"Come here." He gritted his teeth in hatred.
Huo Duan, unaware of what he was going to do, hurried over.
"Come down a bit, stretch out your hands," Gu Fengyan continued to instruct.
Huo Duan obediently bent down and opened his palm, "What does Ayan want to do..."
"Slap!" Gu Fengyan slapped his palm, his hoarse voice cursing, "You're such a bastard!"
Huo Duan's palms burned with pain. Looking at Gu Fengyan's swollen eyes, he felt a pang of guilt...
Gu Fengyan was in a bad mood and kept crying. Huo Duan had never seen anyone shed so many tears, and he wiped away Gu Fengyan's tears while trying to stop him.
He can't stop.
At that moment, I truly felt guilty.
"I was wrong. Next time, you can just hit me or scold me." He half-hug Gu Fengyan into his arms, his chin rubbing against the top of her fluffy hair.
Gu Fengyan felt uncomfortable even by moving, and really didn't want to pay attention to him anymore. She just wanted to get some sleep...
"Go to sleep, I'll wait until you fall asleep before I leave." Huo Duan nuzzled his nose, smiling sweetly.
...
Today was supposed to be the day to pick up the medicinal herbs, but unfortunately Gu Fengyan couldn't get up. Huo Duande took care of him and sent a letter to Xue Da, asking him to deliver the herbs to Dongfulou and Xinglinyuan respectively, and to settle the payment when they went another day.
Gu Fengyan really slept for a whole day. He woke up in the middle of the night and ate some throat-soothing porridge and appetizing side dishes that Huo Duan bought, and then he didn't eat anything else.
Huo Duan felt very sorry for him, so he made a trip to get some medicine to apply to him and gently massaged his back.
In the evening, Gu Fengyan regained some energy, got up and walked around the small garden a few times, helping Uncle Huo plant vegetables in the garden.
It had just rained, the air was very fresh, and there was a faint floral fragrance.
The land was damp, and Uncle Huo planted pumpkin seeds and green vegetables.
"Erdan said you were sick, are you feeling better?" Father Huo dug out small holes and put the vegetable seedlings in them.
Gu Fengyan wore a very wide robe, rolled up his sleeves, and helped cover the soil. Before long, the tips of his shoes were covered with mud.
"Sick? That damn Huo Duan really knows how to make things up." Gu Fengyan's lips twitched.
"At noon, Huo Duan gave me... medicine, and I feel much better." His face was burning.
The medication was indeed used, but it was applied topically...
Gu Fengyan coughed awkwardly a few times, then lowered his eyes to wipe the mud off the tips of his shoes.
Father Huo nodded. "That's good. It's damp after the rain. Go inside. What's the point of staying with an old man like me?"
Gu Fengyan smiled and agreed, but did not move.
While he was pouring water, Huo Duan returned to the house and Gu Fengyan disappeared. After searching for a long time, they found him in the small garden.
He moved closer and said, "Father."
He called out "Father" but his eyes were fixed on Gu Fengyan without taking them off.
They're almost able to see right through people.
Gu Fengyan coughed, "Help me plant the vegetables, I'll finish before dark."
He hadn't realized before that Huo Duan was a very innocent person. He would like whoever he liked, and once he slept with someone, that person would be his, and he wouldn't even take his eyes off them for a moment.
He noticed it in the morning.
Like a big dog, once it sets its mind on you, that's who you are.
Gu Fengyan is most unable to deal with this kind of person, but he is Huo Duan.
He likes Huo Duan...
Uncle Huo has been through it all.
He could see it clearly... those two lads had finally achieved their goal.
Before, their silly son only had eyes for Yan Ge'er. After a while, things changed, and he seemed less enthusiastic. But now, the two of them are completely devoted to each other.
Father Huo smiled and said, "My back suddenly hurts a bit. Since Erdan is here, why don't you help Yan Ge'er plant these seedlings? I need to rest."
Huo Duan looked away from Gu Fengyan. "Yes, Father, you go ahead. Yan-ge and I will stay here."
Father Huo, his face full of wrinkles from smiling, went back into the house with his cane and handed the garden over to the couple.
Only they remained.
"Pass me the seedlings." Huo Duan, concerned about Gu Fengyan's discomfort, took the initiative to plant the seedlings. He only asked Gu Fengyan to stand and lend a hand from time to time.
Gu Fengyan nodded, his voice still hoarse, "Mm."
The atmosphere between the two was subtle.
They were suddenly completely open with each other, even knowing every inch of each other's bodies, where they found joy, where they had left their marks... (Reviewer, please look closely, this is really just something they were thinking, nothing they couldn't do!)
Even when their eyes meet, they unconsciously linger together, reluctant to part.
The moment our fingers touched... my mind was filled with absurd and chaotic images.
They are similar yet different.
They became the people who understood each other best in the world, intimately connected, belonging exclusively to each other.
This secret pleasure is like the most potent drug, easily igniting each other with just a simple touch.
Each harboring their own ulterior motives and with their minds wandering, they saw each other completely in a single glance... Though it was clearly just a casual encounter, a sense of exhilarating satisfaction arose between them.
