"Do you have a way?" Huo Duan asked calmly, subtly avoiding Gu Fengyan's hand that was about to tug at his sleeve.
Gu Fengyan didn't take it to heart. "We're moving to the county tomorrow. We need someone in the village to take care of the business. Your brother is a reliable person. Why don't we get him to join us? I'll teach him how to process the medicinal herbs, which will save us trouble."
Huo nodded. "Good idea."
“Right, you tell them, it’s inconvenient for me to say so.” Gu Fengyan smiled and looked up at Huo Duan.
He could still laugh, which made Huo Duan grit his teeth in hatred. Thinking of how he looked last time, he felt like his soul had left his body again.
The sensation of his rubbing against my calves was still there...
He suddenly snapped out of his daze, looked away, cleared his throat, and said, “Aunt, why don’t we ask Brother Dashan to partner with us? It will be troublesome for us to come back after we move to the county. Why don’t we entrust the village business to Brother Dashan? He will have a proper way to make a living, and the Liu family will feel more at ease.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Xiuling hurriedly said, "Really? If Dashan can partner with you, then we'll have more security when we go to propose marriage..."
She looked at Ye Shan, whose expression had suddenly brightened, and said, "It's just that this child is honest; I don't know if he can do a good job."
Everyone in Heqing Village knows how profitable their medicinal herb business is; after all, they're old enough to buy houses in the county.
However, although Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan agreed, Huo Xiuling was worried that they were only doing it out of kinship, and was afraid that Ye Shan would not be able to do it and would ruin the business.
Ye Shan scratched his head and said, "Thank you, Erdan and Yan Ge'er, but I'd better find another way. I'm too clumsy to bother you."
Gu Fengyan smiled and said, "Brother Dashan, Aunt, you don't need to worry about this. Huo Duan and I discussed it before we dared to bring it up. We all know that Brother Dashan is a serious person."
Ye Shan and Huo Xiuling agreed after hearing this, and thanked them. Huo Xiuling repeatedly told Ye Shan to do his job well...
The whole family was anxious about Ye Shan's marriage. They waited restlessly until the afternoon when Xue Da and Ye Bi returned. Xue Da also brought a message from the family, saying that Jing Ge'er didn't like the person and was unwilling, so they gave up.
Upon hearing the news, Ye Shan practically jumped off his stool, his face beaming with joy.
After a while, when Huo Xiuling and Ye Bixian were discussing proposing marriage, he became nervous and uneasy.
According to etiquette, the betrothal gifts for a boy are different from those for a girl. Although farmers do not adhere to the strict rules of formal betrothal, they still have to follow the basic etiquette. For example, they give a pair of earrings to the boy, as well as glutinous rice, money, scissors, an abacus, and a pair of wild geese.
Ye Bixian and his wife discussed sending over the earrings, which had been passed down from their ancestors. They figured they could buy geese and other such items in the county, and they could send someone over now so they could be back before dark...
After discussing it with the Ye family, Huo Adie borrowed another ten strings of silver from Huo Duan Gu Fengyan, and his own family also contributed ten strings... In the midst of all the chaos, they finally managed to get things sorted out.
Gu Fengyan and the others have done all they can to help, and there's nothing else to do. They're just waiting for good news from Ye Shan tomorrow.
The Huo family got up very early to move, and almost everything was packed. The people hired by the brokerage firm cleaned the house in the county, so they could move in immediately.
After having breakfast in the old courtyard, they took Uncle Huo with them and drove the carriage to the county.
When it was time to leave, Father Huo was extremely reluctant to part with him. He walked around the front and back of the house for a long time and wiped away his tears in front of the gate.
"A man who's half-buried in the ground, who knows if he'll ever come back." Today, Father Huo was wearing the fine cloth clothes that Gu Fengyan and the others had bought for him. His quality of life had suddenly improved, which made him, who had worked hard all his life, feel lost and disoriented.
Gu Fengyan went to help Huo's father, "Why can't you come back? Now that we have a carriage, you can just let us know if you want to come back. We also need to keep this courtyard to store medicinal herbs."
"Father has been crying more lately," he joked.
Father Huo wiped away his tears and finally smiled, "Yes, I've suffered my whole life, it's time for me to enjoy my retirement."
