Chapter 215

The madam wants to lock her in the room to reflect.

Wan'er said coldly: "Wan'er doesn't understand what rule in the building you have broken, and you want your mother to treat me like this? I didn't listen to the arrangement before, so my mother made me kneel down as a punishment, but today, I just saved money, mother Are you going to bully me?"

"You are so sharp-tongued. Do you think you are not afraid of breaking the rules in the building?" The middle-aged man looked at her with sadness, his eyes falling on her fair face.

He turned to face the Madam, and said with a smile: "Sister, please don't be angry. As long as you use some tricks, she will submit to you."

"No." The Madam glanced at the middle-aged man. She knew in her heart that this matter was embarrassing. Only the big boss will know. The big boss usually doesn't care about things, but he doesn't just let the people below him eat meat. If he knew that she deliberately abused the sisters in the building, she would also punish her.

"I won't punish you today, but if I find out what you did in the future, it won't be as simple as punishment."

When the middle-aged man was puzzled, she put down her words and slammed the door.

So the middle-aged man quickly followed him, not caring about humiliating Wan'er.

Wan'er fell to the ground in a cold sweat, clutching her chest and gasping for air.

Outside the door, the girl who was waiting for her, Mian'e, came in and helped her stand up: "Sister Wan, what should we do?"

Wan'er looked at her silently, Mian'e was only eleven years old, her face had not yet grown, her facial features They are both pale, with slanted, long and charming eyes, but because they are still young, they have not been taught much about the relationship between men and women. When she saw that she was being bullied, she would only shed tears secretly and did not dare to speak loudly, let alone resist those who bullied her.

If she is left here in the future, Mian'e will die in the building.

Most of the people left in the building were girls who had been sold.

Even if the government strictly prohibits human trafficking, what can it do? Just like the big boss in this building, even if he doesn't show up, his majesty is not much lower than that of the madam.

When they heard about him, all the sisters were afraid. Because almost none of the sisters who were sent out came back intact.

Wan'er relied on the boss's rebuttal for a round today, but the road ahead was even more difficult.

She was being watched by the madam, and it was no longer possible to do business with Xu Yi quietly.

...

There is a tall courtyard in the east of the city, with green tiles and white walls. On the high courtyard wall, the laughter of orioles can be heard.

There were several ladies wearing heavy satin clothes, flower crowns and gold hairpins, sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard eating fruits and admiring the plum blossoms.

The yard was well built, and there was a pond with lotus flowers. It was freezing cold, and the lotus flowers had long since disappeared from the pond, but the plum blossoms planted next to it were blooming brightly, making it look very festive.

Tian, ​​the head lady of this wealthy family, is sitting in the middle of the pavilion. She is already fifty years old. She wears a high bun with a low-key ruby ​​crown, and two buns with pearls and jade hairpins. Compared with the young ladies sitting around her, she looks low-key, but aloof.

The young ladies faced her with flattering smiles.

"Madam, I heard that the master has been getting prescriptions from nowhere these past few days. He has not stayed at my concubine's house to rest at night."

"I asked, but the master didn't tell me."

"I wonder if I will be deceived again this time? That master spent a lot of money."

"..."

There was a lot of chattering around, and these young ladies didn't dare to hide anything, and told Mr. Tian everything they heard and thought.

Mrs. Tian's eyebrows did not move, and she slowly drank the health tea brought by her mother-in-law. After taking two sips, she said slowly: "This time, you are not the magic stick. You haven't heard about the things that are spreading in the city?"

Ladies He held his breath.

In the back, she was still sitting closer to Mrs. Tian. She had been in the house for a few years. She looked at the much older Third Yiniang and said with a smile: "Madam is right, I am all unsophisticated. I'm in a panic. I wonder what Madam means... to let the master continue to drink?"

Mrs. Tian looked at her and said, "It's not like you don't know that the master likes to do it."

The third aunt hurriedly exclaimed and said with a smile: "It's really not worth our panic. If something good happens, it will also be a blessing for me."

These aunts have been in the hospital for twenty years or one year. This lady is not very good at ordinary times. He restrains them, but he is not a soft persimmon.

On weekdays, you have to be careful, otherwise you may get annoyed and sell out.

