Zhao Sanniang stopped, turned around to look at him, and said while continuing to throw food into his mouth: "Zuo Dalang, don't you have the money to pay my rent?" ”

Zuo Dalang? ――Why does it sound like Wu Dalang who sells baked cakes? Zuo Shaoyang muttered in his heart.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, men were generally referred to with their surnames and ranks, and then the word Lang. For example, the title of the Yang family's seven lang and eight tigers, as well as Wu Song Wu Erlang in the Water Margin, all came from this way. In ancient times, the ranking of children was separate for men and women, and each was in their own row. So although Zuo Shaoyang has a sister Fennel, he is the biggest among the men (although he is the only one to be ranked.) So Zhao Sanniang called him Zuo Dalang.

Zuo Shaoyang already knew this from Fennel, and now he is still very unaccustomed to it. took two steps forward, glanced at the food in her hand, smiled slightly, and said, "Third aunt, you eat hawthorn, right?" ”

"yes? Do you want to eat it too? ”

"Oh no, no, third aunt, it seems that you like to eat hawthorn very much. You used to eat it a lot, right? ”

"Yes," Zhao Sanniang was still very kind to Zuo Shaoyang, and answered all questions: "Third aunt, I like the sweet and sour taste of hawthorn the most, I usually don't like to eat, I don't have a good appetite, after eating this hawthorn, I can be appetizing." ”

"Well, third aunt, you usually not only have a bad appetite, but also often have stomach pain and sour water in your mouth, right?"

The landlord Zhao Sanniang was stunned for a moment: "Yes, hey, how do you know?" I haven't been to your pharmacy to see a doctor, have I? ”

"Hehe, auntie, she didn't take medicine for this illness, right? What do you think? Nothing works, does it? ”

"That's right! Can you cure it? ”

Zuo Shaoyang smiled and said lightly: "Auntie, I don't want to scare you, your illness must be treated as soon as possible, otherwise, it will be even worse." At that time, it will be out of control! ”

"Gotcha! Don't scare me, your father's ability to see a doctor is just like that, can you be better than your father? But since you can tell me about my disease, I will believe you once, and say, how much do you want to cure me of this disease? ”

"Well, let's do it, I'll cure you of your disease, and you'll get half of our rent free......"

"Whew!" The landlord Zhao Sanniang turned her head and spat on the ground, glared and said: "Zuo Dalang, you kid is not authentic, your family rents me these three big tile houses to open a pharmacy, and the rent I offer is the cheapest in this street, you should be like a mirror in your heart, right?" Good guys, it's been years, hasn't it? In the past, you didn't pay the rent in full, did I give you a cold face? Of course, you are in arrears of rent year after year, you owe a few hundred wen this year, and a few hundred wen next year, I am in a hurry, and I have also said that I have forced debts on the edge of the year, but that is also the rule, and it didn't embarrass you in the end, right? It's been so many years, and the total amount of rent you owe is 9,000 Wen! Half of the rent is more than 4,000 yuan! Do you know how many 4,000 wen are? Can you buy as much rice as much as you plough cattle? Can you feed a few people without starving to death? Zhao Sanniang said that the foam at the mouth frothed, and the mountain sound of patting her chest with one hand: "Zuo Dalang, people must talk about their conscience when they live!" How do I treat your family, you should know, if you help me treat my stomach pain and sour water now, you will ask me more than 4,000 yuan? Don't you feel sorry......? ”

Zuo Shaoyang crossed over, naturally didn't know these backgrounds, and didn't have much idea of the value of copper coins, listening to her say this, I felt that it must be worth a lot of money, think about it, four thousand Wen is worth 20,000 yuan, and it costs 20,000 yuan to treat an ordinary stomach disease, which is a sky-high price in modern times. Busy with a smile: "Okay, I was wrong, then you say, how much money are you willing to spend to treat this disease?" ”

"Come on, Zuo Dalang, don't play tricks, if you want to treat me, just treat me at the price of your father's medical treatment, I'm not ignorant, your father prescribes medical treatment, two pennies at a time, buy medicine, I'm right? Let's do it here! That's as much as you can get! ”

Zuo Shaoyang thought for a while and said, "Otherwise, I'll treat you for free, and you can give us a deferral deadline to pay the rent, okay?" ”

"It's like a human saying!" The landlord Zhao Sanniang then threw the hawthorn into his mouth, and stared at him while chewing, "Your third aunt, I am not the one who takes advantage, of course I have to pay for your treatment, I don't need you to be free, if the cure is good, I will give you a few more pennies." But this rent can't be delayed any longer. You've been dragging on for years, and if you don't treat me, you won't be able to die of this stomach ache for a while, and if you don't treat me, I don't believe that no one can cure me. I can't collect the rent, and my mother will starve to death! It's still the same sentence, you can pay the money tonight, but if you can't pay it, leave! Not negotiable! ”

"Oh, auntie, won't it be possible to be wide for a few more days?"

