After a night of rest, every member of the team was full of energy.
Well-fed, well-housed, and with Sister Yue’s bodyguard team stationed to ensure their personal safety at all times, everyone finally felt at ease.
With a good night’s sleep, how could they not be refreshed the next day?
Among them, the one who felt it most deeply was Liu Weihua!
Back when their medical team first went to the island, they had no food, no water, no place to stay. In the middle of the night, they were bitten all over by poisonous mosquitoes. Luckily, it was handled in time, otherwise, their lives might have been in danger.
On top of that, they had to constantly be on guard against the island’s hot-tempered villagers, afraid that if someone got dissatisfied, they might smash them with a shovel while they slept.
In short, it was nerve-wracking, like walking on thin ice. The entire medical team was filled with pessimism.
How was it anything like following Sister Yue? There was food and drink, it felt like going on a trip.
There were dedicated chefs in the team, professional construction workers, washing machines, microwave ovens, even a mobile convenience store.
If he didn’t know they were here to treat and save people, Liu Weihua might have thought Jiang Fuyue had brought them here to run a wild countryside resort!
Oh, and the most important thing, internet!
In just one night, a temporary base station had been set up, and the signal was incredibly strong.
Everyone’s phones could be used normally now, and the internet speed was even faster than outside.
And, free!
It was said that when the workers were building it last night, a small problem occurred, and Sister Yue personally fixed it.
Liu Weihua heard colleagues nearby sighing in amazement,
“Is there anything Professor Jiang can’t do? This is insane!”
“I thought I came here to die gloriously, turns out I came here to enjoy life?”
“Looks like what the netizens said is true, follow Sister Yue, and you’ll have meat to eat!”
…
After resting well, it was time to officially begin work.
Jiang Fuyue first sent out a group to collect samples.
She needed to study the samples to determine what disease it was.
“The islanders are so fierce, what if they refuse to cooperate?”
“Yeah, we can’t beat them…”
Jiang Fuyue: “Each group takes a bodyguard. Also, bring some leftover pork cracklings from yesterday.”
“Pork… cracklings?”
What were those for?
Emergency rations on the road?
But they didn’t even like eating them…
Wouldn’t it be better to bring some biscuits?
“I don’t like pork cracklings, too greasy and unhealthy. I’ll bring some hot water and oatmeal.”
“Same here. I’ll just take an apple.”
“…You guys really aren’t bringing any?”
“You are?”
“I think since Professor Jiang specifically told us to bring them, there must be a reason. I’ll bring some.”
“Mm, I will too! Trust Sister Yue and you’ll gain eternal life! That’s the wisdom I’ve gained as her fan all these years.”
“Oh? You’re a fan of Professor Jiang?”
“An old fan. Been following her since her high school international competitions. Never regretted it. Let me just say quietly, she’s absolutely worth it.”
“Is she really that amazing?”
“You’ll know if you’re a fan~”
…
The sampling teams set out, divided into several groups.
Next, Jiang Fuyue sent out a publicity team.
Their main job was to walk around the island with loudspeakers, broadcasting repeatedly.
The content was roughly:
- Critically ill patients should be sent to the camp immediately for treatment, they had complete professional medical equipment.
- Maintain household and personal protection measures, as follows…
Jiang Fuyue: “Each group still gets one bodyguard.”
“Um… Professor Jiang, I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“When you say circle the island… do you mean the entire island?”
Duofu wasn’t small. Aside from the uninhabitable forests and hills, the remaining flats and tidal lands all had residents, mostly clustered by surname.
The three major families were located in Front Bay, Middle Bay, and Back Bay, the most convenient and comfortable places on the island.
Other scattered households lived in more remote areas near the mountains.
Usually, they were cut off from major island news.
That was why circling the island was necessary, but if done on foot…
It might take a whole week.
Liu Weihua cleared his throat and stepped forward: “Professor Jiang has already considered this. So now, please line up and collect your electric scooters in order.”
“Electric… scooters?” someone widened their eyes.
Liu Weihua: “Yes! Brand new, fully charged. Please take good care of them!”
They began distributing them one by one.
“Oh my god, these are real?! Amazing!”
“Were they transported on one of the cargo ships?”
“Even this? Is Professor Jiang Doraemon or something?”
“I guarantee our equipment ranks number one among all medical teams in the country!”
“Sister Yue’s foresight, I’m in love!”
“One word, perfect!”
Liu Weihua only just realized what Jiang Fuyue had bought at the shopping mall.
…
At 2 p.m., the sampling teams returned one after another, submitting their samples.
Some collected dozens; others came back empty-handed.
“If I’d known, I would’ve brought pork cracklings too!”
“Told you! Sister Yue said to bring them and you didn’t listen!”
“I didn’t know the islanders treasured pork cracklings that much! They didn’t want fruit or biscuits, only those!”
“At first I thought they were for us to eat…”
“The key is, they don’t want money, just cracklings. Unreal.”
“Why?”
“Think of Duofu like rural China in the 50s or 60s, that explains everything.”
