Gu Fengyan nodded, also happy, but then remembered something.
Last time, he and Huo Duan inquired about a ginseng from those two out-of-town businessmen. They originally planned to buy it as a wedding gift for Ye Shan and Liu Jingyu...
But things have dragged on until now.
A note from the author:
I originally planned to change the update time to 9 AM, but then I realized I overestimated myself (bowing deeply).
I'll still update in the evenings from now on, but the time will be earlier. *kiss*
Thank you to the little angel Sangjiu for the landmine (pat pat);
Thank you to Hanzhenjun and Lulalalu for the nutrient solution (smack)
Chapter 53
After much back and forth, it was early September. During these days, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan delivered medicinal herbs to Xinglin Courtyard and Dongfulou, and received three hundred strings of cash in return.
They didn't have any free time either. They leased and cultivated several acres of wasteland on the back hill of the village. The two of them were exhausted, but fortunately, the Ye family came to help out when they had free time.
By the time they finally had some free time, there were only five days left until Ye Shan's wedding.
At this time, the two herbal medicine merchants who had come before sent a letter saying that they had made progress in finding the herbal seeds they had asked them to find. It turned out that there was a herbal medicine shop in the prefecture that also sold herbal seeds, and they had left some for them and asked them to go and pick them up.
Upon hearing that it was the prefectural capital, and coincidentally, Su Baishao, who sold ginseng, was also in the prefectural capital, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan tidied up their home and took enough money to buy the goods.
On their first long trip, the two took the opportunity to sightsee, spending three days traveling from the prefectural capital back to Qianmo County.
At this time, there was still one day before Ye Shan and Liu Jingyu's wedding. Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan returned to the village without even having time to rest.
A wedding sedan chair, prepared in advance, was parked in the Ye family courtyard. It was decorated with red ribbons inside and out, and large red paper-cut "double happiness" characters were pasted on it.
Several familiar wives and brothers from the village were helping with chores, and a fruit plate on the stone table was filled with red dates, longans, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds.
I didn't see the Ye family elders, but Ye Shan was busy running around in the yard with an uncontrollable smile on his face.
"Brother Dashan." Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan put down the things they brought from the entertainment venue and handed a red brocade box to Ye Shan.
Gu Fengyan said, "I'm afraid I won't have time to give it to you tomorrow. This is a small token of my and Huo Duan's affection... May you and Jing Ge'er be of one heart and mind, live in harmony, have many children, and enjoy a life of prosperity together."
A few words of blessing made Ye Shan a little embarrassed. He accepted the gift, scratched his head, and said:
“I was busy with the wedding preparations the other day and didn’t get to help much with planting medicinal herbs. On the contrary, you guys helped me a lot.”
"Brother Dashan, what are you saying? We'll need your help with the village's business in the future..." Huo Duan said with a smile. "Oh, and I forgot to ask, how is Jing-ge'er feeling?"
When Liu Jingyu was mentioned, Ye Shan's smile faded considerably, replaced by an undisguised worry.
He sighed, “My mother, father, and I are also worried about this. Jingyu has been listless ever since he was sick last time. These days, he has been going back and forth because of the wedding. I am worried that he will get sick again if this continues... We must take good care of him with medicine after tomorrow.”
“That’s exactly what I meant.” Gu Fengyan gestured for Ye Shan to open the brocade box in his hand and said, “Huo Duan and I were also worried about him. We’ve been asking people to search for medicine everywhere for the past few days. Now, we’ve finally found a usable one. We’ll see if it works. If it does, we’ll send it over later.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Shan hurriedly opened the brocade box, and inside was a ginseng root about the thickness of a little finger, carefully wrapped up.
Some time ago, Gu Fengyan said that Jingyu's illness could be cured. Although he was happy, he did not have much hope. But now he saw that the couple had already brought the medicine to him.
His hand holding the brocade box trembled. "Is this ginseng?"
Although Ye Shan hadn't seen many good things, he had some common sense and knew that ginseng was not only expensive but also rare. Even wealthy families in the county might not have one... They must have gone through a lot of trouble to buy it.
So he held the brocade box even more carefully, as if it were some priceless treasure, his voice choked with emotion, "This thing must have cost a lot of money... Jingyu and I thank you."
