Chapter 119: New Year and Land Surveying

As schistosomiasis patients receive effective treatment, more and more people are cured.

Wang Mengde felt that the mental outlook of the people around him was getting better and better.

Especially the locals, they no longer get scared when talking about schistosomiasis, nor are they taboo about these words.

Time slowly passed into February of 1958, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the Little New Year in the South.

In the morning, the Wenqiao Township Guesthouse was decorated with lights and the medical staff who came to support the work worked together, some cleaning and some preparing meals.

They are ready to adapt to local customs and celebrate the Southern New Year again.

In fact, yesterday, which was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, these people had already celebrated the Northern New Year's Eve.

As for the patients in the village, they are all staying in the guesthouse, and there is no need to worry. In the past few months, most people no longer need to take medicine, and there are not many new patients. Basically, they only need to go once every two or three days.

Wang Mengde estimated that after the Chinese New Year, they might have to evacuate from here in batches.

"Meng De, Taozi, our fellow villagers from Chitang Village are here to bring us cured meat, cured chicken and cured duck." Outside the door, Qian Dayong, wrapped in a cotton coat and holding an umbrella, hurried in and said to him.

Wang Mengde was concentrating on cutting vegetables. When he heard that someone was coming from Chitang Village, he quickly put down the kitchen knife.

"Brother Dayong, who is here?"

There are nearly four hundred people in Chitang Village, and over the past few months, he has become familiar with each of them.

"Chief Jiang, and the other three chiefs, are bringing more than 20 people and carrying a lot of things. Let's go out and welcome them quickly." Qian Dayong said.

"Ah, why are they all here? The road is so slippery in this weather and raining so hard."

The youngest of the four clan leaders is in his fifties. If something unexpected happens on the road, it will be a difficult year.

Thinking of this, Wang Mengde hurried out with the two of them.

When we got outside, we saw a group of more than 20 people from Chitang Village. Some of them were holding umbrellas, some were wearing straw raincoats and hats, and they were carrying a lot of things in their hands.

"Uncles, why are you here on a rainy day?"

Seeing the four clan leaders in the lead, Wang Mengde hurriedly stepped forward to support them, then complained in a low voice.

"Come inside and avoid the rain."

"Haha, why can't we come? Today is the Little New Year in the south. You kids have come from afar to support us. You have worked hard these past few months.

Thanks to you, most of the dozens of people in our village who had schistosomiasis have recovered, and the remaining few are basically fine."

Patriarch Jiang said with a ruddy face, pointing at what the young man behind him was holding:

"It just so happens that during the Little New Year, the three of them and I discussed it and decided to bring you some of our special New Year goods. These are smoked bacon, chicken and duck, which you can't eat in the north."

After several months of treatment, all the patients in Chitang Village, except for a few seriously ill patients, are now fine. The children’s recovery in particular made Chief Jiang very happy.

"Uncle Jiang, we have no shortage of food here. In the past few days, our superiors have specially allocated a large amount of supplies so that we can have a good New Year.

You can take this meat back later to supplement the children's nutrition. They have just recovered and need nutrition. We will take the green vegetables, winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms, but you have to pay for them. "

After entering the house, Wang Mengde said with a smile.

"Yes, we want the vegetables." Qian Dayong also said.

At this time of year, if you are in Beijing, you can hardly see any green vegetables on the market except cabbage. But in Guangxi Province, due to the climate, even in winter, there will be several kinds of green vegetables to eat in the vegetable fields.

"Give us money? We deliver the goods here, and we still ask you to pay for it. Isn't that a slap in our face?"

Before Chief Jiang could speak, Chief Hu next to him raised his head and said with an unhappy expression.

"Uncle Hu, this is an organizational discipline. We cannot take things from the masses," Wang Mengde explained.

He and Qian Dayong were both members of the organization. If they accepted things from their fellow villagers without paying, it would be a serious violation of discipline.

"Nonsense, since you guys came to our village, you have helped us so much, this little thing is not even a fraction of the favor, how can it be called a violation of discipline."

Chief Hu blew his beard and glared.

After saying that, he directed the young man behind him to put the New Year's goods they brought in the corner.

