On the road from the capital to Jian Nanlai, three riders were riding through the dust. One of them looked much weaker. He was leaning on the horse, and his face was pale.
The other two were a man and a woman. They looked much better than this person. They didn't look tired, and their bodies followed the rhythm of the horse, making it easier for the horse to run.
However, the three of them didn't speak. They urged their horses forward. After an hour, they came to a stop and changed horses.
The one with the weaker physique sat down on the ground. He tried to struggle to stand up but to no avail. He said to the other two, "You guys go first. I can't take it anymore. I need to take a break. You guys can make arrangements when you arrive."
"You're a man, but you're not as good as a woman? You're holding us up, "the woman said to the man sitting on the ground.
"Look at you. How are you a woman? When you do things, you're a tomboy. I told you not to come, but you insisted. It's useless. "
The man was not happy.
"Han Xuanfeng, is this how you treat someone who saved your life? If I didn't use acupuncture and medicine to save you, you'd be dead. You need to know how to repay kindness. "
The woman turned her head and said to Han Xuanfeng.
Han Xuanfeng let out a long sigh. There was nothing he could do, so he didn't hurry. He sat down next to that person and said, "Mi Fan, I'll remember this. If there's a chance in the future, I'll force you to train. Tell me, how many things have you delayed? I don't know why the Young Master called you here. "
"Am I good? Yesterday, when we were on the road, I reminded you first. That's why you didn't fall into the ditch. You're ungrateful."
Mi Fan panted heavily for a while. She rubbed her hand gently on her leg and grimaced in pain as she drank some water.
"Yes, ungrateful. Han Xuanfeng, we're talking about you. You don't even care about saving your life. Are you still a man?" The woman next to him found an opportunity to scold Han Xuanfeng.
Han Xuanfeng looked up at the sky and said helplessly, "Jiu Mei Leng, I beg you. Don't keep talking about saving my life. I was just tired from the boat race. That was San Shui County's Xiao Luo Shui. How could I die? Not to mention exhaustion, even if he was really injured, would there not be a good doctor?
I managed to dock the boat with great difficulty and wanted to find a car to take me to get a massage, but you jumped out from the side. Without saying anything, you pushed me to the ground and stabbed me with several needles. I don't even know where you got the medicine and forced it down my mouth. "
"Nonsense, I'm a famous doctor, a famous doctor who is proficient in both the pen and the sword. I picked the medicine myself and specially used it to treat fainting spells. My medical skills are definitely high, otherwise, how could you be awake when I was performing acupuncture on you?"
Jiu Mei's cold face reddened slightly, but she continued to argue.
"I want to close my eyes and rest for a while. You're pricking me so much that my whole body hurts. How can I not wake up? "And that medicine, why would it treat fainting? It's more like it's for intestinal blockage. The strength that I saved up after resting with great difficulty was all thrown to the toilet. If your medical skills are high, why don't you go to Huayuan County's De Yi Hospital to find a job? Why do you insist on following me? "
When Han Xuanfeng thought about what happened that day, his face turned as pale as Mi Fan's, and his body trembled. It must have left a deep impression on him.
Jiu Mei touched the bag on her back, which contained her needles and herbs. She said embarrassedly, "Who said that I didn't go to De Yi Hospital? But they said that I still needed to practice. They asked me to go to Yaowang Mountain to massage others and identify the acupuncture points. I'm a woman, so how can I go there? I wanted to practice slowly. I walked all the way, looking for patients, and then I met you.
I saved you out of kindness, and I heard that you were close to the Zhang family. I was hoping that you would arrange for me to go to Huayuan Hospital when you repay my kindness. Who would have thought that you're such an ungrateful person? "
"Fine, I'm scared of you. Don't mention saving lives. I don't have the ability to arrange for you to go to De Yi Hospital. They don't hire people based on personal relationships. With your medical skills, even if you sneak in, how many patients will you kill, let alone take a normal exam?"
Han Xuanfeng was tortured to death. If Jiu Mei Leng wasn't alone and didn't have a family, and if she hadn't been observed by the Zhang family's spies, and if they hadn't found out that she had other skills, they would never have allowed her to follow them.
This woman was indeed good-looking, especially her figure. If she didn't always wear a dirt-gray robe and change into other colors, many men would definitely yearn for her.
But this woman was always muddle-headed. Her so-called medical skills could have become a nickname in some county in the past, but she insisted on going to Huayuan County and Sanshui County to treat patients. What were those two places for?
Sanshui County was the foundation of the Zhang Family and Wang Family. Han Xuanfeng only joined the first family in Linshui County after passing the test. He was the son of an official and didn't give any face during the test.
