Xiaodao Liu can be regarded as a "craftsman". His family has a large business and has two courtyards used for purification. Of course, he didn't live there himself, otherwise no one would be able to bear the howling ghosts and wolves every day.
Their line of work is an ancestral craft that is only passed down within the family.
After entering the door, Xiaodao Liu's son was washing his hands in front of the water dish, and there was still blood on his hands. After seeing the two of them, he stood up and wiped his hands and said, "Dad, the one in the house is not good, the second crop is not cut well."
The so-called "second crop" means that the first cut was not thorough, and granulation sprouted again. The Ministry of Internal Affairs failed the inspection, and had to be cut again. But it seems that this one is very unlucky. The wound is seriously infected and he is dying.
Xiaodao Liu said: "Tell his family and they will take it back. If you can't keep it, the hotel will give you 15 taels of silver."
"I know." He saw Li Yu behind Xiaodao Liu and said casually, "This guy is not the right age."
Xiaodao Liu kicked him, "Get out of here! This is Mr. Li, here to give us some advice."
Xiaodao Liu's son quickly bowed down and apologized: "There are usually not many outsiders in the library, so I'm really sorry! Please come inside."
Li Yu and Xiao Dao Liu walked into the room. There were many small boxes and bottles on the cabinet on the side, but they didn't dare to take a closer look.
"Master Li, to be honest, this kind of thing has happened to me a lot recently. I didn't even mention the money, but I was worried that everyone would be scared and go to Bi Wuna."
Li Yu frowned. The sanitary conditions in the room were extremely poor even for an outpatient operating room.
The knives placed on the table are also quite simple. There is a whetstone and a larger stove next to it.
Seeing that Li Yu didn't speak, Xiaodao Liu continued: "Master Li, please think about how to improve. In a few days, a child will be sent over to be put on the shelf. He is the one chosen by Grandpa De himself. I don't dare to make any mistakes."
Li Yu just wanted to leave here as soon as possible, so he said: "There are too many things to change. First of all, wash all the sheets immediately after use. How can there be blood on them! The environment also needs to be disinfected with alcohol. No, you must at least use sodium chlorate here. Or phenol. There are also surgical tools, which are too outdated and need to be replaced. How can one person perform the same surgery twice!"
Xiaodao Liu listened attentively, and then said: "What does the green knife you are talking about do? I heard that foreigners have better knives. I don't know where Bi Wu got a set. They are extremely sharp."
"It's very common in foreign hospitals. You can ask them for it."
Xiaodao Liu said: "I went to a foreign medical clinic, and when they heard that I was doing this, they kicked me out."
Li Yu remembered that the two Western medicine hospitals in Beijing were founded by churches. One was on Andingmen Nei Street and was built by the American Presbyterian Church. It mainly specialized in maternal and child care. It was later named Daoji Hospital, which is today's Beijing Sixth Hospital. .
The other one in Dongjiaomin Lane was built by the American Protestant Methodist Church and was called Tongren Hospital. It is also still alive today.
The two hospitals can be regarded as the earliest Western medicine hospitals in the capital, and the Union Hospital will be more than ten years away.
No matter what the hospital says, they are only there to save people. They will definitely not do it if they forcefully harm people's bodies.
Li Yu sighed. It was useless to ignore it. He did not have the ability to stop the eunuch system immediately, so he said, "Okay, I will ask you for it."
Xiaodao Liu said happily: "Thank you, Mr. Li. I heard that you are very familiar with foreigners. I will definitely give you generous gifts in the future."
"No need, I have something to do, let's go first!"
Li Yu didn't want to stay here any longer. After saying hello, he ran out.
He did not go home directly, but asked passers-by if they had seen a poor old man with a thin boy.
According to what passers-by said, Li Yu came all the way to Andingmen and saw the old man and his wife in front of a drug store.
The boy squatted on the roadside holding a half-jar of candy and a shriveled bun in his hand. Maybe it’s because I’ve never tasted anything so sweet, so I kept stuffing candy into my mouth.
The old man begged the drug store owner: "Mr. Lin, you are from the same village after all. You are a fellow villager. Please take care of me!"
The drug store owner was not very happy: "Old Wangtou, it's not that I won't help you, my drug store has just recovered this year, so there is no spare money."
The old man continued with a tearful tone: "It's fine if you don't accept the child as your apprentice. I've been forced into this position, so you should help me no matter what! When you fell into the water thirteen years ago, I was the one who saved you. .”
The drug store owner was dissatisfied and said: "Don't put pressure on me with this matter! I gave you a lot of food some time ago. Without me, you would have starved to death! I have given you enough, don't come to me in the future!"
The drug store owner returned to the house in despair. The old man wanted to step forward to plead for mercy, but was pushed to the ground by a strong man.
The boy ignored the candy and immediately rushed to help the old man.
Li Yu also rushed over to help him lift him up. When the old man saw Li Yu, he remembered that he had seen him in front of Xiaodao Liu Hall just now, and took his hand: "Tell Mr. Liu that I will definitely find a guarantor."
"I'm not Mr. Liu's. Uncle, no matter how great the difficulty is for you, you shouldn't let your child suffer like this."
The old man sighed: "I don't want to either. I am just a child. Who wants to cut off my children and grandchildren! But there is really no way. It is better to live than to die."
Li Yu touched his body and found about ten taels of silver, which he stuffed into the old man's arms: "Take this money, at least you can survive this year."
The old man was stunned: "What are you doing?"
"Save it for use. Don't starve the children, and don't think about purification anymore."
"You are truly a living Bodhisattva!" The old man took the child and knelt in front of Li Yu. "Kowtow to the living Bodhisattva quickly."
Li Yu helped them both up, "It doesn't have to be like this. My name is Li Yu. If you have any difficulties in the future, just go to Dongchang Hutong and find me."
The old man wiped his tears. He was very excited and said, "Dong...Dongchang Hutong?"
More than two hundred years have passed, but he didn't expect that Dongchang Hutong still retains its prestige. Li Yu immediately said: "I am not a knife maker, and Dongchang Hutong is a matter of the previous dynasty."
The old man said: "I know! The people living in Dongchang Hutong are all wealthy and wealthy people, and you are also wealthy and wealthy, sir!"
Li Yu chatted for a while and then asked them to go home. The old man's family lived outside Andingmen. In the late Qing Dynasty, this place was very desolate and only poor families lived there.
There is a saying about the city gates in old Beijing. Nine gates carry nine carts, and Anding gate carries troops, but in ordinary times, dung carts are more likely to carry them.
There is an old saying, "Andingmen has three sills, a dung factory, a kiln pit, and a mass grave." You can imagine how desolate this place was back then.
It can also be seen from the place names that were retained later, such as Sishui Bridge, which is located on Andingmenwai Street.
Even the current Qingnian Lake Park was a kiln pit back then. Therefore, for a long time, there were many dung dumps outside Andingmen, and many people transporting dirty things would gather here, but after all, listening to the moving vehicles would make them more energetic.
After thanking him profusely, the old man took the boy out of Anding Gate.
At this time, a palace dung cart happened to pass by Li Yu and slowly walked towards the door. Li Yu stood motionless, and the stench that gradually faded away was very much like this decadent era.
