Denghuaxiao

Chapter 20 Wu Xiaozi

Times passed like water, and March entered in a blink of an eye, and the weather became warmer and warmer.

Willows are green, poplars are blooming, beauties are constantly playing by the Luoyue Bridge, visiting famous flowers, gathering good friends, fragrant carriages and horses are constantly riding on the streets, and golden saddles compete for the road, decorating Shengjing in various colors of red and green. brilliant.

 There are a lot of people traveling, so spring rice sells well. Lu Zhu stacked the medicinal tea cans into a small tower and placed them on the yellow wooden table at the front of Renxin Medical Center. He also asked Yin Zheng to write a word and hang it on the wall behind the table.

Scholars who came to buy medicinal tea often came to the medical clinic. They did not notice the medicinal tea first, but were first attracted by the words at the end.

"Sit quietly without any hope and come alone. A bottle of spring water makes tea by yourself. A few winter plum trees welcome the early spring, and the drizzle and gentle breeze watch the falling flowers." Someone stood at the door of the medical center, murmured the poem on the wall, and praised it in a low voice. : "Good words!"

Lu Yan raised his eyes and saw that he was a middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian scholar. He wore a square scarf and a blue gown that had been washed white, with patches hidden at the elbows. The man seemed a little embarrassed. He blushed and asked Lu Huan in front of the medicine cabinet: "Excuse me, girl, does this place sell herbal tea for nasal congestion?"

Lu Zhen didn't say much, he just gestured to the stack of cans like a hill: "One can is four taels of silver."

This man's clothing was poor and his food was delicious. A jar of herbal tea worth four taels of silver was probably not cheap for him. However, after hearing this, he just took a deep breath and took out an **** with an indistinguishable shape from his arms. Bag, shake out a ball of broken silver coins from it.

Acheng took it and weighed it, and found that the forty taels of silver were exactly the same. Lu Zhu then took a jar of herbal tea to him and told him: "Two or three times a day, just boil it and take it. A jar of herbal tea can be divided into five or six days." Fry them separately.”

 The Confucian scholar nodded in agreement, put the medicine jar into his arms like a treasure, and then walked away slowly.

After he left, Yinzheng looked at his back and felt a little strange: "How can this man come to buy such expensive herbal tea when he is short of money? Isn't it putting more burden on himself?"

Lu Zong followed her gaze, lowered his head and rearranged the jars, and said softly: "Xu is for the person he cares about."

 …

 The Confucian scholar left West Street, walked around the entrance of the temple, and entered a fish shop.

 There are dozens of fish stalls next to the fish shop, covered with fishy and **** smells. The market has closed at this time. He carefully avoided the blood and fish scales on the ground and turned into a hut.

This house is very dilapidated, but it has been cleaned very well. When there was movement, an old woman's hoarse voice came from inside: "My son?"

The Confucian scholar said "Hey", put down the tea can, and hurriedly went in to help the person inside.

This Confucian scholar is called Wu Youcai. He is a scholar. He has some talent, but for some reason, he is always a little unlucky in exams. He has failed many times, and now in middle age, he still has accomplished nothing.

Wu Youcai lost his father in his early years, and it was his biological mother who single-handedly raised him by killing and selling fish. Maybe she got sick from overwork. A few years ago, Aunt Wu got seriously ill and she lingered on her bed. After the Spring Festival this year, the situation became more and more serious. Wu Youcai searched for good doctors, but they all said that his health was exhausted and he was just getting by.

Wu Youcai was a filial son. After feeling sad, he found ways to satisfy his mother's long-cherished wish. Today I will buy a bowl of flower soup for my mother, and tomorrow I will cut some clothes for her. When he was not studying, he also killed fish to earn some money and saved some money. These days, he spent a lot of his savings just to make his mother smile.

Aunt Wu is seriously ill. She is often confused, sometimes awake, sometimes confused. Now she is awake less and less, and she cannot recognize her son for a long time. A few days ago, I told Wu Youcai that I wanted to go to the river embankment to see the poplar flowers.

It is not difficult to see the poplar flowers, but Mrs. Wu has always had a stuffy nose. In previous years, when spring comes, she never leaves her handkerchief. At this time, Wu Youcai heard that a scholar friend who had been to the Peach Blossom Club came back and said that there was a medical shop on West Street selling a kind of medicinal tea, which was very effective in treating nasal congestion. When Wu Youcai heard this, he was very moved. Although a jar of medicinal tea cost four taels of silver, which was really expensive for him, it was worth it as long as he could satisfy his mother's wish.

