Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 51: A Thousand Penny of Rain is Hard to Buy a Half Penny of Wealth

The rain fell into the water tank in the hall, splashing waves. People with nothing to do, as long as they stopped, could listen to the crisp sound of each drop.

In front of the Shuihui Hall, there is a gathering of energy and wealth. When people focus their eyes on it, they also calm down. I remember that when people always said that listening to the rain is an elegant thing, Cheng Heng, who originally liked rainy days, was upset for a while because of this, and he would be passive when it rained.

Perhaps the charm of the rain in the capital is not enough to make people ignore their own pursuit of "eccentricity" and indulge in it with everyone else, but the blank space of ink and wash cannot be separated from this continuous grace from heaven. Now Cheng Heng is sitting in the yard watching the rain unscrupulously.

The rain gathered into a line and slid down from the eaves to all directions. A gust of wind came, and the shredded pearl strings crackled and scattered, rushing towards the moss in twos and threes...

Such colorful rain is so fascinating that Cheng Heng can't help but think of the stories in the opera. Is it true that after a long time, the people in the painting are finally trapped in the painting? Just like those actors, immersed in another person, unable to get out of themselves.

No matter how charming the scenery is, it is like mushrooms after rain. The brighter they are, the more harmful they are. If a person who is intoxicated by beauty does not have a firm heart, he will lose his direction sooner or later. At this time, Cheng Heng was used to playing the role of a teacher and gradually forgot that he had to find a way to return to reality.

"Why are the two from the Ying family so quiet?" After waiting for three days, Cheng Heng still didn't see the two little guys do anything unusual. Instead, the child who pestered him with questions that day didn't come for three days in a row.

I heard that He went to a new-style school, and his family couldn't control him, so in the end they just said nothing and let him go...

Cheng Heng's first reaction when he heard it was naturally joy. Then he thought about how this old and stern gentleman would react. During this moment when he was stroking his beard and thinking, the silence just gave Cheng Heng the most appropriate response.

The sound of rain stopped, and the sound of reading began. Cheng Heng also moved himself back to the study.

"Not pleased, not to have compassion."

“If you are in a high position in government, you worry about the people; if you are far away in the countryside, you worry about your ruler.”

When the distant memory of "Yueyang Tower" echoed in his ears louder and louder, Cheng Heng finally remembered himself.

Since I don't want to change anyone's life trajectory, why do I have to travel through time and space? Is it to recall the love stories of several lifetimes, or is it that these stories want me to know something?
"Sir, when you are far away from home, you worry about your ruler. Now that this country has no ruler, who should we worry about?"

Worry about the people, the people are the masters of the country. Cheng Heng almost said what he was thinking, until his eyes really abandoned the drops of water falling from the eaves not far away and focused on the person in front of him, and then he came to his senses.

It was this kid Ying Sheng again. Cheng Heng knew that Ying Sheng would not give up easily. After all, only in this way could he be worthy of the children raised by the two couples in his writings!

"Sir, my parents told me that the scales in the medicine shop cannot be tampered with. Only by measuring the weights correctly can we run a business and a medicine shop. But since we are so far away, why don't we donate the herbs directly to those soldiers fighting in the war?"

Cheng Heng thought of the hundreds of reasons Ying Sheng might give, but he didn't expect that the examples Ying Sheng cited were from people around him.

The more details like this, the easier it is to refute than to use a general principle. Of course, Cheng Heng had no intention of actually refutating the person in front of him.

"You have to make a living." Ying Xuexin's pharmacy had little business now, so Cheng Heng simply changed his angle to resolve Ying Sheng's problem.

Ying Sheng obviously had no way to refute Cheng Heng's words. He nodded awkwardly and sat down.

"One cent or one dime difference, and the effect of the medicine will change, and the drugstore will become a business that harms people!" His mother's words still linger in his ears. Ying Sheng certainly understands that his mother's words make sense, but as the teacher said, his family has to make a living.

His father and mother helped the poor, so Ying Sheng had always seen people pretending to be beggars to ask for medicine since he was a child.

So when Ying Sheng heard about the Western people's methods, he felt that perhaps he should go out and see the wider world, instead of listening to the teacher talking about big principles every day, but rarely actually putting them into practice.

Worried about the country and the people, the medicines are kept in the cabinet and cannot be sold, the pharmacy is starving, and those who need medicines cannot get them. Instead, those unscrupulous people make money. Ying Sheng thinks this is unreasonable and he should find a way out!
"Dad, I still want to go to a new-style school and see what they call the West."

