Chapter 10 When Love Is a Thing of the Past While Ke Han was enjoying the delicious food and drinks at Mr. Zhang’s house, Xiu’er looked at her father with tears in her eyes and her expression was very complicated.
At this moment, Xiu'er's father had been moved to the main room and placed on a tattered reed mat on the ground, lying upright. However, what covered him was no longer a sheet or quilt, but a piece of white paper.
Lifting a corner of the white paper, an old face of Xiu'er's father was revealed. The wrinkled and rough face was covered with paper ash after burning. The complexion was even more sallow, dry and obscure, which made people see I felt an indescribable discomfort, wearing a pair of damaged cloth shoes. Under my feet and on the top of my head, there were a lighted oil lamp and an earthen porcelain bowl filled with millet. On both sides of the oil lamp, incense and candles were symmetrically lit. A pair of chopsticks were inserted upright in the earthen porcelain bowl full of millet.
No need to explain, Xiuer’s father is already dead
"Dad, why are you so cruel?!" Xiu'er cried desperately and sadly, "Get up, get up! Take another look at your daughter!..."
The mother was sitting cross-legged next to her lifeless wife. Her expression was dull, her eyes were red and swollen, but she could not shed a single tear. She had already shed all her tears!
Seeing this scene, the onlookers and helpers could not help but shake their heads and sigh.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the crowd, and a young man in a mandarin jacket squeezed in, knelt down next to Xiu'er, and silently folded the paper ingots.
The young man silently folded one and threw it into the burning brazier, as if he was angry with someone. The flickering light in the brazier kept trembling, making everyone's faces turn red. The people lying there were illuminated by the fire in the brazier on the ground, and their raised noses were close to their faces, and their shadows were stretched out, making them look very strange.
Kneeling Xiu'er was closest to the brazier, and her face was roasted by the high temperature of the fire. After a while, she felt her face was hot! When the young man approached her, she felt nervous again, and it could be seen that there was also... A hint of forbearance flashed across Xiuer's brows
"Uncle Liu!" The young man knelt down and kowtowed three times before finally speaking. However, his voice was surprisingly calm and his eyes were fixed on the brazier, not daring to look at Xiu'er's lifeless body lying flat on her back. Dad just got a little closer to Xiu'er and said seriously, "Please rest assured and go well. There is no need to worry about everything here. Everything will get better slowly..."
After listening to the young man's words, Xiu'er became even more sad. She moved her knees and came to her mother Aunt Liu, hugged her mother and cried loudly.
No matter how tough a guy is, he can't bear such a cry!
The villagers all rubbed their eyes and talked quietly.
"Oh, Zhang Dahai, Liu Yuexiu, a young doctor who is about to start a career, and an embroidery girl, you said they are such a good couple, but they are..."
"Who says it's not the case? Old man Liu! He was confused for a moment. Alas, but it's no wonder."
"I can only blame that stupid rich man Zhang for being too tight on debts! In fact, looking back and thinking about it, it's clear that he has evil intentions! If it weren't for that beast, I'm afraid these two children would have become a couple long ago, and they wouldn't be in this situation now. so"
"Isn't that what happened? Now a life is involved, this is serious! Old man Liu's body has always been very strong, why?..."
"Oh, Old Man Liu, this (thing) is too sudden?!"
"Why don't we all say 'one life lasts only one autumn'? Tell me, this guy is really fucking boring. He was having a nice drink with me at noon yesterday, but today..., well, I didn't say anything.
!”
"No, wasn't Xiu'er taken away by that rich man? Why did she come back with a county magistrate again?"
"Since ancient times, officials and bandits have been one family! Alas, Xiu'er's life is really miserable!"
This discussion made more people in the crowd sob.
Suddenly, sobbing started!
"The county magistrate?" Someone reminded Xiu'er, and then she remembered Ke Han who came with her. She couldn't help being startled, and blamed herself for being too careless. She asked anxiously, "Where are the others? Where are they?
"Xiu'er!" The young man caressed Xiu'er's shoulder blades and said distressedly, "My condolences, please don't collapse from exhaustion!"
Xiu'er remained silent. She let go of her mother's arms and looked at the man with teary eyes. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond, but she felt a little guilty in her heart.
The young man in front of me is Zhang Dahai, a young doctor who is about to leave the profession and is mentioned in people's discussions.
Zhang Dahai, 20 years old, is two years older than Xiu'er. He has been extremely smart since he was a child and is regarded by the villagers as a future talent. Unfortunately, his family is poor and cannot afford to go to school, so he dropped out of school prematurely.
Entered the society and studied medicine with a teacher
Although he and Xiuer's family belong to the same Taohuawu family, they rarely interact with each other and have never known each other. They are like ordinary people and do not say a word when they meet. Instead, they stay away from each other because of the "difference between men and women."
However, since he went to Xiu'er's home with his master to diagnose and treat Aunt Liu's asthma, and saw Xiu'er quietly and conscientiously embroidering handkerchiefs, he began to have a good impression of Xiu'er. Later, he even hid it from his master and used excuses to run away more often.
After several trips back and forth, Xiu'er's family felt sorry for themselves, so they asked Xiu'er to bring a basket of eggs to Zhang Dahai's traditional Chinese medicine shop. In this way, Master could see what was on his mind. Fortunately, Master did not
No blame, but on the contrary, she wanted to be beautiful as an adult, so she made it clear to Xiuer's parents that she wanted to be a matchmaker.
A man with an ingenious mind and a doctor with a benevolent heart were a perfect match made in heaven. After the old Chinese doctor picked out the match, the parents of the two families were very happy.
After I started working as a doctor and opened a clinic, I also took care of the marriage, which would save trouble.
