After class, it was not yet noon. The sun shone on the eaves and the leaves rustled when the wind blew through the Academy. Two birds flapped their wings and flew through the dense branches and leaves of a big tree in the courtyard. Ning Yi packed his things and walked under the eaves with black tiles and black bricks.
Guo Peiying and Qu Weiqing, two lecturers, hurriedly passed by the corridor. They seemed to be in a hurry when the class was about to start. However, this was not something he needed to worry about. Back in the courtyard where the lecturers rested, the Confucian scholars did their own things and chatted with each other. He put the books in the drawer and took out the books that he wanted to read today from the cloth bag. Liu Xiyang and the others invited him to stay and talk, but he politely refused.
This kind of life had been going on for a few days. The Academy was quiet after all. Even though there were children's voices mixed with the sound of insects, it still covered the noise of the outside world. Ning Yi took the rice that was distributed to him and walked back. Mountain Chief Feng Yongli took a cup of tea and greeted him as he sipped it. Although there was some caution in his eyes, there was still a sense of friendliness. After passing through the breach at the back of the Academy, the girl who went to the other side of the medical center every day also came from there. She was wearing tattered clothes with patches on them and had a dirty silk scarf wrapped around her head. She held a small jar in her hands. When she saw Ning Yi, she jogged over with a smile, walking briskly.
The wind blew through the courtyard and the shade of the trees swayed in the wind. In the sunlight, some leaves fell. It was only a few days. Sometimes people felt that such peaceful and quiet days would last until the end of time.
"Grandpa Liu cooked a pot of medicinal porridge today. He said it was good for the body. I'm almost finished, but I packed some back. You can try it later. There's licorice in it, it's cold and sweet …"
The young girl walked in front. Ning Yi smiled and took off her headscarf. Her fine black hair cascaded down. The young girl shook her head, her figure dancing in the light. Occasionally, she would turn her head back with a warm and fresh smile, as if hugging a little girl in her arms was a satisfying feeling. Ning Yi also shook his head and smiled.
The world was not big, the courtyard was not big, the house was not big, and even the eaves were not big. The temperature of early autumn had yet to cool down, and the wind that did not bring much coolness always made people feel uncomfortable. However, this was the environment that belonged to the two of them. However, in the span of a few days, it seemed to have gained a lot of meaning.
Xiaochan went to the clinic next door to help. She almost had to disguise herself as a boy. Actually, there wasn't much to do at noon. She felt that Ning Yi was coming back, so she took the time to come back. She prepared to pour water for Ning Yi, help him wash his face, drink water, and eat porridge.
The place was not big to begin with. It was a small room and a small kitchen. When she excitedly put down the earthen pot in the room, Ning Yi had already gone to the kitchen to scoop water to wash his face. Xiaochan came over and muttered that Ning Yi shouldn't take his work. She snatched the towel and gave it to him. Ning Yi smiled and flicked the water on her face. After all, it was hot. Xiaochan ran around and sweated a little. Ning Yi wiped his face and covered her face with the towel. The water jar was originally placed in the corner. At this time, the water was slightly cold.
He washed his face, drank a mouthful of water, picked up a bowl to eat porridge, and occasionally chatted. Although Xiaochan came and went, and the two occasionally joked and played with each other, their pace, compromise, and tacit understanding had already become harmonious. Even in the small kitchen, it didn't seem crowded or collide. In front of Ning Yi, Xiaochan also tidied up her hair, talked about what she saw in the medical center today, and occasionally asked Ning Yi. The scene looked like a couple on lunch break. Of course, if only from Xiaochan's point of view, it would be like a newlywed couple.
"… Today, there was someone … His bones were broken … He looked bloody, screaming desperately, so scared …"
"Also heard it in the Academy …"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes. But, I still reached out to touch it … Just like this, son-in-law, look, son-in-law, it looks like this … Then, the bones can be put back together …"
…
"… The Academy is the same as a few days ago … But I heard that Liu Xiyang and Qu Weiqing quarreled again …"
"Oh, it's the two people son-in-law mentioned …"
"Yes … They teach some boring things every day …"
…
"In the morning, I heard a guy with the surname Hou talking about how men and women should not touch each other when giving or receiving things. He almost talked about the female precepts … The whole class is made up of men, so why did he talk about this? I stood at the side and listened for a while before leaving. Then, I thought of a joke …"
"Son-In-Law, son-in-law, Xiaochan has learned these two books …"
"Oh, is that so? Then let me ask you, a man and a woman shook hands, and then the woman got pregnant. Why?"
"Female precepts … Uh, why would a man and a woman shake hands … I know, if two people shake hands, it must mean that they are very close. They are husband and wife, son-in-law, right?"
"… No."
"Then how could they casually shake hands …"
"I'm going to hold your hand …"
"Son-In-Law … Xiaochan, Xiaochan is different …"
…
"… Still not right."
