Chapter 190: 190 Both prongs of an attack are used at once
The more Du Heng considered it, the angrier he became. "In this heat, meat left out to thaw overnight would be covered in fly eggs by now. How can this woman be so vicious? Doesn't she have her own children attending school?"
Gong Daoyang chimed in softly, "I heard from others that this woman doesn't actually have any children. Right now, she's completely fixated on money."
Du Heng was startled; he hadn't expected his words to strike true.
"This isn't even a Canteen she contracted for. Why would leftover meat have anything to do with her?"
"She's the one actually in charge of the Canteen, and she's also the procurement officer."
Du Heng was stunned once again. So, Gong Daoyang was saying this woman really was obsessed with money. But wasn't it utterly inhuman to exploit her own brother-in-law like this? She was harming others and herself in the process.
Seeing that most of the students had left, Du Heng decided not to linger at the school. "Gong, you handle things here. I'll head back to the Health Clinic."
Gong Daoyang glanced at the few straggling students. "You go ahead. I'll deal with things here."
Back at the Health Clinic, Du Heng had to push his way through. People were everywhere, and the moans of students filled the air.
Wang Zhenzhen, the Pharmacy Doctor, and the logistics staff were all mobilized. Even the custodial staff pitched in, tirelessly maintaining order and checking on each student.
Luckily, nearly half of the students were unharmed this time. With the secondary school teachers assisting in management, the situation was still under control. Otherwise, if several hundred people had streamed into the Health Clinic all at once, the entire place would have descended into chaos.
The Health Clinic was completely overrun by students. Although the front courtyard of the Health Clinic was quite small, the old courtyard was very large, with several mature trees providing ample shade.
Students with milder symptoms were all gathered in the courtyard, so heatstroke wasn't a concern for them. The only problem was that the Health Clinic's toilets were insufficient for the sheer number of people.
Du Heng navigated through the dense crowd to the backyard of the Health Clinic. Wu Buwei and a nurse were already dispensing medicine to the students who had arrived earlier. Middle school teachers were also present, helping to maintain order, so things were proceeding in a relatively organized manner.
When he reached the decoction room, Du Heng saw two large vats of medicine simmering simultaneously. "Buwei," he asked, "will there be enough decoction?"
Wu Buwei was busily dispensing the decoction, constantly monitoring the students in the crowd with more severe conditions. He hadn't noticed Du Heng's arrival, so he was startled when Du Heng suddenly spoke beside him. Turning to see it was Du Heng, he quickly said, "Senior Brother, there should be enough decoction for one cup per student."
Du Heng made a quick mental calculation and agreed it should be sufficient. He then moved on, asking, "Are any students showing severe symptoms? How are they being managed?"
"There are eight students with severe symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, and nausea. Doctor Yu and Xiao Li have already admitted them to a hospital room, started them on IV fluids, and the decoction I prepared has also been sent over to them. However, I've been down here the whole time, so I'm not very clear about the exact situation upstairs."
Du Heng listened carefully. He assessed the situation and felt his direct intervention was unnecessary. He instructed Wu Buwei, "Buwei, keep careful track of the time. Half an hour from now, give the students their second dose. After they've had both doses, if any students are still experiencing abdominal pain, dizziness, or other symptoms, contact Doctor Yu and me immediately." With that, he turned and headed upstairs.
The second floor was just as crowded. All family members had been moved out into the hallways; only patients and two nurses were allowed in the hospital rooms.
Moreover, the relatives had to stand pressed against the walls and couldn't move about freely, or they would block the nurses and Xiao Li, who were bustling in and out.
Du Heng found Yu Haiting, who was busy trying to give an injection to a very obese student. Du Heng remained silent, waiting to the side. Only when Yu Haiting had finished did Du Heng ask, "Doctor Yu, how are these students doing?"
Yu Haiting had actually noticed Du Heng earlier but hadn't spoken to him.
The main issue was that the student he was attending to was incredibly obese. About 1.6 meters tall, he likely weighed over 100 kg and was practically spherical. His entire arm was a mass of layered fat, roll upon roll.
The nurse had tried several times but couldn't manage it and didn't dare to try again, so Yu Haiting had to take over, bracing himself.
To be honest, his skill with injections was quite a bit worse than the nurse's. But now, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and try.
Fortunately, he got lucky and found a vein on the second try.
"Their conditions aren't too serious and are all under control. We've drawn blood and collected urine samples; the check-up results will be out shortly."
Du Heng was a bit dazed; he hadn't expected the equipment they had managed to obtain from the District Hospital to be put into use so quickly.
"Is it food poisoning?" Du Heng wanted to confirm Yu Haiting's diagnosis.
"I chatted with the students for a bit. It should be."
"Doctor Yu, there are many students. Let's you and I make another round to ensure we haven't missed any severe cases."
"Alright, let's go down and take another look."
They went downstairs and weaved through the throng of students, constantly checking their conditions. Fortunately, they found no overlooked severe cases. Moreover, the symptoms of the students who had taken the decoction earliest were already beginning to subside.
After Du Heng and Yu Haiting completed their rounds downstairs and found no further issues, they returned to the second floor. They arrived just as Xiao Liu was coming down to deliver the inspection sheets.
Yu Haiting took the sheets and looked through them one by one. The deep furrows in his brow finally smoothed out. "Dean, these students are..."
Before he could finish, the wailing sirens of several ambulances blared from downstairs.
Du Heng knew what was happening; the medical staff from the Municipal First Hospital and District Hospital must have arrived.
Without waiting for Yu Haiting to finish, Du Heng immediately turned and headed downstairs.
He saw that not only had medical staff from the Municipal First Hospital arrived, but also officials from relevant departments. Du Heng turned to Yu Haiting and said, "You take charge here. I need to go talk with the leaders."
"Dean, you go ahead. I'll keep an eye on things here."
Du Heng quickly approached the outermost circle of leaders and rapidly summarized the situation. When they heard that the students were not in serious danger, the leaders present visibly relaxed.
However, the matter wasn't over. The group immediately headed towards the Township Government office, and Du Heng was summoned to join them, as meetings were about to commence.
Now that the student situation was under control and clearly improving, the pressure on Du Heng and the Health System had significantly lessened.
But the officials from the township and the Education Bureau were still extremely anxious.
They needed to provide a satisfactory account to their superiors, their subordinates, and the wider community.
Moreover, because the school administration had reacted too slowly, some students had already posted about the incident online, and it had begun to gain traction.
Therefore, merely providing an explanation wouldn't suffice; they also had to devise a way to eliminate the negative impact.
Most crucially, they needed to find a scapegoat.
This meeting was exhausting Du Heng, and it looked like it wouldn't end anytime soon.