Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 88 We need to make money!
"Zhang Shiyuan's Epidemic Prevention Guidance Manual"

A few days ago, when Zhang Lanying was working in the clinic, the clinic's caretaker gave her this booklet and told her that the doctors all learned by following the instructions in the booklet.

If Zhang Lanying wanted to study, she could start by learning from this booklet, which would also be helpful for her work at the clinic.

In fact, Zhang Lanying is able to read some characters. Even though she comes from a farming family, she has an excellent memory. Some characters that the elders in the village taught her are still in her mind.

By asking questions and guessing, she was able to read most of the booklet.

Unfortunately, the booklet contained very little information, so Zhang Lanying had to read it over and over again until she could recite it by heart. In fact, recently, when she saw some patients, she could immediately tell what level of "big head plague" it was and what kind of medicine could be used.

Just as Zhang Lanying was about to review the booklet again, a shout suddenly came from outside.

"Lan Ying! Lan Ying!"

"I'm here!" Zhang Lanying recognized the voice as that of the old woman who was in charge of taking care of patients at the clinic and quickly got up to answer.

But then they heard the old woman's urgent voice.

"Another seriously ill person has arrived outside. Come quickly and help them."

"I'm coming right now."

Zhang Lanying hurriedly packed up the booklet, swept the broom, and ran out in a rush.

For several days in a row, the capital was in chaos. The Beijing garrison and the five city garrisons were on the move, and checkpoints were set up at the seven city gates of the outer city. Patrol officers, in cooperation with doctors trained by medical clinics, verified the identities of the seriously ill refugees and sent them into the city in batches.

A large-scale screening operation was also launched within the city. The sick people in the capital were divided into three levels: mild, moderate and severe. Near Xianyi Ward, an isolation area for patients was set up, which was converted from abandoned garrison barracks and managed in a unified manner using the management model of military camps.

Shuntian Prefecture governed two counties, Daxing and Wanping, and all officials and servants were mobilized to assist in handling various matters.

More than 100 doctors from Renmin Medical Hall were trained and then sent to various places to assist in the prevention and control of the epidemic. Renmin Medical Hall successively established one to fifteen branches, which were spread around Xianyifang.

Xianyifang has become a medical district in the capital.

"This person's face and head are swollen and purplish-red, with high fever and delirium. Immediately send him to the intensive care unit. Take a towel soaked in well water and apply it to his forehead, armpits, and groin."

"This person's head and face are swollen and painful, which is a common symptom. Prescribe Huanglian Huangqin Jiedu Decoction."

Inside Renmin First Medical Clinic, Yang Jishi has now become highly skilled, quickly reviewing and diagnosing one case after another.

A clerk beside him helped him to make simple records of each patient's condition for future data statistics.

However, even with fifteen clinics operating within Xianyi Ward, which could serve approximately 100,000 patients throughout the capital, the clinics were still operating beyond capacity. Even if they could treat 1,000 patients a day, it would still take ten days to see them all.

At this time, the importance of the other medical clinics in the capital became apparent.

Inside the Yang Family Medical Clinic.

Yang Jishi's eldest son, Yang Tiancheng, has been largely cured of his illness after receiving allicin treatment and various traditional Chinese medicine treatments.

"The old gentleman's tongue tip and edges are red, the coating is thin and yellow, and his pulse is floating and rapid. Move him to the mild symptoms area. He should pay attention to his daily routine and wear a mask. I will prescribe a Baihu Tang for him."

Yang Tiancheng quickly examined the elderly man who came for treatment and came to a conclusion.

Beside him was a copy of "Zhang Shiyuan's Epidemic Prevention Guidebook," which summarized the symptoms of various cases of "big head plague" and provided detailed treatment methods. Nowadays, almost every medical clinic in the capital had it.

This book, "Zhang Shiyuan's Epidemic Prevention Guidance Manual," is derived from the recent treatment experience of Renmin Medical Clinic.

The drafter was his father, Yang Jishi.

“Doctor,” the old man said somewhat embarrassedly, “I’ve heard that garlic can cure this bald worm, but it’s sold out all over town. Do you have any here?”

"You mean allicin, right?" Yang Tiancheng said with a smile. "This 'miracle drug' is now only available through government allocation; ordinary clinics don't have it. Your symptoms are relatively mild, so you don't need to take allicin. I'll prescribe you a dose of Baihu Tang to clear heat and promote fluid production. Also, remember to wear a mask more often."

Clearly, even Yang Tiancheng didn't have much "garlic extract".

Yang Tiancheng had long understood from the theoretical teachings of "modern medicine" that "modern medicine" does not mean completely abandoning the past, but rather combining it with traditional medicine and making realistic improvements based on that.

By the end of the morning, more than a hundred people had come to Yang Family Clinic for treatment.

Fortunately, with the establishment of the Xianyi Ward isolation point, most of the critically ill patients in the capital were transferred to the isolation area for specialized treatment by doctors there. Those referred to regular clinics were generally mild to moderate cases. In fact, in recent days, all doctors in the capital have been receiving specialized guidance from Renmin Medical Hall.

Renmin Medical Clinic sent specialists to teach the clinic and also left them a copy of "Zhang Shiyuan's Epidemic Prevention Guidance Manual".

