Chapter 60

Early the next morning.

Xu Yi went out. Uncle Liu was waiting for him outside the door. Seeing Xu Yi coming out alone without a bamboo basket behind him, he asked in surprise: "Doctor Xu won't go up the mountain today?"

"No. Xu Yi got on the bullock cart and said to him, "Uncle Liu, please take me to the grocery store in Nanshi."

Uncle Liu shouted, "Okay~"

The wooden wheels of the bullock cart turned. Leave Shijing Lane and head towards the main road of County South Street.

Xu Yi sat on the swaying bullock cart and glanced around. He saw many stalls selling firewood and charcoal among the people setting up stalls in the market.

Among the people in the countryside, they prepare their own charcoal for burning in winter, and the excess will be sold in the county town. Those who set up stalls in the market to buy firewood and charcoal are all like this.

There are also businesses that specialize in making charcoal, selling the burned charcoal to middlemen, who then sell it to others.

Xu Yi is going to the grocery store this time to buy charcoal.

If you have firewood at home, you should also prepare charcoal.

Soon, Uncle Liu stopped with his bullock cart and turned around and shouted to Xu Yi: "Doctor Xu, we are here."

Xu Yi nodded.

He got out of the car and asked Uncle Liu to wait a moment. He would come out soon.

After receiving Uncle Liu's response, Xu Yi entered the largest grocery store on South Street.

It was still early, and the boy in the shop was carrying goods. When he saw a customer coming in, he shouted without looking back: "If you want anything, please take a look first. If you want to buy it, call someone later."

He shouted After that, he ignored Xu Yi and was busy counting the newly arrived goods alone.

In the backyard inventory warehouse, there was another boy moving goods in and out. They were all very busy, and no one had time to talk to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi looked around in front of the container for a while and saw several half-meter-wide bamboo boxes placed in the corner. This kind of bamboo box is specially used to store gifts. It is lighter than the wooden box, but it has shortcomings and cannot store many clothes.

After wandering around for a while, Xu Yi called the boy in the shop: "I want to buy charcoal."

"Charcoal? Sir, how much do you want to buy?" After hearing the voice, the boy finally raised his head again and looked at Xu Yi and asked.

Xu Yi said: "It costs five hundred catties."

The boy was shocked.

He stood up in a hurry and asked with a smile: "The guest is not joking. Do you really want five hundred kilograms of charcoal?"

Xu Yi nodded: "Do you have so much?"

"Some, some." The servant nodded immediately, but then added with a troubled expression, "The price of charcoal has increased this year. The customer wants five hundred kilograms, which is a lot of money. Our shop does not do business on credit. Do the customers know?"

Now this In this year and month, credit transactions are not easy to do.

Their shopkeeper always told them that as long as they were not from a wealthy family in the county, no one would accept credit.

He looked at Xu Yi's dress, and he didn't look like someone's attendant. He was not old enough to be a steward in the palace, so he should be from a small family. If it is really the latter, can you spend so much money to buy 500 kilograms of charcoal at one time?

The boy had doubts, but he didn't dare to show them.

The ancients said: "Seven things to open the door

are: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea." Firewood ranks first in life. At this time, the Song Dynasty has not yet reached the "firewood shortage". The price increase now is due to the cold weather. quick.

Xu Yi has a lot of firewood stored at home. There is almost no need to worry about firewood this autumn and winter, but charcoal is in short supply.

Considering that the weather is changeable, it is better to save more to avoid any unexpected events in the future.

He doesn't know how to burn charcoal, and A Xu and A Jin's grasp of the heat and temperature of burning charcoal is also average. Instead of wasting firewood to practice it, buy ready-made charcoal.

Xu Yi asked: "How much is the price of charcoal now?"

The boy replied: "The price of a pound of charcoal is twelve cents." As he said that, seeing Xu Yi frown slightly, he quickly added, "Guest, if you want to buy so much, it's okay. It's cheaper."

Xu Yi asked, "How much cheaper can it be?"

The boy thought for a while and didn't dare to answer directly, so he said he would ask the shopkeeper.

The transaction of five hundred kilograms of charcoal was not a small one, and it was not something that he, a young boy, could decide.

He went there for a while, and soon a middle-aged man with a big belly followed him. When the middle-aged man saw Xu Yi, he was not frivolous because of his age. He smiled and invited Xu Yi to talk in the back room.

