Chapter 2386: Chapter 2361: Collecting Cowpox Scabs
Manbao, wearing a mask, stood beside the cow, carefully and quickly extracting the scabs with tongs and placing them into a jar. She had already collected quite a few this morning.
Seeing Jiu Lan appear not far from the barn, Manbao nodded at her, then put down the tongs and closed the jar. She turned her neck towards Imperial Doctor Lu, who was on the other side, and said, "Imperial Doctor Lu, it’s time for lunch."
Manbao carried the jar inside, placed it on a shelf, washed her hands, and then removed her mask.
Imperial Doctor Lu slowly moved inside. After standing all morning, his calves and the soles of his feet felt a bit numb.
He placed the jar next to Zhou Man’s before going to wash his hands and remove his mask.
After removing it and breathing in the fresh air, he remembered that he had already had smallpox, so there was no need for him to even wear it.
But since he had already worn it, he didn’t mention it.
Manbao really wanted to talk to Imperial Doctor Lu, but Imperial Doctor Lu was very tired after a busy morning, and when tired, he didn’t want to talk, so he ignored her.
Manbao could only hold back her words and return to the yard. Jiu Lan and the others had already prepared hot water for her in the washroom.
Manbao changed all her outer clothes, shoes, and socks, washed up again, and then went next door to eat with Imperial Doctor Lu.
Manbao asked Imperial Doctor Lu, "When do you think would be a good time to check their health?"
Imperial Doctor Lu replied, "After we’ve had some food and rested, we’ll go. We still have to continue collecting scabs in the afternoon."
Indeed, the main task for Manbao and Imperial Doctor Lu over the past two days was to collect the cured scabs from the cows.
The secondary task was to monitor the health of the test subjects, ensuring they had no issues before vaccination.
Because collecting scabs involved direct contact with the smallpox virus, after discussions, the Imperial Hospital decided not to let medical assistants handle it. Instead, it was entrusted to Imperial Doctor Lu, who had had smallpox, and the experienced Zhou Man.
Without assistants, the task of collecting the scabs from five cows fell on the two of them. They could only manage to collect from about half a cow in one morning. Even working until sunset in the afternoon, they could handle at most one and a half cows, which would make three cows in two days. Huh, doing the math, it seemed possible to finish in two days.
After calculating this, Imperial Doctor Lu felt a lot more relaxed and slowed down his eating pace.
Manbao, however, ate quickly and said to Imperial Doctor Lu, "When I left, I compared the scabs carefully. I noticed that cow number three had particularly many, densely packed. It was the one that was almost dead before, right?"
During that time, it was him and Imperial Doctor Zheng on duty, so he nodded.
Manbao continued, "I roughly estimated that the scabs on cow number three are more than double those on number one. I wonder if we can finish collecting in a day."
Number one was the cow that Zhou Man was currently working on.
Imperial Doctor Lu found it hard to eat, one reason being the workload awaiting him, and the other being the thought of those scabs he collected.
Even though, as an imperial doctor, he had seen many filthy and disgusting things, spending an entire morning looking at these scabs affected his appetite when he thought about it.
But Manbao ate heartily and in large quantities. Watching her finish one bowl and then serve herself another full bowl, Imperial Doctor Lu couldn’t help but say, "Doctor Zhou, while it’s good for a woman to be well-nourished, it’s not good to be overly so. Your appetite..."
Manbao calmly replied, "I’m still growing."
She added, "I’ve calculated it. I can eat freely for another two to three years, and I’m not full yet."
As a doctor, she knew well enough that one shouldn’t overeat, but the thing was, she wasn’t full.
Imperial Doctor Lu just silently watched her, finally lowering his eyes to eat after a moment.
Life in the manor was somewhat dull, primarily because Imperial Doctor Lu didn’t want to talk to Zhou Man, and Manbao couldn’t find any topics to converse with him about. Apart from discussing official matters, the two had nothing else to say to each other.
So after eating and drinking their fill, Manbao yawned and returned to her yard, walking around the yard to aid digestion while thinking about the vaccination process.
When she finished thinking and turned around, she realized two quarters of an hour had passed, so she went inside to rest.
Xi Bing made her bed.
Manbao lay on the bed and asked Jiu Lan, who was busy beside her, "Did anyone come with messages today?"
Jiu Lan smiled and replied, "No one has, my lady. We’ve only just arrived yesterday; it’s still early."
Manbao yawned, tears almost forming, and with her eyes half-closed, said, "I wonder if Fifth Brother has come to the imperial manor; we can’t leave here to learn anything from outside."
Manbao slowly drifted off to sleep, and it felt like only a moment before she was awakened by Jiu Lan, "My lady, it’s about time, and Imperial Doctor Lu is already preparing."
Manbao, still groggy for a while, asked, "How long did I sleep?"
"Three quarters of an hour."
That meant it was indeed time to get up and prepare.
Manbao rose and sighed, "Time flies when sleeping."
Jiu Lan and Xi Bing couldn’t help but laugh.
Manbao and Imperial Doctor Lu tidied up and went to check on the test subjects. There was no need to take everyone’s pulse; they just walked from room to room, checking faces and asking if there were any discomforts, which was faster than yesterday.
Strolling along, they found that no one felt unwell, but the walk had awakened them quite a bit.
Returning to the barn, they could quickly immerse themselves back into their work.
Manbao found her scab collection quite interesting. After finishing one, she naturally wanted to do another. Occasionally, when Imperial Doctor Lu glanced up, he’d see her hard at work, working much faster than he was.
He remained silent for a long time and had to admit to himself that although she had many quirks, her work ethic was impeccable.
Imperial Doctor Lu withdrew his gaze, moved his old waist, and turned his neck, feeling the pain and stiffness easing a bit before continuing.
They remained in the barn until Director Xiao returned from the palace.
Director Xiao had also changed into a new set of clothes and wore a mask. He strolled over for a look, seeing the cow swish its tail but remain docile, noting that the two of them had collected quite a bit, he asked, "How is it today?"
Completely absorbed in their work, Manbao and Imperial Doctor Lu were startled, turning to see it was Director Xiao. They relaxed and said, "Why did you walk without making any noise?"
Director Xiao cast them a glance, lifted his chin, gesturing for them to answer.
Imperial Doctor Lu replied, "I fear we won’t finish by tomorrow. Let’s add another half day on the day after."
Director Xiao nodded, "Then, after lunchtime the day after tomorrow, I’ll bring people over to check. If suitable, we’ll prepare the vaccine that day. The sooner it’s ready, the sooner we can administer it."
The imperial manor operating costs money every day.
Initially, Director Xiao didn’t mind this expense, but after discovering the cost discrepancy between the manor’s purchases and market prices, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the Imperial Hospital would run out of funds.
Manbao and Imperial Doctor Lu finished, put the jars in place, then changed clothes before sitting to converse with Director Xiao.
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