While tidying up, Gu Fengyan said to Huo Duan, "Mr. Huo, after you finish drying the clothes, go to Mr. Liang's house. You still haven't paid off the money for your medicine. You should also ask him what he thinks about it."
Huo Duan nodded. "I expect there will be more villagers coming to sell medicinal herbs this afternoon. By the way... do you have enough money?"
Gu Fengyan manages all the money from selling medicinal herbs, and Huo Duan also has some, all of which is pocket money given to him by Gu Fengyan each day.
Thinking of this, Huo Duan felt inexplicably happy... It was like the wife managing the money and giving her husband a fixed allowance every month.
Two or three hundred catties of medicinal herbs cost about a string of cash, and there was still a lot left over.
Gu Fengyan said, "That's enough. Once this batch of medicinal herbs is sold, and if business at Dongfulou is better, we can start thinking about treating Father's illness."
Huo Duan nodded. After packing up the medicinal herbs, Gu Fengyan took some money and headed to Liang Chengze's house at the village entrance.
The Liang family had just finished breakfast. Liang Cheng and Shen Yao had been married for over ten years but had no children, so the large courtyard was deserted.
The two men carried the bowls and chopsticks from the wooden table into the room. Liang Cheng was about to tell Shen Yao about helping Huo Duan and the others process the medicinal herbs when he heard Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan arrive. He then led them in and invited them to sit down.
"Have you and your husband eaten yet, young Huo? If not, I'll go and make you something." Liang Cheng picked up the bowls and chopsticks and went to the kitchen, while Shen Yao stayed behind to keep the guests company, smiling as he spoke.
Shen Yao usually kept to himself and didn't participate much in the village's gossip groups. Gu Fengyan wasn't sure what to do with him, but seeing him smiling and speaking in a very friendly tone, he knew that Shen Yao was easy to get along with, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Hiring Liang Chengze requires Shen Yao's approval; otherwise, if he tries to use this to control Huo Duan and him, it will be a huge problem.
"Uncle Shen, don't bother. We ate the rice porridge you made this morning before coming." Gu Fengyan took out a paper package containing more than fifty coins.
He handed the paper package to Shen Yao with both hands, saying, "Huo Duan fell ill the night before last, and with such heavy rain, we are so grateful that Mr. Liang made the trip. Mr. Liang is a kind man and refused to accept a consultation fee, but Huo Duan and I cannot forget this life-saving grace. Please accept this small amount of money for the medicine, Uncle Shen."
Seeing that Huo Duan was polite in his actions and speech, and that he was also well-mannered, Shen Yao felt even more that Huo Duan had married a good husband.
“If your Uncle Liang won’t accept it, I wouldn’t dare accept it either. Besides, I wasn’t there when you and Huo got married, so consider this money a red envelope for you,” Shen Yao said with a smile.
Liang Cheng came out of the kitchen and happened to hear it, so he said, "Your Uncle Shen is right. Don't keep passing the buck. I know what money I should and shouldn't take. We won't lose out."
Seeing this, Gu Fengyan had no choice but to take the money back and exchange a glance with Huo Duan.
Huo Duan stood up and bowed to Liang Chengze. "Mr. Liang saved my life. I will remember that. If you ever need any help in the future, just let me know."
"Thank your husband. In such heavy rain, he, a mere young man, dared to go out and find the medicinal ingredients for you. I was quite scared myself." Liang Cheng helped him up.
Remembering what Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan had mentioned before, he glanced at Shen Yao and continued, "I also agree to the processing of the medicinal herbs. Two hours a day, you can decide on the wages."
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan were overjoyed.
"Mr. Liang, rest assured, we will certainly not treat you unfairly. From now on, it will be one string of cash per month. If there are more medicinal herbs, we will add another string of cash. We will definitely deliver them on time." Huo Duan told Gu Fengyan the price that he had discussed in advance.
One string of cash is already a very generous sum, considering that Liang Chengze only earns about one string of cash a month when he goes around to see doctors.
After listening for a while, Shen Yao finally understood that the two young men wanted to hire Liang Chengze to do something.
"Why didn't you mention this to me?" Shen Yao asked Liang Chengze.
Seeing that his husband's face had become serious, Liang Cheng didn't care whether there were other people around and said with a smile, "I forgot, don't be angry. The two boys are honest people, you can rest assured when dealing with them."
Seeing this, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan wanted to defend Liang Chengze, but Shen Yao stopped them, saying, "Don't worry about him, I'll listen to his explanation."
Liang Cheng was practically sweating bullets as he circled around Shen Yao, completely forgetting that they were still there, his eyes fixed solely on Shen Yao.
