At night, the curtains were opened slightly, the dim yellow light from the windows of every house, the sound of children playing at the dining table, and the loving and scolding voices of adults interweaved in the alleys of Feidu, which made Fulan feel a little confused stand up.
The charcoal fire in the fireplace is burning brightly, the family sits around the table and chats happily, and the smell of buttered potatoes and fish soup in the kitchen makes the little dog crawling around his feet ready to move. How long has it been since he had such an atmosphere? Did you enjoy it?
five years? Or ten years?
The death of his parents ended his childhood earlier than anyone else.
Suddenly, Fu Lan longed for An Mei's body temperature.
He took out his pocket watch, it was a quarter past five, and it was still a long time before An Mei finished work.
If it weren't for An Mei's seriously ill grandma who needed expensive medicines all the time, Fulan really didn't want that little wild cat to continue working in the bar.
Although An Mei never went to the small room with anyone else since she met Fu Lan, the drunken alcoholic didn't mind pinching the plump parts of the girls when they passed by.
"Wait a little longer, the salary of a formal court judge is three times higher than that of a trainee. At that time, he can rent a bigger apartment and bring her and grandma here."
Thinking about it, Fulan reached out and touched the sheepskin bag on his waist. It is filled with various herbs from the Far East.
This is also one of the hobbies left to him by his father.
At that time, my father was studying herbal medicine almost crazily. He tried to combine it with alchemy to create a potion for resurrection from the dead, so that the wife in the grave could have body temperature again.
Resurrection and the soul belong to the realm of the gods after all, and until his death, this research has not progressed at all.
However, in my father's experimental notes, there are several interesting discoveries.
Anesthesia soup is one of them.
The exotic plants in the East, such as Solanum melongena and Scolopendra, are added into well water according to a certain proportion and boiled into thick soup, which can make people fall into a deep sleep after drinking.
It is better than anything that a patient who is sick and painful can have a good sleep.
This anesthetic soup is also the only savior of Anmei's grandmother when she is in pain, but because it is expensive, Fran can't allocate it in large quantities.
Since it was still early for the appointment, Fran decided to go back and do some treatment on the herbs first.
In my father's research, the eggplant has to be processed more carefully, or it is a dose of poison that is enough to make people feel deeply grieved.
Fran's apartment is located in the third street of the old district. These old houses that existed when Feidu just started to prosper are already dilapidated, and the prosperous families have long since moved out of here. The residents living in the old district are all coolies and poor clerks.
However, compared with the homeless people in the slums, they at least have their own houses, and they have the happiness of sheltering from the wind and rain, at least not freezing to death in the cold current.
Through the hall, carefully walk up the creaking stairs, and the 30-ping room on the second floor is Fran's home.
The furniture in the room is old, and the four-leaf decorative pattern carved on the baroque sideboard in the corner has been worn out to distinguish the original shape. The second-order shelf shows that it is still an antique handed down from my grandfather, and only the viscount can match the second-order sideboard.
The oak dining table on the other side has also passed its service life, and the tenon and mortise of the chassis have long been loose, and it began to shake with a little force.
Only that bed is brand new, but the ceiling is empty and there are no curtains. That kind of expensive fabric is still a bit extravagant for Fran.
And Fran's research equipment: an exquisite nickname, an alcohol stove, various test tubes made of glass, filters, and crocks for boiling herbs, these things cost him more than half of his savings.
When Fran stretched and yawned a lot, he realized that it was too late.
Fran can't help feeling flustered at the thought that the wildcat is still waiting for him.
Feidu under the night is not a safe place, especially the rumors of the midnight butcher. Although the news is firmly blocked, as a civil servant, he has heard about it.
That's a madman who haunts at night and kills at will. It is said that many patrol members have changed their preference for meat because they saw the bodies destroyed by butchers.
In an instant, Fran was frightened by one of his own imagination.
Hurriedly put on his coat, Fran ran to the Green Agate Square, and every time An Mei came to the apartment for the night, she was there waiting for him to pick him up.
Even if she was given the key to the apartment, the habit continued.
"It is every girl's natural right to wait for her lover's hug and expect to be welcomed back to the castle by him." An Mei always looks at Fran with smiling green eyes, and her tone is as soft as a breeze caressing the treetops.
The moon shines pale, the cold wind shuttles through the winding alleys, making a sound like sobbing, and the house with red bricks and broken tiles is particularly lonely in the wind.
The accumulated water soaked the garbage scattered in the streets and lanes, causing Fran to fall and mix several times. At the corner of Green Agate Square, Fran slammed into something soft, and then there was a scream.
An Mei sat on the ground, her hair wet, her face twisted with fear, and there was no blood. When she saw that it was Fran who knocked herself down, she threw herself into his arms desperately.
"Someone has been following me." An Mei pointed behind her, her body cold and shaking.
Fran subconsciously touched his pocket. Only a bunch of keys can be used as a weapon. This humble little thing is as powerful as a fist claw when it is tightly held in the palm of your hand and the tip protrudes from your fingers.
The streets at night seem more and more silent and empty in the moonlight, and there are no suspicious people.
However, Fran found that the cover of the underground waterway in the distance was uncovered. He went over and looked down, but he couldn't see anything in the dark.
Maybe it was a worker who cleaned the waterway and forgot to restore it. Fran thought that he moved the manhole cover back to its original place with his feet and was a little angry at this irresponsible behavior.
In the patrol file, there are more people injured by sewers without manhole covers than prey captured by ethereal butchers.
"I swear, there was a figure just behind me, and my eyelids kept jumping." An Mei grabbed Fran's skirt and looked secretly. When she was sure that no one was there, she was greatly relieved. She muttered and explained, "You know, this has always been very effective. Last time, I was almost hit by a flowerpot that was blown off by the wind on the third floor. It was the eyelid jump that reminded me to be careful."
"Don't worry, maybe it's a hungry stray dog." Fran put the key back in his pocket and wrapped An Mei in his coat. Seeing that the girl is intact, the heart that has been beating violently for a long time can finally calm down.
"it hurts." An Mei frowned. She just sprained her ankle and leaned against Fran, complaining, "Liar, you promised to pick me up as soon as you closed, and now you're here." As he spoke, he twisted the tender meat around Fran's waist a few times to vent his grievances.
"Sister Mamer disappeared at night, so be careful that I will disappear to you one day." An Mei's mouth didn't stop until she was carried on her back by Fran. The girl was like a noisy mouse when she lost her temper.
"Well, I'll rub it for you later, and I'll burn my feet with hot water." Fran knew that if she didn't transfer the target quickly, she would chatter all night, "I changed new sheets today." Fran hinted.
An Mei's complaint disappeared. After half a ring, she put her head to her lover's ear and said angrily, "If you are in charge of breakfast tomorrow morning, we can come three times, well, maybe four times, if you insist."
The girl's hair tickled Fran's neck, and he suddenly felt that the road from Green Agate Square to home seemed a little long.