After lunch, Ye Shan went back first. Father Huo washed the dishes while Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan took hoes and went to the back of the house to tidy up the small piece of land.

Gu Fengyan outlined the general boundaries of Huo Duan's territory and said, "Start from here and go there. There are bamboo strips left in the front yard where Dad is weaving baskets. I can use them to build a fence so that we can raise some chickens and ducks in the future and they won't be wasted."

It's becoming more and more convenient for me to drive... Huo Duan complained in his heart, and started to dig the ground crookedly with the hoe.

The sun had set in the afternoon, the heat had dissipated, and a slight breeze had blown. Gu Fengyan hadn't finished his work yet. In the morning, he had blanched the spring bamboo shoots that he was going to dry, and they were still soaking.

"Don't stand here and watch. Go back. It's still a little chilly at night. Don't catch a cold." Huo Duan was a little worried because he was wearing thin clothes and couldn't stand the exertion.

Gu Fengyan smiled, and felt that he could not help much, "That's fine, the spring bamboo shoots that I blanched this morning have not been processed yet, so I will go back first."

"By the way, let's go to the county again tomorrow." After walking a few steps, he turned back and reminded Huo Duan.

Huo Duan piled the excavated black soil into ridges without stopping... He learned this from Ye Shan. "Go buy vegetable seedlings?"

"Well, let's take a look at the market for medicinal materials." Gu Fengyan heard Father Huo calling him in the front yard, and he quickly responded and said to Huo Duan, "Father called me, Mr. Huo, don't be too late. There is no rush. It will be the same tomorrow..."

"Go." The hoe dug up stones. Huo Duan stopped and picked out the stones carefully and piled them at the bottom of the embankment. The soil was indeed as fertile as Gu Fengyan said... there were even earthworms.

If it were in the past, Mr. Huo would have vomited out last night's meal and then went home to wash his hands eight hundred times.

But at this moment, he just casually turned the earthworms into the soil and continued to pick up stones.

Environment can change people, both Gu Fengyan and him.

This ordinary married life where everything is done with hands actually made Huo Duan feel a different sense of satisfaction and fulfillment than before.

…

In the front yard, Father Huo took advantage of the cool weather to move the large wooden basin containing the bamboo shoots under the peach tree.

"Father, let me do it." Gu Fengyan hurriedly took the winnowing basket from Father Huo's hand.

"Erdan is tidying up that piece of land," said Huo's father with a smile, and moved two more stools to the side of the wooden basin.

"Alas," Gu Fengyan helped Father Huo sit down, and rolled up his sleeves to start processing the spring bamboo shoots. "I saw that the land was empty, so I thought of planting some vegetables or something, so it would be convenient to pick them."

Take out the spring bamboo shoots, drain the water, cut them into wide strips with a knife, spread them in a winnowing basket, and dry them in two or three sunny days.

Gu Fengyan scooped and Huo Adie cut them, chatting as they sorted them out. In just a few moments, all the bamboo shoots had been sliced ​​and spread out in a thin bamboo winnowing basket to dry.

It was also beginning to get dark.

"Erdan must have stayed away for fun. Yan'er, go check on him and ask him to come back. It won't be too late to clean up tomorrow." Father Huo said, wiping his hands with a towel hanging on the branch of a peach tree.

"Well, I'll go call him. Dad, go to sleep first." Gu Fengyan took all the things under the eaves and closed the courtyard door before going to the back of the house.

The land was not large, but Huo Duan had already cleared it and was picking up stones carefully.

"Not bad, Mr. Huo." Gu Fengyan looked around and praised.

"Humph, no big deal." Huo Duan picked up the last stone, his tail almost lifted up to the sky, and clapped his hands, "Father must have asked you to come to me. Let's go. We have to go to the county tomorrow. Go to bed early."

Speaking of washing, Gu Fengyan just remembered that there was no place to take a bath at home. He used warm water to wipe away from others, and Huo Duan thought it was troublesome, so he just washed with cold water in the yard.

But I just sweated today, and if I use cold water, I'm afraid I'll catch a cold.

"Go back and boil some water." Gu Fengyan took the hoe and asked Huo Duan to take a break.

