The Complete Works of Lu Xun's Novels

Chapter 26

The tenant on the opposite side hasn't come back yet, as usual, he went to watch a play or play tea circle ①.But the night was already very deep, and even the number of cars gradually decreased.The strong silvery moonlight made the paper windows white.

In the boredom of waiting, his physical and mental tension gradually relaxed, and he no longer paid attention to those sirens.But the messy thoughts took advantage of the opportunity; he seemed to know that Jing Fu must have scarlet fever, and it was incurable.So, how to support the family budget, rely on yourself?Although I live in a small town, everything is expensive....His own three children and his two are difficult to support, so can they still go to school?If you only teach one or two, then of course your own Kanger is the smartest——but everyone must criticize it, saying that he has treated his brother's children poorly... .

What to do with the funeral? I don't even have enough money to buy the coffin, how can I transport it home, so I have to temporarily send it to the Yizhuang...

Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps coming in from a distance, which immediately made him jump up and go out of the room, but he knew it was the tenant on the opposite side.

"Master Xiandi, in Baidi City..."②
As soon as he heard this low and happy groan, he was disappointed and angry, and almost ran up to scold him.But then he saw the clerk holding a wind and rain lamp, and the leather shoes behind him were reflected in the light, and in the twilight above was a tall man with a white face and black beard.This is exactly Putis.

Like a baby, he ran up and led him into the patient's room.Both of them stood in front of the bed, and he lit up the foreign lamp to shine on it.

"Sir, he has a fever..." Pei Jun panted.

"When did you wake up?" Puttis put his hands in the side pockets of his trousers, stared at the patient's face, and asked slowly.

"The day before yesterday. No, big... the day before yesterday."

Dr. Pu kept silent, pressed his pulse briefly, and asked Pei Jun to raise the foreign lamp, so that he could look at the patient's face according to the light;After reading it, I stretched out my fingers and rubbed it on my stomach.

"Measles..." Putis whispered as if talking to himself.

"Rash?" He was so surprised that his voice seemed to tremble.

"rash."

"It's just a rash?..."

"rash."

"You never had a rash?..."

When he was happily asking Jingfu, Dr. Pu had already gone to the desk, so he had no choice but to follow.He put one foot on the chair, pulled a piece of letter paper on the table, took out a short pencil from his pocket, and wrote a few unreadable words on the table with a swish. prescription.

"Are you afraid that the pharmacy is closed?" Pei Jun picked up Fang and asked.

"Tomorrow doesn't matter. Eat tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow?..."

"Don't look at it again. Sour, spicy, too salty, don't eat it. After the fever subsides, take your urine and send it to my hospital for a check. Put it in clean glass. Inside the bottle; on the outside, write your name."

Dr. Pu said he would go, and took a five-yuan bill, stuffed it into his pocket, and went out.He sent it out, saw him get into the car, started it, then turned around, just entered the store door, only heard g?Go g?Only after two beeps did he realize that the roar of Putis's car was like the roar of a bull.But it's useless to know now, he thought.

Even the lights in the house seemed cheerful; Pei Jun seemed to have done everything, and everything around him was peaceful, but his heart seemed empty.He handed over the money and the prescription to the clerk who came in, and told him to go to the Meiya Pharmacy to buy medicine early in the morning, because this pharmacy was designated by Dr. Pu, who said that only this one's medicines are the most reliable.

"Meiya Pharmacy in the East City! You must go there. Remember: Meiya Pharmacy!" He said after following the fellow who went out.

The courtyard is full of moonlight, as white as silver; the neighbors "in Baidi City" have already gone to sleep, and everything is quiet.Only the alarm clock on the table beeped happily and evenly; although the patient's breathing could be heard, it was very harmonious.Not long after he sat down, he suddenly became happy again.

"You are so old, but you haven't had a rash yet?" He asked in amazement as if he had encountered some miracle.

"..."

"You don't remember it yourself. You'll have to ask your mother."

"..."

"Mother isn't here. She never had a rash. Hahaha!"

When Pei Jun woke up on the bed, the morning sun had already shot in through the paper window, piercing his hazy eyes.But he couldn't move immediately, only felt his limbs were weak, and there was a lot of sweat on his back, and he saw a child standing in front of the bed with blood all over his face, and he was about to beat her.

