Chapter 34: Looking Forward to Spring. Mid-Autumn Festival fell on Saturday...

Mid-Autumn Festival fell on Saturday, and Song Qingshu had swapped classes with Jin Yan in advance. On Friday, he and He Feng boarded a bus to the city.

He Feng borrowed another motorcycle from the village chief and filled it up in the next town. Song Qingshu sat in the back, covered by He Feng's thick coat.

They both woke up early. To catch the herbal medicine market, He Feng cooked two eggs for Song Qingshu, then led them to the village chief's house.

The motorcycle ride to the city was inevitably cold, and He Feng had someone hold his waist while he huddled inside his coat. He was afraid he'd get sleepy, so he'd occasionally call out, "Baby. "

Hearing his call, Song Qingshu would poke his head out from under his coat and say, "Hey, haven't slept yet?"

"Cover yourself up and don't let the cold wind blow you. Remember to eat your eggs; they'll get cold soon." He Feng's voice was scattered by the wind, but it landed precisely in Song Qingshu's ear.

"Ouch." Song Qingshu rested his head against He Feng's broad back, their coats between them, as he hid in the space beneath, peeling an egg. He

hadn't been home long, and the egg had been in his pocket. It was still warm, and he didn't want to throw it away, so he stuffed the broken pieces of shell into his pocket as he peeled.

Eggs laid by home-grown chickens have a much darker yolk and taste more fragrant, but they can also be choking.

Song Qingshu bit off the white, leaving a large, unappetizing yolk. He passed his hand from He Feng's waist to the front. "Brother, you eat it."

He Feng knew what he was holding without even looking down. He supported the handlebars with one hand and took the egg from Song Qingshu with the other.

"Where's the other one?"

Song Qingshu pressed his head against his, applying some pressure. "Peel it, peel it."

"Eat half of this one and give it to me," He Feng said, popping the egg into his mouth. There were other people riding motorcycles nearby, and behind him sat his wife and children. He used the same method to protect the children from the wind.

Let the child hide under the adult's clothes, but with the child sandwiched between the two adults, there is no need to worry about the child sleeping.

The two walked side by side, and the man turned to talk to He Feng, "Hey, brother, what are you doing in the city?"

"Going for a walk." He Feng replied. Song Qingshu could see from under his coat that there was a motorcycle next to him with someone sitting on it.

The people here are simple and honest. They would talk to everyone they met wherever they went. Song Qingshu was used to it.

"Then it's like me. I just came back from work outside. My child has never been to the city to see him. How old is your child?"

When Song Qingshu heard someone ask this, he wanted to take off his coat immediately and say that he was an adult.

But the egg in his hand was not peeled yet. He couldn't bear to see even a little shell on the egg. After peeling it, he would turn it twice to see if there was any broken shell or invisible shell.

Before he finished, he heard He Feng's voice and answered seriously, "Our child is in his teens."

It was not a lie. Nineteen years old was also a teenager.

The man nodded. "Our baby is quite young, only nine."

As they chatted, Song Qingshu handed the half-eaten egg over. The man didn't notice, but his wife did.

"This kid is just a picky eater. Ours doesn't like egg yolks either, chicken or duck eggs." She patted the child in her arms, who must have fallen asleep, for he didn't respond.

He Feng dismissed it. "If he doesn't like it, then don't. You can make up for the nutrients he's lacking elsewhere."

Hearing this, Song Qingshu's lips curled up. He hugged He Feng's waist, resting his cheek against his back.

Even through their clothes, He Feng could feel the soft touch.

"Baby?"

Song Qingshu nudged him. "I'm not asleep."

He Feng, worried he'd been sitting a little too impatiently, said hello to the man next to him, saying he was in a hurry to get to the herbal medicine market and would leave first.

The man nodded and agreed.

Motorcycles are simply much faster than bicycles. A simple bicycle would take four or five hours to get to the city, but a motorcycle cuts that time in half.

He Feng parked his car in front of a bank outside the herbal medicine market. It was busier than he'd imagined, with people coming and going.