Money is secondary; what matters is their sincerity—they genuinely hope that Jingyu will be well.
Ye Shan was so excited that he didn't know what to say.
People came and went in the courtyard to help prepare the banquet. On such a joyous day, what kind of couple would be crying and sobbing?
Huo Duan hurriedly said, "We're all family, brother, please don't say that. Tomorrow is our big day, don't let people laugh at us."
“That’s right, brother, hurry up and pack. If you need any help, just let me and Huo Duan know,” Gu Fengyan added.
Ye Shan finally smiled, holding the brocade box tightly in his hands. "Once Jing Yu recovers, I will bring him here to thank you in person."
Gu Fengyan looked around but didn't see Ye Bao or the Ye family elders, so he asked, "Brother Dashan, why are you the only one busy today? I didn't see Aunt and Xiao Bao."
Ye Shan was busy running around all day and almost forgot about this. He slapped his forehead and said, "I completely forgot! Father and Mother went to deliver wedding invitations. Xiao Bao is still at Zhang's house with no one to take care of him. It's about time to bring him back."
Seeing that there was nothing wrong, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan took the initiative to do the job and went to Zhang A's house to bring Ye Bao back.
Aunt Zhang also has two boys, plus Ye Bao, and the three of them run all over the yard. Aunt Zhang is overwhelmed with their attention. When they arrived, she complained, "It's a relief that someone has come to help. These three little rascals could have lifted the roof off the house." Aunt Zhang brought stools for the two boys and poured them tea as she spoke.
Before they could respond, she turned serious and asked about being taken to the authorities last time, "Last time it was in the middle of the night, and your father was so worried. Sister-in-law, if I may ask, what exactly happened that led to your arrest?"
The villagers love to gossip when they have nothing better to do. They've been gossiping for a long time these days, but no one knows who the young couple from the Huo family has offended to cause this misfortune. Instead, they hear that the county magistrate has died and several major corruption cases have been uncovered.
Everyone was curious, but no one actually dared to ask them.
Aunt Zhang was partly gossipy and partly worried.
"We were planning to lease land in the village to grow medicinal herbs, which required official documents. But then, by chance, the county magistrate was assassinated, and we were taken back for interrogation." Gu Fengyan smiled and, to avoid trouble, only mentioned the less important details.
Aunt Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that I didn't do anything wrong..."
Hearing that they planned to find people in the village to grow medicinal herbs, I asked, "Grow medicinal herbs? Have you obtained the necessary documents?"
"Yes, we've received it. If your family has extra land, you can plant there too. We'll provide the seeds and buy them back later," Gu Fengyan said.
Although he and Huo Duan had contracted land on the back mountain, it was only a few acres, which was far from enough. It would be even better if the villagers could all plant it.
If this were told to Sister Zhang, given how fast the villagers gossip, the news would spread throughout the entire village within a day, saving him and Huo Duan the trouble of asking from house to house.
Upon hearing that there was money to be made, Aunt Zhang was naturally delighted... Her husband worked in the county all year round, leaving most of the land uncultivated. Besides taking care of her two sons, she could grow some medicinal herbs in her spare time to supplement the family income, which was quite good.
"That's great! Your family has plenty of wasteland, to say the least." She quickly agreed.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan only told her to come to the Huo family's old house to get the seeds after Ye Shan's wedding, and they would teach her how to plant them.
It was getting late, so after giving them their instructions, they took Ye Bao back to the Ye family home.
Ye Bao got tired of playing and rubbed his eyes to go to sleep as soon as it got dark. However, the three adults in the Ye family were all too busy to take care of Ye Bao, so the little rascal could only hold Gu Fengyan longingly.
Having no other choice, the two of them took him back to the Huo family home. Huo Duan gave him a bath and carried him back to his room before the three of them turned off the lights and went to bed.
The next day, before dawn, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan woke Ye Bao up. The three of them got up together. Gu Fengyan was worried that Ye Bao would make a fuss if it was too early, but to his surprise, when he was woken up, he neither cried nor made a fuss. He obediently got out of bed and wiped his face with a handkerchief in his hands.
Gu Fengyan was still wondering, but Ye Bao couldn't wait any longer. She frowned as she watched the two of them getting ready. "Little brothers, hurry up! Mother said we're going to pick up Brother Jing today."
