Chapter 657: Chapter 224 Su Nan’s Predicament_3

She lifted her head, "Do not disrupt my path to promotion," and stepped into the Plague Hospital’s gate.

"Ah—" Chang Jin had yet to call out to Lin Danqing when Lu Tong had already approached, nodding to him, "Chief Physician, I’m going in."

Straightaway he entered.

Chang Jin: "..."

He looked toward Ji Xun.

Ji Xun gave a respectful salutation with a slight nod, and closely followed behind.

Chang Jin was silent.

In the end, it was futile to speak.

He watched the silhouettes of the three young people, verbally scolding them lightly, but inside, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and solace rising within him.

They were the three youngest medical officers of the Hanlin Medical Institute, as well as those with the finest medical skills.

With such benevolence, their medical ethics matched their medical skills, ensuring a bright future for the Hanlin Medical Institute.

Impatient calls from the medical officers came from inside the Plague Hospital, and Chang Jin answered with a shout, lifting his cotton robe and hurriedly crossing into the temple gate.

"I’m here."

...

County Office.

The cold wind was piercing, blowing the hole-ridden window flapping wildly. Li Wenhu stretched his hand to close the window and sat down at the table.

The once imposing County Office was now desolate, as if plundered, with only two chairs left. At first glance, the room was bear, an image of desolation.

After the Magistrate had left, the citizens, upon learning the truth, were furiously indignant, wailing that the Imperial Court no longer cared for the lives of the people. Amid the commotion, opportunists took advantage, thieving valuables from the County Office during the chaos of vandalism. Indeed, cash in Su Nan City had lost its value; the epidemic spared no one, rich or poor alike.

The governor of Pingzhou sent troops, not for relief but to seal the city gates, forbidding anyone from the affected areas to leave the city.

Those uninfected could not leave and were bound to catch the illness eventually if forced to stay with the sick. Everyone in Su Nan had lost hope; however, today, the arrival of the medical officers from Shengjing seemed to bring a sudden prospect of life amidst despair, rekindling a sliver of hope in their hearts.

Cai Fang began with a smile, "These medical officers aren’t too bad, are they?"

It had been a long time since he had felt as cheerful as he did today. Li Wenhu glanced at him, "Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Let’s see how many days they can hold out."

"Regardless, we have a significant increase in manpower on our side now, so you won’t have to go to the execution ground every day," Cai Fang said.

The guards who escorted the medical officers to Su Nan helped with cremating and burying bodies; relying solely on the scant manpower of the County Office and the spontaneous assistance of the citizens of Su Nan was indeed very challenging.

Li Wenhu didn’t say a word, but suddenly noticed a basket of steamed buns on the table and paused, "They didn’t eat?"

"The medical officers said they brought their own dry rations and didn’t need the County Office to worry about their food," came the reply.

Li Wenhu narrowed his eyes, "Disdain?"

With a helpless tone, Cai Fang responded, "Why do you always suspect others with a villain’s heart?"

"How am I the villain here? Then you tell me, why is it?"

Cai Fang explained, "The medical officers who came from Su Nan brought their own rations. Just now, Chief Physician Chang told me they handed over the food to the County Office, to set up porridge booths, allowing the citizens of Su Nan to collect medicinal porridge every day."

"If they were disdainful, why would they do such things?"

At that, Li Wenhu fell silent, and after a while, he muttered softly, "They are indeed... quite commendable."

"The Hanlin Medical Officers of the Hanlin Medical Institute are different from the officials who came previously to deal with the locusts," Cai Fang said, looking out the window. "Perhaps it is only those with a healer’s benevolent heart who can truly empathize. Don’t always be hostile toward them. They come to relieve the epidemic. Look at our Su Nan City; it’s practically caught in a situation with no way in or out. You see, in the past three months, how many people are willing to come here?"

He sighed, "Don’t fail to recognize what’s good for you."

Even though he spoke the truth, Li Wenhu lowered his head, and after a moment of silence, said, "I’m just... a bit panicked."

The tall man then looked out of the window. The sky over Su Nan was overcast, having not seen the sun for quite some time, his voice solemn.

"Cai Fang, how long will the grain brought by these medical officers last?"

Cai Fang was taken aback, "If we ration the porridge distribution and save, at most, three months."

"Look," Li Wenhu began, "at most three months, we won’t have enough food."

The locust plague in Su Nan had already caused a famine before.

