The next day, Bao Laizi took Ma Daoying and his daughter to Baozhuang to see his old house. It was a tile-roofed house lined up at the entrance of the village. There were five rooms in total, two of which were stacked with firewood, and the other three rooms. The second is the bedroom, the second is the nave, and the third is the kitchen.
However, Bao Laizi and his wife have not lived in this house for a long time. Most of them live in the donkey meat restaurant in the market to make a living. They only come back for a few days during the New Year and holidays. His wife often comes home to sweep the dust and open the doors and windows for ventilation. Remove mildew.
Around 6 o'clock in the morning, when Bao Laizi arrived at the door of his house, there was a rectangular copper lock hanging on the door. When he opened the door, a pungent musty smell came out. Bao Laizi said to Ma Daoying: Originally, I should have taken you directly to the donkey meat restaurant for lunch. It's still early at this time. It's not too late to go later.
He walked into a room with a pile of firewood, pushed open a bundle of firewood, and revealed a wooden cabinet with many square drawers. There was also a medicinal smell in the air. Hong Tu smelled it and sneezed. Bao Laizi went on to say: All herbs are medicines. It turns out that all the herbs in these cabinets are herbal medicines. I need to find some medicines to boil water and wash the itchy sores on my neck with red tea. If it weren't for this matter, we could go directly to the donkey meat restaurant.
right! It is important to treat red tea sores. As Ma Daoying talked, she watched Bao Laizi take out a handful of herbs that she couldn't name from the cabinet, rinse them with water, put them in an earthen pot and boil them on the fire pit. It boiled in about a quarter of an hour.
Bao Laizi slightly reduced the firewood and cooked it for about half an hour. When the liquid in the jar evaporated to less than half with the gas, he wrapped the handle of the jar with a piece of rag and took it out to cool down. There were still clouds of gas coming out of his mouth, and the whole room was filled with a strong medicinal aroma. The fire pit was still shining brightly. Ma Daoying and Hong Tu sat around and watched, their faces turned red and hot by the radiant heat.
Bao Laizi said: After the liquid has cooled down, apply cotton wool to the red, swollen and itchy affected area, and the itching will be relieved immediately. Apply it three to five times a day for a week, and generally even the most stubborn itching can be cured. . Ma Daoying nodded while listening, then pushed Hong Tu and said: My child, you have to live here for treatment.
Mom, you can't go. Hong Tu nervously approached Ma Daoying and said, "Mom, if you leave, I will leave too." Ma Daoying pushed her away and said, child, if you can't cure your scrapie and go back, your father will throw you on the back mountain to feed the wolves. Hong Tu cried "Wow" and said while crying: Mom, stay with me to cure the disease and then go home.
Bao Laizi carefully put the cooled liquid in the earthen jar into a transparent glass bottle, which immediately turned ocher black. He tightened the lid and put it aside, then wrapped a piece of cloth around the head of a chopstick, then dipped it into the earthen jar that still had some medicinal solution, took it out, walked to Hong Tu and said , good boy, lower your head slightly.
Hong Tu complied, and Bao Laizi dipped the tip of his chopsticks into the cloth strip of medicinal solution and rubbed it on her red, swollen and itchy affected area, once, twice, three times... Bao Laizi asked while wiping: Is it still itchy? Hong Tu said, the itch is gone. Bao Laizi went on to say that this potion has a strong bite and will definitely kill the poisonous gas on your neck.
Hong Tu, Uncle Bob treats you well, right? He takes care of you better than your father! Ma Daoying looked at Bao Laizi approvingly and said I can go.
I can’t leave. It’s not too late to have lunch at my donkey meat restaurant before leaving. Bao Laizi put away his chopsticks, picked up the bottle containing the medicinal solution, and led the mother and daughter out, then closed the door and hung a big lock.
The business of the Bao family's donkey meat restaurant is booming in the market, but among the donkeys locked in the donkey stable behind the restaurant, one of them is crying, and its bell-like eyes are shining with a sad luster; the other one is holding the stable. He was squatting on the fence from time to time, looking restless.
There was a bloody smell of dead donkeys floating in the air, making them feel that their end was coming. Outside the donkey stable was the donkey slaughterhouse. The chopping board soaked in donkey meat shone with a cold light under the sunlight - that was a curled dragon-slaying knife. A tired donkey in the donkey stable saw it and was so frightened that he coughed and howled wildly. This is clearly a protest, a protest against death.
At this moment, Bao Laizi, Ma Daoying and Hong Tu and his party had arrived at the donkey meat restaurant. Hong Tu heard the braying of a donkey for the first time and didn't know what kind of animal it was, so she timidly held on to her mother's clothes. Her mother told her not to be afraid, the one that brayed just now was the donkey.
You can eat this kind of donkey meat at Bobbo’s house, and it tastes very delicious. Bao Laizi, who was approaching the door of the donkey meat restaurant in front, turned around and said, donkey meat is delicious, but red tea cannot be eaten. Ma Daoying and Hong Tu's eyes shot towards Bao Laizi almost at the same time. Bao Laizi said that donkey meat is warm and nourishing, and it is good for hair growth. If Hong Tu wants to eat donkey meat, he must wait until the itchy sore on his neck is healed before eating it.
During the conversation, a tall, fat woman came over. Bao Laizi looked at Ma Daoying, waved his hand, and introduced: This restaurant relies on her to support it. Ma Daoying took over: Sister-in-law Liu, you are really good. Brother Bao often praises your craftsmanship. Liu Liuying said: No, he went out today. Business came and I couldn't handle it alone, so I called two guys nearby to help.
At this time, Hong Tu grabbed Ma Daoying's clothes tightly and looked around with some confusion. Ma Daoying gave her a shove and said, "You still can't call her Liu Bo Niang." Hong Tu was obedient. He took one look at the strange woman in front of him and called Liu Auntie softly, his voice as small as a mosquito.
When Liu Liuying heard this, she said "hmm" and asked the mother and daughter to sit down. Then she quickly brewed two cups of tea and put them on the table for them to use. Ma Daoying told her not to be polite and said that the child would be entrusted to you. Hong Tu was childish and didn't care and couldn't understand the content of the conversation between the two elders. She stared at the room with her eyes wide open, as if she were looking at something strange and felt interesting and embarrassed.
Bao Laizi put the liquid medicine where it should be, and went to the restaurant and kitchen to get busy.
The guests who were eating donkey meat hotpot and drinking wine were making a fuss and making a fuss, which was almost noisy. It was the first time Hong Tu heard such a sound that sounded like a quarrel but didn't sound like a quarrel. After a group of guests left, Bao Laizi came out of the kitchen and told Ma Daoying and his daughter that lunch was ready and it was time to eat.
Liu Liuying knowingly led them to a small living room, where there was an Eight Immortals table, and a hot pot was placed on the table. The hot pot was boiling and steaming, and the whole room was filled with the aroma of donkey meat. There are also several side dishes on the table such as peanuts, soybeans, green peppers, fried shredded pork with wild rice flour, fried eggs and leeks. Bao Laizi asked Ma Daoying to sit on the table, and Ma Daoying pushed her to sit on it. Hong Tu also sat next to her. Ma Daoying asked her to sit on the other side, but she refused. Liu Liuying said that she was also a guest, and it was legitimate for you mother and daughter to sit at the table today.
Ma Daoying saw so many etiquettes in the Bao family and said with a smile, then we will do as the Romans do. From today on, you are the adoptive parents of this child, and Hong Tu will rely on you from now on.
Liu Liuying sat aside and nodded with a smile. Hong Tu didn't care what her mother said, her eyes were still looking around uneasily.
