Chapter Four
There are schools in the county, which only charge fifty coins a month for tuition. The price is cheap, and families in several villages with extra money will send their sons to study there.
But this does not include the Huo family.
The family was too poor. Huo Duan had never attended school a single day until he was nineteen years old, so how could he possibly learn to read?
More and more details were building up in Gu Fengyan's mind, one after another, each linked to the next... He always felt that Huo Duan wasn't stupid, but rather pretending to be!
Just as they were about to question him further, they saw Huo Duan enter the shop with a sack of wheat.
Fearing something might go wrong and he might suffer a loss, Gu Fengyan quickly followed.
After haggling with the shopkeeper for ages, we finally finished exchanging the wheat. We hurried back before sunset, as we still needed to pick up Uncle Huo's medicine at the village entrance.
Back home, Gu Fengyan was exhausted and hungry, and had long forgotten the doubts in her mind.
...
The next day was a very overcast day, with thick gray rain clouds piling up on the horizon.
The first spring rain is about to fall.
As was customary for the Huo family father and son, they got up early. Huo's father swept the yard with a broom made of thin bamboo strips, while Huo sat on the edge of the yard eating breakfast—wheat porridge mixed with chopped wild vegetables.
Gu Fengyan was exhausted yesterday, and only got up after hearing the sound of sweeping outside the window, rubbing his eyes.
While sweeping the floor, Uncle Huo kept nagging Huo Duan with instructions, "It looks like it's going to rain soon, so hurry up and finish eating. Go and plant everything in the fields, make sure to water them thoroughly for a good harvest. Plant corn in those two plots by the door; the tender corn will be easy to pick for making pancakes in the summer, so let Yan Ge'er have a taste..."
“We planted wheat on that plot of land by the ditch, which is close to the water. The seeds are in the main room… I told your brother Dashan yesterday, and he’ll probably come to help after dinner.”
Huo Duan was a man who had never done any work before. After the trip to the county, he felt like his whole body was falling apart. In addition, he couldn't eat or sleep well, so he just nodded listlessly.
Displeased to see him like this, Father Huo frowned and was about to scold him, "You child—"
“Father,” Gu Fengyan said at the right moment.
"Why didn't you sleep a little longer, Yan-ge'er? It's still early." Upon seeing him, Father Huo beamed. "It's good that you're awake. There's rice porridge being cooked for you in the kitchen, with yesterday's pheasant soup mixed in. Wash your face and go eat."
Huo Duan looked at his bowl of dark green rice and fell silent.
Gu Fengyan smiled and said, "I'm not hungry yet. Give the porridge to Erdan. He's going to do spring planting, which is hard work. He needs to eat more."
Huo Duan didn't say anything, quickly finished the "rice" in his bowl, and went to the main room to get the seeds.
The rice porridge in the pot remained untouched.
He didn't have the habit of competing with weaklings for food. Gu Fengyan got tired after walking just a few steps, so it was only right that he eat something slightly better.
...
Gu Fengyan was a little disappointed that he didn't get a chance to speak with Huo Duan. He quickly washed his face and ate less than half of the rice porridge.
Since Ye Shan was helping with the spring planting, he naturally stayed for a meal.
Gu Fengyan took the initiative to cook, and Huo Adie assisted him.
The small river shrimp in the basin had already expelled the mud and sand, and I stir-fried them with wild scallions to make a full bowl. I also stewed the remaining half of the pheasant.
There was no way to make money at home for the time being, so food had to be eaten sparingly. Gu Fengyan cooked a pot of wheat porridge, without adding any wild vegetables, and only added some salt when it was done. It was served with stir-fried river shrimp and stewed pheasant, which made for a decent meal.
Thunder rumbled outside the window, threatening rain. Uncle Huo limped into the house carrying a bundle of firewood, muttering, "The rain can come so suddenly. We need to get some firewood in before it starts to rain... I wonder if Erdan and the others have planted the wheat yet."
"Father, let me do it." Gu Fengyan covered the vegetables and kept them warm on the stove. He wiped his hands and took the firewood that his father was holding. "Your legs always hurt when it rains. You should rest."
Father Huo glanced at the neatly arranged cutting board and stove, and smiled with satisfaction:
"You can rest now that the food is ready. This is an old problem of mine; I need to move around to get through the soreness. Don't try to take it from me."
"Yes." Gu Fengyan nodded and went to check if there was anything in the yard that needed to be tidied up.
Dark clouds had gathered on the mountaintop, forming a thick layer. Peach tree branches in the courtyard crackled and popped. People carrying baskets on their backs on the opposite bank of the river ran quickly home.
It seems that Huo Duan did not bring any rain gear.
Gu Fengyan thought to himself, and just then he saw two raincoats and bamboo hats hanging at the entrance of the main room, so he took them to deliver to Huo Duan and the others.
The plots of land below the embankment have already been planted with corn as instructed by Father Huo. They will sprout after this rain. Huo Duan and the others are planting wheat in the ditch, which is still a bit of a distance from here.
As soon as Gu Fengyan reached the ditch, it started raining on the mountainside.
"Brother Dashan." Ye Shan and Huo Duan were packing up their things in the rain when Gu Feng came down from under the eaves to the edge of the field and called out to them.
Ye Shan didn't have a good impression of his brother-in-law. He glanced at him and gave a faint "hmm".
Huo Duan, on the other hand, looked completely surprised. "Why are you here?"
He lent a hand and helped the person steady... It wasn't that he wanted to help, but the muddy ground was slippery after rain, and if someone fell, he would be the one who got scolded and suffered.
But then again, why is this person suddenly being so kind? In the past, even if he died out there, he probably wouldn't have reacted at all.
It's strange that I would be so kind as to bring them rain gear today.
