Chapter 2473 - 2447: Personally Administering the Variolation

Manbao spent a month at ease and then entered the imperial estate with Imperial Doctor Lu. This time, the trial participants were children aged eight to sixteen, divided into two groups: one from eight to twelve years old, and the other from twelve to sixteen years old.

There were both boys and girls. When the trial results came out, it was found that the effects were indeed better than those on adults. The fever rates were lower, the pustules appeared and healed faster, and the overall pustule count decreased by about three.

The data showed exceptionally good results, so Manbao, after consulting Teacher Mo, decided to vaccinate herself as a test.

She had taken the sugar pill before, which couldn’t completely prevent smallpox but had an 80% chance. So for the past two years, as long as she was careful and didn’t come into contact with the virus orally or nasally, she didn’t get infected despite being near smallpox patients.

But she still wanted to completely eliminate this risk.

So she mentioned the vaccination matter to Director Xiao quite directly, "Coincidentally, we are waiting for the data to be consolidated, and I am not that old, so I might as well get vaccinated."

Director Xiao was surprised by her courage and quickly said, "Although you’ve never had smallpox, you haven’t contracted it despite being exposed to many patients over the past two years, which suggests that the chance of getting it in the future is low. Why rush to get vaccinated now?"

Manbao replied, "Now that the experimental data is out, local inoculation will begin. If an imperial doctor like me voluntarily gets vaccinated and shows that the vaccine is effective, it will boost people’s confidence in vaccination. Also, I want to try out my experimental results."

Manbao had consulted Teacher Mo, who was very confident in their experimental data and didn’t believe there was any issue.

If something were to go wrong, she could just buy detoxification pills, and she had already prepared her points for that. She even paid points for Keke to monitor her condition at all times, ensuring her safety.

In terms of being careful about one’s health, she was ahead of everyone at the Imperial Hospital.

Unfortunately, Director Xiao and the others didn’t know, they just felt Zhou Man was brave and loyal.

It must be said, if one person getting vaccinated could reassure everyone, that person, aside from the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince, would be officials of the third rank or above, or Director Xiao and Zhou Man from the Imperial Hospital.

Outside this group, anyone else getting the vaccine might read to suspicion.

But it’s not possible for the Emperor, Empress, or Crown Prince, and while there seem to be many officials of the third rank and above, only about twenty in the capital hold critical posts and are unlikely to risk their lives.

Director Xiao thought for a while and reported it to the Emperor.

The Emperor pondered briefly and approved, saying to Bai Shan, "Manbao, the Lady of Liyang, truly is the daughter of the Mianzhou Chief, both loyal and righteous."

Bai Shan: ...

What could he say?

He wasn’t very worried about Manbao’s life safety, given how many times the vaccine had been tested, and especially with his little father-in-law by Manbao’s side, he wasn’t overly concerned.

However, he was worried about her meals, as post-vaccination requires a period of light diet.

So when Bai Shan returned home after work, he asked Junior Ms. Qian to make several bowls of steamed pork and meatballs. Once they were steamed, he rushed to the imperial estate early the next day to deliver them to Manbao.

Bai Shan handed the basket to the guards and repeatedly instructed, "Tell her to eat while it’s hot. Time is limited, make sure she eats well and drinks well; no need to save anything. If she wants anything, write it down, and I’ll prepare and send it."

The guards took the basket, bewildered, not understanding where this was coming from. It sounded like Lord Zhou Junior’s ... days were numbered?

The guards delivered the basket to Zhou Man.

When Manbao opened the basket, the steamed pork and meatballs were still hot. She took a piece of the four-part lean, five-part fatty steamed pork and took a bite. It was tender and fragrant, with the fat absorbed by the rice flour, making it not greasy at all, and the rice flour was delicious too.

Manbao enjoyed the taste, eating with delight, while Imperial Doctor Lu kept watching her.

Manbao reluctantly pushed the bowl towards him and said, "Imperial Doctor Lu, would you like to try my elder sister-in-law’s cooking?"

Imperial Doctor Lu said, "Eating such greasy food early in the morning is not good for the stomach."

Despite his words, he picked a piece and ate it, then decided to share some of his green tea with Zhou Man.

Manbao then let Xi Bing set the rest aside, saying, "We’ll steam it with the rice for lunch."

That will be delicious.

Jiu Lan asked, "Madam, Young Master wants to know what you’d like to eat so he can prepare it for you."

Manbao knew that if she got vaccinated, she would need to stick to a light diet for a while, so she patted her little belly and said, "Actually, I really want to eat saozi noodles. The sauce made by my elder sister-in-law is spicy and flavorful, and the noodles are delicious too."

Jiu Lan hesitated and then said, "Madam, my noodles might not be as good as Elder Sister-in-law’s."

"It’s okay, the saozi sauce will do, and I can’t eat much in the days to come anyway."

Imperial Doctor Lu: "You speak as if something’s going to happen. It’s just a vaccination. We’ve vaccinated two or three thousand people already. What’s there to fear?"

Manbao: "I’m not scared, it’s just that I’ll be on a light diet for a while, and it feels a bit of a pity."

Imperial Doctor Lu: ...

Manbao indeed felt it was a pity.

The trial participants didn’t mind because, although the diet was described as light, they still had large steamed buns, white rice, and meals with meat every day.

It was just a bit less oily and salty compared to the time when they were recovering.

For those who couldn’t even have enough to eat before, this wasn’t a light diet at all; it was still a feast.

But not for Manbao, who was a foodie.

Imperial Doctor Lu stood up and said, "I’ll go check, I should be able to leave tomorrow."

Imperial Doctor Lu would be able to leave and so would Manbao, but since she wanted to get vaccinated, she couldn’t be bothered to run back and forth, and besides...

Manbao looked at Imperial Doctor Lu and furrowed her small brow, asking, "Imperial Doctor Lu, when I get vaccinated, will you still be the one looking after me?"

Imperial Doctor Lu: "...That’s still a few days away, right?"

Actually, not much time was needed. Once the Emperor agreed, Director Xiao informed everyone at the Imperial Hospital, and the next day they brought Imperial Doctor Liu over for a routine question to Manbao, "Doctor Zhou, do you want to go home to see your family?"

To say goodbye and make some preparations.

Manbao: "...There’s no need, my parents aren’t home, they’re in Yongzhou, and it’s just a few days."

Director Xiao was straightforward, nodding, "Alright, then we’ll proceed with the vaccination."

Manbao widened her eyes, "Vaccinate today?"

"Didn’t you say you weren’t going home? So the sooner we vaccinate, the sooner it’ll be over."

"That’s true, but Bai Shan promised to bring me saozi this afternoon..."

Imperial Doctor Lu lifted his eyelids and looked at her, while Imperial Doctor Liu smiled and said, "No problem, we’ll eat it for you, it won’t go to waste."

Manbao: ...

So it was decided, and the attending doctors went to prepare the vaccine for Zhou Man.