Chapter 54

On this day, when the sky was dark, the sound of rain could be heard in the ancient stone street.

The short Ah Jin poked half of his head out of the wooden door, stretched out his hand to touch the raindrops falling from the sky, turned back and shouted into the house: "Langjun, it's raining."

Xu Yi was dressed in plain white. The robe came out and listened to Ah Jin asking him if he wanted to cover the small flower bed opened in the yard from the rain.

"No, it's good to let them get wet in the rain." Xu Yi said.

He didn't like raising chickens in the yard, so he thought about opening a planting area more than half a meter wide in the corner and planting some flowers and edible plants.

First they planted mint, and then they planted white chrysanthemums, honeysuckle, and honeysuckle... almost all of them were dug up from the mountains.

The drizzle approaching early autumn brings a refreshing coolness.

Although there is no moistening effect of spring rain, it can also bring a lot of new life after a rain.

At this time, A Xu came back from the kitchen with a pot of hot water. When he saw Xu Yi, he called "Lang Jun" softly and asked, "Do my sister and I still want to practice boxing today?"

Xu Yi nodded: "Practice." Boxing needs to be accumulated day by day and cannot be slacked off. "

But today was special, so Xu Yi asked them to practice Wu Qin Xi for half an hour before taking a break.

After breakfast after practicing boxing, Xu Yi planned to take them both out.

The light rain didn't fall for long, and when Xu Yi and the others went out, the sky outside had already cleared up. In order to avoid getting wet, he asked A Xu to bring two oil-paper umbrellas.

Stepping on the wet stone streets, walking through the bustling market, and listening to the enthusiastic shouts of the street vendors, the two little guys were still full of interest in visiting the streets of the county town. They looked left and right along the way, and they had to follow closely. Xu Yi was afraid of getting lost.

Not long after, Xu Yi led them into an immortality store.

The Changsheng Treasury was actually a pawnshop in the Song Dynasty. In addition to the general gold, silver, pearls, jade, money and goods, the items mortgaged in the Changsheng Treasury even included living items such as slaves, cattle and horses, as well as various daily necessities pawned by ordinary people. There are live dangs and dead dangs. If the live dang loan is not repaid when it is due, the pledged property will be confiscated. [Note 1]

After entering, there is a tall and secret counter in front of you. People who come to pawn are lined up in front of the counter. If you are shorter, only half of your head can be exposed.

Xu Yi didn't bring them here to pawn items. He wanted to go to the trading area on the second floor.

You can find pawned items there that are cheaper than on the market. I brought A Xu and A Jin with me because I wanted them to see more different occasions.

When you go up the steps to the second floor, you can see a young man in uniform waiting at the door lintel on the second floor. When he sees someone coming up, he lifts the double banner hanging at the door lintel.

There is a spacious hall on the second floor. There are shelves around the hall. Each shelf has several floors, and all kinds of materials are placed on them.

On the other side, there is a table, and behind it sits a voting desk. The voting desk is the person in charge of writing the pawn tickets and registering the pawn accounts.

All transactions on the second floor are recorded by him.

In addition, there are several separated small rooms, in which there is a "chaofeng" who appraises and appraises, commonly known as the second uncle. Different from the court officials behind the high platform on the first floor, the court officials on the second floor are mainly for receiving large household heads who want to collect rare treasures, money, etc.

When Xu Yi arrived, there were almost everyone in these small cubicles.

He took one look and took them to the shelves to see what they could buy.

On the way, Xu Yi had already made it clear to the two of them what kind of place they were going to. After A-Xu and A-Jin came in, they were not that scared. Their big eyes were moving around, looking at the new things in front of them.

"Lang Jun, what is that? It looks like a pot?" Ah Jin asked Xu Yi curiously when he saw something.

Xu Yi followed the object she pointed at, paused, and said, "It's a pot, but this one is Qi Shouzi."

Qi Shouzi was originally called Qihuzi, but later it was changed to Shouzi or Mazi due to taboos. It is a modern chamber pot. It is carved from a whole piece of wood into the shape of a tiger. It looks so beautifully shaped that no wonder Ah Jin took a fancy to it. [Note 2]

This thing is basically an utensil used by the children of powerful people or wealthy businessmen. It is good for ordinary people to use the toilet as a toilet.

