Gu Xijue's "Warm Love" Collection

Chapter 43 I'm always by your side (10)
funeral
For several days, the weather was gloomy, but it never rained.After work that day, Fu Beichen drove to Houdetang.

Houdetang is a traditional Chinese medicine hall in Yanling Lane, Jinghai. Its front door is small, and it is an old-fashioned black-lacquered double-leaf wooden door.But after entering the door, there is something different inside.

At the front is the medicine hall, rows of Chinese medicine cabinets are neatly arranged, and the shop is full of fragrance.The back is the place to see a doctor, and there are regular doctors sitting in the hall.Behind it is a place for boiling medicine, and right next to the boiling pharmacy, there is an independent small courtyard where the owner He Pu lives.

He Pu was Fu Beichen's childhood friend, and the two lived together in the compound by Xizhao Lake.

"Why are you free to come and see me today, Fu is busy?" He Pu said after making tea for Fu Beichen.

Fu Beichen picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

"Come to see you for Mrs. Fu."

"I've always felt that you are not normal."

Fu Beichen looked at him sideways, "Aren't you annoying when you always say that?"

"How can it be annoying to say bad things about others?" He Pu said cynically, "You have been serious to the point of outrageous since you were a child. At first I thought you were pretending to be serious, and deliberately followed behind you to see when you showed yourself. .”

Fu Beichen didn't reply, so He Pu continued meanly: "Who knew that following along would lead to feelings for me. I thought I was originally the Qi Tian Dasheng, but I followed you into a four-faced, and I'm a fart." I really want to be a doctor. Tell me, did you lower my head while I was not paying attention?"

Fu Beichen naturally ignored He Pu's hippie words, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "You really looked at the stack of medical records in the old lady's hand back then than I did. Now, your Houdetang can be regarded as It made a name for itself, which is pretty good.”

"It's rare that a few old gentlemen think highly of it and are willing to teach me. I plan to promote the cause of Chinese medicine in my life." He Pu half-truthfully said, "Well, I think our old lady must be very moved in heaven."

"Indeed, the old lady didn't love you for nothing. Remember to chat with the old man again this winter solstice."

"What are you talking about? Oh, let's talk about when you will get married, the old lady must be interested!" He Pu clapped his hands happily.

"I'm also very interested." Fu Beichen looked down at the tea in the cup, but the emotion in his eyes could not be seen, "Please ask her carefully."

In the evening, Yuanyuan was working on a manuscript again, when suddenly the cell phone on the desk rang, and she went over to see that it was her mother calling.She picked it up immediately, "Mom." Dai Shufen's weak voice came from the other end of the phone, "Yuanyuan, your grandma has passed away."

"Ah?" For a moment, Yuanyuan felt as if a thousand feelings were churning in his heart.Grandma has never given her the warmth of family affection, on the contrary, it is the main reason for her premature separation from her mother.It is impossible to have no resentment, but now that the old man is really gone, she feels indescribably sad.

Dai Shufen asked her to go home tomorrow, but after Yuanyuan hung up the phone, the more she thought about it, the more worried she became, and finally she took her bag and mobile phone and rushed out.

Yuan Yuan ran all the way to the outside of the community, a layer of sweat was already seeping from his back.Because it is an old residential area and the street lights are old and dim, she stood on the side of the road anxiously waiting for a taxi.Finally, a car light appeared in the distance, she ran two steps to stop the car without thinking.It was a private car, so naturally it didn't stop, and passed by her very quickly, even almost hitting her.

In the next second, Yuanyuan was pulled back forcefully!
Yuan Yuan, still in shock, turned his head to look, but saw a familiar face, "Fu Beichen?"

After Fu Beichen came out of Houdetang, he drove here.He sat in the car for a long time, finally closed his eyes for a while, and when he opened them again, he saw her stopping the car on the side of the road ahead.He was a little surprised, then got out of the car and walked towards her.Because he saw that she almost got into an accident a moment ago, his complexion was not very good, so for the first time he spoke to her a little harshly: "No matter how urgent you are, you can't stop the car like this."

Yuanyuan suddenly grabbed his hand, "Fu Beichen, Fu Beichen!"

Fu Beichen was stunned for a moment.

"Fu Beichen, will you take me home? Now, go back to my hometown!" Yuan Yuan clung to his hand as if holding a life-saving straw.