His little grandson was infected with schistosomiasis a year ago. He was prepared to leave it to fate, but unexpectedly he was cured by Wang Mengde two or three months ago.

Now, every day when he sees his ten-year-old grandson jumping around him and looking healthy, his heart is filled with gratitude.

Looking at the seven or eight kilograms of cured meat, three pieces of cured chicken and cured duck each, two large pork elbows, and a large amount of green vegetables and winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms, Wang Mengde and the other two looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

Just when the three of them were in trouble, Hu Danian happened to hear about this and rushed over.

After briefly understanding the situation, he said cheerfully: "It feels like everyone has sent us so many good things, so we will accept them."

As he said this, he instructed the staff of the guesthouse to move the New Year's goods to the back kitchen.

"That's right."

Seeing that the things were collected, the four clan leaders said happily.

After chatting for a while, Patriarch Jiang sat on a chair, holding a tea bowl in his hand, and said to Wang Mengde and the other two:
"Doctor Xiao Wang, Doctor Xiao Qian, and Doctor Xiao Zhu, please come to Chitang Village and celebrate the New Year with us this year."

"This..." Wang Mengde looked at Hu Danian with an embarrassed expression.

In fact, he also wanted to go to Chi Pond Village to celebrate the New Year, but what would others think if they went to Chi Pond Village.

"Haha, go ahead. You will probably have to go back in a while. I don't know how long it will take for you to come here again. Before you leave, you can experience the customs and habits of the New Year in Guangxi Province."

Hu Danian said with a smile.

Then he turned to Chief Jiang and said, "There is one condition for the three of them to go to your village. You must agree to it. That is, they need to bring food coupons and money with them."

Seeing that Patriarch Jiang and his men were about to refute, he quickly added, "If they don't agree, they will definitely not go."

After thinking for a while and confirming with the other three people, Patriarch Jiang nodded heavily and said, "Okay, it's settled then."

After the discussion, they saw that the rain had stopped outside and went out and back.

Without waiting for them to ask, Hu Danian took the initiative to explain with a smile: "These are gifts from the villagers to thank you. If you don't accept them, they will be unhappy.

Of course, we will not do anything that violates discipline. These things are considered as the guesthouse's purchases. I will arrange for someone to record them, estimate the price, and find an opportunity to compensate them according to the price in the future."

After hearing what he said, everyone felt relieved.

At the same time, thinking of the large amount of chicken, duck, fish and meat that had just been delivered, their stomachs suddenly became hungry, and one by one they actively started washing vegetables and cooking.

In the morning, not only Chitang Village, but also many other villages sent people to deliver a large amount of New Year goods. Hu Danian accepted all the orders and soon the warehouse of the guesthouse was filled with delicious food.

In the evening, dozens of people gathered together and had a sumptuous dinner, and everyone drank a little rice wine.

Although the alcohol content of rice wine is not high, only about 20 degrees, it has a strong aftertaste. Not long after, several people who could not drink much could not hold it anymore. They hurriedly ate something and went back to their room to lie down.

Wang Mengde had a good alcohol tolerance. He drank about a pound of rice wine by himself, and at the end he only felt slightly tipsy.

Back in his room, he sat on the floor and carefully took out an envelope from the package.

Today, he received the eighth letter from the capital.

This letter was still written to him by He Shengnan. In addition to telling him that everything was fine at home, every word in the letter was filled with longing.

Counting the time, he has been in the south for about five months, and his two sons are now about one and a half years old.

He Shengnan told him that her two sons had grown up strong due to adequate nutrition and had already started calling him dad.

After reading the contents of the letter again, Wang Mengde folded the letter paper and took out a few photos from the envelope.

Among these photos, there are family photos except him, photos of his wife and two sons, and photos of the two sons alone.

Looking at the photo in his hand, Wang Mengde fell into silence for a moment.

He is homesick.

I miss my parents, younger brother, wife, and two sons even more.

Just when he was feeling sentimental, Qian Dayong and Zhu Tao staggered into the house.

Leaning his head and seeing the photo in his hand, Zhu Tao said with a smile: "Brother Meng De, this is a letter from home, and there are even photos."

