Qin Yifan tried to sit up. He had only been lying down for a short while, and although his complexion had improved slightly, his whole body was still limp and weak. Mei Niang wanted to help him up, but he shook his head and refused.
He propped himself up on the bed frame behind him, slowly sitting up, looking around, and finally his gaze fell back on Mei Niang, "Did you see Yuechan when you came here?"
"No, I thought Fanlang sent him on an errand." Mei Niang had not seen Yuechan when she came here with Jian Ning's family. But on weekdays, she and her husband were almost inseparable, and he was always by her side like a shadow.
"Why, if you didn't assign him any errands, where could he go?"
Yeah, where else could he go? Qin Yifan's eyebrows knitted together, and upon reflection, he seemed to have not seen him since breakfast. At first, he thought he had gone out to get medicine for himself and didn't pay much attention. Then, he came down with diarrhea, so severe that he felt dizzy and forgot about him for a while.
"Who is Yuechan? Is she missing?" Jian Ning asked.
"He's my husband's long-time attendant, someone who rarely speaks a word all day." Mei Niang said, then turned to look at Qin Yifan. "Fanlang suddenly asked about him, but what's wrong with him?"
Qin Yifan shook his head. "Madam Jian." He looked up at Jian Ning. "You just said you were using soybeans for the experiment, but it's already been proven that this Gu disease is man-made. Did someone plant a Gu worm in the well?"
Jian Ning said, "Whether it's completely man-made or not is still uncertain. Major disasters usually trigger major epidemics, so it's possible they took advantage of the outbreak of the Gu disease to administer the poison. Normally, after a Gu disease outbreak, the liver and abdominal swelling seen in later stages won't occur."
"Can it be cured completely?" This is the question that Qin Yifan is most concerned about. More than half of the people in the city have suddenly contracted the Gu disease, and once it was discovered, the disease spread so rapidly. It is really difficult for him to be a county magistrate.
When he first took office, there was a locust plague and then a poisonous insect disease. Bad things happened one after another, as if God was against him.
His expression turned stern. He refused to believe in evil and believed that his fate was in his own hands!
"grown ups."
There was a commotion outside the county government office. A bailiff hurried over to report, "The people are making a fuss over the queue. This lady is a remarkable doctor." He glanced at Jian Ning, a hint of joy on his face. "The old man from earlier can now sit up and says his abdominal distension is better. This is terrible. Many patients' families are almost fighting over the seats!"
Without waiting for Qin Yifan to say anything, Jian Ning slung over his medical kit and walked out.
"Master, I'm going too." Seeing this, Qiaofeng hurriedly got up and followed her to the outside of the county government office.
When the people outside the gate saw Jian Ning, Wu Yangyang knelt down in a large group and said, "The female Bodhisattva is here, stop arguing!"
"Female Bodhisattva, we are blind and short-sighted. Please have mercy on us and save us quickly!"
"Please, Living Bodhisattva..."
Everyone was talking at once, making a lot of noise, mixed with the groans of the patients.
Jian Ning stood beside the stone lion on the right, carrying a medical kit on her back, and shouted, "Quiet, be quiet for a moment, and listen to me! Since you call me the female Bodhisattva, then listen to me."
Two yamen runners armed with swords also helped to shout, asking the people to calm down first. Jane Ning shouted a few more times, and the crowd finally quieted down. Everyone pricked up their ears and looked at her.
"Those with only rashes, fever, and diarrhea, please line up on the left. I'll have my apprentice distribute the pills first. Those with enlarged livers and abdomens, please line up on the right. Those with severe symptoms will be in front, and those with milder symptoms will be in the back. Also, please rest assured, as long as everyone helps collect herbs in the mountains, I will prepare a potion overnight."
"I promise everyone will get treatment, and it's free. You don't have to spend a penny, and this disease won't kill anyone anytime soon! It will be cured sooner or later. Please cooperate fully, don't fight, and don't make a scene! If you make any more noise, I can't guarantee I won't just walk away. Do you understand?"
"Okay, let's start lining up now!"
"If you don't understand or feel uneasy, you can ask me later."
She said all this, and the people below remembered these points: it wouldn't cost a penny, no one would die, and everyone would get treatment. If they continued to make a fuss, she would just walk away, and it would be hard to say whether they could survive. So, the people followed her advice, lining up on both sides and no longer fighting for the medicine.
Some people lined up on the right side, but when they looked back, they saw someone behind them with a stomach even swollen than theirs, so they consciously gave up their space and lined up at the back.
The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious. This is often the case. No one steps in to control the situation and chaos reigns because everyone is naturally panicking due to uncertainty. But if someone steps in to reassure people, things will instantly become better.
Many of them are neighbors, familiar faces who see each other every day. Since everyone can get treatment, why fight over it?
Jian Ning handed the medicine to Qiao Feng, instructing her on the proper dosage and instructions. She then distributed it to the people on her left, while she began injecting praziquantel into the critically ill patients lined up on her right. Standing beneath the lanterns at the county government entrance, she called out each patient, each one supported by their family members. Each time she called, the patient, each one aroused by the syringe in her hand, was both curious and apprehensive. Some, so fearful of the pain, were so nervous they dared not breathe.
"Turn your head and don't look." Jane Ning said softly. When she was just learning how to give injections, the patient was extremely nervous. When the injection was inserted, the muscles contracted violently, causing the needle to go crooked.
Mei Niang ordered two lanterns to be sent out, and two yamen runners who were helping to maintain order each held a lantern to light up Jian Ning and Qiao Feng who was distributing pills.
More and more people came to the scene after hearing the news. They hurried over to ask and found out that they could only queue up tomorrow. Everyone was reluctant to leave and kept looking at Jane Ning's movements. Every time she injected a patient, someone would come around to ask about her reaction after the injection.
When Jian Ning was giving injections to the people, he also told them one by one not to drink the well water at home without disinfection, and to cooperate with the government to disinfect it first. Everyone who was able to move in the house went up the mountain to fetch spring water.
After she had injected about twenty people, Ding Youtian came back with the county magistrate Cai Sibei and the constables. He didn't bother to greet Jian Ning. He glanced at her hurriedly and went straight into the county government office and headed for the back hall.
After a while, Master Fan Zhaoxue came with a few others.
Before Jian Ning finished her work, she saw Ding Youtian and County Magistrate Cai Sibei leading people to the street on the left. The two were talking about something as they walked, and they looked very anxious.
What happened? Jane Ning finished her medicine and told everyone to line up again at noon tomorrow. She'd been busy since getting off the boat, and her injuries hadn't fully healed yet, so she was already feeling extremely tired. The people still refused to leave, and many of them crowded around Jane Ning, asking her questions. Qiao Feng had finished distributing the medicine and walked over to her.
"Everyone, go back first and come back tomorrow morning. My master hasn't even touched water or rice since he got off the boat. You can ask anything you want tomorrow."
Two yamen runners also came up to chase people away, and Jian Ning was able to escape. She was wondering what Ding Youtian had done next. She carried the empty medicine box on her back and went into the county yamen with Qiao Feng. When she entered the back hall, she saw the legal advisor Fan Zhaoxue talking to Qin Yifan.
Seeing her coming, Fan Zhaoxue fell silent and said nothing more.
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