"Then why … Xiaochan can't guess …"
"Because … Uh, that man doesn't like to wash his hands, and that woman doesn't like to wash her hands either …"
"… Then, what happened?"
"Nothing. Because both men and women don't like to wash their hands, so not long after they shook hands, the woman got pregnant …"
"…"
"… This story tells us the importance of washing hands."
"… No, I don't understand."
"… Okay, this is a bad joke."
The topics of conversation were always trivial. Even though they had already crossed the last step, it was impossible for them to have too much intimate contact during the day. It was hard to peep in when it was raining, but there might always be someone watching during the day. Of course, if there was, they might be thinking about the connection between not washing hands and pregnancy.
In the afternoon, Xiaochan would still go back to the clinic to help. These days, Ning Yi would occasionally follow her to see her husband treat his illness and identify some medicinal herbs. On the one hand, he wanted to protect Xiaochan. On the other hand, since he had nothing to do, it would not be wrong to learn a few more things. Occasionally, when they encountered some cases related to trauma, Ning Yi would also talk to Xiaochan about hygiene and infection out of boredom. Although he was also a dabbler, he felt that he still had some say in this. For the rest of the time, he did not talk much.
The old Chinese medicine practitioner surnamed Liu was skilled in medicine. He was relatively kind to Xiaochan, but it seemed that he didn't think much of him as a patient. Once, he said, "External evil entered the body, the wound festered, and you dared to stitch it up. Don't talk about crooked things here." Ning Yi also felt a little helpless. When the wound was infected, even if the rotten flesh was scraped off, the wound should not have been stitched up. It was said that his injury was originally not difficult to overcome with his strong physique. Instead, it was his own mess that caused the injury to expand several times, and he almost died. However, the old doctor surnamed Liu had also praised his good physique. In Ning Yi's view, it was probably due to the internal energy taught by Lu Hongti.
After that rainy night, Ning Yi would occasionally tidy up various things in the yard. He moved the collapsed ruins, brick by brick, all kinds of things to the corner of the wall and piled them up. Occasionally, he would find one or two useful things, some pieces of iron, or even a broken knife. He knew that the people watching him nearby would notice this, but they did not seem to care.
Two men with knives on their backs often appeared in his field of vision. Occasionally, they would even have a short conversation. Their names were very strange. One was called Ah Chang, and the other was called Ah Ming. Added together, it was a life for a life. Perhaps the owner, Liu Gua, had some deep hatred. Yesterday, Ning Yi found the broken knife from the ruins, sharpened it, and used it to cut the branches in the yard. Ah Chang even appeared in the yard and directly pulled out the knife on his back and threw it at him. He said, "This is fast, take it." It seemed that he did not care about the danger when he held a sharp weapon.
On the day of the rain, the hole on the roof had not been repaired. In the past few days, Ning Yi only went to the roof to repair the other big and small holes. He knocked on two pieces of iron, big and small, and strung them under the eaves to make a simple wind chime. In the afternoon, he tied the cut branches and leaves into a roof, and then pulled it up to cover the hole.
The white clouds in the sky floated over like cotton. There was a breeze on the roof, bringing a little coolness, and the wind chime rang. Looking from here, the nearby academies, medical centers, roads, courtyards, and pedestrians could all be seen. Hangzhou seemed to have recovered a certain degree of peace. On the side of the medical center, Xiaochan was walking over from under the eaves with the medicinal materials. When she looked over, she widened her eyes and opened her mouth. Then she jumped and waved her hand, probably asking him to go down. Ning Yi smiled and waved his hand, and sat down on the roof.
After the roof was repaired, it would be a little cooler at night. This kind of idea was like living in the small courtyard below for a long time. If he really lived here with Xiaochan, it would not be a difficult thing to accept. But for him, he naturally understood that things would not be like this.
From the questions asked by the group of children this morning, Ning Yi understood that some things were probably coming.
At the latest, it would be tomorrow. If it was a little earlier, the other party would probably make a move this afternoon.
He sat on the roof and looked at the streets outside, the pedestrians, the occasional passing carriage, and some suspicious looks. Occasionally, he could see Ah Chang and Ah Ming, who carried knives on their backs, appear on the street, but there was no fighting. Around 5 pm, at the corner of the street about dozens of meters away, a man with a bow suddenly broke the railing of the house, fell from the second floor, and fell on the street over there. The man got up from the ground, suddenly raised his bow, and pulled the string. At the broken railing of the second floor, Ah Chang, carrying a knife on his back, appeared there, and looked down.
The arrow did not shoot. On the street, some people were frightened by this scene and quickly fled. There were also some people who gathered from different directions. There seemed to be a slight confrontation between them.
Ning Yi held his chin and looked at this subtle scene. Then, footsteps came from behind the roof. Someone was coming from there. Ning Yi looked back and saw a young man in his twenties. He sat down on the roof and was also watching everything that was going on.
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