Chapter 113 Research Directions and Northern Guangxi County
Friday, July 1957, 8.

On this day, in the auditorium of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Hundreds of people sat below, listening carefully to President Lu's speech on the stage.

“Comrades, a few days ago, the state issued a directive that all hospitals, clinics, and health centers would mobilize a group of medical workers to go to the southern provinces and cities to assist them in the prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis.

Our Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine naturally cannot fall behind. After discussion among the D organization and leaders of the institute, it was finally decided that our institute would dispatch a quarter of its staff to provide support in advance.

Those who go to provide support are expected to stay in the south for six to eight months before returning to Beijing. And if necessary, the second batch will take over after the first batch of comrades return.

This time, the country is determined to completely eliminate this disease once and for all, so this task is very arduous for everyone."

As he spoke, he slowly swept his eyes across the audience, and seeing that no one showed any fear on their faces, he continued:

"You are all doctors, so you must be very aware of the dangers of this mission. Therefore, the first batch of people to provide support will be selected based on volunteers, with D personnel given priority."

Wang Mengde sat in the audience, listening to what President Lu said on the stage while thinking in his heart.

A few days ago, the organization approved his completion of the probation period ahead of schedule and he was officially converted to a D member.

Moreover, Mr. Pu also told him yesterday that this time when he goes to provide support, President Lu will arrange for him to go to Shanghai, where the conditions are good and the danger is not high.

Wang Mengde also roughly understood what President Lu meant. After all, he was a rising star in the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and would become a leading figure in traditional Chinese medicine in the future. Naturally, he did not want to take the risk of going too deep into the serious epidemic area.

He had a different opinion in his mind. Going to Shanghai would naturally be very comfortable, but there are pros and cons. The conditions in Shanghai are good, which may be something that others would love to have.

However, he was unwilling to do so as he was determined to find a way to prevent and treat schistosomiasis.

If he went to Shanghai, various meetings would take up too much of his energy, and there would be too many people giving orders, so he would not have much energy to do research.

The places he most wanted to go were the two lakes or the provinces of Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, etc. These places had a large number of patients, complicated situations in different places, and had been plagued by schistosomiasis for a long time.

In this kind of first-tier mountainous area, there is little interference from external factors, so he can let go and do his work.

Soon, President Lu finished his speech, and then Vice President Shi began to explain the rules for selecting support personnel.

"Among those who will go to support this time, in addition to giving priority to D members, we will also give priority to those who have written applications. Judging from the number of applications we have received, it far exceeds the number of people who need support.

Therefore, taking into account the long-term need to travel through mountains and rivers in the south, age requirements were also set. Those who were too old would stay in the capital and leave the opportunities to the young people.

As for where each person will go, the institute has also made preliminary arrangements. After the meeting, the list of relevant personnel and the places they will go will be communicated to the specific personnel by the heads of each research institute or department.

If you have any objections or questions, you can communicate with the relevant person in charge first. If you can't solve it, come to my office directly to find me."

After the meeting, Wang Mengde and Pu Lao returned to the office together.

Before I could sit down properly, Ma Yi, the director of internal medicine at the Institute of Internal Medicine, walked in.

"Director Ma." Wang Mengde stood up and greeted him.

"Mr. Pu, Xiao Wang." Ma Yi also greeted them with a smile, and then explained: "I came here mainly to communicate with Xiao Wang. This time, the research institute assigned you to Shanghai for support. Do you have any objection?"

"Director Ma, this is just a small matter. I'm sorry to bother you to come over. If you have anything to ask, just tell me to come over." Wang Mengde said politely, and then said:

"Director Ma, as the first person to write an application, if I go to Shanghai, it may cause everyone's morale to drop. I would like to apply to go to the worst-affected area in the south, preferably a place with mountains and water."

Ma Yi didn't expect that he would refuse to go to such a good place as Shanghai, and he didn't react for a while.

After making sure that Wang Mengde was not joking, he looked at Pu Lao with an embarrassed expression.

Letting Wang Mengde go to Shanghai or somewhere else was not something he could decide. It was something that had already been decided by several deans and vice deans. He was at most a communicator.

"Hey, Director Ma, since Meng De wants to go to the severely affected area, why don't you report the situation to Vice President Shi?"

