Gu Fengyan raised an eyebrow with a smile.
He really shouldn't have felt sorry for Gu Fengyan; he should have locked him under the bed day and night, so he wouldn't be able to utter a single word, and then he'd know whether he was truly capable or not. Huo Duan was seething with hatred.
Gu Fengyan chuckled and coaxed, "Even if you're not good enough, I still love you... Let's eat. I worked so hard to make this."
I sat down first, picked up some water spinach with my chopsticks, and tasted it.
Huo Duan selectively listened to the few words he wanted to hear, and finally smiled a little. He sat down to serve Gu Fengyan soup, "Drink soup... Did you sleep well?"
He rubbed the dark circles under Gu Fengyan's eyes with his fingertips, saying, "He's almost turned into a panda."
Gu Fengyan swallowed the food in his mouth, glanced at it, and asked, "Whose fault is it?"
"I'll take care of you today." Huo Duan smiled as if he had eaten candy, and diligently added food to Gu Fengyan's plate, picked out dried chilies, removed bones... he was practically feeding him.
Gu Fengyan was clearly enjoying himself. As he ate, he thought of Ye Shan and Jing Ge'er's marriage and said:
"By the way, we need to go back to the village after dinner. My aunt asked me to help Brother Dashan prepare his wedding gift, and the date has been moved up to the seventh day of next month."
Huo Duan paused, his hand still holding the food in his chopsticks. "Isn't it twenty-five?"
Gu Fengyan explained it to him again, and Huo Duan sighed deeply.
Gu Fengyan picked out a piece of fat that was attached to the meat and placed it aside. "I took a look at Jing-ge'er at Liu Lizheng's house last time. His illness can be cured with good medicine and gentle care... but the medicine is not cheap."
Huo Duan glanced at the piece of fat meat and said, "We can help out with the money, as long as we can find the medicinal herbs."
They were in the medicinal herb business, but Gu Fengyan didn't mention this at all. Perhaps in this era of scarce medicinal herbs, the price of herbs was secondary; the main issue was their lack of availability.
Gu Fengyan nodded, "Let's help look for it first."
"Eat this." Huo Duan took the food that he didn't want from his bowl and put a new piece on his plate.
After removing the bones, even the bits of fat were picked out cleanly.
Adhering to the concept of not wasting food, he ate what Gu Fengyan had left, saying, "Look how thin you are, you've got no meat on your bones."
Aside from the tip of her buttocks, it does grow long.
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Nine
After eating, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan headed into the village.
The Ye family is in a frenzy over Ye Shan's wedding. It's already the 20th of this month, and the wedding is set for the 7th of next month, which is only a dozen days away.
For the next ten days or so, the Ye family had to tailor clothes for the newlyweds, consult fortune tellers, and prepare things for the wedding banquet... Although the couple lived in the same village, not far from each other, everything had to be done according to the rules of their ancestors to show respect.
Therefore, it is necessary to appoint someone to handle the wedding procession.
In the past, whenever there was a big event in the village, Liu Zhengshan would act as the master of ceremonies. But this time it was his family's turn, and he couldn't do it. People would laugh if they found out... so he had to find another master of ceremonies.
After this round of events, the situation had become quite tense in just over ten days, so the Ye family had to squeeze in meals whenever they could.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan arrived at the Ye family's door just in time for dinner.
"Aunt and Uncle, why are we eating at this hour?" Gu Fengyan asked as he entered the room.
The whole family was engrossed in eating when Ye Bao was the first to notice them. She put down her bowl, ran over, and called out softly, "Brother, little brother."
Gu Fengyan picked him up, took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face, "Little kitten."
Ye Bao kept giggling.
“Yan Ge’er, don’t hug him. He’s always crawling around and will get your clothes dirty,” Huo Xiuling said.
The Ye family members all put down their bowls to greet them.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan sat down on the benches that Ye Shan had brought, and took out some fresh vegetables from the baskets they carried on their backs.
"There were some leftover dishes from the housewarming banquet the other day. My son and I were busy, and Father was worried that it would be a waste since he couldn't finish them all, so he asked us to bring some over. Please don't mind, Aunt." Huo Duan handed the dishes to Huo Xiuling.
It was a large piece of pork ribs, a crucian carp, and some seasonal vegetables.
Huo Xiuling asked Ye Shan to get some household items to pack, and sighed, "What's there to complain about? It's good that you and Yan Ge'er can come. Your uncle and I are so busy... We can only sneak a few bites of food when we have a spare moment."
Gu Fengyan then asked, "Father said that Jing-ge was sick last night. Is he better now?"
Just as Ye Shan took out his utensils, Huo Xiuling opened her mouth, glanced at him, and said, "Shan'er, put the bowl away."
Ye Shan's expression didn't change much; he nodded, but his eyes were unfocused, and he seemed preoccupied.
After he left, Huo Xiuling dared to say, "Sigh, I was seriously ill last night, and I asked Doctor Liang to come and see me. I'm finally feeling a bit better this morning... Dashan didn't sleep a wink all night. This morning, the Liu family sent a message saying that the child is not well and they don't dare to delay Dashan. They said they would either break off the engagement or not."
As she spoke, Huo Xiuling's brows furrowed with worry, "Dashan was almost frantic when he heard this, and only after going to the Liu family to explain things did they move the wedding date forward."
I never expected that all of this would be involved.
Gu Fengyan nodded. "Then what do you two say, Aunt and Uncle?"
“The Liu family is willing to give Jing-ge’er to us, and we are naturally more than willing,” Huo Xiuling understood that he asked this because he was afraid that they would think that Jing-ge’er was a burden. “Your uncle and I are also worried about him. If the marriage is done so hastily, we don’t know if he can withstand such a lot of trouble.”
