Denghuaxiao

Chapter 226 Goodbye

 It is late at night, and the winter in southern Jiangsu is very cold.

Different from the north, the cold in the south is filled with dampness, like thin needles piercing the bone marrow, and the cold air penetrates directly into the heart.

People in Fusuo always sleep on the cold ground with damp bedding, silently listening to the sound of the wind outside the door, night after night. When the next day passes, many people will never wake up again.

Soon, the place of execution will be filled with gray smoke.

 The aura of death is shrouding this place. It is a place destined to be shrouded in death. It is not worth spending too much time on.

 Today it is different.

All the beddings have been changed, and the original beds have been replaced by wooden beds. Although they are narrow and the beds are next to each other, they are still much better than the wet ground.

Atractylodes are piled up and burned in the corners of the wall, and the fragrance of bitter medicine gradually spreads. From time to time, medical officers in gray and green cotton robes are walking around in the hospital, and their busyness makes people feel at ease.

 “Hope” is a very magical thing. Even if nothing has been done, it seems to be a life-saving remedy. The moans in the disaster area have been reduced a lot tonight.

There was a soft sound of wind outside the door, the medical officers had all taken a rest, and a person gradually sat up on the narrow wooden bed.

The little girl first opened the quilt and leaned forward to see her father sleeping next to her. Seeing that her father had not woken up, she tiptoed out of bed and walked to the clay statue in the temple.

 The altar table was empty, and the clay statue looked down at all living beings in silence. Even when the place was most crowded, this statue of Buddha was not demolished.

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

 For people in desperate situations, gods and Buddhas are the only life-saving straw.

 Only pray.

Every person who has just entered the shrine will kneel on the mat and pray, as if this will make him feel more at ease. However, as more and more corpses are carried out, fewer and fewer people worship the gods.

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

“God, please keep Cuicui and Dad alive.”

 She thought 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 smooth life.

 When the plague came, everyone was at a loss.

Cuicui is also sick.

The wealthy businessman kicked her out, thinking about their past friendship, and asked her parents to send Cuicui to a prison, while he and his wife could still stay in the house.

Mother Cuicui refused no matter what.

 Sent to a hospital, that is, waiting for death. Cuicui is still so young and needs someone to take care of her.

My parents and Cuicui left a wealthy family together and took care of Cuicui on their own. However, the disease was so severe that no matter how careful we were about it, our parents got infected with it every day.

 Later, medicine became unavailable and many people died in Sunan. Her mother died of illness, and Cuicui and her father returned to the hospital.

 Dad always said: "Cui Cui is not afraid, dad is with you."

 But every morning when she woke up, she could see the people around her who were fine yesterday being wrapped in a roll of mat and dragged out, never to come back again, and she felt increasingly panicked.

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

“Bodhisattva,” she thought silently in her heart, kowtowing heavily in the light of the lamp, “save us.”

 “Please save us.”

The night was silent, and the moaning in the temple had stopped at some point. The north wind whistled and beat on the temple door, blowing the lights in the temple to the point where they were about to go out.

 A pair of shoes stopped in front of her.

Cuicui stiffened.

They were a pair of muddy cotton shoes. Looking up, there were faint blood stains and medicinal material stains on the corners of the gray-green skirt. Cuicui raised her head. Under the candle, the woman's eyebrows were beautiful, and a pair of dark eyes stared at her quietly.

Cuicui winced and spoke in a low voice.

 …"Medical officer Lu."

This is the medical officer of Hanlin Medical Academy.

Cuicui remembers this female medical officer.

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

The female medical officer surnamed Lin was cheerful and smiling, and was quite popular among the patients. However, the medical officer surnamed Lu was cold-tempered and did not like to talk. Cuicui was a little afraid of her.

 “What are you doing?” Lu Yan asked.

 “I am, praying for God’s blessing.”

 The female medical officer looked at her but said nothing.

Cuicui felt a little guilty for no reason. The doctor was in front of him, but he was worshiping God, which might be a bit offensive. She raised her head and glanced at Lu Huo secretly, but saw that he didn't mean to be angry.

She became bolder and asked the other party: "Medical officer, will the gods come to save us?"

"Won't."

