Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1335 A dose of medicine turns the tide and saves the entire village (two chapters combined)
“Sure, of course no problem.” Everyone readily agreed.

They were originally there to take charge of the quarantine of the local people, so they didn't bring any medicine. Now they have a problem that they can't ignore, so they have no choice but to seek help from traditional Chinese medicine.

Fang Yan and the others readily agreed. Even if they hadn't said anything, the pregnant woman here had improved somewhat after taking the medicine, and they planned to check on her in the village.

Not long after the epidemic prevention team left, Li Chunsheng arrived with the medicine.

"It's ready! This is the first batch. I'll bring it over for the pregnant woman to drink first. The other medicines are still being brewed," Li Chunsheng said to Fang Yan.

They were still wiping themselves down and cooling themselves down inside, while the men, including Fang Yan, were all outside.

Upon hearing Li Chunsheng's words, Fang Yan shouted inside:

"Li Hui, Xue Ling, the medicine is ready!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Hui responded from inside the room: "I know, Brother Fang! She just finished wiping herself down, and she's feeling much better now; she can even sit up!"

Fang Yan moved closer to the doorway. Through the cotton curtain, she could hear rustling sounds inside, which suggested that Li Hui and Lin Xueling were helping Xiulan adjust her posture.

Then, without lifting the curtain, Li Hui came out and took the medicine bowl from Fang Yan's hands.

"Feed her slowly, making sure it's not too hot. Feed her one spoonful at a time. If she finds it bitter or feels like vomiting, stop and give her a sip of warm water to help her swallow. Don't force her," Fang Yan instructed them.

"Okay," Li Hui agreed.

Then I went inside again.

A moment later, the cotton curtain was lifted a crack, and Lin Xueling peeked out: "Brother Fang, Elder Yue, Professor Wang, the patient drank it quite well! He said the medicine wasn't bitter, and his throat felt a bit better after drinking it; he didn't feel like vomiting!"

Fang Yan felt relieved.

He then followed up, "How is she feeling now? Is her stomach still hurting?"

Lin Xueling said:
"She said her stomach wasn't hurting as badly as before, but she still felt a little heavy. She felt the baby move a few times when she was taking the medicine!"

These words brought a sigh of relief to everyone in the courtyard.

The old lady standing nearby praised them, saying:
"The doctors from the city are really amazing! This medicine worked as soon as she drank it; Xiulan was groaning in pain just now!"

Fang Yan said to her:
"This is only the initial effect. The heat-clearing medicine has suppressed the external pathogens, but the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine will take effect slowly. After she finishes this dose, we will check her pulse and the condition of her rash. If she is stable, we will prepare a few more doses of this prescription to consolidate the effect."

Speaking in dialect, he glanced at the time and called out to Li Hui inside:
"Help the patient get dressed, I'm going to come in and take her pulse."

"Okay!" came Li Hui's crisp voice from inside the room. A moment later, the cotton curtain was gently lifted, and Li Hui stood sideways by the door.
"Brother Fang, it's all done, come in."

Fang Yan nodded and followed Yue Meizhong and Wang Yuchuan into the house.

Xiulan leaned against the folded quilts. Although her face still had the flush of illness, it had lost its previous ashen color. Her eyes could now clearly focus on the group of people. When she saw them come in, she even nodded slightly.

Fang Yan and Professor Yue began taking her pulse again, one on each side. Fang Yan also asked her:
"Besides feeling a bit of heaviness in your abdomen, are you experiencing any other discomfort in your throat or body?"

The patient, Xiulan, thought for a moment and said:

"My throat isn't burning as much anymore. When I took the medicine just now, it felt soothed, much more comfortable than this morning. The red spots on my body don't seem as itchy anymore, but I still feel a bit weak all over and lack energy."

"Yes, that's normal. The heat has just subsided, and the body's vital energy hasn't fully recovered yet." Fang Yan replied while carefully sensing the changes in the pulse. The pulse under her fingertips was much more steady than before, and the rapid and floating sensation had subsided. "And what about the feeling of palpitations? Do you still feel chest tightness?"

