Chapter 85 The Physician (Second Update) The Situation in the Epidemic Area
News of the outbreak in Gyeongju gradually spread, and some people, fearing infection, deliberately avoided the area. However, some doctors, whether out of kindness or interest in researching the epidemic, packed their belongings and headed straight for Gyeongju.
Mei Leshu is one of them.
She traveled far and wide, treating the illnesses of wealthy merchants, healing the wounds of woodcutters she encountered, giving acupuncture to fishermen who stayed at her lodgings, offering health advice to officials of the prefecture, and delivering babies for impoverished village women…
Upon hearing of the sudden outbreak of the epidemic in Gyeongju, she hurriedly arranged a carriage and driver and headed straight for Nakchi County in Gyeongju.
However, as soon as she entered Ratchi County, she saw the local people busy killing rats and insects, cleaning ditches, sweeping streets, and removing excrement.
Unlike the desolation she had seen in the epidemic areas before, the people seemed to be in pretty good spirits.
She also smelled a faint scent of alcohol in the air.
Mei Leshu was very curious, so she randomly asked an old lady for information.
The elderly woman explained enthusiastically, "They are doctors from Jinzhou who told us to clean our homes and streets. They said that rats and mosquitoes can spread diseases, and living in a clean place can reduce the chances of getting sick."
Mei Leshu's eyes widened. Are the doctors in Jinzhou really that skilled?
She asked, "What else did they say?"
The old lady said, "She told us to take frequent baths, wash our hair, and wash our hands; she told us to drink less cold water and more hot water; and she even specially hired a hairdresser to cut our hair and trim our nails."
The old woman tugged at her half-length hair, her face contorted in distress, and said, "I didn't want to cut it, but the government sent soldiers to watch over me and force me to."
Mei Leshu knew all too well how dirty most people's hair was, and how many lice it contained. So she gently comforted the old woman, "The doctors are doing this for your own good. Getting a haircut is better than getting infected and sick, right?"
The old woman said reluctantly, "That's true."
Mei Leshu made a sniffing motion and continued to ask the old woman, "Why does it smell of alcohol?"
The old woman looked puzzled, but she repeated what the doctors from Jinzhou had said to Mei Leshu: "It was those doctors who said that after cleaning up the manure piles and stinking ditches, you can spray alcohol to disinfect them."
She muttered to herself, "Using alcohol to disinfect is such a waste."
Disinfect with alcohol? Mei Leshu looked thoughtful.
After finding out the location of the medical area, she carried her luggage and headed straight there.
The medical area was located on the west side of the county town, and it covered a fairly large area.
It was guarded by soldiers all around.
As soon as Mei Leshu approached, she was stopped by a soldier. She gave her name and identity, claiming that she had come to assist the local doctor.
The officers looked at her healthy complexion and not-so-thin body with some skepticism, put on masks, and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go in and report."
Mei Leshu was slightly stunned as she watched him put a small piece of cloth over his face, covering his mouth and nose.
Huh? Why are you wearing a cloth on your face?
The officers and soldiers went to the medical area and found the doctors studying prescriptions in the large tent set up in the central area.
Xu Nanxing was enthusiastically recommending "garlic extract," saying, "It has an inhibitory and bactericidal effect on bacterial infections. It has already been given to patients, and the effect is quite good."
"Of course, the best is still penicillin, but with our current conditions, we can't produce it, so we can only use allicin as a substitute."
The officers and soldiers wondered, "Besides being used as a condiment, can garlic also be used to treat illnesses?" They were amazed.
He stepped forward and told the doctors that a female doctor named Mei Leshu was coming in to treat the patients.
"Mei Leshu?" a doctor exclaimed excitedly. "Mei Leshu has actually come?"
The other doctors asked curiously, "Who is this?"
Xu Nanxing smiled and said, "She is a direct disciple of Doctor Zhu. She travels around and often provides free medical care to the poor." Therefore, she has a good reputation.
"He's actually a disciple of Doctor Zhu?"
"It's wonderful that Doctor Zhu's disciple has come to help us!"
"Quickly, invite her in."
Xu Nanxing instructed, "Get her a new mask and make her wear it."
Mei Leshu obediently put on the mask handed to her by the officers and soldiers, and then walked into the medical area under their guidance.
The area inside was also different from the epidemic areas she usually saw:
The streets have been cleaned; there is no litter and no flies.
Some patients who were physically weak walked slowly on the street. They were wearing clean clothes and their faces, hair and hands were very clean.
The doctors, pharmacists, and caregivers coming and going all wore masks and walked very quickly.
She was very curious about the doctors here.
Mei Leshu soon met the doctors from the epidemic area, and they greeted each other.
She expressed her appreciation for the local doctors, noting that in the past, doctors only paid attention to ventilation and warmth when treating patients, but these doctors had actually thought of ground hygiene and human hygiene.
The question then arises: Is it true that people get sick because of germs brought by rodents and insects? What are germs?
The local doctor also expressed his delight at seeing Mei Leshu, who was the apprentice of Doctor Zhu.
The previous generation of physicians included two renowned doctors, Doctor Xue and Doctor Zhu, who were admired by many. Unfortunately, no one had the chance to meet them. But now, having met Mei Leshu, Doctor Zhu's direct disciple, is practically equivalent to meeting Doctor Zhu himself.
Regarding Mei Leshu's concerns, everyone enthusiastically introduced Xu Nanxing from Jinzhou.
