He was talking to Gu Fengyan, but his eyes were fixed on the shop assistant.
Gu Fengyan thanked the shop assistant and waited until the waiter left dejectedly before asking Huo Duan with a smile, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep all night? Are you in a bad mood?"
Huo Duan looked at him casually, "He's taken a liking to you."
A note from the author:
Thanks for saving and reading (tap)
Chapter Eleven
Looking around, Gu Fengyan felt that what he said was somewhat incoherent and was momentarily at a loss for words. "Me? Who has taken a liking to me?"
"Tsk," Huo Duan said, even more annoyed, his brows furrowing. "Who else could that shop assistant be! Didn't you see the way he looked at you, his eyes were practically glued to you..."
He was gesturing when he suddenly stopped, as if he had remembered something important. "Young Master Gu, let's make this clear first, we don't tolerate extramarital affairs!"
"Stop!" Gu Fengyan was both amused and exasperated... He was having an extramarital affair. If he didn't stop him, Huo Duan might even come up with a nickname for his illegitimate child.
"Don't worry, Mr. Huo, we're brothers in arms, you won't get cuckolded." He chuckled. "Let's go, we'll head back once we're done here. You haven't slept all night, have you?"
After bringing Ye Bao over, Huo Duan stayed up all night until Ye Shan and his son Ye Bixian arrived in the early morning, at which point he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but he still couldn't fall asleep.
Only after Ye Bao's fever subsided did he feel sleepy.
"Go tell your uncle and the others that your aunt is coming this afternoon instead, and Brother Xue hasn't left yet. We can take the oxcart back." Huo Duan carried the sack that Gu Fengyan had brought and went to tell Ye Bixian and the others.
The bag was filled with something, and it was unusually heavy. It was strange that Gu Fengyan, who was so delicate and frail, could carry such a heavy bag so far.
Upon hearing that Ye Bao had fallen ill and been taken to Xinglin Hospital, Ye Bixian and Ye Shan rushed over at dawn and stayed by his bedside without leaving for a moment.
The fever had subsided, but there were still lingering symptoms. Ye Bao's breathing, which sounded like a broken bellows when he was asleep, made the father and son anxious.
Having no other option, Ye Bixian invited Mr. Lin, who was on duty that day, to come and take a look. He was currently explaining the situation. Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan were also listening.
"Once the fever subsides, there's nothing to worry about. However, your son has phlegm in his chest, causing him to cough, feel chest tightness, and have shortness of breath. He needs to take a decoction of Inula japonica, Perilla frutescens seeds, apricot kernels, and mulberry bark in water to recover..."
There were four doctors in the Xinglin Hospital, who took turns seeing patients. Ye Bao was blessed by God and met Mr. Lin Ru, the most skilled doctor among the four.
Lin Ru was in his fifties, and looked like a gentle old goat, with a wisp of white goat's beard on his chin.
After examining him with his eyes, nose, and palpation, he stroked his goatee and shook his head. "These herbs are not particularly precious, but unfortunately your son's illness is quite unfortunate. We have all the other herbs in the ward, but we are missing one: Inula japonica!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Bixian immediately panicked, "What can we do! Mr. Lin, Xiaobao is the apple of my and his mother's eye. Without him, I'm afraid even his mother can't survive. I beg you, I beg you to save Xiaobao!"
"Don't worry, your son is fine. I've already sent someone to inquire, and they'll buy this herb as soon as it becomes available," Lin Ru reassured the patient's family, though he himself was deeply worried.
The pharmacy has never had a stable supplier of the medicinal herbs it needs, relying entirely on the surrounding farmers who gather some. Unfortunately, the farmers don't know how to process the herbs, so the quality varies greatly, and most of them are unsuitable for medicinal use... It seems that this young man from the Ye family can only rely on luck.
"Please wait a moment, everyone. I will inform you immediately if there is any news. Your son is certainly safe and sound." Whenever Lin Ru was in office, the Apricot Grove Academy was twice as busy as usual. However, before he could finish speaking, a waiter from the front hall came to urge him on. He reassured him for a few words and then turned to leave.
Gu Fengyan seized a moment of silence and quickly called out to Lin Ru, "Mr. Lin, please wait. I happen to have a few medicinal herbs here, and Inula japonica is among them. Saving lives is of utmost importance, so why don't you see if we can use them?"
The villagers call Inula japonica "Golden Buddha Grass". It is easy to process. A few days ago, Gu Fengyan went up the mountain and picked a lot of it. He never expected that it would be used on his own family.