The sweat-beaded face was full of eagerness, and Fu Beichen's heart couldn't help tightening. He took a deep breath secretly, and took her to the car.

He didn't ask the reason, that expression must be something happened at home.

She said her home is in Yuxi Town.

Yuxi Town... He has been to this place once.

gallop all the way.When Yuanyuan got off the car, she saw that the door of her backyard was open. As soon as she entered the yard, she saw many neighbors crowding into her house.

Seeing Yuan Yuan, an aunt hurriedly said, "Yuan Yuan, you are back, your mother has fainted."

Dai Shufen was leaning on the rattan chair in the hall, her face pale.Yuanyuan ran over and even called a few times, but Dai Shufen didn't respond at all.

"Let me have a look." Fu Beichen pulled her up, with neither light nor heavy force, but full of comfort.

He squatted down, sniffed Dai Shufen's breath, then looked at his lower eyelids, and squeezed the inferior carotid artery.Fu Beichen's grandmother, Mrs. Fu, is a Chinese medicine doctor. He has been familiar with it since he was a child, and he also has a little knowledge of medicine.

"You can't lie on the recliner, you have to lie flat." After Fu Beichen finished speaking, someone came up to help him and helped Dai Shufen onto the wide bench next to him.Fu Beichen then pinched Dai Shufen's Renzhong acupoint, and said again, "Yuanyuan, go and make a cup of hot tea or sugar water. Hot ones are fine."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yuan hurried to the kitchen to make sugar water.

Sure enough, Dai Shufen woke up leisurely not long after. Yuanyuan glanced at Fu Beichen, Fu Beichen nodded slightly, and she immediately fed the sugar water in the bowl to her mother.

Dai Shufen's mind became clearer, and when she saw clearly that it was her daughter, she asked in surprise, "Why are you back?"

Yuanyuan's eyes turned red.

The aunt who was talking to Yuanyuan before said, "Ah Fen, you fainted earlier. The young man who came with Yuanyuan woke you up in two or three strokes." The aunt said and looked at Fu Beichen, " Is it Yuanyuan's boyfriend?"

"No, it's not." Yuanyuan said a little embarrassed.

Fu Beichen glanced at Yuanyuan, and then said to Dai Shufen, "Auntie, I am Yuanyuan's friend. My surname is Fu, Fu Beichen."

"Mom, he sent me back today." Yuanyuan added.

Dai Shufen thanked Fu Beichen, "Thank you."

Fu Beichen just nodded slightly.

After that, everyone didn't say anything more.After all, tonight is not a day to chat easily.

That night, the elders who were somewhat related to Yuanyuan's family, together with Dai Shufen, changed the shroud for Yuanyuan's grandma, and stood guard for the old man. The rest comforted Dai Shufen for a while and then went home.

Yuanyuan sat next to her mother, listening to the voices of the elders chanting Buddha, and occasionally talking about the short stories of parents and the shortness of life.

Yuanyuan was dizzy after hearing this.

As the night gradually deepened, Dai Shufen asked Yuanyuan to rest, but Yuanyuan shook her head.She didn't want her mother to work hard alone.

After staying up for a while, Yuanyuan was so sleepy that he got up and went to the yard to fetch water to wash his face, but unexpectedly saw the car still parked outside the rusty iron gate.

She was very surprised and ran over immediately.The car window was rolled down, and Fu Beichen's face was somewhat blurred in the darkness with only a little light.

"Fu Beichen..." She realized that her throat was a little hoarse, so she coughed twice, "Why haven't you left yet?" It had been several hours since she sent him out.

"Don't be too sad." He comforted softly.

Yuanyuan froze for a moment, "Hmm..."

Fu Beichen looked at her for a while, and finally drove away this time.

Watching the car disappear into the dark night, Yuan Yuan felt a warmth welling up in his heart.

Yuanyuan finally had a low-grade fever during the night watch. She forgot when she fell asleep in bed, and even had a lot of dreams.

She dreamed that her father was riding a bicycle when she was a child, and she was sitting on the crossbar in front of her, shuttling between small alleys; she dreamed that her grandma beat her palms with chopsticks, saying she was useless; The young man in the distance is shouting something...

In the end, she fell into a vast expanse of sea water, and someone was above the water, clearly very close at hand, but she still couldn't see who it was.