"The master has been thinking about having a child for a long time. If you guys are determined and we really have one, then the child will be brought under my name and have a legitimate identity." Mrs. Tian sighed, "If you don't live up to your expectations, Don't talk about me, even if I live for a long time, I won't be able to tolerate you."

She said this, feeling satisfied that everyone looked even more sad.

The atmosphere of talking and laughing was gone.

Mrs. Tian had enough of the wind blowing here, and saw that they had no intention of admiring the plum blossoms, so she went back to the house accompanied by her mother-in-law.

After everyone waited for her to leave, everyone dispersed, and no one stayed in the pavilion to chat.

But she didn't know that after Tian left, she turned around and came to the old man's house. She and the old man had been married for more than thirty years, so she didn't know what he was thinking.

Seeing him struggling to take various medicinal soups and pills over the years, Tian was talking about his hard work, but in his eyes he wished he could go early.

As long as he goes, the house will be completely in her hands.

It would be even better if there was an aunt who was pregnant with a child before she left. Once it was in her name, she would send these aunts to the village in the suburbs and let them fend for themselves in the village.

"After drinking the medicinal soup for a few days, do you feel different this time?" Tian asked caringly.

The old man smiled and said: "These days, I don't feel the pain in my back when I wake up."

Tian was surprised and said with a smile: "It seems that this time, the master will finally get his wish."

"You have worked hard these years and endured so much. There is so much gossip." The old man patted her hand. Now that Tian was old and frail, there was not much flesh on the back of her hand. The old man patted her hand and took it back.

Tian didn't seem to notice, and wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief: "I can bear it, this is all for the master. As long as the master has a wife, I will also have a wife."

"I will never treat you badly." The member said, "If anyone down here is pregnant with a child, the child will be born in your name and be given to you to teach."

Tian replied with a smile: "No matter who gives birth to the child, it will be my child."

...

At the same time, Xu Yi got the news that the madam suspected Shang Wan'er, and they could no longer sell medicinal wine based on the news in the building.

Fortunately, it was discovered a little late.

The medicinal wine sold by Xu Yi has spread in Fuzhou, and now even if there is no news from the building, many people come to buy it.

He also selects customers, and not everyone can buy it. If he sees someone who is not suitable for drinking the wine, he will not open his eyes and let him buy it. Instead, he will tell him that the wine is not suitable and ask him to try another way.

After sending away the patients in front of him, when he saw A Xu coming in, he patted a pile of medical records stacked on the desk and said, "The medical records of the patients we see every day will be divided into parts. When the time comes, they will be bound into a book for easy reading."

"Okay ." "A Xu put away the medical records and asked Xu Yi, "Lang Jun, what are the arrangements for Miss Wan'er?"

Now that there is no news from Wan'er, the speed of selling wine has slowed down. This is one of the reasons. The second reason is that Wan'er's ransom money was not saved.

"How much money do you still have in your hand?" Xu Yi asked him.

A Xu reported the number: "I planned to take it this time, but Miss Wan'er didn't take it."

She was afraid that if she took it, she wouldn't be able to get it later.

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows in agreement. It would be better to leave it at their place to save their worries.

"Tell her not to be afraid. She did her part in this matter. We will pay the small amount of money and we will help her redeem her life." Xu Yi continued.

He stood up and walked around. He was silent for a moment and said solemnly: "If it's not safe in the building, you can redeem yourself immediately."

A Xu didn't expect this, but he became alert and said quickly: "Well, sir, I will go there now." "Wait a minute.

" Xu Yi called him, "There should be someone watching over Miss Wan'er. Go and speak carefully."

A Xu sensed the urgency of the situation from his serious tone. Nodding: "I will protect Miss Wan'er."

He left and did not return until evening.

During this period of time, Cheng Yiran came over twice to help Xu Yi process the fresh medicinal materials purchased from outside.

By the way, he told Xu Yi the news he brought back from outside.

"A notice has been posted at the gate of the city. Starting from tomorrow, people will start serving porridge at the gate of the city. People are already guarding outside the city. I think those people are probably infected with the cold. If there is no medicine, they may not be able to survive."

Even though Cheng Yiran was in a difficult situation, he was still thinking about these people.

