Chapter 22 022. Chicken...I'm Not Afraid
The county town not only has city walls and national coercion, but also has regional divisions.
The administrative district where the county government office and the county military headquarters are located, the courtyard area where landlords and nobles live, the bungalow residential area where civilians live, the commercial area with slightly blurred boundaries, and the green space.
Although in Zhou Yi's opinion, this can hardly be considered greening, because it is not as neat and planned as modern ones, and the varieties are also uneven.
This reminded Zhou Yi of the high school he attended. He didn't know who designed the landscaping, but there were red roses among the white thyme, and purple bougainvillea crossed the sidewalk, forming an archway, which Zhou Yi's classmates at the time jokingly called a large dog gate.
But the plants in the county town also have their own characteristics.
These flowering herbs or trees in the streets and alleys are integrated into people's lives, embellishing food, daily necessities, and clothing embroidery, adding a touch of poetry to the poor and backward land.
This is the poetic combination of nature and human civilization.
In such a crude civilization, the huge county town is equivalent to more than thirty towns, but there are less than the number of pharmacies in the palm of your hand, which is even fewer than the number of scholars.
Talent is precious.
Doctors are more expensive.
So there are quite a lot of people coming to Dr. Cao's pharmacy to get medicine and see medical advice.
Lei Li didn't go through the front door. He walked to the back door of the pharmacy as if he was familiar with it. He knocked vigorously and someone answered from inside, "I'm coming, is this Brother Li?"
"It's me! I'm here to deliver some herbs, Brother Gui!"
Lei Li answered loudly, the door opened, and a man who was not tall but had a kind and honest face came out with a grin.
"You're a little late today. Weeding on the road again? Hey, I smell a bit of blood on you, like a snake. Did you catch a snake?"
"I caught a big grass snake, it weighs five pounds. I'll cut out the gallbladder later. Do you want it at your pharmacy? If not, I'll use it to make wine for others."
"Of course I do. My father has a patient with a strange disease, and he's looking for snake gall to make medicine. Unfortunately, it's not a venomous snake. A snake with the gall of a coral reef snake would be even better!"
Cao Guige said, then looked at Zhou Yi, "Is this... the farmhand you found?"
"I don't have the money to hire a farmhand."
Lei Li said with a smile, and patted Zhou Yi again, "My husband, Zhou Yi, just got married half a month ago. The marriage was hasty, and I didn't have time to tell Brother Gui and Doctor Cao."
Zhou Yi nodded, "Hello, Brother Gui."
“Okay, okay…”
Brother Cao Gui smiled and nodded, but looked at Lei Li with some hesitation.
Seeing Lei Li raise his chin carelessly, obviously very satisfied with this husband, he smiled again and said, "The county town is far away, how can I ask you to come all the way here for every matter?"
"Even the medicine delivery only comes once every three months... Are all the medicines here this time?"
"All ready."
Lei Li said, "I went deeper into the mountains to search, and luckily, I found them all. I also got quite a few of the Golden Ganoderma for you, as well as a few of the Mountain Ganoderma, but they're not very old, so they're just average in efficacy."
"You don't need the ones that are very old. Even these ordinary red ginseng are only bought by landlords and nobles for health. Ordinary people are scared when they hear the price."
"Too."
Lei Li nodded, and together with Zhou Yi, they carried down a few backpacks, and together with Cao Gui and his brother, they moved into the house.
He took out a basket of wild vegetables from a backpack. They had been sprinkled with water and were still fresh even after being bumped around. "My parents picked these for Brother Gui and Doctor Cao. When there are fresh bamboo shoots in April or May, I will bring them to you."
"Okay, my dad likes this."
Brother Cao Gui collected the wild vegetables and counted all the medicinal herbs in the backpack. He was delighted to see that some thunder chestnuts that were not on the collection list were also brought with him.
"We've just run out of these herbs: liver-nourishing grass, honeysuckle, and three-sister wood... I was just thinking of asking you to bring some next time. This would save you a lot of trouble."
"The last time I gave them away was last year. I guess they're almost gone."
Lei Li took the money bag from Cao Guige, counted the money in front of him, and said with a smile, "Luckily, my husband and I came across some yam. Doctor Cao, would you like some? It's perfect for making soup in the summer."
"Unfortunately, my father just bought one yesterday and hasn't finished it yet. You should go to the market and sell it."
"become."
Lei Li nodded, discussed with Cao Gui what herbs he needed to bring next time, cut open the snake gall and gave it to him, then took a few backpacks and returned to the ox cart with Zhou Yi.
The ox cart moved slowly.
Zhou Yi looked around and walked from the bustling street market to the bungalow area. "Going to find Mr. Zhu?"
"right."
Lei Li said, "Mr. Zhu moved to the county town and stopped slaughtering pigs. His brother-in-law is an educated man with good math skills, and he works as an accountant for a landlord in the county town."
"Although the accountant is not as good-sounding as the scholar, he can earn two taels of silver a month. His brother-in-law is not a blockhead. He changed his career after failing the imperial examination."
There are few people who read.
There are even fewer scholars in small county towns.
A scholar could be exempted from the land tax of 30 mu and did not have to kneel when meeting an official. Therefore, many scholars became arrogant and ended up starving to death.
