The matter was thus put to rest.
However, without Gu Fengyan's reminders, Jiang Xuerui and Huo Xiuling became even more careful and meticulous when receiving medicinal herbs. They would check every single one of the delivered herbs before accepting them.
The quality of the medicinal materials has also greatly improved, so the two of them no longer need to worry about it.
As they acquired more and more medicinal herbs, the two went to the county to sell them several more times, earning several hundred strings of cash. Huo Duan's mission progress suddenly soared to 5.5%.
However, there was no joy on his face. His mind was filled with Gu Fengyan's long legs, slender waist, and the smile in his eyes when he rubbed his calves against his.
He hasn't slept inside for several days.
He set up a bed in the thatched shed next to the kitchen, going to bed late and getting up early so that his father, Huo, wouldn't find out.
Gu Fengyan didn't mention it, letting him choose for himself...
The weather was fine that day; there wasn't a ray of sunshine, and the wind made the treetops sway gently.
"Mr. Huo, we went to the county today, and the brokerage sent word that they've found a suitable courtyard and asked us to go take a look." Gu Fengyan counted the money, separated two banknotes and put them away, looking at Huo Duan with joy in his eyes and brows.
Huo Duan smiled absentmindedly, "Mm."
Unable to figure out Gu Fengyan's intentions, he slept in a thatched hut for several days in a row. He was exhausted during the day, but at night he had to endure mosquito bites, which was really exhausting.
Why not move to a new courtyard and have a house to settle down in?
The brokers were efficient; when they found houses, they always looked after Feng Yan and Huo Duan's preferences and didn't discriminate based on who they were dealing with.
Gu Fengyan felt exceptionally comfortable spending the money on this trip.
The house the broker found here is very large, with a small garden in the back, complete with waterside pavilions, flowers and trees, and even many rooms.
It has a good location, just a few streets away from Dongfulou in a residential area. It is said that most of the slightly influential people in Qianmo County live here.
It's just that the price is much higher than 100 strings of cash.
The broker led the two around, saying that if they wanted to buy, they could also get a carriage for free.
"What do you two think, gentlemen?" The waiter spoke eloquently, but seeing that the two seemed uninterested, he stopped and asked.
Gu Fengyan was wearing a light blue robe today, with embroidered patterns on the sleeves, which made him look like a tender bamboo shoot.
But when he smiles, it's different; his smile is full of emotion, captivating all who see him.
"What do you think?" he asked Huo Duan.
The courtyard, with its white walls and black tiles, has a style reminiscent of Suzhou gardens. However, Qianmo County is not a water town, and the fishpond in the garden where they were standing was particularly small.
Surrounded by lush flowers and trees, Huo Duan smiled as he recalled the romantic talk he had made with Gu Fengyan last time... This time, he was spared the trouble of planting flowers.
"Either is fine, this one will do," he said.
Gu Fengyan didn't say anything and simply took out the money to pay. It cost a total of 180 guan, plus the broker's handling fee, which came to just over 200.
The brokerage firm delivered the carriage as promised and even sent people to clean the courtyard, just waiting for them to move in.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan didn't get home until the afternoon. The horse-drawn carriage was much faster and more convenient than the oxcart.
They only told a few people in the neighborhood about buying the house, but Heqing Village is so small that their return in a horse-drawn carriage attracted attention, and the news of their purchase of a house in the county spread like wildfire, making everyone in the village envious.
Some even say they've become the richest people in Qianmo County.
Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan found this both laughable and absurd, and continued with their lives as usual.
When he got home, he told Father Huo about it.
The old man was moved to tears, his eyes widening. "Good! Good! Good children, you've all made something of yourselves."
She felt more and more that ever since Gu Fengyan entered the house, life had suddenly become much better, as if the sun had risen.
Old Man Huo had spent his whole life tending to his small courtyard and had rarely been to the county. When he first heard that he was going to move to the county, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
“It’s good that you bought the house. It will be more convenient for you to send your children to school in the future. But I, an old man, will not go. I’m used to village life. If I move there, I’m afraid I won’t even have any old friends to talk to.” Father Huo wiped away his tears and said.
Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan planned to invite Huo's father over and find a few more people to take care of him, so that he could focus on his treatment and enjoy his old age in peace.
Their courtyard is not conducive to recuperation in any way.
