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Medicine

Lu Xun

一

In the second half of the autumn night, the moon went down and the sun had not risen yet, leaving only a cloud of darkness. The sky is blue; except for the things that wander at night, everything is asleep. Hua Laoshuan suddenly sat up, struck a match, and lit the greasy lamp. The two rooms of the teahouse were filled with bluish-white light.

"Xiao Shuan's father, are you going to go?" It was an old woman's voice. There was also a cough in the small room inside.

"Hmm." Lao Shuan listened, responded, and buttoned up his clothes; he stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me."

Aunt Hua dug under the pillow for a long time. , took out a bag of foreign money and handed it to Lao Chuan. Lao Chuan took it, put it shakily into his pocket, pressed it twice outside, then lit the lantern, blew out the lamp, and walked to the inner room. Inside the room, there was a rustling sound, followed by a cough. Lao Shuan waited for him to calm down before calling out in a low voice, "Xiao Shuan... don't get up... shop? Your mother will make arrangements."

Lao Shuan heard his son stop talking. , expecting him to sleep peacefully, he went out and walked to the street. The street was dark and empty, with only a gray road clearly visible. The light illuminated his feet, walking one behind the other. Sometimes I encountered several dogs, but none of them barked. The weather was much colder than inside the house; Lao Shuan felt refreshed, as if he had once transformed into a young man, gained supernatural powers and had the ability to give people life, and he was taking extraordinarily high steps. Moreover, the road became clearer and clearer as we walked, and the sky became brighter and brighter as we walked further.

Lao Shuan was walking intently when he was suddenly startled. He saw a T-shaped street in the distance, clearly lying sideways. He took a few steps back and found a closed shop. He walked under the eaves and stood against the door. After a while, I felt a little chilly.

"Humph, old man."

"I'm glad..."

Lao Shuan was surprised again. When he opened his eyes, several people passed in front of him. It's past. One of them looked back at him, his appearance unclear, but like a hungry person seeing food, his eyes flashed with a grabbing light. Lao Shuan looked at the lantern. It was out. Press the pocket, the hard part is still there. When I raised my head and looked around, I saw many strange people, in twos and threes, wandering there like ghosts. If I looked carefully, I couldn't see anything else strange.

Not long after, I saw a few more soldiers walking there; a large white circle on the front and back of their clothes could be seen clearly from a distance. Those who walked by could see the dark red circles on their uniforms. Trim. ——There was a sound of footsteps, and in the blink of an eye, a large group of people had passed by. Those groups of people in twos and threes suddenly joined together and rushed forward like a tide. When they approached the intersection of the T-shaped street, they suddenly stopped and formed a semicircle.

Lao Shuan also looked over there, but all he saw was a bunch of people's backs; their necks were all stretched out, like many ducks, held up by invisible hands and lifted upwards. After a while of silence, there seemed to be some noise, and then it started to waver again. With a bang, they all retreated; they dispersed until they reached where Lao Chuan was standing, almost squeezing him down.

"Hey! Pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other!" A man covered in black stood in front of Lao Shuan, his eyes were like two knives, which made Lao Shuan shrink in half. The man had a big hand spread out towards him; the other hand was holding a bright red steamed bun, and the red was still dripping down bit by bit.

Lao Shuan hurriedly took out the foreign money and wanted to hand it to him tremblingly, but he didn't dare to pick it up. The man became anxious and shouted, "What are you afraid of? Why don't you take it!" Lao Shuan was still hesitant; the black man grabbed the lantern, pulled off the paper cover, wrapped the steamed buns, and stuffed them with Lao Shuan; He grabbed the foreign money, squeezed it, turned around, and hummed, "This old guy..."

"Who is this treating?" Lao Shuan seemed to have heard someone. I asked him, but he didn't agree; his energy was now only on a bag, as if he was holding a baby who had been born alone for ten generations, and other things had been ignored. He now wants to transplant the new life in this bag into his home and reap a lot of happiness. The sun also came out; in front of him, a highway showed up, leading to his home, and behind him, he could see the four dark golden characters of "Gu Pavilion Entrance" on the broken plaque on the T-shaped street.

Two

Lao Shuan walked home. The store had been cleaned up long ago, and the tea tables were lined up in rows, slippery and shiny. But there were no guests: only Xiao Shuan was sitting at the table in the back row eating, with large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, his jacket stuck to his spine, and his two shoulder blades protruding high, forming a Chinese character " character. Seeing this, Lao Shuan couldn't help but frown and spread his eyebrows. His woman hurriedly walked out from under the stove, her eyes open and her lips trembling.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

The two walked into the stove together and discussed for a while; Aunt Hua went out. After a while, he came back with an old lotus leaf and spread it on the table. Lao Shuan also opened the lantern cover and rewrapped the red steamed bun with lotus leaves. Xiao Shuan also finished eating, and his mother hurriedly said: -

"Xiao Shuan - sit down and don't come here."