Gu Fengyan could also tell that Shen Yao wasn't really angry with Liang Chengze, but just wanted someone to coax him... to put it bluntly, it was just the kind of fun that old married couples have.
"What a mouthful of dog food," Gu Fengyan chuckled.
Huo Duan asked, puzzled, "What?"
Gu Fengyan glanced at him and answered irrelevantly, "It's almost noon, your aunt and the others will be here soon, let's go home."
But love is nothing compared to making money… Gu Fengyan thought to himself.
Huo Duan, however, envied the old married couple.
Second update:
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had just arrived home when Jiang Xuerui and Huo Xiuling arrived shortly after.
Hearing that there were other things to tell them, they didn't take anything with them. Huo Xiuling was a little uneasy, "Yan-ge'er said yesterday that he had something else to tell us, what exactly is it?"
The sun was already shining on the hilltop, so it looked like it would be a nice day. Gu Fengyan turned the medicine over and told it to air dry, while Huo Duan had already brought out the small wooden table and account books.
"Aunt, please sit down," Huo Duancai said, bringing out stools for the two of them to sit down. "Aunt and Ruige'er have seen that the villagers have given us a lot of medicinal herbs. Yange'er and I are busy with both sides, and sometimes we can't take care of everything... So we discussed asking Aunt and Ruige'er to help manage the purchase of medicinal herbs."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuerui said nervously, "I've never done this before, I'm afraid something might go wrong."
Upon hearing this, Gu Fengyan smiled and comforted the two, "It's all simple work. Auntie knows how to use a steelyard balance, so she just needs to weigh the medicinal herbs they bring and pay for them. Ruige can write, so he just needs to keep accounts."
Huo Duan added, "This job doesn't require running all over the mountain, so Yan Ge'er and I are at ease with you doing it... The wages will be calculated at fifteen coins per day."
Jiang Xuerui and Huo Xiuling exchanged a glance.
Such a good thing?
Gathering medicinal herbs is no easy task. Even after searching on the mountain under the scorching sun all day, you might only get three or four pounds.
They can easily earn money simply by sitting down, weighing items, and writing some words.
After her initial joy, Huo Xiuling began to worry about her nephew's wallet. Buying medicinal herbs for a day would cost at least a string of cash, and now they were paying them for their work. Even if they made some money, they shouldn't be spending it like this.
"Erdan, listen to what your aunt has to say, you and Yan'er. I don't know how much money you've made, but you should be careful. Your wages alone are more than a string of cash a day. How can this be?" she reminded Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan.
Gu Fengyan smiled. Doing business requires a willingness to invest, and besides, they had signed contracts with Dongfulou Xinglinyuan, so they weren't worried about not being able to sell the medicinal herbs.
“Aunt is right. Huo Duan and I have calculated that we won’t lose out,” she reassured Huo Xiuling.
Not only will you not lose money, you can actually make a lot of money.
There were already sounds of people talking outside the courtyard gate. They were villagers who had gotten up early to go up the mountain to collect herbs and were heading straight to the Huo family's house.
Huo Xiuling quickly got up to greet them, "Alright. They're here, so I won't nag any longer... You all go ahead and get busy."
...
Some of the medicinal herbs were dried yesterday, but those that need processing are still piled up inside. Plus, more villagers are coming to sell them today. The workload is heavy.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan arranged the purchasing work, and they only needed to take care of the cooking in the kitchen. Huo A'die couldn't do too much work, so he sat under the stove to tend the fire.
Some of the medicinal herbs required special processing, so we had to wait for Liang Chengze to come and prepare them in the afternoon... The whole family worked hard all morning and finally finished preparing them.
However, Huo Xiuling and the others harvested another pile in the yard, roughly estimated to be another two or three hundred catties.
These can only be dealt with in the afternoon.
The sun was blazing, so the group moved the medicinal herbs to a shady spot. Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui, always restless, were sweeping the floor with brooms.
Seeing that everyone was terribly hot, Gu Fengyan casually took some bamboo leaves, soaked them in water, rinsed them in the well, and poured a cup for each person.
"Aunt, Rui-ge'er, come and have some water. We'll clean up after lunch," he called out. "Father, come and rest for a while too."
Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui quickly finished sweeping the floor before sitting under the peach tree with Huo's father to cool off and drink water.
Gu Fengyan took a glass of water to the kitchen and handed it to Huo Duan, saying, "Take a rest."
Huo Duanzhen was a little thirsty, so he drank the water in one gulp. "We'll get those things in the yard sorted out this afternoon, and the rest we'll wait for Mr. Liang to arrive."