"I'm not panicking anymore, and I'm not feeling stifled anymore." Xiulan shook her head, her eyes showing a newfound clarity.

Yue Meizhong, who had just finished taking the baby's pulse, added, "How many times did the baby move just now? Can you still feel it now? Does your belly hurt when it moves?"

Mentioning the baby, Xiulan gently touched her swollen belly and said, "When I was taking the medicine, the baby moved three or four times, very gently, and it didn't hurt. Now... it seems to have moved again, very gently, but I can feel it." As she spoke, she gently patted her belly.

"That's good. It's most important that the pregnancy is stable." Fang Yan nodded and then asked, "You vomited twice this morning. Do you feel nauseous again? Is your mouth very dry? Would you like some more warm water?"

"I don't want to vomit anymore," Xiulan shook her head and licked her lips. "My mouth is still a little dry, but it's much better than before. I just drank two sips of water and I'm not thirsty anymore."

Then she said somewhat shyly:

"I'm just a little hungry..."

Fang Yan and Yue Meizhong exchanged a glance and said:

"Hunger is good!"

"Feeling hungry means that the digestive function of your spleen and stomach is slowly recovering, which is better than anything else. The heat depleted the spleen yin, and you couldn't eat or even vomited before because your spleen and stomach were too weak to work. Now that you want to eat, it's a good opportunity to replenish your qi and blood and give you and the baby some energy."

Yue Meizhong nodded in agreement. There's a saying in traditional Chinese medicine: "Where there is stomach qi, there is life." Pregnant women naturally deplete their qi and blood during pregnancy, and having been sick for the past two days without eating much, their bodies are already empty.

Being able to feel hungry indicates that the stomach's energy is gradually recovering. The medicine prescribed by the doctor not only cleared away the pathogens but also protected the yang energy of the spleen and stomach, which is a good thing.

"I'll go cook some millet porridge right now!" said a woman from the family standing nearby.

After speaking, she cautiously looked at Fang Yan and the others, and asked:
"Doctor, can she drink it?"

"She can drink! She can drink so much!" Fang Yan immediately replied. "Millet porridge is the best for nourishing the spleen and stomach. Cooking it until it's very soft is just right for her current condition. It's best if it has rice oil on it, as it can replenish body fluids and is easy to digest, without putting a burden on her stomach."

Yue Meizhong added, "Add more water when cooking, and cook until the porridge is thick. First, give her a small half bowl to try. If she doesn't feel uncomfortable in her stomach after drinking it, add a little more after an hour or so, gradually increasing the amount. Don't let her eat too much at first, as her spleen and stomach are just recovering and need time to adapt."

"Yes! I've got it!" The woman was overjoyed and turned to run towards the kitchen, her steps much lighter than before.

The person looked like they were about to die, but as soon as this group of people arrived, the situation immediately started to improve.

After everyone left, Fang Yan turned on his flashlight and began to examine the rash on Xiu Lan's arm.

The beam of the flashlight focused on the fine, scarlet rash, making the hairs on the skin of those around them stand on end.

However, compared to the bright and eye-catching red when entering, the red dot is now noticeably lighter in color, no longer that dark crimson.

Fang Yan gently pressed one of the rashes with his fingertip. After releasing it, the fading marks disappeared even faster than before, and the pale pink of the skin slowly showed through. "The rash is flaring up, and the color is getting lighter," he said, moving the flashlight to Xiulan's neck and behind her ears—the places where the scarlet fever rash first appeared. The red spots had now become sparse and were no longer a continuous red patch.

"Is it still very itchy?" Fang Yan asked, her gaze still lingering on the rash, carefully counting the newly emerging red spots. "Do you feel the rash spreading to your extremities?"