While putting the stove in order, the old man Shuan then stuffed a green bag and a red and white broken lantern into the stove; when a burst of red and black flames passed, a strange fragrance filled the shop.

"It smells so good! What snacks are you eating?" This is the arrival of the hunchbacked fifth young master.

This man always spent time in the teahouse every day. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave. At this time, he happened to go to the corner table facing the street and sat down to ask questions, but no one answered him. "Fried rice porridge?" Still no one responded. Lao Shuan hurried out and made him tea.

"Xiao Shuan, come in!" Aunt Hua asked Xiao Shuan to enter the room inside. A stool was placed in the middle, and Xiao Shuan sat down. His mother brought over a plate of round black things and said softly: "Just eat it, and the disease will be cured."

Xiao Shuan picked up the black things. , looked at it for a while, as if holding on to his own life, feeling indescribably strange in his heart. He opened it very carefully, and a stream of white air burst out from the burnt skin. The white air dispersed, revealing two halves of white flour steamed buns. ——In a short time, it was all in my stomach, but I forgot all about the taste; there was only an empty plate left in front of me. Next to him stood his father on one side and his mother on the other. The eyes of both of them seemed to be putting something into him and taking something out. He couldn't help but beat his heart, pressed his chest, and A cough.

"Just sleep for a while, and you'll be fine."

Xiao Shuan followed his mother's words and coughed and fell asleep. Aunt Hua waited for him to catch his breath and calm down, then gently covered him with a quilt full of patches.

三

There were many people sitting in the shop, and Lao Shuan was also busy, carrying a big copper pot and making tea for the guests one after another; A circle of black lines.

"Lao Shuan, are you feeling a little uncomfortable? - Are you sick?" said a man with a gray beard.

"No."

"No? - I want to smile, but it doesn't look like..." The gray beard canceled his words.

"Lao Shuan is just busy. If his son..." Before the hunchbacked fifth young master could finish his words, a man with a sinister face suddenly walked in, wearing a black cloth shirt with loose buttons. Use a very wide black belt to tie it randomly around your waist. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted to Lao Shuan:

"Have you eaten? Are you ready? Lao Shuan, you are just lucky! Your luck, if it weren't for my information spirit..."

Lao Shuan held the teapot in one hand and hung it respectfully with the other; he listened with a smile. Everyone in the house listened respectfully. Aunt Hua also had dark eyes. She smiled and brought out a bowl of tea and an olive, and Lao Shuan went to drink some water.

"This is wrapped! This is different. If you want, take it while it's hot and eat it while it's hot." The meat-loving person just shouted.

"Really, how could this happen without Uncle Kang's care..." Aunt Hua also thanked him gratefully.

"Wrap it, wrap it! Eat it while it's hot. These steamed buns with human blood can cover all kinds of tuberculosis!"

Aunt Hua heard the two words "tuberculosis" After a few words, his face changed a little, and he seemed a little unhappy; but he immediately put on a smile, started chatting and walked away. Uncle Kang didn't notice it, he still raised his voice and just yelled, causing Xiao Shuan who was sleeping inside to cough too.

"It turns out that your little Shuan has such good luck. The disease will naturally be cured; no wonder Lao Shuan smiles all day long." The gray beard said as he walked up to Uncle Kang. He asked humbly, "Uncle Kang - I heard that one of the prisoners killed today is a child of the Xia family. Whose child is that? What happened?"

"Whose? Isn't it? Grandma Xia Si’s son? That little guy!” Uncle Kang was particularly happy when he saw everyone cocking their ears to listen to him, and said louder and louder, “This little guy doesn’t want his life, so I don’t want him.” This time there was no benefit at all; even the clothes that were stripped off were taken away by the red-eyed Ayi who was in charge. Firstly, it was our Uncle Shuan's luck; secondly, Mr. Xia rewarded us with twenty-five taels. The snow-white silver fell into my pocket alone, without spending a penny."

Xiao Shuan slowly walked out of the small room, put his hands on his chest, and couldn't help coughing; he walked to the stove and took out a bowl of cold rice. , soak in hot water, sit down and eat. Aunt Hua followed him and asked softly, "Xiao Shuan, are you okay? - Are you still just hungry?..."

"Wrap it up, wrap it up!" Uncle Kang glanced at Xiao Shuan Shuan glanced at him, then turned around and said to everyone, "Mr. Xia is really a good guy. If he doesn't sue the officials first, he will be executed. What now? Money! - This little thing is really worthless!" In prison, I still have to persuade the cell leader to rebel."

"Oh, that's not bad." A man in his twenties sitting in the back row looked very angry.

