Chapter 2868 Going to the Countryside (Part 2)
Manbao smiled and said, "I haven't given birth yet. I'm the director of the Medical Department. I came here to tell you that the Qingzhou Medical Department is temporarily located in Beihai County. So if you get sick in the future, you can go to the medical department in the county."
She said, "Anyone who has registered their household registration can go to the doctor for free."
The young wife who had just spoken widened her eyes and asked quickly, "What about the middle household?"
Their family was well-off and they were the village chief's family of Lizhuang, so she was sent to entertain Zhou Man.
Manbao smiled and said, "I can waive your consultation fee."
The young wife was confused, "Why are the medical and medicine fees waived for the lower households, but not for us?"
Man Bao said, "Your Majesty and the officials of the court have compassion for the people of the world and are worried that the poor people cannot afford medical treatment. Therefore, they have waived the medical and drug fees for the lower-income families, and reduced the medical fees for the middle-income families. In addition, whenever there is an epidemic, the medical department will also provide epidemic prevention medicine soups at the end of each year, which everyone can get free of charge."
She sighed and said, "Your Majesty and the national treasury are both poor, and this is all we can do now. If we want to make medicine free for middle-class households, or even for all people in the world, we will have to work together."
The young wife, the older girl, and the older children nearby were all shocked. They pointed at themselves and asked in disbelief, "We?"
Manbao nodded, "That's you guys."
She said seriously, "This is a matter that concerns the well-being of all people in the world, so it naturally requires the efforts of everyone."
The young wife said a little embarrassedly: "What can we do? We still have to rely on the adults, right?"
"No, there's a lot you can do," Zhou Man said. "If you manage your own family well, every family will have a better life, and the country will naturally prosper. Isn't that the result of your hard work?"
Not only the young wives, but also the little girls and older children who came to join in the fun were stunned.
When Zhou Man led a group of people back to the village, their hands were already extremely dirty. Everyone, including children who were only six or seven years old, was holding a handful of grass in their hands... Was it grass?
The village chief Li and the head of the village who came to accompany them were a little uncertain.
The young daughter-in-law of the Li family was particularly excited. When she got there, she said to her father-in-law, "Dad, Master Zhou taught us how to identify herbs. He said that this kind of herb can be dried and sold in the county town."
Village Chief Li quickly winked at her, glanced at his youngest son waiting behind him, and said, "What nonsense are you calling me? Call me Madam."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "Calling you Sir is also good. This is the Director of the Qingzhou Medical Bureau, Sir Zhou."
The village chief opened his mouth wide. He didn't know what a medical department was, and had never heard of the official called the director, so he looked at the head of the village helplessly.
The village head quickly said, "Please forgive me, my lord. These country folks are ignorant..."
Bai Shan smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's okay. If you don't understand, we will teach you."
He pointed at the Li family's young daughter-in-law and the other young wives and children behind them and said, "Wasn't Master Zhou teaching them just now? They can teach their families later."
The young wives were fine, but the girls who had become familiar with Zhou Man were very brave. And the children immediately puffed out their chests and said proudly under the adults' gaze: "We have all remembered it, Dad (Grandpa), I will teach you later..."
Everyone started talking at once, and Bai Shan smiled and said to the village head, "The Qingzhou Medical Bureau is temporarily located in Beihai County. This is a good thing for Beihai County. When you have time, gather the villagers from all villages and spread the word. If there are people with serious illnesses, they can be sent to the Beihai County Medical Bureau for treatment. If there are poor families who cannot go to the hospital, they can also try going to the hospital."
Zhou Man added: "If you bring your household registration, middle and lower-income households can get free medical treatment, and lower-income households will be exempt from medicine costs."
The village chief was skeptical, "Is there such a good thing?"
The villagers couldn't help but ask, "Is it really free?"
Zhou Man nodded, "This is His Majesty's grace, temporarily only for the poor and weak families."
As soon as Bai Shan and the others left, Village Chief Li and his men surrounded the head of the village and asked, "Uncle, what is this medical department the adults are talking about?"
The children who squeezed in rushed to answer, "I know, I know, ask me, ask me..."
Village Chief Li pushed the child aside angrily and said, "The adults are talking, kids, don't be naughty."
The village head said, "You haven't even heard what the children have to say, so how do you know they are naughty?"
He said, "I don't know much, but I heard that Your Majesty is so kind that you will open medical clinics in various places. These clinics will be used by the poor and the incompetent to seek medical treatment. Besides that, they can also help prevent diseases."
The village head also said, "It sounds like it's because of the smallpox outbreak a few years ago. I don't know much about the Medical Bureau, but I do know something about this Mr. Zhou."
Compared to the lesser-known Medical Bureau, Dr. Zhou Man's name was well-known to many. This was because any educated person would pay attention to current events, and by following current events, they would know about the two major events: the rebellious King of Yizhou was killed, and the Crown Prince was blessed with a son, thus stabilizing the foundation of the country.
Regardless of the former or the latter, Zhou Man is present.
Especially the major event of the crown prince having a son, Zhou Man was one of the protagonists, so every family with educated people had heard of Zhou Man's name.
And her identity is so special.
The daughter of the chivalrous man who brought down the King of Yizhou turned around and cured the King of Yizhou's nephew, the prince, thus stabilizing the country. It is said that the smallpox that had been particularly severe in Xiazhou in the past few years was scared away by her reputation.
Of course, this is a rumor that has been passed around several times. In a word, the village head knows this Mr. Zhou!
So the villagers didn't disperse, but squatted down to listen to the headman talk about the great achievements of Mr. Zhou. Of course, he had only heard a few words about it from his schoolboy grandson, but this did not prevent him from expanding his horizons.
After leaving Li Village, Bai Shan went straight to the next village. He said to Zhou Man, "I've seen their wheat, and the ears of wheat are not as long and full as ours."
He turned around and asked County Magistrate Dong, "Are you using new wheat seeds, or are you saving your own?"
How could County Magistrate Dong know all this? He had only vaguely heard some news before, "There are wheat seeds from the Central Plains. The Ministry of Revenue sent a batch before, and after County Magistrate Lu arrived, he even purchased several batches of seeds for distribution."
Bai Shan nodded and said, "Let's go to the next village and ask."
In some villages, people planted the distributed grain seeds, but more people ate them.
Bai Shan asked two villages and gained some experience. He was not blind. Although they were all wheat, different wheats were different.
At this time, most of the winter wheat has ears. Look at the length, the height, and the subtle changes in the leaves. Even if the new wheat seeds grown in different places will have slight differences, it will definitely not be like this.
So if you ask carefully, you will know where the wheat seeds distributed in the previous two years went.
Bai Shan didn't say much, but just wrote down the name of the village and the headman in a small notebook.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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