Xiulan shook her head, her voice soft: "It's not so itchy anymore, I only felt it a little when I touched it while wiping my body just now. It doesn't seem to have spread to my hands and feet, just my arms and neck."

Yue Meizhong leaned over to take a look and nodded, saying, "The honeysuckle and forsythia you drank before have worked to clear heat and promote rash eruption. The rash can now come out smoothly, so the heat evil has an outlet and won't sink inward. Look at the shape of this rash. Before, it was dense and looked like goosebumps, but now it's much looser. This is clear evidence of improvement."

After taking the pulse, he said to Fang Yan:

“The floating pulse on my side has almost completely subsided, leaving only a slightly soft pulse. This is the pulse sign that the heat evil is gradually receding and the body fluids are beginning to recover. The most crucial pulse is the cun pulse. Before, it was so weak that it was almost undetectable. Now, although it is still somewhat soft, it has gained a bit more of a smooth and rapid movement. The fetal essence has been completely stabilized.”

Fang Yan nodded and said, "It's the same on my side. The heat in the cun pulse has dissipated, and the guan pulse is soft and weak, which is a sign that the spleen and stomach qi is gradually awakening, which corresponds to her feeling of hunger. In addition, the slippery feeling in the chi pulse is more obvious than before, which means that the fetal qi has a support and is not afraid of the heat evil invading again."

He turned to look at the patient, Xiulan, and said:

"Rest assured and relax. After you drink the porridge and take your second dose of medicine, you'll feel more comfortable. Once the baby in your womb is stable, you, as the mother, will recover faster."

After hearing Fang Yan finish speaking, the patient asked them:

"Are you leaving?"

Nodding in dialect:

"We need to go to the village to see if there are any other patients."

A flicker of panic crossed Xiulan's eyes, and her voice lowered as she cautiously asked, "Are there... are there other people who have this disease? Is it... was it me who spread the word?"

She remembered that she had teased Er Ya's child when she went to the market a few days ago, and she suddenly panicked and her face turned pale.

"Don't overthink it," Fang Yan quickly reassured him.

“Scarlet fever is transmitted through droplets. You may have come into contact with other people carrying the virus while you were at the market. It’s not your fault. We’re going to check on other people because we’re worried that others might be suffering like you. The sooner you start taking medication, the sooner you’ll get better.”

Yue Meizhong nodded in agreement: "Yes, the most important thing for you right now is to take good care of your health. The pregnancy has just stabilized, so you can't let your mind wander and upset yourself. Chunsheng and the two girls are here to look after you. They will feed you medicine and porridge on time. We'll be back soon after we've finished seeing the others, and then we'll take your pulse and adjust your prescription."

Wang Yuchuan also added:
"If you feel a heavy feeling in your belly, abnormal fetal movement, or want to drink water or go to the toilet, just call Li Hui or the others. Don't try to push yourself. We'll be worried about you even after we leave, and we'll definitely come back as soon as possible."

As Xiulan listened to their conversation, her tense shoulders gradually relaxed, and she softly hummed in agreement.

"Then...then you all be careful, this disease is contagious."

"Don't worry, we're doctors," the group replied with a smile.

At this moment, Wang Yuchuan turned to Li Hui and Lin Xueling and instructed them: "You two keep a close eye on her. Give her the second dose of medicine half an hour after you finish feeding her the porridge, still one spoonful at a time. If she falls asleep, don't wake her up. Wait until she wakes up before feeding her. Just keep the medicine warm on the stove."

"Yes, teacher!" the two replied in unison. Li Hui added, "Don't worry, we'll take care of things here and keep a close eye on things!"

Li Chunsheng also ran out of the kitchen: "I've already started brewing the second batch of medicine. I'll bring it over right away when it's ready."

Yue Meizhong nodded, and then walked out with Fang Yan and the others.

They hadn't gone far from the courtyard when they saw Old Zhang from the epidemic prevention team arrive. He was also taken aback when he saw Fang Yan and the others come out.

