The summer night is long, insects are singing, the bright silver moon hangs high in the forest, the light fragrance of green bamboo is fumigated in the gentle breeze, and the light rain falls on people's shoulders like cotton threads, bringing an extra touch of coolness.
An old man and a young man crept through the bamboo grove, the old man was carrying an old bow made by a handle, and the young man was carrying a net. They brushed the grass on both sides as they walked. The young one yawned for a long time, rubbed his eyes and said, "Father, let's go back, it's so late, I don't think we can hit anything."
The old Orion insisted: "Your mother is just sick, so I just want to eat such a bite of wild game, so wait."
The little Orion held his sleepy eyes and muttered, "It's midnight, and the game is asleep..."
Just as he was talking, suddenly a black shadow rushed across the forest in the distance, followed by three or four black shadows, which caused the grass to rustle. The Orion's eyes lit up, he pressed his son's shoulder, and called him Silently, then he took out the bow and arrow, and saw that he was aiming at the black figure——"Chu", the arrow went out, only heard a few screams, and it was hit!
The kid hurried over to pick it up, the old Orion set up his bow again, and shot three or four shots without missing a single shot.
"Father! It's an oxtail raccoon!" The young boy changed his embarrassment just now, and shouted happily with the game, "This mother is in luck!"
Orion also picked up a few other oxtail raccoons, which turned out to be a litter of oxtail raccoons. He couldn't help but wondered: "This oxtail raccoon is naturally sensitive, and it's only easier to catch them when it comes out to look for food in snowy weather. Why do so many come out in summer? Only?"
The little hunter picked up the dead oxtail raccoons, threw them into his pocket, and smiled: "Whatever it is! Go back quickly! This is a rare and good thing. I will kill two of them today and tomorrow I heard that the gate of Chunan City was opened, let's go to the morning market tomorrow, find a restaurant, and sell the remaining few. It can sell for a lot of money and give Mother pulled a piece of new cloth, and I saw that the clothes on her body had been patched a lot..."
"No, no..." The old Orion walked back and pondered, "If something goes wrong, there must be a demon!"
The young man thought he was long-winded: "Oh, what kind of demon can there be, don't think about it!"
Early the next morning, the old Orion was woken up by his son, and took three oxtail raccoons to the morning market in Chunan City, pulling a few feet of new cloth along the way. The oxtail raccoon is delicious only when it is fresh. If it has been dead for a long time and its flesh stinks, no one will want it. Besides, there are rough people in their village, so they will not appreciate the benefits of the oxtail raccoon. If you want to sell it at a good price, you have to go to a big city like Chunan and sell it to wealthy families who know the goods.
Driving the donkey cart borrowed from Lizheng's house, he walked all the way thinking why so many oxtailed raccoons suddenly sprang out in this summer month, he was fascinated for a while, and almost went the wrong way, but in the end he hurried, When the donkey cart drove into Chunan, it still missed the morning market.
I heard before that Chunan was closed due to the epidemic, but today there is no sign of depression. The shops are bustlingly cutting the ribbon to open, and the clerk Xiaoer also came out happily to attract customers. The multicolored silk that symbolizes auspiciousness, but there is still some lingering smell of smoked medicine in the city.
The old Orion walked and watched all the way, thinking that it would be okay to miss the morning market, so he went to the Baihualou where he used to come and go. The boss Liu of the Baihualou is a decent businessman, and he is very fond of these game furs and the like. Knowing the goods, and never fooling him. Thinking of this, he carried baskets to the front of the Baihua Building in a familiar way, but he found that the smell of wine in front of the building was no longer there, but the smell of medicine was bursting, and several young men in white clothes came in and out with serious expressions.
Confused, he took a few steps back and looked up - Sanyu Building.
He hurriedly stopped a passer-by and asked, "Excuse me, little brother, is this Baihualou...?"
The passer-by waved his hand: "Where is there Baihualou? It's closed long ago! Now it's a medical clinic. The epidemic in our city has improved, but it's all thanks to the little miracle doctor in Sanyulou! The little genius doctor is kind-hearted, young and promising, he really is a medicine fairy descending from the earth!"
The old Orion was dumbfounded when he heard this: "... a doctor, a medical center?"