He has just turned twenty years old, which is the age when he loves to play. Besides, he has not married yet, so he does not feel homesick yet.

"Yes, I received a letter from home." Wang Mengde calmed himself down and replied.

"belch."

After a burp, Qian Dayong said with blurry eyes: "Hey, the letter from my family arrived last month. I don't know when it will be delivered this month."

He is older than Wang Mengde and already has two children at home.

"Brother Dayong, don't worry. The capital is so far away from here, it's normal to arrive a few days late." Wang Mengde knew that he also missed home, so he comforted him.

"Yeah." Qian Dayong nodded. He didn't want to talk about the letter anymore, so he changed the subject and said, "Meng De, when do you think we can go back?

I was chatting with Uncle Hu yesterday, and he told me that more than 90% of the schistosomiasis patients in Northern Guangxi County have recovered, and the rest just need to take the medicine according to your prescription as usual."

In the past few months, Wang Mengde has continued to study the prescription.

With the approval of the Guangxi provincial leadership, he was able to collect a large amount of patient information with the help of other medical staff.

Combining the information and symptoms of these patients, he successively developed a number of prescriptions, which, together with the five prescriptions he developed the first time, totaled twenty-one prescriptions.

Of course, in addition to him, other Chinese medicine experts have also developed a large number of proven prescriptions based on his prescriptions, and have achieved very good results.

The decrease in the number of schistosomiasis patients, coupled with the continued eradication of snails, has resulted in a significant decline in the number of people infected every day.

With fewer patients, there will naturally be a less need for so many people to stay in the southern provinces and cities.

"It should be soon. I think there will be some action after the Chinese New Year. But I think they should go back in batches. It's impossible to transfer everyone at once."

Wang Mengde packed the photos in his hand, carefully put the envelope into his bag, and said with energy.

"I think so too. There are fewer patients now and we have less work to do. There is not much point in staying here." Zhu Tao handed two cups of hot tea to the two people and then said.

a few days later.

The afternoon of New Year's Eve.

Chitang Village, home of Patriarch Jiang.

Wang Mengde held 'Guaiguai' and said with a smile: "Oh, it's New Year's Day, please accept the red envelope."

As he said that, he took out a red envelope made of red paper from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.

He didn't put much in the red envelope, just one dollar.

She took the red envelope obediently, looked at it curiously for a few seconds, and then grinned at him.

"Haha, Doctor Wang, Guaiguai doesn't have a name yet. Why don't you give her one? After all, you brought her back from the Guanyin Temple, and she is destined to be with you."

Patriarch Jiang was holding a walking stick and looking at his little granddaughter with a smile.

A few months ago, several high-ranking officials from Guibei County came. When they proposed to take Guaiguai to the county town to raise him, Patriarch Jiang did the most daring thing in his life.

That is to lead hundreds of people in the village, without saying a word, just quietly surrounding everyone.

In the end, it was Wang Mengde who learned about the situation, came over in time, and persuaded several senior officials of Guibei County to leave.

Others might not give him face, but Wang Mengde is well-known among the higher-ups. Not only the city and the province, but even "President Zhou" has mentioned him.

His name also appeared in the country's largest newspapers.

"Uncle Jiang, you are a good grandfather, so naturally you should give her a name." Wang Mengde quickly declined.

"Haha, just pick one for her."

Finally, Wang Mengde couldn't get over it, so he thought for a while and said:

"Guaiguai is actually the same generation as my daughter, so let's give her the same character as 'Yuan'. Plus, she saved so many lives with osmanthus, so let's give her the last character 'Gui'."

"Jiang Yuangui, okay, let's call him this name." Patriarch Jiang said happily.

After choosing a name, it was still early for dinner, so Chief Jiang invited him to take a walk on the small hill near the village.

He stopped beside a hillside and looked around. He suddenly said, "Doctor Wang, I have another thing to ask you for help."

"Uncle Jiang, please tell me if you need anything." Wang Mengde said with a smile, holding Jiang Yuangui in his arms.

"Okay, then I'll be frank. You know my physical condition. Although schistosomiasis has been almost cured, due to various complications, it will not last for two years.

I would like you to help me find a piece of land, and bury me there when I pass away."

(End of this chapter)