Chapter 23 Dependence on each other
Early in the morning, before the roosters crowed, Chen Ji opened his eyes and was shocked to see five small silver ingots placed beside his pillow.

It was the reward promised by Yun Yang, but he didn't know how the other party sneaked into the clinic, nor did he know when the other party sneaked in. It was as if these five silver ingots appeared here out of thin air.

This is not only Yunyang’s reward, but also a warning to the other party.

Chen Ji quietly got up and put on the new clothes sent by the wedding cake. When he unfolded them, he found that it was still a navy blue long gown with a stand-up collar and a large front. The two buttons on the stand-up collar were decorated with silver. It was much better than the clothes he had worn before.

This set of clothes must cost several taels of silver, right?

Unfortunately, the wedding cake only sent the clothes, inner collar and pants, but no boots and belt, so after Chen Ji put on the stand-up collar, he still wore the same pair of tattered cloth shoes and tied a wide hemp belt around his waist...

Chen Ji was happy, but he seemed a little out of place.

Never mind. What’s the point of a poor apprentice clamoring for this? I can make up for it when I make money later.

When the cock crowed, Chen Ji went out and happened to see the grain and oil shop opposite was removing the door panels.

"Good morning, boss lady," Chen Ji walked into the grain shop with a smile.

"Hey, Doctor Chen, what would you like to buy?" The proprietress was busy opening the shop. When she saw him come in early in the morning, she immediately put down what she was doing.

"How much is a pound of millet?" asked Chen Ji.

"If others ask, it's eight cents. If it's you, Doctor Chen, it's six cents," said the proprietress with a smile.

"How much is a pound of rice?"

"Jiu Wen, this is not cheap, please forgive me."

Doctors were scarce these days and their status in the industry was relatively high. Chen Ji's master was a seventh-rank imperial physician in the imperial court, so the neighbors were quite polite to Chen Ji.

"Then give me five kilograms of millet, five kilograms of rice... and a pot of sesame oil. Oh, and a piece of bacon!" said Chen Ji.

The proprietress smiled and said, "Okay, the total is one hundred and ninety-five coins, I'll charge you one hundred and ninety."

Chen Ji broke the silver ingot worth one tael, exchanged it for a few strings of copper coins and left them at the grain and oil shop, waiting to pick them up in the evening. He then left with the packages of varying sizes.

The package was tied with a straw belt, which made his hands hurt a little, but he was still in a good mood.

Chen Ji was buying things in order to go home for a break. He thought that judging from his own living conditions, his family’s conditions might not be that good either.

According to the information previously revealed by the master, my father should be working on the river bank, right?

Under such circumstances, the other party still helped me to present the apprenticeship gift to my master and find a good future for me. It should have been the whole family's efforts.

This touched Chen Ji a little, and he even became curious about his family in this world.

The Chen family lived in Cuiyun Lane. He asked the owner of a shop on the street about the location and walked all the way to the north of Luocheng.

Los Angeles was a little more lively in the morning. He saw someone driving a ox cart passing by. There were several sacks on the cart, and he didn't know what was inside. It seemed like someone was going to the market.

There were also caravans entering the city from the north, with their carriages piled with stretched furs. Winter was approaching, and these were the most sought-after goods among the nobles.

It is said that the most famous brothel in the East Market is called Hongyi Lane. The top girl usually does not receive customers, but if a wealthy businessman presents her with a mink fur coat, she will definitely take a smooch on her.

There were naughty children chasing and playing on the roadside, shouting nursery rhymes and holding homemade windmills in their hands.

The women were washing clothes and chatting and joking by the small river that ran through the city, bursting into laughter from time to time.

Chen Ji arrived at Cuiyun Lane. He looked for a stall owner and asked, "Uncle, may I ask where the Guandong Chen family lives?"

The old man glanced at him and said, "Isn't this Chen Ji? Why do you need to ask where your home is?"

Chen Ji: "..."

So they are acquaintances.

He hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to ask any more questions. He just carried the things and walked into the alley.

At this time, there was a noisy voice in front: "Butler, butler, where should I hang this lantern?"

