Chapter 95
When Fu Wei and Yu Ying were almost at the yamen, they happened to run into Huo, the yamen runner who was looking for them.
Huo Yacha said, "I was just about to go and ask Mr. Fu to come."
Fu Wei was puzzled: "What do you want from me?"
Huo Yacha glanced at Madam Yu beside him and didn't say what the matter was. He only said, "The Lord is looking for Mr. Fu."
Fu Wei speculated briefly and asked, "But does this concern Sun's staff?"
Huo Yacha was a little surprised, but still nodded.
Fu Wei probably knew what was going on.
His expression was calm, without any sign of surprise.
After a while, they arrived at the yamen.
In order to avoid suspicion, Yu Ying waited in the outer hall for the time being.
Fu Wei and Huo Yachai entered the inner hall.
In the inner hall, the magistrate sat at the top, Luo Dianshi stood beside him, and Sun Muliao stood at the other side with his head hung, looking dazed.
When Luo Dianshi saw Fu Wei, he bowed slightly to him.
Fu Wei lowered his head slightly.
When County Magistrate Zhou saw Fu Wei coming, he finally understood why he had vowed before going to the county seat that this staff member Sun would voluntarily leave the county government office before the New Year. It turned out that he was waiting here.
When County Magistrate Zhou asked, he found out that Fu Wei had made arrangements before he went to the county seat with him.
Bringing two aides with him to the county seat this time is already eye-catching enough, so naturally he will not bring Aide Sun with him.
Moreover, in previous years, he always brought Mr. Qian with him to the county government, but this year he brought Fu Wei with him because he was afraid that Mr. Sun would feel resentful, so he invited him over for a drink and a good chat before leaving.
Who would have thought that this Sun Muliao was so blinded by greed that he actually wanted to pass the message to the son of the prefect in Wuling County!
It is said that he recruited Fu Wei to work as his aide in the county government, and Fu Wei's life was prosperous!
Having served as the county magistrate for several years, County Magistrate Zhou knew the troublemakers in the surrounding area, and he also knew something about the child who was taken away by mistake from the Fu family.
I heard that he is a lazy and greedy person, hanging around with a bunch of scoundrels, doing a lot of stealing and shady things.
If such a person knew that he could have lived a life of luxury, but had to suffer for twenty years because of being taken away by mistake, it would be impossible for him not to care.
Not only will he care about it, he will also hold a grudge against it. There is no doubt who broke Fu Wei's leg.
If this news really reaches that person's ears, he will be fine, but it is hard to say what will happen to Fu Wei.
Fortunately, this news was stopped by Luo Dianshi.
Although Sun Muliao's family had some money, they were not a wealthy family. Moreover, it was winter now, so they had to spend a lot of money to find someone to deliver the letter to Wuling County. Therefore, if they wanted to send the letter to Wuling County, which was more than 2,000 miles away, they still had to find a courier to deliver it.
Among the duties that Luo Dianshi was in charge of was correspondence, so he knew all the couriers in Yu County.
He secretly instructed these messengers one by one that if they received any letters sent to Wuling County, no matter who sent them, they should intercept them calmly and then inform him.
Luo Dianshi spoke very cautiously, and the messengers thought it was something confidential, so every time a letter was sent to Wuling County, they would intercept it and report it first.
It was precisely because of his strictness that he stopped the letter from Sun's staff.
County Magistrate Zhou picked up the letter he had intercepted from the table and waved it in his hand. Clerk Huo understood what he meant and went over to give it to Fu Wei.
Fu Wei roughly read it through.
I'm not surprised by the above content.
Magistrate Zhou looked at Sun Muliao and said bluntly, "Although you haven't broken the law, you have already betrayed your master."
Sun Muliao's face turned pale and he looked up at Fu Wei tremblingly.
Fu Wei's face was indifferent, showing no emotion, as if he was not worth mentioning in his eyes.
Magistrate Zhou sternly said, "But considering you've helped me for three years, I won't imprison you. I'll spare you this time and let you resign from your position as an aide. But I'm also warning you, I'll have people keeping an eye on you. If you dare have any other thoughts again, as the magistrate, I can easily frame your entire family and make sure you don't get away with it!"
Sun Muliao knelt down and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you, sir."
From this look, it can be seen how long he was terrified before Fu Wei came.
"Send your resignation tomorrow, and get out of here. Don't let me see you."
Sun Muliao hurriedly got up, glanced at Fu Wei, and staggered out of the inner hall.
Magistrate Zhou looked at Huo Yacha and said, "Go find someone to keep an eye on them for a while."
Huo Yachai bowed and then retreated.
Only three people were left in the inner hall. Magistrate Zhou looked at Fu Wei and said, "Don't blame me for letting Sun Muliao go. He is a well-known figure in Yu County after all, and he has been in the government for several years. I need his reputation to govern Yu County well."
Fu Wei said, "I understand your difficulty."
Fu Wei didn't care much about Sun's small aide.