How could the medical standards there be bad? As for Huayuan County's Deyi Hospital, it was the pinnacle of the Tang Dynasty's medical science. Even the imperial doctors in the palace had to go there frequently to communicate. Every year, they would be tested to decide whether to stay in the palace or not. What could a half-baked doctor like you do in such a place?
At this time, Mi Fan said something fair, "Mrs. Jiu, actually there's nothing wrong with massaging. Doctors shouldn't discriminate between men and women. In the eyes of doctors, there are only 'healthy' people and patients. Deyi Hospital wants to give all ordinary doctors a chance. Going there to give massages requires skill. After you go there, remember the acupuncture points clearly. After passing the test, you might have a chance to enter the medical school to study. The research there is unparalleled in the world.
This time, I didn't want you to come, but when I saw you, I suddenly felt that you might have other benefits, so … "
"Xuanfeng, look at him. He's flirting with me. Listen to him, he wants to get benefits from me. I'm a woman, what benefits do I have? Won't you help me? Then you're ungrateful … "
"Mi Fan, how could you flirt with Jiu Meileng? Come come come, let's get on the horses and have a hundred rounds. " Han Xuanfeng was scared. Before Jiu Meileng could finish, he helped Mi Fan, who had rested for a while, onto a horse. The two rode off first.
Jiu Meileng stood where she was, tilting her head and thinking. She also pulled over a horse and mounted it. She was much faster than Han Xuanfeng and Mi Fan. After a hundred feet, she reacted and shouted, "Han Xuanfeng, stop right there. How dare you lie to me … Hmm? What skills do I have to be chosen by Mi Fan? Medical skills?
Humph, you want to get rid of me? In your dreams. My horse can only run six steps in one breath. The one you control can only run five and a half steps. The distance is about one hundred and twenty feet. This military horse can run six feet per step. In four hundred breaths, I'll catch up to you. "
*****
Maozhou, Tonghua County was a small county. There were not many people coming and going. The local people also lived their own lives. Everyone spent time traveling to the county every day.
However, such a small county was always bustling at the middle and beginning of each month. People who came from neighboring counties and from further places all came early because there were a few horse companies here that specialized in buying and selling horses.
Whether it was buying or selling horses, if one's eyes were sharp enough and his mouth was sharp enough, he could achieve his goal.
There were so many horse companies here. Some were bought from other counties, and some seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. No one knew whether it was because no one was willing to investigate or because they didn't want to. That was how the horse companies in Tonghua County survived.
There were dozens of small horse companies, but not a hundred. Many horse companies didn't have fixed positions. As long as you brought in a dozen horses at one time, others would admit that you were a horse company.
There were four largest horse companies here. They were named East, West, North, and South. The one named East was called Donghua Horse Company, and so were the others. The four horse companies competed with each other, but at the same time, they worked together. Among them, Donghua Horse Company seemed to be the leader.
The owner of Donghua Horse Company was surnamed Yan. It was said that he had fled here 30 years ago. At that time, he was alone with a six-year-old son. He had the ability to identify horses. At first, he looked after the livestock for the local people. Later, he found horses from other places and sold them here. Little by little, his family business was established. 15 years ago, his son married the daughter of a local rich family, and Donghua Horse Company was established.
Over the past fifteen years, the Ma Trading Company had grown bigger and bigger. Not only did Master Yan own the business, but he had also taught three of his disciples. They had all established their own businesses, and were the owners of the other three Ma Trading Companies. Most outsiders would not know what was going on inside.
Identifying a horse was a skill. If you didn't know how to identify a horse, it was obviously a bad one. Even if you spent the money on a good one, no one would refund you.
As time passed, more and more people could tell whether a horse was good or bad. Tong Hua's Four Family Horse Company came up with a new strategy. Horse gambling was only open for about two hours. In the morning, before the sun rose, someone would prepare many horses in the shed. If they liked one, they would pay and take it away. Every horse was the same price, priced at 20 strings of coins.
Some people had good eyesight or good luck. They bought a fine horse and became rich overnight. More people bought an ordinary horse, or even a sick horse. Ordinary horses had 10 strings of coins, and some had a few strings of coins. They could only pull carriages. As for a sick horse, if it was cured, it could be sold for a little money. If it could not be cured, it was not worth a single cent.
Today was the first day of the new moon. Those who came last night, or even earlier, waited outside the stable before dawn, hoping that they would be lucky enough to get a good horse.
The people of the horse company were also prepared. They looked at the sky and gave orders. The road to the stable was opened, and everyone rushed in like a tide.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
