223 Are You Going To Watch Us Die?
Soon, it was the next day.
After Zhao Chuchu examined those who had undergone surgery and determined that there were no adverse reactions, she left Xie Jun and a few healthy women to watch over the patients while she took Xie Heng, the village chief, and the young adults who did not have the disease to the lake.
“The source of your illnesses is in this lake. So if you want to stop this disease in the future, you must use protective equipment when you go into the water,” Zhao Chuchu said to them, “And you’d better not drink the water in this lake again.”
“So, Mrs. Xie, what should we do?” the village chief asked. “Our ancestors used to drink the water from it for generations. How come they were fine, and we got sick?”
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“They were just lucky. However, if you find a method to treat the contaminated water, you will be less likely to get sick.”
Then, Zhao Chuchu told them how to deal with the contaminated water and asked them to build a well in another place or bring water down from the mountain.
It was not easy for Heyang Village to build a well because most of the villagers were sick, and there was no way to gather enough men.
Therefore, the easiest thing for Heyang Village was to bring water down from the mountain.
After all, bamboo was everywhere, and by using it as a pipe, water could be brought down while preventing wild animals from polluting the water.
After hearing what Zhao Chuchu said, the village chief and others agreed on the water diversion method.
Finding a treatment for the contaminated water was not urgent, but having a stable source of drinking water was the most important thing for now.
Zhao Chuchu went with Xie Heng alone to the mountains to find a suitable water source, citing the village’s need.
She needed to test the water source, but it was inconvenient to do so with so many people.
The village chief didn’t know Zhao Chuchu’s intention and thought Zhao Chuchu was doing it for Heyang Village, so he thanked her a lot.
Before Zhao Chuchu went up the mountain, he asked the village chief which hill had a water source, so she could save her effort in searching for it and go straight to her destination with Xie Heng.
Zhao Chuchu went to the mountain in the morning and returned at noon, telling the village chief which mountain had the best water source for drinking and the best route to set up the bamboo pipe.
The village chief immediately started to cut the bamboo and did what Zhao Chuchu said.
Zhao Chuchu talked to Xie Heng about the faucet, and Xie Heng quickly devised a plan to make a bamboo faucet.
Zhao Chuchu tried it out, and it worked pretty well, but it was not like the modern days when there were all kinds of plumbing accessories, so the villagers had to figure out how to put them on.
They were only responsible for giving instructions, so they didn’t need to do anything in person.
Six days later, Qiao Heting arrived at Heyang Village.
Zhao Chuchu’s medical skills were beyond his expectations, and Heyang Village recovered considerably, except for those who were seriously ill.
After the publicity of the town and the villagers of Heyang Village, those who suffered from schistosomiasis in Qiaoyi Town went to Heyang Village for medical treatment, so there was no need for Zhao Chuchu to run around.
No one regretted it more than the villagers who refused to have the operation in the first place.
Those whose stomachs had been cut open by Zhao Chuchu were alive and well. Even if they could not get out of bed for a while and had to take care of their wounds, they were getting better day by day.
At least they were no longer suffering from the illness, except for the painful wounds and weakness of their bodies.
They were full of expectations that Zhao Chuchu would go back to them.
However, Zhao Chuchu was too busy treating people from other villages daily to pay attention to them.
For those who needed surgery in other villages, Zhao Chuchu told them to head home and that she would visit them one at a time.
Otherwise, there were not enough places to stay in Heyang Village.
Probably because Zhao Chuchu used up to three times her power daily, she found her power began to improve.
On her eleventh day in Qiaoyi Town, her power finally broke through, going from three to six times a day.
This meant that Zhao Chuchu’s strength also began to grow.
This excited Zhao Chuchu, as she thought her power would be stuck at a maximum of three times a day.
Six times wasn’t a lot, but it would speed up the rate at which Zhao Chuchu could heal them.
Those in Heyang Village who refused the surgery finally relented and had someone help them go to Zhao Chuchu.
“Mrs. Xie, when are you going to treat us?”
“Exactly. If we waste any more time, I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it.”
“Can you treat us first and hold off on the ones in other villages?”
What they said was all rehearsed in advance. Unfortunately, they all chose to ignore what Zhao Chuchu had said in the first place.
Zhao Chuchu gave them a look. “So what?”
“Isn’t saving people what you’re supposed to do?”
“It’s only right for a doctor to treat people.”
“Yes, yes, no matter what, it should be our turn. Mrs. Xie, are you going to watch us die?”
Now, even the family members of those patients started to accuse Zhao Chuchu of being unprofessional, trying to make her feel ashamed of herself.
But Zhao Chuchu wasn’t the kind of woman to be forced into doing anything.
She even refused to save the members of the Zhao clan.
She took their money because if they were still sick, those who were cured might be infected with the flu again.
After all, she was not a saint.
Schistosomiasis couldn’t be passed from person to person. When they suspected her of attacking them earlier, she had already made it clear that it would be useless to kneel and beg her after refusing her help!
Zhao Chuchu snickered. “What does it matter to me if you live or die? I hadn’t forgotten the looks you gave me when you said I was here to kill you. I don’t care what you do behind my back, but it’s your fault for tipping off Jiang so the government would come and kill me!”
“You are a doctor, Mrs. Xie. How can you watch us suffer and not do anything about it? Are you heartless? Why are you so cold-blooded and unfeeling? Are you worthy of your reputation as Doctor Miracle?” They were all saying the same thing, trying to force Zhao Chuchu to cure them.
“I have never called myself Doctor Miracle. I don’t care what you call me. Of course, you can threaten me with my husband and Junjun, but I promise to make you wish you were dead. You can’t possibly take back what you said, and I will not save anyone who tried to screw me.”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
...
“Doctor Jiang has told me everything about his punishment. It’s okay that you don’t want to live, and I’m not forcing you. But you harmed me because of your ignorance. Sorry, it is God’s business to forgive you, and I am only responsible for saving those who should be saved.”
Zhao Chuchu sent them a clear, strong message in a determined tone.
“I told you, I won’t save you.”
“No matter what you say, you can’t make me change my mind.”
When the patients saw that Zhao Chuchu did not fall for their traps, they became flustered. So they changed their tone of voice.
“Mrs. Xie, we were afraid, so we didn’t know what we were talking about. So please show some mercy and don’t take what we said seriously.”
“I know I’m wrong. But, as long as you’re willing to save me, I will do whatever you ask me to repay your kindness.”
“I tried to stop them from going to Doctor Jiang, but I alone couldn’t stop them. Mrs. Xie, please, I promise I will forever bear your kindness in mind.”
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