“Don’t worry about that, Father. We have a carriage now. It’ll only take less than half an hour to get back from the county. If you want to come back, we’ll bring you back,” Gu Fengyan said. “Moving into the county will also be beneficial for your recovery. If you’re bored, Huo Duan and I can buy a raccoon to keep you company another day… There’s also a garden behind the new house where you can grow some vegetables.”
After much deliberation, and not wanting to disappoint the two children's good intentions, Father Huo finally agreed.
A note from the author:
We absolutely have to kiss tomorrow! If I don't, I'll offer my head in retribution!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The moving date is set for two days from now.
These past few days, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan have had no time to attend to the medicinal herb business or handle the affairs, so they had to ask Ye Shan and Ye Bixian, who happened to be free, to help them sort things out.
Ye Shan was a man of few words, reliable in his work, and quick to learn. Gu Fengyan taught him simple methods of processing medicinal herbs, and with Liang Cheng coming to visit regularly each day, he did quite well.
Ye Bixian was mainly responsible for collecting medicinal herbs from the Jiang family in the neighboring village.
The two of them got the hang of it quickly, and with the help of two experienced people, Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui, they basically didn't have to worry about Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan.
The Huo family's old house didn't have much stuff, but they still had to make two trips to move it by horse-drawn cart. It wasn't until the day before they were officially moving to the county that they finally finished packing.
"Erdan and Yange are really capable. They've finally recovered. Take your father to the county to recuperate properly. He's worked hard for most of his life." The villagers who came to deliver medicinal herbs had all heard about the Huo family's move. After selling the herbs, they left a few words of congratulations.
The person speaking was Xue Dajia's wife, whom we had met before.
The weather was nice, and Gu Fengyan wanted to air out all the bedding in the house before moving out. He was hanging the bedding on bamboo poles when Xue Daren saw this and rushed to help.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Gu Fengyan smiled as the quilt was successfully hung up.
Xue Dajia slung the basket back over her arm and waved.
"Why are you being so polite with me? Just remember to come back and visit your sister-in-law when you become successful in the county... Once you leave, we won't be able to help you with anything, so please take good care of yourselves and your father."
Gu Fengyan was touched and readily agreed, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, the business is still in the village. Huo Duan and I usually stay in the village. We'll discuss hiring a few people to take care of Father, so we can chat with him from time to time."
Xue Daren chuckled upon hearing this, "That's great! If you ever need any help in the future, just let me and your brother Xue know..."
Gu Fengyan smiled and agreed.
All the villagers who came to sell medicinal herbs in the courtyard had left. Xue Dajia looked at the sky and told Gu Fengyan that he also wanted to go back.
"Sister-in-law, please sit down. Brother Xue and my uncle went to the next village. We'll have dinner together when they come back before we go back, so you don't have to bother cooking when you get back." Gu Fengyan pulled back the quilt and started washing the soaked clothes again.
“You make it easy for me, but I have something to take care of when I get back…” Xue Dajia waved her hand, looked around, and then whispered to him, “This morning, someone from Liu Lizheng’s family came and said that someone wanted to marry Jing Ge’er. The village head is a tough guy, and Jing Ge’er’s mother is a soft-hearted person, so she just asked me to go and help with the matchmaking… I’m afraid they’ll be waiting for me now, so I have to hurry back.”
Jing-ge'er was seventeen years old, the age when he was ready to get married. The Xue family was close to the Liu family, and they had known each other since childhood. Therefore, it was reasonable for Sister-in-law Xue to help find a match.
But Gu Fengyan was stunned upon hearing this. He asked in astonishment, "How could it be so fast? Does your sister-in-law know where you're from? What are the village head and his wife thinking?"
“Hey, what’s so fast about it? Jing’er will be eighteen in two months. Because of the congenital deficiency, he’s already much later than others. What will happen if we delay any longer?” After Xue Da’s words, she noticed that Gu Fengyan’s expression seemed very serious, so she asked, “Why are you asking these questions? Could it be that there’s an older brother in the family who has taken a fancy to Jing’er?”
Otherwise, how could she be said to have such a sharp eye, seeing through the key point at a glance?
Gu Fengyan nodded, "It's not settled yet, so I don't dare to say anything rashly, for fear of ruining Brother Jing's reputation... I have a favor to ask of you, sister-in-law. After the people from over there leave this afternoon, regardless of whether it's settled or not, please pass on a message to me that I'd like to invite you to my wedding sometime."
