Chapter 58 Chapter 58
Jiang Xuerui is pregnant, and Shen Zhuo has to go out to work, plus he has to take care of Jiang Xuerui, so I'm afraid those acres of land will remain abandoned.
It was a bit of a waste. Gu Fengyan thought about it and told Jiang Xuerui the whole story. Finally, he said, "You are pregnant. Second Brother Shen has to take care of you and go to work in the county. I am afraid that the land will be abandoned. It is a pity..."
Listening to him, Jiang Xuerui put down the cup and nodded repeatedly.
"Huo Duan and I have only leased a few acres of land in the back mountain, and we still have most of the medicinal herb seeds left to plant. I think..." Gu Fengyan said, "Why don't you lease your land to us to plant medicinal herbs, and then you can take over after the baby is born."
The land is just lying there anyway, so I could earn some money by renting it out, which can help supplement the family income...and it will also be a big expense when a child is born in the future.
Jiang Xuerui was naturally happy, and hurriedly agreed with a smile, "Shen Zhuo doesn't take care of things at home. Since you are willing, we will give you this land... You pay the price, and Shen Zhuo and I will rest assured."
With his words, Gu Fengyan naturally couldn't cheat him, so he told him a price, and Jiang Xuerui agreed immediately.
The Shen family's acres of land are all in the ditch, next to them are the Huo family's acres, and there is also the ancestral property of Ye Bixian's family.
Today Huo Duan was helping to harvest crops in the ditch.
Earlier in February and March, Huo's father asked Huo Duan to plant some corn and wheat, which can be harvested now... After the wheat and corn are harvested, the medicinal herbs can be planted.
Jiang Xuerui talked to Gu Fengyan for a while, and when he saw it was getting late, he turned back. Gu Fengyan saw that he liked the plum water, so he filled a can for him and told him to come back after he had finished drinking it, as a gift for a child.
Jiang Xuerui was pregnant, and Gu Fengyan didn't dare to ask him to go back alone, so he brought a jar of black plum water cooled by well water to send him off.
"I'll call Shen Zhuo when we get to the river. The baby is five months old now, and farmers are not that delicate. You don't have to make this trip again." Jiang Xuerui saw that he was about to go with her and hurriedly stopped her.
Gu Fengyan raised the water pitcher in his hand to show him, "It's not tiring at all. Huo Duan is helping his aunt and the others harvest crops in the ditch. I'm going to deliver some water, and I'll take you there too. I'll feel at ease after we've crossed the river."
The ditch in the village is full of sand and rocks, so a temporary bridge was built with a few wooden boards and stones. No one has touched it for all these years, for fear of slipping due to water... Jiang Xuerui is now alone with his wife, and they must not be careless.
Jiang Xuerui naturally knew his good intentions, so she nodded without arguing.
Gu Fengyan took two straw hats, he and Jiang Xuerui each wore one, then they closed the courtyard door and went down the small slope.
At this time, the sun was not very strong and from a distance three people could be seen busy harvesting by the river.
Most of the crops have been harvested. The bare black mud ground is covered with yellow-green stubble, and a small number of ears of corn are blown by the wind like waves.
Gu Fengyan was looking after Jiang Xuerui and soon went down to the ditch. When Huo Duan looked up to wipe his sweat, he saw him and waved with his eyes narrowed.
"Okay, go ahead. I'll call Shen Zhuo here and he will come." Jiang Xuerui said with a smile.
After shouting a few times, he heard someone on the slope responding repeatedly. After a while, Shen Zhuo came into the bamboo forest with a planer.
"Why did you come back by yourself? Didn't I say I would pick you up in the afternoon..." Shen Zhuo hurriedly dropped the work in his hands, ran down in a few steps, and said.
Then he came down and thanked Gu Fengyan again.
Jiang Xuerui smiled and said, "Thank you for sending me off. When the baby is born, I will invite you to a full moon banquet."
