Denghuaxiao

Chapter 226 Goodbye
It was late at night, and the winter in southern Jiangsu was very cold.

Unlike the north, the cold in the south is damp, like thin needles piercing the bone marrow, and the cold air goes straight into the heart.

People in the plague hospital always sleep on the cold ground, hugging their damp bedding, listening blankly to the wind outside the door, night after night, and when the next day passes, many people will never wake up again.

Soon, gray smoke will rise from the execution ground.

This place is shrouded in the aura of death. It is destined to be a place shrouded in death and is not worth spending any time on.

But today is different.

All the bedding was replaced, and the original beds on the floor were replaced with wooden beds. Although they were narrow, with one bed next to another, it was much better than the damp floor.

Burnt Atractylodes lancea was piled up in corners, and a bitter medicinal aroma gradually wafted in. From time to time, medical officers in gray-green cotton robes walked around in the plague center, and their busyness also made people feel at ease.

"Hope" is a magical thing. Even if you do nothing, it seems like a life-saving remedy. Tonight, the groans in the plague center have decreased a lot.

There was a faint sound of wind outside the door. The medical officers had all rested. A man gradually sat up on the narrow wooden bed.

The little girl first lifted the quilt and leaned over to look at her father who was sleeping beside her. Seeing that her father had not woken up yet, she tiptoed out of bed and walked to the clay statue in the temple.

The altar was empty, and the clay statue looked down at all living things in silence. Even when the plague center was the most crowded, this statue of god and Buddha was not removed.

No one took action, and the people from the county government did not speak a word.

For people in desperate situations, gods and Buddhas are their only lifeline.

Just pray.

Everyone who first entered the plague center would kneel on a mat and pray, as if this would make them feel more at ease. However, as more and more bodies were carried out, fewer and fewer people came to worship the gods.

Cuicui knelt down on the broken mat and looked devoutly at the silent clay statue above her head.

"God, please bless Cuicui and my father to survive."

She said this silently in her heart.

Cuicui is seven years old this year.

Her mother and father were slaves in a wealthy family. She was the young master's playmate, and the family of three lived a relatively smooth life.

When the plague came, everyone was at a loss.

Cuicui also fell ill.

The rich businessman kicked her out of the house, but out of consideration for their past friendship, he asked her parents to send Cuicui to a leprosy hospital, while he and his wife could still stay in the mansion.

Mother Cuicui refused no matter what.

Sending her to a leprosy hospital would mean waiting for death. Cuicui is still so young and needs someone to take care of her.

Dad and Mom left the rich family's house with Cuicui and took care of Cuicui alone. However, the epidemic was fierce, and no matter how careful they were, Dad and Mom were infected after spending every day together.

Later, there was no medicine to go around. Many people died in southern Jiangsu, and her mother died of illness. Cuicui and her father returned to the plague center.

Dad always said, "Don't be afraid, Cuicui. Dad is with you."

But every morning when she woke up, she would see the person next to her who was fine the day before being wrapped in a mat and dragged away, and never came back, and she became more and more panicked.

She doesn't want to die, and she doesn't want her father to die either.

“Buddha,” she chanted silently in her heart, and kowtowed heavily in the light, “Save us.”

"Please save us."

The night was silent, and the groaning in the plague center had stopped at some point. The north wind whistled against the temple door, blowing the lights in the temple to the point of almost going out.

A pair of shoes stopped in front of her.

Cuicui’s body stiffened.

They were a pair of cotton shoes covered in mud. On the corners of her gray-green skirt, there were faint traces of blood and stains of medicinal herbs. Cuicui looked up. Under the candlelight, the woman had delicate eyebrows and a pair of dark eyes staring at her quietly.

Cuicui shrank back and spoke in a stammering voice.

"…Medical Officer Lu."

This is a medical officer from the Imperial Medical Academy.

Cuicui remembered this female medical officer.

Among the medical officers who came from Shengjing, there were only three young ones who were about the same age as my father.

The female medical officer named Lin was cheerful and loved to laugh, and was quite popular among the patients. However, the medical officer named Lu was cold and silent, and Cuicui was a little afraid of her.

"What are you doing?" Lu Tong asked.

"I am praying for God's blessing."

The female medical officer looked at her and said nothing.

Cuicui felt a little guilty for no reason. The doctor was in front of her, but she was worshipping a god, which might be a bit offensive. She raised her head and glanced at Lu Tong secretly, but she saw that the other party did not seem angry.

She became a little bolder and asked the other party: "Doctor, will the gods come to save us?"

"will not."

