Even though there was still an hour before the curfew, there was no one on the street after the shift. Most of the shops on the roadside have been closed and locked, and there are no street lights on the road, so they can only be illuminated by the light projected by the windows of people on the side of the road.

Snowflakes began to fall in the sky, one by one, flickering in the diffraction light, like a little elf dancing in the night sky, falling on Zuo Shaoyang's head and shoulders, and after a while, it was spread all over.

Zuo Shaoyang didn't want to shake off the snowflakes, although his teeth were rattling and his ears hurt from the cold, he still didn't run, and he didn't even walk fast, he still walked unhurriedly with his sleeves and neck bent, while looking around, looking at the town in the night, in the snowflakes, everything in the ancient town was full of novelty in his eyes.

Finally, he returned to Guizhi Hall, and as soon as he knocked on the door, the door opened, and Fennel said anxiously: "Why did you just come back, we are all in a hurry, where did you go?" As he spoke, he patted the snowflakes off his shoulder.

"Just a little bit of shopping." Zuo Shaoyang stood on the steps, stomped his feet, took out his hand and rubbed it, and sighed in his mouth.

"You've fallen and you've been hurting, what if you fall somewhere? Let's get inside! ”

Zuo Shaoyang entered the lobby, the lonely oil lamp was still dimly lit in the lobby, a round table was placed in the center, and four bowls were placed on it, a large plate of stoneware and a large bowl of coarse ceramics in the middle, and in the plate was a bowl of soup, with a few green leaves floating.

Zuo Gui was still sitting behind the long table before, his hands were wrapped in his sleeves, his head bowed, and he didn't know what he was thinking. Liang was sitting at the round table, wiping his tears, seeing him come in, he hurriedly wiped a handful of tears, touched his backhand on the waist in front of him, got up and said, "Zhong'er, what are you wandering around with this black light!" Come over and eat! - Sir, come over for dinner! ”

Although the pharmacy is difficult and the son is very bitter, Zuo Gui always claims to be the descendant of the scholarly family of the official eunuch, so the Liang family has always called him master with sincere fear.

Zuo Gui raised his head at this time, slowly walked to the table and sat down, and glanced at Zuo Shaoyang.

Zuo Shaoyang also sat down at the table, and glanced at the bowl, which were two black-flour steamed buns. Reached out and pinched it, it was a little hard. When he picked it up and was about to eat, he snapped and received a chopstick in his hand, which hurt him, and when he raised his eyes, he saw that it was his mother Liang staring at him: "Zhong'er!" What's the matter with you? Your father hasn't moved his chopsticks yet, why are you in a hurry? You weren't like this before, what's wrong with it today? ”

"Oh!" Zuo Shaoyang hurriedly put down the bun and glanced at Zuo Gui.

Zuo Gui was also looking at him, and said slowly: "I heard your sister just now say that you fell off the stone wall of Qianren Mountain in the afternoon and broke your head, and you can't remember anything, right?" ”

Zuo Shaoyang nodded.

"What are the symptoms now? Does your head still hurt? ”

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Zuo Gui stretched out his thin fingers and said, "Stretch out your hand, and I'll touch your pulse again." ”

After carefully touching the pulse, Zuo Gui muttered: "The pulse is very normal, can you remember the past now?" ”

"I remember some, and I can't."

Zuo Gui's white eyebrows were put together, he pondered for a moment, and said, "Your pulse is fine, but judging from the injury on the back of your head, such a long injury should not be this pulse." It's strange that I can't remember the past now. ”

Liang looked at his son worriedly and said, "After a while, it will be fine slowly." Let's eat first, the rice is cold. ”

"yes, let's eat." Zuo Shaoyang smiled: "I'm really hungry." Mother Liang reminded him just now, and he said this, but he didn't dare to move his chopsticks.

Zuo Gui slowly reached out and picked up a steamed bun, put it in his mouth, took a bite, and stuffed a pinch of pickles into his mouth, still thinking about his thoughts with his head down.

Seeing that he was moving his chopsticks, Liang said to Fennel and Zuo Shaoyang: "Eat!" Eat it! ”

Zuo Shaoyang took a bite of the steamed bun, a bitter taste in his mouth, and a broken piece like sand, he frowned and chewed, put half of the black bread in his hand under the light and looked at it, and found that there were some yellow thin strips added to it, took one and put it on his finger to see, and quickly identified it, it was the mulberry white bark of the mulberry root that Bai Yueli and his sister fennel carried back from Qianren Mountain.

