Jiang Xuerui nodded repeatedly.
Even Huo Duan praised, "Aunt is right. I was recovering from my illness and had no appetite, but I ate an extra bowl with this side dish."
"I don't know about other things, but these peaches were knocked down by the rain. It's all thanks to Yan Ge'er's skillful hands, otherwise they would have been wasted." Hearing everyone praising his daughter-in-law, Father Huo couldn't stop smiling.
"The method is quite simple..." Gu Fengyan explained the method to them.
This was his first time trying this recipe, but since so many people liked it, he figured he could put it on the menu for Dongfulou. With summer approaching, he might be able to make a fortune.
While the others were talking, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan picked up the weighed items and carried them into the house.
Gu Fengyan pulled Huo Duan aside and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Huo, do you really think that perilla peach is delicious?"
Huo Duan said, "It's delicious! I think everything you make is delicious. So, Young Master Gu, do you want to put this on the menu?"
Gu Fengyan smiled, his thoughts having been seen through once again. "You're like a tapeworm in my stomach, aren't you?"
Huo Duan smiled but remained silent.
"Let's get down to business. I think that although medicinal cuisine is a novelty, it's not cheap. People may not be willing to be the first to try wolf peaches. We need a key to open the door to this new world..." Gu Fengyan analyzed seriously.
Huo Duan nodded and spoke first about Gu Fengyan's thoughts, "Perilla, peaches, and ginger are all common ingredients. They are not expensive when made into food, and they are refreshing and appetizing, so people will be willing to try them... Just like a man who cheats, once he tastes the sweetness the first time, he will want something new the second time."
"What kind of analogy is that?" Gu Fengyan burst out laughing.
Huo Duan continued, "That's not the point. The point is that perilla, peach, and ginger are the key to unlocking a new world, right? And..."
He smiled like a cunning fox, "Young Master Gu uses green peaches. The recipe is different, so the taste is different. Others can't easily learn it."
"Mr. Huo, to be honest, it's a good thing we weren't from the same world before, otherwise if I had met you, I would have lost everything." Gu Fengyan sighed sincerely.
Huo Duan didn't speak, but he thought to himself, if he really met Gu Fengyan, he would probably be the one who lost everything.
It's just like when King Zhou saw Daji.
Whenever Gu Fengyan smiles, he is completely captivated and forgets everything else.
He'd hand over any money or power without hesitation; if he wanted the stars and the moon, he'd climb up and pluck them from the sky.
A note from the author:
My next novel, "Whose Child Did I Actually Carry?", is coming soon. Please add it to your favorites!
Chapter Twenty-Six
First update:
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan packed their things into the house, then brought out a few winnowing baskets and began processing the medicinal herbs.
Seeing this, Huo Xiuling said, "Oh, you have to clean up so much? I don't think the weather is good either, can you manage?"
Gu Fengyan cleaned the mud and sand off the roots of some of the medicinal herbs. "Let's put them away for now. We can process or dry them when the weather is better tomorrow. We can't just leave them like this forever."
Cleaning and cutting are simple tasks, and I thought I could do them myself.
“I have nothing to do when I get back, so I might as well lend a hand.” Huo Xiuling rolled up her sleeves and took charge of cutting the ingredients into sections.
Jiang Xuerui, feeling bored, also started washing the medicinal herbs. Even Uncle Huo came to help with whatever he could.
After a busy afternoon, the group finally finished collecting the two to three hundred pounds of medicinal herbs from the yard. The herbs that needed to be dried were placed on the shelves, and those that needed to be roasted were neatly placed in baskets, ready to be collected again tomorrow when they had time.
I'm so tired I feel like I'm about to collapse.
Jiang Xuerui and Huo Xiuling noticed that it was getting late and decided to go home.
Gu Fengyan offered them some wages, but the two refused to accept them.
