strictlysupreme Chapter 510 Sacrifice is a price that must be paid!
Chapter 510 Sacrifice is a price that must be paid!
Late at night.
Zhao Xiaohui was woken up by her cell phone ringing.
To avoid waking the child, she quickly got up to answer the call.
"Hey, who is it?"
"It's me, Xiaohui. Are you asleep?"
Upon hearing her husband Liu Wenzhong's voice, Zhao Xiaohui immediately retorted angrily:
"Isn't that obvious? Don't you even know what time it is back home?"
Liu Wenzhong quickly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If it weren't for the urgency, I wouldn't have wanted to look for you so late at night."
Zhao Xiaohui got up slightly and glanced at her son and daughter who were fast asleep beside her.
"Speak, what's the matter that's so urgent?"
"Can you help me find a ventilator and get it to Peking Union Medical College Hospital as quickly as possible?"
Zhao Xiaohui was instantly shocked.
She hurriedly got up, not even bothering to put on her slippers, and rushed into the bathroom.
As he closed the door, he hurriedly asked:
"Why do you need a ventilator? Are Mom and Dad infected and hospitalized?"
Zhao Xiaohui was deeply worried.
Before the Spring Festival, her younger brother Zhao Ruilong told her that the infectious disease that appeared in Dongguang was very likely to cause a major epidemic after the Spring Festival when the population migrated in large numbers.
At the time, Zhao Xiaohui didn't quite believe it. She thought that it was the 21st century, and medical technology was already quite advanced. How could a small pneumonia virus cause such a big stir?
Zhao Ruilong requested that after the Spring Festival, everyone in his family except for his father Zhao Lichun, his wife Lu Yike, and his mother-in-law Wu Xinyi, who had to stay in Yanjing for work, should temporarily move back to Jingzhou. Zhao Xiaohui was not very willing to do so.
In particular, Zhao Ruilong's insistence that his relatives and friends who remained in Yanjing must not only get vaccinated, but also wear masks when going out, wash their hands when returning home, frequently disinfect and ventilate their homes, and monitor their body temperature every day... Zhao Xiaohui found this hard to understand.
Until recently, the development of events has fully verified Zhao Ruilong's speculation.
Both cities have close ties with people from Dongguang, but Yanjing has seen a surge in cases and widespread panic, leading to panic buying of supplies and the deployment of medical teams. However, Handong, which took preventative measures in advance, has maintained a calm and controllable social environment.
"They're not my parents. Don't we all have to report our health status in the group chat every day? They both reported in the group chat this evening that everything was fine, have you forgotten?"
Liu Wenzhong's words were like a tranquilizer, instantly calming Zhao Xiaohui down.
"Oh right, right, I forgot about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Well, since our whole family is fine, why are you, who's far away in the US, not doing your job properly? Why did you ask me to find a ventilator? And why did you ask me to get it to Peking Union Medical College Hospital as quickly as possible? That's one of the best hospitals in our country, how could they possibly be short of ventilators?"
Liu Wenzhong hurriedly explained, "It's my father's old colleague, Hao Juan, the former director of the Asia-Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She urgently needs one, saying that her future daughter-in-law is coughing so badly that she desperately needs a ventilator."
"Director Hao is an upright and warm-hearted person. She has helped my father a lot in the past. Her husband, Dou Angui, once served as the director of the Machinery Industry Bureau. Her father-in-law is General Dou, who made great contributions in battle, but now he is in the intensive care unit and his life is hanging by a thread."
“My dad was really embarrassed to bother you in the middle of the night, so he asked me to make this call. Do you think you can think of a solution? The situation in Handong isn’t too serious yet. I think you should be able to find a temporarily unused ventilator to send over, right?”
Zhao Xiaohui didn't go back to the bedroom; she sat on the toilet to answer the phone.
There are roughly two types of ventilators!
"One type is a small, home-use device, for users who can breathe independently and use it only to assist with ventilation and regulate their nighttime breathing rhythm, such as for those who snore while sleeping..."
"Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, I know that disease, it's when breathing stops during sleep! I guess if it's not that kind, it's some other medical condition!"
"The other type of medical ventilator is much larger and more advanced and complex. It artificially replaces the patient's spontaneous breathing function and is suitable for respiratory failure. I guess Director Hao also wants a medical ventilator!"
"Could you help me search overnight? With your strong connections in Handong, I'm sure you can find it, honey!"
Zhao Xiaohui chuckled softly.
The Zhao family has painstakingly built their business in Handong for many years.
What's so difficult about finding a ventilator?
Even if you're looking for a lithography machine, you can find one!
"Going to Yanjing, I'm basically unfamiliar with the place, but in Handong Province... this little thing is a piece of cake for me!"
"However, I'm sure I can find a ventilator tonight. I can contact the flight tomorrow morning and have them airlift the ventilator over. It shouldn't be a problem."
"But what's the use of just having a ventilator? This thing only replaces spontaneous breathing; it can't cure diseases. If you're actually diagnosed, you still need to take medication!"
"And you just said that Director Hao's future daughter-in-law is coughing so badly that she must be in serious condition now. She either needs to take a special medicine or be treated with high doses of antibiotics!"
Liu Wenzhong sighed, "I'm afraid they won't dare to take the special medicine that Ruilong urgently developed, even if it's sent over!"
"We all know that it often takes several years for a new drug to go from research and development to market launch, even if everything goes smoothly, because it needs to undergo sufficient clinical trials before it can be allowed to be marketed."
"But Ruilong's special drug has been developed for less than a few months, let alone a few years. We have no idea what kind of side effects or aftereffects it might have."
Zhao Xiaohui let out a long sigh.