But this scene disappeared in an instant, and he was still sleeping alone in his room without anyone else.He took off the pillowcase to wipe off the cold sweat on his chest and back, put on his clothes, and when he walked to Jingfu's room, he saw his neighbor "in Baidi City" rinsing his mouth in the yard, which showed that it was already very late. It's late.

Jingfu was also awake, lying on the bed helplessly.

"How is today?" he asked immediately.

"Better..."

"Has the medicine come yet?"

"No."

He sat down at the desk, facing the bed; Jingfu's face was no longer as red as it was yesterday.But my head still felt dizzy, fragments of the dream also floated out flickeringly at the same time:
——Jingfu was also lying down like this, but it was a dead body.He was busy collecting the coffin, so he carried a coffin by himself, and carried it from outside the gate to the main room.The place seems to be at home, and I see many acquaintances talking about it...

——He ordered Kang'er and his two siblings to go to school; but there were two other children crying to follow.He was already annoyed by the crying voice, but at the same time he felt that he had the highest authority and great strength.He saw that his palm was three or four times bigger than usual, like cast iron, and he slapped He Sheng's face...

Because of the attack of these dreams, he was so frightened that he wanted to stand up and go out of the room, but finally he did not move.I also want to suppress and forget these dreams, but these are like goose feathers stirred in the water, after a few rounds, they finally have to float up:

——He Sheng came in crying with blood all over his face.He jumped on the shrine ①....The child was followed by a group of acquaintances and strangers.He knew they were all coming to attack him....

—"I will never lose my conscience. Don't be deceived by children's lies..." he heard himself say.

——He Sheng was beside him, and he raised his palm again...

He suddenly woke up, feeling very tired, and his back seemed to be a little cold.Jingfu lay quietly on the opposite side, although his breathing was rapid, he was very even.The alarm clock on the table seemed to be beeping louder.

He turned around and faced the desk, only to see a layer of dust, and then turned his face to look at the paper window. On the hanging calendar, there were two black official scripts: Twenty Seven.

The buddy came in with medicine and a pack of books.

"What?" Jingfu opened his eyes and asked.

"Medicine." He also woke up from his trance and replied.

"No, that pack."

"Leave it alone. Just take the medicine." After taking the medicine for Jingfu, he picked up the package of books to read, and said, "It's from Suoshi. It must be the one you borrowed from him: " Sesame and Lilies "①."

Jingfu stretched out his hand to pass the book, but he only read the book, rubbed the gold letters on the spine of the book, put it beside his pillow, and silently closed his eyes.After a while, he whispered happily:

"When I get better, I will translate a little and send it to the cultural library to sell for a few dollars. I don't know if they want..."

On this day, Pei Jun arrived at the Public Welfare Bureau much later than usual, and it was almost afternoon; the office was already filled with the smoke of Qin Yitang's hookah.Wang Yuesheng saw it from a distance and came out to meet him.

"Hey! He's here. Is your brother healed? I think it's not a big deal. I have a disease every year, so it's not a big deal. Yi Weng and I are thinking about it. We both said: Why haven't you come yet? He's here now." , Alright! But, look, the complexion on your face is more or less... yes, it is somewhat different from yesterday."

Pei Jun also seemed to feel that the office and colleagues were a little different from yesterday, unfamiliar.Although everything is still what he used to see: broken clothes hooks, chipped spit pots, messy and dusty files, broken recliners with broken feet, Qin Yitang who is sitting on the recliner, holding a hookah, coughing and shaking his head and sighing... .

"They still kept fighting from the main room to the gate..."

"That's why," Yuesheng replied, "I said you should tell them about Brother Pei and teach them to learn from him. Otherwise, you will really drive your old man to death..."

"The third brother said that the money that the old one put on the government bonds is not considered public, it should...should be..." Yitang coughed so much that he bent over.

"It's really 'different people'..." Yuesheng said, then turned to Peijun,

"So, brother Ling, what do you have?"

"Nothing. The doctor said it was a rash."

"Rash? Yes, the children outside are having rashes now. The three children living in the same hospital as me have also developed rashes. That's nothing to worry about. But look, you were so anxious yesterday that you called Others can't help but be moved when they see it, this is really the so-called 'Brother Yiyi'." ①
"Did the director come to the bureau yesterday?"

"It's still 'yellow crane'. You just go to the notebook and write 'to'."