Some people, dressed formally, got out of brand-new cars; others, dressed simply, stood at stalls selling herbs.

Both sellers and buyers gathered. He Feng knew there was a clinic run by an old Chinese medicine practitioner in the market, and he had to hurry to get there. He took Song Qingshu's wrist and said, "Son, are you hungry?"

Song Qingshu was curious about the market and looked around with a dazed look.

"No, let's go shopping and then eat, brother."

He looked around as he spoke. Some stalls were displaying what looked like grass and dried flowers.

"Then let's go inside and see the old Chinese medicine practitioner first." He Feng took him and walked a few steps faster. "Let's go shopping again after we get out. We also need to buy some medicine."

At this, Song Qingshu followed him inside.

The doors of the Chinese medicine clinics were all reddish-brown, and the thresholds had been stepped down a bit, wearing off a layer of wood and looking a bit prickly.

An old man inside, stroking his graying beard, took a man's pulse. His surname was Sun, and He Feng had heard of him in the army.

At the time, there was a teammate named Sun, a descendant of the old man's family. His family had asked him to study Traditional Chinese Medicine, but he was a restless person who disliked sitting still. He didn't even want to learn to identify herbs, let alone learn medical techniques and pulse diagnosis.

To temper his temper, his family sent him straight to the army.

The two of them stood in the clinic. He Feng looked at the figure holding the medicine from behind, and he felt a sense of familiarity. As the man turned around , he

recognized him: Sun Jing'an. The man, obviously recognizing him, finished collecting the herbs and called out to the side, "Xiao Lin, come and help me for a while."

A young man in a white jacket popped out, annoyed, "How long have you been picking? I just ate and I need to rest a little longer." "

Okay, I'll take you to Xiguan for lunch," he said, emerging from behind the medicine counter. The young man inside immediately helped dispense medicine for the person who had arrived.

The "Jing" in Sun Jing'an's name was completely useless. He stalked over and punched He Feng on the shoulder. "Long time no see, Brother Feng."

He Feng smiled. "Don't you want to do this?"

"Oh, don't mention it. I couldn't get over my family, so I just came here to keep an eye on that kid." He turned and pointed at the young man helping him get medicine for the patient. "He's so talented. He'd go out and play if I weren't here." "

He's fearless. Only I can keep him in check." His tone was filled with pride.

He Feng smiled again, seeing how different he was from the boy he remembered hiding under the covers after their first field training, saying he missed home.

"Hey, why are you here? Are you sick?" He asked, his eyes already fixed on Song Qingshu, who was beside He Feng.

After all, standing next to the healthy and healthy He Feng, the already unhealthy man looked even weaker.

"I wanted to check on him. He has a bad heart. It's a problem he's had since birth." Song Qingshu stood up, blinking at Sun Jing'an.

Sun Jingan stretched out his hand and said, "Let me feel your pulse first. If that doesn't work, there's someone else."

He raised his chin towards the old man with a white beard and black hair. He Feng helped Song Qingshu roll up his sleeves so that Sun Jing'an could feel his pulse.

Sun Jing'an frowned. "I don't think I can do it. Let's have the old man come later."

He Feng nodded and pulled out the prescription Wang Dehui had written for him back home. "Can you help me see if the conflicting herbs can be replaced?"

Sun Jing'an, who had been confident, was speechless and reluctantly extended his hand. "I'll just take a look. I may not be able to help."

He Feng had prepared himself mentally before coming. Song Qingshu was no longer surprised by this kind of answer. He put his hand into He Feng's rough but warm hand to warm it.

He Feng took his hand and squeezed its soft palm, then squeezed all the slender fingers into his own.

Sun Jing'an's frown deepened as he gazed at the prescription, almost reaching a point where his eyebrows were about to meet.

He turned and said, "Old man, there are even more ruthless prescribers than you." His shout hushed the entire clinic. After the young man at the counter finished taking his prescription, the old man, seemingly having run into a problem and with no one else wanting to take medicine, ran out.