Xue Dajia knew he wasn't joking, so she said seriously, "Alright, sister-in-law, I won't ask any more questions. I'll keep this to myself."
She smiled again, "When our time is right, you can invite me to your wedding."
Gu Fengyan smiled and agreed, then saw the person out the door.
Jiang Xuerui and Huo Xiuling were packing their things into the house.
“Aunt, once you’ve finished tidying up, stop working and sit down to rest. I have something to tell you.” Gu Fengyan walked over and said.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuerui took the initiative to pack her things away in the main room to avoid the situation.
Huo Xiuling wiped her hands and asked, "What's wrong? Tell me."
Gu Fengyan didn't know what Liu's parents were thinking, but he thought that Ye Shan and Liu Jingyu were in love, and it would be a pity if they missed their chance.
"I just ran into Sister-in-law Xue and we chatted for a bit. She said someone came to the Liu family today to propose to Jing-ge'er..." He frowned and asked, "What did Brother Da-shan think? Didn't Aunt ask?"
Liu Jingyu is a man after all, and there's no reason for him to fawn over Ye Shan. If Ye Shan keeps hesitating and doesn't take the initiative, he might really have to watch his sweetheart marry someone else.
After hearing this, Huo Xiuling was quite anxious. "What should we do? Dashan just keeps his head down when he asks questions. Your uncle and I were originally going to finalize this matter... but we are poor and we are afraid that Jingge will suffer."
Gu Fengyan understood from this that the Ye family also supported Ye Shan and Liu Jingyu. The Liu family only had Liu Jingyu as their child, so they naturally doted on him more and didn't want him to suffer.
If Ye Shan could have a stable livelihood and earn money to support his family, and if Liu Jingyu was willing, Liu's parents probably wouldn't have any objections.
The key lies in Yeshan.
Gu Fengyan thought for a moment and said, "Aunt, go and talk to Brother Dashan and see what he really thinks. Don't delay Jing-ge'er."
Huo Xiuling also felt that since Ye Shan liked Jing Ge'er, he couldn't just keep dragging it out; he should do something about it.
"You're right, I'll go talk to Dashan right now. What can a man like you accomplish by being so timid and submissive? Does he expect Jing-ge to pay him off?" She frowned, exasperated.
Jiang Xuerui came out just as the two finished talking, saying she had to go back. Gu Fengyan then said to Huo Xiuling, "Aunt, don't be angry, I'll go see Rui-ge'er off."
He saw Jiang Xuerui off at the gate and then invited him and Shen Zhuo to the county for a housewarming banquet the day after tomorrow before going to the kitchen to see how Huo Xiuling and the others were doing.
Huo Duan was also there.
Ye Shan sat in front of the stove looking lost, while Huo Xiuling spoke beside him.
"I told you, if you're interested in Jing-ge, your father and I will go to the Liu family to settle things. Although our family isn't as wealthy as some others, we'd rather sacrifice everything than let Jing-ge suffer," Huo Xiuling said earnestly. "Sigh, you're not getting any younger. I know you're not irresponsible... I'm just asking you, are you willing or not?"
Ye Shan glanced at them, opened his mouth slightly, and said with a determined look in his eyes, "I know everything Mother said. I love Jing-ge'er. If I can marry him and grow old together, then I will have no regrets in this life..."
Hearing this, Huo Xiuling was about to speak when Ye Shan lowered his head again, looking quite dejected. "But Mother, the village head and his wife only have one child. Our family is not as good as theirs. I don't have a stable job to earn money... Wouldn't it be a hardship for Jing-ge to come here like this? I can't bear to see him suffer."
Ye Shan usually appears carefree and honest, without many ulterior motives. People say he is cowardly, but now they realize that he is actually just as thoughtful as others.
Compared to someone like Hayama who thinks things through carefully, those who just talk the talk seem terrifying.
Huo Xiuling was quite shocked; she never expected that Ye Shan, this taciturn man, could think so meticulously.
"It's good that you can think of this. I just hope that the Liu family hasn't agreed to send anyone to propose marriage..." she sighed.
When Ye Shan heard that someone had proposed to Jing Ge'er today, his lips turned white and he trembled, his hands gripping his knees tightly.
Gu Fengyan pondered for a moment, then pulled Huo Duan aside and said, "Mr. Huo, it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. Why don't we help your brother out?"