The family arrived at the village entrance, got into the carriage, and were about to drive off when they saw Huo Xiuling rushing over.
"Aunt," Huo Duan called out from the carriage shaft.
Huo Xiuling had just walked over when Gu Fengkuang asked her how things were going with Ye Shan and Jing Ge'er.
Huo Xiuling couldn't stop smiling.
Early this morning, the Ye family went to the village head's house to propose marriage. Liu Zhengshan was very surprised. He had originally agreed, but was worried that Jing Ge'er would suffer if he went there. Ye Shan, however, was a persistent person and knelt down to beg Liu Zhengshan very sincerely.
When Jing Ge'er saw him kneel down, his eyes immediately welled up with tears of heartache. Only then did the Liu family elders realize that Jing Ge'er was also willing. Seeing that Ye Shan had a good attitude and was ambitious, they agreed.
The wedding date is set for the middle of next month.
Gu Fengyan was also happy to hear this, "I will definitely come to drink my brother's and little brother's wedding wine."
Huo Xiuling was still busy preparing for this, so she didn't say much. She only promised to come to the county tomorrow to see their new house before hurriedly going home to make arrangements.
...
The new house was large, so Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan arranged for Huo's father to stay in a room near the garden, which would be convenient for him to grow vegetables and take care of chickens and ducks.
He and Huo Duan each chose one of the other two rooms, facing each other across the courtyard.
After arriving at the new house, he led Father Huo around to familiarize himself with the place; it was already dark by then.
The family members went back to their rooms to rest.
The next day, as usual, they got up early. When Manager Li of Dongfulou heard about their move to a new house, he offered to help them host a housewarming banquet, only asking for payment for the dishes.
The one who came was Master Zhao's apprentice. He was very skilled and quickly prepared three or four tables of food.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan only invited people they were close to in the village; three or four tables would be enough.
Jiang Xuerui and Shen Zhuo arrived early and helped with the tidying up. Ye Shan and Ye Bao from the Ye family also came.
As soon as Ye Bao entered the room, she saw Gu Fengyan and ran over to hug his leg, sweetly and affectionately calling him "Brother Yan."
Gu Fengyan then picked him up and looked for candy, and then opened the door to welcome the guests again.
It was indeed Liu Zhengshan's wife and Jing Ge'er who arrived.
Jing-ge'er rarely goes out, which surprised Gu Fengyan... Speaking of which, Liu Jingyu is now his new sister-in-law.
"Aunt Feng, Jing-ge'er, come in quickly," he greeted the two of them. "How are you feeling?"
Feng Aihua presented the housewarming gifts and said, "I originally brought him to the county for medical treatment, but since we're getting married next month, we just happened to come along. Thank you for your help."
Gu Fengyan replied with a smile, "We'll all be family from now on, no trouble at all, Aunt Feng, you're too kind. Please bring Jing-ge inside."
Ye Bao, who was eating candy in her arms and still clutching another in her hand, saw Jing Ge'er struggle to the ground, ran over and hugged him tightly, opening her arms, "Little brother, have some candy."
"Little brother" is usually a term used to address the husband of an older brother. Ye Bao, though small, is clever and mischievous, and knows more than anyone else.
Liu Jingyu immediately blushed and didn't know where to put her hands.
Gu Fengyan was about to speak up to help him out when Ye Shan pulled Ye Bao aside, saying, "Don't bother him, go play by yourself."
Her ears were bright red, and she barely dared to look at Liu Jingyu. She then greeted Feng Aihua, "Feng... Mother-in-law."
Feng Aihua nodded with a smile. Since they were engaged, there was no need to be so discreet. Feng Aihua went straight to the kitchen to help out, and Gu Fengyan also pulled Ye Bao over to have a chat with the two of them.
He only looked back after walking a distance. Ye Shan and Liu Jingyu stood under the corridor, their faces flushed. One was tall and the other was slender, like a perfect couple.
He looked away and saw Huo Duan standing not far away, looking over through the flowers and trees. He was tall and imposing, with long legs that seemed to have nowhere to go.
The Huo family has really good genes; there isn't a single ugly person in the whole family... It's a pity they're clueless about romance, and their dullness is also passed down through the family line, Gu Fengyan thought to himself.