A note from the author:
My next novel, "After Losing My Amnesia, I Got Pregnant with a Baby," is coming soon. Please add it to your favorites!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 41
That evening, Huo Duan massaged Gu Fengyan's back again, applied ointment, and coaxed him to sleep.
The next day, Gu Fengyan was able to walk steadily. Apart from some discomfort in her waist and legs, she felt refreshed.
The weather was excellent. After breakfast, they went to Xinglinyuan and Dongfulou to collect their money for the medicine, as agreed.
The first place we went to was Xinglin Academy.
The medicinal herbs that Xue Da delivered yesterday weighed several hundred catties. Lin Ru, who was in court today, personally gave them several hundred strings of cash.
In the sweltering summer heat, sick people came and went in the apricot grove, their faces pale and sickly. Some even spoke with accents from other places and were led to the back room by the waiters.
The back room was a storeroom for medical consultations and storing medicinal herbs. Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had been there a few times before when they delivered medicinal herbs.
What are these outsiders doing inside? They don't seem to be sick, especially since they're on night shift.
Gu Fengyan glanced at it, feeling puzzled.
Lin Ru handed them the silver notes, saying, "Please keep this money for the medicinal herbs."
“Mr. Lin, those people don’t seem to be locals from the accents they’ve picked up. Has something happened at Xinglin Academy?” Huo Duan took the silver notes and told Gu Fengyan to put them away. He also noticed the group of out-of-towners who were hurrying to the back room with the shop assistant.
Lin Ru immediately felt a little awkward, and didn't hide anything from them, "I won't hide it from you two, those people are medicinal herb buyers from the outer prefecture... they're here to buy medicinal herbs."
As he spoke, he looked somewhat ashamed, "The two of you sent so many medicinal herbs that the back room is already overflowing. So I had someone contact them to sell some of them, otherwise they would just be piling up anyway."
"However, you two can rest assured. Now that the contract has been signed, Xinglin Academy is not a person who goes back on their word. Please feel free to send the medicinal herbs in the future," he added, though his voice lacked confidence.
When they signed the contract, it was agreed that Xinglin Academy would accept all the medicinal herbs they brought. At that time, Lin Ru thought they had just dug some up from the mountain and never expected that the two of them would start a business with them.
With all the medicinal herbs stuck in the warehouse, Xinglin Academy was in financial straits and could not break the contract, so it had no choice but to find a medicinal herb merchant to buy them at a low price.
Gu Fengyan immediately understood.
“I see…” he nodded and smiled, “That is part of the reason we came here today.”
Lin Ru was surprised, "Oh?"
Huo Duan continued Gu Fengyan's words, saying, "A few days ago we also discovered that Xinglin Academy had stockpiled medicinal herbs, so we thought we would come to discuss with Mr. Lin today that we would only supply Xinglin Academy with the amount it needs... This way, the cooperation between the two parties can last."
He glanced at Lin Ru, who looked surprised, and continued, "I suppose the price offered by the herbal medicine merchants over there isn't high. We can't let Xinglin Academy suffer a loss."
Lin Ru's eyes widened, then he sighed, "It was indeed sold at a low price!"
They were in a hurry to sell, so they kept pushing the price down. Xinglin Hospital had no choice but to agree. Luckily, Xinglin Hospital had some capital and a solid foundation in the past. If it were a small pharmacy, it would have gone bankrupt by now.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan brought this up because they had thought of it.
You can earn less money temporarily; what matters is the long-term.
Lin Ru was particularly grateful to the two for being understanding, so he said, "In that case, I thank you both in advance, but what about the contract?"
The contract clearly states that a penalty will be paid for breach of contract. Although they were the ones who first proposed to interrupt part of the supply, they were still thinking of Xinglin Academy in the end.
Gu Fengyan smiled, took out the contract from his pocket, tore it up, and took out another newly drafted one.
He drafted this last night.
"Here's a new one, Mr. Lin, take a look and decide... The old one is void." Huo Duan took the contract from him and handed it to Lin Ru.
Upon seeing that the two had even drafted a contract, one could tell their sincerity.
Lin Ru, who was also interested in continuing to cooperate with them, took the contract, squinted at it for a moment, and then signed and sealed it.
"That's good. I hope you two will be lenient with me in the future..." Lin Ru said, putting the contract away.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan exchanged a glance and finally made their request.
"We have another favor to ask, and we wonder if Mr. Lin would be willing to help us with this," Huo Duan said.
Lin Ru raised his eyes and looked around for a moment, then said, "Speak freely."
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had always wanted to expand their business, and when they first met those out-of-town medicinal herb merchants, they knew their opportunity had arrived.
I wanted to ask Lin Ru for a recommendation, but I didn't know if he would be willing to do it.
After hearing their intentions, Lin Ru readily agreed. Xinglin Academy could not possibly accept so many medicinal herbs, nor was there any need to block others' path to wealth.
They thanked Lin Ru and then went to meet two herbal medicine merchants from out of town.