Chapter 14: A Snowy Night's Ramblings

  The cold wind suddenly blew, and the left Shao Yang was startled and shivered. He quickly closed the door, waited for a moment, and then slowly opened it again to look outside. He saw that there was a narrow alley in front of the door, which stretched across from the entrance. It was dark and couldn't be seen clearly, with black holes on both sides. However, the ground was covered with white snow, and with the reflection of the snow, he could vaguely see the nearby area. Opposite the alley was a high wall made of green bricks, about two zhang high, but it was unclear what kind of house was behind it.

  He carefully placed the oil lamp on the stove, slowly opened the door, trying not to make a sound, but the wooden door still creaked out a teeth-aching noise. He listened for a moment, and since there was no reaction from inside, he felt relieved, slipped out of the back door, and slowly closed it again.

  Standing outside the door, I suddenly felt a chill on my face. I reached out to wipe it and found a snowflake. The snow must still be falling. Lifting my eyes to take a closer look, indeed, flakes of snow were drifting down from the dark night sky. The accumulated snow in the alley was glowing with a white light. Li Shao Yang wrapped his sleeves around him and shrunk his neck, looking left and right before heading off to the right.

  The snow on the ground had been trampled into ice by pedestrians, and it was very slippery. He could only use one hand to hold onto the cold green brick wall and move forward slowly.

  Not far from here, the high wall disappeared and turned into a wooden board wall, and the houses also became much shorter. After walking for a while, in a small recessed corner, a smell of feces and urine came out, and after taking a closer look, it seemed to be a toilet. Hurriedly fanning my nose, I quickened my pace and walked forward again, and soon arrived at a crossroads. It was dark and deserted, and I didn't know where to go, the surroundings were quiet, and it was probably almost midnight, so I didn't dare to walk far, and turned back, passing by the back door of my own pharmacy, continuing forward, with houses of varying heights along the way, some still lit up, occasionally hearing children crying or talking from inside the houses on both sides of the alley, as well as barking sounds from unknown places.

  In front of him was a T-shaped alley, he stood there looking left and right, the two alleys were dark and seemed like the eyes of monsters in the darkness, not only did he feel a little scared, but he quickly turned back, feeling his way along the wall to the back door of the pharmacy, pushed open the door and went inside, then inserted the bolt.

  His body was chilled to the bone, and his nostrils itched, causing him to let out a series of loud sneezes. Afraid of waking up his parents, he covered his mouth while sneezing, making it even more unbearable. He hugged himself tightly and stomped his feet to shake off the snow, only to discover that his shoulders were also icy cold. Reaching up to touch them, he found they were covered in snowflakes. In just a short while, his entire body was already blanketed with snow, indicating that the snowfall was quite heavy.

  He fumbled his way back into the house, climbing up the stairs. He thought to himself that ancient nights were really boring, with people rising and setting with the sun, and no nightlife to speak of, let alone internet cafes, computers, TVs, or movies. Even at home, they had to be frugal with oil lamps, and reading was a luxury they couldn't afford. It was so dull that all he could do was sleep.

  Zuo Shaoyang knelt on the bed, took off his quilted jacket, and inside was only a set of close-fitting small clothes. He shivered as he spread the quilt over the bedding. The other end of the bed was against the window frame, and cold wind poured in from the gap between the windows, so lying down could guarantee that his head would not be affected by the wind. He blew out the lamp, crawled to the other end and burrowed in, curled up into a ball, and shivered violently under the quilt.

  He originally thought that shrinking into the quilt would warm him up quickly, but after a while, he found that the quilt was still icy like an ice cave, his nose started to run and itch, and he couldn't help but let out several "ah-choos" in a row.

  A series of sneezes, and my stomach started to hurt. I must have caught a chill when I went out for a walk earlier, feeling very uncomfortable. After sleeping for a while, it still didn't work, and my stomach was getting more and more painful. I had to go to the toilet, so I got up and put on my cotton-padded jacket again, preparing to go to the bathroom. Earlier, I found the location of the toilet, which is in the small alley behind. Just as I was about to go down the stairs, I suddenly thought, what should I use after finishing? Don't even think about toilet paper, using twigs or small sticks? The thought alone makes me feel sick. Subconsciously, I used my hand to search around and touched the partition where Old Master Li's handwritten medical book was placed. My heart was delighted, so I used it. This thing is full of errors, what I remember in my stomach is a hundred times better than this. Keeping it would be useless anyway. The paper is very soft Xuan paper, just right for use as toilet paper.

  He grabbed a handful of toilet paper, crumpled it up, and made his way down the stairs to the kitchen. He opened the back door and walked along the alley until he reached the outhouse. He pushed open the wooden door and went inside, carefully closing the door behind him. Just as he was about to undress, he realized that wearing a long gown to the toilet was quite troublesome. After struggling for half a day, he finally figured it out. Now he understood why ancient people called going to the toilet "changing clothes". Wearing a long gown or long skirt made it really inconvenient to use the toilet; one had to change into shorts first.