When Yuanyuan woke up, the sun was already high, and her head was still a little dizzy.

There was a lot of noise downstairs, so she quickly washed up and went downstairs in a hurry.There were already wine tables set up in the yard and living room. Seeing that her busy mother was pale, Yuanyuan blamed herself for it. She came back to help, but instead she became a burden.She hurried up to help, "Mom, go and have a rest."

Dai Shufen shook her head, "I've rested, I'm fine. How about you? Are you okay?"

"Ah."

At this time, the mobile phone in Yuanyuan's pocket rang, and she frantically took it out, but accidentally pressed it down.

At first glance, it was the editor-in-chief Zhang Yueren's call.She forgot to ask for leave from the unit leader!

The editor-in-chief is the parent of food and clothing, so you can't neglect it.Because the surroundings were very noisy, Yuanyuan ran outside the yard to answer the phone.Zhang Yueren's stern voice came from the mobile phone: "Skipping work without reason and refusing to answer the phone. If you don't want to do it, you should hand me the resignation report first. You can only leave after I approve it."

"I..." Yuan Yuan was so angry that he couldn't answer for a moment.

"I'll give you 1 minute to state your case."

Yuanyuan's voice was gloomy, and she told the truth: "My grandma passed away last night, and I'm at my hometown now. I'm sorry, I forgot to ask you for leave."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, just when Yuanyuan thought the phone signal was cut off, Zhang Yue said humanely, "How long will it take?"

"Two days. I have already written most of the manuscript you requested, and I..."

Zhang Yueren replied directly: "Take care of the family affairs and come back to make up for the leave. I will talk about the manuscript when I come back." At the end, he added, "If you have any difficulties, you can find me."

"Well, thank you." Yuanyuan knows that there is a kind of person in the world who has a cold face and a warm heart.Zhang Yueren is such a person.

At lunch time, Cheng Jianlin, the most respectable member of the Cheng family in Yuxi Town, arrived.Cheng Jianlin was the secretary of the previous Yuxi Town Committee, and he was the number one contributor to the development of Yuxi Town.

Dai Shufen received him solemnly, welcomed him to sit in the room, called Yuanyuan, and asked her to make a cup of tea.Someone asked Dai Shufen about something, and she walked away.After a while, Yuanyuan came over with tea and called out, "Uncle Jianlin."

Cheng Jianlin looked at Yuan Yuan and asked, "Are you... Yuan Yuan?"

"Ah."

"They've grown so big." Cheng Jianlin seldom went out after retirement, and Yuan Yuan has been studying in other places.The last time he saw Yuan Yuan was at her father's funeral.Unexpectedly, the child still remembered him.

"How is uncle?"

"okay."

During the chat, Cheng Jianlin learned that Yuanyuan had graduated, so he asked about her job.Yuanyuan said that she worked for a magazine, and that this job was introduced by Cheng Shenghua.According to seniority, Cheng Shenghua is Cheng Jianlin's nephew.When Cheng Jianlin mentioned Cheng Shenghua, his face was full of glory.At that time, Cheng Bai's grandpa, Cheng Qian, came from Princess Village. Cheng Qian had excellent medical skills, and had been an imperial physician in the palace in the late Qing Dynasty.During his tenure as an imperial doctor, he had to pass a plaque of "Same Merit and Good Look" bestowed by Emperor Guangxu.As the saying goes, "If you are not a good minister, you should be a good doctor." The golden plaque bestowed by Emperor Guangxu made Cheng Shenghua's family stand out in Yuxi Town, where there are many literati.

As for the fact that he and Cheng Bai were considered a family 500 years ago, Yuanyuan used to be complacent, but now he feels a lot of emotion.

"I heard that Shenghua's son is also a doctor now?"

"Yes. But he studied Western medicine."

Cheng Jianlin was getting old and couldn't stop talking once he started talking.Yuanyuan also chatted with him at first, and she suddenly remembered something while talking.

"Uncle, there used to be an ancestral porcelain vase in my family, but it disappeared later, do you know that?"

"Naturally know."

"My grandma said that because I was a girl, I couldn't continue the incense of the Cheng family, so the treasure left by my ancestors couldn't be passed on, so my ancestors took it back..." Yuanyuan said, looking at Cheng Jianlin , "Do you think so too?"

