Chapter 350: Chapter 135 Poisonous Flower_2
She pointed to a bed at the far end of the room.
The bed was very old and situated in the deepest part of the room, where not a single ray of sunlight could reach. Most importantly, there was a hole in the wall right above the head of the bed, from which leftover rainwater dripped down bit by bit, forming a small damp patch on the wooden bed.
Today it hadn’t rained, but when it did, the bed was practically uninhabitable.
Lu Tong raised her eyes towards the woman.
The woman stood tall in front of her, her narrow white face like an exaggeratedly painted mask, with only a pair of lifeless eyes behind it staring at her, as if watching someone about to sink into a quagmire, flashing with inexplicable excitement.
The atmosphere in the room immediately tensed.
After a silent moment, Lu Tong bent down to pick up the bundle that had been thrown to the ground and turned to walk toward the wooden bed in the corner.
She could feel that the gaze behind her turned to disappointment for a moment, but soon, after this act, the deadly silence that had been there was abruptly broken, and the room once again became noisy.
There were giggles and laughs, as well as cursing and swearing about the never-ending tasks in the medicine storehouse. The women went to their beds, but the noise was also lifeless, like a forgotten ditch that had started to rot and stink, occasionally rippled by the wind.
It was suffocating.
Lu Tong went to the edge of the wooden bed and began to spread the bedding. Although she had wiped clean the spot dampened by rainwater with a cloth, it was bound to feel damp when sleeping at night. Everything in her bundle was clothing personally prepared by Yin Zheng, and she was reluctant to use it as bedding.
As she frowned, a piece of deep gray sackcloth suddenly appeared before her eyes. The hand that threw the sackcloth onto Lu Tong’s bed retracted quickly.
Lu Tong was taken aback, and as she turned her head, she saw the woman in the bed next to her turn her back, seemingly unconcerned, and crawled into her bedding.
After a moment of silence, Lu Tong carefully folded the gray sackcloth and laid it over the damp patch, then spread the bedding. Once everything was arranged, the noise in the room gradually subsided.
Someone extinguished the light, and thus the last bits of dim light were swallowed, plunging the entire room into a deathly silence, like a massive tomb.
The wooden bed was narrow and hard, barely big enough for one person. The blanket assigned was also very thin, giving off a faint damp smell.
Lu Tong curled up on her side in the bed, clutching her bundle, with her medical box beside her pillow. The darkness cut off the malicious gazes from all around, almost offering a sense of security.
This was her first night in the Medical Officer Institute, living as if she were in a gloomy prison cell. Before she arrived, Miao Liangfang had repeatedly warned her to be cautious in the Medical Officer Institute. Life outside was not easy, and it wasn’t as glamorous as ordinary people might think.
But Miao Liangfang probably hadn’t imagined that it would be this "difficult" for her.
She hadn’t been able to meet Qi Yutai, hadn’t found the chance for revenge, had been thrown far away to the Southern Pharmacy, unable even to touch the hem of her enemy’s robe.
Gradually, soft snores began to fill the surroundings, accompanied by murmured dream talk. In the cramped room, even dreams were spare.
Lu Tong quietly listened for a while, then closed her eyes.
...
The next day, as dawn just began to break, Lu Tong was awakened by someone calling her.
The woman who had asked her to change beds the previous day stood at the foot of her bed, her lips painted a startling red, and said coldly, "Newcomer, get up and start working."
Lu Tong quickly rose and groomed herself. As she stepped out of the room, she saw that in the courtyard ahead, a group of people were already neatly lined up. In addition to the women, there were also men, most of them wearing brown robes, aged, with drooping eyes and brows, sallow faces, each looking listless.
Directly in front stood a pot-bellied man clad in silk and brocade, fat-faced with a look that seemed greasy, eyes shining without restraint as he leered at Lu Tong emerging from the room.
The woman who had made things difficult for Lu Tong the day before darkened her expression upon seeing this.
After taking attendance, the pot-bellied man instructed everyone to go to the medicine storehouse to organize medicinal materials, leaving Lu Tong behind on her own.
Before leaving, the woman gave Lu Tong a fierce glare, then hurried off.
"Lu Tong," the man beside her called her name.
Lu Tong bowed her head: "Sir."
This man was the Medical Supervisor of the Southern Pharmacy, named Zhu Mao. All medicinal materials that were picked and organized had to pass through his hands for inspection, and he was in charge of the yearly evaluations of the Southern Pharmacy, holding a high position there. Lu Tong noticed that even the domineering woman from the day before was quite respectful in front of Zhu Mao.
Zhu Mao gave Lu Tong a glance: "You’re new. In the coming days, you’ll go to Luoying Garden to pick and organize ’Hong Fang Xu’."