On this day, Yu Jinnian discussed with Doctor Chen and the others in the building about the direction of the next step in the fight against the epidemic. Although the city closure order has been revoked, there are still many patients with severe epidemics in various medical centers in the city, and the treatment of the epidemic should not be taken lightly to prevent the epidemic from resurging. It's just that the members of the Royal Medical Department have been in Chunan for more than a month, and it is impossible to stay for a long time. After that, the finishing work still depends on the local government-run medical office and private doctors in Chunan.
However, the methods and precautions have been taught to them, and it will not be more difficult than before.
After discussing about chores, another patient who thought it was a major epidemic was brought in. He had constant mouth pain, severe abdominal pain, and cold limbs, but he couldn't spit out the bad words. It seemed urgent.
Yu Jinnian checked his symptoms and found that it was Colic Intestinal Sha, commonly known as dry cholera, but it was not the same disease as cholera, but a gastrointestinal disease caused by dampness, coldness and stagnation in the stomach, resulting in difficulty in vomiting and diarrhea. He didn't panic, and asked the cook to stir-fry two liang of hot salt, melt it with hot water, and let someone pour it down for the patient.
Because this thick salt is extremely bitter and salty, it is very unbearable for people. After drinking it, within a short while, the patient frowned and spit out the contents of his stomach with a loud wow. Yu Jinnian struck while the iron was hot, ordered someone to drink two more bowls, and vomited with chopsticks. Not long after, the patient vomited two or three times, the original cold complexion turned back in an instant, and even the pain in the abdomen healed a lot.
Then he prescribed several soups and medicines for follow-up conditioning, and asked the patient to grab the medicines and go home to decoct them. The patient was carried by his family when he came, thanked him repeatedly when he left, and left on his own.
You Qingbai wondered: "The medicine is useless, but it's cured!"
Yu Jinnian straightened his clothes, and said embarrassedly: "Craniorrhagia is difficult to vomit and diarrhoea, so I use the method of vomit. I just used some tricky methods."
You Qingbai wanted to ask about Tantu carefully, but Yu Jinnian felt that it was almost lunch time, and he was worried about going back to cook for the family, so he waved his hands and said that we will talk about it next time. As soon as he went out, he saw the old Orion wandering in front of the building.
Yu Jinnian thought he was coming to see a doctor, so he greeted him: "Old man, are you seeing a doctor or prescribing medicine?"
The old Orion said awkwardly: "I, I don't see a doctor..."
Yu Jinnian looked at his clothes and realized: "Master, I have sold the original restaurant. If you are looking for Boss Liu's family, they may have moved to the north of the city."
"I'm not looking for anyone." The old Orion saw that he was also dressed in brocade, so he took the basket from his back, lifted the cover cloth on it, and moved closer to Yu Jinnian, "Boss, I am a hunter who sells wild game. A few new oxtail raccoons were killed last night, take a look, little boss, why don't you buy them back for your family to try out?"
"Oxtail raccoon?" Yu Jinnian let out a cry of surprise, and turned his head to look curiously. He used to eat artificially raised raccoon raccoon once under the guise of a friend. I ate it, but I didn't expect to see it here. He looked down at the Orion's basket, and sure enough, he saw a few raccoons whose blood had been drained.
However, this oxtail raccoon eats a lot and moves less during the winter season, so it is especially plump. It is delicious in Xueyue, and there is a famous dish called "Snowy oxtail raccoon". Why do people come out to sell raccoons in this season up.
The old hunter also guessed what Yu Jinnian was thinking, so he told him the cause and effect of last night's hunting. After hearing this, Yu Jinnian couldn't help sighing: "This is quite an adventure." He said it was fate, but in fact he was greedy The oxtailed raccoon was delicious, and I heard that he was going to use the money from selling the raccoons to pull cloth for his family, so he decided to buy all the oxtailed raccoons in his basket, and prepared to take them back to eat meat for everyone.
The old Orion strung the oxtail raccoon upside down with a rope and handed it to Yu Jinnian to carry it in his hand, then happily took the money and left.
This oxtail raccoon is known as "the most precious thing in the mountains", and its beauty is "comparable to jade". Yu Jinnian happily returned to the small courtyard, and asked the cook to help pluck the raccoon to remove the dirt, while he went to the street again I bought some mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots, and when I came back, I saw the cook was slowly burning the tiny bristles with a small fire.