“Aunt, Rui Ge’er, please don’t refuse. Although we know many people in this village, you are probably the only ones who are truly willing to help Huo Duan and me with this business. We can’t help much elsewhere, but please take this money. It will put Huo Duan and me at ease.” Gu Fengyan persuaded.
Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui had no choice but to accept the money. But being honest and straightforward people, they felt guilty... It was just a favor they were doing, how could they get so much money?
Huo Xiuling felt even more embarrassed. The family was talking about money, but what Yan Ge'er said made sense. After thinking for a long time, she said, "Alright, what Yan Ge'er said makes sense. If you're too busy in the future, just stand on the riverbank and call for your aunt and Rui Ge'er."
Jiang Xuerui also agreed.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had previously discussed finding two reliable people to help collect medicinal herbs and keep accounts.
Although Jiang Xuerui doesn't talk much, he is educated and meticulous, making him the perfect person for bookkeeping.
Huo Xiuling can talk to everyone in the village and has never argued with anyone. It's the most reliable job to entrust the task of collecting and weighing medicinal herbs to her.
If this can really be done, all they need to do is process the medicinal materials.
Huo Duan smiled and said, "To be honest, Yan Ge'er and I do have something to say to Aunt and Rui Ge'er..."
The two inquired further, when they heard someone calling Jiang Xuerui from outside the courtyard. They knew without a doubt that it was Shen Zhuo, anxiously searching for her husband who hadn't returned home by nightfall.
The others chuckled to themselves, while Jiang Xuerui blushed, unsure of what to do.
"It's getting dark and the road is difficult to travel. Let's talk about it tomorrow. Aunt and Rui-ge'er, please be careful on the road," Gu Fengyan said.
Huo Duan escorted the person to the outside of the courtyard before returning home.
...
The night air was heavy with dew, so the family gathered everything that needed to be gathered inside. Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan first hung a mosquito net on Huo's father's bed before returning to their own room.
"There's only one mosquito net available, Mr. Huo, so please take down your bed and make do with me for a few days." Gu Fengyan took out another mosquito net from the cabinet, unfolded it, and prepared to hang it up.
Huo Duan's bed was a makeshift one; it was really just a long bench with a wooden plank on top, and he was always on edge sleeping there. Besides, it wouldn't be good for Huo's father to know that the two of them were sleeping in separate beds.
"Okay, let's hang up the mosquito net first." Huo Duan's face remained calm, but his heart was filled with unease.
The mosquito net was washed by Gu Fengyan beforehand when the weather was nice, and it still smelled of soap.
After the two hung it up, Gu Fengyan brought in some dried mugwort and mint leaves. "President Huo, you can carry it yourself. I'll add some more mugwort."
Artemisia leaves were burning on the windowsill, filling the room with a pleasant fragrance.
Huo Duan moved the blankets and pillows to Gu Fengyan's bed, and then dismantled the makeshift bed... After blowing out the lamp, the two of them finally lay side by side in the darkness.
Insects chirped outside the window, but inside it was so quiet you could hear each other breathing.
They were sharing the same blanket. It was the first time Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had ever shared a bed with someone else since they were born. They lay there stiffly, barely daring to move, afraid that they might accidentally touch something they shouldn't.
Huo Duan's nostrils were filled with fragrance, a cool fragrance. A strand of Gu Fengyan's black hair fell beside his pillow, and Huo Duan thought it smelled wonderful. He touched it with the tip of his nose... The wet, cool touch felt like a hand constantly teasing him.
In the darkness, the five senses were clearer. The fragrance was faint and elusive, and although it was so cold, it made Huo Duan feel burning hot.
He closed his eyes, lost in ecstasy, and leaned closer...
Gu Fengyan was startled. "What's wrong? Can't you sleep?"
Huo Duan suddenly woke up with a start.
He found himself chasing after Gu Fengyan's hair and sniffing it incessantly, like a pervert.
"I can't sleep, it's too hot." He kicked the blanket off in frustration.