Huo Duan scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Summer is coming soon. I'm not that delicate. I can just do it. You can go back and rest first."

"I have to wash too. We are close friends. Why is Mr. Huo being so polite..." Gu Fengyan nudged Huo Duan with his elbow.

As both of them were unlucky time travelers, Gu Fengyan felt that they should help each other.

Huo Duan felt inexplicably uncomfortable and grabbed Gu Fengyan's arm, "Why do you still like to make moves..."

The two of them went back to the front yard noisily. Father Huo had already gone to bed. Boiling water was a quick job. A handful of wheat straw was thrown in, and the flames shot up. Soon, bubbles appeared in the water of the pot.

After washing and feeling refreshed, they rested as usual.

"Brother! Brother!" Gu Fengyan turned off the light and just as his head touched the pillow, he suddenly heard someone in the yard knocking on the door hurriedly and shouting in a crying voice.

Huo Duan was also disturbed by the noise, "What's going on?"

"I'll go take a look, you go to sleep." Gu Fengyan began to put on his clothes and lit the light. The person outside was still knocking on the door loudly.

Huo Duan also got up, and the two of them went to the yard. Gu Fengyan opened the door and looked out, only to see that it was Huo's father's sister, Huo Xiuling, Huo Duan's aunt.

Huo Xiuling was ten years younger than Huo's father and married early. Her husband, Ye Bixian, was well-known in the surrounding villages as a "henpecked husband." It wasn't that Huo Xiuling was mean, on the contrary, she was very kind. She always combed her hair meticulously and washed her clothes even if they were torn.

When the villagers saw her, even the most sarcastic ones would have to smile and greet her obediently.

"Aunt? What happened in the middle of the night? Please come in first." But now, Huo Xiuling's face was covered with tear marks, she looked panicked, and her hair was disheveled and not tied up... Gu Fengyan knew that something serious had happened at a glance.

Seeing the two of them, Huo Xiuling seemed to have found a life-saving straw. She kept grabbing Huo Duan's sleeve and sobbing, "Erdan, Yan Ge'er... Is your father here?"

When Father Huo heard the sound, he quickly put on his clothes and walked out of the hall with his cane, "Xiu Ling, what's going on?!"

He then asked two people to bring the person in.

Huo Xiuling was completely distracted. When she saw her brother, she burst into tears, "Brother, Xiaobao, Xiaobao is seriously ill!"

"What?! What happened? Tell me slowly!" Father Huo stamped his feet anxiously.

Huo Xiuling wiped away her tears, "Xiaobao has been sick for the past few days and has not gotten better. Today he was a little naughty and pestered me to eat mulberry leaf jelly. I couldn't resist him, so I followed the second sister-in-law of the Xu family to the mountain. When we came back, we sat for a while and forgot about it."

"Who would have known? Who would have known that when I came back, I saw that he was so sick and confused, and he could hardly breathe," Huo Xiuling's voice became weaker and weaker, and she was about to faint. "Dashan, Dashan and his father went to work in the county in the afternoon. I really had no choice..."

"Erdan, Yan'er! Support your aunt and go with us to see what's going on!" Father Huo frowned and said without waiting for her to finish.

The Ye family is on the other side of the river. The road is not far, but it is not close either. If Ye Bao is really in critical condition as his aunt said, he will have to race against time to save his life from the hands of the devil.

"Oh!" Huo Duan agreed, and he and Gu Fengyan immediately supported Huo Lingxiu and ran towards the Ye family.

The harvest was poor the year she was pregnant with Ye Bao, and Huo Xiuling didn't have enough food, so Ye Bao, who was born with a weak constitution, would always get sick once or twice a year, but this was the first time she was so sick.

With a reliable man at home, Huo Xiuling has never experienced any big storms... If, if Ye Bao was gone like this, how would she live!

Thinking of this, Huo Xiuling cried even harder.

"Aunt, please calm down. Xiaobao will be fine. Brother Duan and I will take him to the county to see a doctor overnight. Don't worry, Xiaobao is a good boy and God won't let him go." Gu Fengyan comforted.

If Ye Bao really had an acute illness, there was a high probability that he would not be able to wait for his aunt to come home... Gu Fengyan had a clue in his mind, but did not say these inappropriate words.

