The living room on the first floor is about ten meters long from the bedroom on the second floor of Lu Hong and his wife. Lu Jiaxun and his sister Lu Jiayu sat on the couch near the corner of the stairs and the adjacent small sofa. There are two sets of cups and two fruit bowls on the coffee table in front of him, the cups are the Irish coffee given by Zhou Yizhi, and the fruit plates are Huzhou Huanghuali and water chestnut cake (1). For the few words that the father deliberately raised on the second floor, the two brothers and sisters heard the words clearly, and there were still talking and laughing a few minutes ago, but they fell silent in a blink of an eye. Lu Jiayu stared at the teacup with her arms in her arms, her face was a little pale, she knew very well that what her father said was deliberately said to her.

Lu Jiaxun noticed his sister's expression, which had been expected for a long time. On the surface, the father was kind and open-minded, and expressed support for several new ideas and new lives for his brother and sister. In fact, he still has to go in his potential direction, and he will definitely arbitrarily refuse anything that deviates from or damages his social status and face. He leaned his head closer and whispered, "What did I just say?" The old old-fashioned will definitely object, well, the attitude is clear. ”

"I don't care, I have to make my own decisions about my marriage, which forced me to run away from home!" Lu Jiayu spoke in a low voice, but very resolutely.

"Don't do it! Don't you know how complicated the environment is? What if something goes wrong? If you are not satisfied, you can negotiate, you can confront, and you must not mess around! Lu Jiaxun advocates facing everything rationally, so he has been scolded by his father many times and has not had a big conflict, he feels that his father is old-fashioned but still has a reason to say.

"How can you fight it? Will you, big brother, big sister, support me? Lu Jiayu turned his head to look at the second brother.

"I'm sure I'll fully support you, and it's not a big problem for the eldest brother to be open-minded. Forget it, eldest sister, she is still living around Xiao Sheng and Xiao Bi all day long and still has a big belly, how can she care about you? Lu Jiaxun was talking when he heard footsteps on the stairs behind him, so he hurriedly sat down and picked up the coffee and drank it slowly.

"Okay, I'll talk to him when my eldest brother comes back. Second brother, will you accompany me to Xia Fei Road tomorrow to find Brother Yizhi? I think he's more serious than the last time we met. Lu Jiayu still frowned.

The old mother, Zhao San's sister-in-law, stood at the corner from the stairs and did not move, and their family habit was not to interrupt others.

"I have something tomorrow, you can go to their hospital for a check-up with your eldest brother, Yizhi is going to their hospital for a check-up. Hey, don't make your own decisions about that, even if the eldest brother doesn't support you and me. Lu Jiaxun stretched out his hand and put the cup on the coffee table, and looked at her with understanding, "Yinhuan, you won't have class tomorrow?" Tell your friends that it's better to wander the streets less when it's okay. ”

"Oh, got it." Lu Jiayu said and said towards the staircase behind the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Lu Jiaxun turned his head to look at Zhao San's sister-in-law.

"Second young master, second young grandmother told you to go back to the room." Zhao San's sister-in-law said very succinctly.

"Alright, I'll go right away." After Lu Jiaxun finished speaking, he saw Zhao San's sister-in-law walking quickly to the back, and then turned his head and said to Lu Jiayu: "You still don't go to Yizhi tomorrow, he and Schneider have to check and grab medicine again, and they must be busy." After saying that, he got up and walked upstairs, walked to the middle of the stairs and turned back and said, "Rest early, big brother may come back when he comes." ”

Lu Jiayu let out a faint "oh", and the coffee had already run out of temperature. After putting down the cup, lean back on the sofa in a daze. She insisted on waiting for her eldest brother to come back and talk, otherwise she would always be in a panic. In fact, she understands that even with the support of her eldest brother, it is difficult to change her father's stubbornness. is like acquiescing to the eldest brother's medical machinery business, and ignoring the second brother's participation in patriotic activities, in fact, it is all because he did not exceed the bottom line. Her view of love is a new challenge for her father, she does not dare to imagine the final result, and her worst plan is to run away from home, even if she is burdened with all the sins.

