, having been fed well by Ye Guoqiang at home, so she was stronger.

She grabbed Li Hongmei’s hair back and cursed.

"You deserve it! Doing those heartless things, you deserve the consequences of evil deeds."

"I see He Chen is better off without you parasite family—serves you right, humph!"

"What right do you, a thief, have to blame me, blaming I married my daughter wrong, I knew you were up to no good when you wanted to return her, wanting to ruin our family, huh? Dream on!"

Li Hongmei was weaker, her hair was pulled into a mess, making her grimace in pain.

But when people are extremely agitated, adrenaline rises. Li Hongmei soon became energized, fiercely pinching Yang Xiumei.

"I’ll pinch you to death!"

She specifically pinched where Yang Xiumei couldn’t reach, with great strength and skilled technique, making Yang Xiumei scream in pain, who then grabbed her hair harder and slapped her face.

"I’ll teach you to pinch! I won’t stop until I beat you! Huh?"

Both exchanged harsh words, fighting fiercely; Ye Guoqiang and Liu Dongliang couldn’t pull them apart and instead got scratched a few times, with nails scratching their arms and faces, leaving marks.

Seeing this scene, all the doctors, patients, and nurses in the hall were stunned. Everyone started to give verbal suggestions but did not physically intervene.

Clearly, it was wisest to avoid getting involved in such matters.

Eventually, the doctor called the police, who forcibly separated the two crazed women and took them away.

The diagnosis was not done, and instead, they got taken into custody, with news spreading throughout the village by the next day.

Li Hongmei and Yang Xiumei earned titles — the fierce women of Qingshui Village.