70. Farewell

The sun was shining brightly in the morning, and Chen Ji asked Liang Maoer and She Dengke to carry him and the bamboo chair to the main hall of the clinic.

Old man Yao was diagnosing patients, She Dengke and Liang Maoer were prescribing medicine for the patients, and Chen Ji was watching from the side, as if he wanted to keep the sunlight coming in from outside and the bustling atmosphere of Anxi Street in his mind.

If he went to Jingchao, it would be difficult for him to come back before his sword and tiger sects entered the realm of seeking the Tao.

Liu Quxing returned to the clinic happily, carrying pork, mutton, fish, a basket of vegetables and a jar of osmanthus rice wine from Xuejia Old Tavern.

Old man Yao was sitting behind the counter taking someone's pulse. When he saw him coming in with a bunch of things, he wondered, "Did you sell your brain? How come you're so rich all of a sudden?"

Liu Quxing: "Master, what are you talking about? Chen Ji gave me money to buy this. He said he wanted to make lunch for everyone."

Old man Yao was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Ji in confusion.

Liu Quxing brought the food to Chen Ji and recited the prices one by one: "Today, pork is 41 wen per catty, mutton is 34 wen per catty, and fish is 52 wen per catty."

Then he took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve and said, "This is the change for you. I didn't put a penny into my pocket.

Chen Ji took the copper coin with a smile: "Thank you for helping me buy things.

Liu Quxing said cheerfully: "I'll take all these to the kitchen and help pick the vegetables first."

She Dengke asked curiously: "Chen Ji, why do you suddenly want to treat everyone to a meal? Is there something good?

"Nothing good,"

Chen Ji smiled and replied, "During the past few days since I was injured, everyone has been taking care of me. You and Brother Liu Quxing helped me change the dressings and bandages, Brother Liang Maoer carried me everywhere, and Master also diagnosed and prescribed medicine for me. It's only right that I treat everyone to a meal.

In fact, if conditions permit, Chen Ji even wants to buy a Li Ji cherry corrugated hat for Liu Quxing, a set of silk clothes for Yu Dengke, a box of Zheng Xinzhai snacks for Liang Maoer, and a new bamboo chair for Old Man Yao.

But he has to leave tomorrow evening for the distant Jingchao, so it is too late.

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Oh, right, some of the tiles in our clinic were cracked by the grass. It must be that some bird droppings fell on the roof, and the grass seeds in the droppings were not digested properly, so willow seedlings grew.

Willow saplings are very harmful to the roof. If they are not removed in time, it will leak in the future."

.

“It’s time to re-paper the windows of our clinic, otherwise they’ll definitely leak in during the winter.

It’s time to fluff the cotton in the quilts of the two senior brothers, otherwise they won’t keep them warm.

Old Man Yao said suspiciously, "Why are you suddenly blabbering like you're about to make arrangements for your last days? Don't worry, your minor injury won't kill you."

Chen Ji smiled and said nothing more. He was afraid that if he said anything more, his clues would be discovered.

At this time, Old Man Yao picked up a prescription and said, "One of you can go to Guangle Street and deliver these two prescriptions to Mr. Wang."

She Dengke raised his hand: "Master, I'll go. Guangle Street is a bit far, and I'm in good shape."

“Okay, then you go.

Chen Ji slowly stood up with the help of the armrest of the bamboo chair. He rolled up his sleeves to his forearms and slowly moved to the kitchen at the back to pick vegetables with Liu Quxing.

Liu Quxing laughed happily and said: "It is normal for brothers to take care of each other. It is not worth it for you to spend so much money. By the way, where did you get all this money from? Did your family give it to you?

"The princess gave it to me."

Liu Quxing smacked his lips and said, "The princess is so kind, she doesn't seem like a noble official."

"What should a high-ranking official look like?"

Chen Ji asked,

"It should be that kind of condescending attitude, looking at you is like looking at an ant."

Liu Quxing said with emotion: "When my parents and I went to attend Old Master Liu's birthday banquet, many officials and dignitaries gathered there that day, and some even came from the capital, Nanjing, and Shanghai.