He was cutting green onions and minced ginger in the kitchen. Young master Jiang and Shi Xing came back from outside the courtyard. After entering the kitchen, Young Master Jiang shouted: "Brother Nian, come and judge! I think the rabbit meat is cold, but the chicken is hot. In this sweltering day, I should make some rabbit meat to eat. He insists on buying pheasant meat." !"
Shi Xing was not to be outdone: "Young master is just recovering from a serious illness, what's wrong with drinking some chicken soup to nourish your body? Look at you, it's only been a few days since you took the medicine, and you're going to be a husband!"
"Okay, okay, why don't we eat rabbit tonight and chicken tomorrow." Yu Jinnian's head was swollen from the two of them arguing, and he came out to have a look, good guy, the two of them have a chicken in their left hand and a duck in their right hand, in the hands of Young Master Jiang. Also carrying two fat hares.
"What's the matter, you bought so many back?"
Shi Xing hurriedly said: "I don't know what happened in the past two days, there are a lot more game sellers in the street market, and every household can bring out a few game, so that the pork shop next door has no business, the price is as cheap as dirt Ya'er and I asked about it, and they all said that they ran out by themselves in the middle of the night, crashed into someone's house, and made a big commotion!"
Yu Jinnian asked strangely: "It stands to reason that after the flood, all the wild animals in the mountains panicked and fled. How come there are so many at once?" He pointed to the oxtail raccoon that was being processed on the ground, "This raccoon is also one in the morning. Orion sold it to me."
The cook who was cleaning the internal organs of the oxtail raccoon said, "The older generation said that these wild animals have spirituality. When the wild animals descend from the mountain, it is a vision from heaven."
Naturally, Yu Jinnian didn't believe in these rumors of gods, gods and ghosts, so he turned around and wanted to go back to the kitchen. The cook grabbed the inexperienced Young Master Jiang and poured an earful of supernatural stories, telling the story, only listening to the cook "ah!" With a loud cry, Jiang Bingren slapped his butt on the ground in fright, and subconsciously reached out and grabbed Shi Xing's clothes.
Shi Xing patted his head and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
The cook gasped for a moment, picked out the raccoon's internal organs, and suddenly pulled out something. She opened her bloody palm, and something like a pair of eyeballs rolled in her palm.
"Ahhh!" Jiang Bingren jumped up with a groan, and hid on Shi Xing without daring to look, "What is it, help me, get it away!"
The cook washed the two round things in the water, and looked at them in the sunlight. They looked like stones, but there were still some lines on them, cut horizontally and vertically, as if they were made by nature. She couldn't read, so she handed things to Shi Xing to look at: "Brother Shi, look, what's on it? But what word?"
Shi Xing took a look, his expression changed immediately, he walked quickly to the kitchen, and showed the stone to Yu Jinnian.
Yu Jinnian put down the kitchen knife to look at it, and frowned: "Where did it come from?"
Shi Xing pointed to the disembowelled oxtail raccoon.
Yu Jinnian thought for a while, and fixed his eyes on the hare and pheasant that Shi Xing and the others had brought back just now. up. Open up the stomachs and stomachs of these game meats—as expected, several round stones with patterns were also dug out, and several longan-sized stones were heavily dissected from the stomach of a pheasant.
"..." Holding a handful of stones of various shapes in his hand, Yu Jinnian thought to himself, if the stomachs of these wild animals are filled with these things, it must be very uncomfortable, and of course they will howl and run around in the middle of the night.
Shi Xing frowned: "Young master, this..."
Yu Jinnian said: "What is this, first go and chop up the cut-up oxtail raccoon for me, otherwise I won't be able to catch lunch in a while!"
Shi Xing: "..."
Sending Shi Xing to chop the meat, Yu Jinnian threw the stone into the brocade pocket on his waist, put the disassembled oxtail raccoon together with star anise, green onion, ginger, and tangerine peel, boiled in the pot until it was raw, then fished it out and strained it Remove the blood water, deep-fry in a pan until the skin is burnt red.
Shi Xing saw that he was calm, neither arrogant nor impatient, but he really didn't take those stones to heart, but now that such a big event happened, he could still concentrate on cooking, but he didn't know how to say he was lenient. Well, it's better to stay calm.