"Director Fang, Elder Yue, Professor Wang, how is the patient inside?" Fang Yan asked.

"We're out of danger now. We were just about to come out to find you. How's the investigation going in the village?"

At this moment, Lao Zhang from the epidemic prevention team said:

"The list includes five households with fevers, three of which have children. Er Ya's child has the highest fever. Where should we go first?"

Five households had fevers, that's alright, the situation is already well under control.

"Let's go to Er Ya's house first," Yue Meizhong decided immediately. "The child is weak, and scarlet fever can't be delayed. The sooner we administer the medication, the less risk there will be."

Fang Yan and Wang Yuchuan also agreed with the plan.

Old Zhang from the epidemic prevention team said:

"Er Ya's house is just around the corner."

Fang Yan and the others immediately followed, with Lao Zhang leading the way, and then they went over.

Nowadays, the conditions of each family in the village are about the same, and the houses they build are similar to the one we just saw.

Before even entering the yard, I heard a child crying.

"This is it," Old Zhang said to them.

He called out at the gate of the courtyard, and a middle-aged man quickly came out. Seeing that it was Old Zhang again, he hurriedly asked:

"Comrade, what's wrong?"

Old Zhang said:

"Bring someone back to treat your child."

The man paused for a moment, then realized what was happening. The worry on his face was instantly replaced by urgency. He quickly lifted the curtain and called into the room, "Er Ya! Hurry! The doctor is here to examine the child!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a woman in a blue cotton jacket stumbled out, her eyes red-rimmed and her hair disheveled. Upon seeing the medicine box slung across Fang Yan's shoulder, tears immediately streamed down her face.

"Oh, doctor! You've finally come! Please save my child! He's so feverish he's almost delirious!"

"Don't panic, let's go in and take a look," Yue Meizhong reassured, following the couple into the house. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, a warm current mixed with the smells of sweat, milk, and a faint fishy odor rushed towards them. There were no lights in the house, only a dim yellow light filtering through a glass tile on the roof. The cries of the child on the earthen bed became clearer, sharp and weak.

Two elderly people were gathered around the kang (a heated brick bed), and when they saw the doctor arrive, they quickly moved aside.

Fang Yan went over to take a look and saw a little boy of about five years old curled up in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed). His face was flushed red, his lips were chapped and peeling, his brows were furrowed, and he was humming intermittently, "My throat hurts... I'm thirsty..." His coarse cloth jacket was soaked with sweat, and his exposed arms were covered with tiny scarlet spots, even more dense than the rash that Xiulan had when she first fell ill.

“The child started having a fever yesterday afternoon. The village doctor prescribed antipyretics, but they didn’t work. This morning the fever got worse, and the child was talking nonsense and couldn’t even swallow water.”

Er Ya squatted by the kang (a heated brick bed), carefully touching the child's forehead, tears falling onto the kang mat. "I just fed him some rice porridge, and he vomited it all up. What are we going to do..."

Fang Yan put down the medicine box, first reaching out to feel the boy's forehead; the heat emanating from her fingertips was alarming. She then quickly grabbed the boy's chin and shone the flashlight into his throat.

"Open your mouth, let me see your throat."

The boy cried and resisted, so his mother quickly stepped forward, gently pressed his shoulders, and coaxed him softly, "Don't be afraid, baby. The pain will go away once the doctor sees you."

They still wouldn't listen.

The child is no longer listening.

"I'll do it," Fang Yan said.

He went up and pinched the child's mouth, using a little trick. The child immediately opened his mouth in pain. Under the beam of the flashlight, everyone gasped: the boy's throat mucosa was red and shiny, his tonsils were covered with yellowish-white pus spots, and even his uvula was swollen and drooping.

"A classic case of scarlet fever pharyngitis; the heat has already become stagnant in the throat." Fang Yan withdrew his hand; he had seen many cases today. He said:
"The rash appeared rapidly and densely, and the fever was more intense than Xiulan's. We need to quickly administer medicine to promote rash eruption and clear the heat; we cannot delay."