You didn't see the scene. The carriages lined up for miles in front of the Liu family compound."

Liu Quxing continued, "My father was just a minor official in Mengjin County, and he was respected in Mengjin County. But when he arrived at the Liu family compound, no one looked at him. The Liu family arranged for us to sit at the servants' table.

It would be fine if we were to sit at the same table with the servants, but the servants of those high-ranking officials didn't even look at us.

When you get there, you realize that people are really divided into different classes."

"Have you ever thought about taking the imperial examination? I see you've studied medicine very hard, so there's no reason why you can't understand the classics.

Liu Quxing was amused: "The path to the imperial examination is not accessible to small families.

The teachers in those schools also treat people differently based on their needs.

If you only pay tuition, you can only learn the most basic knowledge in the school.

But if you regularly send him rice, flour, money, and provisions, he will let you take small classes at his home and teach you the real stuff!

The traces are silent,

Liu Quxing smiled and shook his head: "Instead of giving those people dozens of taels of silver, I'd rather cling to my master's thigh and become a royal physician. Then when I meet those teachers in the acupuncture school, I will deliberately give them a few more needles when giving them acupuncture!"

Chen Ji was happy.

The reason why he felt reluctant to leave this place was perhaps because of people like Liu Quxing who were a bit worldly and a bit lovely.

Chen Ji looked at Liu Quxing who was picking vegetables and said, "Brother Liu, you will definitely become a good doctor in the future and live a prosperous life.

Lend me your good words,"

Liu Quxing asked: "What are you going to cook for lunch?

How about pork stewed with vermicelli, steamed sea bass, scallion-fried lamb, braised eggplant, and a pot of white rice?

Liu Quxing sipped his saliva and said, "It sounds delicious!

…

At this moment, She Dengke ran back to the clinic, shouting: "Master, Master, please save me! A thief passing by cut my arm with a blade.

When everyone looked over, they were shocked to see that She Dengke's sleeve had been cut open with a sharp weapon, all the way from the wrist to the elbow, his clothes were torn and blood was flowing.

Old Man Yao ripped open the slit in his clothes and saw the flesh torn apart. His face darkened immediately: "What kind of thief is so cruel and ruthless? He would just steal things, but hurt someone like this!"

As he was speaking, a carriage slowly stopped at the door, and Manager Yuan jumped out of the carriage, walked into the clinic with a smile on his face, carrying two bags of snacks.

Shopkeeper Yuan was dressed in a suit of bright red satin and had a golden crown on his head, exuding an air of wealth.

He placed the snacks on the counter, smiled and bowed, "Doctor Yao, I'm here to visit Chen Ji again. Is he feeling better today?"

Doctor Yao glanced at him coldly and said indifferently, "Chen Ji is in the yard. Go and see for yourself."

Shopkeeper Yuan went straight to the backyard, lifted up his clothes and sat on the stool opposite Chen Ji.

Chen Ji peeled off the skin of the scallion and asked calmly: "She Dengke's injury, you did it?"

Shopkeeper Yuan smiled and said, "I asked you to contact the person in the palace, but you didn't even leave the house yesterday, nor did you pass on any information to me."

I told you I'd only give you one day. Since you're challenging my patience, I have to let you know the consequences of the challenge."

Chen Ji threw away the green onion in his hand and looked directly into the eyes of Shopkeeper Yuan: "What if I still don't help you contact..."

Shopkeeper Yuan picked up the scallion that Chen Ji had discarded and peeled it layer by layer until it reached the innermost layer. He then gently broke it off and said, "From today on, if you don't contact me every day, one person will die in this Taiping Clinic.

If you still haven't contacted me after I die, you will die too."

The traces are speechless,

Now Liang Gou'er is unwilling to go against the Secret Service, and although Liang Mao'er is born with supernatural powers, he cannot guard against the spies' conspiracy.

If Manager Yuan is really determined to force him to let one person die every day at Taiping Medical Clinic, it is definitely not empty talk.

Moreover, if the other party finds out that I have betrayed you and reported to the Secret Service, the three people responsible for monitoring the Taiping Clinic will immediately kill me to silence me.

