Chapter 1884 - Plague War (Part 3)
Lai Xiao's escape caused barely a ripple. To avoid complications, the escort personnel simply wrote in their report: "One jumped into the river and committed suicide." Thus Lai Xiao was struck from the "contact personnel list" with the notation: "Died of other causes." Over a hundred people had died from various causes during the collection of beggars and vagrants—one more or one less attracted no attention.
Lin Motian was already overwhelmed and naturally couldn't concern himself with one Lai Xiao's fate. He was consumed with training epidemic prevention personnel, holding meetings with baojia heads and police officers, instructing them to monitor patients, roadside corpses, and deceased persons within their jurisdictions. All deceased persons now required a death certificate issued on-site by an epidemic prevention inspector before funeral arrangements could proceed.
Large quantities of printed posters were plastered everywhere, urging residents to promptly clear garbage, launch rat extermination campaigns, and collect dead rats in designated baskets for specialized personnel. Random disposal was strictly forbidden.
"I want each baojia district to submit one dead rat. I'll do tissue sectioning and cultivation," Lin Motian said. "First we need to determine where this plague originated."
"Isn't it from the rats?" Mu Min was already drafting a document requesting twenty thousand rat traps from Lingao. She was preparing to distribute them to every baojia in the city.
"Guangzhou hasn't experienced a major plague outbreak before. The likelihood of rats carrying plague bacillus is low. Most likely it was imported through the fur trade," Lin Motian said. "So I first need to dissect and culture rats from throughout the city to determine whether they carry plague bacillus. That's how we identify the infection source."
"So should I still request the rat traps...?"
"Still request them. Rat extermination is always beneficial for environmental sanitation," Lin Motian said. "Killing rats serves one purpose, but it also eliminates fleas."
Because bubonic plague was primarily transmitted by fleas, flea elimination was crucial for severing the transmission chain. Fleas in this era existed virtually everywhere. Human-livestock cohabitation, terrible living conditions, extremely scarce bathing facilities—all resulted in extraordinarily high flea infestation rates. Even urban middle-class and wealthy households suffered from fleas.
However, the Elders' Council possessed neither DDT nor 666 as highly effective insecticides. Due to the enormous population, they also couldn't "purify" people as they had treated Hainan Island refugees. The only available supply was a small quantity of pyrethrin—nowhere near the scale of the U.S. Army spraying DDT throughout Naples.
"We work with what we have; we push forward even without ideal conditions," Lin Motian said. "When Wu Liande went to Manchuria for epidemic prevention, he started empty-handed just like us—no DDT, no antibiotics. In that Manchurian climate, bathing was even harder. Through organization and discipline alone, he used isolation to contain the plague."
Establishing the Changzhou Island quarantine zone was merely the first step. Next, Lin Motian ordered suspension of all fur trading. Ships carrying furs and warehouses storing furs were sealed, and all contact personnel were dispatched to the quarantine zone for isolation and observation.
"Master, the wash water is ready!"
Xiao Si, an apprentice at Xingfu Mountain Goods Store, stood at the proprietor's door, calling loudly. But inwardly he was puzzled. The proprietor habitually rose early year-round. By "Australian time," as was fashionable these days, he was always up by five o'clock regardless of season—same as the shop assistants.
But now the sun stood high in the sky, and not only was the proprietor not up—not a sound came from his room. This was quite strange. His not rising was one thing, but Mr. Liu, who had arranged to discuss business, had already arrived. They couldn't just leave him waiting!
After the shop's assistants conferred, they sent Xiao Si, who had just completed his apprenticeship, to "fetch" him. If it angered the proprietor, this young fellow would bear the blame.
Xiao Si naturally had no right to refuse. Actually, he wasn't feeling well today himself—sore throat and a feverish sensation—but he didn't dare casually claim illness. Now standing outside the door calling repeatedly with no response from within, Xiao Si pushed—the door wasn't latched. He poked his head inside and saw the proprietor still lying in bed. He called several more times. Still no response.
"Is he sick?" Xiao Si thought. He moved closer for a look, and immediately scrambled out in terror, falling and crawling toward the door, shouting: "Something's wrong! The proprietor is dead!"
Lin Motian wore a thick Wu Liande-style mask and isolation gown as he examined the corpse just delivered to the "Quarantine Morgue" at Liuhua Bridge Crematorium: ecchymotic skin, swollen and suppurating lymph nodes, ulceration. All indicated bubonic plague death. He carefully collected several tissue and fluid samples from the corpse for cultivation and observation to make a final diagnosis.
If confirmed, the plague war would officially begin. Lin Motian felt only a heavy weight pressing on his heart.
"What do we do with the body? Should we perform an autopsy?" Su Wan asked.
"No need. Handle it just like that beggar's corpse—straight to cremation," Lin Motian said through his mask with an exhale. "You'll need to supervise them. The corpse itself is an infection source. Everything used here should be thrown in and burned with it."
Su Wan nodded. "I understand."