"The little official wants to buy five hundred kilograms of charcoal. It's not a trivial matter. I need to send someone to the warehouse to bring the goods." The shopkeeper poured tea for Xu Yi and continued, "If the little official agrees, I will mix two charcoal here first." One hundred kilograms of goods, and the remaining three hundred kilograms of charcoal will be delivered to your house in two days. How about it?"

Xu Yi had no objection to this. He also needed time to clear out the space where the charcoal was stored.

"Then the price of this charcoal..."

the shopkeeper said clearly: "How about I give the low-ranking official a penny cheaper per kilogram of this charcoal?"

He told Xu Yi that the price of this charcoal will only become more and more expensive as it is used. , they were able to offer this price because they had previously collected this batch of goods at a low price.

If it had been a few days later, let alone twelve cents, someone would probably be able to earn fifteen cents.

What he said was reasonable, and Xu Yi knew that the price couldn't be lowered.

Five hundred kilograms of charcoal cost five taels and five cents of silver. Xu Yi paid the shopkeeper three taels of silver in advance, and the remaining balance had to wait until the three hundred kilograms of charcoal arrived at the house.

He paid the money, and the shopkeeper immediately sent a boy to the backyard to load the goods.

There happens to be two hundred kilograms of charcoal in the grocery store right now, which can be delivered directly to the Xu family.

The shopkeeper was very happy to hear that Xu Yi came in a bullock cart and that they did not need to deliver the goods door-to-door. This way he could save money on hiring a cart.

Charcoal is light, and two hundred kilograms of charcoal can fill half a wooden cart.

Uncle Liu's eyes were shining as he looked at the boxes of charcoal. How much would it cost for so much charcoal?

As a result, he dragged the charcoal back to Xu's house. Xu Yi only carried half of the charcoal out of the car, but asked him to take the rest elsewhere.

Uncle Liu was curious and asked, only to find out that Xu Yi had bought the remaining 100 kilograms of charcoal as a gift.

Uncle Liu: "..."

I have seen people giving gifts, but I have never seen people giving gifts like this.

*

Not long after, Uncle Liu's bullock cart arrived outside the door of the house, and he found that the family was moving.

Doctor Yan in the yard was instructing two idle men to move furniture. He could not take the furniture away and could only sell it to Changshengku, Yaxing, etc.

The house is rented, which saves time and effort and does not have to be sold in a dental shop.

He was counting the furniture that could be sold for money, but he didn't expect Xu Yi to come over.

"Didn't you agree to meet again at noon, why are you here now?" Doctor Yan passed by the idle people and walked to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi looked at the messy yard and said with a chuckle: "I heard you say yesterday that traveling is a lot of trouble. I thought you would have to carry all the things on your back and not have enough time, so I sent you some charcoal."

Charcoal is the most important thing when traveling in autumn and winter. An essential thing, with charcoal, the heating problem can be solved.

It is more convenient than burning firewood. When the donkey cart is in motion, a charcoal basin is placed in the carriage for heating. Not only is the safety factor higher, but its thermal insulation properties are also much better than that of a hand stove.

When Dr. Yan heard that he was here to deliver charcoal, he was pleasantly surprised by Xu Yi's attentiveness. When he went out to see the charcoal in the bullock cart, he was just astonished.

"So many?" Doctor Yan took a deep breath. The amount looked like it was no less than a hundred kilograms.

Xu Yi said: "It's a hundred kilograms. I think you will use a lot of it on the road. When you wait in Maozhou, it may be too late to buy charcoal. You only need it for one person, so it should be enough this year."

Doctor Yan smacked his tongue: "Enough, that's enough."

He originally wanted to hire an ordinary donkey cart, but now it seems that this ordinary donkey cart cannot hold so many things.

Autumn and winter clothes take up a lot of space. Bedding, mats, shoes and socks, etc. must be brought together. Otherwise, it would be too late to buy them in Maozhou.

In addition, Doctor Yan also plans to take a lot of medicinal materials out.

There were some medicinal materials at home that he couldn't take away, so he wanted Xu Yi to take them back.

Xu Yi did not refuse and took out two small clay pots for him.

Doctor Yan opened the jar, smelled the aroma of the medicine inside, and was stunned for a moment before asking: "Are these life-saving pills?"

Xu Yi replied: "They are Shexiang Baoxin Pills and Ginseng

Powder." Both are first-aid pills, and Musk Baoxin Pills are Xinwan can treat acute myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease. If coronary heart disease breaks out on the road, taking it can save your life.

The same is true for ginseng powder. Taking it by people who are in shock, dizziness or excessive blood loss can temporarily preserve their heart pulse and extend the time for doctors to rescue them.