Her answer was so calm and ruthless that it instantly extinguished all of Cuicui's hopes and her eyes turned red.

"Then will we die?"

The female medical officer looked at her and said, "No."

Cuicui was stunned.

"The gods won't save you, but I will, and all medical officers will save you." The female medical officer's voice was still calm, but that calmness inexplicably made people feel more at ease.

"A doctor's job is to save lives," she said.

Cuicui looked at her and tears gradually accumulated in her eyes.

"But I'm afraid."

She said: "The red spots on Daddy's elbows are getting darker and darker. My mom was like this before she died."

The little girl said timidly, holding back tears: "Recently, I have also started to grow."

She reached out and rolled up her sleeves, revealing large red patches on her fair arms, like sparkling peach blossoms.

Lu Chen was stunned.

Cui Cui lowered her head and tears fell one by one.

She still remembered the days when her mother was dying. She lay on the ground tossing and turning every night, unable to sleep, trying to suppress the pain and groaning. The herbs in the medicine shops in southern Jiangsu had long been snatched away by the rich, and the thin soups in the plague clinic could not save anyone. She kept her eyes wide open at night, paying attention to her mother's every move, but one day she couldn't help but take a nap. When she woke up, her mother had been covered by a mat, revealing only a hanging arm, with red spots as deep as purple.

Cuicui started crying, but she didn't dare cry loudly, just sobbed softly.

"My mother died in the plague center. I am afraid of death, and I don't want my father to die either..."

The plague hospital was quiet, with occasional rustling sounds of patients turning over, but I didn't know whether no one heard it or they heard it but didn't interrupt. The crowded temple still maintained a dull silence.

"Don't be afraid."

Suddenly, Cui Cui felt someone pulling her hand.

The female medical officer's hands were cold and soft. She pulled her up from the mat and said to her, "Look."

Cuicui followed the doctor's gaze and saw that the fruits on the altar had already been snatched away by the hungry people, leaving only a candle on the table.

The candlelight was dim, and the dim light became the only warmth in the cold night. The burning ashes exploded and formed a small lamp flower.

"In the past, Lu Jia said that when the lamp flowers burst, everything will be happy. In ancient times, there was a method of predicting the lamp flowers. If the lamp flowers burst continuously, it means great happiness."

Still with that flat tone, Cuicui raised her eyes. The female doctor's slightly indifferent eyes shone like gems under the light.

"Don't worry, this is a very happy sign," she said.

As if she had suddenly found a support, Cuicui's confused heart seemed to be supported. She nodded vigorously, looking at the candlelight on the altar, and tears fell along with the lamp flames.

Daddy will be fine, and everyone will be fine.

She raised her head and looked at the female medical officer in front of her.

The female medical officer stood under the clay statue, the dim light shining on her face scarf, and her slightly cold eyes seemed to flash with a hint of compassion.

It’s like in a fairy tale, a female Bodhisattva suddenly appears to save people from suffering.

...The Atractylodes lancea in the plague center burned and dispersed, dispersed and burned again, and this went on for six or seven days. For the time being, there were no more mountains of corpses piled up on the execution ground.

Lu Tong got up early to deliver medicine to the people in the plague center. Cuicui was very happy to see her and gave her a small grasshopper made of hay.

"Daddy made this for me." The little girl sat on the bed, took the medicine bowl from Lu Tong's hand, looked at her and said, "This is for you, Doctor Lu. Daddy and I have been feeling much better these past few days. Daddy said that we will be able to leave the plague center soon. When next spring comes, you will be able to accompany me to the river to catch crabs."

Lu Tong took the grasshopper. There was no fresh grass in winter, and the grasshopper made of hay was soft and limp.

"Medical Officer Lu."

Lu Tong looked up and Cuicui's father, a dark-skinned man, looked at her and rubbed his hands awkwardly.

Cuicui's father used to be a sedan bearer for a wealthy businessman, and everyone around him called him "Ding Yong".

Ding Yong patted Cuicui's head and said, "This child has taken a lot of attention from Doctor Lu these days."

"It's my job." Lu Tong handed him the medicine.

Perhaps it was because Lu Tong saw her worshipping the gods that night, that people with secrets always get closer. Cuicui has liked Lu Tong since then. Every time Lu Tong came to the plague center, she would always run around with her, and sometimes help Lu Tong move herbs. If she hadn't been cold and weak when she was sick, she would look no different from an ordinary healthy child.

Ding Yong raised his head and drank the medicine, still a little embarrassed: "The doctor is busy every day. We will never forget this great kindness."

Although everyone had hopes for the medical officers from Shengjing at first, they were somewhat skeptical about how long the officials from Shengjing could last. However, day after day, the medical officers did not stop.

