Chapter 239: Testing The Alcohol
Qin Wanwan happily agreed to the invitations from her uncles.
“Okay, okay.”
What a good girl!
“This good wine has the right taste, refreshing!”
“Did Wanwan really make this wine? How can she be so capable? At our age, we’re still playing in the mud.”
“Good wine, General, can you spare some for me to take back?”
Xie Chong frowned at them, “Don’t let drinking interfere with your duties.”
“Hahaha… how could a little bit of this wine possibly interfere with our duties? Besides, we’re off duty now.”
However, Xie Chong insisted on giving them only one bowl each. This wine was much stronger than anything they had drunk before.
The burly men reluctantly put down their bowls and then noticed other things.
“What are you doing?”
But looking at the wine in the strange device, they were confused.
Qin Wanwan replied, “We’re distilling alcohol.”
“What alcohol?”
Qin Wanwan said, “It’s alcohol to heal Daddy’s wounds.”
She chattered on, explaining it again without noticing that her father and the soldier uncles’ eyes were gradually getting brighter.
“Really?!”
After Qin Wanwan finished speaking, the uncle who looked like Zhang Fei, with dark skin and a big beard, roared loudly.
Qin Wanwan’s ears buzzed, and she pouted, shrinking into her father’s arms.
Xie Chong kicked him.
Although he was also excited, General Xie remained composed.
The big beard didn’t get angry at being kicked; instead, he patted his buttocks and ran over to ask if the alcohol could really save people.
Xie Chong stated, “The military doctor also uses alcohol when treating wounds, but it’s not as effective as what Wanwan described.”
Although they didn’t understand what sterilization was, they understood disinfection.
The military doctor also used alcohol, but not in large quantities, and the effect wasn’t as good.
Firstly, the alcohol’s potency was low, so its sterilization effect was naturally not as good.
Secondly, alcohol was expensive. In every war, there were many wounded soldiers in the military camp. Moreover, the military doctors used medicinal wine, which required not only alcohol but also precious medicinal herbs, making the cost too high. Disinfecting everyone with alcohol was simply unaffordable.
“Whether it’s really that effective, we’ll know if we try.”
Although it wasn’t wartime now, there were still wounded soldiers in the military camp.
Some were injured during training among their own people, and others were injured while on patrol, encountering grassland bandits or Tartars.
Immediately, everyone forgot about drinking and headed to the military camp with a jar of alcohol.
Qin Wanwan also insisted on going along.
The smell of wine at home was too strong, and Qin Wanwan felt dizzy after being exposed to it for too long. She wanted to go out with her Daddy for some fresh air.
Xie Chong held his daughter in one arm and, with a group of his subordinates, left the General’s Mansion in a hurry.
Upon arriving at the military camp, they went directly to the wounded soldier barracks.
During peacetime, the wounded soldier barracks weren’t very busy.
They grabbed a military doctor and asked, “Are there any wounded who were just brought in and haven’t been treated yet?”
The military doctor nodded repeatedly.
“Yes, there have been more wounded brought in recently than before.”
Xie Chong also knew the reason.
It was caused by people sent out by Prince Walter, who was unwilling to give up.
This had happened often before; there were always some small Tartar squads harassing villages near the border pass.
This kind of behavior was disgusting.
However, now, they were the ones suffering heavy losses.
“Take us there.”
The wounded soldier barracks occupied a large area. In winter, they were mostly in tents, but now that the weather was not cold, it was more comfortable to be outside.
A shed was erected on a clearing, open on all sides, with only a thatched roof to shield from the sun and rain.
“General!”
The wounded soldiers lying on the simple beds were somewhat excited to see Xie Chong and his group arrive.
Xie Chong nodded at them.
Qin Wanwan widened her eyes and looked around curiously.
The wounded soldier barracks were clean, with no garbage, but the smell of blood and herbs was a bit strong.
Keke commented, “Not bad, this wounded soldier barracks is quite clean.”
Although the beds where the wounded soldiers slept were simple, it was evident that they were also very clean.
There were even elderly aunts and mothers changing the bedding, taking the blood-stained ones to be washed.
Speaking of this, they became proud.
“That’s right, our Border Army’s wounded soldier barracks have the best conditions; other garrisons aren’t as clean as ours.”
Xie Chong explained to Qin Wanwan as he saw her curiosity.
“No one paid attention to these things before. It was only two years ago that a military doctor suggested that in dirty and messy environments, wounded soldiers were more likely to develop fevers, and it happened more frequently. So, I ordered people to pay attention. Later, indeed, more people were saved in clean environments.”
Qin Wanwan nodded, “Clean, good, Daddy, great!”
The little milk bun unsparingly praised her Daddy.
Xie Chong didn’t show it on his face, but he felt very pleased in his heart from his daughter’s praise.
Keke muttered softly, “Indeed, one should not underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.”
They treated the wounds of a few recently returned wounded soldiers with alcohol.
Accompanied by an incredibly tragic scream, everyone in the wounded soldier barracks looked up with their heads perked.
“What’s going on? What is this? No one screams this miserably even when they’re dying.”
This scream sounded more painful than being cut by a sword.
The military doctor, who was using alcohol to treat the wound, did not expect this and almost dropped the bowl of alcohol with a slight tremble of his hand.
The wounded soldier’s expression had become extremely ferocious and contorted, and his body was still trembling uncontrollably.
“Hiss… this stuff, does it really hurt that much?”
The wounded soldier’s face was deathly pale and sweating profusely. “It hurts.”
The military doctor hesitated, “This… General, should we continue?”
Xie Chong’s expression was stern, “Continue. Have two people hold him down.”
Then, the screams continued for quite some time before finally stopping.
The other wounded soldiers watched, shrinking their necks.
When the second person started having their wound treated, another scream followed.
The newly arrived wounded soldiers: ………
“Military doctor, we’ll take medicine, hurry and boil some for us!”
They would rather take the bitter medicine than endure this suffering.
They hadn’t heard anyone scream like that even when they were cut by a sword.
Some wounds were too large, and the bleeding couldn’t be stopped. They couldn’t directly use alcohol for fear of causing death from pain.
As the military doctor was still trying to figure out how to use acupuncture or herbs to stop the bleeding, Qin Wanwan suddenly said.
“You can suture the wound.”
Keke had told her about this, and she remembered it.
Qin Wanwan remembered all the first-aid knowledge Keke had expanded upon while explaining alcohol.
The military doctors looked at each other.
This… sewing wounds with needle and thread was unheard of.
Keke said, “Why are you all stunned? Try it. If the blood keeps flowing like this, the person will die when all the blood is gone.”
Xie Chong commanded, “Someone, go get needles and thread.”
Naturally, the needles and thread used for suturing wounds were not just any kind, especially for internal wounds.
However, with the current conditions and these military doctors, being able to suture external wounds would be good enough.
Upon hearing Xie Chong’s order, the military doctors’ expressions showed disapproval.
Especially some of the old-fashioned ones.
“Nonsense! Suturing wounds with needles and thread? This is unheard of! General, how can you be foolishly following a child?!”
The old man was so angry his beard puffed out.