Yu Jinnian used a large bowl to arrange the fried oxtail raccoon cubes neatly along the side of the bowl, then put in the soaked mushrooms and shredded bamboo shoots one by one, put in sliced green onions and sliced ginger, and poured some rice wine And autumn oil, and finally sprinkle the right amount of salt and honey, then put it in the drawer to steam.
The oxtail civet feeds on the fruit of the tree, and the meat is sweet and fragrant. It is tenderer than pork and more fragrant than chicken when bitten in the mouth, and the sweetness of the taste can complement the sweetness and tenderness of the meat itself. Oxtail cats are often lined with crisp pears, and the wind-pickled method in deep winter is also blended with honey wine.
This time, Yu Jinnian seasoned with honey for the same reason. The steamed oxtail raccoon oil is red in color, fragrant and tender, fat but not greasy, and has the aroma of mushroom and bamboo shoots. After steaming, it is buckled in the plate, and the color is dripping, so it is called "red buckled oxtail raccoon".
Now counting the servants and cooks in the courtyard, there are at least eight or nine people in the courtyard. Yu Jinnian quickly made stewed yam rabbit, minced chicken and mushroom soup, and specially made a few light dishes for Ji Hong. After the dishes were ready, seeing that Ji Hong hadn't come back, Yu Jinnian couldn't help but ran to the gate of the yard to look around. Maybe it was because of the rain last night. The air today is cooler than yesterday. Three or four children were invited to play a game of throwing stones.
Yu Jinnian also played this game when he was young, he just throws a handful of stones up and catches them with the back of his hand, the one who catches more is the winner. He saw that the children were throwing small stones cut out from the belly of a pheasant. Because they were round and more regular than ordinary stones, they liked them very much. Yu Jinnian couldn't help looking over a few more times, originally just watching, but who knew that after watching, he moved his hands, lifted up his clothes and sat on the floor, playing with them.
Shi Xing and the others waited at the table for a long time, but Yu Jinnian did not come back, so they went out to look for it, but bumped into the master who didn't know when to come back, and was standing behind the young man. Ji Hongchao gestured to him in a silent posture, and then quietly stood behind Yu Jinnian to watch, watching him dexterously play with a few chicken belly stones in a variety of ways, winning the chicken belly stones in the hands of several other children Seven seven eight eight.
One of the children became upset, pouted and said, "Hey, your adults told you to go home for dinner!"
"Wait a minute, finish playing with this one." Yu Jinnian threw up a few stones in a hurry, and was about to pick them up, but saw a sleeve shadow passing by, snatching his stones from mid-air, and he looked up. , and saw Ji Hong's side face with slightly raised eyebrows.
Ji Hong twirled a few stones in his hands, and said, "It is indeed to ask you to go home for dinner."
Yu Jinnian fanned his eyelashes, stood up abruptly, and said with a giggle, "Oh, you're back."
Ji Hong: "If I don't come back, you're afraid you'll have to play until you forget all your food and sleep."
The children eagerly waited for their "adults" to make the decision and return them the stones that Yu Jinnian had won. Those stones were saved together by them. Who knew that the two of them flicked their sleeves and went home talking and laughing one after the other. The children stared blankly at the closed courtyard door, and after a while, they finally cried out with a "wow".
Yu Jinnian and the others finally sat down at the dinner table. Fortunately, it was summer, and the dishes could be eaten even if they were slightly colder. During the dinner, Ji Hong was playing with the confiscated chicken belly stones, observing the textures on the stones, with a meaningful expression on his face. Yu Jinnian served him a bowl of minced chicken and mushroom soup, put a few pieces of the fattest oxtail raccoon into his bowl, rolled his eyes silently at the stone, and said sarcastically, "How old is it, people still play with it?" Huming Yushu's trick!"
Ji Hongqi asked, "What is Huming Yushu?"
Yu Jinnian suddenly remembered that their historical trajectory was different from what he knew, and perhaps he had never had this allusion, so he adapted the story of "Great Chu Xing Chen Shengwang" a little bit, made up a version and told him, saying : "Look at this chicken belly stone, isn't it exactly the same as the fish belly collection? It's just a means to confuse people's hearts."
Ji Hong threw a few stones on the table and asked, "In your opinion, what is the meaning of these stones?"
"Isn't this very simple." Yu Jinnian fiddled with one of them, and the boulder rolled slightly, revealing several deep lines on the stone's belly, which vaguely made up a few words, "Xia Yidao died—the ricer, the son of the grain Also. This is clear, someone is going to mess with your family!"
