"You said there was protection money more than a year ago, and more than one family came to collect it. At that time, it was not the way people lived. Our small shop often couldn't make ends meet, and almost closed down. Later, there was someone in Xicheng We joined a gang called Juxiantang and drove away those gangsters who deserved to be killed a thousand times. Then there was no protection fee, and the lives of us people in Xicheng became easier..."
The landlady is also a good chatterer, and if Mrs. Cao doesn't ask, she will talk non-stop.
Maybe it's because compared to the past, life now is too happy and hard-won. It's human nature to share joy with others. Now when someone takes the initiative to ask, you can't explain it properly.
Mrs. Cao interrupted his chatter and asked, "Didn't I hear that there is a 'management fee'?"
"Oh ~ you mean the management fee."
The landlady waved her hand and said, "That's not protection money. The fee is not much. It's much less than protection money."
"What is this 'management fee'?"
Ms. Cao was still puzzled. She thought the management fee was just a protection fee. She just changed the name to deceive herself and others. But now she heard that the party being charged defended the management fee, and she was really confused.
The proprietress smiled and explained: "The management fee is so worth it. People on the street are rushing to pay it. As long as you pay the fee, not only will the safety of the store be protected by dedicated personnel, but the street hygiene will also be taken care of. They are in charge of road lighting, public objects, etc. Even if we have bad guests at home, or if there is a thief, or if we run out of water... we can go to them. There are so many people in the gang to feed, and we in Xicheng We also need their protection, so we should pay some money.”
The more Miss Cao heard about the scope of management fees, the more familiar she felt. She couldn't help but ask, "Aren't these all managed by the government?"
Hearing this, the proprietress looked up and down the two young men from the Cao family, and then said with some certainty: "These two young ladies are not from Xicheng, are they?"
Seeing the two boys nodding, the landlady smiled and said: "That's no wonder. Our West City is no better than other places. The government has long ignored this place. Even if they want to, they can't. On the contrary, the more they control it, the more chaotic it becomes. Here, there are only local snakes." Can cure local snakes..."
"I said, mother-in-law, what are you doing there? Hurry up and serve the food!"
The store owner saw his mother-in-law chatting with two strange men for a long time, and he got a little angry and yelled loudly.
"Hey, here we come!"
The landlady responded, stood up and said with a smile: "You two guests, please take your time to enjoy your meal. I'm going to get busy. I have something to say to you."
"The store is very polite, please do as you please."
Mrs. Cao returned the gift and sent the boss lady away. She turned around and picked up the food with her head down. She was silent for a while, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Little lady?"
"ah?"
"What is the little lady thinking?"
"Ah, no, I didn't think about anything, let's eat!"
After taking two bites of food, Mrs. Cao said again: "Cross out all the ones that should be crossed out."
"Um."
Xiao Ru nodded, naturally knowing what should be crossed out, such as 'oppressing the people', the people raised their hands to welcome the 'oppression', can it be called bullying?
There are also those things like 'fighting in crowds' and 'damaging other people's property'. Although it is a fact, you still have to look at the original intention and the result, right?
An ancient saying goes: Talking about process without results is just a hooliganism.
Xiaoru took out a small notebook, crossed out a few items, glanced at them twice, then raised his head and said, "Little lady, there are not many left."
Mrs. Cao stretched out her head and glanced at the little book that had been marked out, and there were still a few far-fetched reasons. Even the one she helped do, she was a little angry.
"Forget it, forget it, forget it!"
Mrs. Cao, out of sight and out of mind, completely chose to show off.
"Then let's keep an eye on him tomorrow?" Xiaoru asked cautiously.
"Come on, why don't you come."
Mrs. Cao banged the table and said fiercely: "I don't believe it. I can't catch him."
…
The spring breeze in March is warm and everything is in full bloom. People also begin to take off their heavy winter clothes and dance on the streets of Bianjing in colorful clothes, which is full of life.
However, the two young men of the Cao family still looked like domestic servants, following Wang Erlang every day and enjoying themselves.
The location is also very fixed, Wangfu - Zhangjia - Fuya - Outside Xicheng. Occasionally I will go to Juxian Hall once or twice.
The small notebook has been discarded, and Mrs. Cao has not caught him.
Xiaoru gradually discovered the changes in his little wife. She would be happy when he smiled, she would be in a bad mood when he was angry, she would be nervous when he fought, and she would be happy when he helped people outside the city...
She just walked like this with him, and her steps gradually became a little heavier. She couldn't keep up, and she held her hand on the wall and panted heavily.
Xiaoru stepped forward to help her up, and she forced out a smile and said she was fine.
But Xiaoru could clearly see that her face was a little pale, her lip nails were a little cyanotic, and there was thin sweat on her forehead.
Finally, after taking two more steps, her body softened and she fell into Xiaoru's arms.
"Little lady, how are you?"