...
A group of people sat down in the small garden, surrounded by lush flowers and trees, with a slight breeze.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan sat together as the hosts, with Liu Jingyu and Ye Shan sitting opposite them.
The two seemed quite embarrassed, their faces flushed, occasionally exchanging a whispered word or a laugh, exuding a sweet and intimate atmosphere.
Ye Shan was very considerate. During the meal, he carefully picked out any food that Liu Jingyu didn't want to eat or couldn't eat. When a steamed fish dish was served, which Liu Jingyu loved, he insisted on not eating a single bite himself, only focusing on picking out the bones for Liu Jingyu.
Gu Fengyan couldn't bear to watch another meal being eaten with such a lack of enjoyment.
Huo Duan wasn't much better off. He hadn't paid much attention before, but now that Ye Shan and the other man were standing next to him, he realized that he and Gu Fengyan had never seemed so close before.
He flirted with him and treated him well, but never crossed the line, always stopping short of what was meant to be.
Huo Duan couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and felt extremely irritated...
During the meal, Huo Duan offered toasts, but he really couldn't hold his liquor. By the afternoon, he was already a bit tipsy, seeing double... yet he kept drinking cup after cup.
Gu Fengyan didn't know what was wrong with him, so he took him to a well-ventilated waterside pavilion to rest.
He showed the house to the others and saw them off before bringing over a blanket and some hangover soup.
Huo Duan leaned on the railing, quietly watching the few fish below.
It was already getting dark, and the light was warm and yellow. Gu Fengyan felt that his back looked very lonely, so he went over and draped a blanket over his back, and said with a smile, "President Huo, I didn't know you could drink so little."
Huo Duan turned around, his eyes hazy, but not completely drunk. "I'm alright, the wind has helped a lot. Have you seen everyone off?"
Gu Fengyan handed him some hangover soup, "Hmm, drink some, so you won't have a headache tomorrow."
"Thank you for your hard work," Huo Duan said as he drank the bowl of soup. The discomfort in his stomach subsided considerably, and his mind cleared up.
The two sat quietly and could hear the leaves falling; before they knew it, it was completely dark.
Gu Fengyan got up and lit the lantern. Today he was wearing a crimson robe with wide sleeves, which made his fair skin stand out even more. When he rolled up his sleeves to light the lantern, a section of his forearm was exposed, on which a brown or red mole shone brightly.
Huo Duan swallowed hard, feigning drunkenness, his eyes blurry, "Young Master Gu, you're so handsome..."
Gu Fengyan paused, thinking he was too drunk to speak clearly, and smiled, "Still saying you're not drunk?"
He touched Huo Duan's forehead, lowered his eyes and smiled, "Let me help you back to your room to rest."
"You're so handsome." Huo Duan grasped his wrist, his hazy, drunken eyes shining like stars in the sky.
As they gazed at each other, Gu Fengyan wondered if it was just her imagination, but she saw an almost insane obsession in his eyes.
It's like a pagan's belief in an evil god.
He was both amused and exasperated. He leaned closer to Huo Duan and touched his cheek. "What's wrong with you today? Has alcohol emboldened you?"
Their breaths mingled, and a few strands of black hair fell into Huo Duan's clothes, tickling him unbearably.
Gu Fengyan was incredibly handsome and beautiful. At this moment, Huo Duan neither wanted to crush him nor destroy him.
I just want to hide him away, hold him in my palm... I just want to love him.
Yes, love.
It was a strange feeling, both joyful and painful, sweet and bitter. He wanted to hold Gu Fengyan tightly in his arms... but that was far from enough.
We need to be closer, so close that there's no space between us.
Gu Fengyan stared into his dark eyes, stroked his high nose, and said in a voice as moist as spring water, "Is that right? Answer me, President Huo."
Huo Duan went mad; his reason crumbled completely.
He was like a reckless wild beast, tasting meat for the first time.
He tilted his head back, his nose touching Gu Fengyan's nose, so close they couldn't be closer. "Ayan, I want to kiss you, is that okay?"
Before Gu Fengyan could react, Huo Duan had already pulled him down and made him kneel on the stone bench.
Gu Fengyan was startled, his pupils dilating. "You—"