Chapter 1263 Extra: The Quiet One (4)
(5) The lonely are not alone
"How to treat hollow heart disease?"
The middle-aged man asked.
The girl smiled and said:
"Don't ask, I need to pay for treatment first. Do you have money?"
The middle-aged man shook his head.
"Hmm... So, you have to work first to pay for it. From today on, you will be my assistant, helping me pick and refine medicines. When I collect enough for your consultation, I will treat you."
The girl spoke seriously.
The middle-aged man remained silent and followed the girl, acquiescing to this.
From this day on, people in Gantang Town discovered that the famous miracle doctor girl was accompanied by a lonely and strange follower.
He follows the girl every day and rarely speaks.
But the girl seemed to be deliberately bossing him around, assigning him a lot of work every day.
"Send this medicine to Mr. Wang from East Street. His daughter has a hidden disease."
The middle-aged man took the medicine and headed towards East Street. When he came to the door, Mr. Wang insisted on dragging him to finish a meal, otherwise he would not accept the medicine.
He wanted to pull away, but he was held tightly by the old man. He sat in the old man's house and picked up the bowl, but he was a little embarrassed.
…
"Uncle Lin's wife died. He was too sad, and he was a lonely old man with limited mobility. You have to come and cook for him for three days, talk to him, and mix medicine into the rice. Do you understand?"
"Ah, you don't know how to cook? Then go to Miss Xu's porridge shop and learn for a day. Uncle Lin and his wife used to like to eat the porridge made by Miss Xu."
The middle-aged man frowned, but he still bit the bullet and went to Miss Xu's porridge shop.
As a result, he found that Miss Xu talked a lot. Her porridge was actually very mediocre, but she could talk a lot. It was obvious that she was talking about everyday things, but every word made people want to pick it up.
Guests who came to eat would often talk to her for an hour or two after a bowl of porridge, complaining, grumbling, and expressing sadness, but Miss Xu didn't care at all. She could complain and complain with those who complained. After it's over, the complainer often smiles and leaves. She can complain with the complainer. In the end, the complainer has nothing to complain about. When she gets up, she seems to be a different person. She can also complain with the complainer. Crying, the last person who cried wiped his tears and left peacefully.
She is also teaching the orphan to make porridge. When making porridge, her mind is often not on the porridge, but on talking.
"Actually, people still need a home. It's so pitiful not to have a home. I used to have an eldest brother on Dongjie who had a big business when he was young. But in his later years, all his family members left. He was depressed from then on, and he had no use for a lot of money. In those years, his favorite thing to do was to buy a lot of snacks, wait for the children on the street, and then give them to them, but within a few years, he also went there."
"If you don't have a home, you have no worries. People always need warmth. It would be great to have someone who works as a stutterer, scolds you a few words, and packs your clothes... Are you following Yao Lan? What do you think of her? Sample?"
The middle-aged man listened silently, unconsciously entranced. He didn't know what he was thinking. But when he was suddenly stared at by her, he remembered her question. He felt a little embarrassed and said:
"She...she has very good medical skills..."
Miss Xu smiled and said:
"Okay, okay, you've got the porridge in your hand, go and make some medicinal food for Uncle Lin."
The middle-aged man also nodded. He found that Miss Xu's porridge-making skills were average, not special.
He left, and Miss Xu looked at his back, shook her head and said:
"It's so pitiful. People who don't even know why they live... are pitiful."
…
Soon, the middle-aged man arrived at Uncle Lin's door.
Uncle Lin's wife had died just a few days ago, and there was no one at home. When he came in, Uncle Lin was lying on a chair in the yard, like a piece of unconscious wood.
The middle-aged man was making porridge for Uncle Lin, putting medicinal materials into the porridge and stewing it. The flames made the water vapor pop, but he felt eerily quiet.
He subconsciously wanted to say something to the old man on the chair, but he didn't know where to start.
His mind suddenly recalled Miss Xu, Miss Xu's chirping words, trivial but powerful words.
He considered it for a moment, then spoke with difficulty, saying:
"Old man, your stove is very beautiful..."
no respond.
"Living alone is also clean, and the house is clean..."
no respond.
"Actually, this is my first time making porridge..."
no respond.
He felt like he was being tortured, a torture without response. The old man was obviously sitting there, but he felt like an untouchable star.
This kind of torture continued until the medicinal porridge was finally ready. He hurriedly cut it off and let it warm before carrying it over.
"Old man... let's eat some..."
The old man just lay there, there seemed to be two traces of tears in his eyes, looking at the sky, not knowing what was in the sky.
"If you don't eat, your body won't be able to survive..."
The middle-aged man kept talking, and he suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. He felt like a confused deer, with no idea how to find the right way.
"I heard that you two used to like to eat Miss Xu's porridge..."
However, when he said this sentence, he suddenly found that the motionless old man suddenly moved. He turned around, looked at the middle-aged man, and said:
"Yeah... we both like it. She always said that Xiao Xu's mouth is so cute and cute..."
The middle-aged man was not sure for a moment whether the old man was talking to him.
"I said that the porridge that Xiao Xu cooked was always mushy. What's so delicious? But she said that she just liked talking to Xiao Xu in Baihua. What was there to talk about in Baihua? She was just talking about those things when she was young, and scold me..."
The old man said as he spoke.
The middle-aged man listened like this for a long time.
When the old man was tired, he finally ate some porridge he cooked.
When he went out to leave, the middle-aged man seemed to understand something, but he was still uncertain.