In 1933, the Kung Chai Hospital had advanced Western medical technology. Electrocardiogram, X-ray, CT, blood routine test, all kinds of equipment, compared with Zhou Yizhi's examination in the UK six years ago, is more accurate. Although he was tired and rested several times before and after running for most of the day, his confidence in Nicholas gradually grew, and he even felt that there was more hope for a cure for heart palpitations.

When he returned to the old house in Nanshi, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and Zhou Yizhi drank a few sips of rice wine before sitting in the hall to rest. Although Nicholas said that alcohol was not good for him when he was in the hospital, he had been drinking it for years, and it really relieved his discomfort when he drank it before. Huang Chenkuan asked the little girl to cook porridge in May, and he drove to Qibao Town, 30 miles away, to buy the bad fish that Zhou Yizhi must eat every time he went to Shanghai (2). The moderate taste of crispy bones and meat, salty and sweet, is completely different from the feeling of eating fresh fish in Taihu Lake, and the two of them missed it a lot in the years of Duren.

When it was time for dinner, Nicholas arrived, greeted and sat down, his expression a little heavy.

The meal was set, May and Yan's mother went out, and Zhou Yizhi invited Nicholas to sit down and eat with Huang Chenkuan. There was no talk and laughter during the banquet like last night, but Zhou Yizhi was advised to eat more light food, and eat less meat and eggs with more cholesterol, Zhou Yizhi smiled and nodded in agreement. Huang Chenkuan felt that if he didn't eat meat, he would have no nutrition, and muttered: "The eldest young master is already thin and has leftover skin and bones, and if he doesn't eat meat, he will be weak, and he can be blown down by the wind when he walks on the street." ”

"I understand the principle of balanced nutrition, but people can only eat it if they are alive." Nicholas said lightly as he continued to clip the bad fish in front of him with his chopsticks. This was the first time he had eaten bad fish, and he felt more and more that Chinese food culture was as profound as medicine.

Huang Chenkuan didn't refute, he looked at Zhou Yizhi's face with a daze, and didn't have the heart to quarrel with foreigners anymore. Zhou Yizhi had eaten quite happily, but he was silent when he heard this, and he always felt that Nicholas's words implied that his life was imminent, and the expression on his face was unconsciously depressed. In fact, in the past two years, he has seen life and death very lightly, and in recent days, he has been inexplicably afraid of death. Maybe it's because he listens too much to encouraging words, or maybe it's because he can't give up his current life at all.

After eating, the three of them went to the flower hall to sit down and make tea. Zhou Yizhi didn't know what to talk about, and his thoughts and actions were a little incongruous. When I picked up the teacup and found it hot, I stroked the lid and blew it down, and after a minute I picked it up again, and I still scratched the lid twice and blew it and then put it down.

Nicholas opened his handbag, took out a few pieces of paper from it, looked at Zhou Yizhi and said, "Mr. Zhou, please don't think about it." Tea is likewise not good for your body and needs to be weaned. After speaking, he took Zhou Yizhi's teacup to the side and put a few pieces of paper in the position of the teacup just now.

"Okay." Zhou Yizhi nodded helplessly, and inadvertently and spontaneously willing to cooperate with Nicholas. Looking at the paper on the table, he seemed to have seen it, and although he couldn't read the match on it, he understood that those numbers proved how bad his physical condition was.

"Mr. Zhou, please look here." Nicholas pointed to the first piece of paper, "Sinus arrhythmia, heart rate forty-three, look at this one again, the blood concentration is exceeding—"

"Mistaschnyder, I won't look at it, please just tell me how to treat it." Zhou Yizhi smiled reluctantly, and now he is most concerned about whether there is a way to treat it.