Pu Lao naturally saw his difficulties, so he spoke.

In fact, he also agreed with Wang Mengde's idea. Only by going deep into the front line can research results be achieved. In the prosperous Shanghai, it would be just a formality at most.

Instead of wasting half a year, it would be better to go to local areas and treat more people.

Moreover, he also had a hope in his heart that this outstanding student could really find a solution and completely eradicate the disease that had troubled the south for thousands of years.

As for the danger, he believed that with Wang Mengde's medical skills and knowledge of schistosomiasis, as long as they took good precautions in daily life, they would basically not be infected.

Hearing Master Pu speaking, Ma Yi was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Master Pu, I will listen to you and report to Vice President Shi right away."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

"Director Ma, please wait a moment. Let Meng De go with you." Seeing that he was in a hurry to leave, Mr. Pu stopped him again.

"Okay, it would be better if Xiao Wang went with me."

Ma Yi said with a smile.

With the real boss following him, it was easier for him to go to Vice President Shi.

In Vice President Shi's office, when he heard that Wang Mengde was unwilling to go to Shanghai and wanted to go to the mountains, he asked in surprise: "Xiao Wang, the facilities in Shanghai are not only complete, but also more advanced. Wouldn't it be better to do research there?"

"Vice President Shi, I want to go to the front line to treat patients and personally observe the habits of schistosomiasis. This way I can have a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding and find a solution."

Wang Mengde said.

Seeing his persistence, Vice President Shi nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "Well, you go back first. I need to report this matter to President Lu. I will tell you when there is a result."

"By the way, do you have a specific place you want to go?"

"Vice President Shi, I recently learned about the distribution of schistosomiasis in the south. There is a county called Guibei at the border of Hunan and Guangxi. The disease is very serious there. It is also a mountainous area with abundant water sources. I want to go there."

Wang Mengde replied.

Guibei County, which is Quanzhou County in later generations, is the hometown of his wife in his previous life. He wanted to go there to confirm whether he could find her elders.

"Okay, I understand." Vice President Shi said.

The two were about to turn around and leave when Xia Yiqing knocked on the door and walked in.

When he saw Ma Yi and Wang Mengde were there, he was stunned. He didn't expect to meet these two.

"Vice President Shi, Director Ma." Xia Yiqing greeted the two leaders, then turned to look at Wang Mengde. Seeing his face, he couldn't help but feel angry. Then he said with a fake smile, "Xiao Wang, I heard that you are going to Shanghai to provide support this time. You are a backbone of our institute. You must work hard and strive to achieve some results when you go there."

Wang Mengde naturally heard the sarcasm in his words. He thought to himself, you are asking for trouble, so don't blame yourself.

"Deputy Director Xia, I'm not going to Shanghai anymore. I came to see the leader because I want to be transferred to a severely affected area. By the way, you should also be here to see the leader to change places, right?"

Wang Mengde said with a smile.

"Uh..." Xia Yiqing's face twitched. If he hadn't had good control, he would have burst into curses. That's why he was unwilling to apply for a change of location.

The place he went to this time, although not as good as Shanghai, was also a good place. It was a city in Su Province next to Shanghai.

There are not many patients in that city, and it is close to Shanghai and has good economic conditions. He plans to treat this trip as a vacation.

Now, Wang Mengde had outwitted him. Seeing that Vice President Shi was looking at him, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and said with a forced smile, "Haha, yes, that's what I meant."

After saying this, he felt extremely uncomfortable and secretly cursed himself for being so mean. Why did he talk to Wang Mengde in Vice President Shi’s office? Now, he was trapped and couldn’t get down.

"Okay, Deputy Director Xia is indeed an old comrade, and he has a high level of awareness. Since you have this idea, I will report it to President Lu together."

Vice President Shi said happily.

"Thank you, Vice President Shi. I'll go back first."

Xia Yiqing kept smiling and quickly expressed his gratitude.

As soon as he got out of the door, his face turned pale in an instant. He regretted his decision deeply and thought carefully, trying to see if there was any way to remedy the situation.

Unfortunately, after thinking for a long time, I still had no clue, so I had to go back to my office.

As for his original plan to apply to Vice President Shi to transfer one of his students to the same city as his own, he naturally forgot about it.

