Chapter 4: The entrance to the Snail Cave is quite hidden; without someone to guide you…
The cave entrance is quite hidden, and it would be difficult to find the place without someone to guide you.
Lin Fengzhi silently surveyed her surroundings.
There were originally seven or eight people lying on the open ground outside the cave sunbathing. When they saw Yong bringing Lin Fengzhi over, they instinctively went forward, but quickly retreated back into the cave and blocked it with a fence.
On her way here, Lin Fengzhi had been pondering what illness could cause such a combination of symptoms as fever, rash, cough, chest pain, and vomiting blood. Although Yong insisted it was divine punishment, Lin Fengzhi didn't believe him.
First, the disease is not transmitted from person to person, otherwise it would have been impossible for only the Keluo people to be infected within a few months; second, it is currently only spreading among a specific group of people—namely, those who went to pan for gold.
The seven or eight people who had just been sunbathing appeared ashen and sallow to Lin Fengzhi, suggesting liver problems. Regardless of height or build, they all shared a prominent feature: large bellies. Lin Fengzhi guessed this was likely due to ascites causing abdominal distension.
As for further speculation, Lin Fengzhi needs to examine these people's symptoms more closely.
She turned to Yong, who seemed at a loss, and said, "Let them come out again, I want to see how they are. If any of them are seriously ill, bring them out so I can take a look."
Yong asked hesitantly and cautiously, "Witch, is there a way?"
Lin Fengzhi noticed the undeniable expectation in his eyes and remained noncommittal. She dared not give him false hope. Although she had only stayed one night in this place, and with the original owner Qing's memories, Lin Fengzhi had a general understanding of the medical level available in this era. Even if she knew what the illness was, it would likely be difficult to cure.
Yong, like a puppy that had not received a response from its owner, drooped its tail and went far away to deliver the message outside the cave. He strictly followed the rules set by T and did not dare to get too close.
People gradually emerged from the cave, and Lin Fengzhi pushed away Yong, who was trying to stop her from approaching the patient.
The sick people looked timid and even instinctively backed away when Lin Fengzhi approached. Lin Fengzhi noticed that many of them had a yellowish-black complexion, dry skin, and a small number even had spider angiomas. Overall, these people were more or less thinner than the original owner's memories of them.
Yong shouted, "She is our newly appointed shaman of the Keluo people."
Lin Fengzhi suddenly sensed that the way they were looking at her had changed.
They were fervent, excited, and full of confidence. Before she had even done anything, hope was already in their eyes.
Perhaps she underestimated the influence of pre-existing religious beliefs on people. Lin Fengzhi seemed to realize something.
Someone carried a sick man who could not walk out of the cave. The man's face was ashen, and his belly was swollen like a drum. He was no longer conscious and was muttering something.
He was dying, and Lin Fengzhi could hardly bear to look at him anymore.
She had some suspicions in her mind and didn't linger outside the cave, basking in their almost pleading gazes. In an era with underdeveloped medicine, many diseases had no effective treatments. Any of the illnesses Lin Fengzhi suspected could not be cured with the medical methods she currently knew.
Therefore, Lin Fengzhi couldn't bear it; she couldn't bear to give people hope only to disappoint them.
Before leaving, based on the symptoms she had observed, she thought of some medicines that could help: Corydalis, Artemisia argyi, Rhubarb... But she was afraid that these herbs might not be called by these names now, so she put them down and memorized them, waiting for further investigation.
Lin Fengzhi asked Yong to continue leading the way to the gold-panning river.
The gold-panning river lies deep within the territory of the Keluo people; Lin Fengzhi estimated that it would take an hour just to walk there. Not to mention the surrounding mountains and forests, with narrow paths winding along the way.
Finally hearing the sound of flowing water, Lin Fengzhi breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Any further, and her body couldn't take it anymore. She knew that although she had transmigrated, her body remained the same as before. While the original owner often practiced sacrificial and prayer dances, her current body had just survived a high fever and fainting spell.
Lin Fengzhi was afraid she would faint.
Scattered along the riverbanks were wooden panning basins and panning pans, as well as stone hammers, mortars, and pottery. The river water shimmered with a faint golden light, and the silt contained small amounts of gold dust.
Lin Fengzhi couldn't help but sigh, this river is truly a treasure. There must be gold mines hidden upstream.
Lin Fengzhi walked up and down the riverbank twice, stopping and starting along the way, and didn't find anything amiss for the time being. Yong was instinctively afraid because his clansmen had fallen ill here. But since Lin Fengzhi dared to walk, he gritted his teeth and followed.
"witch."
Lin Fengzhi and Yong looked in the direction of the sound and saw An, who had rushed over after hearing the news.