In the next three days, he came to make porridge for Uncle Lin, but these times, he was no longer as tortured as the first time. While making porridge, he would chat with Uncle Lin, and he would always Start like this:
"What did Aunt Wang like to eat in the past?"
"Has Aunt Wang ever been a female worker before?"
"Did Madam Wang like to quarrel with you before?"
Because the three words "Aunt Wang" are indeed the key to the old man. He only needs to mention it and listen, and the old man will talk endlessly, starting from when they met, how they got engaged, how they lived, all the way. come over……
It was okay at first, but as time went on, the middle-aged man would subconsciously smile as he listened, and he himself did not notice this change.
The third day passed quickly.
On the fourth day, the middle-aged man came to the door as usual. This time, he was about to make porridge, but the old man stopped him.
"Young man, what is your name?"
The old man's lively and kind eyes looked at him.
"solitary……"
The middle-aged man subconsciously wanted to speak, but then he shook his head and said, "I don't have a name."
The old man touched his head with pity and said:
"Poor child, it's good for you to follow Yao Lan, but you have to start a family and start a career. A man can't just rely on a woman... After I leave, this house will be left to you. This house faces the street. You can write a music score, but don't Open a porridge shop, otherwise it will be very bad to take away a small business, remember?"
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, but Uncle Lin already said kindly: "Go and make me some porridge. There is no need to take medicine today."
The middle-aged man got up silently and went to make porridge.
When he cooked the porridge and brought it over, he found that Uncle Lin had closed his eyes.
There was a smile on his lips.
He died laughing.
The middle-aged man felt a sense of sadness and a different kind of emotion in his heart. He was silent for a long time, and then put the old man into the coffin that had been prepared long ago.
He took care of Uncle Lin's funeral. The funeral was not done in a glamorous manner, but it was orderly and concise. People in the whole town said that Uncle Lin was blessed.
…
In this way, three years passed in a flash.
In the past three years, the middle-aged man has been following the girl.
More than once, he followed a girl into the mountains to collect herbs. It rained heavily on the way. They took shelter under an ancient tree and got soaked to the skin. They were once blocked in a cave by wolves and did not dare to come out for two days and two nights.
He once silently cooked for the girl when she was extremely busy, and then helped the girl treat some patients.
He once took the girl's place to eat "medical meals" at a wine shop twice, and was regarded by the poor as a compassionate being just like the girl.
He lives more and more fully.
It seems that life has been filled.
But this peaceful day did not last long. Three years later, it seemed that there was some kind of change in the sky.
People in a small town saw a meteor falling, and people in a certain big city were hit by a meteor, killing and injuring tens of millions. The middle-aged man followed the girl to seek treatment, but found that those people were corrupted by some kind of power, and there was no cure.
There were two solar eclipses during the day. During each solar eclipse, a black fog poured into the sky and the earth. It was said that in a certain place, black devils had appeared and devoured living people.
Legends and disasters seem to be getting closer and closer to this small town.
Finally, one night in the fourth year, a group of royal cavalry entered the town.
They lingered on the edge of the town and did not come in directly, but they attracted the attention of the town residents.
This team of cavalry stayed in the town for three months. One day in the third month, two living dead stained by black mist attacked the town. The team of royal cavalry was almost wiped out, with only three people left in the end. .
The three people entered the town and knelt on the street for a long time, as if waiting for someone.
That night.
The middle-aged man is still cooking for the girl.
The girl was sorting out her medical books. It was already late at night, and she added two more effective remedies.
The middle-aged man brought the porridge, and she smiled. After finishing the porridge, she suddenly said:
"Shall I take you to see the stars?"
The middle-aged man said:
"OK."
So the two of them left their residence late at night and climbed all the way to the highest Dongshan Mountain.
On the top of Dongshan Mountain, the night wind blows, and in the quiet night sky, the stars are blinking, and the starlight is like a dream.
He and she were lying on the grass on the top of the mountain. The grass was as soft as if it were filled with dreams.
"The first time I saw you, it was like seeing stars in the sky. Unfortunately, you were so lonely. There was only one star."
The girl spoke. Under the starlight, her eyes were full of smiles and she said:
"At that time, I thought, I must make your night sky full of stars."
"Like the stars tonight."
The middle-aged man listened to her words with a smile on his lips. It was an ordinary, warm smile.
He said softly:
"Thank you."
The girl stretched out her hand, held his hand, and said:
"Are you still lonely now?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said:
"No."
"East Street is too busy to be alone."
The girl smiled and said:
"Okay, then don't call me Lone again, and don't call yourself Lone again... you can just call me, um... called Duo, how about that?"
"I like to be in pairs, it makes the world a better place."
The middle-aged man gently held her hand and said:
"OK."
The girl suddenly turned her head and lightly pressed her lips to his.
"Go back. You have led the human race out of a path. Now the world is in great trouble... I will wait for you here."
The girl suddenly stood up and looked at the stars in the sky alone.
The lonely man looked at her back, remained silent for a long time, and suddenly said:
"I have enough money for the consultation, and I will come back to get my medicine."
"I will come back and marry you."
After saying that, he turned and left.
"Hey, do you remember my name?"
The girl asked loudly.
"Yao Lan, I will never forget it!"
His voice has become distant.
The girl smiled, with tears in her eyes. She raised her eyes to look at the starry sky, faced the wind, and said loudly:
"I'm waiting for you to come back... come back and marry me!"
Her voice disappeared in the wind.
…
