The Qingyuan Prefecture city was not large, and it had once been ravaged by the Jurchen people's iron cavalry, but due to it being a crucial trade route and the northern lands having been peaceful for many years, its vitality had been restored, and at this moment, there was a bustling crowd coming and going.
Of course, this kind of bustling could not compare to that in the south. The clothing of the passersby was much poorer, and there were many displaced people and beggars along the streets.
But at this time, the beggars and displaced people, who should have been lying listlessly by the roadside or stretching out their hands to people coming in and out for money and food, were all surging toward the city gates.
Due to the recent incidents in Zhending and Hejian Prefecture, even though Qingyuan Prefecture was located in the middle of the western route of Hebei, its defensive preparedness had become much tighter than before.
At the city gates, army personnel were present in great numbers, conducting strict inspections.
However, at this time, these soldiers were not inspecting people but were gathered on the left side of the city gate, cordoning off an open space to prevent the crowd from getting too close.
The area they cordoned off was plastered with a big red notice, the characters written on it were as large as a fist, seemingly so that everyone could see and recognize them.
But for the majority of the people gathered in front of the city gate, the size of the characters really made no difference to their ability to recognize them.
The feudal authority was aware of this and had arranged for scribes to read it aloud.
"Announcement: Miss Jun of Jiuling Hall from the capital will personally come to Qingyuan Prefecture for the vaccination affairs. Families with children who have reached full one year of age and are under thirteen years old..."
When the words "Miss Jun of Jiuling Hall" were spoken, the surrounding crowd immediately erupted, and the scribe's remaining words were drowned out by the noise.
It had already been widely spread by the military and merchants coming and going that in the capital there was a Miss Jun of Jiuling Hall who could vaccinate children and spare them from the scourge of smallpox, throughout the western route of Hebei.
The harm of smallpox was a major concern in everyone's heart, and vaccination was a great matter that would benefit future generations.
People in the western route of Hebei were naturally ecstatic. Because there were too few doctors capable of performing vaccinations in the capital and it was taking a long time for their turn to come around—half a year had passed, and it was only by the Prefect of Xiangzhou having relatives in the Hanlin Department that they managed to bring one over to Xiangzhou.
Xiangzhou was still at some distance from Qingyuan Prefecture. Nevertheless, there was at least some hope on the horizon, but before long, news came that this doctor had already been booked in advance by those in the eastern route of Hebei, and Qingyuan Prefecture immediately burst into curses.
Many people had already begun to plan to bring their children to follow the vaccinating doctor, which would naturally entail a huge expense. Very few could afford to do so, and for the majority of the public, the cost of a few hundred copper coins for smallpox vaccine could be scrimped together by selling the iron pot, but traveling to a different place was harder than ascending to heaven.
"Where are we? This is the northern lands, a place that has been occupied by the Jin thieves," someone said with bitterness and anger.
"We have not been occupied; the Jin thieves just passed through," someone quietly countered.
"Does it make any difference? If it weren't for Duke Chengguo leading the recovery, we wouldn't even be considered subjects of the great Zhou now," someone else shouted loudly.
"Yeah, I heard people in the south call us 'northern dogs,' saying we are the dogs of the Jurchen people," another added.
"They wouldn't even remember us," someone muttered.
This sentiment, spreading with the news of vaccination, reminded many of the older generation of the time when the Jin thieves invaded en masse, when government soldiers retreated, when the emperor abandoned the capital and fled, and when they became the Abandoned People. The feeling was akin to the utter despair they felt back then.
Sadness and grievance, yet also desperation.
Unexpectedly, news that Miss Jun of Jiuling Hall had come was heard at this time.
In other places, the Hanlin Pox Department would have arranged for doctors to perform vaccinations, but here, it was Miss Jun herself.
Who is Miss Jun? Miss Jun is the one who created the smallpox vaccine!
"Miss Jun never vaccinates personally, not even for the emperor's grandchildren," someone exclaimed.
"That's right, the emperor invited Miss Jun, but she didn't go," another confirmed.
Such a person, almost celestial in aspect, was actually coming to Qingyuan Prefecture to vaccinate their children.
The doctors from those other places were nothing compared to Miss Jun.
The entire Qingyuan Prefecture erupted with excitement as if a pot had been brought to boil, with the news spreading like wildfire, akin to the excitement of the New Year.
The crowd gathered in front of the city gate to see the notice was unceasing, and even those who had seen it before came back to look again and again.
