Denghuaxiao Chapter 122

 The night is dark like ink, and there is no one on the West Street.

The lantern under the plaque of Renxin Medical Center is particularly bright, and the plum tree with lonely branches in front of the door also shines a bit of red light.

 The small courtyard was bustling with people.

Today is New Year's Eve. Since Mr. Du passed away, Du Changqing has no relatives at home. He thought it would be too miserable for the two girls, Lu Shun and Yin Zheng, to spend the New Year alone in other places, so he volunteered to move the New Year's Eve dinner to the hospital. He also thought that Miao Liangfang was alone now and had few relatives and friends, so he called Acheng General Miao Liangfang to come too.

　　The backyard of the medical clinic, which used to be quiet at night, was rarely lively tonight.

Yin Zheng took out the last plate of steamed seabass from the kitchen and walked towards the wooden table where everyone was sitting: "Give way and cook it carefully -"

The small courtyard is not big to begin with. If we put the table inside, it will become a little cramped when there are more people. But perhaps because of the cramped space, even the coldness of winter nights is dissipated.

Du Changqing stared at the plate of fish dishes held by Yin Zheng.

 There is no decoration at all, the two sea bass are just lying on the plate like this, their tails are half raised, and their four big eyes are staring straight at the sky. The sight of them with a dead look on them makes people lose their appetite.

“Miss Yin Zheng,” Du Changqing pointed at the two dead fish, “with such cooking skills, are you worthy of these two dead fish?”

Yin Zheng put the fish plate on the table with a clang, smiled at him and said, "Why don't you tell me if my boss can live with me when he abuses me?"

Du Changqing was speechless.

 The two seabass were a New Year's gift from Mr. Hu. They were lively and delicious when they arrived. However, he encountered difficulties when killing the fish. Du Changqing wanted to show off in front of the two young girls, so he pushed Lu Zhu away and volunteered: "What a **** thing you do as a girl depends on your boss!"

Unexpectedly, an hour passed and Du Changqing was still catching the two fish in the back kitchen.

 The fish was unharmed, but he injured himself eight thousand times.

Later on, it was Lu Zhen who took over the work that he had not done. He killed the fish and dissected the carcasses with his knife in hand, so that the dish could be served tonight.

Acheng smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, we still have the bacon from Brother Dai, the bad duck from Sister Song, and the hooves from Tailor Ge..."

The five members of Renxin Medical Center, Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng, can cook, but they can only cook the rice well enough to not kill anyone.

Du Changqing has been opening his mouth and extending his hands since he was a child. He has only been able to make scrambled eggs since he was a child.

Not to mention Miao Liangfang, if you have money, you will eat noodles, but if you don't have money, you will drink porridge. There is only one pot in that shabby house, so the cooking skills are naturally mediocre.

Only Acheng can prepare two dishes. However, with so many people, Acheng, a child, cannot be expected to make a large New Year's Eve dinner by himself.

It happened that on New Year's Eve, almost all restaurants in Shengjing were closed, so Du Changqing shamelessly knocked on the doors of his neighbors one by one, as if asking for money, to see if he could exchange money for some dishes.

 Fortunately, over the past year, the reputation of Renxin Medical Center in West Street has gradually improved, and Yin Zheng has also managed a good relationship with his neighbors, and most of them are willing to give him gifts without taking any money.

Tailor Ge gave me a bowl of hooves, Sister-in-law Song gave me a plate of bad duck, Widow Sun gave me half a pot of ham, shrimp **** and mixed vegetables, and Dai Sanlang gave me marinated pork shank - to thank Renxin Medical Center for making him better than Pan An now.

After such tinkering, Acheng and Yinzheng randomly fried a few more vegetables, steamed a fish, put on the Tusu wine they had bought a month ago, and finally managed to put together a decent New Year's Eve dinner. .

With the dishes steaming hot, Du Changqing stood up and filled the bowls with Tusu wine in front of everyone one by one. The wine was freshly brewed, and the fragrant aroma could be smelled as soon as it was poured out.

Du Changqing held up a bowl of wine and looked at the tree full of red plum blossoms in the courtyard, feeling very emotional.

“This tree was almost dead in the past few years. Dr. Lu is indeed a goddess doctor who can rejuvenate the dead tree. He can also make the dead tree bloom again, which is really amazing.”

Everyone followed his gaze and saw that the plum blossom tree in the courtyard was originally gaunt and thin, but now its branches were dotted with deep red, reflected on the wooden window, and the swaying branches looked lively.

