In the past, people had to order fruit plates at teahouses to hear stories, but the tales were mostly just gossip.
To listen to the story today, you need to close the curtains and light a kerosene lamp. If it is a rainy day, they light sandalwood to remove moisture. The most interesting thing is to play a piece of Yue Opera[mfn]Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is a popular Chinese opera genre.[/mfn], from “Eighteen Farewells” to “Yingtai Crying at the Grave”, and the story ends.
This story began during the Republic of China period.
There is a most distinguished place in Hezhou City, called Xiaotong Guan, which is next to the concession area and is the headquarters of the military commander. It was built by the soldiers of Hezhou City after they defeated the Japanese invaders for the first time. Because of the word “tong[mfn]Copper/Bronze[/mfn]” in its name, it is also called “Xiao Tong Que Tai[mfn]Little Copper Sparrow Tower or Little Bronze Bird Tower[/mfn]” by people.
On this day, two Ford model cars[mfn]It’s something like this
[/mfn] drove out of Xiaotong Guan, passed Jiangwan Road, drove straight to Jishan Road, and stopped at Dejiu Hospital.
First, two rows of armed soldiers stepped out of the car. Then, a foot clad in a leather military boot touched the ground. Above the boot were long legs, leading to a tall figure draped in a long cape over a military uniform. And above that was a pair of very sharp eyes.
It’s Duan Yelin, the commander of Xiaotong Guan.
He led his men all the way into the director’s office. No one dared to stop him along the way, even some young nurses and patients didn’t dare to speak.
When Director Hu saw him, he quickly poured tea and smiled: “How come the Commander has time to come here?”
Duan Yelin didn’t say a word of nonsense at all, “I heard that you used expired medicine on the injured soldiers?”
Director Hu immediately understood the purpose of the visit.
With wars going on everywhere these days, public hospitals have long been insufficient, and his private hospital has also received many wounded soldiers. However, the wounded soldiers are poor, and the government only provides subsidies to public hospitals. Director Hu is not a Buddha, so how can he be willing to do such a thing?
“Commander, don’t say it like that. Those medicines are all good. Even though they’ve been stored for a long time, but they can still be used! I really don’t have the money to buy those expensive medicines. The patients downstairs who have paid are also patients. I can’t take their medicines and give them to others.”
Duan Yelin sneered, “If you didn’t deliberately keep the medicine in the warehouse and sell it at a high price, how could it have expired? Director Hu, this is a hospital, not a place for you to raise prices.”
Director Hu is close to the Chief of Staff, so naturally he has a rather arrogant temper. He said with a fake smile, “There will always be patients. And if we want to treat patients, we have to feed the doctors first, right?”
Duan Yelin stood up, walked in front of Director Hu, and looked down at him: “Laozi[mfn]I, used in an arrogant way[/mfn] is leading my brothers in the battle on the front line, and you’re playing a life-threatening game with me in the back. I think you’re really tired of living!”
Director Hu also got angry, slammed the table, pointed at the door, and shouted, “If the Commander doesn’t like my hospital, fine, I will have those wounded soldiers cleared out today! As for you, find a place to stay by yourself!”
Once this was said, Duan Yelin was silent for a while, then he laughed in anger and walked out.
Director Hu sat down, drank a cup of tea and smoked a cigarette. When he looked at his pocket watch, he saw that it was time for the meal, so he hummed a little tune and went out.
He had just stepped out of the hospital gate and hadn’t walked a hundred meters yet when something went wrong.
A Ford car hit him from behind, and Director Hu rolled to the side like a chicken, fell to the ground, and fainted, with his arm bones broken, causing serious injuries!
This was not the end yet. Another Ford car ran over Director Hu’s legs, and the sound of the bone breaking was very crisp.
Then the car window rolled down, and Qiao Song, who was in the driver seat, turned around and asked, “Commander, what should we do?”
Duan Yelin glanced at him and sneered, “Send him back to the prison in Xiaotong Guan. Only expired medicine can be used to treat him. When he is cured, he will be released.”
“Yes, then where are you going next?”
“Heming Medical Hall.”
Heming Medical Hall is located on the side of Jiuxi Alley, it occupies most of the alley. It is the property of the Xu family.
The Xu family was originally a prosperous family, but many people died in the chaos of war in the early years, leaving only an only son. When he was a teenager, he went to Hezhou City and was raised in his uncle’s house. Within a few years, his uncle’s family also died out, and the family business fell into the hands of the young master of the Xu family.
