binnovel 第 706
第 706
Madam Xu wiped her hands as she brought out the food from the inner room. Glancing at the food box in her hand, her smile deepened. "Oh, bringing ginseng soup to your husband again?"
She placed the plate on the table and said, "If you trust me, bring the ginseng. I'll simmer it in the stove while I cook. When it's done, I'll send it to Mr. Yuan along with the food. Wouldn't that save you the trouble of running back and forth every day?"
"Of course I trust you, Auntie," Song Ying said with a smile on her face. "It's just that we have more people in our clinic now, and they can all lend a hand, so it won't be a big deal. Since your business is so busy, how can I bother you again?"
Madam Xu was about to persuade him again when suddenly there was a "bang" sound outside, as if dishes had fallen to the ground.
The two turned around when they heard the sound, and saw a girl in an apricot-red shirt surrounded by three thugs on the street outside. There was a broken pot of wine on the ground, and porcelain fragments mixed with wine were flowing on the bluestone slabs.
"Ouch," a pockmarked thug laughed strangely, his rough fingers reaching towards the girl's face, with black mud embedded in the gaps between his fingers. "Young lady's face is as soft as tofu. If I pinch it, will it make water come out?"
The young girl stepped back, her embroidered shoes slipping on the wine stains, and two cucumbers fell out of the bamboo basket she was holding. She didn't bother to pick them up, but just held on to the basket tightly. "What are you doing in broad daylight?"
"What are you doing?" Another horse-faced thug grabbed the trembling tassel on her hairpin and grinned, showing his yellow teeth. "Young lady, you broke our wine. You have to compensate us, right?"
"I'll pay for it!" the girl said hurriedly.
"Do you know what kind of wine this is? Mianzhu Jiannanchun, three taels of silver a pot. Can you afford it?"
"You're talking nonsense! This is clearly Yubingshao, which costs five cents a pot!" The girl's voice was shaking with anger. "My father always drinks this wine. I recognize it!"
"I said it was Jiannanchun, so it is Jiannanchun..."
Listening to the scoundrels' words, Madam Xu couldn't help but spit and curse, "These beasts!"
But that was all I could do, and I didn't dare to step forward to stop it.
You have to avoid these ruffians and scoundrels. Today they smash your signboard, and tomorrow they throw ashes into your water tank. Even if your business is booming, they will ruin it.
However, Song Ying was not afraid. With her current fame and prestige, the nobles in the east of the city would politely call her "Doctor Song" when they saw her, not to mention a few scoundrels in the market.
She was about to speak when she heard a clear shout from the left: "Stop!"
Song Tian was seen striding towards him in a dark blue police uniform with a knife slung at his waist.
"It's you guys again!" Song Tian raised his eyebrows. "You caused trouble on Yandian Street last month. Haven't you been beaten enough?"
The pockmarked face changed its previous lordly demeanor and said with an apologetic smile, "Master Song, please understand. It was this young lady who knocked over our wine..."
"Nonsense!" The girl's eyes turned red with anxiety. "It was obvious that you bumped into me on purpose! And you insisted that this was Jiannanchun."
The horse-faced thug glared at the girl and put on a smile: "Master Song, this is all a misunderstanding..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Song Tian waved his hand, completely ignoring his quibbling. "If I see you bullying a decent woman again, I'll take you back to the government office and punish you with a stick!"
With his attitude, the gangsters dared not say anything more. They nodded and agreed, then left in shame.
The girl wiped her tears and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir, for saving me."
"It's just a piece of cake." Song Tian waved his hand, "Go home quickly. If you encounter something like this next time, just report them to the police."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over Song Ying, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "Sister!"
He hurried to Song Ying, and his majestic demeanor disappeared in an instant.
The girl looked at Song Ying, then at Song Tian, her eyes widening in surprise, "So my benefactor is Doctor Song's younger brother!"
She walked over quickly, bowed to Song Ying and said, "My daughter is Zhang Yu Niang. My father is the owner of Zhang's Rice Shop in the east of the city. I am fortunate to have received your help today. I must bring a small gift to express my gratitude!"
"Zhang's Rice Shop?" Song Ying's eyes moved slightly, and he looked carefully at the girl in front of him.
In the sunlight, the pearl pendant on the girl's ear swayed gently with her movements. Her eyes and eyebrows indeed showed some of the shadow of the little girl from back then. "Are you Boss Zhang's daughter? You've grown into a big girl!"
Zhang Yu Niang was stunned. She knew that Song Ying and his family had bought her family's shop in the north of the city. It wasn't surprising that Song Ying knew her father, but after hearing these words, it seemed as if even she...
She blinked in confusion, "Do you know me?"
"We met once," Song Ying explained with a smile. "You were still young then, so you certainly don't remember. Back then at Xuji Cloth Shop, you sat on a chair at the door eating sugar paintings, and we were ravenous."
Zhang Yu Niang tried hard to recall, but she only remembered the sweet fragrance of the sugar paintings and the coming and going of people in the cloth shop. She had no recollection of having eaten sugar paintings in the cloth shop.
I could only smile and say, "So that's how it is."
Upon hearing this, Song Tian, who was standing by, couldn't help but look at Zhang Yu Niang carefully. Slowly, the girl's eyebrows and eyes began to match the little girl holding the little rabbit sugar painting in his memory.
The floodgates of memory burst open. The eight-year-old me tugged at my mother's sleeve, and in front of the busy cloth shop, I closed my eyes and howled loudly: "I want sugar painting! I want sugar painting..."
He was so embarrassed that his ears were burning, "Sister, I still have business to attend to!"
He bowed randomly, turned around and left, "I'll go first!"
Before he finished speaking, the man had already walked away with big strides.
"My benefactor..." Zhang Yu Niang didn't understand what was going on and called out in confusion.
Song Ying looked at his flustered back and quickly realized that he was embarrassed by what happened in the past, and he was overjoyed for a moment.
"Doctor Song, this is the Song Tieshu..."
Song Ying covered her lips and chuckled, "Maybe when he left, there was still soup simmering on the stove, and he was in a hurry to go back and put out the fire."
"Ah?" Zhang Yu Niang was even more confused.
After all, Song Tian was now an official official. Song Ying wouldn't tell anyone about his embarrassing moments without a reason. She changed the subject: "Miss Zhang, are you buying groceries to cook? I'm also going to the east city, so why not come with me?"
"Oh, okay." Zhang Yu Niang responded subconsciously, but her eyes couldn't help but look in the direction where Song Tian disappeared.
After parting with Zhang Yu Niang, Song Ying went to the county school with his lunch box. After greeting the monk, he walked towards Yuan Qing's dormitory.
From a distance, one could hear bursts of laughter and chatter coming from Yuan Qing's quarters.
Song Ying raised her eyebrows. This was quite strange. Ever since the date of the provincial examination was approaching and the imperial examination was around the corner, Yuan Qing wished she could read and write in her dreams. When she came here a few days ago, she was either writing contemporary essays or reciting books. It was a rare opportunity for her to get together with her friends today.
The next moment, Shen Jing's excited voice rang out, "This time, Lord Xu personally appointed Wu Hanlin as the president of our Jinchuan County Examination. I heard that he attaches great importance to the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals!"