The simple dish, served with white rice porridge, was just ready when the Ye family arrived.
After lunch, the family started preparing the afternoon meal. They soaked the dried bamboo shoots in water to soften them, then wrapped them with white rice, red dates, fresh meat, and salted egg yolks... Gu Fengyan was good at other things, but he knew nothing about wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), so he had to leave it to Huo Xiuling and Huo's father.
He and Huo Duan took Ye Bao to braid colorful ropes and play with realgar.
Fortunately, Gu Fengyan was skillful; she braided the colorful ropes neatly and beautifully, and even managed to create two flower shapes.
Ye Bao bit her finger and watched from the side. She had long been subdued by this handsome older brother and didn't even care about Huo Duan. She kept circling around Gu Fengyan.
"Little Bao, let your big brother draw a 'king' character on your forehead." Gu Fengyan finished braiding a five-colored rope, waved to Ye Bao, carefully put the five-colored rope on him, and then used realgar wine to dot a 'king' character on his forehead.
Ye Bao smiled happily, "Thank you, big brother."
Gu Fengyan gave him a few more eight-treasure candies he had bought the day before. Ye Bao took a candy and put it in his mouth, then tried to feed Gu Fengyan, saying, "Big brother is handsome, have some candy."
Perhaps due to genetics, the entire Huo family were all handsome and good-looking. Although Ye Bao was young, she looked like a doll in a New Year's painting, with big, blinking eyes that were particularly endearing.
Gu Fengyan had said she wouldn't eat, but she couldn't bear to refuse, so she opened her mouth and asked him to feed her.
Upon seeing this, Huo Duan picked up the largest candy from the jar and said to Ye Bao, "Go eat some candy and play."
He shoved the candy into Gu Fengyan's mouth, put his arm around Gu Fengyan's shoulder, and said provocatively, "No matter how handsome your brother Yan is, he's still mine."
The two people stood in front of Ye Bao, who was as tall as a table, looking down at him. They were both good-looking, like the pair of jade dolls he had seen when he passed by a gold and jade shop in the county.
Ye Bao frowned, stamped her foot, and glared at Huo Duan with her big eyes. "That's not true! Mother said that married couples can have children... Mother and Father are married, and they had me and my brother. But you two don't have any children, so you're definitely not a couple!"
“President Huo, this kid is a genius of logic… You’ve met your match,” Gu Fengyan said, almost bursting out laughing when he heard this. “Quick, quick, explain it to him.”
Ye Bao looked up at Huo Duan defiantly. Huo Duan had survived countless bloody battles over the years, yet he had been humiliated in front of a child.
"What do you know, little brat? Your brother Yan is mine." Huo Duan's face darkened. "He ate my candy, so he's mine. Why didn't he eat yours?"
Gu Fengyan could barely contain his laughter... Huo Duan, a grown man, was acting like a child, being unreasonable and irrational.
Upon hearing this, Ye Bao stared blankly at the candy she was about to feed Gu Fengyan, her lips pursed.
"Oh no, Mr. Huo, he's about to cry!" Gu Fengyan's alarm bells rang, and he hurriedly went to comfort Ye Bao, "Don't listen to your Erdan brother's nonsense, I'm eating your candy..."
He took the candy from Ye Bao's hand and glared at Huo Duan, "How old are you?"
Huo Duan kept his eyes down and his mind at ease, thus fooling them.
Ye Bao was still a child, with a simple mind. When he saw Gu Fengyan accept his candy, he stopped crying and asked, "Really?"
"Really, I'll eat in a bit." Gu Fengyan blinked sincerely.
Ye Bao was finally happy and skipped out of the yard to play with her friends.
Gu Fengyan looked at Huo Duan and asked with a smile, "How old are you, Mr. Huo?"
Huo Duan stretched out his head, took a bite of the candy Ye Bao gave him, and pretended to be innocent, "Guess, if you guess right I'll tell you."
"You little brat." Gu Fengyan's fingertips were touched by his lips, which were warm, soft, and ticklish.
It felt like a flower suddenly blooming from my fingertips.
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Summer officially begins after the Dragon Boat Festival, and the weather gets hotter every day. Not only is it hot, but at night the mosquitoes are like they want to eat you alive.
Although mosquito nets were hung on the bed and mugwort was burned before going to sleep, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan still woke up every morning covered in red bumps, which were itchy and painful.
Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui were skillfully moving tables and taking out account books, preparing to start their day's work. Gu Fengyan, with his sleeves rolled up, was washing the remaining medicinal herbs; his fair arms were covered in red marks, a horrifying sight.