Amidst Xiaoru's gentle shouts, Mrs. Cao opened her eyes slightly.
When she saw the familiar curtains and her own quilt covering her body, she realized that she was in her own home.
"Xiao Ru...why are we at home?"
She spoke with difficulty, her voice was weak, and she had no strength at all.
"Little lady..."
Xiao Ru didn't say any more, tears already slipped down her face.
Sobbing sounded in the room, and outside the room Cao Ji and his wife Wu looked nervously at the doctor in front of them.
The doctor just shook his head. Like the previous doctors, he hurriedly left without collecting the consultation fee, as if he didn't want to stay in this house for a moment.
Mrs. Wu seemed to have been drained of all her strength and collapsed on the ground. She looked at the doctor's leaving figure with eyes as if she had forgotten to even cry.
"There is still a way, there must be a way..."
Cao Ji's eyes were red and he was mumbling. His green official uniform was covered with dust. He suddenly stopped mumbling as if he thought of something, "By the way, I heard in the forest outside the city that there is an old immortal who can cure all diseases." , I’ll go find him right now!”
Cao Ji pushed away his servant and ran out like a madman.
The street outside the door has become deserted. Occasionally, pedestrians cover their mouths and noses tightly and walk in a hurry. Shops on the roadside have their signs posted, and every shop is closed. There are also stalls that are too late to be closed and are placed on the roadside without anyone paying attention. In just half a day, the bustling Bianjing became an empty city.
Cao Ji stumbled to the city gate, looked at the closed city gate, and fell to the ground helplessly.
In the yamen of Kaifeng Mansion, Zhao Huan was also lying weakly on the chair. He didn't even care that the winged hat above his head fell off. He just muttered, 'It's over... it's over...'
Sitting below were two rows of sad-looking Taixue students, the same students who compiled the dictionary. Wang Zhi was pacing back and forth in the hall, muttering something that no one around him could understand.
All you can hear is 'bark'?
"Is there no way to treat this 'malaria'?"
It was Qin Jiuzhao who spoke, but no one answered him because everyone knew that malaria has been untreatable since ancient times.
When malaria strikes, all anyone can do is try to avoid contact with others and resign themselves to fate.
Malaria usually lasts for several months, coming and going without a trace, and does not distinguish between people. No matter you are male, female, old or young, strong or weak, you may be infected or you may escape.
Xu Shuwei was already sobbing with tears streaming down his face.
Yes, his parents died of the plague when he was young, and the name of the plague was - malaria!
He had imagined countless times that he could find a cure for malaria, save those like his parents, and save those broken families like his.
But when malaria happened again in front of him, he was still the same as when he was eleven years old. He could only watch, but could not do anything. Apart from crying, what else could he do...
"No, there is a way!"
Wang Zhi's voice resounded resoundingly in everyone's ears, as if it lit an oil lamp on the dark road ahead, and hope gradually ignited in everyone's hearts like a lamp.
"Master Wang, you are a saint in this world, you must have something to do, right?"
Some students looked at him eagerly.
"Have you ever heard of the 'Cinchona Tree'?"
Wang Zhi racked his brains to recall the methods of treating malaria in later generations' memories. In the end, Huang Tian paid off and was finally remembered by him.
He breathed a long sigh of relief, and his tense body finally relaxed, but the next moment, he was dumbfounded again.
Because everyone sitting there was shaking their heads at him.
"Haven't you heard of it?"
Wang Zhi asked again without giving up, and Wang Erlang, who got the same answer again, sat down in his seat.
Yes, many of the names for flowers, plants and trees in later generations were different from those at this time. It is too normal for the cinchona tree to have other names at this time.
The bark of the cinchona tree can directly cause malaria, he remembered, but if no one has heard of it, no one has seen this kind of tree, or even recognizes it after seeing it, how can he find it in the vast sea of trees?
“Can this tree cure malaria?”
Fatty Xu stopped crying, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, and looked at him with a pleading look on his face.
"Um!"
Seeing Wang Zhi nodding heavily, Fatty Xu immediately stood up and said without asking the reason: "I'm going to find this tree. Even if I die, I will find this tree!"
"I am coming too!"
"And me, I'll go too!"
All the students stood up one after another. They were all the most devout believers of the new school, and naturally they would not question the words of the founder of the new school.
"good!"
Wang Zhi was also rekindled by the students' unreasonable belief. He was a person who never believed in fate and never admitted defeat.
It's okay if he doesn't know the way. If he knows the way and doesn't try it, it's obviously not his style.
"Brother Chen, Xiucai, you go to Taixue to gather your classmates!"
"Brother Zhi, Agui, you go to Juxian Hall to gather the brothers!"
"We went out of the city together to look for trees that would bloom and bear fruit, collect bark, and try one after another. I don't believe we can't find a cinchona tree!"
He could not remember exactly what the cinchona tree looked like, but he remembered that the tree had flowers and fruits.
