Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 428 Drought and Disease
Doctor Chen was worried about Kuandian and was anxious to go back, so on the third day after Qu Shaoyang returned to Maoer Mountain, the Chen family packed up and prepared to leave.

Qu Shaoyang had just returned, and there were a lot of things going on in the yamen, so he couldn't escort him personally.

So fifty or sixty guards were arranged to escort Doctor Chen and his family back to Kuandian.

After the Chen family left, Qu Shaoyang went to the inspection office and planned to discuss with everyone matters such as expanding the office and recruiting officials.

Now that Qu Shaoyang has been promoted to the Inspector General of the Eastern Circuit, his jurisdiction has expanded and more manpower is needed.

The original yamen was too small and no longer sufficient, so it had to be expanded.

Everyone was discussing where to choose the location for the Inspectorate's Office when suddenly a policeman ran in hurriedly.

"Sir, Mr. Chen, the magistrate of Tonghua, has arrived with a group of officials."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and didn't understand why County Magistrate Chen brought people here.

"Go and invite Lord Chen in." Qu Shaoyang could probably guess what was going on, so he nodded to everyone and signaled them to leave first.

Then Qu Shaoyang straightened his official uniform and walked out slowly.

Just as Qu Shaoyang reached the door of the main hall, County Magistrate Chen, accompanied by County Magistrate Lin, Chief Clerk Cao and others, were walking quickly towards them.

When Qu Shaoyang saw everyone, he took two quick steps and came closer.

"Hey, Master Chen, Master Lin, Master Cao, how come you have time to come to Maoer Mountain?
I was just discussing something and didn't come to greet you. Please don't mind, sirs." Qu Shaoyang said with a smile on his face.

"No, no, I dare not. Your Excellency, the Inspector General, has led the army to fight against the Japanese invaders. It is really hard work. I dare not trouble you.

I have learned that Mr. Qu has been appointed as the Inspector General and Training Commander of the Eastern Circuit, so I have come to congratulate you."

County Magistrate Chen led a group of officials and bowed respectfully.

"Hey, Master Chen, Master Lin, what are you doing?
We have known each other for so many years and are old friends, why should we be so formal?

Shaoyang is young, and you are all my elder brothers, so this is not right." Qu Shaoyang saw this and quickly reached out to help County Magistrate Chen.

Life's circumstances are unpredictable.

No one expected that a small inspector would become an inspector-general, a fourth-rank official, in just a few years.

At first, Qu Shaoyang had to be polite and salutatory when he met these people. But now the situation has changed. The people are still the same, but the ones doing the salutations have changed.

"No, no, I dare not be arrogant in front of the inspector.

If I have done anything wrong to you in the past, I hope you will be magnanimous and not take it personally."

County Magistrate Chen had already received the document from the Ministry of Personnel. At the same time, Zhang Xiulan also sent someone to deliver a letter to him.

County Magistrate Chen understood that the young man in front of him was no longer the little inspector he used to be.

He is now a fourth-rank official, the commander of the Dingbian Army, and the confidant and right-hand man of the Taotai. How can a mere county magistrate like him look down on him?

"Sir Qu, these are just some small gifts from us. Although they are not meant to be a token of respect, I hope you will accept them."

As soon as County Magistrate Chen turned around, the officers behind him quickly brought over a few boxes.

Over the years, County Magistrate Chen and others have benefited a lot from Qu Shaoyang.

Now Qu Shaoyang has risen rapidly in the world and has become a famous figure and a new upstart in the East Road. When County Magistrate Chen and others heard the news, they were all worried.

They were afraid that Qu Shaoyang would come back to settle the score with them and make things difficult for them.

So after receiving the document from the court, he immediately prepared gifts and came to congratulate.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing?
We have been close friends for many years, and your behavior makes me feel ashamed.

Come, come, please come in, gentlemen, let's go in and sit down and talk."

Qu Shaoyang didn't even look at the gifts. He just greeted everyone warmly and walked into the main hall together.

Everyone took their seats as host and guest, the servants brought them tea, and Qu Shaoyang chatted with County Magistrate Chen and others.

"I just came back and had too many things to do at home. I haven't had time to go to the county town to visit you brothers. Unexpectedly, you guys came to me first.

Hey guys, long time no see, is everything okay at home? "

Qu Shaoyang's personality is such that he wouldn't turn his back on others once he gains power.

No matter what time or what position you are in, it is always a good idea to make friends.

Many friends mean many roads, many enemies mean many walls.

Who can guarantee that none of you here will be successful in the future? No matter when, you have to maintain good interpersonal relationships.

"Okay, okay, everything is fine at home.

Fortunately, we had the governor and the inspector who led the troops to fight against the Japanese pirates and controlled the pirates to the west of Kuandian. At least we in Tonghua did not suffer from the war.

