Chapter 126 Winning People's Hearts on the Plateau

"Nothing can stop your yearning for freedom, your unrestrained life, your heart is free from worries~~

Going through the dark years, I also felt lost. When you lower your head, you will find the road under your feet.

The free world in my heart is so clear and lofty, with blue lotus flowers blooming that never fade~~~"

Lin Sanqi held the steering wheel of the Land Cruiser with one hand and sang along with the car music, feeling extremely happy.

After leaving Xining, I didn't meet anyone along the way. There was only a dirt road stretching off into the distance. There weren't any speed cameras these days, so I could drive however I wanted.

Lin Sanqi had already asked Dean Fang and found out that there was only one road leading to Yushu after leaving the south of the city, so there was no need to worry about getting lost, just drive along it.

At this time, the speed of the Land Cruiser had increased to 120 yards. From a distance, the dust raised behind the car looked like a giant dragon.

Even if they occasionally encountered cars passing by or herdsmen grazing sheep on the side of the road, the Land Cruiser they saw would just whiz by in a flash, and they couldn't see what kind of car it was at all.

Even if I saw it clearly, I would only envy the beauty of the car. You have to know that in 1959, domestic cars were still the "World Expo", and most of them were left over from before liberation, with all kinds of models.

It's no surprise that a strange car appears occasionally.

It took Lin Sanqi two full days to reach Zaduo, a distance of 1,000 kilometers.

When approaching Zaduo, Lin Sanqi set up a tent in the wild.

This kind of tent is usually used for banquets in rural areas. When in use, you can just open it like an umbrella. When not in use, you can fold it up and leave. It is very convenient.

Then he drove the Land Cruiser in through the tent door, and a Jiefang truck drove out a short while later.

This big truck was the one driven by his former colleague Luo Wenyuan.

Because Luo Wenyuan and the driver died tragically in the car, this truck was considered an ominous sign and no one dared to drive it. People on business trips would rather find ways to ship the truck themselves than drive this "dangerous car" to other places.

So Lin Sanqi found an excuse and drove away.

As Dean Shen’s “godson”, and the head of the logistics department was also his “old friend”, his small request was naturally met.

The Jiefang brand trucks are difficult to operate. The steering wheel is very heavy and it takes a lot of strength to shift gears. No wonder people nowadays think driving is a physical job.

When Lin Sanqi drove the truck into Zaduo County in a crooked manner, it immediately caused a sensation.

Zaduo is a small county with a population of only about 20,000, 99% of whom are Tibetans. As for the economic conditions, they are basically still in a primitive tribal state.

Let me describe the county town like this: you can walk from the north to the south of the city by lighting a cigarette.

There is just a road with low buildings on both sides, and further out are tent-like houses where the locals live.

The county town is surrounded by a river on one side and high mountains on both sides. If an earthquake occurs, there will be nowhere to run. Lin Sanqi still clearly remembers the famous Yushu earthquake that occurred decades later.

It was probably rare for cars to arrive in this small county, so Lin Sanqi drove slowly on the road, with a group of children running behind him.

After Lin Sanqi got off the bus, he took out a handful of candy from his backpack and gave it to the children, which instantly caused a sensation, and even many adults gathered around.

"Hello everyone, I'm on a business trip from the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Could you please tell me where the county hospital is in your area?"

Lin Sanqi knew that class friendship was very important nowadays, and helping each other within the same system was the most common way for people on business trips to seek help.

The reason why he revealed his identity from the beginning was that he was afraid of being arrested as a spy. After all, no normal person would come to such a high altitude area for nothing.

These kids were just smiling and grabbing the candies, and it seemed that they didn't understand Lin Sanqi's question. Now Lin Sanqi was a little confused. It felt like being in a foreign country, with no way to communicate because of the language barrier.

At this time, a minority in the crowd raised his hand weakly:

"Comrade doctor, I can speak Chinese."

Lin Sanqi took a look and saw that the other person was a boy of 15 or 16 years old. His clothes were tattered and he looked very shabby. He could actually speak Mandarin?

Seeing the confusion in the other person's eyes, the young man blushed and explained:

"I used to study in the provincial capital, but I dropped out of school because my parents had an accident. So I can translate for you and help you with the work."

Lin Sanqi nodded, thinking that since the other party was able to go to the provincial capital to study, he must be considered a child of the upper class among the ethnic minority groups. Then his parents died and he lost his support, and finally became a down-and-out prince.

"Okay, I need a translator, but what kind of compensation do you want?"

"Comrade Doctor, I hope you can save my sister. She is dying of illness, but I don't have the money to treat her."

Lin Sanqi was scratching his head. Hiring an interpreter to treat someone's illness? And someone who was dying of illness—wasn't that price too high? Didn't this kid have an overly large appetite?

But people always have compassion, so Lin Sanqi asked another question:

"What's wrong with your sister? If it's a serious illness, I'm afraid I can't help."

