Chapter 1576 - 1423: The Fake Commandery Princess 33
After less than half a year, Ye Shuangshuang had to consider a big matter; she needed to expand the medical clinic since there were simply too many patients, and the clinic couldn’t accommodate them.
When Ye Shuangshuang initially opened the clinic, it was just a spontaneous decision made without much thought; she found a place and opened the clinic, without considering what to do if there were too many patients.
Now it’s different; first of all, it’s about the doctors. Although Ye Shuangshuang had made it clear that she only planned to accept Zhang Qijun as her sole apprentice and would not take on any more,
if doctors came wanting to audit her lessons with Zhang Qijun, she wouldn’t oppose it; it’s just that they wouldn’t have the chance to hear exclusive lessons.
Nevertheless, even the general courses offered were highly beneficial to many of the doctors who followed along to listen.
Moreover, Ye Shuangshuang is very open and approachable; if there are doctors with questions, she would explain if she had time.
Though not officially a mentor, she was indeed fulfilling a teacher’s role, leading many doctors to willingly stay by Ye Shuangshuang’s side and assisting daily just for the chance to receive her guidance.
Reluctantly, Ye Shuangshuang decided to formally hire these doctors willing to learn from her as resident doctors, offering high salaries so that these doctors wouldn’t follow her without earning an income, thus not causing their families to go hungry.
Of course, Ye Shuangshuang was selective and did not accept everyone; she would observe and only accept those who proved to have good character and integrity, not those who were greedy and unethical.
Ye Shuangshuang didn’t say much, but having walked through many worlds and seen countless people, she had a keen eye for judging character, and she certainly wouldn’t select a cunning wolf.
The number of doctors was numerous, but the number of patients was even greater, especially as word spread from patients who had been healed by Ye Shuangshuang, leading more people to seek her treatment.
Some patients needed long-term care, with hospitalization being the best option, but the clinic was small and had no space for accommodations, leaving them to stay in nearby inns or guest houses.
However, inns were reluctant to accommodate seriously ill guests for fear they might die there, which is considered unlucky, and even if they weren’t to die, the inns were worried about contagious illnesses.
Additionally, the doctors, having come as resident doctors, needed to bring their families, yet housing was inconvenient, with insufficient rental places nearby, and distant accommodations hindered convenience.
Ye Shuangshuang considered her funds and thought of establishing something akin to a hospital by Erhai Lake.
She planned to divide it into inpatient, medical, outpatient, and residential areas for ease, and even named it — Medical Hall.
Once Ye Shuangshuang thought of it, she acted swiftly, immediately sending someone to buy land by Erhai Lake. Fortunately, there weren’t many households there, allowing her to easily purchase a large plot at an extremely cheap price.
Afterward, Ye Shuangshuang stayed up late for half a month, finally drafting a satisfactory architectural plan, with the inpatient area being the most complex, divided into contagious, critically ill, and minor illness sections.
Then there was the pharmacy where Ye Shuangshuang prepared a vast storage; in front was the dispensary where recruited attendants would be trained to dispense medicine.
The outpatient area provided simple triage, determining who required immediate attention and who could be deferred; beside it was the emergency area dedicated to urgent cases.
The medical area offered treatments like acupuncture and moxibustion, allowing patients to be treated and leave immediately.
The residential area was where Ye Shuangshuang invested the most effort, featuring garden pavilions and individual cottages each with distinct scenery, for the doctors’ residence.
The rear of the residential area featured a compound with four courtyards designated for Ye Family members, with Ye Shuangshuang even preparing homes for Ye Jingyi and Ye Jingfei’s future marriage and children.
However, such a vast construction project would naturally take time to complete, inspiring Ye Shuangshuang to consider hiring unemployed beggars for the construction.
She would provide food, and accommodations would be tents; experienced craftsmen would lead them, while the beggars handled the labor-intensive tasks.
Ye Shuangshuang offered generous wages — thirty copper coins daily, including food and lodging, with three meals a day, each including some meat, even though not much, demonstrating generosity indeed.
News spread about Ye Shuangshuang building Medical Hall and hiring beggars, offering thirty copper coins a day, enticing many to seek this opportunity.
However, the reason Ye Shuangshuang offered such pay was to indirectly aid these beggars, allowing them to have savings after completing the work.
With this money in hand, those with ambitions could find a way forward, perhaps using it as capital to start a small business.
Building Medical Hall was indeed a bit challenging for Ye Shuangshuang since it required supervision, yet she was so busy each day, like wishing she had eight arms, having no time for onsite oversight.
Eventually, Ye Fangchen and Bai Menghan, who were idle, volunteered to handle the matter, with one overseeing external supervision and the other managing miscellaneous tasks and accounts.
During this period, Ye Feiying and Shen Family were in great health, particularly since Ye Shuangshuang’s fame had greatly grown, giving them a reputation, and everywhere they went, they were met with friendliness and enthusiasm, brightening the elders’ mood.
Being in good spirits further improved their health, and with improved health, they didn’t want to stay idle; seeing their son and daughter-in-law occupied, they collaborated and decided to help them.
With the adults away, Ye Jingyi and Ye Jingfei felt bored; they were unwilling to follow their sister Ye Shuangshuang, primarily as she was too busy to care for them.
Even Qi Jun seemed less interesting, ever since he became her apprentice, getting so busy under Ye Shuangshuang’s tutelage that he hardly had time for playful chatter, engrossed in constant studying.
Eventually, the two bored youths were packed off by Ye Shuangshuang and sent to study under a renowned scholar from Nanzhao.
This renowned scholar had lived in seclusion for years; had Ye Shuangshuang not cured his son’s chronic disease, thereby owing her a favor, it would have been impossible for Ye Jingyi and Ye Jingfei to learn from him.
The busy days quickly went by, and the construction of Medical Hall visibly progressed bit by bit, but before it was completed, another commendation from the Emperor arrived for Ye Shuangshuang.
After reviewing the data collected during this period, Zhang Jingguo confirmed that the malaria medication developed by Ye Shuangshuang indeed cured malaria without exception, and finally reported this to the court.
When the Emperor received Zhang Jingguo’s memorial, he could hardly believe his eyes. Why had Nanzhao remained unconquered for so long? Besides the difficulty of governing the minorities, the biggest problem was malaria, feared by everyone who went there.