"You should pay for it yourself," Yitang said to himself. "This public bond is really harmful. I don't understand it at all. You will be fooled as soon as you touch it. Until yesterday and at night, it was still issued from the main room to the gate. The third child has two more children to go to school, and the fifth child also said he I wasted too much of the public’s money, I can’t be angry…”

"It's getting more and more confusing!" Yuesheng said disappointedly. "So when I saw you brothers, Pei Jun, I was really 'wowed'. Yes, I dare say, this is by no means a compliment in person."

Pei Jun didn't open his mouth, but when he saw an official document brought in by the servant, he went up to him and took it in his hand.Yuesheng also followed, looked at it in his hand, and read:
"'Citizen Hao Shangshan and others submitted: the dead body of an unknown man in the eastern suburbs, please order the branch office to quickly pick up the coffin and bury it for the sake of sanitation and public welfare.' I will handle it. You should go back early, you must be thinking about your brother. disease. You are really 'the wagtail is in the original'②..."

"No!" He didn't let go, "I'll do it."

Yuesheng no longer rushed to do it.Pei Jun walked to his desk quietly as if very relieved, looked at the report, and stretched out his hand to uncover the green and rusty ink cartridge cover.

November [-], [-].

This article was originally published in the third issue of the semi-monthly "Mangyuan" in Beijing on February [-], [-].

divorce
Ah, Uncle Mu!Congratulations on the new year, get rich and get rich! "

"Hello, Basan! Congratulations!..."

"Ah, congratulations! Aigu is here too..."

"Ah, Mr. Mu!..."

Zhuang Musan and his daughter—Aigu—had just stepped off the boat from Mulian Bridge, when many voices in the boat buzzed together, some of them clenched their fists and arched; at the same time, the boat There are also seats for four people on the bench next to it.While greeting Zhuang Musan, he sat down and leaned the long pipe against the side of the boat; Aigu sat on his left, and put two hook-like feet facing Basan to form a character "eight".

"Eunuch Mu is going to the city?" A crab-like face asked.

"I won't go to the city." Eunuch Mu looked a little depressed, but because of the many wrinkles on his purple sugar-colored face, he didn't see any major changes. "Just go to Pangzhuang for a walk."

All the boats were silent, just looking at them.

"Is it still about Aigu?" After a while, Basan questioned.

"It's still because of her... This really annoys me to death. It's been three years since I've been fighting, how many times I've fought, how many times I've talked about making peace, and it's always going to end..."

"I'm going to Master Wei's house this time?..."

"It's better to go to his house. He made peace with them more than once or twice, and I didn't agree. It's nothing. This time is his family's New Year's reunion, and even the seven adults in the city are here..."

"Master Seven?" Basan's eyes widened. "Has the old man come out to speak?...That is... Actually, last year we tore down their stove①, and finally let out a sigh of relief. Besides, when Aigu went back there, in fact, It doesn't smell much either..." He rolled his eyes down.

"I don't want to go back there, Brother Basan!" Aigu raised her head angrily, and said, "I'm just angry. You think, 'Little Bastard' got married to a little widow, so he doesn't want me. Is it so easy? 'Old Bastard' only knows how to help his son and don't want me. It's so easy! How about Master Seven? Could it be that he exchanged posts with the county magistrate and stopped talking? He can't be as incomprehensible as Master Wei , just say 'get away, get away'. I want to tell him about my hardships in the past few years, and let's see who the Seven Masters say is better!"

Basan was persuaded and couldn't speak again.

The only sound was the gurgling of the bow; the boat was very still.Zhuang Musan reached out to touch the pipe and filled it with cigarettes.

Diagonally opposite, a fat man sitting next to Basan took out a lighter knife from his belly pocket, lit the wire, and pressed it on the pipe for him.

"That's right." ②Mu San nodded and said.

"Although we are just meeting for the first time, Uncle Mu's name has already been known." Fatty said respectfully. "Yes, who doesn't know about the San 68 Village in the coastal area? We knew about the fact that the Shi family's son had sex with a widow. Last year, Uncle Mu took six of his sons to demolish the stove in his house. Who didn't say it was right? ...Your old man can walk in from a wealthy family, and your steps are open, so you are afraid of them!..."

"Your uncle is really cool," Ai Gu said happily, "Although I don't know who your uncle is."

"My name is Wang Degui." The fat man said quickly.

(End of this chapter)