Otherwise, the people would have suffered and lived in misery, how could we have the peace and stability we have today? Your Excellency has worked hard and made great contributions, and the people are grateful for your kindness. "

County Magistrate Chen nodded quickly and said that there was a hint of flattery in his words, which made Qu Shaoyang a little uncomfortable for a moment.

Qu Shaoyang understood that these people would not be able to adapt in a short period of time, so he did not say much and just chatted with everyone with a smile.

While everyone was talking, Qu Shaoyang called a runner and asked him to deliver a letter to the Qu family.

Tell Chen Xiuyun that a distinguished guest has arrived and ask the family to prepare a sumptuous banquet so that they can go back and eat later.

"My dear brothers, we haven't seen each other for a while. You are not allowed to leave today. Let's have a good gathering and not leave until we are drunk."

It was difficult for County Magistrate Chen and others to refuse Qu Shaoyang's kindness.

Besides, since they were already here, they had to go to Qu's house, visit Qu Shaoyang's parents, and get closer to them.

In this way, everyone chatted for a while in the yamen, and when it was about time, they went to Qu's house together.

At the Qu family's side, after receiving the news, Chen Xiuyun went to the kitchen personally to watch over it, and quickly asked someone to go out and find some rare ingredients, and busily prepared them.

When Qu Shaoyang and the others came back, everything in the kitchen had been prepared. They served various snacks, dried and fresh fruits, tea, etc., and they ate while chatting.

Doctor Chen had already left, so Qu Shaoyang asked someone to invite Liu Dongshan and Qu Laokouer over.

County Magistrate Chen and others had long heard that Qu Shaoyang had a master who was both civil and military, so when they saw Liu Dongshan, they were particularly polite.

After all, Liu Dongshan had traveled far and wide and had seen all kinds of situations, so he was not afraid and had a good chat with everyone.

As for Qu Laokuer, his vision and experience were quite limited, so he felt a little uncomfortable when he suddenly saw so many officials.

The Qu family prepared a sumptuous banquet, and Qu Shaoyang joined everyone in drinking.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone relaxed a lot and was no longer as reserved as at the beginning. The atmosphere at the banquet returned to normal.

The drinking session lasted from noon to afternoon. In the end, County Magistrate Chen and others were drunk and were sent to the guest room to rest.

County Magistrate Chen and his companions left the next day, but Qu Shaoyang finally left the gifts behind. "Wife, later, please check the contents of those boxes and put them in the account book.

If you have any problems in the future, remember to return the gifts." Qu Shaoyang was busy with the affairs of the government office, so he told Chen Xiuyun about all these.

"By the way, yesterday County Magistrate Chen said that they couldn't take care of the gold mine in Damiaogou, so they planned to hand it over to me.

I thought about it and decided that this was not something that could be kept secret.

Later, we will report both the Sandaogou and Mantianxing gold mines to Lord Zhang, and we will pay all the taxes we owe to the court."

Qu Shaoyang is now the tax supervisor of Dongbiandao, so this gold mine should also go through formal procedures, otherwise it will be a handle.

If someone finds out in the future, I'm afraid I'll be in trouble.

"Didn't the imperial court say that mining is not allowed? Will you get into trouble if you report this to your superiors?" Chen Xiuyun asked as she was tidying up Qu Shaoyang's official uniform.

"It's okay, things are not like before.

Now the imperial court has to pay compensation to Japan and also has bank debts and so on, so it would like to open a few more mines.

I heard that General Yiktang'a of Shengjing requested to open the Fengtian gold mine. General Enze of Jilin also requested to send people to explore the Sanxing gold mine.

In addition, I heard that all kinds of minerals were lifted, and the government issued licenses to allow merchants and civilians to mine.

I thought, this is a good opportunity to get licenses for several gold mines in the name of Third Brother, you, Master, and the rest of you."

Although County Magistrate Chen is not a high-ranking official, he is very well-informed.

When they were drinking together yesterday, County Magistrate Chen said a lot of things, and Qu Shaoyang remembered them all.

"Oh, fine then, I'll follow your arrangements.

It is always more convenient to have a license. No matter how much tax you pay, you will still have more left over. ” Chen Xiuyun thought about it and realized that this was the truth.

We didn’t pay taxes before, but every year we had to pay a lot of money to County Magistrate Chen, Yu Liang and others.

The couple chatted for a while, and then Qu Shaoyang went to the government office to do his work.

After discussion among everyone, it was decided to merge the original inspection office and the wood tax office into one place, and then expand it a little to the side.

After agreeing on the address, the next step was to recruit workers and build the house. Add to that a few miscellaneous things, and Qu Shaoyang was busy like a top all day long.

In the blink of an eye, the leap month of May passed and June came.

But unexpectedly, after June, the weather became very hot, it didn't rain, and the ground was about to crack.

