A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 782. The Legacy of the People Who Share a Stream of Water – This is How It Came About!

Back inside the bungalow, the soldiers quickly turned on the earthen stove and stuffed in some firewood. Orange flames soon leaped up with a "whoosh," licking merrily at the dark bottom of the pot. Water was boiling in the large iron pot on the stove, white steam hissing and rising into the air.

The cold earthen bed gradually emitted a comfortable warmth, dispelling the chill from everyone's bodies.

The woman was carefully helped to the warmest spot on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered with two slightly worn but thick cotton quilts, and after drinking some hot water, her pale face eased a little.

The relatively safe environment allowed everyone to relax a little.

Jiang Xia curiously circled the earthen kang (heated brick bed), tapping here and looking there, even squatting down to examine the connection between the stove and the kang hole, before suddenly realizing:

"Huh! So the heat is transported through the flue and evenly heats the entire kang surface! Amazing! I always thought that heating a kang meant lighting a brazier directly under the kang, and that sleeping on it was like being roasted like a sweet potato, and you had to turn over every now and then!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads away speechlessly, with expressions that said, "I don't know this idiot."

But to everyone's surprise, Dr. Meng Chao, who was standing nearby, adjusted his glasses and suddenly had an expression of enlightenment: "Now that you mention it, I understand! I've always admired the people of Northeast China who sleep on giant flat frying pans at night, relying on their amazing heat resistance to keep warm..."

I was wondering, these people from Northeast China not only resist the cold, but they've also all developed an "iron butt" that they can't even turn over at night without shouting "One, two, three, get up!", otherwise one side will burn and they won't be able to turn over!

So it turns out there's a flue for heat dissipation! That's scientific! Very scientific!

Two tech geeks with little to no knowledge of northern folk customs exchanged a glance, simultaneously revealing expressions of mutual appreciation as if they had "found their tribe." They nodded in unison, almost about to start discussing heat conduction efficiency and the limits of human tolerance.

Hearing this from the side, Chief Guard Cheng's forehead veins throbbed. He felt his two precious sons were really embarrassing themselves, so he quickly coughed twice, interrupting their impending academic discussion: "Ahem! Dr. Meng Chao! Stop studying the kang! Hurry up and go examine that woman again! See what's going on!"

"Yes!" Meng Chao immediately suppressed his smile, regained his professional demeanor, and picked up the first-aid kit to walk back to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). He first took the woman's pulse, then listened to her abdomen with a stethoscope, and gently pressed his fingers on her lower abdomen, making extremely light movements.

As he focused on his diagnosis, he caught a glimpse of Liu Shicai, who was tied up in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed). The man's head seemed to be drooping, but he secretly opened his eyelids a crack, peeking at his movements with a hint of unease in his eyes.

Dr. Meng Chao understood the situation, but he didn't say anything, because the woman's condition was indeed far from optimistic, much more serious than her husband's feigned coma.

Just then, on the other side, Professor Li, an elderly geologist, gazed at the pitch-black night outside his window, and as if he could see his students' smiling faces again, a wave of sorrow washed over him:

"It's been a year...a whole year! My student, Zhou Wenbin and his team...Wenbin is a good kid, very reliable. The geological exploration team he led, a group of six, disappeared while conducting a detailed survey in the Heixiazi Gully area!"

They disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead... At the time... the local villagers all said it was just bad luck for the whole group; they ran into a herd of starving bears and didn't even have a proper body left... But I always felt something was off!

Wenbin has extensive field experience, and he's protected by retired soldiers, how could this happen...?

When I heard those bandits mention Heixiazi Gully just now, my heart... my heart felt like it was being stabbed! What on earth happened to them?

Listening to the old man's heartbreaking account, Jiang Xia couldn't help but interject, "Old Li, then... then wasn't any rescue team organized at that time?"

"Yes! Of course there are!" Professor Li said excitedly. "The bureau organized three large-scale search and rescue operations! But every time, every single one of them came to nothing! That Black Bear Gully is like a man-eating place. Not to mention people, we didn't even find any fragments of their exploration team's tents, tool wreckage... not even a scrap of cloth! They just... just vanished into thin air!"