Hearing her words, Gu Fengyan felt relieved and said to her, "Aunt, you don't need to worry too much. When Huo Duan and I went to the Liu family last time, we examined Jing-ge'er. Although his illness is troublesome, it can still be cured..."
Huo Xiuling looked at him with excitement.
He continued, "Once he's married, just keep him nourished with good medicine, and he'll get better over time."
Before Huo Xiuling could say anything, a voice spoke first: "Is what Yan-ge'er said true?"
Ye Shan was holding a rag, seemingly intending to wipe the table, but upon hearing Gu Fengyan's words, he excitedly strode over, his expression earnest, "Jingyu's illness can indeed be cured?"
Looking at his crazed state, Huo Xiuling sighed, "If that's the case, then it's for the best, so that Dashan won't be so absent-minded all the time."
Ye Shan realized his lapse in composure and quickly scratched his head, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I was too hasty and scared Yan-ge'er."
"Brother Dashan, please don't say that. We all understand that it concerns Brother Jing," Gu Fengyan said with a smile.
Ye Shan blushed deeply, feeling quite embarrassed.
"Aunt, you can rest assured. Since Yan Ge'er and I are in the medicinal herb business, we keep an eye out for any usable herbs we find... I'll also let Xinglin Hospital know about it," Huo Duan said.
After hearing this, Ye Shan looked up abruptly, "So Jingyu's illness is actually curable?"
"You child, you're not old yet, why are you so long-winded?" Huo Xiuling said helplessly.
Ye Shan scratched his head sheepishly, but his eyes remained fixed on them, determined to get a definite answer.
Gu Fengyan chuckled and nodded, saying, "It can be cured."
Ye Shan was finally relieved and kept repeating phrases like "thank God" as he thanked them again.
...
The master of ceremonies was finally chosen by Xue Da. He was reliable, meticulous, and well-liked in the village, making him the most suitable candidate for the job.
Besides the Huo family, several members of the Ye family also went to pick up the bride.
These people will all need to make time to deliver the wedding invitations to each of them another day.
The task of writing the wedding invitations was given to Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan. They wrote them all afternoon, finishing just as dusk was falling. They had to rush back to the county and dared not linger. Gu Fengyan handed the completed invitations to Huo Xiuling to put away and then said he had to leave.
With their help and suggestions, the Ye family felt much more relaxed and had some free time.
Huo Xiuling saw them to the door, saying, "Be careful on the road, Erdan, you must take good care of your husband."
Huo Duan simply agreed, "Yes, Aunt must be tired after a long day. Go back now. Yan Ge and I will come again another day."
As they were leaving, Huo Xiuling looked at them, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. In fact, from the moment they entered until they left, Huo Xiuling had been looking at them with a hint of something in her eyes.
"Does Aunt have something to say?" Gu Fengyan looked at himself and then at Huo Duan, asking in confusion.
Huo Xiuling opened her mouth, but finally spoke up, "There's something I'm not sure if I can ask, Yan Ge'er and Er Dan...did you two have a fight?"
From the moment the two entered the room, Huo Xiuling noticed that both of them had some kind of injury. It was understandable that Yan Ge'er had a cut on his lip, but how come Er Dan had such a deep tooth mark on his neck?
After thinking it over, Huo Xiuling figured it was probably bitten by Yan Ge'er during their argument.
Think about it, Yan Ge'er is a weak boy, while Er Dan is tall and strong. If they were to fight, how could Yan Ge'er possibly defeat him?
Is biting the only way to retaliate?
"Why would Aunt say that?" Gu Fengyan asked, puzzled.
Huo Xiuling glared angrily at Huo Duan... If her guess was right, then this Erdan was really asking for trouble!
Huo Duan was completely bewildered.
Looking at Huo Duan, Gu Fengyan noticed the small teeth marks on his neck and suddenly realized what was going on.
"Aunt, we didn't quarrel. Huo Duan treats me very well, so don't worry." He explained with a smile, moving closer to Huo Duan so that Huo Xiuling would believe that he was telling the truth.
Taking the opportunity, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Huo, your aunt said there's a bite mark on your neck. Quickly make up an explanation."
Huo Duan suddenly realized.
"How do you explain this? I said it was just playful banter between husband and wife, and you bit me?" he chuckled softly.
Gu Fengyan glanced at him but didn't respond. "Are you shameless?"
Huo Duan raised an eyebrow and shrugged, his meaning unclear.
Huo Xiuling listened to Gu Fengyan's words but did not express her opinion. She just looked at Huo Duan and insisted on waiting for him to say it himself.
“Aunt, this really wasn’t an argument.” Huo Duan smiled and glanced at Gu Fengyan, subconsciously rubbing the bite mark on his neck. “It was from a dog.”
He had been laughing, wondering what kind of nonsense Huo Duan could come up with, but instead he heard him call him a dog. Gu Fengyan was instantly enraged and stomped on Huo Duan.
"Ah—" Huo Duan bent over in pain, his expression pained.
Gu Fengyan smiled smugly.
"Where did this dog come from in this perfectly good house? Don't let it hurt anyone." Huo Xiuling couldn't understand what the young couple was doing; their focus was still on the dog.
Gu Fengyan looked down at Huo Duan, his smile laced with rage, "Auntie is right, that dog is really vicious. It even jumped up and bit me last night, it's absolutely hateful..."
As he spoke, he licked the cut on his lip and silently cursed back.
How can this dog jump up and bite people?
Huo Xiuling became more and more confused as she listened, so she simply stopped interfering. As long as they weren't arguing and were getting along well, that was fine.