A note from the author:
Thank you, Lulalalulu baby, for the nutrient solution (kiss);
Happy Qixi Festival, my darlings! Happy Qixi Festival, Mr. Huo and Mr. Gu! (Hands over roses)
Chapter 59
The Ye family didn't cultivate much land, but it still took them three or four days to harvest all the corn and wheat... Including husking, threshing, and drying, seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye.
The two plots of land cultivated by the Huo family are not large and are located in shady areas, so the crops mature relatively late. These seven or eight days will be just enough time to harvest them.
However, the entire Huo family of three moved to a new house in the county. They still had several acres of crops to grow, and just carrying them back and forth would be exhausting... But if they stayed in the old house, they would be eaten by snakes, insects, and rodents, which would also ruin their lives.
So Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan discussed that after the harvest, they would take some of the crops back to grind into flour and try it out, while leaving the rest to the Ye family.
The weather was fine that day, with the sun appearing and disappearing intermittently. A gentle autumn breeze made the leaves sway. The Huo family got up early and ate breakfast. Ye Shan and the Ye family elders, wearing straw hats and carrying sickles at their waists, came up from the bottom of the hill.
"Aunt, you've arrived so early," the three members of the Huo family were tidying up the table. Gu Fengyan hurriedly handed the three bowls she was about to wash to Huo Duan, wiped her hands clean, and poured tea for the Ye family. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
The three of them took stools and sat down. Huo Xiuling took off her straw hat and said, "Dashan and Jingge made breakfast early this morning, and we've already eaten."
Speaking of Liu Jingyu, Gu Fengyan asked, "Why didn't you invite Brother Jing to come along? He can't get out of bed, it would be good for him to talk to me at home..."
Huo Xiuling sipped her tea. "It's inconvenient to bring Xiaobao along, and he loves to cling to Jingge'er, so we told them to stay at home."
"Then I'll prepare lunch this afternoon and call him over to eat together." Gu Fengyan nodded, then turned his gaze to Ye Shan, "By the way, Brother Dashan... is Brother Jing feeling better? Is the medicine working?"
Hearing his question, Ye Shan quickly put down the cup and nodded repeatedly, "You're right, that medicine really works. Last time you brought it, I brewed it for Jingyu the very next day... After a few times, he never complained of feeling unwell again, and even his face has regained some color..."
Ye Shan was overjoyed... As Liu Jingyu's health improved, a great weight was lifted from his heart.
Once he has fully recovered, Ye Shan plans to work hard with Huo Duan and the others to earn money, repair the house, buy some household items, and make two good cotton-padded coats for Jing Yu, his parents, and his younger brother to get through the winter... In the spring, he plans to clear the wasteland in front of the house, plant some vegetables and fruits, and raise some chickens and ducks.
The elderly Ye couple also knew that Liu Jingyu's health was gradually improving, and seeing Ye Shanxi's happy expression, they shook their heads and smiled.
"I have to thank you for the improvement in Jing-ge'er's chronic illness," Huo Xiuling said, pulling Gu Fengyan along.
“What are you saying?” Gu Fengyan smiled. “Auntie, you’re being too polite.”
Huo Xiuling said nothing more, but looked at Gu Fengyan with a face full of emotion.
“Alright, Aunt, please sit down first. Huo Duan and I will go wash a few bowls and then go down to the fields.” Gu Fengyan stood up and picked up a few dishes of pickled vegetables from the table.
Huo Xiuling also helped him collect the goods. She glanced at the weather and said, "No rush. The weather is nice and not hot today. It won't be long before we finish collecting them."
The two of them carried two bowls and plates each into the kitchen. Taking advantage of the lack of sun, Gu Fengyan planned to go to the fields with them today to pull some weeds from the Shen family's few acres of land so that they could plant medicinal herbs in a few days.
He was wearing a narrow-sleeved short-sleeved shirt that he rarely wore out, which outlined his figure. Gu Fengyan went to the kitchen first, and Huo Xiuling followed behind.
“I heard from Huo the other day that you had no appetite… I think you’ve gained some weight lately. Are you eating well?” She looked at Gu Fengyan’s waist and noticed that it was a little wider than before, though not very noticeably. But Huo Xiuling had a sharp eye.
Gu Fengyan smiled, somewhat embarrassed, "Aunt's eyes are still so sharp, you actually saw through me. I didn't have much of an appetite a few days ago, but lately I've been eating a lot... as if I'm never full."
A few days ago, he was listless all day and didn't eat well. He had no appetite. Huo Duanzheng said he would take him to the county to ask Mr. Lin to take a look and prescribe some medicine.