Chen Ji said in a serious tone: "I said I was seriously injured and it was inconvenient for me to move. How can I contact the person in the palace?

Shopkeeper Yuan lowered his voice and said seriously, "Do you know how many of my Jing Dynasty's border troops have lost their lives because of Ning Dynasty firearms? In order to obtain these drawings and formulas, countless spies in my Military Intelligence Department have died one after another. We are only one step away from success. How can we delay it because of you?"

Chen Ji suddenly had an epiphany. On that rainy night, Manager Yuan visited the clinic but was caught by the golden pig.

The other party could have killed me at that time, but the reason he didn't was not because he was kind, but because he was worried that if he died, it would delay the second delivery of the goods!

Once all the goods are delivered, Manager Yuan will kill himself.

Shopkeeper Yuan stared at Chen Ji and threw the scallion he had broken into two pieces onto the ground. "I've said everything I need to say. The sooner we get this shipment, the sooner we can develop the firearms of the Ning Dynasty. The border troops died heroically on the frontier, and you and I in the Ning Dynasty should also sacrifice our lives."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment and then replied, "I understand. I will contact the important person in the palace as soon as possible and get the delivery time and location of the second batch of goods before midnight tomorrow."

Shopkeeper Yuan smiled with satisfaction, he stood up and patted Chen Ji on the shoulder: "That's right.

By the way, I brought you some snacks from Zhengxinzhai and put them on the counter. Don’t forget to eat them.

If you accomplish this, I will definitely promote you to the rank of pigeon. Our dynasty will not treat meritorious officials unfairly."

After saying that, he swaggered out of the clinic, while Chen Ji sat alone in the yard, falling into endless silence.

Now it is no longer a question of when and where the goods will be delivered. Once I leave, Manager Yuan will definitely not let go of the people around me.

Shopkeeper Yuan will not let him go, and neither will Jin Zhu. The intelligence agencies of the two dynasties have been fighting for countless years, and their hearts have become as hard as iron and they don't care about the lives of civilians at all.

In their eyes, human life is as cheap as weeds.

So, go or not go

If we don't leave, we'll all die together.

Chen Ji stood up and cooked the dishes step by step. When the dishes were served, everyone praised them highly. Even Yu Dengke, who had just been injured, bandaged his wound and drank three bowls of white rice.

Amidst the laughter and joy, only Chen Ji remained silent.

This meal shouldn't be eaten like this.

While eating, Chen Ji suddenly asked tentatively: "Master, She Dengke was stabbed by a thief, are we just going to let it go?

Old man Yao glanced at him and said: "Those thieves in the market are organized. If you retaliate against one, a group of people will come to retaliate against you. You will not be able to survive then.

"oh oh."

Old Man Yao added meaningfully: "Go where you should go, do what you should do, and don't let others influence you."

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment, and suddenly he thought, maybe the master had guessed something.

What does the other party mean by this? Is he asking me to leave quickly?

She Dengke said cheerfully: "Chen Ji, don't worry about this matter anymore. Don't hurt yourself because of me.

After finishing his meal, Chen Ji lay back on the bamboo chair.

He slowly closed his eyes, returned to the ancient battlefield, and picked up the long sword named "Whale".

At night, Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and walked into the courtyard.

Liang Gou'er still didn't come back, and the prince, the princess, and the little monk didn't climb over the wall to ask for passage, and they didn't even say a proper goodbye.

Under the guidance of Uncle Crow, Chen Ji climbed into the backyard of the cloth shop. He saw Wu Hongbiao found a broom and a wooden bucket from somewhere and was washing and sweeping the floor in the yard.

He asked curiously: "How come you are still sweeping the floor in the middle of the night when you are injured?"

Wu Hongbiao smiled and said, "There are some rat bones and blood in the yard. If someone comes to visit the shop and gets scared, it might cause unnecessary trouble for the owner."

"You seem to be in a good mood."

Chen Ji asked

Wu Hongbiao smiled and said, "I have good news for you. I met Si Cao today, and he doesn't want to kill us. Besides, he has arranged for someone else to take us away, and we can return to Jing Dynasty tomorrow evening!"

