Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 997 - 0997: Making Good Connections 6

Chapter 997: Chapter 0997: Making Good Connections 6

Feng Qingxue, upon hearing this, expressed her concern, "This is what we know, but I fear there are things we do not know. Are all the hospitals and pharmacies truly out of antibiotics and Bezoar Pills? Has the situation really become so dire?"

Cui Shaoyuan spoke in a low voice, "Some may indeed have run out, while others most definitely cannot be completely out."

Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue, upon hearing this statement, furrowed their brows deeply, their faces looking extremely distressed, and in unison said, "Saving lives is as urgent as fighting a fire. In these circumstances, can there actually be people hoarding supplies?"

"Sigh," Cui Shaoyuan let out a wry smile, "You see us, holding not insignificant positions? Walking in the streets, everyone respects us, and even our elderly leaders listen to what we say. But let me tell you, in the Capital, there’s no shortage of anything except high-ranking officials. Drop a brick and you’re likely to hit one! Not everyone is so selflessly devoted to the public good. If our children fall ill, it’s natural for them to use the medicine. When the supply runs short, they’ll simply tell us that there’s none left."

Dysentery, meningitis, smallpox, and other epidemics were not completely eradicated and every year a great number of people died from these diseases.

"What about the pharmacies? If antibiotics are said to be gone, what about Bezoar Pills? Do the pharmacies have no stock at all?" Feng Qingxue asked. Could it be that every industry has been paralyzed to this extent? Medicine is for saving lives after all!

Cui Shaoyuan said indifferently, "Bezoar is rare, and even a skillful woman can’t cook without rice. I have seen the rough formula for Angong Niuhuang Pills; none of the ingredients are cheap. The past one or two years have been chaotic, with industries virtually tangled in disorder, factories and pharmaceutical plants basically shutting down. In Ludi, I heard that the entire Roundworm Wormwood, which can be used to make Pagoda Sugar, has been reaped clean! It had just resumed being planted, almost ready for harvest, and then it was destroyed like that. I wonder whether those involved will regret it deeply when they need medicine for their own children in the future and find the market devoid of it. Had it not been for directives issued this year to suppress certain activities, the current situation would surely be even worse."

Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue felt both anger and desolation.

Lu Jiang often went to the battlefield, where many comrades lost their lives due to the lack of medicine, and he didn’t know how many he had personally buried. He had hoped that the situation would improve, but the recent activities had only exacerbated the industry’s depression. How could he not be angry?

"Fortunately, I managed to get some Roundworm Wormwood seeds through some connections, and I’ve been carefully storing them, hoping they can be brought to light before they lose their viability."

Roundworm Wormwood was introduced from abroad, and the suppliers were extremely strict, only sending twenty grams of seeds. They were tested in various places, but only those planted in Ludi survived. Just when it had grown to a certain scale, it was dealt successive blows, leading to its disappearance completely by the early 1980s. Pharmaceutical merchants went to Ludi with great sums of money to buy Roundworm Wormwood, only to return disappointed.

The disappearance of Roundworm Wormwood was only in one’s own country, not globally. The miraculous plant still existed abroad, but they would not provide even a single seed to one’s own country!

Cui Shaoyuan’s eyes lit up, and he praised her continuously, "Good, very good! Comrade Qingxue, you truly are an outstanding comrade! I will remember this matter. I will keep an eye on any related news, and if the country decides to massively develop the cultivation of Roundworm Wormwood, in the absence of seeds, I will make sure those responsible come to you, Comrade Qingxue. Just like you said, we all hope this will happen before the seeds become ineffective."

"The country is our shared home, and we all wish to see it prosper increasingly," Feng Qingxue changed the subject. "Comrade Cui, you’re often in the Capital, may I inquire about something from you?"