She looked sternly at Yong, as if blaming him for daring to bring Lin Fengzhi to the Gold Rush River. Lin Fengzhi was now the shaman of the Keluo people, practically the hope of the entire tribe. If something happened to her, what would become of the Keluo people?
It's important to understand that three other powerful clans outside Qingcao Mountain are eyeing them. Without a shaman, not only is communication with the gods hindered, but their internal affairs are also subject to interference from shamans of other clans. The mountains, rivers, and lakes they currently possess could be seized at any moment.
At that time, how will the Keluo people survive? The gold panning river cannot be hidden, and illegal gold mining will inevitably push the Keluo people to their doom.
Lin Fengzhi is too young to understand these things. Yong has been away for many years exchanging supplies for the Keluo people. Doesn't he understand the importance of having a shaman?
Yong lowered his head and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Wu saved Qi, and I thought Wu could save Chuan and the others. I was so excited that I didn't think that much about it."
"What?" An's first reaction upon hearing that Qi had survived was surprise. Based on her experience, Qi was most likely not going to make it. He had actually survived.
An had a premonition that Lin Fengzhi might bring more surprises to the people of Keluo.
As a result, An's gaze towards Lin Fengzhi softened.
She heard someone report that Yong had led Wu all the way from the cave to the Gold Rush River, and An Dang was truly terrified, fearing that Yong and Wu would perish there.
An felt relieved, her face beaming with loving kindness. She glanced at the sun and asked gently, "Are you hungry?"
Lin Fengzhi touched her belly. She had been walking briskly all the way, and since she hadn't eaten or drunk anything that morning, she nodded obediently.
An turned her head and glared angrily at Yong. Yong didn't dare to say a word and quietly followed behind.
Along the gold-panning river stood a row of simple houses, rudimentary in their furnishings, consisting almost entirely of long, communal sleeping platforms. The gold-panning tribe cooked their meals in a makeshift shed outside, using a small earthen stove, with firewood scattered everywhere. They also brought earthenware bowls and pots from home for cooking; Lin Fengzhi glimpsed the unfinished pickled vegetables and rice in the jar.
Yong went to the river to fetch water, and An lit a fire in front of the stove. Lin Fengzhi thought for a moment and decided to collect some earthenware bowls and wooden chopsticks to wash by the river.
Lin Fengzhi put her hand into the river; the water was cool and refreshing. She suddenly realized that she had made a huge mistake.
The clean, clear river water wasn't necessarily safe; countless parasites invisible to the naked eye might lurk within. Lin Fengzhi felt a chill run down her spine; the babbling water sounded like a death knell to her ears.
If the tribespeople who came to pan for gold used raw water from the river every day, they were very likely to be infected with parasites.
She needs to go back and ask Yong and An.
Without noticing, my foot slipped and I stepped into a muddy puddle on the bank.
Among the Kolo people, the original owner of this body held a high status due to her practice of shamanism, and her clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all of an upper-middle standard within the tribe. Even the shoes she wore were extraordinary. Her shoes were called "xi," a type of ceremonial shoe with a wooden sole. They were usually worn during sacrifices or important occasions, and their surfaces were covered with silk and embroidery.
The original owner treasured these shoes very much and usually only wore them when performing the prayer dance.
Lin Fengzhi hurriedly washed her shoes, and suddenly a snail fell onto the shoe. Upon closer inspection, Lin Fengzhi saw that the snail's shell was long and thin, like a spire, and resembled a nail.
Is it a snail?
Lin Fengzhi's heart skipped a beat. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the shell had distinct longitudinal ribs, forming a grid-like texture.
It really is a snail.
In Lin Fengzhi's memory, there was only one type of illness caused by snails.
Schistosomiasis.
Schistosomiasis is a type of parasite that lives in Oncomelania snails. Humans cannot be directly infected by schistosomiasis, but they can become infected through contact with the waters where Oncomelania snails live.
In Lin Fengzhi's time, she had rarely even seen Oncomelania snails, only hearing about their and schistosomiasis's notorious reputation through literary works. This was because in the 1950s, the government organized a large-scale eradication campaign against Oncomelania snails. In modern times, even if one accidentally contracts schistosomiasis, there are effective treatments available.
In this era, unaware of the dangers posed by Oncomelania snails, living around them and unknowingly contracting schistosomiasis is extremely dangerous. Because there is no cure, people can only await death, leading to increasing demonization of the disease, which is often referred to as a "curse."
Lin Fengzhi felt a chill run down her spine as she thought about it. The tiny snail transformed into a patient infected with schistosomiasis, its abdomen swollen and its face pale and ashen, reaching out to her and slowly climbing up from her feet.
