Chapter 2375: Smallpox Vaccination
Manbao was standing beside the cow wearing a mask, carefully and quickly removing the scabs with tongs and putting them into a jar. She had already removed quite a few this morning.
Seeing Jiulan appear not far from the cowshed, Manbao nodded to her, then put down the clamp and covered the jar. She turned her neck and said to Doctor Lu who was standing at the other end, "Doctor Lu, it's time for lunch."
Manbao took the jar into the house, put it on the shelf, and washed his hands before taking off the mask.
Doctor Lu moved in slowly. He had been standing for the whole morning, and his calves and soles of his feet were a little numb.
He placed the can next to Zhou Man, then washed his hands and took off his mask.
After taking it off and breathing in the fresh air, he realized that he had had smallpox before, so there was no need to wear it at all?
But since he had already put it on, he didn't say anything more.
Manbao really wanted to talk to Doctor Lu, but Doctor Lu was very tired after being busy all morning. When he was tired, he didn't want to talk, so he ignored her.
Manbao could only hold her words and return to the yard. Jiulan and the others had already prepared hot water for her in the bathroom.
Manbao changed out of his outer clothes, shoes and socks, and washed up again before going to the next yard to have dinner with Doctor Lu.
Manbao asked Doctor Lu, "When do you think it would be a good time to check on them?"
Doctor Lu said, "After dinner, take a short rest and then go. We'll have to continue removing scabs in the afternoon."
That’s right, Manbao and Doctor Lu’s main task these two days is to remove the healed pox scabs from the cows and keep them for later use.
The secondary task is to monitor the physical condition of the subjects and ensure that there are no problems with their bodies before vaccination.
Because removing smallpox scabs involves direct contact with the smallpox virus, the Imperial Medical Bureau, after discussion, decided not to let the medical assistants do it themselves. Instead, Doctor Lu, who had experienced smallpox, and Zhou Man, who had rich experience, took charge of it together.
Without medical assistance, it took two people to remove the scabs from the five cows. In the morning, they only removed most of the cows. In the afternoon, they worked until sunset and only removed one and a half cows at most. With two people, that means three cows. Well, if you calculate it this way, it can be done in two days.
After Doctor Lu made this calculation, he relaxed a lot and even ate slower.
Manbao ate quickly. She said to Doctor Lu, "When I left just now, I carefully compared them and found that cow number three had a lot of scabs, so densely packed. Was it the one that was nearly dying of the disease earlier?"
He and Doctor Zheng were on duty during that time, so he nodded.
Manbao said, "I roughly estimated that the scabs on cow number three are more than twice as many as those on cow number one. I don't know if we can remove them all in one day."
Number one is the cow that Zhou Man is holding now.
Doctor Lu could hardly eat. Firstly, he thought about the huge workload waiting for him; secondly, he thought about the pox scabs that he had picked out.
Although as an imperial physician, he had seen many dirty and disgusting things, but...
I've been looking at these acne scabs the whole morning. It's okay when I don't think about them, but when I do, it really affects my appetite.
Manbao ate with great relish, and even ate more. Doctor Lu watched her finish a bowl of rice and then fill another one. He couldn't help but say, "Doctor Zhou, although it's better for women to be plump, they can't be obese. You eat so much..."
Manbao said calmly: "I'm still growing."
She said, "I've calculated it, and I can still eat as much as I want for two or three years, and I'm not full yet."
As a doctor, she certainly knew that people should not eat too much, but the key was that she was not full now.
Doctor Lu just looked at her quietly, then after a while lowered his eyes and went to eat.
Life in the village was a bit boring, mainly because Doctor Lu didn't want to talk to Zhou Man, and Manbao couldn't find anything to say to Doctor Lu. The two of them had nothing to talk about except official business.
So after eating and drinking his fill, Manbao yawned and returned to his yard. He walked around in the yard to digest his food while thinking about vaccination.
When she finished thinking, she turned around and found that quarter of an hour had passed, so she simply went into the house to rest.
Xibing made her bed.
Manbao was lying on the bed when he asked Jiulan, who was busy beside him, "Did anyone come to deliver a letter today?"
Jiulan smiled and said, "No, my lady, we have only been here for a day, it's not long yet."
Manbao yawned, tears almost coming out. She half-closed her eyes and said, "I don't know if Fifth Brother has come to the Royal Manor. We can't get out, so we have no way of knowing what's going on outside."
Manbao slowly fell asleep, and it felt like he had only dozed off for a moment when Jiulan woke him up, "Madam, it's almost time. Doctor Lu is already preparing."
Manbao was confused for a while before asking, "How long have I slept?"
"Three-quarters of an hour."
It's time to get ready.
Manbao stood up and sighed, "Whenever I go to sleep, I feel like time flies by so quickly."
Jiulan and Xibing couldn't help laughing.
Manbao and Doctor Lu packed up and went to see the subjects. They didn't need to take each one's pulse, but walked to each room one by one, looked at their faces, and asked if they were feeling unwell again. They were faster than yesterday.
The two of them strolled over, and in the end, naturally no one felt unwell, but the two of them felt much more sober.
When I return to the bullpen, I can quickly get back to work.
Manbao found it quite interesting to pick up the fruits one by one. She felt that after picking up one, she would definitely want to pick up the next one. Doctor Lu occasionally looked up at her and saw that she was working hard and was much faster than him.
He was speechless for a long time, but had to admit in his heart that although she had many faults, she was flawless at work.
Doctor Lu withdrew his gaze, moved his old waist, and turned his neck. Only when he felt the pain and soreness eased a little did he lower his head and continue.
They were still in the cowshed until Xiao Yuanzheng came down from the palace to see them.
Xiao Yuanzheng also changed his clothes and put on a mask. He strolled over to take a look. He saw that the cow was wagging its tail, but it was still quite obedient. The two of them seemed to have caught a lot, so he asked, "How was it today?"
Man Bao and Doctor Lu, who were concentrating, were startled. They turned around and saw that it was Xiao Yuanzheng, then breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Why are you walking without making any sound?"
Xiao Yuanzheng glanced at them and raised his chin to signal them to reply.
Doctor Lu said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to remove all the blood tomorrow. Let's add another half day the day after tomorrow."
Xiao Yuanzheng nodded, "Then I'll bring people over to take a look after noon the day after tomorrow. If it's suitable, we'll prepare the smallpox vaccine the day after tomorrow. We'll prepare it as soon as possible and start the vaccination as soon as possible."
This imperial farm costs one more day's money to operate.
Originally, Xiao Yuanzheng didn't think there was anything wrong with this expenditure, but after knowing the difference between the cost of purchasing from the imperial farm and the market price, he always had a feeling that the Imperial Hospital was about to run out of money.
Manbao and Doctor Lu stopped, put the jar away, and went to change their clothes. Then they sat down and talked with Xiao Yuanzheng.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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