Upon hearing this, Ye Bixian grasped at a straw, "Yan-ge'er, are you telling the truth?"
"A few days ago, I went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and also gathered some medicinal herbs, thinking of supplementing my family's income. I just don't know if the processing is in accordance with the rules..." Gu Fengyan first revealed that there were medicinal herbs on the mountain in the village, and then he was more confident in proposing cooperation with Xinglin Academy.
Huo Duan opened the bag and added, "There are many medicinal herbs in the mountains behind the village. It's fortunate that Yan Ge'er knows them, otherwise it would be a waste. Mr. Lin, please see if they can be used."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ru felt that the two people in front of him did not seem to be knowledgeable, but he decided to try anything and took out the medicinal materials to examine them carefully.
"Hmm..." After looking at it for a while, the gloomy look between his brows vanished, and he exclaimed with delight, "Excellent! Excellent! I'll have the waiter prepare the medicine right away!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Bixian and his son Ye Shan breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes filled with gratitude as they looked at Gu Fengyan.
"This time we owe a lot to Yan Ge'er. When Xiao Bao is better, I'll ask your aunt to cook something delicious for you," Ye Bixian said with a smile.
Gu Fengyan was naturally happy to be able to help, "We're all family, Uncle, you're being too polite."
The waiter brought the medicine, and after watching Ye Bao take it, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan told Ye Bao and his son what had happened. They then coaxed Ye Bao, who had just woken up, before leaving.
As Gu Fengyan had predicted, they were stopped by Lin Ru when they arrived at the door.
"Are you two young men selling these medicinal herbs? Would you do me the honor of selling them to Xinglin Academy?" Lin Ru asked with a kind smile.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan exchanged a smile. "To be honest, Mr. Lin, my wife and I were planning to start a medicinal herb business. We wonder what Xinglin Academy thinks?"
"I have some say in the Apricot Grove Academy, so you two can rest assured that no matter how many medicinal herbs there are in the future, the academy will accept them all! There is only one thing... I hope you can guarantee the quality, after all, it concerns human lives, and we cannot be careless!" Lin Ru said straightforwardly.
Medicinal herbs are precious, and it's rare to find someone who knows how to process and identify them. Let alone this bag, we could collect dozens or even hundreds of kilograms.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Lin! We are both honest farmers and would never do anything irresponsible," Huo Duan replied. "However, we do have one hope that Xinglin Academy can do it."
Lin Ru thought for a moment, "Please speak freely, both of you."
Huo Duan chuckled, "We can't control other territories, but within the territory of Heqing Village, we hope that Xinglin Academy will only accept medicinal herbs from our family!"
Regional monopoly. They can't expect the Apricot Grove Academy to accept only their medicinal herbs, and the Academy is unlikely to agree anyway. But if they restrict the region, things might change... Huo Duan is truly a sly fox!
Gu Fengyan was filled with admiration.
Hearing this, Lin Ru was also taken aback... He had thought that the couple were just ordinary people who were greedy for small gains, but he did not expect that they could think of this.
"That's easy," he said after thinking for a moment.
For Xinglin Academy, this requirement wouldn't be a loss, especially since there are probably only these two people in Heqing Village who can guarantee the quality of the medicinal materials processing.
Huo Duan was still not at ease, so he wrote a modern contract, stipulating the compensation for breach of contract, which was then signed by both parties.
The deal was finally done.
Lin Ru gave them a sack of medicinal herbs for a total of one string of cash at the market price, and also sold twenty catties of spring bamboo shoots for two hundred cash.
Holding the two hundred coins in their hands felt incredibly heavy. Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan were so moved, as if they had never seen money before, that they were almost bursting into tears.
They went to East Street and bought some tomatoes, cucumbers, green vegetables, chili seedlings, ten chicks, and ten ducklings before taking a rickety oxcart home.
The purchase cost 300 coins, leaving 900 coins remaining. Combined with the 100 coins from last time, this represents the entirety of the Huo family's wealth.
Gu Fengyan looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, realizing how difficult it was to make money.
The system that had supposedly died in Huo Duan's mind came back to life.
drop--
"Your task progress has reached 1/10,000, please keep up the good work!"
One in ten thousand... Huo Duan was momentarily at a loss for words.
When Father Huo saw his son and daughter-in-law carrying large and small baskets of things into the yard, he almost thought the two of them were up to some kind of murder or arson.
"What's wrong with Erdan? Where did these things come from?" The chicks and ducklings were running around pecking at food in the yard. Huo Adie was happy to see this, but he was still a little worried.
