The summer dawn is very early, and before the end of the day, the sky is already quite bright, and the county seat of Beizhuang has begun to be noisy.

Xie Hong yawned and looked at the busy crowd, feeling guilty in his heart, after coming to the Ming Dynasty, the most difficult thing for him to adapt to was this morning and night. Not to mention the nightlife at night, ordinary people even light an oil lamp is a luxury, and candles are the patent of large families, if you don't want to sleep, you can only watch the stars in the yard.

Go to bed early at night, get up early in the morning, Yamen actually has to report at the end of the day, no wonder it is called Dianmao, but it is 5:00-7:00 in the morning in later generations, even when he was in elementary school, Xie Hong never got up so early. He didn't want to go, anyway, his farewell hasn't arrived yet, and Wang Zhixian went to Xuanfu to show his merits, and he didn't know what to do when he went to Yamen.

It's just that Mother Xie was concerned about this matter, and sent Qing'er over early to wake him up, but the old lady was afraid that if he didn't go, he would be killed. Xie Hong didn't think so, but in the end, he didn't want to disobey his mother for such a trivial matter, so he finally went out with a strong spirit.

The county seat is not big, Xie Hong walked unhurriedly, the pressure of life was too great before, and every time he went out to see these brick and wood buildings, he felt gray. Today's mood is much better, and when I look at it again, this red brick and green tile is also quite tasteful, and I don't know where this small county town is in the future, and whether it has survived. It doesn't exist anymore, and it's really shocking to think of the crazy development of later generations.

Just as he was feeling nostalgic, Xie Hong suddenly heard someone behind him calling him, and when he turned around, he saw that it was Ma Wentao, the son of his second aunt. This person is much more energetic than Xie Hong, the two said hello and walked together.

After walking a few steps, Ma Wentao suddenly sighed: "Brother Xie is really a blessing!" ”

Xie Hong wondered, where did he start with this, and he looked at Ma Wentao suspiciously.

Ma Wentao smiled and teased: "Don't pretend, I heard it last night." Xie Hong suddenly, it turned out that Qing'er was singing and he heard it, and before he could speak, Ma Wentao had a longing expression again, and said: "Brother Xie is really blessed, Qing'er can cook and sing songs again, and she looks beautiful...... Well, yesterday's braised pork was really delicious, better than those in Xuanfu Restaurant. ”

His last turn was so abrupt that Xie Hong almost fell, this foodie, after a long time, still worried about braised pork a little more. I only heard Ma Wentao continue: "Brother Xie, you should hurry up, where can you find such a good daughter-in-law?" ”

Hearing people praise Qing'er, Xie Hong was also very happy, but this proposal was a little too early, and said perfunctorily: "In a few years, Qing'er is too young." ”

Ma Wentao glared at him, with a reasonable expression, and said, "It's not young, it's thirteen years old, right?" ”

Looking at his round eyes, Xie Hong was weak, and secretly pouted, he really couldn't communicate, this is a generation gap, a generation gap of hundreds of years.

Ma Wentao didn't see Xie Hong answering, he remembered something again, and asked strangely: "Brother Xie, it's rare for you to go out so early, where are you going?" ”

"The county government, I go to work when I am young, and I don't know who set the rules." Xie Hong muttered casually.

"Did you get an errand yesterday?" Ma Wentao's eyes became hot, and he forgot about the braised pork or something.

"Well, Wang Zhixian appointed me as the chief bookkeeper, but he only said that he wanted me to be in charge of public security, grain and horse affairs, and I didn't know the specific things. By the way, Brother Ma, I have something to ask you. Xie Hong didn't notice Ma Wentao's eyes, and as he spoke, he reminded him of looking for a doctor.

Ma Wentao is a few years older than Xie Hong, and he has an errand in the yamen. According to Xie Hong's understanding, this errand is similar to the chengguan in later generations, but it has more functions, and he often runs errands for the yamen and delivers letters. So compared with those people who have lived in small counties for generations, Ma Wentao has a lot of knowledge, and he just inquired about some outside things.

After speaking, but there was no answer, Xie Hong felt strange in his heart, and when he turned his head, he saw Ma Wentao standing in place, his mouth wide open.

"Brother Ma, Brother Ma, what's wrong? I have something to ask you. ”

"Oh, oh, what's the matter?" After being called a few times by Xie Hong, Ma Wentao finally came back to his senses and responded vaguely.

"Brother Ma, have you been to Xuanfu before?"

