The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 2080 - 2055: Vaccine

After washing her hands and changing her outer clothes, Manbao sat by the fire, but kept a distance of three zhang from Bai Shan and Bai Erlang.

Bai Shan, who wanted to whisper to her, was stopped by her gaze. He could only squat on the other side of the fire and said, "Alright, shall we leave first thing in the morning?"

Manbao nodded. There were more patients waiting for her in Xiazhou City. She couldn’t stay here for just one patient, especially since she didn’t have much medicine on hand.

According to Teacher Mo, if everything goes well, there should be a conclusion before noon tomorrow. Whether there is already a vaccine will be known soon.

After spending the night, Manbao was awakened by Bai Shan. She poked her head out from the blanket, and upon opening her eyes, she saw the bright morning star in the sky.

Bai Shan said, "It’s dawn, get up."

Manbao responded and got up to wash.

The guards handed out hard buns to everyone. Manbao took one, placed it by the fire at a distance from them to warm it, and ate it with some boiled water. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

While eating, Bai Erlang said, "It’s been a whole night. There’s no need to still keep such a distance from us, is there?"

Manbao wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and, after eating, put her mask back on, saying slowly, "Do you know how long the smallpox virus can survive in dust and bedding?"

"How long?"

"Six months to a year."

Bai Erlang and the others: ...

"It’s not afraid of severe cold or scorching heat, so you’d better be careful."

A guard couldn’t help but ask, "Isn’t smallpox caused by evil spirits entering the body? What is a virus?"

Manbao paused and then said, "It’s a disease that has a toxin."

She was an imperial physician, so whatever she said, everyone believed without question. The guards suddenly realized, "So smallpox is toxic. No wonder it’s so severe."

Manbao said, "So when you arrive in Xiazhou City, it’s best to be careful. Wash your hands frequently, wear masks, and try not to touch your face..."

She gave many instructions, and the guards listened attentively.

After finishing their food, it was nearly light out and everyone packed up to leave.

Manbao gathered the last bit of medicine she had and gave it to Wu Xiang’s family, saying, "This is the last batch of medicine I have. Due to limited herbs, the medicine for her isn’t very good. I see the rash on her has broken out, but her temperature isn’t very high. If you use the medicine properly, she should survive. If you insist on heading south, we can’t persuade you much, although you might meet many people along the way, but since you can’t enter the city gates, the people you might harm are limited..."

Manbao paused and then said, "Forget it, do as you please."

Bai Shan only nodded at them before mounting his horse, not forcing them to return to Xiazhou City.

Wu Xiang’s family was tense and only relaxed after their horses disappeared from view.

They were still in disbelief, could they really let them go just like that?

Wu Xiang’s family looked at each other, and the woman couldn’t help asking, "What should we do, dear?"

Wu Xiang looked at the road ahead and then at the way back, finally gritting his teeth, said, "Let’s go check on my in-laws first."

But from here to Dejing County, it’s not far if riding a horse, it would only take half a day, but it would take at least a whole day on foot.

Wu Xiang gave his daughter the medicine, pushed the cart, and continued forward with his wife and mother, but after more than an hour of walking, there was not a single person in sight.

The wide official road seemed as if it was just the four of them, with an endless emptiness both forward and backward. Even time seemed to stretch infinitely; after over an hour of walking, it felt as exhausting as three or four hours.

The woman felt very scared inside, "Dear, if Dejing County is really sealed off as the adults said, and we can’t get in, wouldn’t the past two days be for nothing? It’s so cold, can Daya endure it?"

The old lady reached out to touch the child and hesitated, "Son, I feel that Daya isn’t as hot anymore, and the medicine given by the lady imperial physician last night is working, she isn’t as itchy anymore. Should we go back? If we get stopped in Dejing County, we can’t even see a doctor. Daya needs a doctor and medicine."

The woman nodded repeatedly; she was also anxious inside. The child had already caught smallpox; she couldn’t really take the child back to her parents’ home. Her brother and sister-in-law also had children. What if the people at home got infected?

Wu Xiang was hesitant too. He stopped and looked at the road ahead, but after waiting for a long time, didn’t see a single person coming or going. He wasn’t sure anymore if they could really see a doctor in Dejing County?

Bai Shan and his group were galloping on the official road, Bai Erlang couldn’t help but loudly ask Bai Shan, "Will they really come back?"

Bai Shan said confidently, "They will!"

"They don’t know if Dejing County is really sealed off, and we are officials from the capital. They can’t help but believe us. As long as they don’t meet anyone coming from the north, they will turn back."

But at this time, everyone was avoiding Xiazhou City like the plague. Who would come here except those on official duty?

If they encountered someone on official duty heading to Xiazhou City, leading a smallpox patient out, it wouldn’t be wrong to capture them or even kill on the spot.

The group sped forward, and after just over an hour they saw the city, and naturally also the barricades and people blocking the city.

Bai Shan and his group reached the city on horseback and reined in their horses.

There were only two bailiffs guarding the barricade, as no one had come to Xiazhou City recently, so only two were stopping people from entering the city, but many were preventing people from leaving.

Seeing seven horses gallop over, the two put their hands on their swords, watching them vigilantly.

Manbao knew she carried the virus, so she stayed at the back when riding. Bai Shan and Daji were the first to arrive, and Daji took Manbao’s credentials and the Imperial Hospital’s documents to negotiate.

Manbao reined in her horse, sat on it, closed her eyes, and sank her consciousness into the system where Keke communicated with her after half an hour.

"Teacher Mo has sent an email."

Because she was on a horse, Manbao didn’t check it personally and asked Keke, "What did he say?"

"The data is out. There is one type of vaccine that can prevent and treat it, but it’s not completely effective, only having an 89% prevention rate. However, there’s a set of data in the smallpox virus that is quite special, but Teacher Mo says its contagiousness is rather weak."

Manbao then asked, "Is the vaccine expensive?"

Keke looked at the price in the mall and compared it with the one in the encyclopedia, saying, "Not expensive. It’s a vaccine developed thirty years ago for preventing an R virus. But Teacher Mo used medication from within the encyclopedia for testing. Do you want to buy it from the mall or the encyclopedia?"

Of course, it’s from the encyclopedia.

Manbao asked, "How much?"

"One hundred and fifty points per dose, but plus the technology tax, it’s one thousand and fifty points. If purchasing in bulk, the price increases by 10% for every additional ten doses."

Manbao: ... She knew the encyclopedia was different. In reality, the more you buy, the cheaper it is, but not in the encyclopedia.

Any product with a technology tax, whether in the encyclopedia or the mall, the more you buy, the more expensive it gets, and buying in batches doesn’t help.