March was the busy month for spring planting, so Ye Bixian and his wife did not stay at the Huo family for too long. They told them not to rush to pay back the money and left.

"Father, the ten taels of silver are mine." A farmer's annual income plus extra income is only a dozen or twenty taels of silver. Gu Fengyan owed ten taels of silver and felt a little guilty. "I will pay it back to my aunt and the village head uncle as soon as I make money."

Father Huo stopped picking wild vegetables and said, "We are all family. What are you talking about, kid?"

He looked at Gu Fengyan and said, "Although our family is poor, as long as we have hands and feet, we can always make money. What's important for you is to take care of your health. Erdan and I will take care of the repayment..."

For a family of old, weak, sick, disabled and stupid people, ten taels of silver are enough to support them.

Although Gu Fengyan was touched, he also knew that these were just words from Huo's father to comfort him.

Got to find some money.

At least we should have enough food and clothing...

"Dad, let me help you pick them." Gu Fengyan sat on a small stool and helped pick the vegetables.

When he was young, Father Huo suffered from a lot of illnesses. His legs would hurt when it rained and he would be out of breath after walking a few more steps... He could only do light work.

The farm has always relied on Erdan and his brother-in-law for help.

"Although the old man is useless, he can still do this little job," he coughed twice and smiled kindly, "You go and have a rest. Ask Erdan to call you when the meal is ready."

It doesn't make sense for the young to rest while the old are busy, Gu Fengyan thought.

"Father, I'll cook today." He fished out pheasants and gastrodia elata from under the wild vegetables and showed them to Father Huo. "We're a family, so don't let me rest all the time... I caught these on the mountain this morning. I'll make a pot of gastrodia elata chicken soup for Father to nourish him. It's my and Brother Duan's filial piety."

Father Huo couldn't refute it, so he gave the cooking job to Gu Fengyan...

Unable to persuade Father Huo, Huo Duan followed his cousin Ye Bao to the river to catch some fish and shrimp.

He felt indignant. Father Huo was too doting on his boy. It would have been fine if he had just rice and porridge every day, but he also made a big fuss just for a fever and asked him to go to the river to catch fish and shrimps... He ended up falling into the river without paying attention and got his whole body wet.

Huo Duan thought that the guy was probably in the room, so there was no need to be shy. He took off his shirt as soon as he entered the yard, leaving his chest bare.

"Dad, we've caught the fish and shrimp. Where should we put them?" He pushed open the kitchen door with a complaining look on his face and called for help without even looking.

Gu Fengyan coughed and said, "Father is not here, give it to me."

"Why are you here?" Huo Duan was stunned.

The person in front of me had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two snow-white, delicate arms, and his face was slightly red from the smoke from the pot.

He hurriedly put on his clothes...

He quickly realized that this reaction didn't seem to fit his character, so he pretended to be terrified, "I, I didn't know you were here, don't be angry..."

Gu Fengyan held his forehead with his hand. He knew that in this world, boys and men had to be careful with each other... but he still felt a little uncomfortable.

"Come and eat after changing your clothes. We'll have delicious food today." Gu Fengyan poured strings of small fish and shrimp into the basin.

Huo Duan said "Oh" and was very surprised.

You have to know that this husband has never stepped into the kitchen before, and even in the situation where he "overstepped his authority" just now, he should have been scolded.

The sun rises from the west?

…

Gu Fengyan sprinkled chopped wild onions into the chicken soup, and finally it was done!

Before he traveled through time, he would learn how to make medicinal food for his grandfather from his aunt on his rare days off, so his cooking skills were pretty good.

A plate of cold-mixed grass heads, a big bowl of Gastrodia elata chicken soup... Only half of the chicken was used. The weather in March was not very warm, so it could be hung on the beam for ventilation and stored for a few days.

The chipped coarse porcelain bowls were filled with three bowls of white rice.

It made Huo's father feel painful.

"Brother Yan, did you do all this?" Father Huo exclaimed with a painful feeling.