County Magistrate Zhou nodded and looked at Luo Dianshi. "Earlier, you were confused about your elder brother's situation. I even wondered if you had done something wrong, but you didn't disappoint me. After the New Year, I will hand over the job of delivering the medicinal herbs to you. If you have good news, you will be promoted to Chief Registrar in the second half of next year."
When Luo Dianshi heard the first half of the sentence, he immediately felt guilty. The second half surprised and delighted him. He quickly bowed and responded, "I will definitely not let you down!"
I was even more grateful to Fu Wei.
If Fu Wei had not been magnanimous and not bothered with him, how could he have had this opportunity!
County Magistrate Zhou nodded, then realized that Fu Wei seemed to have arrived a little too quickly, so he asked, "Why did you come so quickly?"
Fu Wei didn't shy away from Luo Dianshi and said directly, "My wife knows some herbal medicine and medical skills. When she went to the market today, she heard people coughing non-stop. In addition, Yu County has been experiencing cold and drizzling weather, and hot and humid weather, so she suspects it might be an epidemic."
When County Magistrate Zhou and Luo Dianshi heard the word "epidemic", their faces suddenly changed.
The weather in Lingnan is changeable. Every four or five years, some places will have outbreaks of epidemics, big or small. During the three years since County Magistrate Zhou took office, Yu County has been peaceful and there has never been an epidemic.
Luo Dianshi seemed to recall something, his expression becoming even more serious. "In the past two days, the clinic has indeed seen a lot more patients with headaches and fevers."
Regardless of whether it is an epidemic or not, now that it has been mentioned and there are signs, we cannot sit idly by.
When Fu Wei saw the serious expression on County Magistrate Zhou's face, he knew there was no need to say more, as the County Magistrate also valued it.
He said, "My wife has also come to the yamen. Her father was a former imperial physician. She has a relatively comprehensive understanding of medical principles and has read many rare medical books that only imperial physicians can read. Perhaps she can be of some help."
This Madam Yu escaped poverty by relying on the medicinal materials business. County Magistrate Zhou did not doubt her ability. Moreover, her family background was more impressive than that of ordinary doctors, so he had to take her seriously.
After considering it for a moment, he looked at Luo Dianshi and said, "Have someone call the directors of the four medical clinics. I want to question them one by one to determine if this is an epidemic."
Luo Dianshi did not dare to delay and hurried out to ask for help.
After Luo Dianshi left, County Magistrate Zhou said to Fu Wei, "Let's wait for the medical staff to arrive before discussing this."
Fu Wei nodded.
Yu Ying was not idle while waiting, because she found that many people in the yamen were coughing incessantly. She walked over and asked them to take her pulse and check her condition.
Because Fu Wei was now well-established in the government office and was valued by the adults, and they also heard that Madam Yu's biological father was an imperial physician, and it just so happened that they did have someone with a headache and fever, so they were all willing to see Madam Yu.
Yu Ying looked at the three people in succession, her brows gradually becoming solemn, and then she called Wu Xiaoyacha to walk out of the yamen with her, stopped the people who were coughing, and asked about their situation.
Because there was a yamen runner beside her, the people were afraid and could only tell the truth.
*
After half an hour, several curators arrived at the yamen.
When they arrived, they learned from the yamen runners that the Fu couple were also in the yamen.
The director of Zhengji Liji Medical Clinic still felt uneasy about the Fu couple.
Director Luo never imagined that Madam Yu's husband not only worked in the government office, but also became a favorite of the county magistrate. He didn't dare to come, so he said he was sick and asked his eldest son to come.
Everyone knows what he is thinking, but they just don't expose him. Besides, seeing him makes them annoyed, so it's better if he doesn't come.
After a few people sat down, County Magistrate Zhou asked someone to call Madam Yu over.
Several curators were puzzled. Curator Zheng muttered, "Why let a woman in to discuss matters?"
County Magistrate Zhou frowned, thinking to himself that if it really was an epidemic, no one had discovered it, and it was only discovered by a woman who had just returned from the county seat. In that case, they were no better than women.
County Magistrate Zhou glanced at him, and Director Zheng immediately shut up.
After a while, Yu Ying entered the hall and saw everyone. She first bowed to County Magistrate Zhou, and then bowed to Director Ji, who was the oldest and had a very good reputation in Yu County.
County Magistrate Zhou glanced at Fu Wei, then said to Yu Ying, "You should sit down too."
After everyone sat down, County Magistrate Zhou looked at the several curators and asked, "I heard that there are many patients suffering from headaches and fevers in Yu County recently. What's going on?"
Several curators were stunned. They were called here just for this?
Director Ji was the first to notice something was wrong and replied, "It's indeed more than in previous years. I wonder what the Master has discovered?"
County Magistrate Zhou asked, "Could it be an epidemic?"
When asked, several people were stunned, but Director Zheng quickly refuted: "Impossible, the weather is getting colder, and everyone has a headache and fever. How can it be an epidemic!?"
Even Director Li echoed this sentiment: "We haven't had an epidemic in Yu County for over twenty years. How could an epidemic suddenly break out?"