The young man said anxiously:

"My sister keeps coughing and has a fever, but I don't have the money to take her to the hospital for treatment... The Living Buddha in my village said she's possessed by a ghost and won't live long, but I know she's just sick, there's no ghost!"

Now Lin Sanqi believed that this young man had gone to the provincial capital to study, because this minority boy was already an atheist and had obviously undergone systematic socialist ideological transformation.

Lin Sanqi patted the boy's shoulder and asked:

"May I have your name?"

"My name is Nima Cilun."

"Ni Ma? Uh... what a good name. Fortunately, your last name is not Cao. Come on, take me to your house to see what's going on with your sister."

The boy's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was obviously excited. "Thank you, thank you, my home is not far away."

Nima Cilun led the way, followed by Lin Sanqi, and then a group of villagers who were watching the fun. Obviously, in their eyes, Lin Sanqi, a city dweller, was like an alien.

Unlike what Lin Sanqi had thought before, Nima Cilun's house was actually quite good. It was a house made of mud and stones, with one room on each side.

But when I walked into the house, all the furniture was gone. There was only a fire pit in the middle. A little girl about 10 years old was lying in a dirty quilt next to it, coughing constantly.

Cough cough cough, cough cough cough~~~~

The thin little girl closed her eyes and did not react to someone coming in from outside, which made people feel distressed.

Lin Sanqi squatted down and touched the little girl's forehead. It was very hot, and her eyeballs were sunken, showing obvious dehydration. Just as Nima Cilun said, she had been staying at home for many days.

Lin Sanqi took out a stethoscope and began to listen to the patient's heart. The patient was breathing rapidly and there were obvious moist rales in both lungs.

I took the temperature again, which was 39.5 degrees, and my heart rate was over 120 beats per minute. These data all indicate the severity of the illness.

"Damn, your sister must have pneumonia."

Nima Cilun burst into tears when he heard this: "What should I do? What should I do? I actually have pneumonia!"

The people watching outside the house exclaimed in surprise when they heard it, as if they had heard something extraordinary.

Lin Sanqi's mind was full of question marks, thinking, did I just say something wrong?

I'm not talking about pneumonia, I'm talking about lung cancer? Why are these people reacting so strongly?

This is actually a cognitive difference caused by regional differences.

For ethnic minority people in plateau areas with limited medical care and medicine, pneumonia is definitely the most serious of serious illnesses and is incurable. Almost every household has a relative who has died from pneumonia.

Even in 2013, contracting pneumonia on the plateau was still a very serious matter. If tourists were not evacuated from the plateau in time, their lives would be in danger.

But for Lin Sanqi, who has worn masks for three years, pneumonia is not that scary. This is the difference in cognition between the two sides.

"Okay, stop crying. It's just pneumonia. We can just treat it properly. Don't worry, I'll take care of your sister's life."

After Lin Sanqi finished speaking, he took out a bottle of saline solution and two bottles of cephalexin from the first aid kit and prepared to give the infusion.

The people outside the house gathered at the door and windows as if they were watching a peep show, while Lin Sanqi had already picked up the sterilized cotton balls and prepared to give him an infusion.

After wiping it with an alcohol cotton swab, the cotton ball turned black.

Lin Sanqi frowned, picked up two cotton swabs and started wiping, but it was still a black mass. He wiped it five times and finally it was clean.

"Hey, Nima! We can be poor, but we can't be unhygienic. Look at how dirty your sister is. She's as dirty as Jigong. If you rub her body, you can rub out a mud ball."

Nima Cilun was also a little embarrassed. It seemed that no one in his ethnic minority liked to take a bath. (Maybe they were afraid of catching a cold.)

"Comrade Doctor, I understand. I will definitely pay attention to hygiene in the future."

By this time, Lin Sanqi had already inserted a needle into the little girl's vein and adjusted the drip rate.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door, and soon an elderly man in ethnic costume came in from the door.

"Nah, who is this Han Chinese? Why did he come to our village?"

Nima Cilun hurried over to greet him: "Grandpa, this is Doctor Lin from the capital. He's on a business trip to Yushu. I just happened to run into him, and I'm asking him to come treat my sister."

When the old man saw the little girl receiving an IV drip, he believed that the Han Min in front of him was a doctor, and his originally cold attitude immediately turned into enthusiasm.

The arrival of Han people may make ethnic minorities vigilant, but it is different for doctors, who are there to cure diseases and save lives.

"Welcome guests from the capital. I am Kalon Wangdui, the village chief. Thank you for treating my granddaughter."

Seeing the parents coming, Lin Sanqi politely returned the greeting: "This is what I should do as a doctor."

The two sides sat down and started chatting. After a while, old man Garun Wangdui couldn't help but ask:

"Excuse me, Doctor Lin, what brings you to our plateau? I will do my best to help you if I can."

Lin Sanqi took out a cordyceps from his backpack and said, "I came here for this..."

(End of this chapter)