Xu Nanxing naturally dared not take credit, saying that all of this was taught by the goddess, and proudly stated that Anling frequently carried out health and hygiene activities.
“If you’re interested, you can come with us to Anling. We have several microscopes in our lab. You can see the germs with your own eyes through the microscope,” Xu Nanxing said.
Mei Leshu was indeed hooked. "What's a microscope?"
Xu Nanxing picked up a magnifying glass from the table and demonstrated to her how to use it.
Mei Leshu held a magnifying glass and saw fingers and fingerprints magnified several times under the lens.
Xu Nanxing said, "A microscope can magnify more than a magnifying glass."
Mei Leshu smiled and said, "Then I must go to Anling and bother them for a while."
Xu Nanxing, recalling the Legalist and Confucian masters still engrossed in the library, said earnestly, "You'll like our Anling. There are so many medical books; you absolutely can't refuse them."
After the group finished chatting, Mei Leshu put on gloves and went to "make rounds" with the doctors.
They comforted the elderly woman lying in the hospital bed, touched the little boy's feverish forehead, showed concern for the young woman sitting outside the ward reading a book, checked on the man taking his medicine, ...
Although everyone didn't seem to be in very good physical condition, their mental state was alright.
Xu Nanxing said, "A dirty environment is not conducive to patients' recovery, while a clean environment can make them feel better."
One doctor said, "I've found that keeping the body clean, drinking more hot water, and using hot water can indeed slow down the progression of the disease to some extent."
Another doctor laughed and said, "Thanks to the governor for sending honeycomb briquettes, otherwise we wouldn't have had enough firewood to boil water."
Mei Leshu first asked what honeycomb briquettes were, then sighed, "Indeed, it's not that the people don't want to drink hot water often, or that they don't want to wash their hair and bathe often, it's just that they don't have firewood."
Rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—which of these doesn't cost money?
What? You're saying I can go chop firewood in the mountains? Is it your mountain that you can just go and chop wood? Do you have a death wish?
Lunchtime.
Mei Leshu was shocked to find that the patients in better health were eating five dishes and a soup, while the patients in poorer health were drinking meat porridge.
She couldn't believe it and hurriedly asked the doctors what was wrong.
Such good treatment is something even officers and soldiers don't receive, let alone patients who might be abandoned after contracting the disease! No matter how good the governor is, he wouldn't treat patients like royalty!
A doctor sighed, "This is the blessing of the goddess of Anling to the patients. I hope everyone can eat well and recover their health soon."
Fresh vegetables, fresh meat, and a variety of seasonings—that's how you make a dish that seems to fall from the sky!
The patients had never eaten such good food before, and their moods improved.
Xu Nanxing explained with a smile, "Now that my body has recovered, unless I obtain a household registration in Anling County and become a citizen of Anling County, I will no longer be able to enjoy the food bestowed by the goddess."
The doctors looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
If you do this, the patients may not want to recover their health.
Xu Nanxing: What do you mean? Can't you just think about going to Anling as soon as you recover?
Mei Leshu: "..."
She murmured to herself, "Goddess?"
Medical work is proceeding in an orderly manner in Nakchi County.
In Yangliu County, Fu Tiandong was also systematically leading the doctors to test new prescriptions.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "We don't know how effective the medicine will be; we need to have the patient drink it to observe..."
But precisely because they didn't know the effects of the medicine, they dared not give it to the patient.
If it's said that they used mice for testing... this is medicine to treat illness, not medicine to harm people. The mice weren't infected with any disease, so it wouldn't have any effect on them.
Upon learning of this, some seriously ill patients volunteered, saying, "Dr. Fu, please let me give it a try!"
Fu Tiandong hesitated, "But we can't guarantee that this medicine will be effective..."
The patient laughed. "It's alright, Dr. Fu. I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well take a gamble. If I win, I'll live, and the other patients will live too. If I lose, I'll just die a few days sooner."
He looked sincerely at the seemingly cold but kind-hearted female doctor, "Dr. Fu, thank you."
Fu Tiandong's eyes welled up slightly, and she said, "Okay."
May the goddess bless us!
May you all get well soon!
He Qinglan listened to Fu Tiandong's prayers without a trace of emotion in her eyes.
She raised her hand, her slender fingers forming a hand seal.
In distant Gyeongju, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the gray sky, and rain soon began to fall.
Raindrops formed lines between heaven and earth.
Fu Tiandong turned to look out the window, surprised. "Why did it suddenly start raining?"
He Qinglan leaned back in her chair.
A glint of light flashed in her eyes.
Doctor Xue, Xue Caiwei, Xue Rang.
Doctor Zhu, Mei Leshu.
That's really interesting.
I really want to know if the male and female protagonists in this world can continue to love each other.
He Qinglan picked up the letter paper and wrote a letter to Xu Nanxing.
She whistled, and an eagle flew down from the sky, through the wide-open window, and landed on her desk.
He Qinglan raised her hand and touched the eagle's head, folded the letter and put it into a small bamboo tube, then tied the bamboo tube to the eagle's claw.
The goddess pressed Xu Nanxing's face into the eagle's eyes and said gently, "My good little darling, help me deliver this letter to the orchestra pit and give it to this person."
The eagle cried out, indicating that it understood.
It flapped its wings and flew into the sky.
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Author's note: I'm still 4000 words short of making the list. I'll try my best tomorrow!
Goodnight everyone~
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