The medical officers who came were all older ones. There were new patients in the plague center every day, and people also died every day. The medical officers were busy taking care of the patients, often burning lights until late at night, and sometimes they were so tired that they fell asleep while sitting.

People are all kind-hearted, and the patients in the plague clinic were very grateful.

"I feel much better lately." Ding Yong said with a smile, "Before, I always felt hot and cold and my whole body ached, but recently the pain has been much shorter. Cuicui feels the same."

He held out his elbow. "The red spots have faded. Doctor, are we almost healed?"

Lu Tong lowered her eyes.

The red spots on the rough and thin arm remained the same and did not get darker.

She lowered her head and said "hmm".

"That's great!" Cui Cui cheered and hugged her father's neck. "When I'm well again and leave the plague center, I want to eat the pancakes that Dad made for me!"

"Okay!" Ding Yong answered with a smile, and when he thought of the white flour cake, he couldn't help swallowing.

Lu Tong stood up, picked up the patient's empty bowl after drinking the medicine, and walked out.

She returned to the mansion closest to the ruined temple.

The mansion was temporarily vacated by Cai Fang for the medical officers to live in. When the patients were resting, a few medical officers were left on duty, and the rest returned to the mansion to continue other epidemic relief work, such as making medicine bags and so on.

Lu Tong entered the house. In the hall, Chang Jin was discussing the next strategy for treating the epidemic with a group of medical officers.

The epidemic in southern Jiangsu was raging. They had been there for many days. They first separated the people in the city who were infected with the epidemic from those who were not, burned Atractylodes lancea when they were infected with the epidemic, and made anti-epidemic medicine sachets and anti-epidemic incense for the rest of the people in the city.

With these epidemic prevention measures, at least these days, the corpses piled up behind the execution ground no longer emit a foul stench - the number of people dying from the disease every day is much lower.

But the epidemic was not over yet. Those who fell ill in the plague center could only delay their death, but there was no case of recovery.

Still difficult.

Chang Jin said: "The epidemic cannot be conquered overnight. The most urgent task is to reduce the number of new infections. However, there are still many infected people in Sunan City who are unwilling to go to the plague center."

Li Wenhu, who was standing behind the crowd, heard this and immediately said, "How difficult is this? I will take everyone to knock on each door. If anyone finds anything wrong, we will take them directly to the plague center, even if they don't want to."

Ji Xun shook his head: "But the disease was not obvious in the early stages, and the county lieutenant was not sure that he would miss someone."

Cai Fang was in a dilemma: "After all, the plague camp is hard. Some people in Southern Jiangsu think that even if they have to die, they would rather die in their own homes..."

Going to the plague center is waiting to die, and staying at home is also waiting to die. The plague center is crowded and simple, how can it compare to the peace of mind at home?

Human nature.

"Why not throw the medicine into the well?" Lu Tong said.

Everyone turned around and saw Lu Tong coming up from behind the crowd. He looked at Chang Jin and said, "In the past books on curing epidemics, there was also a suggestion of throwing herbal medicine into the well. Why not give it a try?"

Even if the people were unwilling to go to the plague center, they still had to drink water. Drinking the soup mixed with epidemic-preventing medicine might not be without some effect.

Lin Danqing's eyes lit up: "This is also a method. After all, it takes time to make plague-avoiding incense and medicine sacs, but throwing them into the well is very fast."

Chang Jin frowned slightly: "But, how many wells are there in Sunan City? We have limited medicinal materials. Which wells are better to invest in?"

Cai Fang and Li Wenhu lowered their heads in thought when they heard this. Before they could speak, they suddenly heard Lu Tong speak: "There are wells at the temple entrance west of the bridge, the streets and alleys of the East Gate, the Tongqing Temple upstream of the river, and in front of the banyan tree Jinbao Restaurant in the city. These four places are close to the gates of houses on all sides, and most households get water from the wells. If you want to take medicine, it is best to take it in these four places first."

Cai Fang paused, then said after thinking for a moment, "It covers all four directions, which can maximize the efficacy of the medicine... But," he looked at Lu Tong, a little surprised, "You are very familiar with Sunan City?"

He was the magistrate of Sunan City County, but he couldn't tell the location of the well in one swoop. However, the female medical officer in front of him could tell it out loud and so accurately.

"Doctor Lu is originally from southern Jiangsu, so he is naturally very familiar with southern Jiangsu." Lin Danqing explained.