Doctor Yan is a doctor, so he naturally knows how precious these two pills are.

And Xu Yi gave him the first aid pill.

"You...you..." Dr. Yan said ashamedly, "I can't help you with this matter about my young master's family, but you gave me charcoal and life-saving pills. Where can I put my old face?"

Xu Yi looked at him, Said: "Doctor Yan, you are serious. This matter happened because of me. Although you are willing to go to Beichuan now, I can't do anything."

The road to Maozhou is really dangerous, except for the difficult mountain road. , the most worrying thing is the bandits and Qiang people who appear on the way.

Historically, it has been recorded that there have been numerous turmoils in the Beichuan area to which Maozhou belongs. At this time, Shiquan County was still under the jurisdiction of Maozhou. But not long after, in the ninth year of Xining, Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Shiquan County was reorganized due to rebellion by the Qiang people in Maozhou. In order to isolate the Qiang people in Shiquan area and prevent the unrest from spreading, Shiquan County was transferred to the jurisdiction of Mianzhou, thereby blocking Maozhou and Shiquan. way. [Note 2]

Thinking of this, Xu Yi felt that he owed Doctor Yan.

Seeing that he was blaming himself, Doctor Yan laughed at him in turn: "I said you had courage, but you gave me such a gesture, which made me want to scold you. This matter has never been about right or wrong between you and me. Think about it, why can't you think about it?"

Xu Yi smiled bitterly, it's time to think about it.

The two didn't chat for long. Doctor Yan continued to be busy, so Xu Yi went back first to prepare for the noon farewell drink.

Today's farewell banquet was very simple, not many people came to attend, only Yi, Doctor Yan, and Asu Ajin.

The restaurant run by Tao Qinghao's family is one of the best in the county.

Xu Yi only ordered a few plates of good dishes, and ordered all the signature dishes recommended by the waiter last time.

Unfortunately, the weather turned cold and I couldn't eat ice cream, but the waiter recommended Shaohuang wine.

The hot rice wine goes down the throat smoothly, long and mellow, with a heart-warming heat. After drinking it, the whole body feels warm.

This is the first time Xu Yi drank alcohol after coming to the Song Dynasty for so long.

He knew that it was the period of filial piety, and he would be scolded if he was known to drink. But so what, facing Dr. Yan who was broad-minded and caring about the people, Xu Yi finally couldn't help it.

He wanted to have a drink with Doctor Yan and chat about how much he could accomplish in his decades of life.

"Don't forget the mulberry trees at night, the sky is full of clouds." [Note 3]

Dr. Yan drank all the hot wine in the glass and said with a wanton smile: "At this age, I have nothing to worry about. I can do just one thing." That's it."

Xu Yitong drank the glass and laughed.

...

On the day Doctor Yan left, Xu Yi went to see him off outside the county gate.

The two of them didn't talk much. Doctor Yan looked at Xu Yi with a smile and said to him: "Brother Yi, take great care of me."

Xu Yi took a deep breath: "Mr. Yan, if there is a future, I will go to Maozhou. When the time comes, you can treat me to a drink. "

Doctor Yan: "Okay!"

...

a few days later.

At dawn, the dew in Yanting County has turned white. There is a thin layer of hoarfrost on the street floor. The vendors setting up stalls in the market are wearing linen one after another, but it is difficult to resist this sudden drop. severe cold weather.

Breathing out white breath and rubbing their cold hands, these vendors stamped their feet and shouted.

There were not many pedestrians who stopped to buy food. They were all walking in a hurry, eager to go home.

"It's difficult." In front of a tea stall, two middle-aged men wearing silk robes and wolf fur scarves were talking.

Their status seems to be extraordinary, but they are drinking the cheapest loose tea at this simple tea stall.

Another person sighed: "It seems to be a bit colder this year than in previous years."

"Brother Pang, what should you pay attention to?" Pan Wenji looked at his friend and asked.

The man who was called "Brother Pang" shook his head and said: "This is beyond the reach of a layman like me. Now that I have become an official, I am just a white man. Instead, I need literary support to support myself."

After the two of them finished speaking, they looked at each other and smiled mockingly.

Now one of them is white and the other is no more than a small county captain.

Although Yanting County is a large county and governs several towns below, but really speaking, it is just a place that is being squeezed.

At this time, the stall owner came with a teapot and asked in a flattering manner: "You two officials, would you like more tea?"

