Chapter 1090: Goiter

"What kind of illness is it, Father? I don't really understand this, but isn't our Huaxia now getting more and more complete with all kinds of medicines? There aren't many illnesses left that can't be cured."

Baifeng pointed to his own neck: "Goiter. You must have seen this before. In our Huaxia, quite a few people get it. If you haven't seen it, wait until the Hospital has one, and you can go take a look. You can still see one every few dozen days."

"Goiter? This illness is so strange. What is the cause? Does it really have to be those vegetables from the sea?"

Baifeng also felt quite helpless. After all, many regional diseases require time and the comprehensive allocation of supplies to be solved. Goiter—it's an iodine deficiency. It wasn't common after liberation because of the appearance of iodized salt and the transport of seafood to the interior, so people in the interior were no longer iodine-deficient; in fact, their iodine intake was even a bit excessive.

This was the iodized salt plan implemented by the country to solve this problem, but the current Huaxia cannot do it, and looking at history as a whole, it also cannot. Besides goiter, there are many other regional diseases, only Baifeng doesn't remember them very clearly. For example, people in certain regions have a high incidence of thalassemia, which is also related to genetics and cannot be solved through diet.

Foods rich in iodine in Huaxia are rare. The ones with the highest iodine content are animal livers, especially sheep liver. Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment for goiter—which Traditional Chinese Medicine calls "goiter tumor"—does indeed have specific prescriptions, but looking at the composition of the prescriptions, kelp, seaweed... the current Huaxia cannot obtain them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine does not analyze the components of medicine and does not know that this seaweed contains iodine and can treat goiter, but it had long ago found the most suitable medicine based on the cause of the goiter tumor, treating it according to the meridian tropism of the medicine's properties.

Now that these medicines are all unavailable, what can be done? One can only use medicines with relatively poorer effects. Yangyan, which is the sheep's thyroid, supplemented with sheep liver, has a worse effect than seaweed and kelp, but this is the only way for Huaxia. One cannot just let people stay with goiters forever.

Fortunately, although goiter is common in Huaxia, overall, the number is not that high, and there is still enough medicine to treat it. Sheep thyroid—no one eats this stuff. If it weren't for the first case of goiter appearing in Huaxia during Baifeng's reign, Baifeng, for the sake of treatment, wouldn't have remembered this extremely rarely used medicine that not many people know about.

After all, when Baifeng was studying medicine, there weren't many cases of goiter; instead, hyperthyroidism was common. Therefore, medicinal materials like Yangyan had gradually disappeared from view, and only a small portion of "goiters" would use them. Seaweed and kelp were actually more commonly used medicines.

At first, Baifeng almost couldn't find where the Yangyan was. After all, Baifeng had studied human anatomy, but he hadn't studied sheep anatomy. He could only keep trial and error, keep trying, and finally accurately found this medicine. Later, every time a sheep was slaughtered, such medicine would be saved, as well as the chicken gizzard lining from chickens, all preserved for medicinal use.

These things are hard to explain to Yulong. After all, Yulong never studied medicine. The few children Baifeng raised from a young age can be said to have their own directions of cultivation: Yulong is in politics, learning management skills; Changle is learning Science and Nature, letting him promote the progress of Huaxia in this regard; Yu is taught economics and arithmetic, and in the future, he will also be able to be a great help to Yulong. Medicine is not counted as a child, but he was also raised from a young age, specifically studying medicine. Lu is being trained to be a good soldier, but currently, he hasn't shown the great talent to control the entire Huaxia army.

"You can just understand it as: in that seaweed, there is a kind of nutrient we need, just like grass also needs to absorb different nutrients. If grain lacks a certain nutrient, it will show a certain kind of sickly state; people are the same. If they lack that kind, the neck will swell up."

"We can ingest it in food, but relatively speaking, it is too little, so it is often prevalent. Those seaweeds can solve this problem. So, I was thinking, we can trade with the Jiuli. I don't need anything else from them, just those sea vegetables!"

"It seems that we will still have to use the territory of the Suiren for a few years to open up the land route. In the future, whether it is the Jiuli or the Xuanyuan, being able to maintain this trade is the best."

"Anyway, I feel that it is impossible to wait until technology develops to the point where we can extract iodine and produce iodized salt. I can no longer predict the future major events of the world and the world's pattern. Rather than holding this pass in other people's hands, it is better for us to head west ourselves, open up the desert, and naturally, we will be able to settle by the sea. The sea is the most nourishing for people, child."

Yulong's brain felt like it could no longer process it. He tried hard to recall the things his father had told him before, so he could connect them with what he heard today. However, it was indeed very difficult. He hesitated for a long time, but he couldn't ask another word.

Helplessly, he could only shift the topic to the wedding of Changle and Ayuduo: "Father, then when do you think the wedding for Ayuduo and Changle should be held? I feel that those few people from the Jiuli cannot stay here for too long. They still have to go back, unless they plan to spend the Winter here in our Huaxia and leave next year."

"Let me think. Today, tomorrow, then let's make it the day after tomorrow. Let them rest today, prepare the ceremony tomorrow, give the Ministry of Rites some time to set up, and we will hold the ceremony the day after tomorrow, inform Heaven, and let everyone relax and have fun for a day."

"After that, we will have to start working hard again. Yulong, you must make plans for the Golden Autumn Gathering in advance. I won't worry about this matter, but I think we can ask for some people from the Western Development Group, so the cost of travel can be much smaller."

"Also, you must consider whether you can bring back those wild tribes from the Golden Autumn Gathering this year. If you bring them back, can they be settled? How to settle them? You must think all of this through."

Yulong looked up to the sky and sighed: "Father, this matter is a bit too difficult. Our Huaxia doesn't even have enough people, and the task is so urgent. Why don't you give it to someone else? I think Yu is about right. He is a City Lord, but that doesn't mean he can't make these plans."

"Heh, you are thinking of shirking even this little matter. How can I dare to entrust Huaxia to you? You don't want Huaxia, then give it to Yu?"

Yulong waved his hands repeatedly: "Forget it, forget it, Father. I was just complaining in front of you. It's not that I really can't do it. I can't complain in front of others. Besides, if Huaxia isn't given to me, it should be given to Changle. And there is Miaoyin. No matter what, it wouldn't be Yu's turn."

"As long as you know, work hard. I gave this job to you because of the matter in Xiao Town. I am handling it for you. This is the real troublesome matter, you brat!"