Back to the Countryside

Chapter 22: 怪病 (Weird Disease) 

The newlywed husband and Fu Lang (husband) were nicely getting along together, but at the moment, He family was not in a good condition. 

        "Mother, why they haven't brought Dr. Li back yet?" He Zhen's body is hurt and itch all over, but he didn't dare to touch it at all. That feeling is so unbearable. 

        "Soon,soon, just bear with it!" Qian was anxious too, but there was nothing she could do until the doctor came back.

        "Mother, what if ...... Doctor Li can't heal me?" He Zhen couldn't bear to cry again, he had been crying for a long time before and his eyes were swollen.

Today, He Zhen do not know what happened but he started to feel itchy all over his body in the morning and no matter how much he scratched it, it's useless. He thought it would be fine if he put up with it, but who know, after eaten his dinner, he started to get chicken pox on his face and body, and when he scratched it, it broke. He had accidentally broken many of them earlier, and now he was covered in pox and broken wounds, which was very scary.

        Liu and Zheng were afraid that he would spread the infection, so they hid in their room with the child in their arms.

The two brothers, He Fu and He Gui, two brothers have gone to get a doctor for him, and He Tian is reluctant to see him because he has lost face today. Qian was the only one who accompanied him, but she did not dare to get too close to him and sat far far away.

 "Don't worry, it's not even be treated yet, don't say such discouraging things!" Qian's mouth was soothing, but her heart was killing her with worry, and she didn't even dare to look at He Zhen's face.One look and her entire body felt numb, If he couldn't get well, how could he marry?

He Zhen carefully wiped away his tears with his handkerchief, those wounds on his face hurt so much when it touched his tears, plus that unbearable itchy feeling, it's driving him crazy!

When both of them were burn in anxiety* ( 心急火燎) , the He brothers finally bring the doctor returned, the road was not easy to walk in the dark, plus the fact that doctor Li was old and his legs were not so good, so there was some delay.

(心急火燎

My heart was as anxious as it was on fire / Described very anxiously) 

As soon as they arrived home, He Fu and He Gui brought the person to He Zhen's room first but they didn't go in. It's not funny, if it was really contagious, it would be no joke, their children were still young,if they got infected, they might lose their life. 

When doctor Li entered the room, he was shocked to see He Zhen's appearance. Although he had heard the two brothers' account, he did not expect it to be so serious.

"Doctor Li, please take a look, what's wrong with our family's ger?" Qian saw him as if he was a lifesaver, grabbed his arm and brought him to He Zhen. 

He Zhen looked at him hopefully, as he was really suffering from this condition even a moment longer.

        After looking at his face and taking his pulse, Dr. Li asked, "Have you eaten anything today that you shouldn't?"

        "No, I ate the same as usual!" He Zhen hurriedly shook his head. He had no face to go out today after what had happened, and naturally he would not eat anything "not good" by staying at home.

        After a moment of contemplation, Mr. Li said, "I've never seen this disease before, so I can't cure it!"

        As soon as he said this, He Zhen burst into tears, and while sobbing he said to Qian, "Mother, you ....take me to the town .... to find a doctor in town, I must.... must be cured!"

"This... Doctor Li, you could take a look at him again" Qian was reluctant, if they went to the town,it would cost a lot of silver ah! , but she also couldn't bear to see her family Ger like this.

Doctor Li waved his hand, "I really can't do anything, you also know, I can only treat minor disease such as headaches and fever, but not the serious ones, why don't you try and search for Qi xiao zi, he might has a way!

He didn't know if Qi Yue would be able to cure the disease, but he didn't think he would be happy to do so, and he had heard about what had happened today, he didn't like the way He family had acted, but he couldn't meddle in with other people's business.

As he mentioned Qi Yue, Qian was a bit awkward, but she saw that he really couldn't do anything about it, so she let him go. 

She looked at He Zhen and said, "Why don't, go and look for Qi Yue tomorrow?"

        He Zhen knew that she was saying this because she is not happy to take him to the town, afraid of spending money, he was suffering so badly right now but she still only had money on her mind, "How could I still have a face to meet him right now? Mother, Qi Yue had given you fifty taels, I went to treat my disease, how much could it possible spend on it?"

        When he exposed her thought in her heart, Qian was uncomfortable, "You, this child, why are you talking like this? It's not that I reluctant to spend the money, but I think it's not a good idea for you to go to the town and also to show your face in public* ( 抛头露面)like this. Moreover if you go to Qi Yue and play the pity game, maybe he'll take pity on you, also forgive you for what happened today. Even though he is now married to He Ling, it is still not certain whether He Ling will be able to give birth to a child with his body' condition.You still has a chance!"

Although He Zhen knew that what Qian said to him were just an excuse for not spending the silver, he was still somewhat tempted, after all, Qi Yue was good in every way, to let him give up like this, he is also not willing to, "How could he like me now, with me like this?"

Seeing that he was moved, Qian made a push on him, Qi Yue had so much silver in his hand, but she could only get 50 taels out of it. Although she could make use of He Ling's connections in the future, it was not as secure as marrying her own ger. "Silly child! That's why I asked you to seek his medical help.I heard from someone that the last time He Ling's face was beaten up like that, because Qi Yue gave him a box of ointment, not even two days were passed, he already regained his delicate skin. Then may be, he could also cure your illness too!"