"To be honest, Ruilong himself wouldn't dare to guarantee whether the vaccines and special drugs that he had urgently developed had any side effects or long-term consequences, since they hadn't undergone sufficient clinical trials."
"But the good thing about vaccines is that they are inactivated, so the probability of serious side effects and sequelae is extremely low. At most, they just won't produce antibodies or have any preventative effect..."
Liu Wenzhong interjected, "I know that. The problem now is that their whole family has definitely been infected. I heard that Aunt Hao Juan is already running a fever. It's too late to get vaccinated. Since they just want a ventilator, let's help them find one and send it over!"
"Okay, I'll ask around right away and try to get two of each, one for medical use and one for home use. If one gets damaged during transport, the other can still be used."
"Okay, okay, you're so good to me, honey. I love you, mua~"
"Oh, stop being so mushy, get back to your work!"
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Xiaohui immediately looked for someone.
Her father, Zhao Lichun, had been involved in politics in Handong for many years, and she had also been running Huilong Group for many years.
After his younger brother Zhao Ruilong was released from prison, he led Huilong Group to rapid development in Handong.
Therefore, Handong Province was naturally like a base for the Zhao family.
Zhao Xiaohui didn't even need to show up in person; she could resolve the matter quickly with just a phone call.
After informing her husband, Zhao Xiaohui returned to her bedroom.
Looking at her two children sleeping soundly beside her, Zhao Xiaohui couldn't help but feel secretly glad that she had listened to her younger brother's advice and taken the children back to Dongjingzhou, Handan, right after the Spring Festival.
Although we no longer live in the heavily guarded provincial government compound, we now live in a much more comfortable and luxurious villa with a garden, swimming pool, gym, and other amenities, so we can stay home for extended periods without any problems.
Even if Handong had not taken preventative measures in advance, and panic buying and medical shortages had occurred like in Yanjing, the Zhao family's strong influence in Handong would not have prevented them from being unable to get treatment for their illnesses.
But when I think of Director Hao Juan's family...
She herself was the Director of the Asia-Pacific Department, her husband was the Director of the Machinery Industry Department, and her father-in-law was a distinguished veteran general.
Even in Beijing, where government agencies are numerous and department heads are as common as hairs on a cow, such a background is already considered quite prominent and powerful.
Even so, the future daughter-in-law was able to be admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, but she still faced the predicament of having no ventilator available!
Based on this alone, it's not hard to imagine how strained Beijing's medical resources have become.
Even the prominent Dou family has had to resort to connections and favors to seek help from other provinces.
What about those whose family backgrounds are far inferior to theirs, yet they have also been infected?
I'm afraid it will be difficult to even get an appointment at the outpatient clinic, let alone be admitted to the hospital!
Long-term, large-scale gatherings in queues increase the probability of infection.
People who originally had just the flu or a common cold ended up spreading the infection because of the gathering.
After all, items like white vinegar and Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine) are in high demand, not to mention medical masks, which many people definitely don't have and can only go to the hospital to wait without wearing anything.
"This can't go on like this!"
"Without strict control measures, the situation will only get worse!"
"If a large number of medical staff are infected or collapse from exhaustion, it will be even worse!"
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaohui really wanted to call her father, Zhao Lichun, immediately and ask him why Yanjing hadn't taken any action yet.
It has been proven that this outbreak is not caused by the flu virus, but by a novel virus that can cause excruciating pain and even death.
If measures are not taken to prevent and control the disease as soon as possible, more and more people will be infected. Even if the mortality rate is not high, the large number of infected people will inevitably lead to some people dying due to poor immunity, delayed treatment, and other reasons.
Once people start dying, the public will inevitably become increasingly panicked and fearful, more likely to believe various rumors, and engage in even more frantic hoarding of supplies, further exacerbating the pressure on the medical system, which in turn will lead to social instability and affect economic development.
By then, implementing control measures will obviously come at a much higher cost!
But after thinking about it, Zhao Xiaohui put down her phone and gave up the idea of asking her father.
"Although Dad has now entered the Secretariat and is the Deputy Secretariat of Political and Legal Affairs, and also oversees the Public Security Bureau, which is already considered a high position of power, he is not in charge of medical and health care. Since his position is not yet stable, he cannot overstep his authority to interfere!"
"However, even if Yanjing doesn't take any preventative measures and just treats it as a severe flu, our Huilong Group obviously can't just sit idly by. I'll talk to Ruilong when it's light and donate a batch of masks to Yanjing. At least we need to make sure that all the major enterprises and institutions we cooperate with have masks available!"
After making up her mind, Zhao Xiaohui lay on her side looking at her child and gradually drifted off to sleep.
A few hours later.
As the first flight carrying ventilators took off from Jingzhou International Airport bound for Yanjing, Zhao Xiaohui woke up and got out of bed.
I tiptoed out of the gym and saw my younger brother, Zhao Ruilong, running on the treadmill. He was drenched in sweat and had probably been running for quite a while.
"Ruilong, your brother-in-law suddenly called me last night..."
Zhao Ruilong ran with heavy breaths, showing no surprise at the medical overload that had occurred.
On the contrary, the Dou family...
This reminded Zhao Ruilong of the Land Rover M9 new car appreciation event last year, where Dou Jiansheng showed up uninvited, and it reminded him of Yanjing Automobile Company, where Dou Jiansheng worked.
I had heard Zhong Xiaoai introduce me to Dou Jiansheng back then. I knew that he was a "red boy" with a distinguished family background and was a typical young master from the Beijing elite circle.
Unexpectedly, his whole family was infected. His grandfather was on the verge of death, and his fiancée was coughing so badly that she desperately needed a ventilator...
"I think the situation in Yanjing must be very bad. Our Huilong Group can't just sit idly by. We need to send some medical supplies, like masks and disinfectant, to our partners as soon as possible!"