She answered so calmly and ruthlessly that all of Cuicui's hopes were extinguished in an instant, and Cuicui's eyes turned red.

 “Then will we die?”

 The female medical officer looked at her: "No."

Cuicui was startled.

"The gods won't save you, but I will save you, and all medical officers will save you." The female medical officer's voice was still calm, but that calmness made people feel more at ease for no reason.

 “Doctors are the ones who save people.” She said.

Cuicui looked at her, tears gradually accumulating in her eyes.

 “But I’m afraid.”

She said: "The red spot on dad's elbow is getting darker and darker. My mother was also like this before she died."

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

She stretched out her hands to roll up her sleeves. On her white and tender arms, there were large red patches, like sparkling peach blossoms.

 Lu Zhuo was stunned for a moment.

Cuicui lowered her head, tears falling down drop by drop.

She still remembered the days when her mother was about to die, lying on the ground tossing and turning every night, unable to sleep, trying her best to suppress the pain and moaning. In the medicine shop in Sunan City, all the medicinal herbs have been snatched up by the rich, and the thin decoctions in the soup can't 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 roll of mat, with only a hanging arm exposed. The erythema is as deep as purple.

 Cuicui started to cry, she didn't dare to cry loudly, she just sobbed in a low voice.

"My mother died in a disaster. I'm afraid of death, and I don't want my father to die..."

It was quiet in the hospital. Occasionally there was the rustling sound of a sick person turning over. I don't know if I heard it, or if I heard it but didn't interrupt it. The crowded temple still maintained a dull silence.

 “Don’t be afraid.”

Suddenly, Cuicui felt someone holding her hand.

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

Cuicui followed the medical officer's gaze and saw that the offerings on the table had already been eaten by the hungry people, leaving only a candle on the table.

The candle flame was dim, and the dim yellow light became the only warmth in the cold night. The embers of the burning lamp exploded and formed a small lantern flower.

"In the past, Lu Jia said that when lanterns explode, everything will be happy. In ancient times, there was a method of fortune-telling. If the lanterns explode one after another, the Lord will be very happy."

With the same calm tone, Cuicui raised her eyes. The female doctor's somewhat indifferent eyes shone like gems under the light.

 “No need to worry, this is a sign of great joy,” she said.

As if she suddenly gained a support, Cuicui's confused heart seemed to have a support for a moment. She nodded vigorously, looking at the candle on the altar table, her tears fell together with the lanterns.

 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 of the god, and the deep light shone on her face towel. A hint of compassion seemed to flash through her slightly cold eyes.

Like in fairy tales, a female Bodhisattva suddenly appears to save those in distress.

The Atractylodes in the place of death burned and scattered, scattered and burned again. After six or seven days in a row, there were no mountains of corpses piled up in the execution ground for the time being.

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

"Daddy made it up for me." The little girl sat on the bed, took the medicine bowl from Lu Zhuo's hand, looked at her and said, "Here it is for you, Medical Officer Lu. My dad and I have been feeling much better these past few days, and dad said, we'll see you soon It won’t take long for you to leave the scourge, and you can accompany me to catch crabs by the river next spring.”

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

 “Medical Officer Lu.”

Lu Zong raised his head. Cuicui's father, a dark-skinned man, looked at her and rubbed his hands nervously.

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

Ding Yong patted Cuicui on the head: "This child has been troublesome to Doctor Lu these days."

 “It’s my responsibility.” Lu Yan handed him the decoction.

Perhaps it was because Lu Zhuo saw him worshiping gods that night. People with secrets will always get closer to each other. Cuicui has liked Lu Zhu very much since then. Every time Lu Zhu came to the hospital, he would always follow her around and sometimes help Lu Zhu move herbs. If she hadn't been so cold and weak when she got sick, she would have looked like an ordinary healthy child.

Ding Yong raised his head and drank the soup, still a little stunned: "Medical officers are very busy every day. We will never forget this great kindness and kindness in our lives."

Although everyone had expectations for the medical officer coming from Shengjing at first, they still had some doubts. How long can the official in Shengjing last here? However, as the days passed, the medical officials did not stop.

Those who came were all older medical officers. There were new patients in the hospital every day, and people 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. .

 The human heart is made of flesh, and the patients in the hospital were very grateful.

