Chapter 2133 After the Disaster
Everyone talked around the fire for more than an hour until Mr. Zhuang felt sleepy and everyone dispersed.
The post station was the only building within a five-mile radius, so people always went to bed as soon as it got dark. When the postmaster returned, his eyes were almost closed.
His wife couldn't help but grumble, "City people are weird. They don't sleep when it gets dark, but sit together and gossip."
The postmaster said, "Don't talk nonsense. I think these adults are just like what they say in the opera, they are trying to understand the people's feelings."
"We are the only family of five here. What customs do we have?"
Postmaster: "...They asked a lot of questions, but not many about our family. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."
His wife couldn't help but mutter, "Why don't I understand? Oh, do you know where they dug up the mountain pepper?"
"Where did you dig?"
"That's why I'm asking you. I was thinking of finding a broken wooden barrel to plant them, but I looked around and couldn't find where I put them."
The postmaster didn't care. "Maybe it's in the car. Those nobles have so many cars. Don't hang around there. If something is lost, we won't be able to say anything."
"I know, I just looked at it from a distance. That mountain pepper is quite big, how can I put it in the car..."
The postmaster was already fast asleep.
The next day, the couple got up before dawn, woke up their children, and made breakfast for them.
After eating a bowl of noodles, Manbao and his friends set off and continued their journey to Xiazhou.
They didn't walk fast along the way, and would stop to rest for two days when they came across a good or interesting place.
General Nie was from the Yin family. Knowing that Yin was not in good health, he had no objection to the convoy stopping to rest. However, the two travelers from the Honglu Temple were anxious for a while.
But as they followed Mr. Zhuang and his team to climb mountains, visit local famous doctors, and meet local officials and some ordinary people, they gradually adapted to everyone's pace. They knew that if they continued like this, it would be good enough to return to Chang'an in five years, let alone the planned five months.
Thinking about it, in terms of age, Mr. Zhuang is older than them; in terms of future, Bai Shan, Zhou Man, and Bai Cheng, any one of them has a brighter future than them. Time is more precious to them than to the two of them.
If they are not in a hurry, then there is no need for them to be in a hurry.
So I began to relax and occasionally discuss classics, history, and literature with Mr. Zhuang.
Both travelers were from the Mingjing examination, but they also aspired to the Jinshi examination, so they could ask Mr. Zhuang for advice on some things they didn't understand about their studies.
Mr. Zhuang and others also wanted to learn some languages from the grassland and the Western Regions. For a time, the spirit of learning was particularly strong in the team.
Manbao, Baishan and Bai Erlang had been preparing for this two years ago, so they knew some daily expressions.
However, what they learned was either Mandarin or the language of the major tribes, and they didn't know as much as the two travelers, let alone master it.
So they have been learning the language with them recently.
To everyone's surprise, the person who learned the fastest was Zhou Liru.
Bai Shan and Man Baoyin may be considered people with extensive knowledge and good memory, but they still have to listen to a sentence several times before they can remember it and repeat it. What they repeat always has various accents and needs constant correction.
But Zhou Liru learned it after listening to it twice.
Moreover, she has a very good memory for these languages. Whatever she learns today, she can basically still remember it the next day, and then use it to communicate with two pedestrians.
By the time he arrived in Xiazhou, Zhou Liru had already memorized some of the words he used in daily life, but he was still on the verge of surpassing Bai Er who had prepared in advance.
Bai Er couldn't help but say to Bai Shan and Man Bao, "Look at you, you've been learning from others for more than a year, but you're still not as good as her who has been learning from others for twenty days."
Bai Shan: ...
Manbao was unconvinced: "What about you? Have you caught up with my niece?"
Bai Erlang: "I didn't. That's because I never learned well. You guys never learned well either."
Yin Huo said, "It's not too late to learn now."
Liu Huan hesitated and said, "It's too late. Beyond Xiazhou lies the grassland. We have two other travelers anyway, so why do we have to learn the language ourselves?"
Everyone looked at him and said, "You'll know when we get to the market."
The convoy slowly arrived at the gate of Xiazhou City. Manbao lifted the curtain and looked up at the tall city gate.
Xiazhou at this time was a little different from when they left. There were more people entering and leaving the city gate, and it was much more popular.
A guard came forward with documents. They were an imperial envoy, so they entered directly from the other side of the city gate.
They slowly entered the city, and the city guard who had just read the document immediately sent someone to the governor's mansion to inform Yang Heshu.
When entering the city, Manbao lowered the curtains and did not alert anyone. However, the city guard who had just read the documents kept staring at the convoy. When the convoy was halfway through, he could not help but pull someone aside and ask, "Didn't they say that Doctor Zhou was in the group? Where is he?"
"Miss Man is in the second car. Do you know our Miss Man?"
Upon hearing this, the city guard laughed and said, "Everyone in Xiazhou City knows Dr. Zhou. Do you see these three pockmarks on my face? Dr. Zhou cured them."
Guard: ...You have pockmarks on your face, what is there to be proud of?
The city guard was very proud because he had survived the smallpox. He was a soldier in the barracks, and all the soldiers who had contracted smallpox and survived had recovered under Zhou Man's treatment.
He only had three pockmarks left, which was much better than the others.
Since Doctor Zhou had already left, he could only let the person go with regret and watch the convoy slowly enter the city.
Only after entering the city did Manbao lift the curtain and look outside again.
Bai Shan also looked outside. He said to Man Bao, "Xiazhou City is different now."
Manbao nodded. "They are smiling more now, and the traces of smallpox are no longer noticeable."
Bai Shan raised his lips slightly and said, "Xiaoxue brother Yang's ability is unquestionable."
The convoy continued to move towards the post station.
The post station in Xiazhou City was near the county government office. As the caravan reached the side, someone from the Governor's Mansion came to greet them and said to Zhou Man, "Master Zhou, please leave the caravan to us. We will take them to the post station. Master said that he has prepared water and wine at the mansion. Please go there and rest first. Master and Master will stay at the Governor's Mansion for the next two days. Let us, Master, fulfill our hospitality."
Manbao and Baishan looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
So the six of them took Mr. Zhuang and went to the governor's mansion first.
The carriages and horses stopped at the side gate of the Governor's Mansion's backyard. Cui stood there to greet them. She smiled and said, "My husband is still busy up ahead and can't get away for the time being, but he sent someone to tell me to entertain you well."
She smiled and said, "Knowing you were coming, I cleaned up the two courtyards early. You can live there. It will be more comfortable than the post station."
Manbao smiled and agreed, "Thank you for your help, Sister Xue."
Cui smiled and said you're welcome. She asked, "How many days can you stay in Xiazhou?"
Manbao said: "I want to see the situation in Xiazhou first."
She also wanted to know about the subsequent health conditions of these smallpox patients to see if the medication had any adverse effects on their bodies.
By the way, find out more about the situation on the grassland.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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