The small garden was still wet, the mud had softened, and every time he stepped on it, a footprint was left, and his shoes became dirty. Gu Fengyan was wearing a pair of white soft-soled shoes, and Huo Duan stopped him after he had just walked down two steps.

He went back to the room and got another pair for him to change into before sending someone down to the garden.

"There's a lot of moisture after the rain, be careful not to catch a cold," he said.

Gu Fengyan thought he was making a fuss out of nothing, he was just pregnant with a baby which was not too long. Huo Duan had been so nervous these past few days, as if he had some terminal illness and would not live for many days.

He stepped into the vegetable garden, parted the green vines dripping with water, took out a cucumber, wiped it casually and took a bite, "You wrapped it up like a dumpling, how can it catch a cold..."

"Be careful not to drink raw water, or you'll have a stomachache, Ayan." Huo Duan's face was full of worry.

"Try it." Gu Fengyan stuffed the remaining half directly into Huo Duan's mouth, "Mr. Huo, you are too nervous. If you continue like this, you will be more scared than I am when you give birth to him..."

Huo Duan sighed and didn't eat. "Ayan, I'm not nervous, I'm just very scared."

He had heard a lot from Mr. Lin and Huo Xiuling these days. Giving birth is dangerous. Some people even failed to take good care of their children, and when they were born, they were…

Ever since he diagnosed the baby's pregnancy, he has been trembling with fear. He is really scared.

"What are you afraid of?" Gu Fengyan didn't understand, "I'm not pregnant with anything dangerous."

"He is your and my child." He lowered his eyes to look at his abdomen and smiled softly, "I think this is your first time being a father, and you are too nervous."

Huo Duan smiled and suddenly understood... Yes, the baby in her belly was Gu Fengyan's and his child, so naturally it was different from others.

He bent down and stroked Gu Fengyan's belly, smiling and saying softly: "When you grow up and meet us, don't make the fathers worry... and don't make your little father suffer."

The kid didn’t have a name yet, and Gu Fengyan found it so strange when he said “you” that he even forgot to tease Huo Duan.

"He's such a little thing, calling you a cub, he might think we don't value him and won't listen to us... What name do you think of?" Gu Fengyan said.

Most of the people in the village give their children ugly names so that they can be raised more easily, but Huo Duan wanted to give him the best blessings, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't find a suitable one... He wished he could use all the best words in the world to describe him.

Huo Duan shook his head.

The two picked a full basket of cucumbers and walked towards the kitchen through a pepper field.

Gu Fengyan was thinking about giving the child a name, his eyes fixed on the lush peppers, when suddenly an idea came to him.

"Why not call him Er Jintiao? He's low-key yet luxurious, down-to-earth and easy to support." He turned around, his eyes shining.

Two gold bars? ?

Huo Duan looked at the large field of lush, swaying peppers around him... and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Ayan..." He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If it's a boy, it's okay. But if it's a boy or a girl, and you call him Er Jin Tiao, he will definitely be laughed at in front of other children when he grows up."

"How about..." Huo Duan thought for a moment and suddenly laughed, "How about calling me "Jian Jian"? "

Simple and happy.

He hoped the child would grow up like this.

Gu Fengyan was slightly disappointed, "Two gold bars would be great..."

But what Huo Duan said was right. If it was a little girl, she would definitely be laughed at by other children if she was named Erjintiao. She might even hate the father who gave her the name.

After figuring it out, he smiled and said, "Then let's call her Jian Jian... Jian Jian," he lowered his eyes and touched his belly, "Jian Jian has a name now."

Huo Duan gathered his cloak, kissed the top of his head, and said with a smile, "Jian Jian and A Yan, let's go back. Be careful not to catch a cold..."

Neither Huo's father nor Huo Duan had the habit of eating in the evening, so this meal was specially prepared for Gu Fengyan, as he didn't eat much at noon.

The porridge was made after picking cucumbers. At this time, it had melted and was thick and fragrant. When Huo Duan was pickling the cucumber shreds, he deliberately did not add sesame oil to make it fresh.

Gu Fengyan finally made some progress.

After dinner, he washed some apples for him. Huo Duan cleaned up the kitchen, washed his hands with soap, and changed his clothes before he dared to get close to Gu Fengyan, for fear that the smell of oil smoke on his body would bother him.

"I will go back to the village tomorrow and plant some medicinal herbs with Dashan and the others on those empty plots of land. It just happened to rain... You and dad stay at home, I will try to come back in the evening."

All the affairs in the village had been put on hold these days, and it was only when Huo Duan brought it up that Gu Fengyan remembered it.

"I will go back tomorrow too. I feel bored staying in this house all day long without anyone to talk to. I'll have to trouble my father to look after me..." said Gu Fengyan.

Huo Duan didn't want to ask him to go back, for fear that he would be tired on the way, but seeing Gu Fengyan staring at him without blinking, looking so pitiful, how could he bear to refuse.

He just needs to be more careful on the road.

"Okay, I've prepared the hot water. You can go to bed after you take a shower. I'll go pack my things..." He nodded.

This was strange. Considering how careful Huo Duan was with him, Gu Fengyan found it odd that he actually let Yu Mu leave him alone.

But she didn't say anything, and went behind the screen with her pajamas...

If Gu Fengyan also returned to the village, they would probably have to stay in the village for a few more days. Huo Duan packed a few of his and Gu Fengyan's clothes, and also brought a cloak and a thick coat... and some snacks.

After cleaning up, he began to make the bed. It was a little cold at night, so he replaced the thin summer quilt with a thicker one, turned on the lamp beside the bed, and let down the gauze curtain.