"Oh, okay then." Nicholas simply folded the list and put it back in his bag. He took a sip of tea from his cup, cleared his throat and said, "I hope that Mr. Zhou will be hospitalized immediately for treatment, and he will try to increase his heart rate by injecting*(3) first, and then observe for a period of time before making the next plan." ”

"Hospitalized?" Zhou Yizhi fell into deep thought. Recently, there have been so many things that I have to be admitted to the hospital and have been delayed, "Can I be cured by hospitalization?" How sure are you? How long does it take to be cured? ”

"I'm so sorry, I can't give you any guarantees." Nicholas said seriously.

"And what big cloves of garlic do you put in them? It's a quack at all! Huang Chenkuan was holding the teapot to refill the tea for Nicholas, and when he heard this, he got angry directly, and put the teapot in the tea tray and stared.

"Chen Kuan-" Zhou Yizhi glanced at Huang Chen Kuan, thinking that no matter what, people would be guests when they came to the door, and even if they didn't treat the disease, they had to give Lu Hong face.

"Yes, young master." Huang Chenkuan hurriedly retreated to Zhou Yizhi's side, the tea was not poured, and he lowered his head and said unconvinced: "I'm sorry, Mista Schneider, it's rude." ”

"It's okay." Nicholas waved his hand at him, but his eyes looked at Zhou Yizhi, "I know that Mr. Chen is out of concern for Mr. Zhou. But I have to make it a simple explanation, no doctor in charge promises a patient that he will be cured, and any claim that there is a cure for all diseases is a lie. There is a saying in China, 'Illness comes like a mountain, illness goes like a thread', and congenital heart malformations like Mr. Zhou's are rare in the world, and we can only try our best to alleviate them instead of casually packing tickets. ”

"Mista Schneider, my young master is not suffering from a heart malformation, but with heart palpitations. Both the English doctors and the great powers say so. Huang Chenkuan believes that the word "deformed" is used to describe monsters, which is a serious derogatory meaning.

"Mr. Chen, palpitations are the actual symptoms caused by heart malformations compressing the coronary arteries, causing insufficient blood supply to the ventricles." Nicholas patiently explained, believing that the meaning was still the same because the words were different in the verbal expression.

"It's a compression of the coronary arteries, not a heart malformation. Mista Schneider is asked to retract the word deformity. Huang Chenkuan has also read a few books on heart disease. In the past few years with Zhou Yizhi in the UK, although he has not read as many books, he still knows a lot of general common sense under the influence of the environment. "Also, my surname is Huang, my full name is Huang Chen Kuan, you can call me Chen Kuan, Ah Kuan."

"Okay, Mr. Huang, I'm very sorry." Nicholas bowed down seriously, and then looked at Zhou Yizhi, "Mr. Huang is right, due to the compression of the coronary arteries and narrowing, the ventricular blood supply is seriously insufficient. What we need to do is to stimulate the heart to beat faster through medication, so as to gradually relieve the pain and wheezing symptoms caused by heart palpitations. In addition, immediate action is required, and high blood concentrations are also one of the causes of slow blood flow. This must be improved from eating habits. ”

"Mistaschnyder, please be seated." Zhou Yizhi felt that Nicholas's words were very reasonable, and his attitude towards medicine was also very positive. But he was a little reluctant to be hospitalized and completely lose the things in his hands, after all, every detail determines whether the next link will go smoothly. He looked at Nicholas hesitantly, "It's okay to quit drinking and meat, it doesn't matter if you only drink water a day, if you are hospitalized, can you delay it for a few days?" Tomorrow I want to meet an important guest, and I can't help but open the Shangqiu branch in two days. ”

"Mr. Zhou, I have already said what I should say, which is more important, life or business, I hope you will seriously consider it. All I can say is that your condition is already very serious and life-threatening at any moment. Nicholas was still serious, and didn't smile the whole night.

"Okay, thank you Mystaschnyder, I'll let Chen Kuan contact you as soon as I'm done." Zhou Yizhi smiled and thanked him, at least accompanied him all day and made a special trip over. He has heard more words like "there is no cure" and "prepare for the future", which is the unified voice of all doctors urging patients to treat as soon as possible.