You should know that if you take a pheasant to the county to sell it, you can sell it for sixty-five copper coins, enough to buy a dou of rice.

As for the white rice in the bowl, since the land here is all dry and there is no rice, its price is twenty cents more expensive than wheat.

"Wow! It smells so good. I didn't know you could cook." Huo Duan changed his clothes and came out. The food in front of him finally made him feel a little appetite.

Gu Fengyan smiled and said, "Eat it quickly, it will be bad if it gets cold."

…

After dinner, Father Huo couldn't sit still, so he collected the dishes and washed them.

Two people in the room were cleaning the table.

"You are going to the county tomorrow...can you take me with you?" Gu Fengyan asked tentatively.

Just now during the meal, Father Huo arranged for Huo Duan to go to the county to exchange rice tomorrow, and by the way, pick up the seven-day supply of medicine from Doctor Liang's house at the village entrance.

Gu Fengyan also wanted to go.

Since he can't go back, he has to live a better life... like making some money.

But before that, we must at least understand the economic situation of the world.

Huo Duan moved the cracked low table to the wall and said, "Father will definitely disagree. I'm afraid of him. You go talk to him yourself."

"Just agree to it. I will naturally find a way to convince father." Gu Fengyan said firmly.

Huo Duan believed that since Huo's father treated him closer than his own son, he would naturally listen to whatever he said.

The difficult thing for him is that he has to act stupid and foolish... and he also has to look after Gu Fengyan all the time.

Mr. Huo felt overwhelmed.

Heqing Village is more than ten miles away from Qianmo County, which is difficult to walk. Father Huo prepared breakfast early in the morning and asked Huo Duan and his wife to eat before going to the village entrance to drive the ox cart.

Oxcarts save time, are comfortable, and cost only two copper coins per person, similar to modern buses.

It's as crowded as the bus.

Five people were squeezed into a space as big as a single bed. Gu Fengyan was hunched over, unable to move his limbs. Next to him sat a man with a mouth full of yellow teeth. He hadn't taken a shower in several days, and a strange smell wafted from the air.

The smoke makes people want to vomit.

This man was a scoundrel old bachelor from the west end of the village, nicknamed Liu Laosan. He was over thirty years old, his family was poor, he hadn't even found a wife or husband, and he looked wretched. Any bitch in the village would look at him with lustful eyes when she passed by him.

He sat next to Gu Fengyan with a purpose... He had heard a long time ago that a handsome-looking guy had come to escape and had charmed the fool Erdan and the young master of the neighboring county magistrate.

I finally saw him today.

She has fair skin, smells good, and even the pregnancy mole on her earlobe is brighter than the others. You can tell at first glance that she is good at giving birth.

It’s a pity that after following a fool like Erdan, I’m afraid they haven’t even touched each other’s hands… The more Liu Laosan thought about it, the hotter he became. His elbow rubbed against Gu Fengyan’s forearm involuntarily, and his thigh also leaned towards him.

Gu Fengyan was a modern man in leather clothes, so naturally he didn't have much defense against male sex. It must be that the ox cart was too crowded... until Liu Laosan's hand touched his thigh in an obscene way.

This is a groping and indecent act on the bus!

right?

Gu Fengyan was so disgusted that he was about to kick Liu Laosan off the car, but someone got there before him -

"Liu Laosan! What are you doing?!" Huo Duan suddenly grabbed Liu Laosan's claws and questioned.

From the moment he got on the ox cart, he noticed that Liu Laosan was sneaking around Gu Fengyan. He didn't want to cause trouble, so he just warned him with his eyes. Who knew that he would go even further.

Regardless of whether it was a man or a woman, Huo Duan would never watch someone being offended right under his nose.

"Where are you putting your hands?!"

His questioning attracted the attention of everyone in the car, and their eyes all fell on Liu Laosan's hands.