This medicine is the root bark of the mulberry tree, digging the roots in winter, scraping off the rough bark, peeling off the root bark and drying it, cutting it into shreds, it is a common medicine for cough and asthma. However, when I was studying, I heard the teacher say that in the 60 years of famine, many people often used it as food to eat, and the teacher himself ate it after saving the lives of many people. Unexpectedly, when he traveled to the Tang Dynasty, he also ate such life-saving food.

He now understands why most of the basket on his and fennel's back in the afternoon is mulberry roots, it turns out that fennel goes up the mountain with him, and collecting medicine is secondary, and more importantly, digging mulberry roots and peeling mulberry white bark as food! I didn't feel a pang of sadness in my heart.

He glanced at Zuo Gui and the three of them, and he didn't feel that it was difficult to swallow at all, but he ate them with relish, and soon, the hard buns made of black noodles and white skin in each person's bowl had been eaten, and there was still one in Zuo Shaoyang's bowl that had not moved, and there was still more than half of the one in his hand that had not been eaten.

Liang Shi saw that he looked like he was chewing and swallowing hard, and said lovingly: "Zhong'er, drink some soup!" Reaching out and taking the soup spoon, scooped some soup into Zuo Shaoyang's bowl, "Soak the steamed bun in the soup and eat it, so that it is easier to swallow." ”

Zuo Shaoyang's stomach was already growling with hunger, but this black-faced and white-skinned steamed bun was too unpalatable, but he knew very well in his heart that he was afraid that this would be the staple food in his future life in the future, and he would have to eat it if it was not delicious. Thinking of this, not only does I feel a chill. Frowning, he put most of the steamed bun in his hand in the bowl, poked it with chopsticks, and slashed it into his mouth.

Sure enough, although it is still so unpalatable after soaking, it is much easier to swallow. He shaved the steamed buns in the bowl in one go, and his stomach was finally full, although the taste was really not good.

Liang asked: "Zhong'er, you told the third aunt earlier that he would give you a few days to raise money, where did you go to raise so much money?" ”

Zuo Shaoyang's idea at that time was to sell the musk, and it was estimated that he should be able to raise enough money, but now, this dream has been shattered, and he doesn't know where to raise this money. He smiled bitterly: "I ......, I am also a delaying tactic." Anyway, there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will naturally go straight to the bridge! ”

Liang's eyes, which had some hope, suddenly dimmed again, sighed lightly, and said to Zuo Gui: "Master, what can I do about this?" Otherwise, tenants rent fields and farm! It's okay if you don't open up the wasteland and farm the land. Listening to Hou Pu, the court said that those who open up wasteland and farm land will be exempted from taxes for three years, and the next three years will be halved! ”

Zuo Shaoyang heard Fennel help him recall on the road and told him about his relatives at home, and knew that Hou Pu was the husband of his sister Fennel, who worked as a scribe in the county yamen.

"Farming?" Zuo Gui sighed, rolled up his sleeves and waved his hemp arm, "Do you see me like this, like a person who farms the land with a hoe?" Besides, it's only winter now, so you can only plant the land in the spring and harvest it in the autumn, right? For most of the year, let's drink the northwest wind? ”

In fact, Liang also knew that this was unrealistic, but he was at the end of his rope and said so when he had no way.

Fennel said: "Dad, mother, it's really not good, just move to my place." Hope won't say anything. ”

Liang's voice was full of crying: "you? Your family is crammed into a shack-sized place, plus our family, where do you sleep! Moreover, you are not having a good time, all pointing to the fact that relying on Hou Pu's little salary, it is already very difficult, if you add us, I am afraid that Hou Pu will be exhausted to death! ”

"It's okay, he can't die! I help with laundry and sewing in the yamen cell, and I can earn some money......"

"Don't go!" Zuo Gui said sullenly, "If you want me to defect to my son-in-law, it is better to hang myself here with a rope!" - Sleep! After saying this, Zuo Gui stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked into their bedroom on the left side of the lobby with a slight hunch.

Fennel helped Liang clean up the dishes and chopsticks, and Zuo Shaoyang wanted to help, but was pushed away by Liang, saying that he had already boiled hot water, and asked him to pour water by himself and burn his feet to sleep.

Zuo Shaoyang already knew that the kitchen was in the wing room on the right, and he got into it in the dark, and the fire was lit in the stove, and he found the footbasin by the firelight, took the half gourd scoop on the stove and opened the lid of the pot, scooped half a scoop of hot water from it, and poured it into the footbasin. He scooped a ladle of water from the large tank and poured it into the footbasin. When he found that there was not much water left in the water tank, and there were two buckets next to the water tank, he asked loudly, "Sister! Where to fetch water? The water in the tank is almost gone, I'm going to fetch water! ”