"Okay then, Mr. Zhou, I'll take my leave first. If you feel unwell, please notify me immediately. Nicholas said and stood up and bowed his hands to Zhou Yizhi and Huang Chenkuan, "Mr. Zhou, Mr. Huang, bye-bye." ”

"Mista Schneider, please wait." Zhou Yizhi stood up with a smile and arched his hand, turning his head to look at Huang Chenkuan, "Chen Kuan, send off the guest for me." Is there still a bad fish? Wrap Mistaschnyder and take two jars of wine. ”

"Yes, young master." Huang Chenkuan agreed and walked over to Nicholas and bowed down and stretched out his hand, "Mystaschnyder, please." ”

Nicholas nodded to Zhou Yizhi again, and followed Huang Chenkuan out. kept his face tense all night, which showed that he was very concerned about Zhou Yizhi's condition.

After the two left, Zhou Yizhi returned to the study and sat down. Continue to study his Heavenly Creations (3) and forget to think about healing when you concentrate on it. But he didn't touch tea or rice wine all night, which showed that he was willing to accept Nicholas's suggestion. Because of the unstable situation, the transportation industry is widely cross-regional, and the cost of the influence of various forces is increasing, and mining is the most important thing that every regime wants to grasp, and property rights are unstable. Daily necessities are changing with each passing day, and the boycott of foreign goods has also been carried out several waves, and the raw silk industry is being replaced by rayon. For example, he has recently been thinking about expanding the salt industry. He considered uniting powerful peers to make the enterprise bigger and stronger, so he chose salt with large market demand and strict management but loopholes, which was set as the first goal.

The next morning, while eating, Zhou Yizhi and Huang Chenkuan discussed the treatment. Zhou Yizhi felt that Nicholas's method could be tried, and he had to arrange the work in hand before that. Huang Chenkuan thinks it is unreliable, because Western medicine is very irritating, and Zhou Yizhi's fragile heart may not be able to withstand it. Or find an old Chinese medicine doctor for conservative treatment, he has already asked Guo Xiong of Shangqiu to inquire. When it was time to go out, Zhou Yizhi fell ill again, and he couldn't breathe. Huang Chenkuan hurriedly brought him wine, but he insisted on not drinking it, and gradually recovered after a few minutes. So, the two decided to go to the Church of England Cooperative Hospital for another examination, and if the treatment plan was similar to Nicholas, they would be admitted directly to the Gongji Hospital after returning from Shangqiu.

Gao Xiaojie was met in a western restaurant not far from the city hall, and in addition to Zhou Yi's master and servant, Lu Hong, there were also Roger Lopez, the counselor of the French Concession, and Zhou Ying, the director of the transportation bureau. Gao Xiaojie is a five-year-old fat man, in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and speaking short and clear. Zhou Ying is a big man, the front half of his head is shiny, his nose is facing the sky, and his nose is stingy. Looking at the situation less than fifty years old, he is Gao Xiaojie's burden (4). Roger Lopez was born in the southern French city of Toulouse (5), thirty-five years old, tall gray eyes, light yellow hair with wool curls, typical French beauty. He was Zhou Yizhi's classmate when he was studying abroad, and he gave himself the Chinese name Roger. He came to China half a month ago, and today he also went to the city hall to run errands, and when he came out, the two met at the door.

This meeting was very meaningful, and Gao Xiaojie expressed his full support for Zhou Yizhi's idea of developing the salt industry on the spot. And will try their best to promote the paper business of several printing units related to the Finance Bureau and the Zhou family, and they will not default on the payment for the goods. Zhou Ying also said that he and Zhou Yizhi are both the same Zhou characters, and the Zhou family transportation company handles the relevant procedures for extension, road vouchers, and road guidance, and asks someone to find him. Of course, Zhou Yizhi knew that this was Chong Lu Hong's face, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude, asked them to have time to go to Taihu Lake for sightseeing, and decided to ask Huang Chenkuan to send a few pieces of official kiln porcelain and Tang Dynasty calligraphy and paintings to the two of them that night.