Back to the office.

Pu Lao was reading a book. When he saw him coming in, he put down the book and said, "Meng De, you will be going to the south in ten days. Do you have any specific plans for this trip? Where do you plan to start?"

"Sir, after so many days of understanding, I think that for schistosomiasis, we need to take both prevention and treatment. There are now more than 10 million patients in the south, and we urgently need some effective prescriptions to save their lives.

At the same time, prevention is also very urgent, especially for Oncomelania snails, the only intermediate host of schistosomes, which are widely distributed in southern regions. They lurk in gullies in fields and conceal themselves in cracks in rocks and grass beside mountain streams.

People are in contact with water at any time when farming in paddy fields and in their daily lives, and are easily infected without knowing it. It is not easy to attract attention, and a large number of people are infected every day. "

Wang Mengde said without hesitation.

These are the questions he has been thinking about frequently recently, so he just opens his mouth and says them.

“Yes, prevention and treatment go hand in hand, but it is too difficult to find a cure. Over the years, from ancient times to the present, many smart and talented people have not found any good methods.

And snail eradication is indeed an urgent matter. Now in some places in the south, the masses are being mobilized to dig ditches and canals, bury the old river channels, and dig new ones.

This method has indeed had a very good effect, but unfortunately there is no way to promote it, because it is not only very expensive, but also if the snails cannot be completely eradicated, they will still be spread to new rivers in a few years. "

Pu Lao pinched his beard and said with a frown.

Recently he has also been thinking about the problem of schistosomiasis. Even famous Chinese medicine experts have no good solution.

"Sir, this time is different. The country is very determined and has invested a lot. Didn't the newspaper say that it is expected to call on more than 300,000 doctors to rush to various parts of the south?

With so many people working together, maybe we can find a solution. Even if we don’t, we can eliminate snails in large numbers and control schistosomiasis within a small area.”

Wang Mengde comforted him.

Now he was the only one who understood that it was this time, with the whole nation’s efforts and after several years, that the schistosomiasis that had plagued the South for thousands of years was finally almost eliminated.

Moreover, through the space, he looked up the prevention and treatment of this disease in later generations. Combining it with his own medical skills in this life, he had some idea in his mind.

That's why he dared to apply and sign up to go to the southern epidemic area.

"I hope so. If it really turns out to be as you said, I won't have any regrets." Mr. Pu said solemnly.

When he was in Sichuan Province, he often treated patients with schistosomiasis and was well aware of the serious harm caused by this disease.

back home.

At the dinner table, Wang Hao had a strange expression on his face. He put down his chopsticks and said to Wang Mengde, "Mengde, has your research institute already held a mobilization meeting?

Our hospital also held a mobilization meeting today, and I, the deputy director, also signed up, but was excluded in the end. It must be the reason you mentioned. "

Next to her, Ran Xiaomei had a happy expression on her face, but then she thought that her son would have to go to the south for such a long time, and she felt sad again.

"Yes, Dad, we have also held a mobilization meeting. The time has been set. We will set off at the beginning of next month." Wang Mengde said softly.

"We'll be leaving at the beginning of next month, so it won't be long."

Ran Xiaomei said hurriedly.

It's almost the end of the month, and there are only ten days left.

"Well, tomorrow I'll go to the grocery store and ask Xiao Guo to buy some meat. We can eat better these days."

At night, both of them were exhausted. After cleaning up, they lay on the bed. He Shengnan weakly fanned the two children with a palm-leaf fan, whispering:
"Meng De, you'll be gone for such a long time this time, remember to write home every month."

"Well, I will write you at least once a month. Please take care of the family and the children."

"Don't worry, I'm at home."

Early September.

Since the No. 5/6 express train from Beijing to Guangxi Province would not be opened until June 59, they took the sleeper train from Beijing to Changsha, Hunan Province.

Wang Mengde and Qian Dayong were sitting together on the lower bunk. Seeing that Wang Mengde had several packets of Chinese herbal medicine in his bag, he asked curiously:
"Meng De, why are you still carrying Chinese herbs?"

"Brother Dayong, you will understand when you arrive in Guibei County, Guangxi Province." Wang Mengde did not explain immediately, but said mysteriously.

(End of this chapter)