"Take me there quickly!"
Lu Tu never expected that the village, which he had been guarding against day and night, would be the first to be hit by a plague. On his way there, he had already made up his mind that if it really was smallpox, Lu Tu would just try the smallpox scabs from Mo Zhou to see if they were effective.
Following Xiao Zhong to the cowshed, a large number of villagers had already gathered there, their expressions a mixture of panic and extreme disgust.
"What a tragedy! She shares meals with me every day, how did so many rashes appear? Could I have caught it too?"
"Who knows? I think it must have been from that sick cow that infected her, since she's the one who takes care of that cow every day."
Xiao Zhongchong shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, make way! Lord Lü is here!"
Lu Tu squeezed into the crowd and shouted to everyone, "After having people wash their hands and faces with ashes, go back and boil their clothes in boiling water!"
"Sir, could it really be smallpox in Guo Erniang?"
Upon hearing the name Guo Erniang, isn't that the woman who knows Suzhou embroidery?
As Lu Tu looked at the flustered woman on the ground, Guo Erniang also looked up and met his gaze. She apologized, "Sir, I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be contagious."
Lu Tu shook his head: "Let me see your sleeve."
When Guo Erniang rolled up her sleeves, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Her arms were covered in a dense rash of chickenpox blisters, some of which were slightly red.
Just then, a little boy's cries came from afar: "Mother, Mother! Let me go, I want to go inside and find my mother!"
"Hao'er, don't come! I'm sick and it's contagious!" Guo Erniang pleaded with the villagers around her. "Please, everyone, help me stop Hao'er and don't let him get close."
At this moment, a chubby-faced little boy rushed to the front of the crowd. Seeing Guo Erniang covered in chickenpox, he could no longer hold back and burst into tears, crying out, "Mother!" But the adults next to him grabbed him tightly, preventing him from going any further.
Guo Erniang sobbed, "Hao'er, I may not be able to see you grow up. From now on, you will have to rely on yourself."
The poignant scene moved many of the peasant women present. They were all mothers themselves, and even though they were used to seeing scenes of life and death, they couldn't bear to witness this.
Lu Tu then carefully examined Guo Erniang's chickenpox and exclaimed in surprise, "This isn't smallpox!"
"What!?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present looked at Lü Tu in surprise: "Sir, you also know medicine?"
Lu Tu was too lazy to explain to them. He got up and walked towards the sick ox. He found that it was just like Guo Erniang. He had already made up his mind.
He laughed at Guo Hao and Guo Erniang, who were crying their hearts out, and said, "Don't cry so miserably, your mother won't die."
Guo Hao stood there stunned upon hearing this: "Lord Lü, are you telling the truth? My mother really won't die?"
Guo Erniang and the other villagers were also filled with disbelief. Lu Tu had just told them that there was smallpox in Wuchuan, and Guo Erniang's body was already covered with bumps. How could she not die?
Many people quickly realized that Lu Tu was telling a white lie to comfort Guo Erniang and her son.
Guo Erniang quickly shook her head and smiled bitterly, as if she understood Lu Tu's meaning: "Thank you, sir. It's just a pity that I couldn't agree to help you with Suzhou embroidery back then."
Lu Tu waved his hand dismissively: "There's no need to bring this up again. I won't force you. You really don't need to die from this illness. You won't even need to take any medicine. You'll recover on your own."
Guo Erniang didn't expect Lu Tu to speak so absolutely, even asserting that she didn't need to take any medicine.
"Sir, what illness does Guo Erniang have? Is it contagious?"
Lu Tu nodded: "It's contagious."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone present involuntarily took a step back, looking at Guo Erniang with fear in their eyes.
Lu Tu Chong waved to everyone present: "Everyone, leave. There's no need to stay here. I will treat Guo Erniang myself."
"Oh, thank you for your hard work, sir." Upon hearing Lu Tu's words, everyone disappeared in a flash, leaving only the little boy Guo Hao behind.
No one stopped him, and Guo Hao ran straight over, about to throw himself into Guo Erniang's arms, but was stopped by Lü Tu: "You have to be obedient for your mother to live. Do you want your mother to live?"
Guo Hao blinked his big eyes and nodded: "I hope my mother can live. Please, sir, save my mother."
Lu Tu had Guo Hao taken away, and then told Guo Erniang to go back to her room. Only then did he get straight to the point and say, "Guo Erniang, to be honest, this illness is really a minor problem, but I have a favor to ask of you."
Upon hearing that it was a minor ailment, Guo Erniang's hope for life was rekindled. She bowed to Lü Tu and said, "Sir, please give your orders. I am willing to help with anything I can!"
These past two days, Lu Tu has been preoccupied with recalling all the smallpox treatments from his previous life. Moreover, in his time, several decades had passed since smallpox was eradicated, so it's normal for him to have overlooked some of them.
It was only today, after figuring out that Guo Erniang was infected with cowpox, that I remembered that cowpox was also a key point in preventing smallpox. Smallpox can be treated with smallpox vaccine and penicillin, but smallpox prevention requires cowpox!
"This illness is indeed very torturous, but I cannot help you recover quickly."
Upon hearing this, not only Guo Erniang but also Xiao Zhong frowned, as this was clearly not in line with Lü Tu's usual style of conduct.
"Why, sir?"
Lu Tu briefly explained the severity of the smallpox outbreak in Wuchuan City, and then said, "The disease you have is called cowpox. I need to use a needle to extract it and then inject it into other people's bodies to prevent the deadly smallpox."
"Huh?" Xiao Zhong and Guo Erniang were dumbfounded! They never dreamed that there was such a unique and bizarre way.
It's understandable that they would react this way, since this falls under the category of modern medicine, and it is indeed somewhat unbelievable for the people of Dayu at present.
Furthermore, he didn't fully explain that the extracted cowpox virus still needed to be sterilized using simple methods before it could be injected into other people.
This step is very troublesome. He can't keep extracting from Guo Erniang alone. He can only continue to cultivate a large amount of cowpox virus by culturing penicillin.
However, he wasn't very good at this, so he could only let Guo Erniang suffer more.
"My lord, I understand. As long as I live and can watch Hao'er grow up, I'm willing to do anything!"
Lu Tu nodded: "Guo Erniang is a woman of great virtue and righteousness. She is willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of the people. Please accept Lu Tu's bow!"
After saying this, Lü Tu bowed down. Xiao Zhong, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but feel a deep respect when he heard Lü Tu elevate Guo Erniang to such a high level.
"But before that, Guo Erniang, you must not contact anyone, nor do you need to go out to work. I will arrange for someone to bring you food."
"Thank you very much, sir. You've gone to a lot of trouble."
After leaving Guo Erniang's house, Lü Tu went straight to Hu Delu's place, wanting Hu Delu to make a syringe as soon as possible!
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