Yu Ying, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up: "In previous years, could you hear endless coughing everywhere on the streets?"
Hearing her words, Director Li didn't think about it, but retorted: "The weather is cold, isn't it normal to hear people coughing on the street?"
"But I just checked the tongue coating and pulses of no less than ten people. They all clearly have a thin white tongue coating and a floating, tight pulse. Furthermore, their symptoms are identical: fever, runny nose, incessant cough, body aches, loss of appetite, neck swelling, and chin pain. I picked these ten people at random, and their symptoms are surprisingly similar. If many people who come to your clinic also have these symptoms, do you think they are just ordinary headaches and fevers?"
The two curators hadn't seen patients in a long time and were speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Only Doctor Ji's face changed: "Yes, I finally feel something is wrong!"
Today, the number of patients in the clinic suddenly increased. He was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water, nor did he have time to think too much, but he always felt that something was wrong!
After a moment of thought, Director Ji suddenly stood up and said, "It's an epidemic!"
Director Ji was considered the best Chinese medicine practitioner among the group. When he said this, County Magistrate Zhou's heart sank completely.
Director Zheng still held onto hope and said in disbelief, "That's unlikely. After all, there hasn't been an epidemic in over twenty years. Yu County shouldn't be that unlucky."
The eldest son of the Luo Family Clinic was shaken. He said, "Even though there haven't been any epidemics in over twenty years, that doesn't mean there won't be any. Furthermore, the number of patients we've seen this morning alone is significantly higher than any other day in previous years."
His words wavered the two directors who didn't quite believe it and just thought they could earn more money by having more patients.
No matter how cruel they are, they dare not try to make money from the epidemic.
Regardless of whether it was an epidemic or not, County Magistrate Zhou immediately called for people to come and lock up those in the yamen who had symptoms of headache and fever. He then beat drums and gongs to tell the people to return home immediately and not to go out at will.
Then he looked at the several clinic directors and said in a deep voice, leaving no room for argument: "When you return, confirm whether it is an epidemic and quickly come up with a prescription to treat it. Once it is confirmed to be an epidemic, each clinic will send a doctor to the county town to see patients. Each clinic will also be required to provide 100 kilograms of herbs, which will be purchased at half the market price. A large cauldron will be set up in front of the government office to boil the medicine. Everyone, regardless of age or status, must take it!"
Buying at half price is a loss-making deal, but no one dares to say anything.
Yu Ying hadn't heard any other countermeasures. After Magistrate Zhou finished speaking, she said, "Sir, I have read in some medical books about methods to prevent the spread of epidemics. Although they are not 100% effective, they can play a certain role."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Zhou said without hesitation: "Speak!"
Yu Ying: "Drinking boiled water can relieve a low-grade fever. Furthermore, this pestilence is mostly transmitted through saliva and exhaled breath. When people go out, wrapping your face with two layers of cloth can effectively prevent its spread."
Normally, city dwellers were frugal with firewood and drank cold water or simply warmed it up. Even country folk simply warmed up river or well water in winter and drank it. It was impossible for them to boil the water. They would only boil the water when drinking tea.
The directors of several medical clinics frowned slightly. They felt that these methods were feasible, but also felt that they were not feasible. If they could really be prevented, so many people would not have died when the epidemic broke out.
But no one dared to question it because they had just been slapped in the face by the woman.
Perhaps the woman couldn't guarantee that it was an epidemic, but they also couldn't guarantee that it wasn't an epidemic.
County Magistrate Zhou was silent for a moment. He did not understand this medical skill, but Madam Yu's ancestors were imperial physicians, so she must have some skills. Since there is a way, she must give it a try!
"Okay, first determine if it's an epidemic, then I'll send someone to take care of it."
Yu Ying then suggested, "I have some medical skills, but I don't have the qualifications to practice medicine. I'd like to take a quick test while the doctors are here. If I pass, I can help with the consultations."
Hearing this, several curators were stunned.
Doctors are terrified of epidemics and are too busy trying to hide, yet she actually volunteered to see patients. Is she crazy?!
There was a hint of admiration in the eyes of County Magistrate Zhou and Director Ji.
Magistrate Zhou said directly, "I know your abilities, so there's no need to test you. Besides, if this is truly an epidemic, we're short of manpower, not anything else."
What's the point of assessing them? These doctors didn't realize it was an epidemic, but you, a woman, dared to bring it up, and you even made sense of it. They may not be qualified to assess you.
As time was tight, County Magistrate Zhou did not keep several curators and gave them half an hour to make a final decision.
In order to stop the spread of the epidemic as soon as it was confirmed, County Magistrate Zhou immediately ordered people to vacate empty houses in Yu County, regardless of whether there was accurate information or not.
Once an epidemic is confirmed, the three groups of people will be immediately separated: those with serious conditions, those with mild conditions, and those who are not infected.
At the same time, County Magistrate Zhou also asked someone to immediately remind his wife to pay attention to the situation at all times.
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