"Tomorrow is market day, and the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner. Let's go sell medicinal herbs, deliver a prescription to Dongfulou on the way, and buy some festive items." Gu Fengyan replaced the pot he used to stir-fry the medicinal herbs with a cooking pot, preparing to prepare lunch.
"This is our first holiday together, and it might be our last, so let's celebrate a little," he said with a laugh.
Huo Duan paused, holding the water glass. "It's up to Young Master Gu to arrange it."
"However, we probably won't be able to finish the task before the Spring Festival. We can still celebrate the Spring Festival together, have hot pot, watch the snow, and so on. Tomorrow we'll go to the county to buy some more wine to make peach wine, which we'll keep until winter to drink..." Gu Fengyan said, arranging things in a rambling manner as he chopped vegetables and washed rice.
Huo Duan sat by the stove adding firewood, listening to Gu Fengyan's description, and the scene was already in his mind... Suddenly, he began to look forward to winter.
...
Gu Fengyan's lunch was simple: white rice with the cured pork and dried bamboo shoots that Huo Xiuling had sent last time, and a bowl of chicken and egg soup.
After eating, Uncle Huo went to wash the dishes, while the others tidied up the medicinal herbs to aid digestion. Fortunately, not many villagers came to sell medicinal herbs in the afternoon, and Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui had time to help. Before sunset, all the medicinal herbs in the yard were neatly arranged.
Seeing that nothing serious had happened, Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui took their wages and went home.
Liang Cheng came over as it was getting dark, and together with Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan, they packed up the remaining dozen or so kilograms of medicinal herbs that required special processing, working until night.
After seeing Liang Chengze off, the two of them were so exhausted that their bones felt like they were about to fall apart. After washing up, they both collapsed onto the bed.
With aches and pains in his arms and back, Gu Fengyan rolled around on the small bed a couple of times. "To be honest, Mr. Huo, I've used up all the work I've done in my life today. When we have money, let's hire more people. It's so nice to be a big boss while lying down."
Gu Fengyan used to feel extremely tired from sitting in the office all day reading documents. Now, he truly understands the meaning of the word "tired".
Huo Duan has gotten used to getting out of bed, so he's feeling a little better.
"Where does it hurt? Let me massage it for you?" He came in from the outer room after taking a shower and saw Gu Fengyan rolling around on the bed, half-wrapped in a blanket. He couldn't help but laugh.
Upon hearing this, Gu Fengyan simply kicked off the blanket, lay down, buried his face in the pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "Arms, waist, legs... thank you, President Huo."
This person seems to lack a sense of propriety, or perhaps they haven't thought things through deeply enough.
His nightgown was snow-white, made of the finest material, with the blemishes left by his still-damp hair showing through his back, revealing the curves of his shoulder blades and waist dimples... His proportions were so perfect, breathtakingly beautiful, with every curve and ridge perfectly defined, all gathered at his slender and supple waist.
Her legs were like two supple bamboo shoots, long and straight, meeting at her snow-white, rosy heels.
It lies there so openly, almost as if it's open to anyone to pick it.
Huo Duan's eyes darkened, but he remained standing still.
"President Huo?" Gu Fengyan turned her head and looked at him with a smile. Under the warm yellow light, her eyes and brows were full of affection.
She seemed to know that her actions were provocative, yet also seemed completely unaware.
Huo Duan stepped forward, looking away, "Ahem... You're quite adept at ordering me around."
He pinched his calf, then his arm, his back, around his waist and thigh... His hands were soft and warm, and he could clearly feel his body temperature through the thin fabric.
"That's good. If Mr. Huo ever goes hungry again, he could become a blind masseur." Gu Fengyan praised with satisfaction, but then noticed his eyes darting around, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Surprisingly, Huo Duan is quite thin-skinned.
Huo Duan pinched the skin haphazardly for a while, feeling quite tormented. He just wanted to slap himself twice, thinking he was asking for trouble by deliberately making himself suffer.
"Cough cough... that's enough, go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow." He turned his head to hide his abnormality, then pulled the blanket over Gu Fengyan and wrapped him up tightly before turning off the light.
The room was plunged into darkness, and Huo Duan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Fengyan chuckled, his face buried in the blanket. "Has President Huo never been in a relationship before?"
Otherwise, why would he get so excited about touching a man? If he weren't a pure virgin, Gu Fengnan couldn't think of anything else. He just found it unbelievable that a CEO like him would have so many men and women throwing themselves at him... Could it be that he has some kind of hidden illness?
Thinking of this, Gu Fengyan's face was full of sympathy.
Seeing the complicated look on his face, Huo Duan quickly pulled the blanket up over his head and covered him up tightly. "You're talking as if you've ever done it. Don't make wild guesses. Go to sleep."