"I heard that the medical care in Japan is very good."

"Something like anatomy may allow us to use our medicine in more meaningful ways."

If Cheng Heng heard what Ying Sheng and his father said, he would definitely think of Mr. Lu Xun, the revolutionary who gave up medicine to pursue literature. In this era, there are always many people who are as concerned about the country and the people as Mr. Lu Xun. It is just personal ability and a different choice that may lead to a different future.

Ying Sheng already had his own ideas at this moment, but ideas that have not been settled are ultimately just passion. In the end, even if he sacrifices himself, he may not be able to awaken more people.

"No!" Ying's father was as resolute as ever. "If you insist on going to that new-style school, I won't stop you. But don't even think about going to Japan, you ungrateful person!"

"Teachers all agree with the saying 'learn from the barbarians to defeat them', so why can't I..."

The light coming down from the skylight lengthened the silhouette of Ying's father's back. It was only then that Ying Sheng realized that his father's back had become slightly bent at some point, no longer the same as it was when he first remembered it.

The words that were stuck in his mouth finally remained unsaid. His father's determination made Ying Sheng not know how to respond.

Ying Sheng was like a wandering soul on the street, floating back to his own pharmacy. Before he even entered the door, he saw his mother busy at work.

The medicine shop was inherited from my grandfather, and the reputation it has built up over the years is very useful. At least it is well-known in the surrounding area. I can't say how good the quality of the medicinal materials is, but they are definitely not short of weight.

"Mother... Mother, I know my father's hatred." Ying Sheng did not explain the previous situation to his mother, but the latter had guessed Ying Sheng's purpose from the moment she saw her son appear.

With her eyes lowered, Ning Yaosheng just quietly did her own thing.

"Shuala..." The sound of collision between medicinal herbs and paper sounded rhythmically. Each medicinal herb of different texture has its own different sound.

Size, hardness, softness, dryness and wetness can all affect this extremely short impact.

Seeing that his mother had no intention of paying attention to him, Ying Sheng was not in a hurry and continued speaking along his own lines: "But what's wrong with that?"

"As long as it's useful, isn't it the best?" Facing his mother, Ying Sheng seemed to be able to speak more directly, "Mom, you also know that my son is not in good health and can't go to the front line to fight."

Ying Sheng had his own helplessness. His mother worked too hard, and the world was in chaos when he was born, so Ying Sheng was not in good health. As a child, he had almost used up all the medicines in the pharmacy before he knew them all - he could be considered a little medicine jar.

Therefore, Ying's father actually always held his son in his mouth for fear that he would melt, and held him in his hands for fear that he would break. He did not ask for any great achievements from him, but only hoped that Ying Sheng could grow up safely and not bring harm to others in the future.

The slap two days ago was also because Ying Xuexin was pushed into a corner. It was the first time he really hit his son.

Faced with his son's inner confession one after another, Ning Yaosheng said nothing, but just filled the medicine according to the prescription that had just been handed to her.

With a small scale and deft hands, Ying Sheng's favorite thing when he was a child was to watch his mother weigh medicine. The child who used to cry and yell could sit there and stare for a long time...

"Mom, you weighed too little, didn't you?"

Ning Yaosheng opened the medicine cabinet again and took out some brightly colored wolfberries. The scale was finally balanced. "Mom, how can these medicines be mixed?"

Ning Yaosheng acted as if she didn't hear Ying Sheng's words and turned back to continue busying herself with her own things.

"Mom, these two herbs come from different places, so their efficacy is different."

It is impossible for a mother to distinguish between the medicinal materials from the two origins. In terms of color, taste, and size, the two medicinal materials are very different. It is like the saying "Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north of the Huai River are bitter oranges". One is sour and the other is sweet, they belong to different meridians, and have different effects.

Ying Sheng suspected that his mother wanted to say something to him, but seeing how disorganized her mother was today, he was so anxious that he didn't know what to say, so he blurted out, "Mom, you're going to kill people!"

"Yeah, it's going to kill people."

"If you learn some anatomy, will you still believe in our meridians?"

"Of course." Ying Sheng was stunned for a moment by his mother's sudden response. When he came to his senses, his eyes were full of confusion. "Mom, why are you saying this?"

"Two different drugs have different effects."

"The effects of medicines from the two origins are also different."

"How can you be sure that what they teach you is correct?"