Yue Meizhong had already knelt down to take the boy's pulse. After placing her hand on the boy's thin wrist for a while, her brows furrowed.

"The pulse is floating, rapid, and forceful, indicating a case of excess heat. It's easier to treat than Xiulan's deficiency heat, but the heat evil is more severe. The child has a pure yang constitution, so the evil qi takes hold quickly. We need to use light, clearing, and penetrating medicine to suppress the evil qi and prevent it from penetrating into the lungs."

Wang Yuchuan was taking a pulse on his other hand at the moment, and he nodded in agreement with Yue Meizhong's statement.

Old Zhang had seen Fang Yan blow medicinal powder into her throat today, so he immediately asked Fang Yan:

"Are you blowing it with powder?"

He was gesturing as he spoke.

Fang Yan shook his head:
"Don't blow the medicine powder into the throat for now. Although blowing the medicine powder into the throat can quickly relieve sore throat, the child is crying non-stop right now. Forcing it into the throat may cause choking and coughing, which may worsen the damage to the throat mucosa or even cause vomiting."

Yue Meizhong chimed in, "That's right. The core problem for this child is excessive heat and an undeveloped rash. The root cause is internal, not external. The throat irrigation is an emergency measure. His condition isn't critical yet. Let's administer the oral herbal decoction first. Honeysuckle and forsythia can clear heat from the upper lungs, while cicada slough and purple gromwell can help the rash emerge. Once the heat subsides and the throat swelling lessens, and the child is less resistant, we can consider further treatment. Forcing external treatments now might disrupt the flow of qi and hinder the rash from developing."

Wang Yuchuan tested the child's temperature again with the back of his hand and added, "Moreover, this child has suffered severe depletion of body fluids. His lips are chapped and he can't even swallow water. We added reed rhizome to the oral medicine, which can both clear heat and generate fluids, thus moisturizing the throat. Let the medicinal effects of the decoction work from the inside first. Once he can swallow the medicine smoothly and his crying subsides, it means that the swelling and pain in his throat has been largely relieved, which is more reliable than simply using a throat spray."

The child's father, listening nearby, nodded repeatedly and hurriedly asked, "When will the medicine help? My child's throat is hurting so much..."

He said in dialect:

"I'll write the prescription right away. You all prepare the pot for decocting the medicine and start a fire."

Er Ya said to her man:

"We have earthenware jars at home!"

"Okay, I'll get ready right away," the man readily agreed.

Fang Yan had already written the prescription and then gave it to Wang Yuchuan and Yue Meizhong for review. After they confirmed that there were no problems, he started taking the medicine out of the medicine box and quickly prepared it.

This is the experience I've gained after a busy day: knowing which medicines are needed, and basically all the ones I brought with me will come in handy.

Then the other side prepared everything, and Fang Yan gave the medicine to the man of the house and told him how to decoct the medicine.

"Don't use too much heat. First, bring it to a boil over high heat, then simmer it over low heat for 20 minutes. After filtering the decoction, add water and simmer for another 15 minutes. Mix the two decoctions together and feed it to the baby in two doses. While the medicine is simmering, use a warm towel to wipe the baby's armpits and groin. Physical cooling can help dissipate some heat and make him more comfortable."

Fang Yan instructed the man.

After Fang Yan finished speaking, the man took the medicine to brew it, while Fang Yan and the others went to the next house.

The next few cases were not as serious as this one. Most patients had low-grade fever accompanied by mild throat discomfort, and the rash was only scattered on the neck and behind the ears. The patients were mostly elderly people and school-aged children. Although they were in poor spirits, they could still barely respond.