"Girl, you have been studying for so many years. Do you still need to ask me such a question?" Cheng Jianlin said kindly, "It was probably stolen by someone. After all, it is also an antique from the Song Dynasty. Although it is missing It's a pity, but you can't put the responsibility on you little girl because of this. Your grandma is confused. "

Hearing what Cheng Jianlin said, Yuanyuan felt relieved, and asked again: "Uncle Jianlin, do you know what's so special about this porcelain vase?" Let's keep it as a family heirloom for generations, so that after she disappeared not long after she was born, grandma was so brooding.

"I don't know much about porcelain. It is said that it is a jade pot and spring bottle..." Cheng Jianlin thought for a while and said, "It seems that there is an ancestor's instruction that the bottle is kept by your family."

"Oh, ancestral training, I've never heard of it..."

"There are not many people who know these old things now, and I also listen to my Taigong."

Yuanyuan still wanted to ask, when Dai Shufen came over, she saw Yuanyuan and Cheng Jianlin chatting, she was taken aback for a moment, and then said to Yuanyuan: "Children are ignorant, don't bother your uncle."

Cheng Jianlin didn't take it seriously, and said to Dai Shufen, "I like Yuanyuan very much, and we had a good chat. Don't talk about her."

Seeing that Cheng Jianlin was not impatient, Dai Shufen nodded, and said respectfully to Cheng Jianlin, "Uncle Jianlin, after the funeral, I want to go to the temple and set up a memorial tablet for my mother in the Ksitigarbha Hall."

"Well, it's good." Cheng Jianlin nodded, "The Chongfu Temple in the town is good. Your mother always went there when she was alive, and the old abbot also recognized her, so everything is convenient."

This afternoon, Cheng Shenghua also came over and helped with a lot of routine funeral matters.

And when the night fell that day, Yuan Yuan felt that he might have blown the air-conditioning at the crematorium for a long time, and then came out with nine steams and three steams, plus he didn't sleep well last night, after all the tossing, he just had a headache. Now I have a sore throat and stuffy nose.There were a lot of people in the house and yard, they were eating, smoking and drinking. She was so bored that she couldn't breathe, so she went to the alley outside the house. On the top of the mountain in the distance was the temple, which could only be seen under the hazy moonlight. to one point.Yuanyuan couldn't help leaning against the wall and thinking, Bodhisattva, why do I feel that you are not kind at all?

She closed her eyes in a daze, and vaguely felt the heat on her head.

"You're here..." Yuanyuan was still thinking about Bodhisattva in a trance at that moment.

"How can you be so unkind?" She thought she would not shed tears for grandma.But when she saw her grandma being cremated to ashes, she still cried.

The tall figure standing in front of her did not move.

Cheng Bai has surgery to follow today, so he can't ask for leave.Don't come here until after get off work.As soon as I got out of the car, I saw her.

The breath she exhaled was a little hot, and he touched her forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.

"you caught a cold."

Yuanyuan finally opened his eyes, straightened his body, looked at the person in front of him, and struggled to make out in the dim light, "Cheng Bai?"

"En." Cheng Bai replied.

Yuanyuan smiled, she shook her head, her mind was buzzing, she said, "Did I really like following you before?"

"troubled you……"

"At that time, my father left, my grandma ignored me, and my mother had to take care of my grandma... just treat me as if I was too lonely."

She and him are childhood sweethearts, but they are not childhood sweethearts.

Cheng Bai stood still.Yuanyuan walked into the room feebly, and he heard her murmur, "How could I think he is a Bodhisattva?"

Two days later, the mourners gradually dispersed.

After everything was settled, Dai Shufen and Yuan Yuan went to Chongfu Temple in the evening.Chongfu Temple is a temple that was first built in the Ming Dynasty. It has been damaged and rebuilt several times in history, and it still burns incense until now.Dai Shufen had already contacted her beforehand, so she went directly into the temple to explain her intentions, and a little novice called Master Zhike to come out to receive her.

The monk who came out was tall and tall, dressed in a wide brown robe, with clear eyebrows and a faint smile in his eyes, and folded his hands towards them.

very young!Yuanyuan thought to himself.But Yuanyuan also felt that this master was very kind, but she thought, it should, couldn't be the one she knew, right?