Huo Duan was looking at him, so Gu Fengyan smiled at them and said, "I will definitely come then."
He asked the two men to be more careful before walking up the path along the edge of the embankment.
When he got to the field, he put the water can under a tree and walked over to greet Huo Duan and Ye Bixian and his wife, "Aunt, come and rest for a while, drink some water, and then continue to harvest."
Three men put down their sickles and came over.
Gu Fengyan first poured water for Ye Bixin and Huo Xiuling.
"Why are you here? Kid Huo said you were not feeling well. Are you feeling better now?" Huo Xiuling handed the bowl of water to Huo Duan and poured another bowl for Gu Fengyan.
Gu Fengyan smiled, "Aunt, I drank some water that was cooled down in the well before I came here. It helps me cool down from the heat... I don't have anything wrong. I just feel a little tired in autumn. I feel much better after taking a rest."
She glanced at Huo Duan and said angrily, "Huo Duan is making a fuss out of nothing."
Huo Xiuling took the bowl and drank it in one gulp, "Brother, you have to be more careful... Huo is right to pay more attention."
"I think it's getting late," she said, looking at the sky with the back of her hand, and then told Huo Duan, "There's not much left, you and your uncle collect it, I'm going to go back and make lunch first, Yan Ge'er, don't stay here in the sun, follow me home and have a meal."
"Well, aunt, go first. I'll wait for my uncle and the others to finish drinking the water and then bring it back." Gu Fengyan quickly agreed.
Huo Xiuling was in a hurry to go home to cook, so she agreed and went home with a basket of crops on her back.
Ye Bixian finished a bowl of water, returned the bowl, asked Huo Duan to take a rest, put on his straw hat, and continued to harvest with his sickle.
"Jiang Xuerui came to see you? What's she doing here?" When Gu Fengyan came, Huo Duan was not in a hurry to start working. He held the bowl slowly and sipped it slowly.
Gu Fengyan put away the ceramic bowls returned by Huo Xiuling and Ye Bixian, "He was bored because of his pregnancy, so he came to chat with me. By the way..."
"Those two plots of land over there belong to the Shen family," he looked up and pointed at the weed-covered dry fields next to the mature crops. "Jiang Xuerui is pregnant, and Shen Zhuo is busy working. I thought the land would be left to lie idle anyway, so I took it over. Together with the several acres of land in the back mountain, we can plant all the medicinal seeds now."
Huo Duan put the bowl down and nodded, "Just take a look... Will anyone come in the morning?"
"A few." Gu Fengyan pulled a dry foxtail grass and held it in his mouth. "Of course, not many people are willing to do things that cost money. We will grow the rest ourselves and wait until this wave of medicinal herbs is harvested. When they see that they have made money, they will not hesitate next year."
"Go back, don't let yourself get caught in the sun." Huo Duan collected the bowls and pots and put them back into the bamboo basket. Gu Fengyan nodded and was about to reach out to take them, but he tilted the bamboo basket and said, "I'll take them back after the crops are harvested, and you hurry back."
Gu Fengyan was helpless, "I'm not pregnant, don't think I'm as cautious with me as Jiang Xuerui."
Hearing this, Huo Duan smiled maliciously, "What if... Ah Yan said he wanted it himself that day."
Gu Fengyan recalled that night, his face unnatural, muttering angrily: "What do you think you are doing? It's only been a few days... Don't talk nonsense."
After he finished speaking, he began to pay attention to this matter in his heart... It shouldn't happen. He had visited Jiang Xuerui several times when she was pregnant, and he didn't have any similar reactions.
The only time I felt sick was because I had played it before...
Gu Fengyan's face darkened. He was still brooding over that incident and didn't want to bother with Huo Duan. "I'm going back. Don't forget to bring the basket." He said without turning his head.
"Hey..." Huo Duan wanted to tease him a few more times, but seeing that the person was gone, he had to take the sickle to catch up with Huo's father.