Lei Li occasionally envied those who had received an education. It was much easier for them to find a job, they could earn more money, and it was not very hard.
"We're not bad at digging and delivering herbs. It's hard work, but the pay is good... I saw your satisfied expression just now, so the salary should be quite high, right?"
Zhou Yi wasn't quite sure about the prices here, but he knew medicine had always been expensive.
Even in modern times, when medical insurance covers many diseases, there are still people who spend all their money once they go to the hospital, and the treatment is time-consuming and laborious, but still cannot be cured.
"Yes, it's okay."
Lei Li nodded, but did not elaborate. As soon as he walked out of Cao's pharmacy, he carefully hid the purse in his inner pocket.
The pocket was tied tightly with a rope, so no matter whether Lei Li walked, ran, or jumped, the money could not fall out, let alone be stolen by a thief.
The ox cart stopped at a house.
Lei Li knocked on the door and gave his name, and soon someone came to open the door.
He was a fair and handsome man, with his hair in a bun suitable for marriage, his clothes were a delicate light pink, and there was a conspicuous red mole between his eyebrows.
"Brother Li, you're here again."
Zhu Fulang smiled at Lei Li and glanced at Zhou Yi a little timidly, "Is he... your husband?"
"You have good eyesight. Brother Gui didn't even realize it just now. This is my newly married husband, haha."
Lei Li patted Zhou Yi's chest hard, causing him to feel pain and internal injuries. "How's my husband? Does he look good?"
"appearance……"
Mrs. Zhu looked at Zhou Yi, who was taller than Lei Li and had an ugly scar on his face, and said with difficulty, "He looks good..."
"Okay, don't lie to me. You like guys like your husband, fair and thin, like a white boy... like a scholar."
Lei Li looked at Zhou Yi with satisfaction, "I like this style. It's strong and powerful, and it feels great when kissing."
Zhou Yi: "...Hello."
He felt that Lei Li was a bit like driving a car.
"...Hello, Mr. Li."
Mrs. Zhu didn't know what she was thinking about. Her pretty face suddenly turned red. She glared at Lei Li and said, "You're so careless... Come in quickly. My father is making lunch inside. Eat first before you leave."
"become."
Lei Li gave him the wild vegetables in the backpack and said, "Make some wild vegetable soup. It will cool you down and make you feel refreshed."
He took out the snake again. Its stomach had been cut open and its gallbladder and internal organs had been taken out. It looked bloody and messy, and Mr. Zhu was frightened at once.
"You are still so timid, hahahaha..."
Lei Li laughed heartily, drove the ox cart into the backyard of Mrs. Zhu's house, and went in with Zhou Yi.
He shouted, "Mr. Zhu! Mr. Zhu! I brought you a snake. Do you want to make snake soup? If you don't wait, I'll sell it!"
"Snakes again! You're either a pig killer or a snake catcher. I don't know if I'm a dried meat vendor or you're a dried meat vendor, and you're even more reckless than me."
A rough voice came from the kitchen, and a shirtless, bearded man came out with a bloody kitchen knife in his hand.
This is Mr. Zhu.
Zhou Yi glanced at Mrs. Zhu, then at Mr. Zhu. If you weren't saying they were father and son... you really couldn't tell just by looking at their looks and figures.
Like the Northeast's green onions and the southern's small potatoes,... or, like the southern's cat-and-mouse eating and the northern's one-ear?
Mrs. Zhu frowned. "Dad, put on your clothes. You can see your chest hair... You're not afraid of scaring people by bringing out a kitchen knife when guests come."
"Hey, Dad is a butcher, why do you care about these trivial matters?"
Mr. Zhu waved his hand.
He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, stained with blood from years of slaughtering pigs. His eyes were fierce and fierce. He stared at Zhou Yi for a long time and said in a rough voice, "Did you marry Lei Li?"
"Hello, Mr. Zhu."
Zhou Yi met his gaze and said politely, "I'm Zhou Yi, Lei Li's...husband. To be more precise, I married into the Lei Li family."
Seeing him openly mention the idea of marrying into his wife's family, Mr. Zhu snorted, "Marrying into his wife's family? Being a gigolo. Do you know what Lei Li did before and what he's doing now? How dare you marry into his family?"
"I know."
"You really know?"
Mr. Zhu raised his eyebrows and glanced at Lei Li.
Lei Li nodded. "I've told him everything. Don't act like you're killing an animal. Zhou Yi is still useful to me."
Zhou Yi: “…”
You're talking like an animal.
Lei Li thought for a moment and added, "He's quite useful. He can identify herbs and dig them quickly and carefully. He can also cook and wash clothes. Oh, and he can do a few boxing moves. He's educated."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Why would I lie to you? Husband, show him a few boxing moves and recite a few idioms."
“…”
Zhou Yi suddenly had the illusion that he had to perform for his relatives during the Chinese New Year when he was a child.
A set of military boxing is powerful and vigorous.
Mr. Zhu raised his eyebrows first, then praised, then was puzzled and surprised, "How could he marry into your family? Are you holding a knife to his neck and wanting to kill him?"
"No."
Lei Li said casually, "He wanted to do it on his own. I didn't bring a knife. Why would I use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?"
Mr. Zhu understood clearly and glanced at Zhou Yi's lower body. "You are really good at slaughtering pigs, but you are not afraid of chickens..."
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