"Oh... what happened to Yan Ge'er's hand?" Huo Xiuling was startled and grabbed his arm to look at it.
Gu Fengyan complained bitterly, "My aunt doesn't know, the house is near the woods, and at night the mosquitoes are so fierce they can eat you alive. Huo Duan and I are covered in bites all over our bodies, and there are hardly any healthy spots left."
Huo Xiuling glanced at Huo Duan, whose neck and arms also bore the same bite marks.
"Didn't you hang a mosquito net?" she asked.
Gu Fengyan scooped up the washed herbs. "No way, they were hung up before the Dragon Boat Festival, so they're useless."
Hearing this, Huo Xiuling had no solution. Jiang Xuerui spoke up, "When I was a child, my hometown was by the water, and there were many mosquitoes. Every summer, my whole body was covered in mosquitoes. My mother knew how to make mosquito repellent, and applying some would save me from the torment... But I don't know the recipe. I can ask her when I go back to my parents' home another day."
Jiang Xuerui's family home was in the next village, only a dozen or so miles away, so he could often go back to his family home.
Thinking of this, Gu Fengyan said to Jiang Xuerui, "I forgot that Rui-ge'er's maternal family is from the next village. This is perfect, Huo Duan and I just happen to have something we want to ask you for help."
The other day, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan discussed expanding their business to several neighboring villages. However, they were not familiar with the villages and feared that no one would trust them if they were to disturb them rashly.
That's great, with Jiang Xuerui around, the chances of success are much higher.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Xuerui asked, putting down her work.
Gu Fengyan called Huo Duan over, and the group sat around the table for a small meeting.
Huo Duanqing cleared his throat and said, "My aunt and Rui-ge'er have been helping us all the time, so they know that. Although it's not very obvious these days, the amount of medicinal herbs the villagers bring is decreasing day by day. So Yan-ge'er and I have been thinking about expanding our business to the neighboring villages..."
After listening, Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui nodded repeatedly. As the ones in charge of receiving and managing the medicinal herbs, they naturally knew that the amount of herbs delivered each day was less than in previous days, and not only less, but also of poorer quality.
Gu Fengyan continued, "Huo Duan and I don't usually interact much, and we don't know much about the neighboring villages. If we just say we're recruiting workers so rashly, no one will believe us. I thought it would be safer if someone could introduce us and vouch for us."
She looked at Jiang Xuerui with a smile, "I just don't know if Brother Rui is willing to help us with this."
Jiang Xuerui works for the Huo family and is paid by them. He knows all the people there, so he is very willing to help.
“I see,” Jiang Xuerui smiled, her eyes lowered. “That’s simple. I’ll let you know when I go back to my parents’ home next time, and we can go together then.”
"Then thank you in advance, Brother Rui," Gu Fengyan said.
After this was told, the villagers all arrived, carrying baskets slung over their arms and baskets on their backs, all filled with medicinal herbs. The Huo family courtyard was bustling with activity once again.
A few days later, Jiang Xuerui was going back to her parents' home. It was said that her sister-in-law had given birth to a baby girl and was in confinement, so she wanted to go back to visit her.
Shen Zhuo had work to do that day and couldn't leave, so only Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan went with him. The two brought a basket of eggs laid by their hens and a bag of brown sugar.
Jiang Xuerui's family home is located south of Heqing Village, not far away. They set off at 9:00 AM and arrived just after noon.
The village is mostly paddy fields, a sea of green with rice seedlings, their ears already sprouting, and the fragrance carried on the wind wafting into the air. Jiang Xuerui's house is in the middle of the village. Along the way, they encountered many villagers who curiously sized up Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan, and Jiang Xuerui greeted them from time to time.
“That courtyard over there is my home.” After crossing a rice paddy, Jiang Xuerui pointed to a courtyard at the foot of the mountain not far away and said to them.
The Jiang family was considered well-off in the village. Their house was covered with large blue tiles, the earthen walls were neat and tidy, and the two door knockers on the wooden door were made of copper.
Before the group had even climbed the slope, the courtyard gate opened, and a refined and gentle middle-aged man walked out. He squinted for a moment and then spotted Jiang Xuerui.
"Little Daddy!" Jiang Xuerui waved to the middle-aged man and ran up to him.
He Chaolin was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was his youngest son who had returned.
"Rui'er, why are you back...? I didn't see Shen boy?" He pulled Jiang Xuerui along, excitedly asking, but then noticed two unfamiliar young men following behind his son. "Who are these two...?"
