"Jingrui, your wound would have healed if you had taken good care of it. But with this, it will probably take until the end of the month. And don't forget to change the dressing every day."
My hand was suddenly grabbed.
I was so startled that I almost dropped what I was holding.
She looked up at him in astonishment.
"Could you help me change my dressing?" she asked, her voice tinged with a weak plea.
It reminded me of my old Chihuahua, Cola. It always liked to look at me with those wet, misty eyes. Anyway, I agreed.
Only one person remained in the room. Dugu Jing sat on the couch, looking at the bandage that had been wrapped. Suddenly, he reached for the tea on the table, and with a slight flick of his wrist, poured it all over the wound.
"Your Highness..."
A person suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shouted anxiously.
"Your Highness, what is this...?"
Dugu Jing raised his eyes, a dark and unfathomable light in them. "Knowing what I've done, she will never forgive me."
The man looked heartbroken; for a woman, he actually…
"Your Highness, why bother? When the time comes, Your Highness can grant her the most honorable position in the world."
His eyelids drooped slightly, concealing his emotions.
"Her temperament..." A bitter smile appeared in Dugu Jing's eyes. He glanced down at the bloodstains that were beginning to seep in again, and a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips. It looked exceptionally alluring and captivating.
I secretly went to the street from yesterday again.
"Dr. Chen, please tell me more about the situation here." Dr. Chen was a doctor with a conscience in the area. During this plague, many doctors had fled or gone to work for officials because they were helpless. Only Dr. Chen was still worried about the people and trying to find solutions for them.
Dr. Chen looked worried. "More than ten people have already died, and many more are still suffering from the disease."
"Did you give them any prescriptions?"
Dr. Chen shook his head. "It's all useless."
I glanced at their situation and said, "Summon them all."
Looking at the people with their sorrowful faces, I stood on a rock and shouted, "The imperial court will be sending people to rescue us soon..."
People reacted strongly; some were expectant, some cursed, and some complained bitterly…
I continued, "Now, we have to save ourselves. I hope everyone will take action."
I sent some people to dispose of the corpses and burn them immediately. Others went to collect mugwort for disinfection and burned all clothing related to the deceased. Every household disinfected with lime water. All the patients were gathered together and isolated with a rope, and no one was allowed to enter.
Dr. Chen looked at the busy people and asked, "Miss Liu, what should we do next?"
I thought about it calmly for a while and decided to control the plague first to prevent its further spread. Next was the treatment of those infected. Actually, these diseases are nothing serious in modern times, but they could be fatal in ancient times.
I asked Dr. Chen, "What were the patients' reactions?"
Dr. Chen explained it to me; in short, it was vomiting and diarrhea. Looking at the people groaning and pale-faced, I frowned slightly, thinking…
Back at the inn that night, I couldn't sleep, lost in thought. I sat at the table, staring at a blank sheet of paper, pondering all night.
Are there any craftsmen around here?
Zhang Jin nodded. There was one in the east of the city. He was grateful to this young lady, Liu. Now they weren't as afraid of the plague as before; at least it was under control now, although his wife was still in quarantine…
I nodded in satisfaction and took out my work from that night. Ancient times were so backward; those people were severely dehydrated. I had the people helping to take care of them boil water constantly all day to give them water to drink and moisten their lips, but they would vomit almost immediately. If this continued, they would die from severe dehydration.
I hope to create some simple medical devices that, by refining distilled water, can produce a saline solution similar to human bodily fluids to replenish the fluids needed by patients.
"But...Miss Liu...this money..." Zhang Jin was truly at his wit's end. He had sold everything he owned—rice—to buy medicine, and he had no money left...
I was taken aback, then suddenly realized that money was indeed a problem. I turned to him and asked, "Does anyone here have any money?"
They all shook their heads.
My heart sank to the bottom. What should I do? I can't just stop like this...
"Miss Liu, Miss Liu, someone is looking for you outside..."
I was taken aback. Who was looking for me? I stepped over the rope and came out.
I was even more taken aback when I saw who it was. I took off my mask and started to say, "Si... Jing... Rui..." but I changed my words halfway through.
Dugu Jing stared at me intently: "It's very dangerous."
“I know,” I smiled faintly, “but this place can’t be without me right now.”
A deep look appeared in Dugu Jing's eyes.
Suddenly, I thought of something and reached out my hand. "Jingrui, lend me some money."
I gave some of the money I got from Dugu Jing to Zhang Jin.
"What do you intend to do?" Dugu Jing was surprised by the changes here and listened to the stories told by the local people. Besides shock, he also felt a sense of gloom. He suddenly feared the day when everything would be revealed.
I looked at him and patiently explained to him what I was going to do: make distilled water and salt water, and even explained the principles behind it to him.
Seeing him staring at me silently, I asked, "What's wrong?" Suddenly realizing that he, being an ancient person, might not understand, I gave him an awkward smile.
"I'll help you."
His sudden remark startled me, and I looked up at him blankly.
I glanced worriedly at Dugu Jing, who was taking orders for distilled water. He seemed more professional than me, which was really strange.
"What's wrong? Is something missing?" I asked, looking at him with a puzzled expression as he frowned slightly.
Dugu Jing slowly said, "We're still missing the rubber hose."
I slapped my forehead, suddenly realizing, "Oh right, how could I forget something so important?" Then, a worried look crossed my face. "What do we do? Where are we going to find rubber hoses?" Where are there rubber trees these days? Really…
He shook his lower lip impatiently.
Dugu Jing raised his head: "Don't worry, I have a way."
It was evening.
Under a circle of candles, Dugu Jing and I stood in front of the instrument, staring intently at the bottle as distilled water slowly flowed into it.
Until the very last bottle.
"Alright..." A satisfied smile appeared on his face. He rubbed his sore neck and smiled at the person next to him.
A smile curved at the corner of Dugu Jing's lips.
His sudden smile surprised me. I had never seen him smile before, and therefore had never imagined that this smile, like a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds, would shine its hazy radiance into one's heart.
Realizing she was being a bit infatuated, she gave a blank smile and quickly lowered her head. "We should prepare the saline solution now."
Author's Note:
I was planning to post this last night, but the power went out... um...
Chapter 23 Making Penicillin
The next morning.
The isolated patient area was crowded with people.
"Miss Liu, what were those things you just brought in?"
I turned to them and explained, "This is used to replenish saline solution for those patients to prevent excessive dehydration."
Dugu Jing barely slept last night because he was helping with the distillation of water. I did too; he had other things to do and sent a few subordinates to assist me. Looking at the curious crowd gathered around us...
"Miss Liu, the wine is here."
I nodded and disinfected them with alcohol first. Following modern injection principles, I injected it directly into a vein. I had Dr. Chen watch from the side, "Like this... this vein... the bluish area, do you see it?"
Dr. Chen nodded and watched several people finish their injections. "I understand."
After all the patients were settled, it was already afternoon.
There were quite a few people waiting outside the house.
Once outside, someone asked, "Why haven't you gone back yet?"
Liu's sister-in-law said, "Miss Liu, you've done so much for us, you've been so busy you haven't even had time to eat. I cooked a few eggs from our old hen and brought them to you..."
Then another woman stepped forward, saying, "I brought some food."