His body seemed to have gained self-awareness, and he was fine the next day... but he was still lazy and seemed to feel hungry no matter what he ate.
Her waistline gradually widened a bit.
Huo Duan didn't take him to see... It's nice to knead a little bit of flesh at night, and he'd be happy to do that.
"It's good to eat more. Your aunt always thought you were too thin, but now you're just right," Huo Xiuling said with a smile, not paying much attention.
“Aunt is right.” Gu Fengyan didn’t seem to care.
The two entered the kitchen, where Huo Duan was pouring several ladles of water into a pot, intending to wash the dishes.
"Don't stay here. Go with your brother Dashan and pack everything up. After you wash these dishes, you should go to the fields. Don't delay any longer." Huo Xiuling walked straight over and shooed Huo Duan outside.
It was getting late, so Huo Duan didn't linger. He answered and went out.
Huo Xiuling and Gu Fengyan finished tidying up the kitchen, and then they found all the baskets outside. So they washed and chopped the vegetables they would need for lunch, and waited for the people outside to call them before wiping their hands clean and going out.
The first few acres harvested were those in the ditch.
Ye Shan and Huo Xiuling left first. Gu Fengyan soaked some water and took it with him. Huo Duan didn't really want to ask him to go, but in the end he couldn't refuse, and the two of them followed behind at a distance.
A thick layer of clouds hung in the sky, drifting westward, with slivers of sunlight occasionally peeking through.
"Take it with you." Huo Duan put a straw hat on Gu Fengyan's head, and took the basket, sickle and water pot, carrying them himself. "If you're bored, you can go chat with Jiang Xuerui or Liu Jingyu. Why do you have to go pull weeds?"
Gu Fengyan tied the straw hat tightly, saying, "I've gained weight these days, so I should move around more."
"Where have you gained weight?" Huo Duan really couldn't see it, and looked Gu Fengyan up and down in confusion... Gu Fengyan had been eating more recently than before, and had gained some weight around his waist and abdomen, but he hadn't gotten fat yet.
He didn't dwell on it, and said seriously to Gu Fengyan, "You've been acting strangely lately. If you feel unwell later, you have to tell me... okay?"
Huo Xiuling and the other two had already reached the embankment and unloaded their baskets and sickles.
Beside the plump, golden ears of wheat lay the Shen family's land, overgrown with weeds reaching up to one's calves.
Gu Fengyan was both amused and exasperated. "I understand. Go quickly, don't keep your aunt and the others waiting."
Huo Duan looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
"Go ahead, go ahead, it's just pulling a few weeds, I won't let your Ayan lose a single hair." Gu Fengyan smiled, and after Huo Duan left, he put on his straw hat, picked up his sickle and started pulling weeds in the field... He cut the weeds that he couldn't pull out with his knife.
A large pile of wild grass covered the edge of the field.
After pulling for a while, he didn't really feel anything wrong with his body. He usually didn't care about farm work, but now the farming genes rooted in the blood of Chinese people were awakening... He found it interesting and pulled more and more enthusiastically.
In about half an hour, most of the weeds in the wasteland were gone, leaving only a small patch.
He half-squatted on the ground, wiping his sweat with his sleeve. A few feet away, someone's ducks were quacking and swimming.
Huo Duan and his two companions had finished harvesting most of the wheat and were resting and drinking water under a tree, having put down their sickles.
"I must say, this young man is really amazing. I've never seen a young man work in the fields so efficiently. He can leave the three of us behind," Huo Xiuling said, lifting her straw hat and pouring a bowl of water for Huo Duan. "You should tell him to come and rest. He can't keep going like this."
Without her saying anything more, Huo Duan had already carried the water away. "I'll take it to him."
Gu Fengyan was so engrossed in watching the ducks that he didn't even notice Huo Duan coming over.
"Ayan, come and have some water..." Huo Duan called to him.
Gu Fengyan only then saw him coming. He stood up from the ground, and suddenly felt a little dizzy. His feet got tangled and he almost fell.
Huo Duan noticed something was wrong with him and his expression immediately turned serious. He grabbed Gu Fengyan's arm and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Fengyan's eyes were blurry as he looked at people. He shook his head and laughed, "It's nothing, my legs just went numb from squatting for so long."
"You scared me to death." Huo Duan pointed to a tree a few feet away. "Don't stand there, sit under that tree for a while."
Gu Fengyan nodded, letting Huo Duan help him down to the tree. He stared at Huo Duan's sleeve in a daze... After taking a few steps, he realized that things were not going well.