A man's harsh voice said impatiently, "Do I have to teach you everything? There are hooks on the eaves above the stone lions! Hurry up, the two young masters will be back soon. If you delay any longer, you will be in trouble!"

Chen Ji looked at the house decorated with lights and didn’t know what happy occasion it was. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong. He saw that the plaque in front of the house read... Chen Mansion.

Are there two Chen Mansions in Cuiyun Lane?

This family's door lintel is bright, and although the vermilion lacquered front door and stone lions are not particularly impressive, this is definitely not an ordinary family.

"…This shouldn't be my home, right?" Chen Ji muttered.

"Chen Ji?" The butler with a mustache looked over and asked in confusion, "Why are you back?"

Chen Ji hesitated for a second: "I'm taking a day off today."

The housekeeper said, "That's great. You're taller. Come up the ladder and hang up the lantern."

"Oh."

Chen Ji put the package in his hand aside and climbed up the ladder to hang the lantern.

The housekeeper was directing the other maids, "Come, come, bring a basin of water and sprinkle it in front of the door to prevent dust from being raised when the two young masters come back. You are a bunch of clumsy people. After all, you are servants of the Luocheng Tongzhi. If anyone sees you, they will laugh at you for not knowing the rules!"

As he spoke, the housekeeper saw the packages on the ground and said, "Whoever put them here, take them aside and don't get in the way."

Chen Ji calmly came down from the ladder: "Butler, I..."

The housekeeper suddenly realized: "You came to learn about silver, right? The master told me about this a while ago, but you see I was so busy that I forgot about it, so I didn't send it to you."

He ordered someone to bring out a string of copper coins from the accounting office, which should be about 300 pieces: "Use them sparingly. The world is in a difficult situation now, and it's not easy for our Chen family either."

Until this moment, Chen Ji still didn't understand what his identity was in the Chen Mansion.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance, and noisy discussions drifted in from outside Cuiyun Lane: "The eldest and second young masters of the Chen family are back! They have been in Donglin Academy for three years, and I can hardly recognize them after they came back."

"The eldest and second young masters are becoming more handsome."

Chen Ji looked and saw two young men riding white horses entering the alley. They were wearing green brocade robes with subtle and elegant patterns embroidered on them. Just from the embroidery, one could tell that the robes were very expensive.

The two young men wore cloud-shaped boots, each with a piece of green jade hanging from their belts, and pearl and jade pendant collars hanging from their chests. They looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, with outstanding manners.

The housekeeper came forward and took the reins with a smile: "After returning from Donglin Academy, the two young masters will surely make a splash in this year's imperial examination!"

The two young masters jumped off their horses, handed the whips to the maids, and said with a smile, "The housekeeper has a lot of white hair in the past few years. It seems that he has been working hard for the mansion."

"No, no, it's all my job... The master was supervising the water conservancy work on the river bank. He heard that you were coming back a few days ago, so he came back specially to wait for you. Go and greet him!"

Amid the noise, everyone followed the two young masters into the mansion. They didn't even glance at Chen Ji when they passed by him.

They were not pretending, they really seemed not to recognize who Chen Ji was, or it didn't matter whether they recognized him or not.

The once bustling front of the Chen Mansion had become deserted. Chen Ji stood at the door in silence, as if the world had forgotten him.

Chen Ji thought carefully, the master should know his family background, but the master seemed to have never mentioned that his family could not afford the tuition because of poverty, nor did he say what his father did on the river bank.

The reason why the master was so angry at the beginning was because he knew that his family was obviously rich, but he was still dragging his feet and was unwilling to pay the tuition fee.

Luocheng Tongzhi, like Liu Mingxian, was a fifth-rank official. Chen Ji looked at the plaque "Chen Mansion" above his head, and finally did not step into the red door. The young man just bent down and placed the string of 300 copper coins at the door, then picked up the packages he brought and turned away.

The old man at the alley looked at his back and sighed, "There is a world of difference between a legitimate son with a mother and a bastard son without a mother."

Chen Ji returned to Anxi Street and took out the copper coins from the grain and oil store. The proprietress was a little surprised: "Little Doctor Chen, why did you bring the things back in the same condition? We can't return goods here."

He smiled and said, "No, take it back and honor the master."