The aid from the Imperial Court, in the form of relief food and funds, was delayed, leading to a famine. When it finally arrived, it was all moldy, old rice.

Now, even the old rice is almost gone.

The medical officers from Su Nan could indeed solve the urgent crisis, but what about the long run? The fierce epidemic is unlikely to be resolved in three months—it’s like a madman’s dream. And when that time comes, will they leave?

Will Su Nan be abandoned once again?

Cai Fang also fell silent.

The old problems had not yet been resolved, and new difficulties were coming one after another. Trouble has never left.

Suddenly, he remembered something and looked up to ask, "Big Hu, didn’t we hear before that the Court recently dispatched someone to pacify the unrest at Qi Shui?"

The banditry in Qi Shui has been going on for a while now. Some days ago, people from outside brought word that the troops from Shengjing were handling the case of the Qi Shui bandits. This time, the leader of the troops, Jiao Yong, was good at warfare. Within a few days, he had subdued the rebel soldiers and captured their leader, clearing out the bandits.

Cai Fang said, "Could we ask him for help?"

Qi Shui was very close to Su Nan. The troops that came to pacify the unrest must have brought plenty of supplies. Even if they hadn’t brought supplies, Qi Shui was not afflicted by the epidemic. If they could transport some medicine and food from Qi Shui...

"Would that be useful?" Li Wenhu hesitated, "We asked for help from the Qi Shui side before, but they completely ignored us."

Su Nan was like a hot potato, a bottomless pit that no one wanted to touch.

"I don’t know," Cai Fang thought for a moment, then determinedly said, "Let’s try."

"All those medical officers have come, we can’t do nothing."

...

Outside the doors of the plague hospital, Atractylodes and Angelica were piled up.

A book on epidemics states, "This disease may be contracted from exposure to pathogenic influences, with symptoms like headaches, fever, swollen neck glands, or swollen parotid glands. These are signs of an epidemic sent from heaven. If one person’s illness spreads to a whole household, and from that household to a whole village or town..."

Atractylodes "can dispel evil influences. In ancient and modern times, during epidemics or on New Year’s, people would often burn Atractylodes in their homes to ward off evil spirits, hence it is commonly used in treating epidemic diseases."

All the patients lying on the ground were called to get up, to temporarily move to the long shed at the entrance to make way. All bedding was taken outside to be boiled in hot water, and Cai Fang ordered new bedding to be brought in. The Atractylodes had to be burned within the plague hospital to expel the evil spirits for half an hour.

The patients who came to the plague hospital were all from poor backgrounds, already prepared to meet their end. Suddenly being roused by the medical officers, they were confused. An old woman gently tugged at Lin Danqing’s skirt hem. When Lin Danqing looked over, she quickly withdrew her hand, wiped it on her clothes, and asked quietly, "Miss, what is going on...?" She was a bit uneasy, glancing towards the direction of the execution ground, "You’re not going to make us, us..."

In past epidemics, there were stories of the government burning the sick people on the spot.

"No, granny," Lin Danqing understood and reassured her, "We are fumigating with Atractylodes. We asked you to step out first. You can go back in after half an hour."

The old woman was baffled: "Burning Atractylodes?"

Lin Danqing nodded: "We are medical officers from the Hanlin Medical Institute here to treat the epidemic. Starting today, we will be treating your illnesses."

"Hanlin Medical Officer?" The old woman was startled.

All the doctors from the Su Nan Medical Practice had died from the disease. There was no medicine, and nobody left to provide treatment; hope had been lost.

"Are you here to save us?" She asked incredulously, almost ready to kneel in gratitude.

"Yes."

The female medical officer supported her, smiling, "Everyone, don’t be afraid. It will get better."

Cries of relief came from outside the window. It was the sound of utterly desperate people suddenly filled with hope.

Lu Tong knelt down and placed the copper basin filled with burning Atractylodes and Angelica in the corner. The temple was crowded, and every space needed fumigation.

As she stood up, she accidentally bumped her forehead against the corner of a table. Rubbing the reddened area, she looked up and was suddenly taken aback.

Above her head, the dilapidated statue of the deity watched over her as it had in the past—quietly observing her smallness.

In the broken temple at Su Nan Execution Ground, the clay deity seemed untouched by time.

Once, she had taken shelter from the snow here. Little did she know she would come back to this place today.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read