Gu Fengyan was both amused and exasperated. Afraid that he wouldn't be able to bear the hunger, she took an egg from the wicker basket, cracked it open for him, put it on the table, and told him to eat it before going out to wash her face.
Huo Duan had already prepared water for him, and said sourly with his arms crossed, "Does Ayan like children that much? He hasn't spoken to me for a whole day and night."
"What? You're jealous of a child?" Gu Fengyan washed his face, took the handkerchief handed to him by Huo Duan, wiped his face, and asked with a smile.
Huo Duan snorted coldly, "What am I jealous of? What right do I have to be jealous..."
Last night, the three of them squeezed into one bed, with Ye Bao in the middle. He couldn't even touch Gu Fengyan's hand.
Finally, it was late at night, and he carefully carried Ye Bao to the side, wanting to get closer to Gu Fengyan... But the little brat was as clever as a human, his eyes wide open, asking, "Brother, what are you doing?"
Gu Fengyan was startled, slapped him a few times, and then took Ye Bao away to comfort him.
After spending the night like this, Huo Duan was full of complaints and felt very aggrieved.
Gu Fengyan felt both sorry for him and amused by the sense of grievance and humility in his words. "Feeling wronged?" he asked with a smile as he leaned closer.
Huo Duan threw a tantrum, turning his head away, "What am I wronged about? I'm not wronged at all. I just got hit a couple of times..."
Gu Fengyan chuckled to himself, thinking that this person was still holding onto those slaps.
But he also felt sorry for Ye Bao. At the time, he was afraid that Ye Bao would go out and talk nonsense without knowing what was going on, so in his haste, he patted Huo Duan a few times... He didn't use much force, but he made the other person feel wronged.
He held Huo Duan's hand tenderly, "Where did you get hurt? Let me blow on it for you?"
Huo Duan actually just wanted him to coax her a little, but he didn't want her to go through too much trouble, so he quickly put on a smiling face again.
"You slapped me, a kiss will do." He squeezed Gu Fengyan's hand back and leaned down to kiss her.
"Just like a child," Gu Fengyan sighed helplessly, leaning over to give him a light peck. "Alright."
Unexpectedly, Huo Duan went a step further, grabbing the back of his head and kissing him passionately, almost swallowing him whole.
It would be a lie to say that she didn't miss him. Gu Fengyan was also a little impatient, so she obediently and cooperatively responded in a vague way.
But Ye Bao was still inside, so the two of them didn't dare to be too presumptuous. After a while, Gu Fengyan pressed against Huo Duan's chest and pushed him away. "If President Huo is so petty, will he end up competing with his own child for attention?" He was dizzy and pursed his slightly reddened lips as he teased.
Huo Duan swallowed hard, then leaned in and stole another kiss from Gu Fengyan, smiling as he said:
“It’s easy. I’ll teach him to be self-reliant and stop bothering you… Little Daddy is Daddy’s, he has to learn to eat and sleep by himself.”
"I wonder which unlucky kid will have a father like you." Gu Fengyan was both amused and exasperated, and couldn't help but feel sorry for the little brat.
Although he hasn't made a move yet.
Huo Duan patted his lower back casually, "Yeah, I want to know too. Looks like I'll have to work harder..."
"What are you doing?" Gu Fengyan trembled and blurted out.
Huo Duan smiled ambiguously, his eyes sweeping over him from head to toe, "What else can I do..."
Gu Fengyan choked up.
Suddenly, my mind went blank.
A note from the author:
Thanks to Sangjiu and Ao Baby for the landmines. (Smacks)
Thank you to Hanzhenjun, I love—Lulalalul, and Sangjiu Little Angel for the nutrient solution. (Snoring)
Chapter 54
The wedding ceremony was complicated, and the Ye family got up early. They didn't even have time to eat a bite of food before people came to the courtyard with gifts. Ye Shan was busy today, so only the Ye family elders greeted the guests.
The wedding banquet was also a busy affair, and Ye Bixian and Huo Xiuling wished they could each take on two tasks.
When Huo Duan, Gu Fengyan, and Huo's father arrived at the Ye family's house, there were already quite a few people in the courtyard.
Ye Shan, dressed in a bright red wedding robe, looked nervous as he prepared the wedding sedan chair with Xue Da and a few other reliable men from the village.