After lunch, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, Roger asked Zhou Yizhi to go to the Lido nightclub in the evening. The old classmates reunited, and Zhou Yizhi was embarrassed to shirk it, so he agreed. first sent Roger back to the French Concession Consulate, and then sent Lu Hong back to Huangpu Bay. Lu Hong was happy to drink a few more glasses today, got in the car and fell asleep after shaking a few times. In order not to wake him up, Zhou Yizhi and Huang Chenkuan parked the car on the side of the road in front of his villa and sat in the car for more than two hours. It wasn't until Lu Jiayu came home from school and patted the window glass of their car that Lu Hong woke up. He rubbed Meng Song's eyes, smiled awkwardly and said, "Oh, it's rude, it's rude, the virtuous nephew is laughing!" He opened the door and got out of the car.

Zhou Yizhi hurriedly got out of the car and went around half a circle to help Lu Hong, and said with a smile: "Uncle Lu is too outward, you should be slow." ”

Huang Chenkuan got out of the car early and opened the door, Lu Jiayu grabbed his father's arm, turned his head and talked to Zhou Yizhi: "Brother Yizhi, I'm sorry for you, come in and have a cup of tea before leaving." ”

"Oh-no, it's windy outside, you can help Uncle Lu into the house. I still have a party in the evening, so let's go first. Zhou Yizhi said and leaned on the other side of Lu Hong, and only stopped after passing the door, intending to watch the father and daughter go in and leave.

"What? You say you still want to socialize? Nicholas said that you are already in a bad condition and must be hospitalized immediately, how dare you stay up late? You don't want to die? Lu Jiayu looked at Zhou Yizhi with concern.

"Hehe, the silver ring girl doesn't need to worry." Zhou Yizhi suddenly felt that Nicholas was a bit troublesome, and even if he wanted him to seek medical treatment, he shouldn't disclose his condition at will. If he is made aware of his customers or business rivals, it is difficult to say what he will lose. I didn't want to bring it out on my face, and waved my hand easily, "You can rest assured, doctors always like to boast—" As he spoke, he felt a sudden dullness in his heart, and the unfortunate illness had occurred again, and it was the second time today.

"Brother Yizhi, what's wrong with you? Dad, Brother Yi-" Lu Jiayu saw that his expression was wrong, and panicked.

Huang Chenkuan was waiting for Zhou Yizhi next to the left car door, and when he heard Lu Jiayu screaming, he hurriedly ran over to support him, rubbing his heart again, and shouting "Young Master" again. Several people panicked, and Mrs. Zhou inside ran out when she heard the movement. Lu Hong was also in good spirits, and arranged anxiously: "Ah Kuan, hurry, hug Yizhi on the sofa first, quickly!" Silver Ring, hurry up and ask Mysta Schneider for a call, hurry up. While following Huang Chenkuan to the house, he shouted at his wife, "What are you doing?" Pour out the water and take out the panacea (6)! "Entering the house and shouting, "Zhao San's daughter-in-law, family follow-up daughter-in-law, come down and help......"

Note: (1) Also known as water chestnut cake, it is steamed with sugar water mixed with water chestnut powder. (2) A kind of crispy bone fish, which is salted and sealed to achieve crispy bones and rotten meat, salty and sweet. (3) Ancient Chinese scientific and technological works, written by Song Yingxing, a scientist in the Ming Dynasty. It includes agriculture and handicrafts, such as machinery, bricks, ceramics, sulfur, candles, paper, weapons, textiles, dyeing, salt making, coal mining, oil extraction, and other production technologies. (4) Also known as brother-in-law, it refers to the kinship between the elder sister and the husband of the younger sister. (5) Toulouse, a large city in southwestern France. (6) Also known as cooling oil, it has anti-migraine, anti-depressant, anti-vomiting, anti-coma, excitatory and analgesic effects.