There is a toilet in the Xu family's hut, and a excrement man comes to collect excrement every day. During normal use, the latrine will be lit with deodorizing incense, which makes it look very clean and hygienic.

Common people mostly use simple incense that does not contain expensive spices, such as cloves, patchouli, and lemongrass.

After Xu Yi came here, he became an "incense smoker" honestly. After all, compared to the various sweat odors on his body, being a "fragrant" person was easier for him to accept.

Soon, they spotted a fragrant pancake on the shelf.

The young man who received Xu Yi said that the incense cake was mortgaged by a Xiang woman. Because the loan was overdue, the incense was confiscated and traded.

It was made with pretty good spices, and it smelled of an elegant floral and fruity fragrance. The incense maker didn't say what specific spices were used, but everyone in the Song Dynasty loved incense, so there was no need to worry about no one buying the better incense.

This incense cannot be said to be expensive, but a box costs seven coins.

Xu Yi bargained with the young man and finally bought it for six cents and twenty-eight cents.

After he paid the money and registered it at the ticket counter, the box of incense became his.

Then, he bought two second-hand clay pots, three wooden lacquer plates, and a wooden pier at a price lower than the market price. Clay pots can be used to hold medicinal materials, wooden lacquer plates can be used to hold ground medicinal powder, and wooden piers can be used to cut medicinal materials.

The wooden piers among them were relatively thick, so Xu Yi took them by himself. Seeing more and more people around, he thought it was almost time to go back.

He came here with two little guys, mainly to see if there were any missing items that he could buy. Those rare and rare treasures were not his turn yet.

A Xu and A Jin were both very excited. A Xu held the clay pot, and A Jin held the incense and plate, following Xu Yi closely.

They came out of Changsheng Library and went to a blacksmith shop.

Xu Yi took out the blueprint he had prepared long ago from his arms and handed it to the blacksmith: "Master, do you think you can help me make a knife like this?"

What is drawn on the blueprint is an old-fashioned medicine cutting knife. The handle is made of wood. In addition to the blade, there are two supporting legs on it. It just lacks the stool below to stabilize the knife, only the iron part on the top.

The blacksmith opened the picture and looked at it for a moment, then thought about it and said, "It can be struck, but I have never seen a knife like yours."

Xu Yi smiled and said nothing.

There are many kinds of tools in the process of processing traditional Chinese medicine. However, before the Ming Dynasty, traditional Chinese medicine was not advanced enough in cutting medicinal materials. Tools that can cut medicine are usually machetes or medicine mortars. After Xu Yi processed the medicine for a period of time, he felt that he still lacked a medicine cutting knife.

With a medicine cutter, the efficiency of cutting medicinal materials will become higher, and Xu Yi can spend the extra time on other things.

Xu Yi made details on the support of the medicine knife, and drilled two holes in it.

These two holes are used to fix it on the wooden pier board. When the two are combined, the medicine knife is made.

After confirming that the blacksmith could make it, Xu Yi asked him how much it would cost to make such a knife.

The blacksmith quoted a price and told Xu Yi that it would take ten days to make it.

The time was not short, so Xu Yi agreed.

...

The next day, Xu Yi was still making pills at home.

A Xu was picking out medicinal materials. Now, under Xu Yi's guidance, he could recognize more medicinal materials.

Xu Yi gave him some easily identifiable medicinal materials.

He first washed the mud from the roots of the dug medicinal materials, and then cleaned off the withered and yellow leaves above. For medicinal materials whose whole roots can be used as medicine, it is necessary to distinguish whether each part has different effects. If they are different, the roots and stems must be removed and cannot be placed in the same place in the sun.

As early autumn approaches, the sun is not that strong, but we cannot delay drying medicinal herbs.

A Xu arranged some of the medicinal materials and spread them on the dustpan, then carried them to the kitchen to ask Xu Yi.

"Lang Jun, I have divided these medicinal materials, please take a look." A Xu said.

Every time the medicinal materials he handles, they need to be confirmed by Xu Yi to prevent any mistakes.

After Xu Yi checked that everything was correct, he could place the dustpans on the shelves in the yard and let them dry naturally.