Before actually seeing Miss Jun, the notice seemed to become a talisman with magical properties—a few extra glances seemed to bring the power to ward off calamities. Were it not for the soldiers' intervention, many wished to approach and touch the notice to receive some of its good fortune.
"Make way, make way," someone called out.
Behind the crowd surrounding the notice suddenly came shoving accompanied by rough voices barking orders.
To the people of the northern lands, this authoritative tone and the force of the shoving were all too familiar—it was characteristic of government soldiers.
In other places, people revered the county government constables, but in the northern lands, it was the soldiers who commanded that reverence because much of their peace was owing to them.
The crowd immediately made way instinctively, and only after stepping aside did they look to see that it was not government soldiers at all, but rather two middle-aged men in tattered clothes, each with a basket on their back.
Inside the baskets were chickens and rabbits, and one even carried a piglet on their back. As they approached, the cacophony of poultry, rabbits, and the piglet mingled with a foul odor that began to spread.
This is clearly not government soldiers; these are evidently villagers.
The crowd became anxious at once.
"Stop pushing, why are you pushing?" An angry reprimand sounded, and people converged again.
But those two villagers had already come in. With their bulky frames and the baskets on their backs swinging about, they were not pushed out, but instead bumped into the crowding people, even smearing someone with chicken excrement.
A disturbance and cursing ensued before the city gate, and the stern-faced government soldiers watching over with warning gazes eventually calmed the commotion.
Those two villagers had also moved to the very front; had it not been for the government soldiers threatening them with spears and swords, they would have been pressed against the wall.
They scrutinized the proclamation earnestly and thoughtfully, which surprised those around them.
These hillbillies can read?
The thought had barely crossed the mind when one of the villagers shifted his gaze from the proclamation.
"What does it say on there?" he asked the person next to him.
The person beside almost choked.
Damn it, if you can't read then why stare at it so intently!
Even with irritation, the simple-hearted nature of the villagers prevailed; unwilling to let anyone miss out on the great merit of vaccination, which benefits future generations.
Someone explained the contents of the proclamation with a strong accent. Since he too couldn't read, but when the scribe read it aloud a few days ago, he listened intently and memorized it by heart, reciting it daily with more devotion than his own mother chanting sutras.
Having explained, he waited to see the villagers' expected joy and wild excitement, only to see the two of them standing foolishly, uttering "Oh" after a while.
"Vaccination, huh," one of them remarked, "That's great, the kids at home can be vaccinated."
Great? But your reaction doesn't seem so great. At least show some excitement.
Perhaps it's because the villagers are secluded and don't understand what vaccination is all about.
"If you want to be vaccinated, you can go to the county government to queue up now," someone reminded.
The two villagers uttered "Oh" again, spun around sharply, their baskets colliding with a tumult, accompanied by curses and the noise of animals as they squeezed out.
"These bumpkins," many grumbled indignantly. "If they're capable, they should go and squeeze where they take a number. They won't be spared a beating with truncheons."
To everyone's surprise, the two villagers didn't enter the city but instead headed straight out.
"Perhaps they're going to discuss and raise money," everyone guessed.
Miss Jun, like a merciful goddess, had lowered the price of vaccination to a hundred copper coins, but for many, this sum was not insignificant.
This little episode was quickly discarded from people's minds because the next day, a significant event occurred.
The proclamation posted at the city gate had been stolen.
Who the hell stole the proclamation?
The crowd outside the city gate was furious.
Early in the morning, as usual, many people strolled to the city gate to check the proclamation for no particular reason. Others, hearing the news from afar, came to verify its authenticity.
But unexpectedly, the area inside and outside the city gate was under martial law, with more government soldiers than in the previous days, all with solemn expressions as if bracing for significant threats, their shouts so loud that the city gate tower seemed to tremble.
"Has another area suffered an invasion by the Jin thieves?" a villager asked nervously, unaware of the situation.
"No, the proclamation has been stolen," a more informed villager reported.
The news spread instantly.
That's really curious; it was the first time anyone had heard of someone stealing a proclamation from the feudal authority, and even more bizarre, no one found it amusing.
Anger was the reaction of almost everyone who heard the news.
Those who had seen the proclamation were angry because all they had wanted was to touch the proclamation to be satisfied, and they couldn't believe someone had greedily stolen it.
Wasn't this like touching it as much as they wished?
And even angrier were those who hadn't seen the proclamation at all. Without the proclamation, was the news of Miss Jun coming for vaccination still true? Or had Miss Jun, like the proclamation, disappeared without a trace?
What they didn't know was that Miss Jun hadn't disappeared at all; instead, she was already sitting inside the office of Qingyuan Prefecture.