The lights were flickering and Gu Fengyan didn't make any sound for a long time. Huo Duan called out several times but received no response, so he went behind the screen.

Gu Fengyan lay in the water, his face blurred by mist. He did not wash his hair, but instead used a wooden hairpin to lift his silent hair above his head, letting it hang down along the edge of the tub like flowing ink.

"Ayan?" Huo Duan walked closer.

But I saw Gu Fengyan with his eyes closed, and he actually fell asleep.

He woke up when he heard the sound, his eyelids half-closed, and he yawned, "It was so comfortable in the bath that I accidentally fell asleep."

"Why are you so sleepy?" Huo Duan took a piece of cotton cloth from the clothes hanger and said, "Are you still soaking? Do you want to come out and sleep?"

Gu Fengyan rubbed his eyes, nodded, and slowly stood up holding the edge of the bucket. Water drops slid down his body... dripping.

"Dry yourself and come out. I'll get you some clothes." Huo Duan just took a look and looked away. He put the cotton cloth in Gu Fengyan's hand and turned to get his pajamas from the hanger slowly.

It's only been a few days, why do you look at him like he's the worthless cabbages in a vendor's hand?

Gu Fengyan was very annoyed by his behavior.

He simply sat back and did not move, leaving the handkerchief on the ground.

"Oops, I didn't hold it firmly and it dropped." He said deliberately.

Huo Duan turned around and saw that he had sat back down again, with the handkerchief dropped to the ground... How could he not know, but there was nothing he could do, so he sighed and picked up the handkerchief, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just clean up and go to sleep." Gu Fengyan stood up in front of him, stepped out of the barrel, and spread out his hands, his meaning was obvious.

Huo Duan smiled and could only wipe him dry with a towel... He was not unfamiliar with this kind of thing, but he had been naked for so many days and Gu Fengyan just stood in front of him.

That's like hanging a large piece of fat in front of a wolf that has been hungry for ten days.

Didn't he react at all?

Huo Duan recited the Heart Purification Sutra in his mind a hundred or eighty times before he stood still as a mountain and solemnly and reverently put on pajamas for Gu Fengyan... He tied the tie at the collar to the top and wrapped him tightly.

"Okay, go to bed, I'll be here when I'm done cleaning up," he said.

Gu Fengyan stared at him, then suddenly laughed, slipped on his shoes, walked around the screen, and got on the bed, wrapped in the quilt...

After Huo Duan finished cleaning up and taking a shower, he turned off the lights, lifted the gauze curtains and went to bed.

The room was so quiet that one could hear Gu Fengyan's breathing. He was facing the wall, hunched over. Huo Duan approached and wanted to hug him and comfort him, but he moved away again.

"Ayan..." Huo Duan called him, half-supporting himself with his arms to look at his expression.

Unable to see clearly, he kissed the side of his face and temples, "Ayan, look at me."

Gu Fengyan felt hot all over from his kiss, panting softly, with a confused look on his face as he hooked his neck... Huo Duan was afraid of pressing on his stomach, so he leaned forward to comfort him.

"Ayan..."

Gu Fengyan's slender legs were like two flexible bamboos, or like vines...intertwined and fitting together tightly.

"Ayan, this won't work." Huo Duan suddenly came to his senses, "It will hurt Jian Jian."

The distance between them was widened, and it was like a basin of cold water poured over his head, and Gu Fengyan also woke up.

"Sorry." He quickly protected his stomach, buried his head in Huo Duan's arms, and said no more.

Huo Duan covered him with the quilt and hugged him. In the darkness, both of them were awake for a while.

"My bad." He lowered his eyes and rested his chin on Gu Fengyan's forehead, stroking his lower back with his hand, "Ayan is so beautiful."

During her pregnancy, Gu Fengyan became more pampered. She gained some weight, and her every move was charmingly lazy. Her face was like a peach, her lips were bright red, and her eyes were always misty and affectionate... Plus, she was fair-skinned and liked to act like a spoiled child.

Huo Duan really wanted to pounce on him and tear him into pieces.

Gu Fengyan didn't say anything. He raised his head and asked for a kiss. After a while, the two of them put their desires completely to rest.

Overwhelmed by sleepiness, they fell asleep with their arms around each other.

…

Huo Duan was the one who got up early as usual. He washed his face and went to the kitchen where his father Huo was picking fresh vegetables for breakfast.

Chicken soup with millet and a few appetizers are light and nutritious. Huo Duan became adept at cooking after becoming familiar with the process.

He wanted Gu Fengyan to sleep a little longer, so he served a bowl of porridge and put it there while he carried all the things he needed to take to the carriage.

When Father Huo heard that they were going back to the village, he caught a chicken from the garden and brought it to Liu Jingyu. The chickens and ducks he raised were all grown up, and the space was too small, so they would ruin his vegetable garden, so giving the chicken to Liu Jingyu was a token of his appreciation.

After everything was packed up, Huo Duan asked Gu Fengyan to get up and wash up. After eating, the two said goodbye to Huo's father before leaving.

It was noon when they arrived at the village, and it was already afternoon when they put their things away. Huo Xiuling knew that they would return to the village and would not be able to cook in time, so she brought the meal to them.

A bowl of thick snow fungus soup was just for Gu Fengyan.

She put the food out one by one, and several sisters-in-law came in from outside the courtyard gate, including Aunt Zhang.

"Brother Yan, congratulations!" Aunt Zhang heard her smile before she even stepped into the room. "I heard you're pregnant, so I and a few of your sisters-in-law came to see you."