"Thank you for your hard work, old man." Pang Boyi said with a smile.

Pan Wenji also nodded, rewarded the stall owner with some money, and asked him to keep the teapot and go down first.

He helplessly said to Pang Boyi: "How long will you stay in Yanting this time? You can't stay in the inn every day. The conditions of the inn are not good. Why don't I make arrangements, rent a yard, and rent a few female attendants? You always like to eat, so you have to hire a kitchen lady."

"I have already made a plan." Pang Yi did not accept his friend's kindness.

Pan Wenji asked: "What are your plans?"

Pang Boyi said: "I didn't bring much money for this trip, and I had already decided to stay in South Street. I asked Uncle Pang to find the tooth man and rent a small courtyard. As for the entourage and others , let's forget it."

Pan Wenji: "..."

There are not many courtyards available on South Street, and if there are, they are already occupied by others, and it is not his friend's turn to rent them.

"You won't think about it again?" he asked.

Pang Boyi shook his head and turned his eyes to the street. The sky was getting brighter and there were more and more pedestrians.

He saw a thin young man, wearing an ordinary blue gown. Everyone around him was wearing thick clothes stuffed with hemp and cotton. He was the only one who was relaxed and stood out.

But he saw this young man stopping in front of a stall selling steamed buns and talking to the stall owner in a friendly manner. He seemed to have said something, making the stall owner chuckle.

The stall owner's laughter attracted the friend next to him, who suddenly said "Huh".

"What?" Pang Boyi looked at him sideways and asked, "Do you recognize this young man?"

Pan Wenji smiled and said, "The person who reported the kidnapping case I told you not long ago was this man."

He paused and remembered. This person seemed to live in South Street, but he couldn't remember which alley he lived in.

When Pang Boyi heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Look, you can remember a young man. It seems that this kid is unusual."

"It's not ordinary..." Pan Wenji smiled.

...

On the other side, Xu Yi woke up early in the morning and saw fog outside and it was extremely cold.

He saw that the two children were breathing heavily when they woke up, and their limbs were shaking when they were punching, so he asked them to stay in the house. Today he went out to buy breakfast.

In the Nanjie market, many of the food stall owners recognized Xu Yi.

Seeing that Xu Yi hadn't come to buy food in person for a long time, he asked several questions when he saw him. Xu Yi was always kind and calm every time, answering every question. If he couldn't answer, he wouldn't keep quiet, and would just settle the matter with a few perfunctory words.

Wait until he comes to the stall selling meat buns.

The stall owner's uncle saw him and shouted enthusiastically: "Xu Xiaolang is here, why didn't A Xu come over today?"

Xu Yi smiled and said: "If I don't come out again, I'm afraid my uncle will only remember A Xu, not A Xu." "I am."

The stall owner said cheerfully, "I have a good memory. As long as you come to my house frequently to buy steamed buns, there is no customer that I can't remember. Xu Xiaolang, even if I ask you to come here to take care of me." Xu Lai, I remember it too."

After saying that, he asked Xu Yi what kind of buns he wanted to buy.

"I want eight meat buns and four vegetable buns," Xu Yi said.

As he said this, he saw the stall owner's uncle's hands that were cracked by the cold weather when he was bringing him the buns.

"Uncle, you have to deal with this, otherwise it will get worse when winter really comes," he reminded.

The uncle who owned the stall sighed and said, "There are ointments sold in the medical clinic. A box costs thirty yuan, so I can't afford it."

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows. The weather had just started to get cold, so the prices of medicinal materials had increased slightly. .

A few days ago, after seeing off Doctor Yan, he went to the medical clinic to buy medicinal materials for making Xiaoshi pills. The schoolchildren in the medical clinic told him that the price would rise again next time he came to buy medicinal materials. After hearing this, he bought some more and went back.

At this moment, the stall owner's uncle complained that the ointment was expensive, but Xu Yi was not too surprised.

"Uncle, there is a folk recipe that can cure chapped chaps. You go to the butcher and buy a pig's pancreas. Wash it and add half a bucket of rice wine." Xu Yi looked at him and said slowly, "Then rub it with your hands and take out the pancreas." Pour the juice into a jar and seal it, then apply it on the cracked area. It will be cured after a few times." [Note 1]

The stall owner was surprised: "This will cure it!"

Xu Yi nodded, He said: "Pig pancreas can remove chapped hands and feet, and can cure dry and cracked lips. It has a moisturizing effect."

