Lu Qiqi took the thick stack of prescriptions from Zhao Zhide, and was completely dumbfounded when she saw the handwriting on the prescriptions.
How could anyone possibly decipher what kind of medicinal herb these scribbles are?
However, Lu Qiqi quickly realized that in this era of limited information, a good prescription was a doctor's livelihood.
Therefore, it will not be easily shown to others to avoid revealing the prescription.
However, doing so would clearly do more harm than good.
For example, right now, they don't even know what medicine the previous doctor used, so they have to start trying medicines all over again.
Even if the doctors who come to Tianxin Village can hold on and not collapse so quickly, the villagers of Tianxin Village cannot afford to wait.
Relieved, Lu Qiqi handed the prescription back to Zhao Zhide and said, "Brother Zhao, please take me to see the doctor who fell ill, and also leave the dregs from your decoction for Doctor Huang so he can see what kind of medicine was in it."
“Alright,” Zhao Zhide called out to someone, said a few words, and then said to Lu Qiqi, “Come with me.”
As Zhao Zhide spoke, he led Lu Qiqi to a small courtyard next to them, and Zhao Zhide pushed open the door of the courtyard.
"The doctors who came for consultations before were all in this small courtyard. There were more than thirty people, but now there are only six left."
Stepping through the gate, Lu Qiqi took in the entire courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large; there were a few benches in the yard, and a lot of medicinal herbs were drying in a winnowing basket.
A closer look reveals that the courtyard has been neglected for a long time, with many leaves mixed in with the medicinal herbs, and no one has cleaned them up.
With a creak, Zhao Zhide pushed open the door to the house.
Lu Qiqi followed Zhao Zhide inside. Light shone into the room through the window, making it not dark at all, and the tables, chairs and benches inside could be seen clearly.
Having mentally prepared herself beforehand, Lu Qiqi didn't smell any unpleasant odor.
However, the room was filled with an overwhelming smell of medicine, as if it were trying to mask some other odor.
Upon entering the inner room, Lu Qiqi saw three large beds put together, with six doctors lying on them.
Zhao Zhide stepped forward to try to wake the several doctors who were in a coma. Without exception, the doctors were somewhat confused and had great difficulty opening their eyes, let alone being able to recount the process and symptoms of the villagers they had treated recently.
Having come this far, Lu Qiqi also took the pulses of several doctors.
The symptoms of several doctors were even more severe than those of the villagers in the epidemic area of Tianxin Village.
Lu Qiqi speculated that this was because several doctors had come into contact with too many patients, which caused them to contract a more serious disease.
Back in the courtyard, before Lu Qiqi could even enter the house, Doctor Huang hurriedly came out.
"Dr. Huang?" Lu Qiqi called out to him.
Upon seeing Lu Qiqi return, Doctor Huang stepped forward and handed the bowl he was carrying to Lu Qiqi.
The bowl contained the dregs of the decocted medicine. Lu Qiqi asked, "Dr. Huang, have you found the prescription?"
Dr. Huang sighed heavily and said, "We found out. This prescription is almost identical to the one we wrote in the ancestral hall before. I asked the villagers, and they have been drinking this medicine for half a month without any effect."
Surprisingly, it had absolutely no effect!
Lu Qiqi couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
This does not mean that their initial direction was wrong; this was not an incurable epidemic at all.
In other words, this epidemic is likely not just a single disease, but very likely a multi-disease outbreak.
If it's really as she suspects, then things will be difficult.
After a busy morning, it was time for lunch.
Since Li Changlong and Zhou Yi don't know medicine, they can only do what they can, such as cooking.
The soldiers provided limited ingredients, and even though Li Changlong and his men cooked stir-fries, they were all vegetarian and not much better than the ones from the previous night.
However, Lu Qiqi, who had been busy all morning, had no time to cook special meals. Even while eating, she was still thinking about how to treat the villagers.
If the villagers cannot be cured, how can they escape unscathed?
She could hide in the space when she was trapped here alone, but Li Changlong and Zhou Yi had no way to leave the village besieged by the soldiers.
She regretted not resolutely refusing Li Changlong and Zhou Yi's offer of help and sending them back to the veterans' village.
"Qiqi, is there enough food?" Li Changlong asked as he sat down next to Lu Qiqi. "If not, I have more. Second Brother doesn't like vegetables, he just needs rice to fill his stomach."
Lu Qiqi glanced at the food in Li Changlong's bowl. The food barely covered the rice, so he must have served the food to the doctors before serving himself.
She said, "Thank you, Second Brother, I'm full."
Li Changlong smiled and said, "It's good that you're full. If you're not full, don't be polite with me."
Looking at Li Changlong's smiling face, Lu Qiqi couldn't quite describe her feelings.
But she had no way out and could only fight with her back against the wall, doing everything she could to cure the villagers' illnesses and safely bring Li Changlong and Zhou Yi back to the veterans' village.
Thinking of this, Lu Qiqi put down her bowl and rushed into the house, showing a determination to cure the villagers.
Lu Qiqi spent the entire afternoon taking the pulses of the villagers. As she had anticipated, each villager's symptoms had slight differences.
One of the differences was huge, but she wasn't sure of her judgment yet.
"It's finished. Everyone come and take a look."
Doctor Huang stood in front of his desk, shaking the newly written prescription a few times to make the ink on the paper dry faster.
Upon hearing this, several doctors huddled together to discuss it.
After several discussions, a prescription was finalized.
Lu Qiqi stood on the outside. She was right beside Doctor Huang when he wrote the prescription, and she already knew what medicine was needed.
To her bewilderment, the dignified old doctor in black robes did not participate, but stood aside, seemingly detached, observing the scene outside the door.
However, according to Lu Qiqi's observation, this old doctor seemed to always act this way. He didn't talk much when taking pulses and asking questions, and always treated himself as an outsider.
If it weren't for his extraordinary demeanor, he wouldn't have attracted any attention at all.
The old doctor seemed to notice someone watching him, turned around, and gave Lu Qiqi a sharp look.
Caught red-handed, Lu Qiqi showed no shame or averted gaze, but instead nodded to the old doctor.
The old doctor ignored Lu Qiqi and turned back to look outside the door.
"Let's settle on this," Dr. Huang declared decisively, and the other five doctors raised no objections, indicating their agreement.
Then Doctor Huang gave the prescription to Zhao Zhide and asked him to find someone to deliver it to the ancestral hall and give it to Lu Da.
Lu Qiqi wasn't idle either. She secretly replaced the drinking water in the vat outside with spiritual spring water, so that the villagers would naturally use spiritual spring water when decocting medicine.
As night fell, the doctors, who had been busy all night, went back to their rooms to rest.
Since Lu Qiqi was a girl, it wasn't appropriate for her to share a room with several doctors, so Zhao Zhide arranged a small courtyard for Lu Qiqi and the other two.
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