The comforting had some effect. Huo Xiuling wiped her tears resolutely, with a look as if she was ready to fight with the gods. "Xiaobao is a good child. He never cries or makes a fuss. When he is sick and uncomfortable, he will just nestle in my arms and call me mom..."

Huo Xiuling walked in front, and Huo Duan took off the clothes he was wearing and put them on Gu Fengyan, "I will go to the county later, you go home, the road is not easy to walk at night, don't get tired."

The lit windows of the Ye family could already be seen. Gu Fengyan wanted to argue, but Huo Duan blocked him, "Mr. Gu, stop talking to me now. Be obedient. If you want to come, come to the county tomorrow, buy some things and we'll go home together."

Gu Fengyan pulled the clothes Huo Duan put on him, pulled Huo Duan's clothes close to him and whispered, "Then be careful on the road, wait for me, I will come to find you tomorrow."

His ears were itchy, and Huo Duan couldn't stand Gu Fengyan talking to him.

Ye Bao's illness is not an acute one, but it cannot be taken lightly. However, Doctor Liang and her husband went back to her parents' home at the village entrance and have not returned yet.

There was no other way, Gu Fengyan and Huo Xiuling could only discuss and hire the eldest brother of the Xue family who drove a ox cart, and pay extra money to send Ye Bao to the county pharmacy overnight.

It was not convenient for Huo Xiuling, a woman, to go, so only Huo Duangeng went with her. It would be safer with the help of the eldest son of the Xue family.

After sending Huo Duan away, Gu Fengyan comforted Huo Xiuling before going home to rest.

It was already past midnight.

The next day, Gu Fengyan did not dare to sleep in. He got up early in the morning, had breakfast with Huo's father, and then went to the county with the prepared medicinal materials and a big bag of bamboo shoots.

There are two pharmacies in Qianmo County, one is Miaochuntang and the other is Xinglinyuan. There is not much difference between the two pharmacies, but only Xinglinyuan allows patients to stay overnight.

Huo Duan and his friends didn't have much money, so they couldn't stay at an inn or restaurant. Xinglinyuan was the best choice. Gu Fengyan took the things to Xinglinyuan. The pharmacy clerks in the hall were busy, changing the medicine, dispensing the medicine, and seeing the patient. The division of labor was clear.

"Excuse me, where is the patient who was brought in last night...a child, about eight years old?" Gu Fengyan caught a passerby and added, "I am a relative."

The shop assistant was a man with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, holding a small scale for dispenser medicine. He frowned at being disturbed, but when he saw that Gu Fengyan was a man with a sharp look on his face, he calmed down. "It's so early. Where are you from? Have you had breakfast? You said that kid, come with me. This place is crowded and hard to find. I'll take you there." He took Gu Fengyan to the back hall and helped to carry things attentively, asking questions like a string of beads.

Gu Fengyan smiled lightly, and said, "Thank you for your help."

The shop assistant blushed immediately.

The back hall was in a mess, with more than a dozen wooden beds placed under the rain shelter, which was quite similar to a modern hospital.

Huo Duan, Ye Bixian and Ye Shan, three tall and strong men, gathered in a corner, while Ye Bao, who was sleeping soundly, lay on the bed.

It looked like the fever had gotten better. Gu Fengyan felt relieved.

Huo Duan immediately spotted Gu Fengyan who had opened the curtain and came in, and waved to him, "Here, here."

Then he saw the shop assistant who was helping Gu Fengyan carry things. His face was flushed and he was looking at Gu Fengyan with a smile in his eyes.

The two of them talked, completely ignoring Huo Duan.

"Tsk," Huo Duan's face darkened, and he felt inexplicably unhappy. He took a few steps forward and took the things that the waiter was reluctant to part with. "Where are you looking? Brother Dashan and Uncle are here too. Have you had breakfast?"

While talking to Gu Fengyan, his eyes were fixed on the shop assistant.

Gu Fengyan thanked the shop assistant, and after everyone left in dismay, he asked Huo Duan with a smile, "What's wrong? You didn't sleep all night, are you in a bad mood?"

Huo Duan looked at him casually, "He likes you."