The uncle of the stall owner knew that Xu Yi was now a doctor and believed in his words. He happily told Xu Yi that after he closed the stall, he would buy a pig pancreas.

Xu Yi reminded him not to be too late, otherwise the pig pancreas at the butcher's side would not wait for anyone.

After Xu Yi left, the stall owner's uncle thought more and more that what Xu Yi said was reasonable. After thinking about it, he asked the people next to him to help him look after the stall. He first went to the butcher to buy the pig pancreas.

...

After Xu Yi bought the steamed buns, he went to his grandma to buy two bowls of hot pork offal soup.

Now that the weather is getting colder, there are more and more hot foods being sold in the markets.

Xu Yi saw that many stalls that used to sell cold drinks were now selling hot food.

The most popular items are pancakes, steamed buns, noodles and various hot soups. Among the hot soups, in addition to cheap pork soup and pig offal soup, mutton soup is more popular.

It is difficult for ordinary people to eat beef, but sheep are not allowed to be killed in the county. There are many mountains and wild fields in Yanting County, and sheep are the most raised on the hillside outside the city.

Therefore, the price of this mutton soup is not expensive.

But not many were delicious. Xu Yi smelled the mutton soup with mutton smell and lost the desire to buy it.

Next time, I’ll buy it at the night market. The stall selling "sheep sausage" recommended by Mrs. He has the most delicious mutton soup.

Once you taste it once, you will never forget it.

When I came home with the food, the two children at home had been busy for a long time.

They were not idle after Xu Yi went out. A Xu carried a bucket to the well and lined up to pick up water. The others were not very strong and could only pick up two and a half buckets at a time.

It took several trips back and forth to fill the two water tanks at home.

However, the neighbors all know that he is Xu Yi's boy, and they take good care of him when they see him, and will take the initiative to help him carry water.

A Xu thanked them and returned with the bucket. At this time, sister Ah Jin was sewing and mending Xu Yi's clothes.

For some reason, Xu Yi's clothes always broke easier than theirs. After wearing them for a long time, there were tears again.

A Jin saw his brother coming back and said, "Brother, let's just wash Lang Jun's clothes today."

"I think so too." A Xu nodded in agreement.

If their clothes are washed every day, they will be like Mr. Wang. The good clothes will become ruined in a few days.

"Do you want to tell Lang Jun?" Ah Jin asked for his brother's opinion. "Lang Jun's clothes are broken again. I'm worried that if I wash them every day, in a few days, the other clothes will be washed out."

A Xu pondered. Yes, he shook his head: "Lang Jun loves to be clean. If you let him wear dirty clothes, he will feel uncomfortable wearing them."

A Jin straightened his lips silently after hearing this.

Lang Jun is the most clean person they have ever met. In the past, the head of their village would not wash their clothes every few days. They had never seen anyone like Lang Jun who changed clothes and washed every day.

Even if the weather turns cold in the past two days, I don't want to just wash my face and wipe my feet. He didn't need help from others, he went to the kitchen to boil water, at least half a bucket, and asked her and her brother to soak their feet together, saying that foot bathing was good for the body.

Ah Jin was still not used to being with Xu Yi for so long.

"Creak-"

the door sounded.

A Xu put down what he was doing and ran out, shouting happily: "Mr. Lang is back."

A Jin also put down her needlework and ran out to greet her. Seeing Xu Yi come back with hot breakfast, he immediately went to move the folding table stool.

This folding table and stool is improved from the folding stool. Carpenters now only make foldable stools, but rarely foldable wooden tables.

Xu Yi asked the carpenter to make an enlarged version so that it would be more convenient for them to eat in the yard.

"Woof woof woof~"

Xiao Huang came over to join in with his basin in his mouth.

Xu Yi patted its head, took out two meat buns and a vegetable bun, threw them into its bowl, and gave it some pig offal soup.

A-Xu and A-Jin didn't find this strange at all. Ever since they came to Xu's house, Xu Yi had fed Xiao Huang like this.

Xu Yi fed Xiao Huang and asked them to eat together.

"Later, I will go into the mountains again, and Xiao Huang will follow me this time." Xu Yi handed over the task to them and said, "Axu, take the money and go to the clothing store to buy two baskets of cotton. There are also more "Tear off half a piece of cotton cloth."

"Ah Jin, please give it to Mrs. He and ask her if she can rush out a few robes these days. Remember to calculate the extra wages."

It's getting cold. I'll wait until later. Once the mountain is covered with snow, we can no longer go up the mountain.

He wants to go to the mountains a few more times before it snows.