In order to prevent the crops in the fields from dying of drought, the people thought of various ways, and some even went to the river to fetch water to irrigate the fields.

The most terrible thing was not this, but the sudden outbreak of epidemics in Andong, Xiuyan, Fenghuangcheng, Kuandian and other places, killing countless people.

The situation was particularly serious in Dadonggou and Shahe Town, where there was not even enough time to bury the coffins. The people carrying the coffins collapsed and died before they even reached the cemetery.

"Wife, Lord Zhang and my elder brother have sent me a letter saying that there has been an outbreak of disease in many places under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Province.
The worst hit areas are Dadonggou and Shahezi, where many people have died. You should hurry up and prepare some herbs, as I have to go to Phoenix City immediately."

When Qu Shaoyang received the news, he knew that something was wrong, so he immediately went home to discuss it with Chen Xiuyun.

"Epidemic? What kind of epidemic? Did Brother mention the symptoms in the letter?"

Chen Xiuyun was feeding her child. When she heard this, she hurriedly handed the child to Bai Zhi and the others.

"This is the letter. I read what it says. The patient is vomiting and having diarrhea, and what he excreted is like water." Qu Shaoyang handed the letter to Chen Xiuyun and asked her to read it.

After reading the letter, Chen Xiuyun looked solemn, "Looking at the symptoms, it seems to be Ziwu Sha."

"What is Ziwu Sha?" Qu Shaoyang didn't quite understand it, so he asked.

"This disease comes on suddenly. For no apparent reason, I start having diarrhea and vomiting. The stool is like rice water and I can't control it.

When pulled back, the patient's eye sockets became sunken, his skin became dry, and then he died.

Because this disease is very dangerous, it is also called tiger-wolf disease." Chen Xiuyun explained.

After listening to Chen Xiuyun's description, Qu Shaoyang felt that the disease was like cholera, a disease caused by Vibrio cholerae.

Patients are usually infected by drinking contaminated water and food, and then their feces contaminate water sources and spread the disease to other people.

This disease is prone to occur in summer and autumn, especially in dirty and chaotic places or where war has broken out.

The eastern part of the country had just experienced war and was hit by drought, making it a place where cholera was likely to occur.

But Qu Shaoyang was not a medical student, so he was not sure it was cholera.

“No matter what disease it is, as long as it is contagious, it must be isolated.

So, hurry up and take your men to prepare the herbs. I will pass the order down and order the border troops and the militia to cooperate and block all the main roads, and don't allow people from outside to come here."

At present, no patients have been found in Maoershan and other places, so measures must be taken as soon as possible to prevent the problem from happening.

"Let someone pack my things. I have to go to Phoenix."

At this time, it is useless to just rely on the doctor. Compulsory measures must be taken to isolate the patients to ensure that no more people are infected.

Zhang Xiulan sent a message to Qu Shaoyang with the same intention, hoping that Qu Shaoyang would mobilize the Dingbian Army and the militia to cooperate with the doctor in the treatment.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." The matter was urgent, Chen Xiu Yu did not dare to delay, and immediately took people to prepare.

Qu Shaoyang also arranged people to block the intersection and sent people to Tonghua to notify County Magistrate Chen, asking him to take measures as soon as possible.

After arranging all these, Qu Shaoyang mobilized two thousand Dingbian troops, packed their bags, and planned to go to Phoenix City.

"Shaoyang, I'll go with you this time. Maybe I can help."

When Qu Shaoyang went home to get his luggage, Chen Xiuyun said with a determined look.

Chen Xiuyun's medical skills are superb, no worse than Doctor Chen's. Maybe she can help if she goes there.

Another thing is that Chen Xiuyun was worried about her parents, brothers, sister-in-law and others, so she had to go over and take a look, hopefully helping them find a way to treat the disease.

"Wife, if you and I go out, what will happen to the family?
Genquan and Lingling are still young. They are not even one year old yet. Are you willing to abandon them?"

Qu Shaoyang also knew that his wife was a very good doctor and she would definitely be helpful if she went there.

But the child is too young. What will happen to the child if both of them go out?
"It's okay, I've arranged everything, my mother and my master's wife will help take care of it.
They are all grown up and can eat a lot. If all else fails, we can feed them with goat's milk or find a wet nurse to feed them. At least they won't starve.

No matter what, I must go with you this time. I can't let you take risks again." Chen Xiuyun was firm.
The child is at home with so many people taking care of him, so he must be fine.

But Qu Shaoyang was away from home and he didn’t know any medical knowledge. What if he got infected?
"Okay, since you've made all the arrangements, let's go together."

Qu Shaoyang knew Chen Xiuyun's temper very well. Although his wife was usually gentle and easy to talk to, once she made up her mind about something, no matter how others persuaded her, it was useless.

In this way, the couple led a large number of followers and guards, pulled several carts of medicinal materials, and left the Qu family.

(End of this chapter)