Jiang Xuerui, who had been pampered since childhood, was now shaking He Chaolin's arm like a child, saying, "I came back to see my sister-in-law and niece, but Uncle is not happy?"
"Why are you unhappy? Your father thinks about you every day," He Chaolin said with a doting smile.
Jiang Xuerui sat next to him before remembering to introduce Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan, "Shen Zhuo is busy and can't get away. These two are my bosses and also from the same village. They came to recruit people in our village to help harvest medicinal herbs on the mountain... Later, you can ask your father to take us to see the village head."
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan smiled and introduced themselves to He Laochao Lin before handing him what they were holding.
After an explanation from both sides, He Chaolin learned that the two men were business owners who ran a medicinal herb business and had come to the village to recruit workers.
“Since he’s Rui Ge’er’s boss, he must have taken good care of him. You’re welcome to come. Why go to such lengths?” He opened the courtyard gate and led the three people into the house.
Besides their son Jiang Xuerui, the Jiang family also had a husband named Jiang Ze'an. Jiang Xuerui had come back to see his wife.
He Chaolin introduced the person to Jiang Yue, Jiang Xuerui's father.
The family was extremely kind. They treated the two to a meal before taking them to the village's main house.
Before coming, Gu Fengyan was actually quite apprehensive. They were separated by mountains, languages, and villages, and he didn't know what the local customs were like. If the villagers wanted to recruit workers, what would they do if they needed to disguise themselves?
However, when Gu Fengyan arrived at the main entrance of the village, he was shocked.
The house in front of me was a dilapidated little thatched house. Chickens, ducks, rabbits, a cat, and a dog were kept in the fenced enclosure. Under the eaves, there was a lotus flower in full bloom in a ceramic jar, and fish swimming below occasionally blew bubbles.
"Village head! Is anyone home? Someone's looking for you." Jiang Yue led his group into the courtyard in a nonchalant manner.
A voice answered from inside the room, and a boy who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, with his sleeves rolled up and his face covered in soot, ran out.
“Uncle Shen is looking for me, so please just call me Lu Xiaozi… Calling me village head makes me sound like a seventy or eighty-year-old man.” The boy smiled brightly, wiping the coal dust off his face.
When he saw Jiang Xuerui again, he obediently called her "Brother Xuerui".
Gu Fengyan always thought that the position of village head was something that only serious and upright middle-aged people could do, but he never expected it to be such a young man.
He found it quite interesting.
Seeing his face covered in coal dust, Jiang Yue asked, "What are you fiddling with now?"
Gu Jue grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth, and scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm cooking. Uncle Jiang, is there something you need?"
Jiang Yue ignored him and introduced Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan to Gu Jue, "These two are medicinal herb merchants from the neighboring Heqing Village. They said they had something to discuss with you, so I brought them over... Okay, I'll head back now that they're here. You two chat."
After Jiang Yue finished speaking, he left, calling out to Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan to finish their discussion and go home.
"I've met Gu Lizheng." The two introduced themselves.
Gu Jue was flattered and washed her face with water from the side before grinning at Gu Fengyan, "What a coincidence, I also have the surname Gu. Maybe we were even family many years ago."
Gu Fengyan found his laughter amusing and pulled Huo Duan aside to whisper, "I think the people here are quite young, so this matter might work out."
Huo Duan frowned but did not respond... From the moment he entered the courtyard, he noticed that the young village head had been watching Gu Fengyan in a seemingly casual manner.
Another person deceived by Gu Fengyan's appearance.
Sure enough, the next second, Gu Jue scratched his head and smiled sincerely at Gu Fengyan, "You are really good-looking, the most beautiful person I have ever seen since I was born."
Huo Duan's face immediately turned sour, wishing he could hide Gu Fengyan away so that no one else could see him and only he could see him.
Gu Fengyan smiled and was about to thank him. Huo Duan turned to the side, blocking half of him, and said coldly to Gu Jue, "Thank you for the compliment. My wife is indeed the most unique person in the world."
He spoke the word "wife" almost through gritted teeth.
Gu Jue is a simple person with no sense of propriety. He doesn't think much; he praises whoever looks good and puts a sour face on whoever he doesn't like.
Once, in the county, he saw a woman wearing a very unique pearl hairpin. He kept pulling people aside to praise and discuss it for a long time... The woman was happy, but the man next to her had a face as black as the bottom of a pot. If it weren't for the woman's presence, he would have almost smeared Gu Jue's handsome face.