Fang Yan, Yue Meizhong, and Wang Yuchuan had a clear division of labor: one took the pulse, one examined the rash and throat, and one inquired about the symptoms, which greatly accelerated the pace of the consultation. "The pulse is floating and rapid but not strong, indicating that the heat evil is still on the surface." "The rash is sparse and pale red, which is a good sign of its eruption." "The throat is slightly swollen, without pus spots, indicating that the loss of body fluids is not severe." After seeing each household, the three exchanged a few words, and the prescription was quickly formulated. They basically followed the main prescription for Er Ya's child, but adjusted the dosage according to age and the severity of symptoms: 3g of Ophiopogon japonicus was added to the elderly to protect yin, for fear that the heat-clearing medicine would deplete their vital energy; the amount of Cicadae Periostracum was reduced for school-aged children to avoid the medicine being too dispersed and affecting their spirit.

The medicine box contained enough herbs to feed these households. Fang Yan unpacked and packaged the herbs, while Yue Meizhong patiently instructed them on how to decoct and administer the medicine: "The elderly have weak spleens and stomachs, so make the medicine a little thinner and feed it to them in three portions. Give it to them half an hour after meals, and don't give it to them on an empty stomach." "It's good that this child can eat. Cook some rice porridge, but don't add sugar. Keep it light and soothe his throat."

Having learned from Er Ya's example, the villagers were less panicked and more trusting. The farmers who received the medicine packets immediately lit fires to brew the medicine, and soon wisps of smoke rose from the kitchens, mingling with the slightly bitter aroma of the herbs and dissipating into the twilight of the village.

By the time the last household was checked, it was already dusk, and the sunset in the west had faded to a deep purple. Old Zhang and the village secretary caught up with a lantern, the flame swaying gently in the wind: "Director Fang, we've checked all five households and used the medicine. Now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Yue Meizhong rubbed her slightly sore knees, her tone filled with relief: "Fortunately, none of them are too serious. Timely medication can control them. Scarlet fever is most dangerous if left untreated; if it develops into pneumonia or myocarditis, it will be troublesome."

Wang Yuchuan, concerned about Xiulan's condition, quickened his pace: "I wonder how Xiulan is doing. Her pregnancy has just stabilized, I need to go back and check her pulse again."

The group walked back quickly, and before they even entered Xiulan's courtyard, they heard Li Hui's clear laughter coming from inside.

Upon entering the courtyard, I lifted the curtain and saw Xiulan leaning against the kang (a heated brick bed), her flushed face having faded somewhat. She was sipping millet porridge, with a thin layer of rice oil still clinging to the rim of the bowl.

Li Hui and Lin Xueling stood by her side, occasionally offering her saliva.

"Brother Fang! You're back!" Li Hui was the first to greet them, her voice full of joy. "Sister Xiulan's rash has faded even more after taking her second dose of medicine, and she even ate half a bowl of porridge just now! The baby's movements are also good, moving every now and then!"

When Xiulan saw them come in, she tried to sit up straight, but Fang Yan quickly pressed her down: "Don't strain, just lie down." He went over to take her pulse, and the pulse under his fingertips was more steady than in the afternoon, and the smoothness of the radial pulse was more obvious. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was completely relieved.

Yue Meizhong also went over to take a look at the rash. The red spots had faded to almost pink, and the color faded quickly after being pressed, no longer having the previous dullness.

He said:
"The heat has subsided completely, and the fetus is stable. One more dose of medicine tomorrow will consolidate the treatment, and everything should be fine."

The old lady standing to the side, holding an empty bowl of porridge, beamed from ear to ear: "It's all thanks to you doctors from the city! I was so worried this afternoon, but seeing Xiulan like this, I can finally relax!"

The other women in the family also spoke to Fang Yan and the others at this moment:

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't come in time, we really wouldn't know what to do! Xiulan is pregnant, and yesterday when she was delirious with fever, we were all secretly wiping away tears, thinking that both mother and baby were going to suffer..."

At this moment, the man from the family came over, bent his knees in front of Fang Yan and knelt down on the spot, and then kowtowed on the ground with a thud.

He kept saying thank you.

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

(End of this chapter)