Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1332 The masses send dialect messages, Huang Huijie begins isolation and is admitted to the hospital (Bonus chapter for monthly pass winners)

“This matter can’t be delayed any longer; news needs to be timely.” Old Hu immediately chimed in to Shi Min when he heard that it could be released soon, while also winking at Fang Yan.

Fang Yan certainly knew what he meant. Lao Hu would never miss such an opportunity to promote himself. Although Fang Yan and his group were the main focus of today's rescue efforts, Lao Hu's supplies were also a key part of the effort.

It's fair to say that without the supplies provided by his factory, many children would be in danger today.

Fang Yan smiled knowingly and followed up on Lao Hu's words, saying to Shi Min, "It really can't be delayed. Comrade Shi, I'll go and talk to the leaders over there after you finish eating. But the fact that things went so smoothly today is largely due to the material support from Lao Hu's factory. From the disinfectant supplies and medicine kits this morning to this hot meal, we couldn't have missed any of them. The fact that the children were able to get their medicine in time and that we were able to hold on until the epidemic prevention team arrived is all thanks to the factory's timely supply."

Old Hu waved his hand dismissively, but said the truth: "Hey, what you said makes sense. Although our factory is a production factory, it is our duty to contribute to the epidemic prevention at critical moments." As he spoke, he deliberately raised his chin towards the empty supply box on the tractor, "The ones that were brought in this morning are probably almost used up by now. We need to have the warehouse send another batch to Dongfeng Commune this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Shi Min gave Lao Hu a thumbs up. He wasn't stupid; he knew Lao Hu wanted to promote the role their factory played. However, he didn't object to this. After all, Lao Hu was genuinely contributing, and promoting these overseas Chinese businessmen would set an example for other overseas Chinese investors in China. There was no conflict between them.

Fang Yan finished his meal quickly and then went to find Chen Jingshan and told him about Shi Min's situation.

Hearing that there were also leaders from the TV station here, Chen Jingshan was somewhat surprised. Did this reporter have superhuman speed? Did he run faster than their epidemic prevention team? He even arrived before them.

When he first saw the person taking the photos, he assumed it was someone from the school responsible for recording things.

However, he didn't care about that. It was perfectly reasonable for them to send out the footage, since it also recorded their work. They were able to arrive at the scene so quickly and start working so fast, so their work was flawless.

After the arrangements were completed, it was already 3 p.m. After packing up the things on site, Fang Yan and the others officially handed over their work to the epidemic prevention team and then prepared to leave the commune to go to Lao Hu's factory for quarantine.

When I left, the previous panic had subsided in the open space next to the temporary clinic, and several children with mild symptoms were being held by their families and sunbathing.

Someone shouted, "Dr. Fang is leaving!" and the family members who were scattered around immediately gathered around.

"Dr. Fang, my child was delirious with fever this morning, but thanks to the medicine you prescribed, he can drink water now! I don't have anything to give you as you leave..."

Fang Yan waved his hand repeatedly:

"Sister-in-law, please don't say that. Treating the sick and saving lives is our duty. The child getting better is more important than anything else."

As soon as Fang Yan finished speaking, an elderly man with gray hair walked forward with a cane, his voice trembling: "Dr. Fang, my little Sanzi was so out of breath yesterday that he couldn't straighten his back. You knelt on the ground to give him an injection, and your pants were covered in mud but you didn't mind the dirt... I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life!" The old man was about to bow when Fang Yan quickly stopped him.

"No, no, no! Grandpa, you're making me feel so bad." Fang Yan held the old man's arm, her tone earnest. "The child's safety is the most important thing. The epidemic prevention team is here, and the follow-up treatment will definitely be taken care of, so don't worry."

At this moment, a middle-aged man walked up, called out "Dr. Fang," and then knelt down on the ground. To everyone's surprise, he kowtowed to Fang Yan.

The suddenness of the event caused the surrounding noise to freeze instantly. Even the family members holding the child forgot to speak, staring blankly at the man kneeling on the ground.

Fang Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively bent down to help him up: "Hey, big brother! What are you doing? Get up!"

The man didn't get up. His rough hands were on the dusty ground, his forehead pressed against the ground, and his voice was choked with sobs: "Dr. Fang, you are my child's savior! Yesterday, my child had a high fever and was unconscious. His lips were purple. I carried him for miles to get here. At that time, many people said that my child was probably not going to make it... It was you who squatted there and watched over my child for two whole hours, feeding him medicine and giving him injections. You kept an eye on him all the time and didn't move an inch."