As someone who has personally experienced "garlic extract" and "modern medicine," Yang Tiancheng was saved by garlic extract. Influenced by his father, he naturally had unwavering faith in Zhang Yunxiu.

However, the other doctors in the capital did not share this view; they did not believe Zhang Yunxiu's theories from the very beginning.

But Zhang Yunxiu insisted.

He came up with a unique idea: he commanded a group of imperial guards to search for all the private clinics in the capital.

If a doctor is found to be practicing medicine in violation of the "Guideline Manual", he will not only be punished, but also sent to the intensive care unit of Renmin Medical Center for "internship".

Doctors entering the intensive care unit face the highest risk of infection.

It is also very effective. Doctors who enter the intensive care unit, unless they are stubborn, will surely be convinced by the efficacy of "garicin".

Today, Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu led a team of Imperial Guards, riding horses through the streets and alleys of the capital. Now that the capital was under lockdown, the roads were completely unobstructed.

Upon arriving at each clinic, he would storm in aggressively and conduct a thorough investigation, checking everything from whether the patient possessed a "license to practice medicine" issued after training, to whether the doctor followed the "Zhang Shiyuan Epidemic Prevention Guidelines," and whether the consultation fee was reasonable.

There are hundreds of medical clinics in the capital. Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu has about a hundred people under his command, divided into several teams, who are conducting intensive investigations of these clinics day and night.

Just five days later, all the medical clinics in the capital were using "Zhang Shiyuan's Epidemic Prevention Guidebook," and most of the doctors in the capital were forcefully crammed with Zhang Shiyuan's knowledge through rote learning.

After this ordeal, Zhang Jianxiu was utterly exhausted, but he had no time to rest. As soon as he finished his work, he rushed back to the clinic.

"Brother! Brother!"

He strode into the back hall of Renmin Medical Clinic, his face showing no sign of dissatisfaction, but rather a hint of excitement.

As soon as Zhang Jianxiu opened the door, he found his elder brother Zhang Jingxiu sitting upright at his desk, diligently processing various data documents.

Of course, Zhang Yunxiu wouldn't let go of his brothers' free labor.

The eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, put his pen down on the table and looked at the impetuous Zhang Jianxiu with some disdain, saying, "What are you doing here? Fifth brother has already made arrangements. I will assist the clinics with various documents within this government office, second brother will assist the Five Cities Garrison and the Beijing Garrison with the allocation of displaced people, third brother will assist Father with various government documents, and you will be inspecting the clinics outside."

When he said this, Zhang Jingxiu had a strange expression on his face. Although this was also his father Zhang Juzheng's arrangement, he never expected that in just a few months, Zhang Yunxiu, who was originally absurd, would actually do such a great thing!

No, my fifth brother is also quite absurd now, but ironically, his absurdity is more impressive than others' serious work.

I've heard that these past few days, this kid has been in that laboratory again, leading a group of imperial physicians to research how to give people acupuncture.
"Big brother! Big brother!" Zhang Jianxiu called out to Zhang Jingxiu, who was in a daze, and when he came to his senses, he asked with expectant eyes.

"You're also in charge of the clinic's accounts, so tell me quickly, how many taels of silver have we collected for our VIP services lately?"

Zhang Jianxiu was in a hurry! This was his life and fortune. Saving the people in the city was very important, but if he lost the money, he, Zhang Jianxiu, would not survive even without contracting the plague.

The eldest brother, Zhang Jingxiu, saw through his fourth brother's thoughts, sighed, and opened the accounts at hand.

"It's not much. Last time, we recruited more than 20 noble people, each receiving about 1,500 taels, which brought in about 30,000 taels of silver. Recently, we recruited more than 10 more, bringing the total to about 50,000 taels."

"So much silver!" Zhang Jianxiu's eyes widened, and he even felt less tired. The pain from his recent travels in the city had also vanished without a trace.

We've struck it rich! That's a whopping fifty thousand taels of silver! My father, Zhang Juzheng, has never brought back so much silver in all these years!

If Zhang Yunxiu could give him 50,000 taels of silver, Zhang Jianxiu would be willing to directly acknowledge Zhang Yunxiu as his father, even if it meant the current Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng!
But his elder brother, Zhang Jingxiu, poured cold water on his enthusiasm without any mercy.

"Do you know how much silver we've been spending lately? More than 100,000 patients in and around the capital are all crammed into this Renmin Medical Hall for treatment. Even with the 50,000 taels allocated by the Imperial Court and the Ministry of Revenue to purchase various supplies, masks, and mobilize so much manpower and resources, 100,000 taels of silver is still not enough, and it might not even be enough!"

Zhang Jianxiu, however, did not give up and said, "We can bring more dignitaries. There must be more than just these few dignitaries who are ill in the capital. What marquises, earls, and officials of the court? There must be someone in their family who is sick."

Zhang Jingxiu said irritably, "These people have money and medicine. If they weren't forced to, why would they come to our Renmin Medical Clinic?"

He sighed again.

"These days, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital hate our family to the core. It's good enough if they don't cause trouble, let alone think about sending us money."

(End of this chapter)