Now A Xu has something to do, and the task of feeding Xiao Huang and taking it for a walk is left to A Jin.

When Ah Jin takes Xiao Huang out, he will first go around Shijing Lane and then go to a familiar alley nearby. The neighbors all know Ah Jin, and when they see her, some of them who love children will even tease her a few words.

"My dear, do you want some pancakes?" An old lady suddenly stopped her when she saw her.

Ah Jin was stunned for a moment, seeing that this grandma was unfamiliar, and shook his head warily.

The old lady was holding a basket in her hand, covered with a piece of cloth. She didn't know what was in it.

She reached into the basket with one hand, and waved her arm towards Ah Jin with the other. She said with a smile on her wrinkled face: "Don't be afraid, dear sister, I live on South Street, next door. Shuijing Lane, I just made too many pancakes, and I wanted to ask who would like to buy some."

Ah Jin tensed his shoulders and pursed his lips without saying anything.

Seeing that the woman was coming closer after saying that, she quickly went to pull the rope in her hand.

Xiao Huang seemed to have noticed something and barked "woof, woof, woof" at the old woman.

"Oh, this dog is so fierce." The woman was so frightened that she took two steps back and patted her chest uncomfortably. "I just saw that you were a good girl and wanted to give you a piece of cake for free. What did you do?" You can use dogs to scare the old man."

After saying that, he stared at Ah Jin with an accusing face.

After hearing this, Ah Jin immediately explained: "I didn't call Xiao Huang because you were too close."

The woman sighed: "I'm not a kidnapper. If you don't believe me, you can follow me to my house and have a look. See if I live on South Street."

She added that her good granddaughter was as old as Ah Jin, but unfortunately she got sick and died.

Ah Jin was quite vigilant at first, but after hearing what she said, he asked her: "What disease do you have? Why didn't you call the doctor?"

Mother-in-law: ...

She covered her mouth and coughed twice: "I have a fever, let the doctor come and take a look. It's not getting better either, and he left within two days."

Ah Jin frowned, this woman's granddaughter is so pitiful.

If you meet Mr. Lang, you will definitely not get sick and die.

"Mother-in-law, don't be sad. People can't be resurrected after death. Please bear with me and be patient." She said softly.

After hearing this, the mother-in-law looked strange: "..."

This little baby only looks like seven or eight years old, but he can say these words.

Looking at the clothes she was wearing, she looked like an ordinary person, maybe she had read a book. If she had really read a book, it would be a good thing. She could not be sold as an ordinary maid, but could be sold at a higher price.

Thinking like this, the smile on her face deepened, and she repeatedly praised A Jin as a sensible and good child.

Then, she started to get closer and asked Ah Jin's name.

After learning Ajin's name, she became more and more sure that this child was different. He could have such a nice name. He was a child from a scholar's family.

Although South Street is mostly populated by poor people, there are still some down-and-out scholarly families living here, and there are also some farming and reading families who live here.

Children from such families are easier to sell than the rough children in the countryside. Many families with some money prefer to buy such children and train them to be used as roommates, or as child brides or mistresses.

Mrs. Li has abducted many children over the years, and after seeing them many times, she fell in love with Ah Jin at a glance.

I wish I could abduct her back immediately!

Mrs. Li said: "Sister Jin, I know you are not short of something to eat, but the pancakes I made today are different. They are filled with sugar. I saw that you were well-behaved, so I was happy to give them to you, and no one else did."

No. If a child can refuse sweets, she doesn't believe that the child is unwilling to eat them.

As a result, Ah Jin shook his head and said, "Thank you, grandma, but I'm not hungry." Mrs. Li's breath was stagnant, and she quickly said, "This sugar cake is not for filling your stomach. It's

not a bad thing if you eat one."

He said while taking out a piece of egg-sized pancake from the bamboo basket and forcefully stuffing it into Ah Jin's hand.

Ah Jin's hand was stuffed with pancakes, and the rope in her hand fell with a "click".

Seeing this, Xiao Huang, who was squatting at her feet, squeaked anxiously and rubbed against her legs uneasily.

Ah Jin smiled and reached out to pat its head, and shouted: "Little Huang, I know you can't eat food from outsiders, I won't eat it."

