Living in a broken-down temple with no money
Mo Songyan lowered his eyes to look at Xiao Changyu, a husband whom he had just known for less than an hour. Despite his disdain for him, he was willing to use his hairpin to treat him. What a kind person he was!
It’s just a matter of time. When the car gets to the mountain, there will be a way through, and when the boat gets to the bridge, it will naturally go straight.
Entering Baicao Hall, the physician cleaned his wounds, applied medicine, wrapped him in gauze, and then prescribed a prescription for Xiao Changyu to go and get the medicine. Mo Songyan quickly held the person who was about to leave down and said, “Hey! It’s okay, I’ll go by myself. You sit here.”
Joking?!
How could he let such a delicate person run errands?! Then where is his dignity as a man? !
Although he was a free husband, he was still a relative who had been married. Even if there is no affection between them, since the other party is willing to use his precious jade hairpin to treat his illness, Mo Songyan has to take good care of this brother and not neglect him.
Thinking this way, he went to grab the medicine with a head full of gauze.
After the medicine boy had picked up the medicine, weighed it, and settled the bill, he said to him with a big smile on his face, “A total of two hundred and fifty coins, please keep the medicine and take it on time to ensure that it will eliminate blood stasis and relieve pain!”
“How much?” Mo Songyan couldn’t believe it.
The medicine boy repeated, “Two hundred and fifty ah, please settle the bill.”
Although Mo Songyan is a popular Xiangsheng artist in the 21st century, he had lived a hard life before he became famous, so he knows what poverty feels like.
As the saying goes, all crows are black. What he didn’t expect was that pharmacies around the world are generally expensive. Whether in the 21st century or the era he lives in now, getting sick is a sky-high expense for the poor.
When he was wandering on the street just now, he could hear from all directions. Based on the shouts of various street vendors, he estimated the price level of this dynasty. One kilogram of pork was only 20 coins, and medical treatment and medication cost 250 coins?
Could it be that he entered a shop run by brigands?!
He felt his purse, which was as empty as it could be; he opened it again and saw that there were only fifty coins left…
What should he do? He couldn’t really let Xiao Changyu pay with the hairpin.
“I don’t want this medicine anymore. How much does the consultation cost?” Mo Songyan felt guilty, but his words were rude.
The medicine boy heard his words, and his smile instantly turned into mockery: “This prescription is tailor-made for you. The medicines are all put together according to the prescription. Even if you return it, I can’t pick these medicines out one by one and put them back. So it can’t be returned. 250, not a penny less. Please pay.”
As he was speaking, two extremely tall and strong men stood behind Mo Songyan with their hands on their hips, staring at him with fake smiles.
Mo Songyan felt the shadow behind him and turned around to look. Good heavens! He is already tall enough to be 1.9 meters tall himself, these two people can catch up with Yao Ming if they grow up more!
The hero didn’t take immediate losses, so he immediately put on a smiling expression and asked, “So, can we pay on credit at the pharmacy?”
“Credit?” Yao Tong raised his eyebrows and asked in reverse.
Mo Songyan nodded and said, “Yes, on credit.”
“You can pay on credit, but…” After pausing for a moment, the medicine boy said in a mysterious way, “Our pharmacy charges interest on credit, and the interest is not low. Are you sure you can still pay it?”
As he spoke, he looked up and down at Mo Songyan, and the disdain on his face became even more apparent.
Mo Songyan had received all kinds of looks and had long since developed a heart as strong as an iron wall. As long as he knows himself, it really doesn’t matter what others think of him.
“Just tell me how much is the interest?” At least the Mo family also runs a teahouse, and from his memory, the business is also good. He doesn’t have this little money, but his cheap father always has it.
A second wife drives the eldest son out of the house; his father, as the head of the family, must pay some price.
The medicine boy stretched out a finger.
Mo Songyan asked, “A percent of profit?”
One percent of interest is not high.
The medicine boy shook his head. “The interest is twice the principal.”
Good heavens!
Mo Songyan was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped. Is this interest rate really legal in this dynasty?
“Aren’t you a loan shark?” He asked.
The medicine boy glanced at him and said, “What loan shark? This is legal. I’ll give you three options. Either pay the money, leave an IOU1An IOU (abbreviated from the phrase “I owe you”) is usually an informal document acknowledging debt., or get beaten. Choose quickly, and don’t delay our business. But you have to pay even if you get beaten.”
Mo Songyan’s throat twitched, and he turned to look at the two burly men standing behind him. He smiled and said, “Leave IOU, leave IOU.”
After signing, he put his IOU in his pocket, took the medicine bag, grabbed Xiao Changyu, and walked out.
It’s not that he’s a coward, but he will never get into a conflict with others unless he is sure of the outcome. Besides, Xiao Changyu is there, so if they start fighting out of anger, they will be the only ones who suffer.
It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge, sooner or later he will ask for a statement on this matter. There is no need to be in a hurry.
After leaving Baicao Hall, Mo Songyan froze with the medicine bag. He didn’t even have a place to live, why did he even buy medicine?! Where is he going to boil it?
Xiao Changyu seemed to sense Mo Songyan’s thoughts and grabbed his sleeve as he walked in one direction, as if he were going somewhere.
Where are we going? Going back to your mother’s house? It’s not good, right? Will I be thrown out if I go to see my father-in-law and mother-in-law looking like this? ……Hey, slow down, don’t be in a hurry…… Ai, forget it, I’m asking too much, I’ll just follow you……”
Mo Songyan’s words were like the wheels of a carriage that never stopped. Xiao Changyu’s eyebrows furrowed and tightened as he listened. It wasn’t until Mo Songyan closed his mouth that his beautiful eyebrows slightly relaxed.