"I feel much better recently than before." Ding Yong said with a smile: "Before, I always felt hot and cold, and ached all over my body. Recently, the pain has been much shorter. Cuicui is also the same."

He stretched out his elbow: "The erythema has also faded. Doctor, are we almost healed?"

 Lu Yan lowered his eyes.

On the rough and thin arm, the erythema remained the same as before and did not get darker.

  She lowered her head and said "hmm".

“Great!” Cuicui cheered and hugged her father’s neck, “When everything is fine and we leave the shelter, I want to eat the pancakes that dad made for me!”

 “Okay!” Ding Yong replied with a smile, thinking of the white flour cake, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

Lu Zhen stood up, collected the empty bowls from which the patient had finished drinking the soup, and got up and went out.

 She returned to the mansion closest to the ruined temple.

 Cai Fang temporarily vacated the mansion and invited medical officers to live in it. When the patients were resting, a few medical officers were left on duty. The remaining medical officers returned to the mansion to continue other epidemic relief, making medicine bags and so on.

Lu Zhen entered the house. In the hall, Chang Jin was discussing with a group of medical officers the next plan to treat the epidemic.

The epidemic in southern Jiangsu was fierce. They had been here for many days. They first separated the people who were infected with the epidemic from those who were not infected with the epidemic. They burned atractylodes when they were affected by the epidemic. They also made plague-repelling medicine bags and incense for the rest of the city. .

With these epidemic measures, at least these days, the corpses piled up behind the execution ground no longer emit a stench—many fewer people die of illness every day.

 But the epidemic is not over yet. The sick people in the hospital can only be said to have delayed their death, but there is not a single case of recovery.

 Still difficult to handle.

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

Li Wenhu, who was standing behind the crowd, heard this and immediately said, "What's so difficult about this? I'll take everyone to knock on each house. If there's anything wrong, I'll take him to the jail directly. Even if you don't want to, you can't."

Ji Xun shook his head: "But the epidemic was not obvious in the early stage, and the county captain was not sure that others were missed."

Cai Fang expressed embarrassment: "After all, the disaster is difficult. Some people among the people in Sunan City feel that even if they die, they must die in their own homes..."

Going to a disaster place is waiting for death, and you are waiting for death at home. The disaster place is crowded and shabby, how can you feel at ease at home?

Human nature.

"It's better to put the medicine into the well." Lu Zhuo said.

　　Everyone turned around, Lu Zhuo came up from behind the crowd, looked at Chang Jin and said, "In the past, there was a book on epidemic prevention and control that included putting decoctions into wells. Why not give it a try."

Even if the people don't want to go to the disaster place, they still need to drink water. Drinking soup mixed with medicines to avoid epidemics may not have any effect.

Lin Danqing's eyes lit up: "This is also a way. After all, it takes time to avoid the plague incense and medicine bag, but it is very fast to put it into the well."

Chang Jin frowned slightly: "But, how many wells are there in Sunan City? Our medicinal materials are limited, which wells are better to invest in?"

When Cai Fang and Li Wenhu heard this, they lowered their heads to think. Before they could speak, they suddenly heard Lu Zhu speak: "There are wells at the temple entrance on the west side of the bridge, in the streets and alleys of the east gate, at Tongqing Temple in the upper reaches of the river, and in front of Banyan Tree Jinbao Restaurant in the city. There are four places, close to the door of the house, and most households draw water from wells. If you want to apply medicine, it is best to put it in these four places first. "

Cai Fang paused for a moment, then thought about it and said, "It covers the southeast, northwest, and everything, which can be considered as maximizing the effectiveness of the medicine... However," he looked at Lu Huo, a little surprised, "are you familiar with Sunan City?"

He is the county magistrate of Sunan City, and he cannot tell the location of the well yet, but the female medical officer in front of him can blurt it out, and she can tell it so accurately.

“Medical officer Lu is originally from southern Jiangsu, so he is naturally very familiar with southern Jiangsu.” Lin Danqing explained.

"That's it." Cai Fang took another look at Lu Huan. He learned from Chang Kou that the three young medical officers who came to southern Jiangsu this time were all outstanding medical officers from Hanlin Medical Hospital. This medical officer Lu He doesn't like to talk, and he doesn't like to gather with medical officers on weekdays. Most of the time, he lowers his head to read medical books or change dressings in the hospital. He looks a bit cold.