After saying that, he wanted to return the pancake in his hand to Mrs. Li.

When Mrs. Li saw this, her face immediately darkened, and she gritted her teeth and said to Ah Jin: "My dear sister, why are you so disobedient? You are asked to eat but you refuse to eat. It is really annoying.

" Then I will force Ah Jin to eat this sugar cake.

She became so sudden that A Jin was frightened.

Ah Jin was stunned for two seconds and then looked at Xiao Huang who was getting hairy. He immediately realized that this grandma is a bad person!

She immediately pulled up her two short legs and wanted to run towards home.

After waiting for so long, Mrs. Li was not willing to let Ah Jin run away. At this moment, she hurriedly took out the handkerchief and was about to cover her mouth.

The two were too close. Although Mrs. Li was older, she was very agile. She clamped down on Ah Jin's arm, making it impossible for her to escape. Her other hand holding the handkerchief was about to cover her.

Suddenly, a yellow figure rushed over.

It's Xiao Huang!

Mrs. Li: "!"

She had already worried about the dog, so she raised her leg and kicked Xiao Huang in the stomach.

Ah Jin shouted nervously: "Xiao Huang, run!"

After she shouted, she turned around and bit the hand that grabbed her arm.

"Ah——"

Granny Li let go of her hand in pain.

At this time, Xiao Huang also reacted and bit her trouser leg without letting go.

Mrs. Li didn't have time to check her bitten arm, so she kicked Xiao Huang away and then tried to catch Ah Jin. This time Ah Jin was prepared, and when she stretched out her hand, he nimbly dodged it.

This person must be the bad guy Lang Jun said!

Ah Jin's chest was beating nervously. Xu Yi had been teaching her how to box these days, and Ah Xu had also sparred with her.

But she had never fought in actual combat, and she faced an older man who was much taller than her.

Even if this person is an old woman of several decades, she still thinks it is very scary. But Ah Jin still stared at Mrs. Li with wide eyes, not wanting her to run away.

No matter how stupid she was, she realized at this moment that this person was the child abductor that Lang Jun said.

When Lang Jun was talking about the kidnapper, there was an expression of hatred and anger on her face. She couldn't let this grandma run away.

Ah Jin clenched her fists and shouted loudly to Xiao Huang: "Xiao Huang, bite her, don't let her run away!"

Mrs. Li was shocked. She didn't expect that this child had such courage and dared to catch her in turn. The little yellow dog that rushed towards her and grinned at her immediately took the basket and chased it away.

She didn't dare to stay on South Street anymore, fearing that the noise would be too loud and attract nearby neighbors to come out, which would make it difficult for them to escape.

Mrs. Li cursed loudly: "Damn you bitch, I wanted to give you pancakes with good intentions, but you bit me with a dog, you are so cruel!"

Ajin saw her knocking her down and shouted back angrily: "You are not kind. You want to cover my mouth with a handkerchief, but I won’t let you go. You are what Lang Jun calls a kidnapper.

” What a waste!" Mrs. Li finished scolding and thought of running away when she saw someone coming. "I won't talk nonsense with you. It would be a big loss if you were bitten by your dog."

After that, she thought about it . Get away.

Ah Jin refused to let her run away, but for a while he couldn't find anything to say to keep her here.

She stamped her feet anxiously and stretched out her hand to grab someone.

Mrs. Li raised her arm to hit her, but Ah Jin raised her hand to block reflexively. After blocking, she punched.

What a coincidence, it hit her right in the abdomen.

Mrs. Li was in pain and hurriedly covered her stomach: "Ouch!!!"

Ah Jin was stunned: ...

she hurt someone.

...

Soon, someone from the neighborhood came out to see what was going on. When he saw it was Ah Jin and a strange woman, the person came over to ask what happened.

When Mrs. Li saw someone coming, she clutched her aching stomach and was about to run. However, before she took two steps, a yellow dog barked at her.

The neighbor noticed something was wrong and immediately shouted a few times loudly, then stopped her and refused to let her leave.

"Where did you, old woman, come from? Why did you come to our South Street to bully a kid? Could it be that

you are a kidnapper?" After hearing this, Mrs. Li quickly shook her head and denied: "I am not a kidnapper. I just walked here unintentionally. I saw When the child thought of my poor granddaughter, I wanted to give her a candy cookie. But she turned around and bullied me for being an old woman. She also beat me and bit me with a dog. I couldn't afford to offend her, so I thought in fear. Leave."