Some people said that the young master of the Xu family had a tough life and was very unlucky. However, since the Heming Medical Hall opened, it has proven to be incredibly effective at saving lives and curing illnesses, and over time, no one said that anymore.
When Duan Yelin walked into Heming Medical Hall, the originally bustling medical hall suddenly became silent.
Ordinary people were afraid of officials and soldiers, it had become a habit in their bones. So those waiting to see the physician lowered their heads and kept silent, and the medicine boys also concentrated on his work.
At this time, a person in a gray Changshan came out of the inner hall. He had pale lips and incredibly white skin, and he was really slender. He held a bunch of mugwort in his hand. When he looked up, he was not surprised at all.
This person is Xu Hang. Xu Hang gives people the feeling that he was born to be in this medical hall. He is full of the aroma of medicine. Now compared with the people holding knives and guns in the room, he is even more different.
It wasn’t the first time Qiao Song had met Xu Hang, the young master of the Xu family, but every time he met him, he was always shocked by his imposing manner. Then he turned around and whispered to the new recruits, “Keep your heads down, don’t look around!”
Xu Hang walked to the chopper and chopped the mugwort bit by bit. The juice of the mugwort stained his hands, which was very pleasing to the eyes.
Duan Yelin strode forward and said to Xu Hang, “I asked someone to pick you up, yet you had the audacity not to come?”
The mugwort had been chopped up, and Xu Hang put it into the mortar and lightly said, “You can see that the medical hall is very busy.”
“You are indispensable, it’s not like you will consult with the patients!”
Xu Hang glanced at him and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Duan Yelin smiled a bit rogue and also a little unhappy: “Come to see a physician, I can’t?”
Xu Hang then pointed to the line that was almost at the door and said, “Then you can take a number and wait there. You said that I don’t consult with the patients yourself.”
“I want you to consult.”
At this time, Physician Zhou, who was sitting at the other end of the consultation, stood up, stroked his beard, and bowed to Duan Yelin, then politely spoke, trying to smooth things over: “Commander, where do you feel uncomfortable? How about let me take a look at you first?”
Duan Yelin didn’t even look at him and impatiently said, “Sit down, it’s none of your business!” Then he snatched the mortar from Xu Hang’s hand and threw it aside: “Are you deliberately trying to pick a fight with me today?”
Xu Hang’s hand was empty, and then he picked up the handkerchief on the table to wipe his hands, looked up at Duan Yelin, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “This is the medical hall, if you are not sick, then leave.”
These words completely annoyed Duan Yelin, who had already been irritated in the hospital today. He grinned without any warmth, then grabbed Xu Hang’s hand, pulled it hard, and said, “No matter if I am sick or not, Laozi wants you to treat me today!”
Everyone thought he was causing trouble and lowering their heads, not daring to speak.
The next moment, Xu Hang’s pure body was dragged to the back hall by Duan Yelin. As soon as the door curtain was lowered, Duan Yelin pressed him against the wall and kissed him deeply.
Duan Yelin’s kiss was always very direct. His tongue jumped in, hooked the tip of Xu Hang’s tongue, and then counted from the leftmost teeth to the rightmost, kissing until Xu Hang’s pale face turned a little red.
“Umm—”
No matter how many times, Xu Hang’s reaction always seemed to be that he wanted to refuse but was powerless to do so. His whole body was stiff, even his hands were clenched into fists, but he could only be bitten and licked.
Xu Hang’s eyebrows were half-frowned, and he allowed Duan Yelin, who was covered in blood on the battlefield, to bully him so easily. He deliberately kissed him with a smacking sound, just to make Xu Hang ashamed, especially when Xu Hang couldn’t help but turn his head away to avoid it, then he would deepen the kiss.
When they released each other, Xu Hang was obviously a little exhausted and turned his face away, looking a little uncomfortable.
Duan Yelin smiled, pinched his chin, forced him to look at him, and said, “Can you talk properly now?”
Xu Hang didn’t answer. Duan Yelin asked again, “If you still don’t answer, I will be here and…”
“…I’ll go back in an hour.” Xu Hang had no choice but to say this.
Duan Yelin smiled with satisfaction, touched Xu Hang’s lips with his thumb, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Hearing the soldiers leaving in unison, Xu Hang wiped the water stains on his mouth with his sleeve, making his skin red.
The sleeves were also full of the smell of mugwort. Mugwort is warm, bitter, pungent, slightly sweet, and can dispel cold and stop bleeding. It is a very mild herb.
However, even if all the mugwort in Hezhou City was used up, Duan Yelin’s temper would not become docile either.
