Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 493

Chapter 493: 493

January 28th.

The rats in Yan City began to stir again.

The people had just caught their breath from the ordeal of children’s high fever when the rat pack launched a new attack.

Unlike in the villages outside the city, they had no more reservations, they swarmed in and out of houses, biting anyone they saw, wishing they could gnaw down every single person in Yan City.

Thanks to an early warning from the government official and the poison powder distributed from the warehouse, the number of people bitten by rats in Yan City was not particularly high.

"Madam, we’ve already been to the north of the city. There are still many rats hidden in the He Family’s residence. I fear Brother Xiaomi was right, their leader is probably in there."

Liu Jie wiped sweat from his forehead, appearing exhausted.

There were not many brothers left in Yan City. It was also difficult to mobilize townspeople to exterminate the rats. After three days, there were only about fifty people willing to help them.

But there were a total of one hundred and sixty thousand people living in Yan City.

Even if they were beasts of burden, they couldn’t possibly spend twelve hours a day catching rats.

One of the brothers suggested capturing a few cats as a test, but the black cat’s fur stood up at the sight of the rats. Let alone catching rats, it didn’t even dare make contact.

Day after day of this had nearly exhausted them, and yet the rats seemed to be plotting something. As soon as they heard the sound of their horses’ hooves, they scattered and fled without any hesitation.

Yan City was so vast that without riding horses, they might not even get there by the time the houses were gnawed to the ground by rats.

Fortunately, an old man claimed he could drive rats away, but when he was taken to the He Family’s house today, he nearly wet himself in fear.

Although there was no white-haired rat in sight, the various shapes and sizes of the rats said it all.

"Has anyone else come forward?"

Nanzhi looked extremely tired; the dual pressures of the body and mind were beginning to crack her morale.

"No."

Liu Jie shook his head.

He knew the weight of the pressure on Madam now, but since Brother Shen left, there has been no news. Currently, Madam is pregnant and it would be better to keep her away from such matters.

"These rats are not ordinary, we must be careful not to get bitten. If accidentally injured, rush to Jihe Hall immediately. Also, there’s something wrong with the smell they emit, we absolutely cannot be negligent.

The bodies should be burned in one place without leaving any behind."

"Yes."

Seeing his worn-out appearance, Nanzhi felt a pang of guilt.

"Thank you for your efforts."

"It’s our duty."

After Liu Jie left, Nanzhi gently rubbed her swollen belly, coaxing the child inside to be good.

But her mind was elsewhere.

What should she do?

If a pandemic were really coming, how could she save the people of Yan City?

She had run out of "ginseng slices".

The last four pieces were thrown into the four largest wells in the city by Liu Jie at her request.

As it turned out, her guess was correct. The herbs brewed with water from those wells helped reduce the fever of the children who had been suffering for a long time.

But even so, many people in the city didn’t make it through.

If there was another outbreak, she would truly be out of options.

Xiaohe was nowhere to be found, and she couldn’t expect him to help with everything.

She regretted countless times that she didn’t learn more skills.

Then she could have been like Su Tao, saving people’s lives.

Suddenly, Nanzhi had an epiphany.

Yes, she might not be able, but Su Tao can!

Her space bracelet was a treasure, and with her system, she should be able to come up with a solution!

But Su Tao was not in Yan City, she was in Kyoto...

"Mom, what are you doing?"

Seeing her mother in a daze, Shen Zhiyu cautiously tugged at the corner of her clothes.

"No, nothing."

"Mom, is dad not back yet?"

Shen Zhiyu’s eyes were filled with confusion.

After his last bout of illness, he had lost more weight. He looked so tiny now, as if a gust of wind would blow him away at any moment.

With concerns of him running outside, both of his parents have been keeping a close eye on him and Xiaomi over the past few days, not allowing them to go out.

Upon not seeing Adai return, Shen Zhiyu ran to find Nanzhi.

"Soon."

To avoid worrying the little one, Nanzhi simply ruffled his hair and didn’t spill the truth.

"Mom, are you alright? Do you want to go back to the room and rest?"

Shen Zhiyu noticed his mother’s pale face and couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

"I’m fine."

Nanzhi shook her head. However, the dark circles under her eyes were particularly noticeable against her fair skin.

"Mom, don’t worry. Our uncles, Xiaomi and myself, we all will protect you."

The little boy slapped his chest confidently.

Dad had taught him!

Although he wasn’t very strong yet, he could already jump onto the top of the wall in one leap!

He was small and could run fast. The rats won’t be able to catch him.

"Zhiyu, you need to eat well and grow up fast."

A glimmer of gratification flickered in Nanzhi’s eyes, but she had too much on her plate to chat with Zhiyu for a longer time.

Seeing her always preoccupied, Shen Zhiyu pursed his lips and came up with a new plan.

The uncles were all outside helping to kill the rats, and grandpa and grandma were searching everywhere in the courtyard every day for fear of missing a single rat.

He also wanted to help.

In the Sanwei Residence, Xu Chou and Uncle Ping, along with An Wazi, began to take turns guarding the cellar.

A few days ago, a few rats had somehow entered. If it wasn’t for An Wazi’s midnight discovery, the food in the cellar and the warehouse might have been completely gnawed away.

The grain in the cellar might be life-saving later, so they had to protect it at all costs.

The girls in the neighboring courtyard, including Linglong, didn’t dare go out those days, for fear of encountering rats.

"Squeak — sqeak-sqeak — squeak —"

The rustling noise was followed by the squeaking of the rats.

Hearing those sounds, An Wazi immediately got goosebumps, and his once heavy eyelids shot open.

This was already the third time today.

These rats were clever, they didn’t come attacking them like in the other houses, rather their primary task was to find ways to get into the cellar and the inventory of fruits and vegetables.

When Shen Zhiyu found Xiaomi, he saw that Xiaomi looked as if he was out of steam. He was sitting there absent-minded, as if he lost his spirit.

"Brother Xiaomi, what’s wrong?"

Shen Zhiyu waved his hand in front of him in the hope of bringing him back to reality.

"Wenwen is gone."

Xiaomi’s voice was a bit hoarse, his emotions sinking even lower.

"How could that be?"

Shen Zhiyu widened his eyes in disbelief.

Just two days ago, they had visited Sister Wenwen.

She had already recovered from the fever, how could this happen?

The scene Xiaomi recalled from his visit today made his heart ache.

Yesterday, he and Wenwen had promised to meet today.

But when he arrived there cheerfully this morning, he saw their house gate was wide open, there were blood stains on the ground along the way, the door of their room was wide open too, and Wenwen was curled up in the corner of the bed wearing just a thin inner garment.

Wenwen, who had just been laughing and joking around yesterday, suddenly turned pale today. No matter how much he called her, she didn’t respond.