She quickly grabbed a ceramic bowl and scooped up the snail. The instep where the snail had touched felt like ants crawling on it, as if it would melt into her skin at any moment. Lin Fengzhi's heart pounded. She shouted An's name loudly, "Grandma! An! Quickly boil some water for me! Hurry!"
An, bewildered, saw Lin Fengzhi's flustered state and quickly set up the earthenware pot on the stove, pouring in the water Yong had just fetched. He patted Lin Fengzhi's back with his thick, dry palm, and she relaxed slightly, though the wet stains on her feet still clung to her. She desperately needed a handful of hot water to wash away the invisible parasites on her feet.
A few wisps of smoke rose from the earthen stove. Lin Fengzhi stared at the tiny flame, trying to distract herself from the possibility of blood flukes on her feet. She spoke to An, "Grandma, I've found the reason they're sick."
She handed the ceramic bowl to Ann, inside which was the spire-shaped snail.
An noticed that the earthenware bowl was trembling slightly.
Lin Fengzhi devised a plan and explained it in a language An Neng could understand: "This is a snail, and inside the snail are many invisible worms. These worms enter our bodies through water and grow inside us. The bigger it grows, the weaker the person becomes, until it eats the person dry and the person dies."
In An Heyong's eyes, the tiny snail instantly transformed into a gigantic, monstrous insect.
The two men looked solemn, as if they believed Lin Fengzhi's words.
Lin Fengzhi was surprised and somewhat astonished by the importance of the witch to the Keluo people. It seemed that no matter how absurd something was, it sounded like a divine decree coming from her mouth.
"If you see snails in the future, be sure to take precautions and it's best to burn them." The water in the earthenware pot began to steam, and Lin Fengzhi tested the temperature: "If you accidentally step into water containing snails, rinse it with hot water as soon as possible."
Lin Fengzhi poured hot water onto her feet and washed them repeatedly until her skin turned red and she could no longer feel ants crawling on her feet. Only then did she stop washing.
Even when the sun is high in the sky, you rarely feel the heat by the mountain streams. Gentle breezes blow in gusts, dispersing the lingering summer heat.
Yong diligently cooked a pot of porridge under the shed. At Lin Fengzhi's instruction, he washed the earthenware bowl and wooden bowl with boiling water. Lin Fengzhi's words made him uneasy, especially her later statement that there could be insects in unboiled water, which could potentially make people sick.
In short, he dared not drink unboiled water anymore.
With reverence, he first served porridge to Lin Fengzhi and An Sheng, and then squatted down to eat quietly with a ceramic bowl in his own hands.
Lin Fengzhi held the earthenware bowl and drank the porridge, accompanied by side dishes. Perhaps she was very hungry, because she ate the plain porridge with great relish.
An tidied her slightly messy hair and said, "The tribe has prepared a good meal for you to become a shaman. Have some to tide you over."
Lin Fengzhi wiped her mouth, nodded, and recalled that An T in the original owner's memories was knowledgeable in pharmacology and had lived a long life. She described to An T the medicine she had thought of that could relieve the pain of schistosomiasis, and in order to avoid being questioned by An T, Lin Fengzhi attributed it to the so-called gods.
After listening, An pondered for a moment and slowly said, "I have never heard of Corydalis. As for rhubarb, perhaps it is called Huangliang because it is different from the name used by the gods. If a large amount of Artemisia argyi is needed, Yong should go to the county to purchase it."
Applying crushed mugwort to the abdomen can relieve abdominal pain in patients with schistosomiasis; rhubarb is then used as a laxative to help expel intestinal parasite eggs and reduce the frequency of abdominal pain. Poria cocos and Alisma plantago-aquatica are used to reduce ascites in patients, although the effect is not significant, it is better than nothing.
Unable to completely cure schistosomiasis in areas with underdeveloped medical care, Lin Fengzhi could only rack her brains to alleviate their suffering.
Most importantly, it is essential to organize manpower to eradicate the snails in the Gold Rush River. Lin Fengzhi estimated that the Keluo people, knowing the source of the epidemic, would not abandon the Gold Rush River.
After all, panning for gold in the river is much more lucrative than farming and weaving.
Patients who contract schistosomiasis due to gold mining are typically cared for by their tribe for life.
Every single thing requires money.
When the potential benefits are large enough, people tend to overlook the dangers they may encounter while pursuing those benefits.
Lin Fengzhi could only try her best to keep the gold miners in a safe environment to work.
"We still need to buy lime."
Simply killing the snails is not enough; it is best to sprinkle lime into the waters where the snails have been.
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