Chapter 7 Dean
After arriving in town, Xiao Liulang was immediately taken to the clinic by his classmates.
A long line formed outside the clinic, all of them there to see that miracle doctor.
The two stood at the back of the line.
My classmate stood on tiptoe and looked around: "It's not too late, we should be able to get a spot."
"I'll give you the fare in a bit," Xiao Liulang said.
The classmate patted his chest and said, "We're classmates and from the same hometown, why be so polite? By the way, are you hungry?"
He left in a hurry and didn't eat anything, so Xiao Liulang didn't eat anything either.
He took out a clean little bundle from his wide sleeve, opened it to reveal three pretty cornbread buns.
"Where did these steamed buns come from?" Xiao Liulang felt that these steamed buns looked somewhat familiar.
My classmate said, "I took it from your stove. It was just steamed when I went there!"
Xiao Liulang frowned: "How many did you keep?"
The classmate asked curiously, "Weren't there only three in total? You made the steamed buns yourself, don't you remember?"
Xiao Liulang pursed his lips and remained silent.
After a long pause, he said, "Why didn't you leave one for her?"
The classmate exclaimed in surprise: "You mean that wicked woman? Why would you leave any for her? Hasn't she hurt you enough? Besides, she doesn't eat your cooking anyway!"
His classmate picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, and his eyes widened instantly: "Brother Xiao, how come the steamed buns you made today are so delicious?"
Xiao Liulang stepped out of the group.
His classmate was taken aback: "Brother Xiao, where are you going? It'll be your turn soon!"
Xiao Liulang didn't say anything, he just kept walking forward with his head down.
Seeing the long queue stretching almost into the alley behind him, his classmate stamped his feet in frustration and said to the woman behind him, "Auntie, we're going to the toilet, we'll be right back!"
He caught up with Xiao Liulang: "What are you doing?"
"I'll buy osmanthus cake," Xiao Liulang said, walking through the alley to Li's shop.
Li Ji is a century-old brand, and the number of people queuing up here is no less than that of a medical clinic.
His classmate snapped, "Are you crazy? You're really going to buy osmanthus cake for that wicked woman?! Don't you know that Doctor Zhang only sees patients for half a day? By the time you buy the osmanthus cake, it'll be too late!"
Xiao Liulang was a stubborn man; once he made up his mind, nothing could change it.
An hour later, Xiao Liulang bought Li Ji's osmanthus cake.
"I hope Dr. Zhang hasn't left yet!" The classmate grabbed Xiao Liulang and headed towards the clinic.
However, when they arrived at the clinic, they found that the long queue had disappeared, replaced by a crowd of onlookers and a group of solemn and imposing soldiers.
The classmate looked at the middle-aged man beside him and asked, "Uncle, what happened here? Why are all the people who came to see the doctor gone?"
The middle-aged man said, "Just now, a madman rushed into the clinic, saying that the doctor there had killed his wife. He grabbed a knife and started slashing around, injuring everyone inside! See that old lady at the door? She was the last one to go in. The madman came right after she entered! She was lucky and managed to escape, but she tripped and fell, breaking her head!"
Wasn't that the woman behind them in line?
If they hadn't left, then Xiao Liulang would have been the last one to go in.
Given Xiao Liulang's leg ailment, he would never have been able to escape, so he was most likely among those who were slashed.
On the way back, neither of them said a word.
As darkness fell, the carriage traveled along the quiet path, its wheels creaking and groaning.
At this hour, the town's horse-drawn carriages were no longer willing to travel to the countryside. They rented a mule cart for twenty copper coins. It had no carriage, only a simple awning, and it was drafty in both the front and back.
The two were so cold that their hands and feet were stiff.
Suddenly, a thin, small figure entered Xiao Liulang's line of sight.
Xiao Liulang's gaze paused.
This is a fork in the road.
The road ahead leads back to the village, and the road to the market is to the west.
Gu Jiao was walking along the path from the market, carrying a heavy basket on her back, panting heavily.
The last rays of the setting sun had faded, and she was shrouded in the last vestiges of twilight, her frame thin and frail.
She raised her hand to wipe away the sweat, revealing the gauze on her wrist, with traces of blood on it.
"Stop the car," Xiao Liulang said.
The coachman stopped the carriage.
"Why did you stop?" his classmate asked, puzzled. Then, he saw Gu Jiao walking towards him.
Gu Jiao seemed oblivious to their presence, mistaking it for an ordinary mule cart. Without looking up, she turned and walked past the cart.
“Come up,” Xiao Liulang said.
Gu Jiao then turned her head and looked at Xiao Liulang on the mule cart in astonishment. Next to Xiao Liulang sat the classmate from earlier that day.
The classmate still looked disgusted, but didn't say anything like forbidding Xiao Liulang from paying attention to her.
"Come up," Xiao Liulang said again, his voice cold and clear.
He was clearly only sixteen or seventeen years old, but he possessed a composure and presence beyond his years.
Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment, then went upstairs.
She sat opposite Xiao Liulang and took the basket off her back and placed it on the ground.
Xiao Liulang glanced at the basket and asked, "You went to the market?"
Gu Jiao nodded: "Yes, I went to sell two chickens and bought some rice and flour." She also did some other things.
Xiao Liulang gave her a deep look, as if he had seen through something, but he didn't say a word.
However, her classmates cast strange glances at Gu Jiao. Could this silly, wicked woman really do business?
Gu Jiao seemed oblivious to his scrutiny and asked Xiao Liulang, "And you? Did you see the doctor in town today?"
"Don't even mention it! It's all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on eating osmanthus cake, how could we have missed Dr. Zhang's consultation?" Her classmate wouldn't tell her that Xiao had avoided a disaster by going to buy her osmanthus cake.
"That's...what a pity," Gu Jiao murmured, lowering her eyes.
She spoke words of regret, but strangely, it seemed she felt no regret at all. Could it be that she already knew about the clinic?
Impossible. Knowing her nature, would she be so calm knowing she had inadvertently saved Brother Xiao? Last time she saved Brother Xiao, she forced him to marry her. If she saves him again this time, wouldn't she be out of control?
My classmate scoffed, "I ate the osmanthus cake! I won't let you have it!"
Gu Jiao calmly replied, "Oh."
My classmate punched cotton.
After that, none of them spoke again.
A very elaborate horse-drawn carriage came towards us.
The classmate's heart skipped a beat, and he sat up straight, saying, "Look! That's the Dean's carriage!"
"What dean?" Gu Jiao asked.
A classmate said, "The dean of Tianxiang Academy! The academy Brother Xiao is taking the exam for in three days! The dean is from the capital, and was once the top of the four great talents of the capital. He is extremely learned and knowledgeable. His examination results from twenty years ago have not been surpassed to this day! A word of guidance from him is better than ten years of studying the classics! How wonderful it would be if I could be his disciple! But I heard that the dean has not accepted any disciples for many years. I have been in the academy for half a year and have not even seen the dean's face..."
My classmate kept talking non-stop, so excited that he forgot he was talking to the person he hated most.
On the carriage.
The director, dressed in a white uniform, sat respectfully to one side, while an elderly man in plain clothes sat in the main seat.
The old man's left arm was wrapped in bandages, he was holding a small, tattered umbrella in his arms, and a large footprint, seemingly from nowhere, was faintly visible on his face.
This sight left the dean somewhat speechless; he didn't know, nor did he dare to ask.
He bowed respectfully: "Why did you suddenly come down from the mountain? You didn't even tell me so I could have sent someone to pick you up?"
Good morning (＾－＾)V
Do you remember the old man from Chapter 4?
(End of this chapter)
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