"You don't know me anymore? Cheng Yuanyuan, I'm Jiang Xiaoqi. However, the Dharma name is Jingshan now." Master Zhike said unhurriedly.

Yuan Yuan was stunned on the spot, this bald master is really his elementary school classmate...

Dai Shufen was also very surprised and said, "You are Xiaoqi?" Dai Shufen remembered that this was her daughter's classmate when she was young, and she had played at her house several times.

"Yes, Auntie."

Afterwards, led by Jiang Xiaoqi, Yuanyuan bid farewell to grandma in the Ksitigarbha Hall.While Dai Shufen was going to handle some matters with the little novice, Yuan Yuan burst out laughing at Jiang Xiaoqi.

"Jiang Xiaoqi, it's really you!"

"Amitabha, it's true."

"I'm sorry, I have a cold." Yuanyuan took a step back covering her mouth and said again, "I remember when I was young, I was told 'my wish' in class. Some people want to be scientists, some people want to be writers, and some people want to be painters. You, when you went up, you said you wanted to be a monk, and everyone laughed. Unexpectedly, when we grow up, we all become ordinary lay people, and only you are really a monk."

"I don't have a beginning, hehe."

"I didn't see how good you are in Chinese and literature before. After becoming a great monk, you can still speak well." Yuanyuan was amused by him, and asked, "How does it feel to be a monk?"

"It's okay, the most important thing is that the six roots are clean, and no one bothers me. It's a pity that not being able to eat meat is very painful." Jiang Xiaoqi joked.

If there are uninformed people around, they may feel that this monk is a bit out of tune.Only Yuanyuan knew how much bitterness was contained in his words.

Soon after Jiang Xiaoqi was born, his mother passed away, and his father was very cruel to him, beating and scolding him at every turn.Most of the clothes he wears to school are torn.In the third grade, Yuanyuan and him became tablemates. She was kind enough to help him take back his torn clothes occasionally for her mother to mend, and often took him to her home for dinner, because she often Hear his stomach growl.

Seeing Yuanyuan's expression turned from sunny to cloudy, Jiang Xiaoqi quickly changed the topic: "Why, if I say I feel good, you want to come too?"

Yuan Yuan smiled on his face, but was still a little bored in his heart, so he didn't speak.

"I think you are full of peach blossoms, so don't come here." Jiang Xiaoqi said, pointing to the northwest direction, and said, "There are a few meditation rooms there, which are reserved for the occasional two days of great benefactors. Although I am already I'm an outsider now, because of the friendship between our childhood sweethearts, if you have any unhappy things in the future, you can come to me. I'll make a room for you to practice Zen for free. How about it, is it enough loyalty?"

Yuanyuan said with a smile, "I probably know a little bit about why you were able to become a Zhike teacher at such a young age."

Jiang Xiaoqi quickly stretched out his index finger and put it in front of his mouth, hissed, and said, "It's good to know everything, don't break it, haha." Then he asked Yuanyuan, "Your mother may be busy for a while, I will take you for a walk ?”

"Amitabha, respect is worse than obedience."

Yuanyuan recalled that when she was a child, her mother would often take her to Chongfu Temple to worship Buddha, praying for safety and learning well.But when she grew up, she didn't worship Buddha very much. She felt that she believed in Buddha because she wanted to give up something, not to seek something.She told Jiang Xiaoqi her thoughts.

Jiang Xiaoqi praised: "A bit wise."

At this time, Yuanyuan's phone rang.She picked it up and saw that it was Fu Beichen, so she quickly picked it up.

"Hello." Her voice was a little hoarse, but not serious.

"Have a cold?" Fu Beichen immediately realized something was wrong.

"Um……"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, "What are the symptoms?"

"I have a little fever, but I feel cold, and my nose keeps running... I have a bit of rhinitis."

"Pay more attention to rest."

"Ah."

The two chatted briefly again, and Yuanyuan didn't want to come back until the call was over. He didn't seem to say anything special during the call, he just called to care about her?
Then she heard Jiang Xiaoqi say: "Cheng Yuanyuan benefactor, your smile almost rivals that of Maitreya."

In fact, Yuanyuan was still a little sad because of her grandmother's departure, but Fu Beichen's few words temporarily diluted the melancholy in her heart.

(End of this chapter)