Chapter 83

"That's great, I'll go arrange it right away." After Wan Vice County Magistrate finished speaking, he turned around and was about to order the guards outside to bring two people infected with the plague over.

"Sir, wait a moment, I need that syringe. Has the artisan finished making it?"

So far, the syringe artisans have sent over a few, but they haven't met the standards because the precision of the markings is highly demanding, and it hasn't met the standards after being made several times.

The needles, on the other hand, are progressing smoothly. Making the needles just takes time, but the results have been pretty good.

When Gong Xiaohua first saw the sample, she was quite satisfied and had the blacksmiths prepare over a thousand needles using the sample.

"Has the kiln arranged to send over a sample?" Wan Vice County Magistrate asked the guard outside.

"Reporting sir, the kiln sent over the "syringe" sample Gong Medical Practitioner wanted yesterday, but when I saw Gong Medical Practitioner was busy in the medical hut, I didn't dare disturb her and left it with me." The guard outside said anxiously at this time.

"That's perfect, hurry and bring over the sample."

"Yes sir!"

After a short while, the guard brought over a tray with several syringes on it.

Gong Xiaohua had originally asked the kiln to make syringes in two capacities, 1ml and 20ml dosages respectively.

The 1ml would be used to do a skin test on the patients. If the patients didn't have issues with the skin test, they would then use the 20ml syringe to inject the penicillin into the arm.

After looking over the two syringes on the tray and confirming the capacities were correct, she installed the needles which fit perfectly.

"Sir, it's ready. Please trouble you to isolate a small hut in the courtyard next door and bring over three patients with different symptoms."

"Good, I'll go arrange it now."

Just as he was about to order the guards outside to handle it after finishing speaking, the chief catcher from the yamen suddenly rushed in, drenched in sweat, and said, "Sir, a large crowd of commoners has gathered outside the yamen again, and is about to break in. We'll soon be unable to hold them off!" "What? Hurry, come with me to take a look!" Wan Vice County Magistrate picked up his official robes and anxiously left with the chief catcher for the yamen gates without bidding the others farewell.

The originally plump Wan Vice County Magistrate had become a thin old man after just one month of dealing with the plague epidemic.

Ever since the previous County Magistrate had been removed from office, the new County Magistrate had yet to take up his post before the outbreak happened, leaving all the big and small matters of the county to fall on his shoulders.

He hadn't even returned home during this busy time, and had no time to care about matters there.

He now missed the carefree days he used to have.

Although he was the Vice County Magistrate before, he was feared by his superiors and his powers were limited, so he had lived an idle life.

Upon reaching the yamen gates, the doors were shut with dozens of soldiers stacked in layers blocking the gates.

Continuous banging sounds could be heard from outside the gates, growing louder and seemingly on the verge of breaking through.

Seeing this situation, Wan Vice County Magistrate stood inside the gates and shouted loudly towards the outside, "Fellow villagers, listen to me, we've already found a way to treat the plague!"

His shout was drowned out in the chaos outside without causing a single ripple.

So he exerted all his strength and shouted towards the outside again, "Fellow villagers, we're saved! We're saved!"

The noises outside suddenly stopped at this, and there was silence for over a dozen seconds.

Seeing this, Wan Vice County Magistrate hurriedly said, "We've found a way to treat the plague. We're saved, don't worry everyone, go back home."

"We're all starving to death, why should we believe you? You have to hand over all the food in the yamen today, otherwise we'll tear down your yamen!" A man's voice responded from outside the gates.

"That's right, hand over the food today!" The crowd outside chimed in one after another.

"Fellow villagers, believe me, please give us two days. If we've lied after two days, the yamen gates will be wide open for you all to enter and take the food as you wish."

"How will you prove you've really found a way to treat the plague?"

"This... We'll treat three patients with different symptoms in front of you all. If their plague doesn't improve after two days, then we've lied. What do you think?" Wan Vice County Magistrate thought for a moment before answering.

Outside the gates.

Some people in the rioting crowd were beginning to waver. If the plague could be resolved, everyone wouldn't have to live in fear every day, and life could slowly return to normal.

But some didn't think so. If the plague was cured, the food at home had long run out, and they'd starve to death sooner or later.

At the point of having to choose a way to die, they'd rather die with a full stomach.

Of course, these were people who were lazy gluttons on normal days, so the majority chose to give the yamen two days' time.

"Fine, we'll give you another two days, but we have to personally watch you bring the patients into the yamen for treatment." The leader of the rioters said.

"Alright, retreat first and we'll open the gates."

"Sir, you mustn't!" The chief catcher hurriedly stopped Wan Vice County Magistrate upon hearing this.

"No need to be like this. We've reached this point, so we can only choose to believe, otherwise there's no way forward."

"Yes sir." The chief catcher retreated after thinking it over.

After confirming the rioting commoners had retreated about a dozen meters outside the gates, Wan Vice County Magistrate ordered for the gates to be opened and walked out.

Standing on the steps outside the gates and looking at the emaciated commoners before him, his heart was also uneasy.

If they weren't forced to desperation, who would be willing to risk infection and come out to riot?

"Fellow villagers, don't worry. Gong Medical Practitioner in the yamen has found a way. I firmly believe she'll definitely succeed in treating the plague."

"Is it the Gong Medical Practitioner who boiled us all that medicine to treat colds and coughs at the start? One person in the crowd suddenly asked.

"That's right, it's her."

"I believe in her. Fellow villagers, listen to me. When I first had symptoms, I thought I had caught the plague and was prepared to go to the isolation zone to await death."

A middle-aged man walked out from the crowd and addressed everyone.

"But just then, preventive medicine was distributed to each household in the county, and my family tried giving me a bowl. I didn't expect my symptoms to actually alleviate after a few hours!"

"So I thought not to go to the isolation zone first, and isolated myself at home to try drinking it two more times. Guess what, after drinking it twice more, all my symptoms actually disappeared. Turns out I only had a cold."

"That's right, me too! Thanks to the good medicine boiled by Gong Medical Practitioner, normally a cold wouldn't have gotten better so quickly. If it were usual times, I might have died."

Hearing someone say this, the eyes of many in the crowd began to shine with more light and hope.