Unexpectedly, Rich Man Zhang has long coveted Xiu'er's beauty! In the name of debt collection, he visited Xiu'er many times to press for debts, but just to see Xiu'er. Of course, Xiu'er's family didn't know why.
To be honest, the rich man made trouble again and again, but tried to be a good person again and again. In the end, he even showed mercy and helped Xiuer find a job as a servant, saying that he was being introduced to a wealthy family (but he didn't
He said that he was at his own home, fearing that someone would come to him?) If he works for a year and a half, he can also save some money for the dowry...
However, something unexpected happened. The innocent Xiu'er hid the truth from Zhang Dahai and his family, and followed the fat housekeeper's silly woman who worked at the rich man's house to the rich man's house. He was intercepted by the county magistrate. At that time, the county magistrate was still there.
Putting down the words, he asked the rich man to quickly "advance money" and send it to Xiuer's house, saying that he would pay a part of the "commission" first to show that the family was a big business and to reassure Xiuer's family. As for the remaining "commission", they would save it for the time being.
Keep it, just wait until Xiuer comes home and take it with you
Just like this, by mistake, Xiu'er was taken to the county government, locked in the master's room, and forced to submit...
Zhang Dahai learned that Xiu'er went to the rich man's house behind his back with the housekeeper, so he refused to let him go, so he hurried to the rich man's house.
Mr. Zhang was waiting for Xiu'er's arrival, but what he didn't expect was the news that Xiu'er had been intercepted by the county magistrate. The county magistrate asked him to advance the money as a gift, and he was very angry in his heart, but he
I had no choice but to feel very tight in my chest. I deeply understood the feeling of "stealing the chicken but losing the rice"! In the middle of the fire, I heard Zhang Dahai yelling and cursing outside the door, so I ignored him, and then asked people to let the dogs bite.
That time, Zhang Dahai's clothes were all bitten by vicious dogs, and the injuries were naturally serious. Fortunately, he was still a doctor, knew how to prevent epidemics, and took some medicine in time, and he was finally fine!
Although the vicious dog was later treated with medicine by Zhang Dahai, he still felt depressed in his heart.
The next day, Zhang Dahai came to Xiu'er's house full of thoughts, only to find old man Liu pouring himself a drink, humming a tune from time to time, looking contented, while Aunt Liu sat aside, silently
Seeing this scene with tears in his eyes, he was very surprised and couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed. He also had some slight words for Old Man Liu, so he walked forward quietly and quickly, grabbed the wine gourd, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, and then drank it hard.
He threw the gourd on the ground and smashed it into pieces, then walked away
…
"Xiu'er, I heard that you came back with the county magistrate?" Zhang Dahai looked sad. He stood up and tried to pull Xiu'er up, "What is going on? ... Then, where is the dog officer now?
What happened to you?"
"..." Xiu'er shook her shoulders and let go of Zhang Dahai's hand. She just cried without answering, but there was some resentment in her heart. It is always inappropriate to mention this matter at her father's funeral? Is this the case?
When I think about it, I feel even more sad.
"I understand, let's take him over now. Even if we chase him to the edge of the sky, we still have to kill him!" Zhang Dahai seemed unable to calm down. He raised his hand and was about to take the person away.
Everyone was surprised by Zhang Dahai's impulsiveness at this moment, and they all came up to try to persuade him, but to no avail. In the midst of the chaos, they heard a cry, which made everyone look at him with disdain. After a brief pause, they waved together again.
fists swarmed away
It turned out that the person who came over was none other than the fat butler of Mr. Zhang’s family.
"Slave dog, what are you doing here?" Zhang Dahai stepped forward and asked. The fat man's back seemed to have been scratched by Ma Changfa's knife, and a piece of rag hanging around him was still hanging around, making him look very embarrassed.
In this way, when Zhang Dahai saw it, he actually wanted to laugh, but he still held it back, "You don't think it's enough to hurt people?!"
"Hai, Haida, Dahai, nephew, please calm down first!" The fat man didn't speak in his usual lively manner, "Well, my master, please, please ask me to bring this, this... to your uncle..."
"
"You're so fucking fart! Don't be so fucking wordy -" A man deliberately imitated the fat man and cursed in a drawl, "Don't, don't make grandpa wait, he'll be in a panic!
"
The fat man was so anxious that he walked directly in front of Xiu'er, handed her a red envelope, and then turned around to leave.
"Slave dog, do you still know some rules?" Someone yelled next to him, "Why don't you give Uncle Liu a courtesy?"
The fat man was sweating profusely. He was already dizzy when everyone came around him waving their fists. Therefore, he stuttered so much that he was at a loss at this moment.
With a "pop" sound, the fat man got a kick on his butt. Then, his knees touched the ground and he knelt down next to Old Man Liu's body.
The fat man had a look of helplessness on his face. He was trembling and subconsciously holding his head with his hands, for fear of being punched again.
"Tell me, what does your master mean by this? What did he tell you?" Zhang Dahai's leopard eyes almost jumped out of his sockets. "If you don't explain clearly, don't blame your grandpas for being rude!"
"Don't, don't bother me!" The fat man said quickly, "This, this gift money, is from the county magistrate..., entrusted to our master to advance it. Then, our master also followed suit.
…”
The fat man wanted to say something, but was kicked back again.
"Damn it, so this dog official is still here? Brother Haizi, why don't we go and kill him?!" The one who kicked the fat man was a farmer in a turban, "We have mountains high and the emperor is far away, are we afraid of him?"
!”
"Yes, Brother Haizi, there are not many opportunities to send him to your door! I heard that the dog officer is lazy by nature, and he has always been his master to ask questions. Today's one is really rare!"
While everyone was talking, Xiu'er stood up slowly. She bowed deeply to everyone. She wanted to say something, but she fainted involuntarily.