Ma Wentao felt that he had traveled south and north, and his heart had been tempered very well, but what Xie Hong said casually was still incredible, and he asked again: "Xuanfu?" Of course I've been there, but Brother Xie, you just said that Lord Zhixian appointed you as the chief bookkeeper? ”

"Yes, everyone in the county government has seen it, Brother Ma, are there any famous doctors in Xuanfu?"

"It's my aunt's illness, right? There is a very famous doctor in Xuanfu, but that person has a very big shelf, and I heard that except for the official eunuchs, he does not go to the clinic, let alone come to our small county. Ma Wentao finally recovered from the shock, and when he talked about the famous doctor in Xuanfu, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The shelves are huge? Don't ask for money, Xie Hong asked: "What if it's a heavy invitation?" ”

"Heavy money? It's really hard to say, when I was in Xuanfu, I heard that the doctor would pay at least ten taels of silver to visit Xuanfu. Ten taels of silver! This is just the cost of the visit, and the consultation fee has to be calculated separately. Speaking of this, Ma Wentao spread his hands and compared.

So expensive! Xie Hong gasped, he thought that five hundred taels of silver was a lot before, but now it seems that it may not be enough. Is this a specialist clinic?

I heard Ma Wentao continue: "This is still the price offered to the official eunuchs, if he is allowed to go to our place a hundred miles away, then I am afraid it will be ......."

It's still more money to make, these five hundred taels are not as much as I imagined, Xie Hong thought in his heart.

Ma Wentao is clever, he glanced at Xie Hong's face, knew that he was embarrassed, and said another piece of news.

"Brother Xie, in fact, it's not that there is no other way. You know Doctor Bell, right? In winter, there was an old bell doctor passing by from our county, saying that he was from the south and wanted to go to Datong, and then he would come back. His medical skills are also very good, I have heard many people talk about him, if you don't care about Doctor Ling, I can help you inquire. ”

Bell doctor? Xie Hong naturally knew that in the Ming Dynasty, the profession of doctor had some similarities with the handicrafts of later generations. It is not enough to have a high level, someone has to be sought after to be truly famous, otherwise it is impossible for people to become famous just by relying on the consumption and reputation of ordinary people.

Compared with those doctors who are well-known or have good family backgrounds, Lingyi is the grassroots medical worker of this era. These folk doctors roam the rivers and lakes, and their level is high and low, including miracle doctors like Hua Tuo Bian Que, and low-level charlatans. Generally, well-to-do people will not look for a bell for treatment, only the poor people prefer to find a bell for treatment, because the fee of the bell doctor is much cheaper than that of the hospital.

Xie Hong didn't discriminate against the bell doctor, not to mention that the old bell doctor Ma Wentao talked about still has some reputation, but this person's whereabouts are uncertain, when will it be? It seemed that he still had to do both, he made up his mind and said, "Brother Ma, then please help me inquire." ”

Ma Wentao said with a smile: "Where Brother Xie said, the friendship between you and me, where can I use it, my aunt's business is my business, you just have to tell it." ”

Xie Hong has already been the chief bookkeeper of Jiupin at a young age, obviously with a great future, Ma Wentao has been in the county government for many years, where do you not know this truth? Even if he didn't mention the friendship between the two families, he was willing to help, and when Xie Hong mentioned it, he was busy responding.

Hearing his promise happily, Xie Hong felt that this person was a capable person, so he handed over a silver ingot and said, "Brother Ma, if you want to inquire about the news, you will also need silver money, you can take these first, if it is not enough, you can come to me to get it again." ”

The silver that Wang Zhixian gave to Xie Hong is all official silver, the fineness is good, and the silver ingots are about the same size, this piece is ten taels, Ma Wentao estimated it at a glance from the corner of his eyes, he secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and refused: "Brother Xie, find out where to get any silver, you are treating me as an outsider, and besides, my mother took cloth from you yesterday, how can I be embarrassed to take your silver again?" ”

Xie Hong insisted: "Brother Ma, you just have to take it, there will be a place to ask for each other in the future, if you don't take this silver, how can I ask for it?" "Xie Hong is a particular person, of course, you have to give money to ask people to do things, so that people will be attentive to do things.

Ma Wentao saw that he insisted, and his family was really reluctant to accept the silver, so he twisted and accepted it. The two were walking side by side, but after accepting the silver, Ma Wentao was a little behind, but he had some subordinate taste.