After tidying up the room, Huo Duan wrung out a cloth and wiped it clean, then made the bed before coming out to pour out the water. "Auntie's gone?"
Gu Fengyan nodded, dried his hands, and sat down at the table. "Come and eat."
On the table were lightly cooked dishes, exquisitely prepared, and a bowl of light and refreshing soup with tender loofah and sliced pork... The pork was lean and not greasy.
Huo Duan washed his hands before going over to serve Gu Fengyan some food... He finally had an appetite. Huo Duan didn't serve him much, but he ate as much as he was served. He finished half a bowl of rice before putting down his chopsticks and drinking half a bowl of soup.
After finishing their meal, it was getting late. Huo Duan went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while Gu Fengyan carefully looked at the account books from the past few days. Apart from Heqing Village no longer supplying medicinal herbs, the surrounding villages still did.
Ye Shan was meticulous in his work and kept clear accounts. Gu Fengyan's eyes started to sting after looking at them for a while.
“The supply of medicinal herbs for the mute is decreasing in these villages…” He rubbed his temples. “If the herbs planted next year are successful, we can expand the planting.”
After bringing the tables, chairs, and benches inside, Huo Duan brought a cloak from inside to cover his legs, and laughed, "Looking at account books at this hour... be careful not to ruin your eyes."
“I’m so bored, I’m always cooped up, but here’s a lamp.” Gu Fengyan lowered his eyes and flipped through the ledger, handing it to Huo Duan after going through it from beginning to end. “Look, a couple of months ago, the villages above could still harvest four or five hundred catties, but last month it was only three or four hundred catties… and this month it’s even less.”
"Dongfulou is going to open a branch. Putting aside Xinglinyuan, the amount sold to the prefecture is not small... If this continues, we will eventually run out of money."
Huo Duan flipped through the ledger and continued, "Besides, everything should be done in moderation. Although we make a living from this, we cannot exhaust the resources and kill the goose that lays the golden eggs."
Huo Duan flipped through the ledger, closed it, and chuckled. "What Ayan said is true. The surrounding villages have similar terrain and climate to Heqing Village. This year, we'll try it out in Heqing Village first. If it's successful next year, we can extend it to the other villages... It can be considered as leading everyone to prosperity together."
Gu Fengyan nodded repeatedly.
"Can Ayan sleep peacefully now?" Huo Duan raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously.
Gu Fengyan stood up, tossed the cloak to him, and stretched his arms. "I'm only doing this so your child won't have to worry about food and clothing in the future... If the father doesn't take care of things, the child will end up begging from you. Poor Jianjian."
As the two walked into the house, Huo Duan laughed, "What's there to be afraid of? His little father is capable..."
They hadn't sweated much today, and were exhausted from the long journey. They quickly wiped themselves off and went to bed... Tomorrow's plan was to plant medicinal herbs, so they had to get up early.
Sleepiness came quickly, and the night passed without incident.
As dawn broke and before the rooster crowed, Huo Duanxian quietly dressed, closed the door, and went out.
He boiled water to wash his face and brewed a pot of tea. Only when the sky began to glow with rosy hues did he go to the bedroom to coax Gu Fengyan awake.
Today's plan is to plant medicinal herbs. Yesterday, Huo Xiuling suggested that they go to the Ye family's house for breakfast. Since Ye Bixian and Ye Shan are both at home, the three of them can plant those plots of land in one day.
Huo Duan brought the medicinal herb seeds they wanted to plant to the Ye family. The Ye family was having dinner and had already served them two bowls. Liu Jingyu and Huo Xiuling carried the dishes out.
"You said you'd have Ye Shan call you? You've finally arrived, come and sit down." After setting the dishes on the table, Huo Xiuling wiped her hands, took off her apron, and invited them to sit down.
The whole family was sitting neatly at the table, except for the two of them. Ye Shan helped Huo Duan take the bags of seeds off the table, and then everyone sat down to eat... The dishes were all freshly picked from the garden, cooked lightly, and tasted excellent. Gu Fengyan ate a lot.
The sky was overcast, with light and shadow shifting. After lunch, Huo Duan and the others, fearing it might rain, went to the fields without delay. Gu Fengyan, Huo Xiuling, and Liu Jingyu stayed home to help prepare lunch.
Gu Fengyan wanted to help, but Huo Xiuling wouldn't let him participate and told him to rest. Even when Ye Bao came to find him several times, Huo Xiuling scolded him and sent him away. He sat alone for a long time, feeling extremely bored, so he told Huo Xiuling that he was going to find Jiang Xuerui and went out.
He went to the fields.
The medicinal herb seeds have already been sown in the ground, and Huo Duan and the others are turning over the soil to cover them. Gu Fengyan brought some water for them to drink.
As he was struggling down the embankment, Huo Duan rushed over and picked him up, asking with concern, "Ayan, why are you always running around? It looks like it's going to rain, what are you doing here?"
"Fine," Gu Fengyan refused his help, took a long stride to steady himself, and said somewhat aggrievedly, "My good intentions are being taken for granted. I even offered to bring you water, but some people just don't appreciate it..."
