The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2316 - 2291: Distinction

When they said this, even Manbao felt a little uncertain. She simply took his pulse, looked at his tongue and eyes, touched his forehead, and then firmly declared, "You have a fever."

Soldier A instantly became nervous and asked, "Does that mean I’m getting smallpox?"

Manbao nodded, "It should be smallpox. Don’t scratch it, be careful not to break it and spread the infection, it could leave scars."

The others quietly sat a bit farther away. After moving away, they realized they were also vaccinated, so staying near or far didn’t matter.

So they quietly moved back closer.

After glancing at them, Manbao said, "It’s better to keep a distance. You should eat in your own rooms recently, and avoid visiting others’ rooms unnecessarily."

So Manbao sent the other five back to their rooms.

Because it was only a low-grade fever and he had just a single pock, Manbao didn’t prescribe any medicine. She planned to wait and see the situation and pulse symptoms after the pox appeared before prescribing. However, by the evening, no other pocks appeared, he just continued with a low fever.

By the next day, even the fever subsided.

Then the smallpox lesion that Manbao suspected started to fade away. Eventually, the red tip disappeared, leaving only a small bump half its size.

Manbao pressed it with her hand, and with her experience, it was definitely a smallpox lesion, certainly not an insect bite.

But... why only one pock?

Manbao checked his pulse, finding some false heat but nothing severe. She thought for a moment and said, "Drink more water."

Soldier A: "I don’t need medicine?"

"No need," Manbao withdrew her hand and said, "Just drink more hot water and relax."

Soldier A breathed a sigh of relief and tentatively asked, "Does this mean the pock outbreak?"

After thinking for a moment, Manbao said, "Wait a couple more days. If there are no more fevers or pocks, it should be considered having had the outbreak."

Soldier A looked at Zhou Man in disbelief, "This counts as an outbreak?"

"Whether it counts or not, you’ll find out later."

Whether the vaccinated pocks provide immunity against smallpox needs to be tested again.

Manbao was putting away her things, about to leave, when Zhou Liru knocked on the door from outside and shouted, "Aunt, No. 3’s arm also has pocks."

Manbao went to check immediately.

Soldier A hesitated for a moment and went over to look, too.

Since they all had pocks, Manbao didn’t stop them.

Number Two indeed had pocks. In the place where the vaccine was given, a whole patch had grown. Manbao counted; there were a full twelve. He was a bit itchy, but with only one hand, he couldn’t scratch. He couldn’t help but rub against the blanket, but Zhou Liru stopped him and wouldn’t let him rub.

Although he didn’t mind having scars on his arm, after all, he had lost an arm, and there were already bowl-sized scars on his shoulder, so a few more smallpox scars didn’t matter.

But Zhou Liru wouldn’t allow it. She said, "These things get worse with scratching, and what if the pox liquid and skin stick to the blanket and spread the infection?"

Manbao looked and asked, "Didn’t see any in the morning."

Number Two said, "They just popped out suddenly. I felt itchy, looked down, and saw five or six appear. In just a moment, so many came out."

Manbao felt a bit worried, so she checked his temperature and found it wasn’t high, but she still couldn’t relax.

After pocks appear, transitioning from low fever to high fever requires a process.

She calmly nodded and reassured him, "It’s okay. We’ll keep an eye on the temperature. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or have any other discomforts, tell us, and I’ll decide whether to prescribe medicine."

Number Two asked worriedly, "Not prescribing medicine now?"

"No need for medicine now," Manbao said, "Let the pocks come out first. If the temperature gets too high, I’ll prescribe medicine."

Zhou Man explained clearly, and both Number Two and Soldier A breathed a sigh of relief, agreeing.

By the evening, he still only had a low fever, and Number Five also had a pock, but only one appeared on the arm.

Manbao recorded their pulse conditions thoughtfully.

Bai Shan poured her a cup of tea and asked, "How is it?"

"The situation is... very good," Manbao said, observing the pulse conditions, "Surprisingly good. It’s a bit like the human pocks we’ve vaccinated before, but also quite different."

Bai Shan sat beside her, looking, "What’s similar?"

"The pocks we vaccinated, whether human or cowpox, have a much better fever condition than natural infection. When we vaccinated human pocks before, forty percent of people had only low fevers and completed the outbreak without high fevers." Manbao pondered, "The difference this time is the outbreak seems slower, and the fever temperature is lower."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Manbao shook her head, "I don’t know. The first one with pocks even broke his fever today, and the pock on his arm is almost mature. Pressing it now, there’s no hard core left. Generally speaking, if it’s like this, the pock should be about healed."

But he only had one pock.

Manbao sighed, "Only time will tell us the reason."

Bai Shan nodded and said to Manbao, "Good news came from the front; the army is already approaching Kucha, and General Ashina has repelled the large armies of the Turks’ Chuyue and Chumi tribes."

"Doesn’t that mean they’ll be back soon?"

Bai Shan shook his head, "Not so fast. I heard today when I went to the Protectorate, the talk was about the next batch of people to be sent. When I went to select people from the army, I heard General Ashina is attacking the northern border of Kucha from the west of Karashar, now fighting in Hecheng."

Manbao tried hard to recall the map of the Western Regions she had seen at the Chongwen Pavilion, but couldn’t remember where Hecheng was.

Bai Shan smiled and said, "It’s not on the map. It’s a gateway on the northern border of Kucha. Capturing that city will allow a direct attack on Wang City of Kucha."

It sounded quite impressive.

Manbao asked, "Have you selected the people?"

Bai Shan nodded, "Selected, but the people picked from the army are either old or have many old injuries, unsuitable for further military service. I could only choose those who still look somewhat strong."

Manbao nodded. The first batch of six was like this, so she had little hope for the next people. However, being able to choose themselves was better than always having people forcibly assigned by the Protectorate.

Manbao didn’t know that General Guo once considered giving them an even poorer batch of people or simply giving none.

Of course, she never had the chance to know.

In the next two days, the rest gradually developed pocks, while Soldier A didn’t have a fever for two consecutive days. The pox on his hand slowly subsided, scabbed over, and after shedding its surface, it looked just like a common smallpox scar.

Unexpectedly, Number Two only developed those twelve pocks. After a day and a half of low fever, it also gradually subsided, and then the pocks started to mature and fall off.

Number Five’s condition was similar to Number One, that is, Soldier A.

Everyone was shocked. Manbao excitedly gripped Bai Shan and said, "If this is the case, everyone in the world can be vaccinated with the pocks."