"No! - What? Few days? How many days can you get 9,000 wen to pay my rent? ”

"Yes! Absolutely! ”

Zuo Gui and the other three all looked at him in surprise, not knowing why he was so sure.

The landlord Zhao Sanniang looked Zuo Shaoyang up and down: "Can you really raise money?" ”

"Hehe, the solution is always what people think, if nothing else, it should be possible, but you have to be graced for a few days. After all, nine thousand wen is not a small number. ”

"No, too long."

"Good aunt, I beg you!" Zuo Shaoyang saw that this Zhao Sanniang was a knife-mouthed tofu-hearted person, so he begged with a dead face.

Zhao Sanniang glanced at him and sighed: "Okay-!" Third aunt, I'm afraid of you, I believe you again, this is the last time, so be it, at noon on the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, I will collect the debt again, there are still five days before now, you can hear clearly, I can't collect the money at noon on the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, I don't want to tear my face, you leave by yourself, the herbs have to stay. How is it? ”

"No problem!" Zuo Shaoyang touched the musk in his arms and said with confidence.

Zhao Sanniang turned her head to look at Liang and Zuo Gui. The two of them glanced at each other, and now there was no other way but to nod helplessly with a depressed expression.

"Okay, that's it." Zhao Sanniang walked to the long table and sat down, spreading her hands on the table, "Oh, give me a medical treatment." ”

Zuo Shaoyang walked to the table and was about to sit down, Zuo Gui said in a deep voice: "Zhong'er, what are you doing!" ”

"Give Aunt Zhao a look."

"What did the Father say to you? ――Before you study medicine and don't go out of school, you are not allowed to see a doctor and prescribe a prescription! Go away! ”

Zuo Shaoyang wanted to say more, but the Liang family had already pulled him to his side, and said in a low voice: "Zhong'er, don't mess around, let your father show Aunt Zhao." ”

"But ......"

"Obedient! Don't your dad off! ”

Fennel also leaned over and whispered: "Brother, don't mess around, seeing a doctor is not a joke, it's good that you can delay it for a few days, let Dad come and see." ”

"Oh-" Zuo Shaoyang knew, the three of them thought that they were just seeing that their family was going to sweep their family out of the house, and they were in a hurry to blow the air, and they were really not qualified to give people a medical treatment. On the way, I also heard Fennel say that this Zuo Zhong used to be only responsible for picking medicines in the pharmacy and volunteering to help patients decoct medicines, although he studied medicine with his father since he was a child, he never went out to sit in the hall for consultation. It seems that he is not good at learning arts, and he did not satisfy his father.

Zuo Gui sat down behind the long table in his robe, calmed down, stretched out three thin fingers, and gently put them on Zhao Sanniang's wrist, for a moment, frowned, and said, "Please change your hand." ”

Zhao Sanniang changed the hawthorn bag in her hand and put her other hand on the table. Zuo Gui also changed his hand to take the pulse. After a moment, I let go of my hand, thought about it, and hung my wrist to write a prescription. Where the pen fell, the first medicine was indeed the cinnamon branch.

Someone once asked him why the first taste of the prescription was cinnamon branches, Zuo Gui smiled and did not answer, he was asked in a hurry, so he said that his master was also taught by his father, and he also liked to use cinnamon branches in the prescription. said that there were many benefits in this way, but what were the benefits, he admitted in private that he didn't know. Anyway, I know it's good to use this medicine.

According to statistics, among the 112 prescriptions in the entire "Treatise on Typhoid Fever", 43 of the formulas use cinnamon branches, accounting for more than one-third! Cinnamon branches can be in harmony with the camp, can pass through the yang, can benefit the water, can lower the qi, can do stasis, can make up for the middle, especially can reconcile the camp and guard, the so-called "camp qi is not harmonious, all veins are sick", many diseases plus the cinnamon branch, beneficial and harmless. In addition, cinnamon branch is sweet and warm, can sweat and dissolve muscles, warm the meridians, and disperse wind and cold, for external wind and cold, regardless of the appearance of no sweat, or surface deficiency and sweat, as well as yang deficiency and cold, can be used, is the first important medicine for the treatment of external diseases.

And the urgency of all diseases, such as typhoid fever, ancient and modern Chinese and foreign are like this, no matter how healthy people are, they must have more or less cold, fever, cough and other external diseases, whether it is a modern hospital or an ancient pharmacy, the most to see a doctor must be a cold and flu and other diseases caused by colds. Therefore, Zuo Gui's father uses cinnamon branches below, although he can't say the truth, there is still a certain truth in the careful analysis, and it is also a reflection of the empirical medicine in the ancient folk Langzhong.