Chapter 17 The Plague

  "This time I came to ask Mr. Zhao to work at Mary's Hospital. Oh, no, no, no, it's not that, I want to ask Mr. Zhao to help us solve a difficult problem at Mary's Hospital, and of course, we will give Mr. Zhao some compensation, this is just short-term"

  "Me?" Zhao Zhibang was somewhat incredulous, wondering what kind of problem he could possibly solve for them.

  "Yes..."

  "Can Mr. Smith tell us what's going on?"

  "Of course, of course... recently we've discovered several patients who seem to have fever caused by a cold, but after treatment, none of them showed any improvement. We doctors all agree that this might not be a cold, but the plague."

  "Plague?" Zhao Zhibang was stunned when he heard this word. He now knew why Smith had come to find him from Tianjin.

  "Yes, the plague! At present, your national epidemic prevention station has withdrawn to the south. You know that the current temporary government and the Japanese will not care about the lives of you Chinese people. Our hospital doctors do not have experience in preventing and treating this aspect. Mr. Zhao is a high talent who returned from studying in Japan, so I beg Mr. Zhao to help!"

  "Mr. Smith is too kind, I will do my best...". Zhao Zhibang looked at the American in front of him and felt a wave of emotion, he didn't expect an American to care so much about the ordinary people of China. If a foreigner can be like this, then what reason does he, as a Chinese, have to refuse?

  "Mr. Zhao has agreed to it, thank you! Thank you so much, the matter is urgent, can Mr. Zhao go with me now? I know my request is a bit excessive, but..." Smith said, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

  "Alright, Mr. Smith, please wait for a moment, I'll go inside the hospital to say something and also let them pass on a message to my family..." After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for Smith's response and turned around to walk into the hospital.

  "Mr. Smith, you can go now!" Not long after, Zhao Zhibang came out of the Union Hospital. He didn't wait for Mr. Smith to respond and directly opened the car door, sitting in the front passenger seat.

  "Mr. Zhao, if you need to go home for a while, I can take you back first!" Smith stood outside the car and said excitedly to Zhao Zhibang, actually he originally thought it would be difficult to persuade Zhao Zhibang, and even brought a lot of US dollars when he came, intending to persuade him to agree no matter what, but unexpectedly Zhao Zhibang was more anxious than him.

  "No need, I've just informed my colleagues and asked them to pass a message to my family on their way back!"

  "Oh, um, we're not sure if it's definitely the plague yet," Smith nodded enthusiastically as Zhao Zhibang finished speaking. However, when he walked to the car door and was about to open it, he seemed to remember something and started speaking hesitantly.

  "Mr. Smith, don't worry, I just said I have something to attend to at Tianjin Mary Hospital, didn't say anything about the plague!"

  "Oh, I'm just afraid of causing panic among the common people!" Having heard Zhao Zhibang finish speaking, Smith suddenly felt much more at ease. He waved his hand and smiled as he said this.

  "I understand..."

  "Mr. Smith, where did the plague occur?" Zhao Zhibang asked, looking at Smith in the car.

  "In Zhongtang, it's like this: Dr. Hans went to Binhai for a trip yesterday and passed by Zhongtang, where he found several patients with fever and cough. Their symptoms were similar to those of cholera that he had read about in books. So, I, along with Dr. Lu and Dr. Zheng, went to take a look early this morning. We estimate it's probably... so I came today..."

  "Oh, I see. So, have there been any patient deaths now?"

  "We came back before they did, and Dr. Zheng is still there, I don't know what the situation is like now, but we've already brought back the patient's blood and stool and vomit samples."

  、、、、、、、、

  "Dean Smith, Little Zhao, you've finally arrived!" The car had been driving for 4 hours and finally arrived at Mary Hospital. Director Lu Zhiping of the inspection department at the hospital entrance was formerly Zhao Zhibang's department head, and he was now standing at the entrance, pacing back and forth anxiously. When he saw the two get out of the car, he hurried over to greet them.

  "Director Lu, are the test results out yet?" Zhao Zhibang asked hastily, patting his slightly numb neck after just getting off the car.

  "Yes, it's out. Based on the patient's serum and blood tests, we can initially determine that it is the Black Death (commonly known as plague), and the patient has swollen lymph nodes...". He led Zhao Zhibang to the laboratory, a place where he used to work, so many people were familiar with him, but no one greeted him. Everyone's expression was serious, at most just nodding to each other in acknowledgement.

  Although everyone in this hospital has been in the medical profession for a longer time than Zhao Zhibang, when it comes to epidemiology, he is considered a master in this group. Moreover, Mary's Hospital has not set up such a department since its establishment, so naturally, the ability in this aspect is not very strong. Many people are judging based on hearsay or book data, and only Zhao Zhibang has systematically studied, researched, and conducted clinical trials.

  At the request of Zhao Zhibang, the hospital quickly gathered some "medicines", of course, most of which were prepared for controlling the epidemic. Within an hour, a group of people set off with the prepared medicines and equipment to the epidemic area. Many doctors advised Smith to stay behind, but this stubborn old American still got on the car without hesitation.

  Tianjin Zhongtang was a small village by the sea during the Republic of China era, not far from the small station where Yuan Shikai once trained his troops. The plague that occurred here in late August 1937 was actually an experiment conducted with the first batch of cholera bacteria produced by the Japanese 1855 unit. Ishii Shirō came this time to inspect the experimental results. Fortunately, due to timely discovery and proper handling, and also because the Japanese army only conducted a small experiment this time, the spread range was not very large.

  After Zhao Zhibang and his party arrived in Zhongtang, they treated three patients while searching for the source of the epidemic. They finally locked it down to fleas. After 7 days of extermination, disinfection, investigation, and observation, the epidemic was finally brought under control. Zhao Zhibang had been working on the front lines every day, and after confirming that the epidemic was under control, he could finally take a break. He lay in the driver's cab of a hospital vehicle that had come to deliver disinfectants (quicklime) and picked up a newspaper to read. He originally wanted to see if there were any other places where similar situations had occurred, but a headline on the front page made him feel dizzy all of a sudden.

  Beiping 'Daily' Newspaper Office: The Mysterious Case of the Zhao Family's Demise in Liu Ye Hutong Has Been Solved

  According to a reporter's interview with the Beiping Police Department, the case of the murder and arson of Zhao Chuanfu, a antique dealer surnamed Zhao, and his family of six in Liuyehutong on August 29 has been solved. The perpetrator is believed to be under the leadership of the North China Underground Party, and the initial estimate of the motive for the crime is related to the Japanese daughter-in-law of the Zhao family. Currently, the Beiping Police Department and the Japanese North China Garrison Command are actively searching for the perpetrators.