Shi Xing, Duan Ming and the others at the side chattered in private in fear.
Ji Hong heard Yu Jinnian tell a few stories that seem to be true and false. Instead of showing any uneasiness, Ji Hong smiled: "I sometimes feel that your master must be more than just a genius doctor. If your master is still alive I'm afraid it's time for Prime Minister Min to abdicate and make way for the virtuous."
Yu Jinnian slanders, that's okay, my "Master" has spanned five thousand years, and boasted thousands of miles in China and abroad, even the sum of twenty Min can't compare!
After a brief meal, Ji Hong waved his hands and told all the irrelevant people to go down, leaving only Duan Ming Shixing and his confidantes and Yu Jinnian in the room. The phenomenon of things running around, such a symbolic stone is innumerable. The eastern coast and other places even found this stone in the ashes of people who died of illness and incineration. Wherever this stone appeared, the officials and the people were in an uproar. Now it is even rumored that there is a drought in the north and a flood in the south. And this great epidemic, are both visions from heaven, intended to alert the world."
"Fart." Yu Jinnian muttered softly.
Ji Hong glanced at him and sighed: "It's just that at the moment of the turmoil, it's not me who bears the brunt, but the elder sister in the palace. There is news from the palace, led by Lu Party, who has been playing for days, impeaching elder sister for trespassing." Doting favor on the country, such as the vision that came down today, pointed out that the noble concubine will surely bring chaos to the court in the future, so I ask the emperor to put the court order as the most important thing, and clean up the harem."
Yu Jinnian said: "Ah bah! Natural disasters are natural disasters, man-made disasters are man-made disasters, what does it have to do with women?! If one or two women can control the fate of the country, wouldn't it show how incompetent their adults who 'serve the country and the people' are?" What are you saying, but it can't be stopped that someone wants to use this to make a big fuss and push Concubine Ji to the cusp of this storm, what is the intention behind it, is it to deliberately instigate the relationship between Duke Li's government and the emperor? But now, although the Ji family is favored, they don't have much power, and it's better to run the Min family to make money than the Min family.
Duan Ming hurriedly asked: "What does the palace say, is the empress okay now? What does the mansion say?"
Ji Hong shook his head: "The situation in the palace is changing rapidly, and my sister may not be able to move an inch recently. It is the emperor's preference, and how long can I protect her?"
Yu Jinnian suddenly asked, "Has Second Master Min returned to Beijing?"
"Not yet." Shi Xing said, "Since Second Master Min went to Fengcheng, he originally sent a letter to Shaojian Lian every three days, but for some reason, he suddenly disappeared, causing Shaojian Lian to send people every day. Come to the house to inquire."
Duan Ming interjected, "I heard that the Twelfth Prince has returned to Yuedi. It is strange to hear that the Twelfth Lord offended His Majesty for some reason, fined his salary for two years, and condemned him to return to the fief for self-reflection. After arriving in Yuedi, This twelfth master actually obeyed the decree and couldn't leave behind closed doors."
"..." Yu Jinnian turned his head to look at Ji Hong, and Ji Hong happened to look back, and the two looked at each other for a moment, as if thinking of going together.
Ji Hongdao: "Send someone to find Xuefei first, and we will return to Beijing someday."
—
The children outside the courtyard quickly found a new game and forgot about the few stones lured by Yu Jinnian; apart from the initial surprise and fear, the people in Chunan gradually got used to it. A few words, and I dare not publicize them loudly. However, rumors abounded in the city, and children ignorantly sang unknown songs, and asked who taught them, but no one could tell the reason.
The city was on alert again in an instant, and there were many more soldiers with knives at the government office and the gate of the city.
And in the old forest outside the city, the old hunter grabbed a handful of dried old tea, threw the stone cut out of the oxtail raccoon into the red-burning stove, and went out alone to take a breath. He sat in front of the door sitting on a tree stump, chewing tea in his mouth and watching the clouds drifting overhead.
The wind churned and the clouds wrinkled, the grass and flowers were sparse, and the birds in the forest were frightened.
When the young brother in the house came out to call him to eat, the old Orion had been sitting in the forest for a long time, and when he heard the cry, he shook the dust off his body. It's going to change..."