 Unexpectedly, he was a fellow countryman.

A hint of cordiality suddenly arose in his heart, and Chang Jin said on the other end: "In that case, would you please Master Cai to show us the four wells first? If they are all right, we will start preparing the prescription today, and start pouring the medicine into the wells tomorrow." Turning to the other medical officers: "Don't stop using the medicine bags and the incense to avoid the plague. The patients in the hospital must also be looked after at all times. Don't give up on any patient."

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

Everyone was shocked, and Li Wenhu stood up in a hurry: "What?"

The yamen servant's face was full of anxiety and he was about to cry: "When I got up in the morning, the brothers went to get medicinal materials and rice porridge. Suddenly they found something was wrong. The two brothers guarding the warehouse did not see anyone today. Later, their bodies were found in the backyard... In the house Transport all the rice you can, just take advantage of last night!”

Cai Fang was stunned as he listened to the visitor's reply, then suddenly opened the door and walked out quickly. The medical officers quickly followed, and when they arrived at the warehouse, Lu Huan, who was walking behind the crowd, raised his eyes and saw two corpses buried in white cloth lying in the yard. The lock on the door was broken and broken, and some scattered medicinal materials were scattered inside, as if they had been looted. Empty.

 “It’s over…”

 Cai Fang muttered absentmindedly.

Ji Xun took two steps forward, glanced across the empty warehouse, and looked more serious: "Master Cai, what on earth is going on?"

This is the county government's warehouse. Nowadays, there is a serious epidemic in southern Jiangsu and people are afraid to go out. How can there be bandits?

“It must be those bastards.” Li Wenhu spat, “These **** even stole medicine and food. I’d dig three feet into the ground to find him!”

“Who is the county captain talking about?” Chang Jin was puzzled.

 “It’s a local snake in southern Jiangsu.”

Cai Fang took two steps back and said feebly: "After the county magistrate left, southern Sunan was in chaos. Dahu and I barely managed to gather the county government people together, but people were so panicked that we couldn't control it at all."

“Pharmaceutical shops increased prices, food was in short supply, and famine soon broke out. In the city, gangsters were gathered to rob food from door to door. The county government had limited manpower. Those people were extremely vicious and irrational, and killed many people.”

"Our people fought with them, and each suffered casualties. Later, they calmed down for a while, and now the county government has fewer people. They must have waited for a long time to take action because they were waiting for the opportunity to send you medicine and food."

The guards who escorted the medical officers usually help dispose of dead bodies at the execution ground. If not, at least the rice grains would not have been moved away quietly last night.

Li Wenhu stamped his foot: "I'll chase him!"

"Where to pursue?" Cai Fang grabbed him, "There are not many men left. And where to pursue? After one night, I'm afraid the medicine and food have already been transferred..."

"Is this the end of it?" Li Wenhu was unwilling to give in. "Without the medicine and food, what will happen next? What will we eat, and what will the people of southern Jiangsu use? We will all have to wait here to die!"

A cold wind blew through, making people's cheeks hurt. The two corpses covered with white cloth in the yard looked increasingly desolate. The medical officers looked at each other and talked in low voices.

Chang Jin was also anxious.

 Suddenly, a government servant suddenly ran out of the yard and said: "County Magistrate, County Lieutenant, we found the medicine and food!"

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

 “Come and see—”

The yamen officer led a group of people and ran forward. Only when they reached a hundred steps away from the city gate, they suddenly heard the sound of a column of horse hooves.

Lu Zhen looked at the sound and couldn't help but be startled.

Under the city gate, a line of soldiers and horses came from far and near, about a hundred people, all wearing black scales and gold embroidered riding uniforms, with long swords on their waists, and they looked fierce.

The handsome young man at the head was wearing a big cloak, sitting high on a horse, looking at everyone indifferently. Not far away, the horses were dragging several tightly tied people.

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

The yamen servant who just ran up whispered: "This is the commander from Shengjing. He was in a neighboring county to quell the chaos. Today he passed by southern Jiangsu and captured a few people."

 Master Xiao Pei (strong version) returns for a limited time