Chapter 2392 Discovery
Manbao took out a concave porcelain piece as big as a fingernail, pulled out a very thick short needle and pricked his finger. She looked up at the patient. Because he was lying down for the acupuncture, there were needles on his back and head, so he didn't dare to move. Naturally, he didn't know what Zhou Man had done.
Feeling his fingers being pressed several times, he didn't dare to move, thinking that Zhou Man was giving him acupuncture.
Manbao took the blood and put it in the classroom under the cover of the quilt. When he was about to press his finger with gauze to stop the bleeding, Manbao saw that there was some yellowing between his fingers and some black dirt in the gaps between his nails.
Manbao seemed to have seen it on No. 121 as well.
Manbao frowned slightly, because those selected were all slaves. When recuperating, their Imperial Hospital would also pay great attention to hygiene. Not only did they let them wash their hair and take a bath, change into clean clothes, but they also had their fingernails and toenails trimmed.
They don't have to work during this period, they basically just eat, chat and bask in the sun. They have cut their nails twice, so why are they so dirty?
Manbao put down his hand and turned to look at the other person's hand. Sure enough, he found that there was some yellowing between his fingers and there was dirt under his nails.
Manbao frowned and asked the two of them, "What did you do yesterday?"
The two people lying on the ground looked puzzled, "We didn't do anything."
Manbao paused and asked, "Do you know Fang Xu?" Fang Xu is number 121.
The two of them didn't dare to move their necks, and could only say repeatedly: "I know you, I know you, we often eat together."
"Were you together yesterday?"
"yes."
Xiao Yuanzheng and the others came in after discussing the prescription, and happened to hear Manbao ask the two of them, "What did you three do yesterday? Just start from when you got up."
The two men said nervously, "We didn't do anything. We just washed, ate, and walked around. We didn't go out, and we didn't dare go near the fence."
Manbao asked, "I see your fingernails are a little dirty, how did that happen?"
"Oh, that must have been caused when they were chopping straw."
"What are you chopping straw for?"
"Feeding the cows," they said. "Aren't there cows in the nearby cowshed? We saw the guy who was looking after them was too busy, so we helped him out."
Xiao Yuanzheng's expression changed slightly. He lowered his head and glanced at Zhou Man, then stepped forward and asked, "You were just cutting grass and didn't go near the cows?"
The two men were questioned repeatedly and became a little scared. They quickly denied it, saying, "No, we didn't go near the cow."
Doctor Lu slammed the table in anger and said, "Tell the truth! What were you doing in the bullpen? If you don't tell the truth, I'll have you tortured."
Xiao Yuanzheng glanced at him, suggesting that he should hold back. There should be a limit to scaring people. Now that they are so sick, if they don't tell them, can they really drag them away and beat them with a stick?
Who knew that before he could withdraw his warning gaze, the person lying on the bed cried out in tears: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you, we'll all tell you."
One of them said, "We are really going there to feed the cows. They say that cows that have had pox are no longer wanted outside. When we leave, we will be able to divide these cows among ourselves."
He said, "We thought that although this cow had smallpox, we had it too, so we're not afraid. If we can get a cow back, it will be convenient for farming and other work. I, we're just going to take a look."
Another continued, "There were seven cows in the cowshed. They needed a lot of straw every day, which needed to be chopped and mixed with beans for them to eat. The soldier who was looking after the cows only had one hand, so we went to help. Actually, we didn't do much. We just chopped some straw and mixed it into two buckets of fodder for them to eat."
Xiao Yuanzheng asked them, "How many cows do you feed with your own hands?"
"Just, just two ends."
Manbao asked, "There are seven cows in total, why are you only feeding two?"
"Those two cows were mature, unlike the other five. The other five cows looked heavy and bulky, and we thought they would be difficult to plow the fields, so we didn't feed them."
Xiao Yuanzheng turned and left. Manbao wanted to follow him, but Xiao Yuanzheng ordered, "Stay here and watch them perform the acupuncture. Wait until they're done before leaving."
Manbao had no choice but to stay.
Manbao sat on a chair and watched them.
The two were very nervous and asked in a sweat, "Sir, can't we touch the cow?"
Manbao said, "It shouldn't be a problem. You've already had the pox, but... the pox hasn't healed yet, so your body's antibodies might not have formed yet. Have you ever touched a pox rash on a cow?"
"No," they said immediately, "We already have pox on our bodies, and this thing looks disgusting, why would we touch it?"
They said, "We just touched its neck, mouth and nose, and we avoided its pox."
When Manbao heard this, he was speechless for a long time.
Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, the two of them were nervous, "Sir?"
Manbao said, "This was also due to our negligence. We originally thought that since you had been vaccinated, there was no need to avoid it, but it turns out we were wrong."
Manbao calculated the time and removed the needles from them when the time came. He then asked, "Besides you three, who else has touched the people in the bullpen?"
The two looked at each other, lowered their heads under Zhou Man's gaze, and said several names.
That's all they knew.
Manbao nodded, felt their body temperature, and then got up to find Xiao Yuanzheng and others.
They were standing in the cowshed, and they had a pretty good idea of the situation. Xiao Yuanzheng said, "All seven cows have pox. These two just got it the day before yesterday. Yesterday was the time when they had a high fever and got pox."
"Is this the reason for the infection?"
Xiao Yuanzheng: "Not necessarily. We need to continue investigating. Let's check everyone first."
The cause of a disease is the most difficult thing to determine. People are not like roundworms in the stomach that can see what is inside and know the whole process of their illness from the beginning. Many things can only be guessed.
Xiao Yuanzheng ordered the people guarding the cowshed, "Watch carefully, no one is allowed to approach the cowshed again."
He turned around and led everyone back, saying to Zhou Man, "Continue the investigation. Group those with similar symptoms together and see how many have relapsed."
The four of them worked hard all day, checking on all the patients. Finally, they sat down on a chair to review the situation. Manbao said, "There are currently 27 people with fever. Aside from those two, the others have low-grade fevers. There are currently no signs of recurrence of the rash."
Xiao Yuan was taking note, and Man Bao said, "I asked them. There are twelve people who have been in the bullpen recently. Apart from these three, the others are currently normal."
"Sixty-seven people have been confirmed to have mature scabs that are about to fall off, and fifty-eight are nearing maturity."
Doctor Liu sighed and said, "It's almost done."
Manbao nodded. "Given the proportion of people on both sides, the cowpox epidemic hasn't failed, but now that there are deaths, it can't be considered a success either."
Xiao Yuanzheng said: "Find out the cause of the disease. In a few days, the cowpox will mature and the next batch of people will be vaccinated."
Manbao, Imperial Physician Liu and Imperial Physician Lu agreed.
See you at 7pm
(End of this chapter)
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