 "Really?" He Zhen really didn't know this. After they were engaged, he was very unhappy, he did not go out much on those days, afraid that someone would stand in for them. 

"Of course it's real. Can mother lie to you." The more Qian say, the more reasonable she felt, she always felt that Qi Yue liked He Ling only because of his appearance, if he couldn't give birth to a child, he might be fed up with him. 

 He Zhen remembered at that time, He Ling once was ill,Qi Yue gave him the medical treatment and a bottle of medicine, after taking the pills, He Ling was alive and well within two days, he looked much better, so that person might be could really cure his strange illness.

        When he thought of this, he really wanted to go to him now, but he knew that if he disturbed him on his wedding night, he would definitely be disgusted, and it would be bad if he hated him even more.

Just the thought that the two were having intimate ,skin to skin physical relationship*(肌肤之亲) now, made his teeth itch! ! He was really disappointed that Luo Laizi hadn't got his way last night, otherwise that bitch He Ling would have been left behind, Qi Yue would have realized how good he was, and it would be him who was now with the other man!

He was his, he would take him back, the pain and tingling in his body twisted He Zhen's heart even more, he was not willing that while he was suffering, He Ling was in the midst of happiness, he said with red eyes, "Tomorrow we will go find him!"

Seeing that he had finally figured it out, Qian nodded her head in joy, busily telling him to rest early and go to Qi Yue's house tomorrow.

        When He Ling opened his eyes, the sky was already shining bright. He had slept very deeply last night, not even having a single dream, so he was now in particularly good spirits.

He tried to move, wanted to get up to sit, but the arm around his waist tightened even more, making him unable to move, and a voice with a smile rang out above his head, "Do you sleep well?"

        He Ling raised his head, contact with Qi Yue's gaze, he smiled and said, "Sleep very well!"

        "Then that's good." Qi Yue had actually woken up early, but seeing him lying in his arms sleeping soundly, he couldn't bear to disturb him and lay with him while hugging him for a long time. 

       "It's time to get up, I promise to make buns for you." He Ling moved his waist, gesturing for him to loosen his hands a little.

        Qi Yue smiled and kissed him on the top of his hair, then let go of his hand, as soon as He Ling was free, he got up quickly. 

After the two of them dressed up and washed up*(洗漱), He Ling went to the kitchen, while Qi Yue went to the backyard to feed the cow and the horse, then he started to tend his herb garden. 

[洗漱 : to wash the face and rinse the mouth] . 

The sound of He Ling chopping meat came from afar, Qi Yue looked up in that direction and lowered his head again, a light smile on his lips, this place, at last, felt like a home.

The buns tasted as good as ever, and this time it was the two of them eating together, so naturally the food smelled even better, and accompany by the soft, boiled millet porridge, Qi Yue ate quite a lot. 

After eating and cleaning up the dishes, Qi Yue asked, "What do you want to do today?"

        He Ling thought for a moment and said, "I want to wash the clothes that had been changed since yesterday, and there are some things in the house that are too messy and need to be tidy up."

"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard, rest when you feel tired, I'll go to the field later," Qi Yue took his hand and held it, he wouldn't stop him from doing something he wanted to do, he was bored when he was idle, no matter what, he had to let his health come first.

He Ling understood that he was worried about himself, so naturally he wouldn't push his own limit, "I know, you go to the field with your heart in ease ba! if there are bugs and weeds, the crops will be ruined, will you be okay to go alone?"

      "It's okay, our land is not that prone to bugs, I'm just going to check it out, I'm not doing anything!" He regularly sprinkled his own formulated powder on the ground, so there wouldn't be any major problems.

He Ling wanted to say that there is no land that does not have worms, but he thought that Qi Yue had never planted before and might not know much about it, so he did not say anything, it was not a big deal since he would go and check it out more often for him. 

"You do the laundry first, the house will be cleaned up together when I come back, don't do it yourself! "Qi Yue thought he want to clean up the house, in case he had to move something heavy, it would not be good for him to get tired, so he explained a few more words.

  "Got it!" Seeing how uneasy he was, He Ling felt funny and warm in his heart at the same time.

        In the end, Qi Yue fetched several buckets of water from the well for him to wash his clothes before leaving the house and calling the next door Lin Sheng to go to the field with him.

He Ling gathered out all the dirty clothes they had changed yesterday, including Qi Yue's wedding dress, and he had mixed feelings when he looked at it. It was one dress, but it was the wedding dress of both of them. The one he had was still in He Zhen's hands, and he was afraid he wouldn't get it back, that dress was no longer have any meaning. 

Thinking about this, the two of them wore the same wedding dress when they got married, which was quite special, He Ling touched the soft fabric in his hand, as if he could feel the warmth of Qi Yue's embrace,and he smiled. He put the clothes into the wooden basin and carried them to the well.

Halfway through the washing, he heard a faint knock on the door from the front yard, so he stopped moving his hands and listened carefully for a moment. This time the knocking was much clearer, so he tugged the other basin of unwashed clothes and wiped his hands, then got up and went out of the backyard.

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