Why is this person so talkative today? Xiao Changyu thought to himself, and his gaze towards Mo Songyan also carried a hint of scrutiny.
The two men walked until they were in front of a broken-down temple door did they stopped.
Mo Songyan looked at the ruins in front of him and asked the person next to him, “We live here?”
Xiao Changyu nodded and quietly erased the words on the wall when Mo Songyan wasn’t noticing.
This place was not new to him, one could even say it was very familiar. Apart from his mother’s home, this was the place he visited the most.
This broken-down temple, where no one dared to come because it was haunted, was an outlet for all his distress. Whenever he was rejected by his parents and bullied by his younger brother, he would come here and pour out his heart to the broken Buddha statue in the temple.
That’s right, he could talk, but he also couldn’t speak—ever since he could remember, he couldn’t finish a sentence. Later, he found out that it was a stutter, which was incurable.
After knowing this fact, he became even more quiet and reserved, no one would patiently listen to him bouncing out word by word. He just pretended to be mute. It was good for everyone like this.
So his parents naturally declared to the public that he was mute.
Mute is always better than stuttering. Stuttering only makes people laugh, but being mute can at least evoke sympathy from others.
Therefore, his parents devoted all their efforts to his younger brother.
It was already an act of kindness on their part to raise a useless person, so how could they be willing to share their love with a useless person like him?
Xiao Changyu’s life at home became increasingly difficult, so he came to this ruined temple, which was rumored to be haunted, hoping that the ghosts here would take him away.
Living is too hard……
However, what he didn’t expect was that there was another person in the temple……
Mo Songyan looked at the broken-down temple in front of him and interrupted his recollection: “Are you afraid of ghosts?”
Xiao Changyu rolled his eyes at him and pushed the door open, leaving him with only a thin and lonely back.
“Hey! It’s okay, it’s fine even if you’re afraid of ghosts. I’m here, and I’m full of Yang energy. The wandering ghosts would definitely not dare to approach us.” Mo Songyan quickly followed.
Although the temple is broken-down, fortunately the stove is still intact, and what’s even rarer is that there is still water in the well.
When he saw Xiao Changyu about to fetch water, he quickly leaned over and said, “Let me, let me, you just rest on the side. I’ll do this kind of physical work.”
Xiao Changyu glared at him and pointed at the gauze on his head. Mo Songyan understood. Although the two of them had not been in contact for a long time, Xiao Changyu’s kindness penetrated deep into his heart. He knew that the other party was concerned about his injuries, so he waved his hand and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just a skin injury, no big deal.”
Seeing that he insisted, Xiao Changyu turned around and went to the stove to look for stove utensils, then went to the corner to find firewood, picked up a rusty axe, and prepared to chop the wood.
Just as he placed the firewood on the ground and raised the axe with both hands to chop it down, Mo Songyan’s voice came from behind. It scared him so much that he almost dropped the axe!
“Hey, hey! Don’t do this, this kind of work is the same as fetching water, it’s all rough work. Just let me do it. Be obedient. Be obedient. Give me the axe. Look at this axe, it’s rusty. What if you fail to chop the wood and your hands become numb from the shaking?”
One of them held the axe handle, and the other held the axe head. They were in a stalemate, neither of them let go. Only Mo Songyan’s chattering lingered in Xiao Changyu’s ears. “Just listen and let go. If you want to help me, you don’t have to do this. Go see if there is a corner where we can rest, or you can clear a space for us, be obedient…”
Xiao Changyu was really annoyed by him, so he let go of his hand and walked into the backyard of the broken-down temple without looking back.
What a joke!
He is familiar with this place, and he’s the one who brought the well to life. That axe looks rusty because it hasn’t been used for a long time, and with a little bit of movement, it can cut through iron like clay. As for the resting place…
He had been in and out of this broken-down temple countless times, so he naturally knew where the resting place was. He had even cleaned up the resting place.
But Mo Songyan’s words did remind him. It was obvious that someone had lived in the room in the backyard, so he had to go in and clean it in advance and arrange it to look freshly tidied so that Mo Songyan wouldn’t notice.
On the other side, Mo Songyan was sweating profusely while holding an axe, but he felt like crying but had no tears.
Originally, he lived a life that was not extravagant but also had everything he needed. As a result, he was killed in a car accident, traveled through time, and ended up in such a state…
He really regretted not spending like crazy in his previous life.
Never mind, it’s better to leave that money for his sister and nephew. Although they are not short of money now, it’s always better to have more.
He calmed himself down and began to think about how to live his life now.
First, he has to pay back the money he owes to the pharmacy, which is 500 coins. It’s better to rely on his own efforts. Although his cheap father was rich, he felt that it was unnecessary to ask for only 500 coins.
He has hands and feet and even a silver tongue, so is he still afraid that he can’t even make money?
He could just run down the street and perform Xiangsheng!
He doesn’t know if there was Xiangsheng in this dynasty, and he also doesn’t know if everyone in this world has the same sense of humor as Xiao Changyu. If they were, it would be a bit tricky.
He has to prepare his joke well. The jokes in his head are all from the 21st century, and they may not make people here laugh. Perhaps this is why Xiao Changyu still remains expressionless after hearing his joke.
A Xiangsheng performer must not only be able to speak but also be able to observe and be good at finding jokes from small events. Only artistic creations that come from the masses and go to the masses can resonate with the audience and make the joke be heard.
He will see if this broken-down temple is habitable. If it is, he will ask Xiao Changyu to stay here for a few days. And he will go to the streets and alleys during the day to observe the people’s sentiments…