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, tears still clinging to the corners, his face smeared with dirt and tear stains, yet his utmost sincerity was evident: "The comrades from the epidemic prevention team just said that the child's temperature has come down and his breathing has stabilized; he's finally out of danger. I don't have any great abilities, and I don't know how to say anything nice, but I just want to kowtow to you. I will never forget this kindness in my life!"

As he spoke, he was about to kowtow again.

Fang Yan quickly grabbed his arm tightly and forcefully helped him up:

"Brother, treating and saving lives is our duty as doctors. I can't bear this! The child's recovery is due to his own hard work and everyone's help. Please get up, or I'll get angry!"

Anton and Meng Jimin, who were standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to help, and the three of them together helped the middle-aged man up.

The man was still wiping away tears, clutching Fang Yan's sleeve tightly: "Dr. Fang, I know you are a kind person who doesn't expect anything in return. But I feel so guilty... He's our only son, and if he's gone, his mother and I won't be able to survive either."

"It's better for the child to be healthy than anything else." Fang Yan patted the back of his hand, her tone softening. "What you should do now is go back and take good care of the child, give him more warm water, and keep him warm. The comrades from the epidemic prevention team will be monitoring the follow-up treatment. Contact them anytime if there are any issues. This is much more effective than kowtowing to me."

At this moment, the others also came up to say goodbye to Fang Yan and the others. Fang Yan was naturally the one who received the most attention. Many people who did not see him off either bowed or planned to kowtow to Fang Yan. They all knew what kind of situation their children had when they were brought over.

If it weren't for dialects, they might really be gone. You could say that dialects are truly lifesavers.

Shi Min is holding a camera and recording these scenes.

After the farewells were over, the crowd gradually dispersed. People stood outside the car and waved goodbye to the convoy. As the convoy drove away, they could still see people waving to the convoy in the rearview mirror.

Wang Yuchuan, who was in the same car as the dialect speaker, couldn't help but sigh:

"This free clinic came just in time. If it had been even a day later, who knows what serious problems might have occurred."

Fang Yan nodded and said:

"Yes, thankfully we caught it before the outbreak. Scarlet fever is highly contagious. Dongfeng Commune kept it a secret for so long. If it had been delayed for another day, neighboring villages would probably have been affected, and our medical team wouldn't have been able to handle it."

"It's fortunate that Lao Hu's factory is nearby, and the supplies were delivered in time. If they had arrived half an hour later, several more children with mild symptoms would have become severe."

"It can only be said that these children were not destined to die; they were lucky."

After saying that, he thought of the other communes. "I wonder how Professor Yue and the others are doing now... There are other communes that we haven't had time to visit yet, and the situation might be even more serious there."

"Yes, it's a bit of luck that we stumbled upon this commune. But those communes that we didn't have time to visit, if they also concealed the truth, they're probably still in the dark. Scarlet fever has a short incubation period, so by the time it's discovered, it might already be spread."

He turned to look at the farmland flashing past the window, his tone becoming more serious: "Although other communes have epidemic prevention teams watching over them, they are definitely short-handed. So many children need to be screened, and their contact history needs to be traced. Relying on them alone, they would probably have to work non-stop."

"Moreover, in those communes where transportation is inconvenient, if a child falls ill, the parents may not know to take him to the hospital. They might just treat it as a common fever and tough it out. By the time it gets really serious, it will be too late to rush him to the commune."

The prescription beside it stated:
"We can only hope that the epidemic prevention team can make arrangements as soon as possible, and it would be best if each commune could send some people to conduct investigations. We are currently in quarantine and can't help with anything else. We can only do our own thing first and wait until the observation period is over."

"Fortunately, Leader Chen and his team reacted quickly and made an example of the Dongfeng Commune secretary. Perhaps the cadres in other communes will learn from this lesson and dare not conceal information so easily again. If they could report proactively, the situation would be much easier to handle."

"I hope so," Wang Yuchuan said, gazing at the hazy horizon in the distance.

After about half an hour, the car gradually became stable. You have arrived near the factory gate. The road was specially repaired by Lao Hu. This area will not accumulate water and is exceptionally smooth and wide.

Outside the factory, workers at the disinfection area were already waiting with sprayers in hand.

The car came to a steady stop outside the red paint line of the factory's disinfection area. As soon as the engine was turned off, two workers in white coats came up with a large-capacity sprayer. The fine mist of disinfectant sprayed onto the ground, leaving a faint damp mark.

Old Hu was the first to push open the door and get out of the car, loudly instructing everyone:

"Students, please take turns and don't push! Step on the disinfectant mat with the soles of your shoes first, then spray the medicine on your body. Don't be careless at all!"