When he returned to the clinic, Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "Didn't I tell you to take a rest? Why are you back so soon?"

Chen Ji counted out five hundred and sixty copper coins and said, "Master, this is the money my family gave me to make up for the tuition and medicine money I owe you. These packages in your hand were also given to you by my family."

Old man Yao curled his lips and said, "Your family has finally grown up. I didn't expect that your father could repair his brain while supervising the repair of a river bank."

Chen Ji: "...You were banished to Luocheng because of your bad mouth, right?"

……

……

At night, Chen Ji sat in the main hall of the clinic, quietly copying down knowledge points about the pathology of typhoid fever. When he turned around, Wu Yun was already squatting on the counter behind him, holding a small blue cloth bundle in his mouth.

"Are you planning to run away from home?"

"What are you thinking about?" Wu Yun hesitated for a few seconds and asked, "Can you take me to Qingping Lane?"

"It's late, and I'm afraid of the dark."

"Do you think I believe it or not?"

Chen Ji sighed: "Okay, I'll take you there, but why are you going to Qingping Lane?"

"I don't want to talk about it now!"

Where is Qingping Lane? This is a very serious question.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Well... I'll take you there tomorrow night. It's not convenient today."

"Why not today?!"

"I don't know where Qingping Lane is..." Chen Ji said, "You don't have to look at me like that. Although I can't explain why, I really don't know where Qingping Lane is."

Wuyun thought for a moment: "I know."

A night watchman passed by the door. He knocked on the bell and shouted, "It's dry, be careful with fire."

It is already Yin time, 3 o'clock in the morning.

Los Angeles is no longer as lively and prosperous as it was during the day.

Chen Ji quietly closed the door of the clinic and followed the dark clouds into the night.

He tied the small blue cloth package on the back of the dark cloud. It looked quite cute and also helped him not to lose track of the dark cloud in the dark night... the dark cloud was really too dark.

Along the way, the dark clouds seemed to be relying on memory to identify the direction, sniffing here and there.

The man and the cat walked and stopped for an hour, and even got lost several times.

Chen Ji did not rush him. He could see that going to Qingping Lane tonight must be very important to Wuyun.

He has enough patience.

Finally, the dark cloud stopped in an alley and stared blankly at the closed door.

"Is it here?" Chen Ji asked.

"This is it."

"Should I knock on the door?"

"no!"

Wuyun called out twice towards the door, calling out something.

But the shouting did nothing except attract two wild cats.

"I want to climb over and take a look. You wait here." Wuyun took a little help from the wall and leaped into the yard. His speed was so fast that it seemed to leave an afterimage. He was extremely agile.

Chen Ji leaned against the alley and waited calmly. After a while, the dark clouds returned and his mood was obviously much lower: "Let's go."

"Is the matter done?"

"Ah."

"what's up?"

Wuyun stopped and looked back at the door: "I miss my mother."

Chen Ji was silent. Cats also miss their mothers.

Wu Yun was lost in thought and said, "She may not miss me, but I just want to come and see her... and I want to travel the world with you in the future, so I have to bring you here and let her see you."

Chen Ji asked: "Isn't she at home?"

Wuyun's voice gradually became quieter. "She must have been sold, too. Her cage and food bowl are gone."

"Help you find her?"

"No more looking for it. This is the fate of cats."

"What's in the little bag you brought?"

"I hid some dried fish and wanted to bring it to her."

Chen Ji stood in the darkness of the alley in silence. He bent down, held Wuyun in his arms, and walked towards the clinic.

The dark cloud did not struggle. It just curled up into a small ball and covered its head with its furry tail.

There was a clattering sound of footsteps on the bluestone slabs, and the boy's back was thin but upright.

"Chen Ji, what kind of person is your mother?"

"She... is a very gentle person," Chen Ji didn't want to say anything more, as if memories were a warm stream of air like breath, which ran away as soon as they came out of his mouth.

He walked along the long streets of Los Angeles holding Wuyun in his arms. Wuyun was very small, just a few months old. When he shrank, he was only the size of two palms.

Chen Ji suddenly wanted to live a good life.

"dark clouds?"

"Ok?"

"Let's depend on each other."

(End of this chapter)