He divided the medicinal tea into fine pieces, and slowly cooked it for half a day in a porcelain pot at home. He put it into a bowl and when it was warm, he fed his mother a spoonful to drink. After my mother finished drinking, she felt sleepy again and fell asleep in a daze. Wu Youcai went outside to divide the fish that he had not cooked during the day.

They drank like this for three days. Early in the morning on the third day, Aunt Wu woke up again and shouted that she wanted to go to the river embankment to see the poplar flowers. Wu Youcai carried his mother on his back, covered her mouth and nose with a kerchief, and took his mother to the embankment of Luoyue Bridge.

There are pavilions for tourists to rest on both sides of the river embankment. Wu Youcai and his mother walked in and sat down. While letting his mother lean against him, he tentatively removed the scarf from her face little by little.

 Aunt Wu showed no sign of discomfort. Wu Youcai's eyes lit up little by little.

This spring water thing is really useful!

There are endless tourists on Luoyue Bridge, and thousands of new green strips are blown by the wind and fluttering indefinitely. Wu Youcai was in a daze for a moment. After his mother fell ill, he was busy selling fish to take care of her during the day. He lit a lamp to read at night. He had not had free time to look at the scenery for a long time. It was at this moment that he realized that he had unknowingly... It's spring.

“This is Yanghua—” Someone spoke beside him. He turned around and saw his mother looking at the smokey willows on both sides of the river embankment with rare clarity in her eyes.

Wu Youcai felt sour in his heart and almost shed tears. He said softly: "Mother, this is Yanghua."

Aunt Wu slowly turned her head and looked at him intently for a while, then she seemed to remember who the person in front of her was: "You are talented."

 Can actually recognize him! Wu Youcai held his mother's hand and felt that it was as thin as wood. He choked and said, "It's me, mother."

 The new willows on both sides of the bank are green and green, making the women's hair on their temples look like silver. Aunt Wu smiled and patted his hand, and softly praised him as she did when she was a child when she was scolded by her husband: "Thank you, my son, for taking your mother out to see the poplar flowers."

 Wu Youcai was in great mourning.

Mother didn't notice his expression and looked at Yanliu in the distance with a smile: "Speaking of which, when you were a child, you loved coming to the river embankment to fly kites. Every time you crossed the Luoyue Bridge, you would always pester your father to buy noodles and flowers."

 Wu Youcai choked up and echoed.

At that time, he was still at a carefree age, his father was still there, and his mother often endured the pain of suffocation and accompanied the father and son to the river embankment with her handkerchief in hand, complaining while holding the kite for him and following behind.

Later, his father passed away and his mother went to work in a fish shop. She had to live with the smell of fish scales every day. He was determined to study and get ahead, and he no longer had time to play around. After hearing what my mother said today, I realized that it was more than 20 years ago that I came to the riverbank with my mother to enjoy the scenery.

Wu Youcai finally couldn't help but shed tears.

He looked at his mother's rickety and skinny body and cried: "It's all because of my son's unfilial piety. In all these years, I have never obtained a meritorious service so that my mother can enjoy the blessings. My mother has suffered for me for many years, but my son has nothing to repay. I only know how to read a few dead books." , still can’t win…”

 A hand touched his head.

The woman's smile was gentle, hiding her heartache. She just looked at Wu Youcai and said softly: "My son, don't say that. When it comes to it, Dad and I are useless, and we have nothing left for you. Studying is your ambition, but After all, fame is something external to the body, and a mother only hopes that her son will be safe and healthy, which is her blessing."

"My mother has never been to school, but she also knows that good things come in hard times. My son is talented and will earn a future sooner or later, so why bother about it now."

 Wu Youcai burst into tears.

The woman smiled again and said, "Besides, you said you can't repay me, didn't you give me a big gift?"

 Wu Youcai was stunned.

Aunt Wu pointed to her nose and sighed with a smile: "The herbal tea you bought is very good. In so many years, this is the first time that your mother and I have come to the river embankment to see the flowers so comfortably. Don't be sad, either. It’s a good time to take a look at the scenery. I’ll accompany my mother to see it tomorrow, and I’ll also buy a bowl of hot hooves to eat!”

 Wu Youcai wiped away his tears and said with a smile, "Yeah."

 (End of this chapter)