“Money doesn’t circulate. Even if you show them thousands of yuan, they wouldn’t care.”
“Now I get it. Pork cracklings would’ve been a luxury back then.”
A little added to vegetables made the whole dish rich. A bit in soup made oil float on the surface, that was already considered a feast.
Used sparingly, it could provide meat flavor for a long time.
“Wow… it feels like we time-traveled into a period novel.”
“Haha, same! Tomorrow I’m definitely bringing cracklings!”
…
At sunset, the publicity teams returned.
Riding electric scooters, so stylish.
“Where did those come from?”
“That’s so cool.”
“Can I hitch a ride tomorrow?”
…
The sampling team gathered around, chatting and touching the scooters enviously.
Just like that, the day’s work ended happily.
At night, everyone sat around eating dinner. The aroma of meat drifted far and wide, making people restless.
Many children secretly climbed onto hillsides, staring at the big iron pots, drooling.
“These people are so strange, why do they all wear white coats?”
“And they eat meat every day!”
“Gulp, it smells so good. I’ve never smelled anything like this.”
“But Mom said they’re bad people who bring disaster. We mustn’t go near them!”
But…
It smelled too good!
If they could, they’d dive straight into the pots, who cared about disaster?
For a moment, the sound of children swallowing saliva echoed one after another.
In the quiet evening, they peeked out like little hamsters, thinking they were well hidden, unaware they had already been noticed.
And… honestly, it was kind of cute.
At that time, Jiang Fuyue was in the temporarily built laboratory, beginning to analyze patient samples.
Liu Weihua assisted her.
“Data.”
“…”
“Analysis results.”
“…”
“Sample classification.”
“…”
“Conclusion summary.”
Jiang Fuyue was like an emotionless experimental machine. Liu Weihua had to stay tense and fully focused the entire time just to barely keep up with her pace.
The slightest distraction, and he would be ruthlessly left behind.
Too fast!
Once the data reached her hands, she could glance at it and immediately draw a rough conclusion, which was basically consistent with the machine-generated analysis results.
As for calculations, she didn’t need pen and paper, nor a computer, one sweep of her gaze and the result was out.
Was this the top-tier scientific research capability in the country?
Too powerful.
When the sky began to lighten with the pale glow of dawn the next day, the two finally walked out of the lab.
Liu Weihua’s legs trembled, his steps unsteady. Due to excessive fatigue, his face was somewhat pale.
In contrast, Jiang Fuyue’s eyes were bright, her steps firm, calm and composed.
Standing there in front of everyone, she was the backbone, instantly giving people strength!
Liu Weihua felt invigorated, suddenly, he didn’t feel so tired anymore.
The sample analysis results showed that the epidemic on the island was none other than malaria!
But unlike the usual tertian or quartan malaria, this type had a higher mortality rate.
It was the most troublesome type, malignant malaria!
Fortunately, decades ago, their country had already conquered malaria. There were effective medications on the market, and research in all aspects was very mature.
So, the problem wasn’t big.
Liu Weihua: “Then next we contact outside the island to transport injections and medicine. But will these islanders be willing to come to us for treatment?”
Jiang Fuyue slipped her hands into the pockets of her lab coat and curled her lips slightly: “They will be willing.”
Liu Weihua: “?”
…
That very day, Jiang Fuyue contacted her superiors to report the work and requested that antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine, primaquine, and pyrimethamine be delivered as soon as possible.
“Are you sure you can get the people of Duofu Island to obediently take injections and medicine?” came the uncertain voice of an old leader on the other end.
No one knew the situation on Duofu better than they did.
Over the years, persuasion hadn’t worked, force couldn’t be used, they were tied hand and foot, left to let things grow wild.
It wasn’t that no effort had been made. Special teams had gone again and again, but the people of Duofu were notoriously xenophobic, even resisting with their own bodies, leading to many conflicts.
The higher-ups realized this couldn’t be forced. If casualties occurred and the international community seized on it to accuse them of violating humanitarian principles, it would become a huge problem.
So the real difficulty wasn’t treating the disease, but getting the people of Duofu willing to be treated.
No wonder the old leader was so worried.
Jiang Fuyue smiled and didn’t make any grand promises, only said: “Let’s try.”
“Oh right, besides medicine, it’d be great if you could send some live pigs.”
“What?!” The old leader suspected he misheard.
Jiang Fuyue: “Live pigs, the fatter the better, the more the better.”
“?”
Could it be that the conditions on Duofu were too harsh and the child was craving meat?
…
The medicine would take at least seven days to arrive.
During this period, Jiang Fuyue led the team to deliver medicine to affected households, but only delivered it, not forcing them to send patients to the camp.
Although not strong curative drugs, they could at least stabilize the condition temporarily and buy time.
At the same time, under Jiang Fuyue’s orders, Liu Weihua organized mosquito eradication.
Malaria spreads through mosquito bites. As long as this transmission route was cut off, more infections could be prevented.