"Let me see, let me see," he said, leaning over and grasping Sun Jing'an's arm to examine the prescription.

Then he exclaimed, "What a powerful prescription!"

The old man, his eyes closed, released his grip. The man whose pulse was being felt coughed twice, and the family members around him eagerly asked, "What's going on, doctor? Is there really no other way?"

The tone reminded Song Qingshu of his own family, and he hoped He Feng wouldn't ask a doctor that question again.

The old man remained silent, opening his eyes and sighing. He'd used a bit too much force when taking the man's pulse, leaving a small finger mark on his wrist, a testament to his efforts to save him.

But he still shook his head.

"I'll prescribe some medicine for you to ease your pain. It'll only take three months."

The patient tugged at the hem of her family's clothes. "Thank you, doctor. Big hospitals say they only have one month left without surgery."

"In three months, I should be able to see my grandson born." Her voice was weak but still gentle. Her husband, eyes red, thanked the old man repeatedly.

They walked over to the side with the prescription. Sun Jinglin ran to get the medicine, still listening to the noise.

Sun Jing'an dragged the two of them over to show the old man the prescription. "Look, there's actually someone as bold as you."

The old man took the prescription and took a closer look. "This is the prescription I wrote."

His eyes were clear as he looked directly at Song Qingshu. "It's yours, right?"

"I didn't expect you to grow so big in the blink of an eye. The last time I saw you, you were only four. Your parents begged me to find you a way to survive, so I wrote this prescription."

The weathered voice and wrinkles on his face were the marks of time, but he looked as energetic as anyone young.

Song Qingshu was stunned for a moment. The parents in the original owner's memory had gradually faded, and he could not remember their faces.

It turned out that this Song Qingshu grew up in love.

He looked at the old man in front of him, "Thank you for saving my life."

The old man waved his hand and asked him to sit down to take his pulse. His old hands looked like rough bark on Song Qingshu's white and almost transparent skin. He closed his eyes again and began to stroke his beard.

After Sun Jinglin took a prescription, someone new came to get medicine. He rummaged through the Chinese medicine cabinet and glanced over here from time to time.

He almost took three grams of medicine instead of two grams.

After a while, the old man withdrew his hand and opened his eyes. "It's better than when I was a kid. This medicine is still useful besides saving lives."

"I can't think of a better prescription. You wait for him. Maybe in a few years, he'll surpass me."

Sun Jing'an knew the old man was talking about Sun Jinglin. He patted He Feng's shoulder and took the prescription from the old man's hand. "Then I'll go get the medicine according to this prescription."

He Feng took Song Qingshu's hand, patted the back of his hand, and said to the old man, "Okay, thank you."

Sun Jing'an took half of He Feng's money. Of course, He Feng didn't know. Sun Jing'an asked when he would leave. If there was no rush, the four of them could go to Xiguan for lunch together.

There was a large state-owned restaurant over there. Sun Jinglin hadn't been there in a long time and was craving it.

The young man stared at Song Qingshu and He Feng eagerly, almost wanting to grab them and stop them from leaving, his eyes full of anticipation.

He Feng thought it had indeed been a while since he'd seen him. "Then I'll take him out for a walk and come back later."

Sun Jinglin jumped for joy, nearly knocking over the small gold scale on the table. He nervously picked it up.

If it fell to the ground, he'd be beaten when he got home tonight.

He Feng led Song Qingshu to a street north of the herbal medicine market. Sun Jing'an had just said this was where all the fun and food was.

Sure enough, it was much busier than the herbal medicine market, with people out shopping.

Shouts were heard everywhere. Someone nearby was making sugar figurines, and Song Qingshu watched from a distance.

He Feng took him and stood behind the child, asking for a candy bunny figurine, which Song Qingshu could eat.

They hadn't walked far when Song Qingshu, holding the little bunny he'd made with malt sugar, was reluctant to eat it.

He Feng said if he liked it, he'd wait until the wheat sprouted next year and make some malt sugar for him to try. It could even be made into syrup.

Song Qingshu listened as he ate, looking forward to spring.