Miao Liangfang said: "The sharp edge of the sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Shopkeeper Du can also say that after all the hardships, the joy comes."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

When Lu Jong first came to Renxin Medical Center, the medical center was dilapidated and dilapidated. The plaques at the door were hung crookedly, and it looked like it would be closed tomorrow.

In just one year, from making ends meet to becoming famous, a neighbor on West Street went to Renxin Medical Center for headaches and fever. It was indeed a blessing in disguise.

Du Changqing raised his wine bowl to Lu Zhuo and said solemnly: "Doctor Lu, I'll give you a bowl. Thank you for saving my father's last wish. If you hadn't turned the tide, this medical clinic would have been defeated by me sooner or later. My father There is no peace under the Nine Springs."

 “Thank you very much!” He touched the wine bowl with the one in Lu Chen's hand and drank it down in one go.

Upon seeing this, Acheng quickly stood up and held up the small bowl in front of him with both hands.

 He was still a child and could not drink alcohol, so Yin Zheng bought him sherbet specially.

The boy held the sherbet and said with a smile to Lu Shu: "Doctor Lu, Acheng also proposes a toast to you. Since you and Miss Yin Zheng have arrived, my boss is getting happier day by day."

“Since the master passed away, I haven't seen the young master so happy for a long time.”

Du Changqing kicked him: "What day is the young master unhappy?"

Acheng rubbed his butt: "I'm even happier now!"

Lu Zong picked up the wine bowl in front of her and took a sip. Yin Zheng's wine bowl was already in front of her.

"Girl," Yin Zheng whispered in her ear: "I would like to thank you too, thank you for saving my life, and thank you for allowing me to follow you and have a place to stay here."

She was grateful to Lu Huan. Without Lu Huan, she would have become a pile of loess in the graveyard in southern Jiangsu. She didn't expect to have such a stable life now, guarding a small medical clinic, listening to the gossips of the neighbors every day, and the days passed like this.

"What are you two whispering about?" Du Changqing frowned, "Is there anything I, the boss, can't listen to?"

Yin Zheng scorned: "Women whisper to each other, why should a grown man in the shop listen to it?"

Du Changqing said "Who cares?" Then he saw Miao Liangfang sitting on the side motionless, so he asked: "Why don't you go and propose a toast?"

"What should I toast to?" Miao Liangfang stretched out his sleeves and said very arrogantly, "Now that I teach Xiao Lu, I can also be regarded as half of Xiao Lu's master. Only students toast to the teacher, how can any teacher take the initiative to toast the students?"

 Today he wore a brand-new Yuan-colored round-necked jacket, which Du Changqing paid for and made for him at Ge Tailor Shop next door. Also trim your beard, comb your messy hair and tie it into a bun. Apart from anything else, coupled with his old face with crisscrossed grooves, the appearance of this semi-old doctor is more convincing to the patient than the appearance of a beautiful girl like Lu Zhen.

"Don't come here to touch porcelain." Du Changqing sneered, "We, Doctor Lu, have medical skills comparable to those of the medical officers of the Hanlin Academy of Medical Officers. We made a patent medicine that made a sensation in Shengjing City. You can see that you have learned from a master. I have a serious master, and I want you to be a loser." The old medical officer will teach you?"

Miao Liangfang choked and glared at Du Changqing.

Although I am very angry, this is irrefutable.

After spending these days with Lu Chen, Miao Liangfang can see that Lu Chen has some real skills in his hands. Her talent for identification, her random prescriptions, and her acupuncture skills are all worthy of astonishing the old guys in the Imperial Medical Bureau - even though her method is a bit wild.

 She should have a master with profound medical skills, whose medical skills are far superior to those of the medical officers in the palace today. Apart from telling everyone that the master had passed away, Lu Huan did not reveal any clues about the master from beginning to end. Perhaps it was to protect the master - the master always had a bit of a temper.

Miao Liangfang sighed: "Xiao Lu, your master is really good. He taught you so well."

There are so many prescriptions and pharmacological theories, and at such a young age, Lu Zhuo's medical knowledge is far superior to that of many older doctors. This can only mean that her master has taught her everything he can. Ask yourself, Miao Liangfang himself can't hide anything from himself, which shows that the other party has a high character and cherishes his apprentice.

Lu Zhen didn't speak. After a while, she lowered her head, took a sip of Tusu wine in the bowl, and said, "Yes."

"She treats me very well."

The voice was very soft, like a cool breeze, and was broken by Du Changqing's high-pitched voice the next moment.

“Let us pay tribute to this good master, thank her for her careful teachings to our Doctor Lu, and for teaching us a goddess doctor in West Street—”

 “Thank you, good master!” Acheng cheered and clapped his hands.