Liu Laosan's face turned red, and he flexed his hands to try to break free, but Huo Duan grabbed them tightly, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Oh, brother Erdan, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! The car is so crowded, it's inevitable that we'll bump into each other..." Liu Laosan smiled playfully, thinking that Huo Duan was just a fool and Gu was a young man with a thin skin, so he just made it up, "I'll just sit farther away, okay?"

"Is the car crowded?" Huo Duan grabbed Liu Laosan who was trying to escape, "Why don't I see anyone else putting their hands on anyone else's thighs? Are you the only one who's special?!"

He knows these deadbeats too well. They take advantage of public prejudice and the victims' weaknesses to fish in troubled waters.

But the more this happens, the more we have to make our words clear so that he has nowhere to hide... After all, his identity is that of a fool who knows nothing about human affairs.

Everyone in the surrounding villages knew who Liu Laosan was, and now everyone understood.

"Isn't this the third son of the Liu family?" A villager from Dashi Village asked, "You were beaten badly by Brother Zhang the last time you had sex with Zhang's wife? Who got this medicine... He can walk in less than ten days."

As soon as the words were spoken, the villagers gathered together to gossip, and several old stories were brought up, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Liu Laosan's face was so red that it looked like blood. He buried his head in his arms like a turtle... In the end, he didn't even want to go to the county. He stopped the car and drove away.

With most of the space around him now empty, Gu Fengyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally I can breathe.

The ox cart ran over a rock and shook violently. Gu Fengyan's body tilted to the side and Huo Duan grabbed him.

Unlike others who were covered in sweat, Gu Fengyan smelled a faint fragrance on Huo Duan, like the smell of grass mixed with the sun.

He didn’t realize… this fool is quite clean.

And very brave.

The car stabilized, Huo Duan let go of him and sat up straight.

"Thank you." Gu Fengyan thought for a moment and gently pulled Huo Duan's sleeve.

Huo Duan held the bag of wheat steady without even raising his head. "Father said, you are my husband, and I must protect you well."

After a pause, he looked at Gu Fengyan seriously, "And... this is not your fault. If you encounter such a thing in the future, don't be afraid, I will help you beat them up!"

Gu Fengyan couldn't say that he was not afraid at all, but was planning to kick Liu Laosan out of the car, but he was beaten to it by him.

I could only smile and nod vigorously, "Yeah!"

I felt a little more favorable towards this fool.

…

As soon as the ox cart arrived at the county town, people rushed down like a swarm of bees, and Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan fell behind.

The driver, Mr. Shen, was a kind-hearted man. Seeing the two men carrying two large bags of wheat and what had just happened in the car, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty, so he insisted on sending them to the door of the grain store.

Although Qianmo County is not a big place, people from all over the surrounding villages come here to buy goods. Today is the opening day of the market, so it is more or less prosperous.

There are four grain stores in the county.

Father Huo had previously reminded Huo Duan that he should take the wheat to Wangji Grain Store in the West Market to exchange it, and he must not mistake it for Wangji next door... Wangji could exchange more than Wangji, and most of the rice in Wangji was old rice, with rice husks that had not been completely removed.

Thanks to the help of Shen's father, the three of them were able to move two large bags of wheat to Xishikou.

But something went wrong.

"Which of these two is Wang's?" Gu Fengyan narrowed his eyes and asked.

It is adjacent to the previous two grain stores, and the signs on both stores are "Wang Ji".

Huo Duan was confused. He clearly remembered that one of the two restaurants was "Wang Ji" and the other was "Wang Ji". How come they both became "Wang Ji" now?

The sun was scorching and Gu Fengyan could hardly open his eyes. He just wanted to change the rice quickly and find a shady place to rest.

"Forget it, just stay here and let me go ask." He instructed Huo Duan.

Just as he took a step forward, he heard Huo Duan say, "It's the one on the left. Look at its sign. The one on the right is Wang Ji. The three dots are blocked by a sign."

Gu Fengyan looked up, and the wind happened to blow open the curtain, revealing the word "Woof".

"It's true." He said to himself.

But he suddenly felt something was not right—when did Huo Duan learn to read?