He looked at Xu Yi hesitantly and asked, "Doctor Xu, I heard that epimedium can also cure wind and cold. I thought it would be better to go to the mountain to pick more and bring it back, boil it or send it over."

Xu Yi shook his head . Shaking his head: "This epimedium is not suitable for picking after autumn, and its medicinal effect will be reduced by half. Even if you can pick epimedium in the mountains now, the quantity will not be very large."

Furthermore, in addition to this epimedium, There are so many other cold-repelling herbs such as sheep weed, so it is not necessary to use it.

Cheng Yiran thought of epimedium because he could dig it with his hands and feet without spending any money.

He was silent, obviously knowing that his method would not work, but he didn't know what to do for a while.

"Don't worry, the government should have something to do." Xu Yi said.

Cheng Yiran sighed and said: "Then wait, if the government still doesn't do anything, I will find a way to go to the mountains to collect epimedium."

Xu Yi laughed dumbly: "..."

As soon as he left, A Xu came back. , he persuaded Wan'er to redeem her life, but Wan'er also wanted to redeem her maid.

"Girl?" Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, having never heard of it before.

A Xu said: "The maid's name is Mian'e. She was sold to a building when she was five years old. She followed Miss Wan'er four years ago. Miss Wan'er said that if she is not redeemed, this child will follow in the same footsteps."

Look . Looking at Mian'e, A Xu thought of his sister.

If it hadn't been for my husband back then, my sister would have gone through this.

He just thought about redeeming Mian'e, "The child is not expensive. The madam asked for fifty guan, so I, I bought it."

"Where is the person?" Xu Yi looked at him in surprise.

A Xu scratched his head uncomfortably: "It's just outside the yard. She said she didn't dare to come in without your order."

Xu Yi felt helpless after hearing this, and quickly called A Jin to call people in, and then told A Jin who was timid to enter the house. Mian'e said: "You stay here first, take off your clothes and burn them. Go and show her. If there is any problem, solve it as soon as possible."

The latter sentence was directed at A Jin.

Ah Jin happily led the people down and arranged her in the room next door.

Then he checked her pulse and checked her body. Seeing that she had no illness, he asked her to wait for a while. Ah Jin went to his room and found two old clothes in the box.

Although the clothes are old, they look new. They are made of fine cotton and are filled with cotton, making them soft and comfortable to the touch.

"Don't be afraid, Lang Jun and I are both good people." Ah Jin said to her with a smile, "Your sister asked you to follow her because she hopes you will be well. You won't stay here for too long. When the time comes, When your sister comes out, she will come and take you away."

Mian'e hugged her clothes and asked with a blink of an eye, "Will sister really come out?"

A Jin said, "Of course she will. When she leaves that place, you will. Completely free."

The next morning, Mian'e got up to dress up, carried a bucket out of the house to fetch water, and happened to meet Cheng Yiran who was coming over.

She hurriedly put down the bucket in her hand, saluted and called someone.

Cheng Yiran was startled, and he ran into the hall in a panic. Seeing that Xu Yi was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Doctor Xu, where did that little lady come from?"

"Oh, that little lady is Come to stay temporarily." Xu Yi said calmly.

Cheng Yiran was stunned for a moment, tugging at his sleeves uncomfortably and muttering in a low voice: "I was scared just now. I thought you had moved away, Doctor Xu, and this was someone else's yard."

Xu Yi's hand holding the pen paused slightly: "... ..."

He chuckled and said: "I haven't returned the "Ode to Medicine" that I lent you. How could I leave?"

Cheng Yiran laughed: "I have copied half of this book, and I will finish it in a few days. ."

"So quickly, you don't want these eyes anymore?" Xu Yi expressed objection to him copying books at night.

Cheng Yiran said nervously: "It's just a matter of staying up a few nights, it won't be a problem."

"Is it possible that it won't be a problem until it really hurts his eyes?" Xu Yi raised his eyebrows, not allowing him to do this again.

"It won't hurt anything if I keep this book with you for a few more days. If you really don't care about your eyes, just return the book to me."

Hearing what he said, Cheng Yiran was really shocked, and immediately became honest and promised Xu Yi not to Offend again.