But I also have a doubt in my heart...Gu Fengyan has been too lazy these days, I have to find a doctor to check it out...
The Ye family's yard was filled with freshly harvested corn drying in the sun, smoke was rising from the kitchen roof, Huo Xiuling was chopping vegetables, and Huo's father was playing with Ye Bao.
Gu Fengyan called someone, said hello, and went into the kitchen to help Huo Xiuling cook.
Before the weather turned cool, the people working in the fields were too tired to have much appetite, so Huo Xiuling picked a few half-green tomatoes, a few white cucumbers, and some tender green vegetables from the vegetable garden... and mixed them with eggs as topping to make a bowl of hand-rolled noodles.
There are some pickled vegetables from spring in the clay jar in the corner of the room. They are sour, spicy and appetizing, and are perfect to eat with noodles.
Gu Fengyan rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands, then started chopping vegetables while Huo Xiuling went to roll out noodles.
After a while of hard work, the two finally prepared the meal... During the busy farming season, villagers eat late in order to grab the harvest. When Gu Fengyan went to call Huo Duan and others to eat, the paths in the fields were filled with villagers carrying baskets and sickles on their backs and returning home. In the twilight, the aroma of rice wafted from every household.
After the whole family had eaten, they sat on the edge of the yard around an oil lamp to peel corn. When they had peeled halfway, a few aunties came to help, and the yard became lively and bustling.
Gu Fengyan added another oil lamp, boiled a pot of strong tea and asked everyone to drink it before sitting down next to Huo Duan.
A few aunties were chatting with Huo Xiuling about family matters, and the topic came up: whether Jiang Xuerui's baby was a boy or a girl.
Gu Fengyan just dozed off after listening. Huo Duan asked him to go to sleep, but he refused. At about ten o'clock, he leaned on Huo Duan's shoulder and dozed off.
The oil lamp had burned down to the bottom and was dim. Several aunts were talking enthusiastically. One of them saw Gu Fengyan dozing off and said:
"Speaking of which, Yan'er was married to Rui'er at the same time. How come there has been no news for so long?"
When the topic turned to himself, Gu Fengyan woke up suddenly. He took a closer look and found that he recognized this aunt... She was a kind-hearted person, but she spoke a little too directly.
If it were someone else, they would just gossip about his innocence behind his back, and would never ask him in front of him... The expressions of the people present changed slightly, but this auntie continued:
"Is it because you have a weak foundation?" She said seriously, "If that's the case, you should see a doctor and take some medicine to replenish your body. You are still young and it will be easy to replenish your body. Don't delay."
Ye Bixian and a few other men were all here. She said that these private conversations should be kept behind the scenes. It would be a joke if someone heard them... The aunts all looked unhappy.
Huo Xiuling smiled and tried to smooth things over. "Aunt, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. We old people don't care about that. Let them be..."
The others quickly agreed.
The aunt frowned and insisted, "How can we let them do what they want? Huo's family only has one child like Huo. They are still young. If they don't have a child now, when they are older, it will be difficult for the boy to have children..."
The more Gu Fengyan listened, the more things didn't seem right. It seemed as if the purpose of marriage was to continue the family line.
He knew very well that this idea was already deeply rooted in her mind, so he did not want to argue and nodded obediently to avoid making things too embarrassing.
The other people also felt uncomfortable after hearing this.
"Auntie, you mean well. Yan Ge'er and I will remember that..." Huo Duan looked at him and smiled, "But I married him just because he is me, not for anything else."
When these words were spoken, the brothers and sisters present felt a little embarrassed.
"His aunt, listen quickly. Do the two children have their own opinions? Besides, our Huo family didn't marry Yan'er and Jing'er for offspring. So let it be. It's all right as long as the children live in harmony." Huo Xiuling took over the conversation at the right time.
Several aunts, including Huo's father and the three men Ye Bixian and Huo Duan, all agreed with what she said.
Gu Fengyan coughed a few times and felt very uncomfortable being stared at by several aunties.