Chen Ji hummed: "Is it reliable? Are they trying to trick us out and kill us?"

Wu Hongbiao leaned on the broom and thought for a moment: "He should be reliable. When he dragged me into the alley today, I was ready to die, but he didn't do it. If he wanted to kill us, there would be no need to go through so much trouble."

As he spoke, Chen Ji leaned against the door frame, slowly sat on the threshold and whispered: "Do you miss your hometown?"

Wu Hongbiao stood in the yard, leaning on a broom. He looked at the moon in the sky and said with longing: "I miss it so much. I was taken to a cold camp for hard training when I was twelve years old. I never had the chance to return to my hometown and see my parents.

This time when I go back, I should have the chance to go home.

"When I was a child in the village, in autumn, everyone picked pears from the trees. The delicious ones were sold to the city, and the unpalatable ones were kept to be made into frozen pears.

The kind of pear we use to make frozen pears is sour and astringent, my grandma calls it 'choking dog', but once you freeze it outside it tastes delicious, isn't that strange?

"In winter, the adults would carry hard bows and take four or five hunting dogs to the mountains to hunt bears. We would wait at home. When they brought the bears back, grandma would peel the fat off the bears and fry them into fried dough sticks for us to eat.

Many people say it tastes fishy, ​​but I think it’s delicious.

When we return to Jingchao, I will definitely take you back to my hometown. I will treat you to frozen pears and oil shuttles."

We can also go up the mountain to kill blind bears.

Chen Ji listened silently. Perhaps Wu Hongbiao had suffered too much during this period, so he became more sentimental, or perhaps he had been missing his homeland in the north since he came to Ning Dynasty, and now he was finally going back, so he talked a lot tonight.

He had recently heard bits and pieces from merchants that Jing Dynasty seemed to have ten states, and Wu Hongbiao's hometown should be the northeastern state, "Shangjing Road".

Chen Ji sat on the doorstep, looking at the moon with Wu Hongbiao: "Brother Biaozi, you were seriously injured at that time, why did you come to tell me the news? What if I betrayed you?

Wu Hongbiao smiled and said: "Actually, I was a little scared on the way here. What if you really betrayed me? But if I don't come, I'm afraid I will regret it.

"Um

After they finished speaking, one of them sat down, the other stood, and both fell silent.

Although their circumstances were different, they both wanted to leave this place of trouble and not have to live in fear every day. But when they really had to leave, they felt complicated.

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Brother Biaozi, go back. I won't leave."

"Um"

Wu Hongbiao was stunned for a moment: "If you don't leave, you will die if you stay in Luocheng!"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "Have you forgotten, my father is the Tongzhi of Luocheng, I have plenty of ways.

"Then I'll stay too!"

Wu Hongbiao said with certainty,

Chen Ji and Wu Hongbiao looked at each other: "What about your sister?

Wu Hongbiao was stunned.

Just now, Chen Ji really wanted to keep Wu Hongbiao and help him kill the shopkeeper Yuan, but he couldn't do that.

He smiled and said: "Don't worry, go back. I will move back to Chen's house in Luocheng tomorrow. I don't believe that Manager Yuan dares to sneak into the Tongzhi's house to kill me. Do you think he dares?"

Wu Hongbiao scratched his head: "Yes, if he really dares to go to the Tongzhi's house to assassinate him, not to mention that Luocheng can't tolerate him, the entire Ning Dynasty can't tolerate him... Then you really won't leave

Well, I will stay and continue to serve Jingchao!"

good.

Chen Ji stood up and patted the dust off his butt: "I may not be able to send you off tomorrow. This time, go back to Jing Dynasty and live a good life. Don't go back to Ning Dynasty again."

Wu Hongbiao laughed and said, "I don't want to live in fear again. I'll wait for you in Jingchao."

As he said this, he opened his arms

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, but finally opened his arms, hugged Wu Hongbiao, and climbed over the wall to leave the cloth shop.

When it turned over, Wuyun was squatting on the wall of the next courtyard. It asked curiously: "Are we really not leaving?"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "I won't leave, I'm afraid I will regret it.

Go beat up Bai Prajna, I have something to say to its owner.