Xu Yi didn't scare him anymore and got down to business: "I won't go to the clinic today, so you accompany me to the city gate."

...

Pan Wenji has been a little busy these days.

It is not easy to make the big families in the city give out gruel. These people are very cunning, and they only pretended to do it after giving some benefits.

When he came by car today, he stood at the city gate and looked around, and happened to see Xu Yi getting out of a donkey cart.

So, Xu Yi was invited to speak.

He didn't even let go of Cheng Yiran who had been brought here by him, and followed Xu Yi at a loss.

"Doctor Xu, do you know Magistrate Pan?" He swallowed nervously and secretly looked around the city wall.

The city wall is old, and the moss growing on it is thick and black.

Xu Yi didn't ask Cheng Yiran to follow him, but the people who came to invite him called Cheng Yiran: "I know, you don't have to worry, Magistrate Pan has no ill intentions."

"I'm not afraid of Doctor Xu here." Cheng Yiran took a deep breath. Take a breath and try to look calmer.

Fang still encouraged himself in this way, but when he saw Magistrate Pan, he still bowed in panic and did not dare to look up.

Pan Wenji sat on a chair and asked the attendant next to him to move stools for the two of them: "Why are you here?"

"I heard there was a soup kitchen at the gate of the city, so I came to take a look." Xu Yi replied truthfully.

Pan Wenji glanced at him, and then his eyes fell on the young man next to him. The young man was wearing an old cotton robe, washed very clean, and had a slight smell of medicine.

Seeing that his attention was on Cheng Yiran, Xu Yi quickly said: "This is Cheng Yiran. He knows some medicine and pharmacology. He has been helping me take care of the medicinal materials these days."

Pan Wenji said "hmm" and didn't look anymore. He turned to Xu Yi and said, "You came here just to take a look, and you don't plan to do anything else?"

Thinking of the high-priced medicinal wine he opportunistically sold in the city, this kid became much smarter than before.

At that time, I didn't have the intention.

Xu Yi didn't hide anything and said calmly: "The wind-cold spreads. Suddenly there are so many people outside the city. Some of them have been infected with the wind-cold. If they all gather here, I'm afraid it will be affected. I thought if the government would send out cold-warming Medicine may prevent death from the disease."

Pan Wenji looked solemn, how could he not know this. I came here today because I wanted to see how the people gathered outside the city were doing.

He looked at Xu Yi thoughtfully. If he could tell this, he seemed to have an idea.

"If you were a government official, what would you do?" He asked him with a faint smile.

Xu Yi was unambiguous and stood up to salute: "If it were me, I would immediately isolate those who have colds, distribute anti-cold medicines for treatment, and then boil ginger soup and distribute it to the people queuing up."

This is a more direct method. .

Otherwise, just isolate people and let those people get through it. Those who can't get through it will be pulled out and dealt with.

Naturally, if he really chooses this path, there will be black marks on Pan Wenji's future career and he will be criticized.

Pan Wenji's eyes were deep and he said word by word, "The human heart is like the sea, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil. The court has only been established for more than a hundred years, and it has already experienced countless natural and man-made disasters. In general, governance is to carry out rescue operations and appease the people's hearts, but it is a heavy responsibility. Difficult, those who serve the people need to set an example, and empty words are nothing more than this. There will be people in the world to argue for this justice. If everyone was like you, there would be no such thing as being rich but not benevolent, and Anhui would suffer the tragedy of people not having enough to eat. ?"

He sighed with regret, friends know people well, and this boy does have a compassionate heart.

But the world is difficult, and even as a prefect, he is not omnipotent in this regard.

He is short of people and money, but he is not short of the idea of ​​governance.

"Xu Yi, do you know how much money it would cost to really do what you're talking about?" Pan Wenji asked him, "If the big families in the city are unwilling to pay this money, even I, the prefect, can't do it."

Xu Yi remained silent, but Pan Wenji was telling the truth.

"Does Magistrate Pan have any other good ideas?" After a moment, Xu Yi raised his eyes to look at him.

Pan Wenji sneered and said: "Your plan is good. As for whether those big households are willing to pay, it's not up to them."

Xu Yi was slightly surprised, but he didn't expect Magistrate Pan to use force.