The double vision multiplied, and it felt like all the blood was rushing to my head. I was buzzing, and the sound of the ducks quacking was both real and ethereal, as if I were looking through a veil.
What's even stranger is that along with his weak legs, he also felt nauseous. Everything he had eaten over the past few days was churning in his stomach, and his memory of the various unpleasant smells of cooking oil... He almost threw up.
Huo Duan sensed that he wasn't leaving, so he quickly turned around. But he was still holding a ceramic bowl full of water in one hand, so he could only wrap his other arm around Gu Fengyan's back and tuck it under his arm. "Ayan?"
Gu Fengyan shook his head, "President Huo, I think I should..."
Before he could finish speaking, everything went black, and his entire body collapsed as if his bones had been removed.
Just before he fainted, Gu Fengyan only heard Huo Duan call out to him in a panic, "Ayan!"
Then came a cacophony of voices… like the last drop of water falling into a lake, the final ripples subsiding, and then everything fell into an endless, deathly silence…
Gu Feng fainted under the eaves, and the Ye family, along with Huo Duan's father, the whole family was extremely worried.
They neglected the work in the fields, leaving Huo Xiuling to pack up the belongings, while Huo Duan had already carried Gu Fengyan across the river and walked quite a distance.
A tremendous fear gripped him, as if a wet stone were lodged in his heart.
"Ayan, Ayan!" He couldn't care less about anything else. He was covered in sweat and ran towards Liang Chengze's house at the village entrance with Gu Fengyan in his arms. He didn't even have time to say a word... The person in his arms had pale lips and closed eyes, and couldn't hear what he was saying at all.
The more you rush, the more mistakes you make; you should stay calm in such situations… Huo Duan knew this principle well.
But the person was lying in his arms with their eyes closed and not waking up, and no matter how calm he was, he couldn't calm down.
What if something happens to Gu Fengyan...
He dared not think any further, large beads of sweat sliding down his temples.
However, when Huo Duan arrived at Liang Chengze's house, he found the door tightly closed and there was not a sound. Huo Duan was immediately devastated... Liang Chengze was not there!
"Ayan..." he called out twice more, but the person in his arms still did not respond.
If there were a vehicle available, they could be taken to the county in time, but they didn't have a horse-drawn carriage to get back to the village.
As luck would have it, the weather, which had been fine just moments before, suddenly turned into a fierce wind. Tree branches clashed and crackled, and leaves swirled down, carpeting the ground... The sun disappeared completely, replaced by low-hanging, almost falling gray clouds.
It's going to rain soon.
The road to the county is all dirt road. If it rains again, we'll be completely ruined!
Huo Duan took two breaths, forcing himself to calm down, took off his outer robe and wrapped it around Gu Fengyan, and made a decisive move to head towards Xue Dajia.
Just as they took two steps, they saw two figures driving an oxcart into the courtyard.
The oxcart stopped in front of Huo Duan, with Xue Da and Ye Shan on it.
Hayama threw down the footstool, "Get on now!"
As soon as Yan Ge fainted, he knew that Huo Duan was going to take him to Liang Chengze's house... but Liang Chengze had gone out to see a doctor yesterday and would not be back until tonight.
Huo Duan was unaware of this, so he went directly to Xue Da's house and borrowed the oxcart. When he was in need of help, Xue Da also came along.
Huo Duan didn't say much, and jumped up in one go. Xue Da cracked his whip, and the oxcart drove off.
Huo Duan held Gu Fengyan tightly, grasping his hand, and prayed repeatedly with his eyes closed, "Ayan will be alright, Ayan will be safe..."
The oxcart was too slow; it took an hour to reach the entrance of Xinglin Courtyard.
During that hour, Huo Duan was in agony every moment. As soon as they arrived, he immediately grabbed Gu Fengyan and jumped down, rushing into the Apricot Grove Courtyard. "Mr. Lin Ru, quick, quick, look at my wife!"
Passersby scattered, intimidated by his menacing aura. The academy was not currently seeing patients, but the shop assistant, being quick-witted, recognized the two as the academy's herbal suppliers. Given the involvement of a life, he quickly led them into the back room and summoned Lin Ru.
While waiting, Huo Duan paced anxiously, and Ye Shan stood beside him with a solemn expression. The room was deathly still.
Upon hearing that it concerned lives, Lin Ru did not delay at all and came with his medicine kit.
"Mr. Lin, please take a look at Ayan. He suddenly fainted for some reason... Please take a look at him..." Huo Duan said in a trembling voice, as if he had grasped a lifeline.