But no one remembered the previous unpleasantness.
The aunt opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she couldn't get a word in. She could only concentrate on peeling corn and didn't say another word...
By the second half of the night, the hill of corn piled up in the yard had finally been peeled, and Ye Bixian and Huo Xiuling lit a lamp to send the aunts back.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan helped to clean up the yard. Huo Duan collected the corn in baskets and put them under the eaves, for fear that it would get wet if it rained in the second half of the night.
Gu Fengyan was sweeping the floor with a broom made of bamboo branches. When Huo Duan entered the room, someone came over and called him in a low voice, "Brother Yan."
"It's Auntie... It's so late, but do you still have something to do?" Gu Fengyan raised his eyes and was a little surprised to see that it was the auntie from before.
The aunt looked around and lowered her voice to say earnestly: "What aunt said just now was not pleasant to hear, but it was all for the good of you and Huo boy... So, aunt will teach you a method, it will definitely work!"
Gu Fengyan was confused and asked in confusion, "What method?"
What other methods are there to help with having a baby? Gu Fengyan was very puzzled.
Seeing him in a daze, the aunt knew that he must not have understood yet, so she said anxiously, "Oh! Why are you so stupid... Of course, it's a way to get pregnant easily when doing that!"
"Ah?" Gu Fengyan exclaimed in shock.
"Keep your voice down!" The aunt hurriedly stopped him, looked around, and whispered in a low voice, "Auntie told you, remember... it's best to face each other in the future, and you must beg for it, and then put a cushion under your belly..."
The more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong. When he realized what the aunt was saying, the tips of Gu Fengyan's ears turned red and he wanted to find a hole to crawl into out of shame.
"Auntie, thank you, I understand, you don't have to say more!" He interrupted the aunt, "Thank you..."
Although he was free-minded, he was not free enough to share such things with a stranger...Gu Fengyan's face was red as if blood was about to drip out.
Being interrupted, the auntie was still not satisfied, "Why are you shy, kid? What auntie said was all good for you..."
"Aunt is right." Gu Fengyan said with a wry smile.
The aunt continued to talk with a beaming smile for a long while, and became more and more excited. The content was so shameful that no one dared to listen carefully. For the sake of face, Gu Fengyan could not just walk away, so he could only endure and listen.
Fortunately, Huo Duan came out at this time, and saw a person standing next to him, and called out, "Ayan, who are you talking to..."
It was too dark and he couldn't see who it was.
When the aunt saw Huo Duan coming out, she hurriedly pulled Gu Fengyan and repeatedly reminded him to remember it, then left in a hurry.
Gu Fengyan seemed to be reborn. He took a long breath and walked towards Huo Duan. "No, I just chatted with an auntie for a few words..."
"Is it the one just now?" Huo Duan noticed his red ears at a glance... Gu Fengyan's ears would turn red when he was shy or excited, and he would have an unnatural look on his face.
His eyes flew up, and he smiled and said, "What did she say to you... Are you so embarrassed?"
Gu Fengyan coughed twice unnaturally, his eyes dodging, "Nothing, just chatting for a while."
If he wanted to let this hungry wolf know, he would have to try all those methods over and over again. Gu Fengyan was sweating coldly.
Huo Duan raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Really..."
She pulled him into her arms, lowered her eyes and pinched the tip of his ear, her breath lingering in his ear, tickling it, "Ayan, do you know that when you're excited, shy, or unbearable, the tip of your ear turns especially red?"
Gu Fengyan didn't look at him, and the tip of his ears turned even redder, "Don't mess around..."
"You are dishonest and you must be punished!" Huo Duan bent down and kissed his ear, then suddenly lifted him up on his shoulder with one hand and strode out of the courtyard.
Gu Fengyan exclaimed: "What are you doing!"
The night wind blew on my face, and thousands of strands of hair flew to the back of my head.
Huo Duan strode towards the night and said with a smile, "Go home."