She said with tears falling down.

When the neighbors heard what she said, they immediately felt that the woman was right.

He said to A Jin reproachfully: "This mother-in-law is just kind-hearted, A Jin, why are you so rude?"

A Jin widened his eyes, pursed his lips and said, "That's not the case..."

Mrs. Li saw hope. , she immediately held her stomach and cried out "Ouch, ouch", saying that she had severe stomach pain and that she might not be able to survive.

When the neighbors heard that he was okay with it, they hurriedly took him to find Xu Yi.

"Doctor Xu has great medical skills. Let him show it to you. Don't hurt the bones."

Mrs. Li's stomach pain has long since healed. She was just trying to escape. She didn't dare to really see Dr. Xu, so she told her to go back. Just lie down and don't need to see a doctor.

"No, no, no, you are kind-hearted. I have thanked you for your kindness. It was this kid who bit me..."

Granny Li meant something. She couldn't abduct someone, and she didn't want him to have an easy time. She had to take advantage of him. A handful.

"You have to pay me some money, or I will report it to the government and say that you kid let the dog bite me, an old woman!"

As he said this, he looked at Ah Jin's face that suddenly turned pale, and he became arrogant again.

Who would believe what this child said? As long as she said something more serious, her parents wouldn't be afraid to compensate her honestly.

The neighbors were also stunned. They didn't expect this woman's expression to change so quickly.

Just when he didn't know what to do, a burst of footsteps came this way.

Suddenly, the dog squatting next to the little girl suddenly ran over.

It turned out to be Xu Yi.

Seeing that Ajin hadn't come back from walking her dog for so long, Xu Yi went out to look for her a little worried.

It happened that Mrs. Li was blackmailing someone.

"Mr. Lang." When Ah Jin saw him, he instantly had a backbone. He left Mrs. Li behind and trotted to Xu Yi.

Seeing that she was not injured, Xu Yi's heart dropped. Then he asked her what happened.

Ah Jin didn't hide or add anything, and told Xu Yi what happened just now without saying a word.

After speaking, she stared at Xu Yi with some innocence and said: "Lang Jun, I thought this woman was the kidnapper you mentioned, so I wanted to keep her, but she scolded me and beat me, so I gave her He punched her."

Xu Yi touched her head and whispered that he understood.

Then, he came to Mrs. Li and asked calmly: "Mother, you said you live in Shuijing Lane, South Street. I don't know which household it is?"

Mrs. Li was stunned, and after a while, she said: "What, you Could it be that this young man wants to chase me to my house?"

When the neighbor heard this, he immediately came to the rescue and said, "Mother, you misunderstood. This young man is the Doctor Xu I told you, and Ah Jin is Doctor Xu. Maid at home, if you want to seek justice, you can talk to Dr. Xu."

Mrs. Li: "..."

Xu Yi looked at her indifferently and continued, "Ajin said, you just took the handkerchief and wanted to do it. " Cover her mouth. The Mongolian sweat medicine mentioned in this book is just a powder made from tomato flowers or aconite and applied on the veil. If there is medicine found in this veil, what should you say, mother-in-law? "You... "

Mrs. Li was shocked by him and panicked for several times, but she was used to doing evil things and was not afraid of fear. She quickly calmed down and said, "Young Master has no basis for thinking this." I don't want to slander this old woman like you!"

After saying that, she put on a reluctant expression, "That's all, I don't want you to pay me any money. If you ask that girl to apologize to me, I won't bother you anymore."

Mrs. Li knew that this person named Xu was difficult to deal with, so she planned to retreat in order to advance.

But...

how could Xu Yi let her go?

Thinking of how A Jin was almost abducted and sold by such a villain, a coldness slowly rose in Xu Yi's eyes.

He glanced around and saw the veil in the corner.

He walked over indifferently, took out the clean handkerchief from his arms, picked up the dirty handkerchief across it, and held it up in front of Mrs. Li.

Xu Yi: "Mother-in-law, how can you just walk away after you have been so wronged?"