The Xingfu Mountain Goods Store's staff had all been quarantined on site. However, quarantine inspectors quickly discovered that one young assistant's condition matched Disease No. 1 as described in the manual. Lin Motian received the report and hurried over. Xiao Si had already fallen into high fever—the illness was progressing rapidly.
Two patients appearing simultaneously at a single mountain goods store was no coincidence. Upon inquiry, Lin Motian learned that the store had indeed been dealing in furs recently. Not long ago, they had brought in a shipment of otter pelts from Liaodong and had been airing them in the courtyard during hot summer days to prevent mold and moths.
"Where are the furs now?"
"All in the warehouse. Mr. Liu was supposed to come today to discuss this matter." The assistant who had been summoned regarded the "Chief" wearing a thick mask over his face and a white coat with secret alarm, thinking: Has some important person of the Great Song passed away? Wearing white is one thing, but covering even the face—what a strange custom!
"Which Mr. Liu?"
"That would be Mr. Liu Deshan of Dongshan Ju, specializing in long-distance north-south cargo. The furs in our shop were purchased from him..."
Lin Motian immediately ordered the Epidemic Prevention Battalion to mobilize and isolate Liu Deshan along with everyone he had contacted. Not just him—everyone who had visited Xingfu Mountain Goods Store in recent days had to be isolated.
"Isolated personnel to be immediately transferred to the quarantine zone. Xingfu Mountain Goods Store to be disinfected, then sealed—absolutely no one allowed in or out. Stored furs to be sealed and transported to Liuhua Bridge for incineration."
He issued a rapid series of orders. The assistant stared in dumbfounded shock, suddenly bewildered. "Chief! What law have we broken? Our shop never does anything illegal. We even dump our garbage in the proper baskets..."
"Your shop has been infected with an epidemic!" Lin Motian said coldly. "You'd better pray you haven't caught it yourself."
With that, he hurried to find Lin Baiguang, wanting him to immediately arrange people to seal off Xingfu Mountain Goods Store and Dongshan Ju.
"Liu Deshan?!" Lin Baiguang was alarmed.
"Yes." Lin Motian was surprised—did Lin Baiguang know him?
"He's one of our suppliers," Lin Baiguang said. "He travels north and south year-round, trading goods. I know of him because United Logistics purchased a large quantity of furs from him..."
"Where are these furs?" Now Lin Motian was truly anxious. The furs United Logistics bought—some were shipped to Hong Kong for military supplies manufacture, some went directly to Lingao for processing into industrial and civilian products. Their applications were extremely wide-ranging.
If the fur shipments contained fleas carrying plague bacillus, and they spread in Hong Kong, Lingao, or among the South China Army, the consequences would be catastrophic!
"The most recent batch was all shipped to Hong Kong, over a month ago..." Lin Baiguang, who coordinated relations among all parties in Guangzhou, knew everything. "According to your nine-day incubation theory, if there were a problem, an outbreak should have already occurred at the Hong Kong military supply factory and logistics center."
"That's good to hear." Lin Motian felt cold sweat covering his body. "Even so, his properties also need to be sealed and disinfected."
"His business is simple—just a dock warehouse and the Dongshan Ju ship—which was actually built at our Hong Kong shipyard."
From the sealing of Xingfu Mountain Goods Store, Guangzhou's comprehensive epidemic prevention isolation measures officially began.
Liu Deshan had just arrived home when his house was surrounded by the Epidemic Prevention Battalion. Before he could comprehend what was happening, his entire household—old and young, including servants—were all brought out and declared under "quarantine."
He himself was brought before Lin Motian.
"Have you recently transported furs from Liaodong for sale in Guangzhou?"
"Yes! Yes!" Liu Deshan was puzzling in his mind. His fur trading was on Elder Hong's instructions—there was nothing illegal about it. "The furs I obtained from Lüshun, plus I also got some from Tianjin."
He had originally wanted to say that he hadn't been in the fur business before—it was all on Elder Hong's instruction. But then he thought: who knew what grudges existed between these Elders? Speaking carelessly might offend both sides. So he amended his words: "Don't the Chiefs need to purchase furs?"
Lin Motian asked again: "The otter pelts at Xingfu came from you?"
Liu Deshan's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the Australians had issued notices, and the Industrial and Commercial Association had mentioned in meetings that furs arriving from the north couldn't be sold privately—they all had to be sold to the Australians. Xingfu had overseas channels and could sell otter and sable pelts from Liaodong to the Red Hairs for over ten times the profit. The shop proprietor knew Liu Deshan traveled north for furs and had repeatedly asked him to smuggle goods. Liu Deshan, tempted by the profit, had privately sold quite a bit of cargo to him.
This Elder was asking directly—clearly there was no escape. He could only say: "Yes, that was my merchandise."
"The Elders' Council has repeatedly decreed that furs are controlled goods—private trading is forbidden! How dare you!" Lin Motian could no longer contain himself, pounding the table in fury.
(End of Chapter)