Chapter 24 Asking for Help
The father and daughter set out before dawn wrapped in thick coats.
The coats of poor people are stuffed with animal fur and some dried plant hair, which is a mixture of various things and is very heavy to wear, but fortunately it is good in keeping out the cold.
The road was difficult to walk on due to the snow, and it was already dawn when the two arrived in the town. They finally found the clinic, but saw from afar that the door was closed and there were many people who had frozen to death outside.
This scene shocked Su Tai so much that she was completely dumbfounded. She grabbed Su Chunlin in fear and said, "Dad, what are they doing?"
Su Chunlin's face was pale, strong and calm, "Don't be afraid, girl, wait here for me, I'll go over and take a look."
"Stop looking and leave!" a voice came from behind the two of them.
The father and daughter turned around and found that the person who came was Su Changfu, and there were some people carrying a stretcher beside Su Changfu.
Su Chunlin rushed over with tears and snot as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, "Brother Changfu, my Ah Ming is sick and has a fever. We need to find a doctor. Why is the clinic closed?"
Su Changfu looked at Su Chunlin with pity, sighing, "Recently, there has been an outbreak of typhoid fever in Moshi Town. Nine out of ten people who are infected cannot survive. The medicine in the clinic has been sold out. Doctors are helpless without medicine. Without medicine, they cannot open their clinic. There is only one clinic in our town, and the town officials don't know what to do."
Su Chunlin looked desperate, while Su Tai's face changed and she asked, "Uncle, do you know where the doctor's house is?"
"I know that, but even if you find a doctor, it will be useless without medicine!" Su Changfu looked puzzled.
Su Tai insisted, "Just tell me!"
Su Changfu was still busy, so he could only tell her the doctor's address.
Su Tai pulled the dejected Su Chunlin to find the place.
Doctor Li is a peaceful old man with silver hair. As soon as he opened the door, he said, "I also want to cure diseases and save lives, but there is really no other way!"
Even knowing this, Su Tai still didn't want to give up. "Doctor, we won't force it. I just want to ask what medicine can save the life and where to find it?"
Doctor Li was a little surprised, then frowned and scolded, "Nonsense! You don't understand pharmacology, can you tell the difference between herbal and poisonous herbs? What if you pick the wrong one?"
Su Tai knelt down in front of Doctor Li and said, "Please teach me or help me. Please!"
Su Chunlin also knelt down.
Doctor Li sighed again, perhaps he was struggling, and after a long while he finally made up his mind, "Okay, I'll go out with you guys, but the drought has lasted so long, let alone herbs, even weeds may not be found in the mountains, so don't blame me if you can't find any."
"No, no, no blame! Thank you, Doctor Li!" Su Tai was overjoyed and hurriedly got up from the ground, pulling Su Chunlin up with her.
The father and daughter rented an ox cart in the town and set off with Dr. Li, who had difficulty walking, towards the Canglan River.
Doctor Li looked at the direction the oxcart was going and asked about Su Chunlin's home address. He said curiously, "This is not the direction to Dongmen Village."
Su Tai explained, "There's nothing in the mountains of Dongmen Village, but there should be some in the mountains near Shenjiazhuang. If that doesn't work, go to Canglan River. There are always things in the mountains along the Canglan River. Doctor Li has difficulty walking, so you don't have to travel, we can come here."
Su Chunlin quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, when the time comes, you really have to climb on me and I'll carry you on my back."
Doctor Li felt deeply moved when he saw how sincere the father and daughter were.
The ox cart passed by Shenjiazhuang.
Su Tai thought for a moment and said to Su Chunlin, "Dad, you and Doctor Li wait on the ox cart. I will go into the village to look for Brother Shen. He is familiar with this place and we can avoid taking detours."
Su Chunlin nodded repeatedly.
As soon as Su Tai left, Doctor Li said to Su Chunlin enviously, "You gave birth to an amazing daughter!"
Su Chunlin smiled softly, "My girl is really capable."
He had been at a loss of ideas from the beginning. If Su Tai hadn't insisted on thinking of a solution, he might have gone home crying by now.
Almost no one goes out in the winter.
The entire Shenjia Village was silent. Su Tai found a blind corner near Shen Yi's house, slipped into the Space-Time Gate Transfer Station, took out twenty kilograms of food from it, and then knocked on Shen Yi's door.
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Yi quickly opened the door and looked at Su Tai in surprise. Seeing that there was no one around her, he became even more worried, "Why did you come here by yourself?"
Su Tai gave him the food and said anxiously, "Brother Shen, my brother has typhoid fever. My father and Doctor Li are waiting outside the village. We need to go into the mountains to dig for medicinal herbs. Do you know which mountain has medicinal herbs? Or where can the nearby villagers collect herbs?"
Shen Yi paused, and without saying anything, he locked the food in the house, picked up his rattan basket, sickle, shovel and other tools, and went out with Su Tai, "I'll take you there."
The noise here alarmed my second aunt's family next door.
After Xu learned about the situation, she immediately asked Shen Ping to bring a shovel and a rattan basket to go out and help.
With two powerful helpers, even Dr. Li felt relieved.
Led by Shen Yi, the group came to the mountain where they dug wild vegetables last time.
Doctor Li pondered and said, "We need to find ephedra, atractylodes, astragalus, coptis, white peony root. Ephedra can induce sweating and dispel cold, clear the lungs and relieve asthma, promote water circulation and reduce swelling, dissipate yin carbuncle, and eliminate knots. It is cold-resistant and heat-resistant. It is commonly found on hillsides, dry wastelands, riverbeds, etc. It is suitable for sandy soil."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Shen Ping running down a slope excitedly, pointing to a dry stream not far away and said, "Doctor Li, is there the ephedra you mentioned here?"
A group of people hurried over. Doctor Li saw the green from afar and was so excited, "Yes, yes, yes! I didn't expect there would be so much growth here! Those patients can be saved! Quick! Pick them all!"
"Okay!" Chen Ping waved his sickle and started working. While working, he said, "Doctor Li, leave the ephedra to me. Go find something else first."
"Okay, okay!" Doctor Li was so pleased that he took the others to another place. "Next, let's see if we can find Astragalus. Generally, Astragalus should be found near places where Ephedra is found. Their living environments are similar."
Doctor Li is very confident about this.
Sure enough, in less than a moment he found quite a lot of Astragalus.
This time Su Chunlin volunteered to stay and pick the fruits.
Shen Yi carried Doctor Li on his back and led Su Tai to continue looking for other medicinal herbs.
After a busy day, the group finally returned with a full load before dark.
Doctor Li felt deeply regretful that there were still a few medicinal herbs left that could not be found.
Shen Yi thought for a moment and said, "Doctor Li, how about my second uncle and I go into the mountains with you tomorrow? Uncle Chunlin and Sister Xiaotai will drive the ox cart to bring the herbs back first. There are still a lot of ephedra and astragalus in the mountains, so we can bring some more people to help."
Doctor Li thought for a long time, and finally nodded, and said to Su Chunlin: "I will divide the medicine into the dosage for your child. You can take it back, and send the rest to the town magistrate Lord Liu. I will write down the usage, and Lord Liu will know how to arrange it."
(End of this chapter)
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