Chapter 25 — Medicinal Garden After Hospital

Two weeks after Mr. Loc was hospitalized, the epidemic in Yen Son was completely controlled. No new cases have been recorded, all previously hospitalized patients have been discharged safely, their health has completely recovered, without any worrying sequelae. This is considered a miracle for a district hospital with limited resources like Yen Son, when faced with such a large-scale disease outbreak.

That success quickly attracted the attention of the Provincial Health Department. Mr. Le Van Quoc, along with a higher-level delegation, went directly to Yen Son to survey and re-evaluate the hospital's entire epidemic response process. After carefully reviewing medical records, directly interviewing the medical team and many patients who had been treated, the working group could not hide their deep impression with the model of combining Eastern - Western medicine that had been applied effectively and creatively during the recent crisis.

"This is really a model worth researching and replicating in many other localities," a senior leader in the delegation commented during an official meeting with the hospital board of directors. "Classifying patients according to severity, flexibly combining infusions and specialized antibiotics from Western medicine for severe cases, with rehydration and detoxification remedies from Eastern medicine for milder cases, not only helps optimize limited medical resources, but also helps significantly reduce the rate of patients becoming seriously ill, making an important contribution to the overall success of this epidemic response."

That praise made Quyen, Bao Nam and Mr. Loc, who had just been discharged from the hospital and was in much better spirits even though he still needed to rest, emotional. "This is exactly what we have always believed and tried to prove all the time," Bao Nam spoke to the delegation, his voice filled with pride. "Eastern medicine and Western medicine are not two opposing paths, but can completely complement and support each other, if we know how to combine them scientifically and responsibly."

Meanwhile, the story about the success of the medicinal herb garden during the epidemic was also quickly written into a follow-up report by Ms. Quynh Nhu, titled "When the medicinal garden saved an entire town," which spread more strongly than the previous article, attracting the attention of not only the local media, but also a few central television stations, wanting to return to the place to conduct more in-depth reports on this special model.

On the contrary, Kim Thai company fell into a completely unfavorable situation. During the process of investigating the source of well water pollution that caused the epidemic, the authorities discovered a notable detail - the land that Kim Thai Company once aimed to build a large-scale industrial pharmaceutical processing factory, is located right next to the contaminated water source area, and according to environmental experts, if that project is implemented according to the original plan, with the industrial wastewater treatment process not strictly controlled, there is a risk of source pollution recurring. water, even much more serious than the last epidemic, is entirely possible.

That information, when Ms. Quynh Nhu included it in the next report, dealt a heavy blow to the already shaky reputation of Kim Thai company. Many of the company's partners and customers began to show caution and doubt about other projects that this company was implementing in neighboring localities. Faced with increasing public pressure, Truong Gia Bach was forced to hold a press conference, officially announcing the withdrawal of the entire proposal to buy back the medicinal garden land in Yen Son, and at the same time committed to reviewing the environmental impact assessment process for all other projects of the company.

When that news reached Quyen's ears, she couldn't help but feel an indescribable relief, mixed with a little bit of sympathy for the opponent who had caused her many difficulties over the past time. "I didn't think I would feel like that," she shared with Bao Nam on a rare peaceful evening after a series of stressful days. "But seeing him have to publicly admit failure like that, I don't feel happy or gloating at all. I just hope that this will be a lesson for him to be more cautious in his next projects, putting community interests on par with business interests."

Bao Nam nodded and put his arm around her shoulder. “That's the difference between you and him,” he said, his voice affectionate. "I always think about building and healing, while he only thinks about appropriating and exploiting. In the end, my approach has proven its sustainable value, not only for the garden, but also for the whole community."

In the last working session before leaving Yen Son, Mr. Quoc also spent time meeting with Quyen and Bao Nam, sharing another good news. "We have submitted a full report to our superiors, along with an official recommendation to approve the project to develop the garden into a larger-scale model combining Eastern and Western medicine," he said, his voice filled with appreciation. "With what you have proven through the recent epidemic, I believe the possibility of the project being approved is very high. Maybe in just a few weeks, we will have an official decision."

That news made Quyen teary-eyed. Over the past few months, from nervous project presentations, to long nights drafting documents, and now an epidemic that has tested the entire community's endurance, everything seems to be converging, leading to a result that she never dared to believe would one day be achieved so completely. "Thank you, sir, for always being fair and objective throughout the evaluation process," she said, her voice choked up. "This is not only our own victory, but also the victory of everyone who has trusted and supported us along the way."

Even though Mr. Loc is still in the recovery phase, when he heard that news, he could not hide his joy. "He has lived long enough to witness many ups and downs of this medical profession," he said when Quyen visited him at home that afternoon. "But he has never felt as proud as he does now, seeing the garden not only saved, but also proving its value as convincingly and clearly as possible, right in the moment the community needed it the most."

That evening, when news of Kim Thai's official withdrawal spread throughout the town, the people of Yen Son spontaneously organized a small party right at the hospital yard, to celebrate both consecutive victories - victory over the epidemic, and victory in the journey to protect the town's precious medicinal garden. Laughter and folk music echoed throughout the hospital grounds, completely dispelling the tense and anxious atmosphere that had enveloped the past few weeks.

Quyen stood in the middle of the crowd, looking around at that bustling, warm scene, her heart filled with a feeling of deep gratitude. She saw her father laughing and chatting with the neighbors, saw Mr. Loc, although still a bit weak, still surrounded by people asking questions and congratulating him, saw Nhung dancing happily with a few colleagues, and saw Bao Nam approaching her, his eyes filled with love and pride.

"We did it, Quyen," he said, taking her hand, pulling her into the crowd of people happily dancing around. "Not only did we save my mother's garden, but we also saved an entire town. At the same time, we found each other, found love, and found the path to healing ourselves in the midst of that arduous journey."

Quyen smiled, leaned her head on his shoulder, letting the music and bustling laughter of the whole community surround the two of them, marking the complete end of a challenging journey, and opening a new, brighter, more hopeful chapter for the medicinal garden, for Yen Son town, and for the lives of both of them, people who had gone through so many losses together, to finally find healing, find true happiness together. right on the very land that the love of a mother and a physician has persistently cultivated for thirty years of her life, and today, those seeds are blooming in the most complete way that she probably never dared to dream of.