Gu Fengyan turned over, pulled the blanket back, and laughed, "It's only a few months now. It'll be even hotter after the Dragon Boat Festival, hot enough to fry an egg... Go to sleep, we'll be busy tomorrow."
In the darkness, his eyes shone brightly, and a fragrance wafted from his sleeves... Huo Duan realized that the fragrance did not come from his hair, but from him.
Sharing a bed with Gu Fengyan was pure torture. Huo Duan felt resentful, mostly because he was annoyed by his own lack of self-control.
"Go to sleep." He turned over, pulled the blanket over him, and wrapped Gu Fengyan up tightly.
Gu Fengyan was about to move when he hurriedly said, "Don't move, please spare me, my ancestor."
"The Dragon Boat Festival isn't even here yet, and you're wrapping zongzi?" Gu Fengyan said with a strange laugh. "Would it be good for you to kill me with heat?"
An arm finally emerged from under the covers, its sleeves bunched up, the alabaster-like arm gleaming brightly before Huo Duan's eyes.
Helpless, Huo Duan pulled his sleeve back up, but didn't put it back. As if possessed, he draped a hand over Gu Fengyan through the blanket and patted him gently. "How about I sing you a lullaby?"
His voice was low and pleasant to hear.
Gu Fengyan's heart softened, and she moved closer to Huo Duan, scoffing, "You're kidding me, go to sleep already."
After saying that, he actually closed his eyes. With the help of the moonlight shining through the window, Huo Duan could see his rosy, moist lips, his pert nose, and his dark, ink-like eyebrows and eyes when he looked down.
He hurriedly bent over, trying his best not to touch Gu Fengyan... This night will be unbearable.
As soon as the rooster crowed on the other side of the river, Huo Duan jumped out of bed as if granted a pardon—his eyes were covered in dark circles.
Just as I stepped out of the room, Father Huo was also coming out of the house.
"What did you do all night? Your eyes are practically drooping down to your chin." Father Huo frowned.
Huo Duan had no words to express his suffering. What had he done?
He barely slept.
Gu Fengyan was a restless sleeper, and in the latter half of the night he kept snuggling into Huo Duan's arms... Holding a soft, warm person in his arms, the person he had been tempted to do something inappropriate, Huo Duan was tormented.
He forced a smile, "There were too many mosquitoes, I didn't sleep well."
Just then, the door behind him opened slightly, and Gu Fengyan greeted Father Huo with a refreshed expression, "Father, you're up so early?"
“My legs hurt even when I try to sleep, so I can’t fall asleep. I’m going to feed the chickens and ducks. You guys wash your faces and see what we want to eat.” Father Huo put Huo Duan out of his mind and went to the backyard with his cane.
Gu Fengyan looked at Huo Duan and saw that he was pale and had dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept for ten nights.
"Mr. Huo, did you go on a night rendezvous with a female ghost while I was asleep? You look like you've been drained dry." He stretched and said with a smile.
"A female ghost as powerful as you..." Huo Duan thought to himself.
"What kind of female ghost do I know? I'm just drained dry by a fox who loves to snuggle into people's arms," he said coldly.
Father Huo herded the chickens and ducks up the hill behind the house. Gu Fengyan, worried they might peck at the medicinal herbs, went to help, and said to Huo Duan with ill intent, "The fox said it's quite comfortable in President Huo's arms, he'll come again tonight..."
Huo Duan was washing his face when the basin fell. Did Gu Fengyan know all along? Or perhaps it was intentional?
He felt a surge of relief, a smile playing on his lips... He inexplicably felt that the night he had stayed up was worth it, and even thought he could stay up for ten more nights without any problem.
However, Gu Fengyan was completely unaware of Huo Duan's thoughts; he simply said that without thinking.
...
I had plain porridge for breakfast, which is simple and easy to cook, along with the leftover perilla, peaches, and ginger from yesterday.
After finishing their meal and waiting for the morning dew to dissipate, the family took out the medicinal herbs from the house and aired them out.
It's still early.