Gu Fengyan washed his hands, picked up a broom and herded the chicks and ducklings under the peach tree. "Don't worry, Father. Duan and I have made money and even negotiated a cooperation with the county's pharmacy... In the future, Father, just tell us if you need anything."
Father Huo's eyes widened. "Really?"
“Really,” Huo Duan said.
Father Huo grinned from ear to ear, "That's great! I'm practically half-buried, what could I possibly need? Save up the money you have to pay back the debts to the village head and your aunt first, and don't squander the rest, save it..."
After all, once we have children, the expenses will only increase... Father Huo thought to himself.
“Father is right,” Gu Fengyan readily agreed.
After preparing a simple meal, Huo Duan ate before going to his bedroom to catch up on sleep.
Uncle Huo and Gu Fengyan watched the chicks and ducklings eat in the yard. Uncle Huo wove baskets and winnowing baskets, while Gu Fengyan clumsily tried to learn how to weave small baskets for fun.
The whole afternoon passed by just like that.
Huo Duan woke up just as Gu Fengyan was preparing lunch.
It was getting cool, so we ate at the stone table under the peach tree. The meal was simple: a plate of stir-fried water celery, a plate of scrambled eggs with toon leaves... Now that we had a little money, we naturally ate white rice.
After the meal, as a way to digest, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan took some vegetable seeds to plant behind the house, and also built a small enclosure to shelter the chicks and ducklings from the wind and rain.
"Let's go see Doctor Liang in a few days and sound him out first." Gu Fengyan buried the seedlings in clusters and covered them with a thin layer of soil.
Huo Duan dug a small pit in front of them. The two people, who had never worked in the ground before, actually did it quite well. "This matter needs to wait. We can't rush it."
"Huh?" Gu Fengyan asked, puzzled.
“The incentive isn’t strong enough, so Doctor Liang might not agree.” Huo Duan dug the hole and helped plant the seeds. “Let’s get the business up and running first, and for now, let’s not deal with the medicinal materials that require strict and complicated processing steps. Let him see the benefits, and it won’t be too late to discuss it with him after the business has picked up a bit.”
Gu Fengyan estimated that all the medicinal herbs on the mountain could fetch a considerable sum, even without Doctor Liang.
"That makes sense... Mr. Huo, you're quite the old fox!" Gu Fengyan exclaimed.
Huo Duan clicked his tongue. "Are you praising me or scolding me?"
“How could it be an insult? Foxes are so cute.” Gu Fengyan said with a smile, “I’m thinking of learning from President Huo.”
Huo Duan wagged his tail again, looking smug. "Right, right? But Young Master Gu doesn't need to follow my example... You're great, the best I've ever seen."
"Save that for when you go back and pick up girls. It's a bit corny and cheesy, but with your looks, it's even." Gu Fengyan felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this and muttered.
Huo Duan's expression was unreadable. "Is that so?"
The author notes: "For cough with excessive phlegm, chest tightness, and shortness of breath: Inula japonica 10g, apricot kernel 6g, mulberry bark 10g, perilla seed 10g. Decocted in water and taken orally." — *Illustrated Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicine*
Happy Dragon Boat Festival! Thank you for saving and reading.
Chapter Twelve
The soil was piled up into ridges, and the seedlings were planted one by one. Huo Duan used a wooden bucket to carry some water and watered them thoroughly. He estimated that they would grow into a lush green patch in a few days.
As darkness fell, the chicks and ducklings huddled together in the corner, looking particularly pitiful.
"Done. Now let's put a pen around the chickens and ducks." Gu Fengyan patted the dirt off his hands and sleeves. "If it's going to be used for a long time, it needs to be sturdy. We two definitely won't... I'll go ask my father if there's a carpenter in the village. We'll invite him over tomorrow."
The two packed their things. In the front yard, Father Huo was still awake, sitting under the eaves mending Huo Duan's clothes.
The lamplight was dim, and Father Huo could only squint. Gu Fengyan looked at him and couldn't help but feel a little guilty... In other families, the husbands would do these things for them, but unfortunately, apart from the food he cooked, he knew nothing about needlework.
"Father, the lamp isn't working properly. Look carefully. I'll sew the clothes tomorrow." Gu Fengyan held the lamp closer to his face.
Father Huo bit off the last thread, shook his head and laughed, "You wouldn't know how to do this. I may be useless, but I can still do this little thing... Have the seedlings been planted?"