Dr. Meng Chao, who was examining the woman, paused slightly. Liu Shicai, who was leaning against the corner and seemingly unconscious, also stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Old Wang listened, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and interjected, "Old Li, who were the people in charge of leading the search and rescue teams on these three occasions? Do you remember them?"

The elderly geologist shook his head blankly: "This... I don't know. Back then, I was still traveling around the Northwest. It was all arranged jointly by the bureau and the local authorities, and the person leading the team was different each time... I, this old man, didn't ask too many questions about who it was..."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Old Wang's eyes. Without another word, he turned and left the bungalow, heading straight for the armored vehicle parked outside the yard. He climbed inside, and soon, a faint hum of electricity and a hushed voice could be heard from within.

At this moment, Dr. Meng Chao also finished his examination. He walked solemnly to Chief Guard Cheng and reported in a low voice, "Chief Guard, the situation is not good. The shock and impact have caused a threatened miscarriage. The uterus is contracting irregularly, and the fetal heart rate is too fast. The medications I have on hand are mainly for emergency treatment and external injuries: penicillin, sulfonamides, hemostatic powder, and a few injections of cardiac stimulants. We lack specific medications for preventing miscarriage."

In a hospital, the standard treatment nowadays is progesterone injections combined with vitamin E capsules. But I don't have these medications on hand.

Nonsense, what military doctor would carry around progesterone injections everywhere, especially since this kind of injection is a sample, not a commercial product.

Currently, clinical practice mainly relies on oral medication and "oil-based" formulations to achieve self-sufficiency. How is this achieved?

Hey, back then, all you could buy were "progesterone oil capsules" or vegetable oil suspensions that the hospital departments administered themselves. However, for intramuscular injections, patients had to bring their own cottonseed oil or peanut oil, which the nurses would heat, filter, and then draw up the medication on-site.

The injection is so painful it'll make your soul fly away; not only is it painful, but it's also prone to clumping. Furthermore, this medicine is only available in big cities; many people elsewhere have never even heard of it.

Giving birth was like passing through the gates of hell; it was no joke back then.

As Dr. Meng Chao spoke, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Liu Shicai, who was still "unconscious" on the ground, he added, "Western medicine isn't enough; we can only supplement with herbal remedies. In the old forests of early spring, fresh eucommia bark can nourish the liver and kidneys and stabilize the fetus; ramie root can stop bleeding and stabilize the fetus; and birch mistletoe can replenish qi and blood. These herbs are mild, and after being decocted and taken, they can stabilize the fetus. It's just that we have to go into the forest at night to find them..."

Upon hearing this, Chief Cheng did not hesitate for a moment. Despite the dark and cold night outside the window in the northeastern forest, and despite the importance of their mission, the belief that saving lives came first was etched into his very bones.

The PLA's principle of serving the people is paramount!

He immediately decided: "Alright! What herbs do you need? Tell me! I'll send comrades to collect them right away!"

Dr. Meng Chao immediately reiterated the characteristics of the herbs he had just mentioned.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shicai could no longer pretend. He suddenly opened his eyes and shouted urgently, "I know where it is! There's a sheltered hollow three miles east of the ditch. I saw old wormwood and ramie there when I was collecting herbs in the summer!"

But then he remembered the danger of the forest, and his tone became hesitant, "...But, it's pitch black in the old forest..."

Chief of the guards ignored him and simply gave the order decisively: "First Platoon Leader!"

"To!"

"You lead a squad and depart immediately! Use the armored vehicles as mobile bases and support points, and illuminate the area with the vehicle-mounted high-powered searchlights! Search for the herbs Dr. Meng needs nearby! Be careful and maintain communication! Mission accomplished!"

"Yes, sir!" Without any further ado, the platoon leader immediately called several soldiers, gathered their tools and weapons, and quickly boarded the "Patrol Dragon."

The engine roared, and a massive beam of light pierced the darkness once more. The steel behemoth, carrying the warriors, slowly drove away.

"Alright, since you're not pretending to be unconscious anymore, then tell me what happened!"

Liu Shicai squatted in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to Chief Cheng's unhesitating order for the soldiers to break into the old forest at night. He felt both ashamed and touched. He had previously thought these people were there to "arrest him," but now, for his wife's safety, they were even disregarding the rule of "never entering the forest at night."

He clenched his fists, his lips trembling, and his mental defenses completely crumbled at that moment.