Ye Shan, who was tilling the land not far away, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "Yan-ge'er came just in time, my throat was almost parched."
"That's not what I meant..." Huo Duan scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
Gu Fengyan frowned slightly, chuckled, and went to the basket under the tree to take out two bowls and pour water. "Uncle and elder brother, come and rest for a while and have some water... We can finish turning this over before it rains."
Ye Shan and Ye Bixian agreed, and the two of them sat down with their bowls, chatting and laughing with Gu Fengyan.
"Ah Yan, I'm thirsty too." Huo Duan smiled and squeezed next to him while he was looking for a place to sit down.
Gu Fengyan glanced at him, "Didn't you complain that I was running around everywhere?"
The sky grew darker, a cool breeze rustled the willow leaves overhead, and Huo Duan pulled Gu Fengyan's collar, coaxing him with a smile:
"How could that be? I know you're uncomfortable staying at home all day, either sitting or lying down... but it's going to rain soon, and I'm worried about you and Jianjian."
They also drank a bowl of water first. Seeing that the weather was not good, they told the two to hurry up and finish the rest of the reading so they could go home, as it was about to rain heavily.
Ye Bixian was the top farmer in Heqing Village, and no one dared to disbelieve him, especially since it was already very dark and there was a muddy smell in the wind.
Huo Duan didn't dare to delay, and without even taking a drink of water, he grabbed a hoe and handed it to Gu Fengyan, saying, "It's going to rain, so don't run around. Let's finish this and go back together..."
Gu Fengyan also realized that he had come at the wrong time, so he obediently sat down, poured a bowl of water for Huo Duan, and called out to him, "Drink this before you go."
Today he was wearing a light blue outfit... and sat obediently like a child just starting school. Huo Duan took a few gulps of water and liking him more and more as he looked at him.
As he handed the bowl back, he leaned down and whispered in Gu Fengyan's ear with a laugh, "I really want to kiss you."
Gu Fengyan's body stiffened on one side, and he couldn't help but look at Ye Bixian and Ye Shan... He swallowed hard, feeling uneasy, and closed his eyes.
He thought Huo Duan was really close to him, but after waiting for a while and seeing no movement, he opened his eyes and saw that Huo Duan was less than an inch away from him, their noses almost touching.
He smiled but didn't move. Finally, he got up and patted Gu Fengyan's head. "Wait patiently."
This is a case of stirring up trouble but not cleaning up the mess... Gu Fengyan was stunned, filled with regret.
Feeling frustrated and with nowhere to vent, he lowered his eyes and spoke to Jianjian, "Your great-father is a bastard... You mustn't learn bad things from him in the future."
A note from the author:
Thank you, Sangjiu Baby, for the nutrient solution (pats head).
The author consulted a fortune teller (himself) who said that his recent fortune was good. If he could change to a more auspicious pen name, he would be doubly blessed, invincible, reach the pinnacle of life, and marry a beautiful and wealthy woman in no time!
The author thought about it carefully and found it to be very reasonable, so he... (adjusts his glasses)
Chapter Sixty-Five
It still rained.
The wind was strong but the rain was light, and it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. Fortunately, Huo Duan and his group had finished turning the soil and returned to the Ye family before the rain started. Huo Xiuling and Liu Jingyu were just cooking and serving the meal.
"I was saying I'd bring you some rain gear, but I'm back now." Huo Xiuling grabbed a clean towel from the washbasin stand and told them to wipe themselves down.
Ye Shan first gave one to Gu Fengyan, while he and Ye Bixian used another one. "Quickly wipe it clean, make sure it's wet, we're tough guys, we're not afraid of this."
Gu Fengyan wore Huo Duan's clothes the whole way, with only the tips of his hair getting a little wet. He took the towel and wiped it clean, then wiped the water off Huo Duan's face.
"Has everything been planted in that ditch area?" Huo Xiuling brought over the last bowl of soup and brought all the dried goods drying under the eaves inside, afraid they would get wet in the rain.
Huo Duan patted his sleeves. "The ones along the river ditch have all been planted, only the ones on the back hill are left... With this rain, I'm afraid it will be delayed for a few days."
"If God isn't cooperating, there's nothing we can do. Let's eat first..." Huo Xiuling said with a smile.
“It’s good that you’re spending some time in the village. The county is nice, but there aren’t many people to talk to. I think Yan Ge’er is getting bored to death. I’ll have Jing Yu talk to him these next few days.”
Gu Fengyan smiled and agreed, and the family then sat down to eat.
The rain outside was getting heavier and showed no signs of letting up. After dinner, a few people helped clean up. It was a bit cold, so Huo Xiuling took a brazier and lit some charcoal. On rainy days, the villagers didn't have much entertainment, so they just visited each other and chatted.
Just as the fire was lit, several people came to visit from outside the courtyard, carrying umbrellas and some snacks. Huo Xiuling invited them inside and they sat down. A group of people gathered around the brazier, eating melon seeds, drinking tea, and chatting.
The conversation gradually turned to Gu Fengyan, but he didn't respond because he didn't know these people very well.