"I see." Cai Fang took another look at Lu Tong. He learned from Chang Kou that the three young medical officers who came to southern Jiangsu this time were all outstanding medical officers with extraordinary medical skills in the Imperial Medical Academy. This medical officer Lu was not talkative and usually did not like to gather together with the medical officers. Most of the time, he lowered his head to read medical books or changed medicine in the plague clinic, and looked a little cold.

I didn’t expect that he was a fellow villager.

A sense of intimacy suddenly arose in his heart. Chang Jin said, "In this case, please trouble Master Cai to bring people to let us check these four wells first. If they are suitable, we will start preparing the prescription today, and start throwing the medicine into the wells tomorrow." He turned to the other medical officers and said, "Don't stop with the medicine bags and plague-repelling incense. The patients in the plague center must also be taken care of from time to time. Don't abandon any patient."

The medical officers nodded in agreement. As they were talking, someone suddenly ran into the yard and shouted from a distance, "Oh no, oh no! The medicine and food have been stolen!"

Everyone was startled. Li Wenhu stood up suddenly and asked, "What?"

The yamen runner's face was filled with anxiety, and he was about to cry: "In the morning, the brothers went to get the herbs and porridge, and suddenly found something wrong. The two brothers who were guarding the storehouse were not seen today, and later their bodies were found in the backyard... All the rice in the house that could be transported away was transported away, so we took advantage of last night!"

Cai Fang listened to the report in a daze, and suddenly pushed open the door and walked out quickly. The medical officers hurriedly followed him, and when they arrived at the warehouse, Lu Tong, who was walking behind the crowd, looked up and saw two bodies buried in white cloth lying in the yard. The door lock was broken into pieces, and there were scattered scattered medicinal materials inside, which seemed to have been looted.

"It's over..."

Cai Fang muttered absentmindedly.

Ji Xun took two steps forward, his eyes swept across the empty warehouse, his expression became more serious: "Master Cai, what is going on?"

This is the warehouse of the county government. There is a raging epidemic in southern Jiangsu right now and people dare not go out. How could there be bandits?

"It must be those bastards." Li Wenhu spat, "These bastards even stole medicine and food. I will dig three feet into the ground to find them!"

"Who is the county lieutenant talking about?" Chang Jin was puzzled.

"He's the local boss in Southern Jiangsu."

Cai Fang took two steps back and said weakly, "After the magistrate left, Southern Jiangsu was in chaos. Da Hu and I managed to gather the people from the county government together, but they were so panicked that we couldn't manage them at all."

"The medicine shop raised its price, and food was in short supply, so famine soon broke out. Someone in the city gathered hooligans and went door to door to rob food. The county government had limited manpower, and those people were extremely vicious and irrational, killing many people."

"Our people fought with them, and both sides suffered casualties. Later, they kept quiet for a while. Now the county government has even fewer people. They must have seen you delivering medicine and food, and waited for an opportunity to attack."

The guards who escorted the medical officers usually helped deal with corpses at the execution ground. If not, the rice would not have been taken away quietly last night.

Li Wenhu stamped his feet and said, "I'll go after him!"

"Where are we going to chase him?" Cai Fang grabbed him and said, "We don't have many men left. And where are we going to chase him? After one night, I'm afraid the medicine and food have already been moved away..."

"Are we just going to let it go?" Li Wenhu was unwilling. "Without the medicine and food, what will we do next? What will we eat? What will the people of southern Jiangsu use? Are we all going to wait here to die?"

The cold wind blew, causing pain on people's cheeks. The two bodies covered with white cloth in the yard looked even more desolate. The medical officers looked at each other and talked in low voices.

Chang Jin was also extremely anxious.

Suddenly, a yamen runner came running out of the yard and said, "County Magistrate, County Lieutenant, we found the medicine and grain!"

"Found it?" Cai Fang was shocked and suddenly became excited. "Where is it?"

"Come and see——"

The bailiff led a group of people and ran forward. When they were a hundred steps away from the city gate, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.

Lu Tong looked in the direction of the sound and was startled.

At the gate of the city, a line of soldiers and horses were approaching from afar. There were about a hundred of them, all wearing black riding uniforms embroidered with gold scales, with long swords on their waists, and they looked very imposing.

The handsome young man in the lead was wearing a cloak and sitting high on a horse, looking at the crowd indifferently. Not far away, the horses were dragging several people who were tied up tightly.

Cai Fang was startled: "This is..."

The yamen runner who just ran over whispered, "This is the commander from Shengjing. He was suppressing a rebellion in a neighboring county before. Today he passed by southern Jiangsu and captured a few people."

　Little Pei (strong version) returns for a limited time
　　(End of this chapter)