"You have to know that the red-eyed Ayi went to talk about the details, but he talked to him. He said that the Qing Dynasty belongs to all of us. Do you think: Is this human talk? ? Red Eyes knew that he only had one mother in his family, but he didn’t expect that he would be so poor and couldn’t squeeze out any money. He was so angry that he wanted to scratch his head, so he gave him two mouths! /p>

"Yi Ge is a good fist and stick, these two blows must be enough for him." The hunchback in the corner suddenly became happy. < /p>

Uncle Kang looked disdainful of him and said with a sneer, "You didn't hear what I said clearly; judging from his demeanor, it means Ayi is pitiful!"

Listen The man's eyes suddenly became dull and his words stopped. Xiao Shuan had finished his meal and was sweating all over his body, with steam coming out of his head.

"Poor Ayi - crazy talk, simply crazy." Gray Beard said as if he suddenly understood.

"I've gone crazy." A man in his twenties said with sudden realization.

The customers in the store became lively again, chatting and laughing. Xiao Shuan also took advantage of the excitement and coughed desperately; Uncle Kang stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder and said: -

"Wrap it up! Xiao Shuan - don't cough like that. Wrap it up!"

"Crazy." The hunchbacked fifth young master nodded and said.

Four

The ground outside Xiguan near the city root was originally a piece of official land; there was a crooked and thin road in the middle, which was made with the soles of people who were greedy for shortcuts. But it has become a natural boundary. On the left side of the road, people who were executed and executed were buried, and on the right side were the graves of the poor. Both sides have been buried in layers, just like the steamed buns used when a wealthy family celebrates a birthday.

This year's Qingming Festival is extremely cold; the willows have only sprouted new shoots as big as half a grain of rice. Before dawn, Aunt Hua was already sitting in front of a new grave on the right, laying out four dishes, a bowl of rice, and crying. After turning into paper, he sat on the ground blankly, as if he was waiting for something, but he couldn't tell what he was waiting for. The breeze picked up and blew his short hair, which was indeed much whiter than last year.

Another woman came to the path. She also had half-white hair and a ragged dress. She carried a worn-out red lacquer round basket with a bunch of paper ingots hanging outside, and walked every three steps with a break. Suddenly seeing Aunt Hua sitting on the ground looking at him, she hesitated a little, with a look of shame on her pale face. But she finally bit the bullet, walked to a grave on the left, and put down the basket.

That grave and Xiao Shuan's grave were lined up, with only a small road between them. Aunt Hua watched him arrange four dishes and a bowl of rice. She stood crying and turned the paper into ingots. She thought to herself, "The person in this grave is also a son." The old woman lingered and watched for a while, and suddenly His hands and feet were trembling a little, and he staggered back a few steps, staring in shock.

Seeing this, Aunt Hua was afraid that he would be so sad that he would go crazy, so she couldn't help but stand up, cross the path, and whisper to him, "Don't be sad, you old lady, - we Let's go back."

The man nodded, still staring upward, and said in a low voice, "Look - what is this?"

Aunt Hua followed his finger and looked at the grave in front. The grass roots on this grave had not yet closed up, revealing patches of loess, which was really ugly. When I looked up carefully, I was surprised; there was clearly a circle of red and white flowers surrounding the pointed and round top of the tomb.

Their eyes have been aging for many years, but they can still clearly see the red and white flowers. There are not many flowers, they are arranged in a circle, not very energetic, but neat. Aunt Hua was busy looking at the graves of her son and others, but there were only a few small green and white flowers that were not afraid of the cold, blooming here and there. She suddenly felt a sense of insufficiency and emptiness in her heart, and she was unwilling to investigate. The old woman took a few steps closer, took a closer look, and said to herself, "This has no roots, it doesn't look like it was opened by myself. - Who comes to this place? Children won't come to play; - Relatives from the same family. He's not here for a long time. "What's going on?" He thought again and again, and suddenly burst into tears and said loudly: "Yu'er, they all wronged you. You still can't forget it, but it's sad. Do you want me to know something special today?" He looked around and saw a crow standing on a leafless tree, and then continued, "I understand. ——Yu'er, it's a pity that they deceived you. God knows their retribution in the future. Just close your eyes. ——If you are really here and hear my words, then teach this crow to fly to you. Show me the top of the tomb."

The breeze has stopped long ago; the dead grass stands upright like copper wire. A trembling sound trembled in the air and became thinner and thinner. It was so thin that it was no longer there, and the surroundings were deathly quiet. The two stood in the withered grass, looking up at the crow; the crow was also among the straight branches, standing with its head shrunk, as if made of iron.

A lot of time passed; the number of people visiting the tomb gradually increased, and several old ones and young ones appeared among the tombs.

Somehow, Aunt Hua seemed to be relieved of a heavy burden, and then she thought of leaving; while facing her, she said, "We'd better go back."

The old woman sighed In one breath, he put away the food listlessly; after another moment of hesitation, he finally walked away slowly. He said to himself, "What's going on?..."

They couldn't walk twenty or thirty steps when they suddenly heard a loud "mute——" behind them. Yelling; both of them turned around suddenly, and saw the crow spread its wings, fluttered its body, and flew straight into the distant sky, like an arrow.

April 1919.