They realized they hadn't gone, so they changed the subject.
“When a boy gets pregnant, you have to be extra careful. Take Rui from the Shen family, for example. He slipped and fell a few days ago, and Shen Er happened to be out. If it weren’t for the neighbor’s idea to go and check on him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to save the baby…” an aunt sighed. “Poor Rui was so scared that he couldn’t even get out of bed these past few days.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Fengyan hurriedly asked, "How did you fall?"
Seeing his interest, the aunt said, "Sigh... You know that ever since the Shen family split up, the second branch has been supported by Shen Er alone. That day, he happened to go to the county to deliver goods. Rui-ge said he was bored by himself, so he took his clothes to wash... But he stepped into the puddle, lost his footing, and fell down the embankment."
"Luckily, he grabbed a tree and hung there, otherwise the child would have been dead long ago."
Gu Fengyan was terrified. No wonder Jiang Xuerui hadn't come to talk to him when they returned to the village; something terrible had happened.
Several aunties sighed, "Shen Erxiao and his wife have had a tough time. They ended up with someone like Madam Yu. Rui'er was pregnant, and she didn't visit him for a single day..."
"Still looking after him! Don't even mention it... When his older brother heard that Rui-ge'er was pregnant, he wanted to bring some eggs to check on her, and Madam Yu scolded him for days..."
"Is that so?" Even Huo Xiuling was a little surprised. This Ruige'er was pregnant with the Shen family's child, so why couldn't she even bear to let him eat a few eggs?
"Indeed, I heard it clearly the day I passed by the Shen family's gate..." the aunt said vividly, imitating the story perfectly.
This drew sighs from everyone present.
Ye Shan and his fellow men couldn't get a word in edgewise; they just kept their heads down, drinking tea and eating snacks.
Gu Fengyan found Huo Duan amusing, but he was also thinking about Jiang Xuerui. Seeing that he couldn't join in the conversation with Huo Xiuling and the others, he told Ye Bixian that he was going to go see Jiang Xuerui.
Hearing this in the gaps in Huo Xiuling's conversation, she pulled Gu Fengyan aside, took a bag of sugar and a dozen eggs from the house, along with some food, and gave them to him. "Go and take these with you when you go to see Rui Ge'er. Tell him that your aunt will visit him another day. The second son of the Shen family and his husband are both good children. Tell them to take good care of him."
Gu Fengyan readily agreed. Huo Xiuling fetched two umbrellas for them and packed a large bag of fresh vegetables picked from the field that morning for them to take with them. She then instructed Huo Duan to take good care of Gu Fengyan before letting them go.
It was still raining outside, the raindrops were dense and fine. To get from Yejiadao to Huojia's old house, you had to walk down a slope and cross a ditch. The road was slippery and the ditch was swollen with water. Huo Duan was worried and told Gu Fengyan to walk by himself, so he told him to hold up the umbrella and squatted down, "Come on up."
The pregnancy isn't too far along yet, so be careful not to crush Jianjian. Gu Fengyan thought for a moment, then leaned over and chuckled, "Mr. Huo, you'd better watch your step. If you fall, your wife and child will be gone, two lives lost..."
"Don't talk nonsense." Huo Duan slapped him on the thigh.
Gu Fengyan exclaimed, "You're being a pervert!"
The two walked along the path outside the Ye family's courtyard gate through the bamboo forest toward the ditch. Raindrops pattered on the branches, landing on the edge of the umbrella like a string of glass beads.
Huo Duan held him tighter and chuckled, "Take the umbrella, don't get wet."
The sound of rain brought a sense of tranquility. Gu Fengyan hooked his arm around his neck, held the umbrella in one hand, buried his face in his arm, and mumbled a soft "hmm".
The last time Huo Duan carried him was a long time ago.
The two went home to get their things, and put a cloak on Gu Fengyan before going to the Shen family. By then, the rain had subsided a little.
The gate to the Shen family's courtyard was open. Shen Zhuo was fanning the stove under the eaves, and a black pottery medicine pot sat on the stove... The whole courtyard smelled of medicine.
Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan carried the things inside and called out, "Second Brother Shen."
Shen Zhuo fanned away the charcoal smoke, coughed twice, turned around and saw the two of them, and quickly smiled, "Young Huo and Brother Yan, come and sit down, take shelter from the rain."
The two went over to give the things to Shen Zhuo, but didn't see Jiang Xuerui. Gu Fengyan asked with concern, "We came today to see Rui-ge'er, but we didn't see him... Is he feeling better?"
Shen Zhuo guessed they had heard about Jiang Xuerui's situation, sighed, and said palely, "It's all my fault, that Japanese guy should be home..."
He forced a smile and said, "Let's not talk about that. He's inside, and it's cold outside. I'm afraid he'll catch a cold... He's feeling much better. I've heard you say you'd come to visit since you got back these past few days, but I haven't had the chance. Plus, he's taking medicine, so it's been delayed."
"I'll go check on him." Gu Fengyan took a bag of candied fruit that Huo Xiuling had given him and went into the house... He loves to eat this, and he guesses Jiang Xuerui loves it too.