 “Thank you, good master—”

The sound of cheering and clapping almost drowned out the sound of firecrackers in the yards of people on West Street.

Acheng jumped off the stool, bent down and pulled out a large copper plate from under the table. There were a few red oranges and persimmons on the plate, and some cypress branches were nestled on the edge. He broke off the cypress branches, broke open the persimmons and oranges, and shouted: "Best!"

 Lu Zong was stunned.

 The copper plate in front of me reflected a hazy brilliance under the candlelight in the small courtyard.

　　The woman sitting at the table stared at the large plate piled with persimmons and oranges at her feet, her eyes a little dazed.

Many years ago, when she was a little girl, every New Year's Eve, her mother would put out a big plate like this and let several children in the family break off the cypress branches one by one.

ˆ "cypress persimmon orange" means "everything is good".

She was young at that time and always clamored to be the first to break the persimmons. Because of her weak strength, she often couldn't break the persimmons properly, and she got juice in her hand and stained her new skirt.

She pursed her lips and was about to cry, but her mother stopped her sternly: "Today is New Year's Eve, it's bad luck to cry!"

Lu Rou leaned over and quietly put the dumpling wrapped in coins into her bowl.

Before Lu Zhen could smile, the dumplings were snatched away from her bowl by Lu Qian with quick eyes and hands. The young man made a face at her: "Thank you!"

 A sound of “Wow—”.

 The tears that I had been holding back for a long time finally came out. Lu Chen's memories of New Year's Eve were always lively until he left Changwu County.

Yun Niang was away from the mountains most of the time except for testing medicine and feeding her the antidote on time. Lu Huan stayed in Luomeifeng for seven years. During these seven years, Lu Huan spent every New Year's Eve alone.

 In the first few years after arriving at Luomei Peak, Lu Huan always secretly looked forward to not being alone this year. Sometimes, she would rather Yun Niang stay in the mountains and let her test the medicine than stay alone in the mountains on New Year's Eve.

 The pain of trying medicine is always better than the loneliness of staying up late alone.

 In such busy times, human loneliness is always magnified infinitely.

But in the end she could only put together the dead branches she had picked up and a few unripe wild fruits, put them in an iron basin, broke them open by herself, and whispered to herself -

 Persico.

 “Bessick—” There was a lot of laughter in the yard.

 There was an inexplicable emotion flashing through Lu Zhen's eyes.

 For the first time in many years, she no longer said "Pepsi" to herself.

Yin Zheng came over with a wine bowl. She was so happy that she drank a lot. Her cheeks turned red and she looked at Lu Yan with bright eyes.

“Girl,” she asked, “is it noisy?”

 Lu Zhuo shook his head.

Yin Zheng breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I was thinking that you would be happy. So many people are noisy and you will be unhappy."

Lu Xu lowered his eyelashes and said softly: "No."

She has stayed in Luomeifeng for too many years, and has said Happy New Year to herself so many times that she has almost forgotten that she actually likes the excitement.

 She turned out to be very afraid of loneliness.

Du Changqing was still shouting at the other end: "Let us wish Dr. Lu in advance that he will be a blockbuster in the spring examination and be the most beautiful!"

Miao Liangfang poured cold water on him: "There are so many disciples from the imperial medical bureau, but they still show off their beauty? What a shameless statement."

"Why not? As the saying goes, someone who fails in love will be successful in the examination room. We, Dr. Lu, have many bad relationships. So Lao Shizi's fiancé and Mr. Dong are unreliable. They may not be successful in the examination room!"

"What? Doctor Lu still has a fiancé? When did it happen?"

“Hey, that's not important. A man's future is more important.”

 “That's true.”

Acheng stared at the sky above the small courtyard and murmured: "At midnight tonight, fireworks will be set off at Dechuntai, and we can see them in the courtyard."

"Okay," Du Changqing said with a drunken look and pointed at the sky with a smile, "The nobles spend money, the common people enjoy it, don't take advantage of the bastard, you must stay up until midnight tonight!"

　　I didn't finish the New Year's Eve dinner until midnight.

Du Changqing was drunk.

The young master acted like he would never get drunk after a thousand cups of wine. Before the jar of Tusu wine was finished, he slipped under the table.

That's all. He doesn't drink well either. When he's drunk, he goes all over the courtyard to raise tiles and vomits on the floor, leaving filth everywhere.

Miao Liangfang really couldn't stand it, so he said to Lu Huan: "He is a young man. How can he be drunk and stay in your courtyard? Others know that he is not good at talking."

After saying that, he greeted Acheng, and together they took Du Changqing, who was very drunk, and went home first.