Ying Sheng now understood what his mother was talking about. His mother had the same idea as his father and was unwilling to leave his hometown: "Mom, even if the teacher has reservations about what he teaches his students, it shouldn't be wrong."

"National hatred and family feuds, if you regard him as a teacher, will he definitely regard you as a student?"

Ning Yaosheng's words left Ying Sheng speechless for a moment: "This is the science taught in the new-style schools."

"Mother won't stop you from studying science." Ning Yaosheng finally put down the scale in her hand and looked at Ying Sheng, "As long as you know who you are doing this for."

"You also have to think clearly whether their so-called 'advanced' is suitable for our people?"

"Mom?" Ying Sheng was persuaded by his mother, but his mother didn't seem to pay attention to these things on weekdays...

"Mother won't stop you from doing it, but mother doesn't want to see you go the wrong way." Ning Yaosheng's eyes on her son were as loving and expectant as always. "Mother doesn't know what's new or old, nor does she know what kind of people will run this country. Mother only knows that different diseases require different medicines, and she also knows that it's not easy for my sister and brother-in-law's family to do business outside."

"Those Western medicine companies will suppress local pharmacies for their own business. If you go to learn medicine from them, will they teach you exactly what they say?"

Of course, what Ning Yaosheng said made sense. Having only dealt with pharmacies all her life, she couldn't say anything grand, but she could see the big picture from the small. To cure a disease, you need to prescribe the right medicine for the right condition. Even for the same cold, there are different treatments...

Compared with his father's determination, what Ying Sheng heard from his mother finally gave the child, who was at an age where he would not turn back until he hit the wall, some hesitation.

"But, Mom, how can I know what is the most suitable thing if I don't try it?" But Ying Sheng still insisted. It is also difficult for young people to change their decisions. "Mom, Dad doesn't give me money. When I have my own money, I must go out and see."

Looking back, the bluestone street was washed by the rain again. Ying Sheng looked at the rain curtain that was broken into mist by the wind, wondering whether he should step in.

"Wait until the rain stops..." Ning Yaosheng turned around to get an umbrella for her son, but saw Ying Sheng took a piece of paper used to wrap medicinal herbs and walked into the deserted street without looking back.

After all, it was not far from home, and there were still things to do in the pharmacy, so Ning Yaosheng did not stop her son.

Perhaps because of Ying Sheng's intrusion, the people wandering under the eaves nearby also rushed into the rain, taking big steps. If they were lucky, they would rest under the next eaves before continuing on their way.

The rain in the south of the Yangtze River seldom says hello. Once it comes, no one knows when it will go away. To the people in the eaves, it is a beautiful scenery, a melancholy, a long scroll; to the people on the bluestone street, it is a reminder to move forward and a question of where home is.

"Splash... Splash!" The sound of running water hitting stone slabs echoed in the drainage ditches on both sides of the bluestone street, drowning out the light sound of medicinal herbs colliding with paper.

"Wow!"

There was no stagnant water on the bluestone street. The drainage channels were as experienced as Ning Yaosheng's hands, deftly and precisely transporting everything they should carry to where they should go.

"Wow, wow..."

"Wow..."

The rain showed no sign of stopping, but the work in hand was almost finished. Ning Yaosheng sat in the shop, looking into the rain. Seeing the sky getting brighter and brighter, she regretted not stopping Ying Sheng from leaving later - it seemed that the rain would stop soon.

The sunset did not take the rain away. When Ning Yaosheng was walking in the rain with an umbrella, a pair of figures appeared in the rain. They were Ying Xuexin and Ying Sheng who came to pick Ning Yaosheng up.

"Crack crack crack!"

"Hua la la la la..."

As the three of them walked hand in hand on the bluestone street, the rain hit the umbrella uncontrollably and it seemed to be getting heavier.

"Mom, it's raining heavily. Dad wants me to come pick you up."

"Madam, I originally thought you brought an umbrella, but Sheng'er..."

"You two, father and son, are surprisingly in sync with each other on these matters!"

Without mentioning anything new or old, Chinese or Western, there is a tacit understanding and warmth between the husband and wife, and between the father and son.

"If it rains again tomorrow, I'll go look after the shop."

"Sheng'er, are you going to school tomorrow?"

"Mom, I'm going."

The sound of rain shattered the family's conversation. When I opened the door, the world was filled with water, which then flowed into the waterway on the street outside the door and flowed into the distance.

(End of this chapter)