Gu Fengyan handed a raincoat to Ye Shan, saying, "The food is ready. I saw that it was going to rain, so I thought I'd bring you a raincoat."
"It looks like the rain is still stopping. Erdan, you take him back first. Leave the basket to me. If you get sick from the spring rain, your uncle will scold you again..." Ye Shan was a farmer's expert and could tell what kind of weather it was just by looking up.
Huo Duan thought about it and agreed with his brother, so he jumped onto the ridge and pulled Gu Fengyan up with him. "Watch your step, don't fall, or Father will definitely scold me."
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Gu Fengyan had never walked the mountain path many times before, and his feet kept slipping.
“It’ll be dark by the time we get there,” Huo Duan said, putting a bamboo hat and raincoat on him and squatting down. “Get on, I’ll carry you.”
Gu Fengyan wasn't used to close contact with others. "No need, I can walk by myself."
“Get on. My dad used to carry me on his back a lot when I was little.” Huo Duan looked at him without waiting for a reply.
Most of the boys in this world are physically weak and difficult to raise. If they get sick, it will only make the already poor families even worse off... He also didn't want to see Father Huo's stern face.
Gu Fengyan thought for a moment and said, "Whatever."
She obediently climbed onto Huo Duan's back and said, "Thank you."
Huo Duan swayed as he carried the person home on his back... This was the first time he had ever carried someone on his back.
Fortunately, the original owner had a good physical constitution.
The two didn't talk much. Gu Fengyan listened to Huo Duan's slightly heavy breathing and suddenly felt that this fool was actually quite reliable.
He's a very good person; even though the original owner of this body was secretly tormenting him, he didn't hold a grudge at all.
After finishing his meal, Ye Shan hurriedly went home.
The rain didn't stop into the night, and with no entertainment options and it being a rainy day, Father Huo took his medicine and went to bed early.
It has to be said that the young master's body is really weak. Gu Fengyan only got caught in the rain, but now he feels very cold and uncomfortable all over.
"Father said it's cold at night on rainy days, so he asked me to bring you a quilt." Gu Fengyan was folding his wet clothes, planning to wash them when the weather got better, when Huo Duan came in carrying a quilt.
After washing up, Huo Duan slipped on his shoes, wearing only a coarse undershirt, looking like he was about to go to sleep.
The Huo family's house was small. Apart from the kitchen and main room, there were only two bedrooms. One was where Huo's father slept, and the other was for the couple.
After the original owner forbade Huo Duan from entering the house, he slept in the straw shed next to the kitchen where miscellaneous items were piled up. It was fine when the weather was sunny, but when it rained, the shed leaked so that when it rained heavily outside, it would drizzle inside.
Watching Huo Duanzai carefully make up the quilt for him, Gu Fengyan thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't you move into the room to sleep tonight?"
Huo Duan turned around, "But...you didn't allow me to come in before."
The original owner disliked Huo Duan, and since he was a boy, she was always worried that Huo Duan would do something inappropriate, so she kicked him out.
Gu Fengyan moved his pillow further into the bed. "I've checked your room. It leaks so badly you can't sleep there. You can move in."
After spending these few days together, he felt that Huo Duan was not that kind of person.
Gu Fengyan got into bed first, taking up the spot against the wall on the inside, leaving most of the space on the outside empty. "Go to sleep early."
Huo Duan stood there for a while, completely baffled. He felt that Gu Fengyan was no longer "Gu Fengyan," always doing things that defied common sense, as if he had been possessed.
Could it be that this person has come up with some new trick to torment people?
But Gu Fengyan was right. That thatched hut was uninhabitable now. He could tolerate it when it was sunny, but it was completely unbearable when it rained.
This house isn't much better, but at least it can keep out the wind and rain.
Soon, Huo Duan gave up and carefully lay down next to Gu Fengyan with a pillow.
It's foolish not to take advantage of a good deal!
Anyway, he was the one who let me into the room to sleep...
Huo Duan slept very well that night, while Gu Fengyan slept very poorly.
His head felt heavy, just like when he woke up before, and his eyelids were heavy too, but his sleepiness was as fragile as thin ice on a lake in spring.
I felt both cold and hot all over, and I had trouble breathing through my nose.
Gu Fengyan knew what was going on—he had a fever.
Because I got caught in the rain yesterday.
Sunlight shone on his eyelids, a rooster crowed on the other side of the river, and Uncle Huo's cough came from the main room...
Huo Duan sat up in bed beside him, seemingly sensing something was wrong. He touched the temperature of the man's forehead with his palm. "It's so hot, you have a fever?!"
Gu Fengyan was delirious from the fever and could only see a shadow. "I want to drink water..."
Then she said, "It's so cold."
Huo Duan quickly wrapped the blanket around him and then hurriedly went out to pour water.
Hearing the commotion, Huo's father came in as well. Seeing Gu Fengyan's flushed face, he scolded Huo Duan anxiously, "You were living perfectly well over there, why did you move back here?!" Huo's father didn't want to get too involved in the couple's affairs, so he just glared at Huo Duan a few times and sighed repeatedly.
Gu Fengyan heard the words clearly and wanted to comfort Huo Adie, but he didn't even have the strength to lift his eyelids. He weakly called out "hot".
Huo Duan thought to himself, "What an unlucky guy I am."
He hurriedly pulled the blanket back a little and half-held the person in his arms to feed them water.
"Father, I'll go to the village entrance and invite Doctor Liang over." He finally managed to drink a few sips of water, and Huo Duan felt a pang of pity for the man holding him like a ripe sweet potato.
He developed a fever while trying to bring himself rain gear.
Father Huo sighed, "Alas! Doctor Liang went back to her parents' home with her husband yesterday, and I'm afraid she won't be back until this afternoon... If we want to invite a doctor, we have to go to the county."