Xiao Wu, who came with the epidemic prevention team, stood by with his team members. They observed the students and, seeing that the students hadn't sprayed their cuffs, immediately stepped forward to apply a few more sprays: "You need to pay special attention to the gaps in the wrists, collars, and trouser hems, as scarlet fever streptococci love to hide in these places." He explained while demonstrating, "Hold the spray bottle about a hand's width away from the clothes and sweep it evenly, don't spray directly onto the skin."

Fang Yan and his companions were thoroughly disinfected inside and out of their car, and their entire bodies were thoroughly cleaned.

When it was Shi Min's turn, he deliberately held the camera in his arms. Seeing this, the worker slowed down the spraying speed and gently swept it around the outside of the equipment: "Don't worry, this disinfectant won't damage the machine, but the lens will need to be wiped later."

Shi Min quickly thanked him, and after the disinfection was completed, he hurriedly took out a clean cloth to carefully wipe the lens, which contained the key footage from the farewell earlier.

After everyone had been disinfected, Lao Hu led them to the rest room on the west side of the office building.

The building here was specially built. Everyone else was arranged to stay in the building, but Fang Yan, the professor, and Shi Min were arranged by Lao Hu to stay in another bungalow.

His place is spacious and has a large area, making it relatively easy to repair.

The house was surrounded by a ring of poplar trees. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the bungalow was more spacious than the dormitory in the building. The exterior walls were painted a clean off-white, the windows had double glazing, and even the door frames were polished smooth and shiny.

“These are small single rooms that I specially reserved. They’re more spacious than the dormitories in the main building, and they even have a small courtyard. They’re well-ventilated and quiet for you. I usually stay here when I come here by myself,” Old Hu said to the professor and Shi Min.

As they entered, a faint scent of pine filled the air. The room was simply yet fully furnished: a large, human-sized wooden bed covered with thick cotton quilts and a blue checkered sheet; against the wall stood a desk and a wooden chair, with a glass-shaded lamp on the desk, next to which were neatly stacked several magazines and some factory pharmaceutical brochures; in the corner stood a wardrobe, with brand-new bedding on top; near the window was a simple stove with a kettle on it and a basket of clean coal piled up beside it.

"Mr. Hu, your arrangements are so thoughtful." Wang Yuchuan followed him in, touched the radiator, and found it warm to the touch. "These conditions are even better than the dormitories at our school."

"Of course!" Fang Yaozhong nodded.

Old Hu said with a smile, "Everything here is connected to electricity; the stove is for you to boil water and heat up your food. If the food delivered from the canteen gets cold, it can be heated up by itself; as for the small courtyard by the gate, I'll have someone bring a bamboo chair over there tomorrow, so you can sunbathe and get some fresh air. Just don't leave the courtyard, you have to follow the observation rules."

After everyone had entered the room, Old Hu came over with several cloth bags and placed them one by one at the door:
"Here are new towels, toothbrushes, enamel mugs, and two clean coarse cloth jackets for you to change into. Hot water has been piped to the yard; just turn on the tap and it's ready, making it convenient for washing up and soaking your feet."

Xiao Wu, who had come with them from the epidemic prevention team, was carrying several forms and thermometers, and he distributed them to each room:
"Everyone, this is a temperature registration form. You must take your temperature at 8 a.m. and fill it out every day at 4 p.m. If you have symptoms such as sore throat, rash, or fever, please notify me immediately."

Everyone agreed, and Fang Yan then said to Lao Hu:

"I'm finally free now, I should call everyone to let them know I'm safe. Where's your phone?"

Old Hu pointed to a spot not far away:

"That's my office over there."

Fang Yan nodded. Today, he not only had to call home, but also the research institute, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and Director Liao to report. He was currently holding multiple positions and had to make sure he was informed by everyone, otherwise they wouldn't know what had happened to him and would probably come looking for him.

Of course, the first thing Fang Yan did was call home.

When his wife, Zhu Lin, answered the phone and heard it was Fang Yan, she immediately asked him why he hadn't come home for lunch. Fang Yan replied:
“There was a sudden emergency at noon, we encountered an infectious disease. My colleagues and I from the medical team have been busy and haven’t had time to go back or tell you. I’m sorry you were worried. The situation has stabilized now, and the epidemic prevention team has taken over. There’s no danger now, but you have to undergo three days of medical observation at Lao Hu’s factory. After all, you came into contact with the infected child, and we need to rule out any risks before you can go back.”

Zhu Lin on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then said:
“I was worried when I saw you hadn’t come back at noon. I’m glad you’re alright now.”

After she finished speaking, she paused and then said:

"But I should let you and Brother Hu know that Sister Huang is not feeling well today and has been taken to Peking Union Medical College Hospital for observation."

P.S.: I got another 100 monthly votes, so I'll finish this chapter to balance things out.

(End of this chapter)