668 One month later
One month later.
In a peaceful house.
"We will leave in three days. It's almost the end of November now. It will be around the Lantern Festival before we can get home."
General Hao sighed, this trip to the south of the Yangtze River was more difficult than the years he fought in the north.
During this period, he fell ill, Sicheng also fell ill, and Bai Jiaxuan almost died.
Ping An had a narrow escape from death half a month ago. He almost died at one point. Thanks to Sun Sicheng's acupuncture, he was saved.
Zhu Yuanzheng did not catch the epidemic, but as an elderly man, he was overworked and fell seriously ill, and to this day he is still unable to walk a distance.
Three out of the ten imperial physicians became ill, and quite a few other doctors were also infected, but fortunately they all survived.
Zhang Jinping has become extremely thin.
Even the usually handsome Mr. Shi Sanye has lost a lot of weight.
Too many people in the city have been infected this month.
Before the second batch of medicines from the court arrived, the Shi family sent a large amount of medicinal materials, and together with the supplies from the Sun family, Ping An, Huo Zhi and others, they finally escaped unharmed.
Bai Jiaxuan felt a lump in his throat. He almost lost his life here. He looked at the eldest master and Ping An, and they saved his life again.
"Anyway, I can finally go home, and after I go back this time, I plan to spend my old age in peace and tranquility.
Ping An, you promised to leave me a small courtyard on the farm. It doesn’t have to be big, just two or three rooms will be enough.” Zhu Yuanzheng looked very old.
Time is unforgiving, he has to live a few years well for himself. Fame, wealth and honor are all fake, just floating clouds. What's the point of having these if he doesn't have a life?
"Sure, my village is close to the city, and I can travel back and forth." Ping An said with a smile.
Sun Sicheng looked at Ping An and still felt scared when he thought about it now.
After saving Bai Jiaxuan, he himself fell ill and took care of his safety day and night. After he recovered, he also collapsed, and his condition was more serious than anyone else.
Fortunately, people who have had this disease, just like those who have had smallpox, are no longer afraid of being infected.
It took a lot of effort, and Huo Zhi and Wang Qing took care of him day and night, before he was able to save Ping An.
He thought about it at that time, what should he do if Ping An really couldn't make it?
Many of the people that Ping An and I brought with us fell ill, and some are still lying on the kang to recuperate.
Zhang Jinping said in a low voice: "In this flood, Yuhang Prefecture has already counted that at least 4,000 people died. More than 80% of them drowned, and 20% died of plague. Some families were wiped out. And this number may not be accurate. The real number may be even higher than this."
The people present were silent.
This number is definitely inflated.
But Lord Huang and his men did their best this time. More than 20% of these officials in the yamen had been ill before, and they became busy again as soon as they recovered.
Zhu Yuanzheng said: "Everyone has suffered this time. I will write all of this down in the memorial. In addition to the Huo family here, I especially want to thank Sicheng and Ping'an for coming up with the epidemic prescription, as well as Mr. Shi's preventive prescription and the medicine they donated. If the prescription and medicine were not provided in time, who knows how many more people would have died."
Everyone nodded, it was indeed the case.
If we wait for the second batch of medicine from the court, or transfer medicinal materials from other prefectures, it will take time.
Mr. Shi San stood up and said, "Since we have decided to leave in three days, I still have some things to do. Sir, what I have done is not worth mentioning, so there is no need to write it down in the memorial."
After saying that, he strode out.
The Shi family doesn't care whether it's merit or not. He does these things mainly because he feels comfortable doing them.
Ping An saw Lin Feng standing at the door and walked out, "What's up?"
"Master, Master Hu is here, and he is right at the gate of the courtyard."
Ping'an looked over and saw a person standing at the gate of the courtyard.
He walked over and said, "Master Hu, what's the matter?"
Escort Hu was about to kneel down, but Ping An stopped him: "Come in and talk, no need to kneel down. You may not know, but I hate kneeling down. We are acquaintances, so just say it directly if you have something to say."
"Master Ping'an, I am very strong and have some kung fu skills. I can easily beat five or six ordinary men by myself. I can also raise horses and mules.
I am thirty-two years old this year. I started learning martial arts at the age of ten and have been a bodyguard for almost fifteen years. I can be said to have traveled all over the country.
Master Ping An, I want to follow you, follow you for the rest of my life, and I am willing to do anything for you."
Ping An looked at Master Hu, who was half a head taller than him. He thought this man was a rough but meticulous person, and he was very optimistic about him.
"Master Hu, thank you for your kindness. Jiangnan is a nice place, and it's also your hometown. If you are interested, when my chief steward Wan Hua comes over, you can ask him to contact you, and you can follow him to do things."
Escort Hu shook his head and said, "Master Ping An, I just want to stay by your side, even if it means driving your carriage. My wife is the best cook and is also good at sewing. I won't talk about my daughter, but I want my son to study for two years, so I can't sign a slave contract."
"Master Hu, you have a lot of kung fu skills, and you can live a good life with your wife and children in Jiangnan. You don't have to come with me. Your wife won't be willing to do so."
Ping An was somewhat tempted. Of course, he would never have too many people like Escort Master Hu.
Just tell him that even if it's just driving for himself or his family, he will feel at ease.
Master Hu said, "Of course I have discussed this with my wife. You saved several lives in my family. Otherwise, I would be homeless now, and maybe even dead. I must repay you for saving my life, otherwise, am I still a human being?
Besides, I am just following you to do some work. It doesn’t matter where I do the work, right?”
"Okay, I'll take you in, but I have to say this first. You don't have to sign a slave contract, but the people around me have to sign a 20-year private contract with me. This is the same for everyone around me.
With this status, you are still of good character, which will not affect the children's education. Your monthly salary will be the same as my bodyguard's. I can't say the details now, but you may help me or my family drive the carriage, or you may be a bodyguard in a farm outside Beijing."
"Master, I will help drive the carriage. Anyway, I want to work with you."
"Let's not talk about that for now. If you follow me and leave on time in the morning of three days later, then you must prepare your family affairs within three days and arrive here before the evening of the third day."
"Hey, hey, Master, I understand."
Escort Hu bowed, turned around and left, very decisively.
"Master, this guy is great. When we get home, I'll try my kung fu skills with him when I have time."
Ping An shook his head: "Master Hu's strength is natural, his kung fu is not necessarily better than yours, not to mention you have Qinggong.
Lin Feng, after I have become Master Shi Sanye's disciple, you guys should learn from him. There are also the Four Tigers of Ziteng Mountain, their kung fu is not much worse than Master Shi Sanye's, so you should practice more with them in the future."
Lin Feng grinned. He and Xiao Wu had already discussed this. They must have a good relationship with the four tigers. Learning these skills would be more useful to themselves than anything else.
The next morning, Xiao Ming and Dacheng came over. Dacheng wanted to go home to say goodbye to his parents' grave, so Xiao Ming naturally wanted to accompany him.
"Ask Hu Zi to accompany you. There is no need to waste time outside. Come back after you finish the worship."
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