 After the three of them left, the small courtyard suddenly became much deserted. Yin Zheng stood up unsteadily: "I'll clean up the house." She was stopped by Lu Zhu.

Yinzheng also drank a lot today, probably because she felt happy. Ever since she followed Lu Chen, she had always been on tenterhooks, but New Year's Eve always made people leave everything behind and immerse themselves in this temporary joy.

Lu Zhu helped Yin Zheng into the house, took off her shoes and socks, and wiped her cheeks. Finally, he covered her with a quilt, left the house, and gently closed the door.

 The night was deserted, and occasionally one or two firecrackers sounded in the distance. The small courtyard was littered with cups and plates after the banquet, reflecting the embarrassment of people leaving after the song.

There is a banquet that must come to an end, and she will not be spending it with them on New Year's Eve next year.

Lu Zhuo squatted down, picked up the wine jar and cups that had fallen on the ground, poured the leftovers and the leftovers into the swill bucket, wiped the wooden table carefully, and moved it back to its original position.

 She returned to the kitchen, cleared the stove, and washed the dishes for today.

  She washed very slowly, as if this would make the New Year pass slower. Finally, she brought some water and poured it on the bluestone in the courtyard by candlelight.

The bluestone slab has been washed, so clean and shiny that it reflects the moon in the sky, like floating water.

The moonlight looked at her tenderly, and the small courtyard returned to its original tidiness, and all traces of the feast were erased.

The laughter, the noisy laughter, the off-key singing, the straightforward and almost vulgar toasts, together with the shadows of those people disappeared.

 Only the branches of the plum trees are swaying.

Lu Zong held the big copper plate and placed it on the stone platform under the eaves of the courtyard.

In the copper plate, broken cypress branches are surrounded by split red and orange ripe persimmons, which is particularly festive and lively.

She did not pour the contents of the copper plate into the discarded swill bucket, perhaps out of pity or perhaps out of reluctance.

The winter night was cold and the moonlight was cold. She stopped in front of the stone platform, stretched out her hand, took out the split mandarin orange from the copper plate, peeled off the peel, and put a piece of mandarin orange into her mouth.

The orange slices are very cold, like sweet snow, sliding down the throat. Because they are ripe, they are so sweet that they become bitter.

 She stood in the yard and silently ate an entire tangerine.

 The wind gradually picked up during the night, and the wind blew across people's faces, making them feel sore from the cold. After Lu Yan finished eating the oranges, he whispered to the bustling copper plate: "Pepsi."

 Persico.

She remembered Du Changqing standing on the table swearing that he would learn to kill fish, Miao Liangfang hitting his face with a cane under the table, Acheng Yang Yin Zheng giving him a rabbit-shaped colorful ribbon, and Yin Zheng gesturing hurriedly like a rabbit. …

 The small courtyard was quiet, and Lu Zhuo smiled slightly.

 She didn't know if everything would go well in the future. It sounded too luxurious, but tonight, at least tonight, she gained short-term comfort from this message...

There is also warmth.

 Before Lu Zhen returned to his dormitory, there was still a big red tassel knot made by Acheng hanging on the door, which was the auspicious tassel of Naji that could ward off evil spirits.

 She opened the door and walked in.

He didn't turn on the lamp when he left. The oil lamp on the desk was still on. Lu Yan closed the door and took two steps in. The smile on his lips had not yet gone away. Suddenly, his hair stood on end and he suddenly looked at the window.

 Under the dim candlelight, I don't know when a person stood.

The man was leaning on the corner of the table, looking down at a thin piece of paper in his hand. When he heard the movement, he looked up, revealing a familiar face.

Pei Yunying.

 Lu Zhen's face turned cold.

Pei Yunying stared into Lu Zhuo's eyes.

The young man's delicate eyebrows looked extremely soft under the dim light. The hand holding the knife was well-jointed, slender and beautiful, and he was holding the thin page loosely.

He was clearly smiling, but his eyes were as cold as snow.

"Is this your revenge list?" He flicked the scroll in his hand and said casually: "Why is there still my name on it?"

Lu Zhen's pupils shrank.

That thin piece of paper was densely filled with names, some of which had been scratched out, and some of which looked like they had been added recently, like dark worms drawn up under the candlelight, or like curses pierced into human skin, penetrating through the human skin. It's cold and forbidding.

Lu Zhen's whole body tensed up and he looked at the person in front of him coldly.

The young man smiled, stared at Lu Huan, and walked towards her step by step against the light and shadow.

 “Let's talk.”

 “Miss Lu San, Lu Min.” He said lightly.

 Liutong: I didn't expect it! You are also in my Death Note.

Chapter end