But such large-scale extermination required specialized pesticides.
Those sold on the market were only suitable for small household use. This, however, required large-scale, rapid elimination across the entire island.
The pesticide also had to consider the unique island environment, whether it would pollute soil, seawater, tidal flats, or crops.
“Does anyone here specialize in biological agents?”
No one answered.
In the end, Jiang Fuyue stepped in herself, personally formulating the solution and conducting multiple tests before finalizing it.
Everyone sighed again: one Sister Yue was equal to an entire army.
Aside from these serious matters, Jiang Fuyue also did something “not so proper.”
She had workers set up a huge white screen on the flat ground of the camp, placed two large speakers on either side, and then used a high-definition projector… to play cartoons?
Very quickly, groups of children were drawn over.
They didn’t dare come close, just lay on the hillsides, watching with great interest.
When they went back, they told their parents,
“The people on that big white cloth can move! And you can hear them talk! It’s so good!”
“There are smiling dolphins and dancing octopuses, and people inside who can fly, whoosh!”
“The scenery is so, so beautiful, the beach looks like it’s made of gold, shining in the sun!”
“Today’s one is called Black Cat Detective. Turns out cats can be police officers!”
“Yesterday we watched Lotus Lantern. Are there really immortals? Do they all have magic?”
Children spoke freely, innocent and pure.
At first, parents scolded them.
“What white cloth black cloth? How can people be on cloth?!”
“You can only see dolphins and octopuses at sea. How could you kids see them? And people flying? I think your bragging is what’s flying!”
But the children described everything so vividly that the parents couldn’t help becoming curious.
The next day, some adults began sneaking onto the hills to watch.
Jiang Fuyue stopped the cartoons and started playing movies.
From passionate war films like Wolf Warrior to gentle romances like Romance on Lushan Mountain, satisfying men while appealing to women.
Soon, the hillsides became gathering places for adults.
“This white cloth is incredible!”
“H-how do they put people inside it?”
“They’re really moving, and talking!”
Day after day, more people came, until the hills on both sides couldn’t hold them.
Jiang Fuyue simply took a loudspeaker and called them down: “Isn’t it tiring lying there? We have chairs here, you can sit and watch.”
At first, everyone hesitated, suspecting bad intentions.
But gradually some wavered. Once the first stepped forward, the second and third followed…
By the fourth day, all the islanders were sitting on the flat ground.
Adults, children, even whole families.
Through a small white screen, they seemed to touch a brand-new world, multi-story buildings, electric lights, telephones, airplanes, high-speed trains, skyscrapers…
Watching the longing on their faces, Fan Ye knew… Sister Yue had succeeded!
These closed-off, conservative people had finally grown curious about the outside world. Once that curiosity took root, stepping out to accept new things would only be a matter of time.
“Dad, I said so much before and they didn’t believe me. Sister Yue solved it with just one projector.”
“Yes,” Fan Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, watching the once fierce tribespeople now sitting together like little sheep watching movies. It was both funny and bittersweet. “She can make every problem simple.”
“Mm-hmm!” Sister Yue had that kind of magic!
…
On the sixth day, Jiang Fuyue didn’t play movies. Instead, she showed a science video about malaria.
Just as it happened, the troublemaking Huang Guiyu came again with people, but before he could speak, Jiang Fuyue ordered him tied up and gagged.
Huang Guiyu: Not again?!
Liu Sisi: “What do we do with him?”
Jiang Fuyue thought for a moment: “Tie him to a chair and let him watch with everyone.”
“Alright.”
And so, Huang Guiyu was forcibly educated.
“Malaria is a parasitic infectious disease transmitted by bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes or transfusion of infected blood…”
“…After repeated attacks, patients may develop anemia, especially in malignant malaria. Long-term infection can cause significant spleen enlargement…”
“Severe headache, vomiting, high fever, varying degrees of consciousness disorder… acute pulmonary edema leading to respiratory failure, accompanied by circulatory collapse, multiple organ dysfunction… the condition is dangerous, with high mortality…”
Everyone was stunned.
Wasn’t this exactly what they were experiencing?
“Mosquito bites… yes! I remember Little Bao started having a high fever after being bitten…”
“So there are bugs in our blood?”
“Look, that parasite is crawling inside the human body…”
Huang Guiyu sat stiffly, increasingly uncomfortable. Thinking about bugs inside his body, his legs trembled, cold sweat pouring out.
Seeing the moment was right, Jiang Fuyue picked up the loudspeaker: “As you’ve seen, what you’re infected with is malaria, and a very severe type.”
“The treatment drugs will arrive tomorrow. If you still want to live, if you want your children who are already showing symptoms to live, then come here tomorrow at this time to receive the most scientific and proper treatment!”
“The first fifty people to arrive will each receive five jin of pork cracklings.”
Everyone: “!”
Is treating the illness important?
Yes!
But no matter how important, it still couldn’t compare to pork cracklings!
Tomorrow they had to come early, for the cracklings, no, for survival, charge!!!
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