  On a cold winter night in the twelfth lunar month, relieving oneself in an old draughty toilet was truly unbearable.

  Finally finished, put on the quilted jacket, and touched the darkness again to go back inside. This bare butt was frozen, feeling more uncomfortable all over, couldn't help but let out a string of sneezes, especially loud in the quiet night. Hurriedly used hands to cover mouth, touched back inside up the stairs, took off the quilted jacket and dove into bed, cold and curled up into a ball, teeth chattering nonstop, nose running profusely, one sneeze after another rang out.

  He felt a chill all over his body, and even his nose was blocked. He touched his pulse, which was as weak as a floating wood. He had caught a cold. He wanted to get up and find some medicine to take, but in ancient times, most medicines were decocted and taken orally. Under the influence of the chill, he couldn't move at all.

  Just then, the door downstairs creaked open and Liang's wife stood at the entrance with a lamp in her hand: "Zhong Er, what's wrong? Are you feeling cold? You must have been out in the snow earlier and got frostbite!" She said slowly climbing up the stairs.

  Zuo Shaoyang poked his head out from under the covers: "I'm fine... Ah-choo! Ah-choo!" Snot and saliva flowing everywhere, he hastily asked: "Is there any tissue? I need to wipe my nose!"

  "What's the use of wiping with paper!" Liang took a handkerchief from under his arm and handed it to Zuo Shao-yang, "Here, wipe yourself!"

  Zuo Shaoyang struggled to get up, bare-chested and holding out his hand for the handkerchief to blow his nose.

  "Good heavens! How did you manage to take off your padded jacket? No wonder you're catching a chill. Hurry up and put your clothes back on! I'll go make some ginger soup for you!" She said, carrying the oil lamp down the stairs.

  Zuo Shaoyang only then realized that the Tang Dynasty didn't have cotton, and poor families couldn't afford to buy silk quilts, so they couldn't keep warm in the cold winter. They could only sleep wearing their clothes and covering themselves with a quilt, just like people do today when they take off their outerwear to sleep, no wonder it wasn't warm. He quickly got up and put on his padded jacket, curled up under the quilt, this time although still very cold, but feeling slightly better than before.

  Then a voice from inside the house said: "He has caught a bad chill, ginger soup won't work, use Ephedra soup instead!"

  Zuo Shaoyang stuck his head out and said: "My nose is stuffy, add some Qingbi nasal discharge, plus some Cang Er Zi and Xin Yi!"

  "You understand?!" Left Guisheng raised his voice, "Quickly cover up with your quilt!!"

  "Should we add Astragalus and Angelica too?"

  Zuo Guizhong hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice: "Add it up!"

  "Oh."

  After a while, the oil lamp came in again. Liang put the oil lamp on the medicine stove and slowly climbed up the stairs with a large bowl, saying to Zuo Shaoyang: "Zhong'er, come and drink the medicine, your father prescribed it for you. After taking the medicine, sleep for a while and you'll be fine."

  Zuo Shaoyang's whole body was trembling, he got up, took over the steaming hot medicine, and gulped it down in one breath.

  Then came Left Gu's voice from beside the door: "Cover him with this quilt too and let him sweat it out!"

  Zuo Shaoyang lowered his head and took a glance, only to see Zuo Gui slightly hunching his back, holding a quilt in his hands, looking up at him with his head raised. The cold wind that came from who-knows-where blew his white goat beard into a flutter. Under the swaying oil lamp, it was as if he were floating and drifting, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, somewhat resembling an old immortal from a painting.

  Looking at their worried faces, Zuo Shao Yang thought of when he was a child and fell ill, his parents would sit by his bedside, watching him take medicine. His nose turned sour, his eyes welled up with tears, and he finally choked out: "Dad! Mom! I'm fine!"

  Liáng shì wēi wēi yī xiào, cóng tā shǒu lǐ jiē guò yào wǎn, róu shēng dào: "Kuài tǎng xià! Wù zhe fā hàn, shuì yī jiào jiù hǎo le!"

  English Translation:

  Liáng smiled slightly and took the medicine bowl from his hand, softly saying: "Lie down quickly! Cover yourself to sweat it out, sleep for a while and you'll be fine!"

  "Hmm!" Zuo Shaoyang snuggled into the quilt, and soon felt a weight on his body. He realized that Liang Shi was spreading the quilt over him. Suddenly, he felt warm, unsure whether it was due to the added quilt or the warmth of kinship.

  Listening to Liang's descent of the stairs, for a moment there was still no sound of the door closing. Zuo Shao Yang couldn't help but stick his head out and saw the two old men still looking up at him with concern on their faces. He hoarsely said: "Dad! Mom! You should hurry back to bed and be careful not to catch a chill. I'm fine."

  "Alright!" said Liang, "If you're uncomfortable, just call us!"

  "Hmm!"

  The door closed and the room returned to darkness.

  He put on his interlining garment, added a quilt, and with the ginger soup taking effect quickly, Zuo Shao Yang felt his body start to warm up. After a day of exhaustion, listening to the howling wind outside the window, he soon fell into dreamland.