Pan Wenji knew what he was thinking and almost punched him. He laughed and scolded: "Isn't force a long-term solution? I forgot that you are just a member of the public and don't know the benefits of selling salt." "

..." Xu Yiran was stunned. , who would have thought that Pan Wenji would use the conditions of raising people to hold salt in exchange for these merchants to do good deeds.

In this case, there is no need for him to contribute money or effort.

The city tower was crowded with people, no less than several hundred people.

How can it be done just by relying on him?

They were talking about private matters. Even before they talked about it, Cheng Yiran had been invited by his entourage to drink tea in the back room.

This time he waited for only two cups of tea, and he was inevitably panicked.

I asked the attendant who was waiting nearby. He just smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Cheng. Doctor Xu has a good relationship with my master."

Cheng Yiran: "..."

He was just worried.

This Xu Yi was just a citizen. Why did Magistrate Pan keep him for so long when he was such a big official?

Just listening to it made me feel something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out.

He waited and waited until Xu Yi came back safe and sound before noon. Xu Yi said: "Let's go back first and then talk."

"Yes." Cheng Yiran nodded.

He also knew that it was not convenient to talk here.

After getting on the donkey cart, he couldn't wait to ask: "Does Magistrate Pan have something to do with you?"

Xu Yi smiled and shook his head: "We talked about trivial matters, and when we got excited, we lost track of time."

"By the way, then There are so many people at the city gate, do we still need to take care of them?" Cheng Yiran stared at him hesitantly, "I still plan to go to the mountain to see if there are epimediums tomorrow." "

No," Xu Yi said with a smile. What do you want to ask? Magistrate Pan will handle this matter, you don't have to interfere."

Cheng Yiran was stunned, but he was also happy, even if Xu Yi saw through it, he didn't care.

He bowed to Xu Yi apologetically: "I was reckless, don't blame Dr. Xu."

"I don't blame you." Xu Yi shook his head and said nothing more.

Along the way back, they met many beggars who went to the city gate to beg for rice and food. The beggars were dressed in rags and their skin on their limbs was exposed.

Cheng Yiran couldn't bear to see it and told Xu Yi about his childhood.

His father was a wandering doctor in the village. He often treated people in the village for free. Once, his father saved a beggar boy. The beggar later got lucky and started a small business. After making money, he came back to thank his father. .

Cheng Yiran remembered clearly that the beggar left fifty ounces of silver to his father. If it weren't for the money, his father wouldn't be able to take them to the city to rent a house for treatment.

"Where are the books left at home?" Xu Yi has always been curious, since his father is a doctor, why he didn't leave many medical books.

Cheng Yiran looked embarrassed and blamed himself: "I didn't understand when I was a child. Some relatives came to visit me in the autumn wind. When I found out that my father had died of illness, I said that I wanted to sell the book."

"I didn't want to, but he said that it was useless to keep the book. , Only by selling it can we support my mother and I."

"I made a mistake at the time, so I agreed to let him take away a few medical books, but..." After Cheng Yiran said it, he deeply regretted it, covered his face and continued, "He took it with him. He left the book but never came back. When I went to his house to look for him, I found that he had moved away long ago. "

Those books were his father's life's work. Unexpectedly, he was young and ignorant and threw them away.

Xu Yi sighed, Cheng Yiran was only twelve years old ten years ago, and he really couldn't fight against those with evil intentions.

"In that case, now that I have obtained the medical certificate again, do you want to study medicine well?" Xu Yi asked him.

Cheng Yiran raised his head like a spring weed: "Of course I have, I hope Dr. Xu can accept me as his disciple."

He immediately knelt down in the carriage.

The carriage was not big after all, so Xu Yi didn't have time to stop him, so he bowed directly to him.

"Bang -"

Cheng Yiran's forehead hit the car floor hard, making a muffled sound. He lifted it up again and hit it twice in a row.

After receiving such a great gift, Xu Yi helplessly helped him up: "I didn't say I won't teach you. Doesn't your head hurt if you kowtow like this?"

With his current qualifications, he is qualified to accept a disciple. Xu Yi also understood that there were too few benevolent doctors in the Song Dynasty, and he alone was not enough.

What he has to do may be more than just sticking to his heart.