NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
One afternoon without seeing his mother made Wen Ze, who had returned to a happy life not long ago, restless. He barely ate lunch and didn’t take a nap, sitting with his grandmother’s small stool, eagerly waiting at the door.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his chubby face was flushed red. Despite Grandma Sun’s attempts to persuade him, he refused to budge.
Unable to bear it, Xun Qingrui, lacking the subtle softness of a woman, directly lifted the child by his collar and forcibly took him away from under the hot eaves.
Aware that the child in his hand was struggling, he cautioned firmly, “Move again, and I’ll send your mom out every day.”
Wen Ze froze, not daring to move.
Xun Qingrui brought him back to his original spot and instructed his daughter-in-law, “Wash his face, but don’t use cold water.”
Sun Qiao, who had watched him grow up, had no objections: “Okay.”
With his hands behind his back, Xun Qingrui, emotionless, lectured the child, “Sit still here. Just like your mom, always making people worry.”
Most of the time he was obedient, but when stubborn, not even eight oxen could pull him back. Truly mother and son.
Wen Ze sat up straight, obediently waiting for Grandma Sun to wipe his face. Afterwards, he sat there absentmindedly, not flipping a single page of the drawing book on the table for several minutes.
He shifted his little bottom, sneakily extending one foot, attempting to sneak out.
“Ahem.” Xun Qingrui sternly watched the child’s movements.
Under his stern gaze, Wen Ze decisively gave up on the idea of going to the door. He moved step by step to his great-grandfather’s side, pitifully asking, “Great-grandpa, when will my mom be back?”
Being from the Wen family of Jiang County, although his mom wasn’t alone outside, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried…
Xun Qingrui glanced at him, unceremoniously saying, “You’re not weaned yet?”
Wen Ze’s feet came together, his big eyes blinking like black gemstones, standing there soft and cute, making it hard to say anything harsh.
His little face was delicately pretty, standing next to He Yu, one could tell they were mother and son.
Xun Qingrui softened his serious expression, the child was headache-inducing: “Go back and sit down; they should be back soon.”
Wen Ze got the hint and asked further, “Great-grandpa, can I sit at the door? I won’t go outside.”
Xun Qingrui raised his eyebrows: “You little rascal, don’t take advantage.”
Wen Ze grinned shyly and obediently returned to his seat.
—
Xun Huiling and the others returned to the clinic in the afternoon, already past four o’clock.
The bumpy ride under the scorching sun left them all sweating profusely, their backs soaked, but not one complained of tiredness.
Xun Huiling’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of planting medicinal herbs in Xiushui Village, paying no attention to He Yu. As soon as the car stopped, he rushed into the house to talk to the old man.
As soon as He Yu got out of the car, the little guy dashed towards her like a bullet, giving her a sturdy hug.
“Mom!”
He Yu almost stumbled but managed to steady herself in time, “Aiyo, you want to knock Mom down to the ground?”
Wen Ze, embarrassed, released his grip, “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Mom’s fine, you go inside.” He Yu turned to unload the medicinal herbs from the car, “Can’t let your Sixth Uncle work alone.”
Wen Ze smartly stepped aside, but instead of going back inside, he stayed behind his mother like a tail.
Maintaining just the right distance, not hindering but also staying close.
Inside the house, the father and son’s conversation seemed to be heading towards an argument. Even outside, Xun Huiling’s intermittent voice could be heard.
“…Why can’t you trust… Xiushui Village…”
After a long speech, there was a loud ‘bang’, sounding like a table being slapped.
Then Xun Huiling angrily pushed the door open and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him, causing a gust of wind.
Outside the door, Wen Ze once again heard the words “Xiushui Village”, and suddenly remembered something. Putting two and two together, he guessed why they were arguing.
Xun Huiling had taken a liking to the natural and superior geographical environment of Xiushui Village, intending to cooperate with the villagers there to plant medicinal herbs.
This was a project beneficial to the country and the people. Once it received government support and succeeded in cultivation, it would drive economic development in the poor mountain villages and Jiang County.
But Xun Qingrui didn’t agree, or at least he didn’t approve of his involvement in the plan. He felt that his eldest son was getting too caught up in money matters, straying further and further from the family’s traditional values.
Regardless of the argument, Xun Huiling, knowing his identity as a son, not an enemy, reluctantly backed out of the matter.
Without the support of the Xun family, the implementation of this project was delayed by nearly half a year.
Beyond that, Wen Ze didn’t know. But his mother had mentioned more than once in front of him that Xiushui Village was suitable for planting medicinal herbs, so he guessed it must have succeeded.
Wen Ze thought for a moment, deciding to find a way to change Grandpa’s fixed mindset and try to facilitate the matter.
The Xun family had been good to him, and he didn’t want Grandpa to end up like in his past life, fainting from anger during arguments with his son, causing injury to the back of his head. Since then, Grandpa’s health had deteriorated further.
If he could prevent this tragedy, his mom would be happy, right?
But the problem was, how could he casually say something ‘unintentionally’ under Grandpa’s watchful eyes?
Wen Ze was deeply troubled, his delicate eyebrows furrowed into two curved caterpillars.
He Yu, having washed away the surface sweat stains, looked up to see her son’s twisted little face, his eyes rolling around.
“What are you thinking, Wen Wen?”
Wen Ze pointed to the inside of the house, “Grandpa and Uncle Xun are arguing, Wen Wen is a little worried about Grandpa.”
Xun Qingrui came out just in time to hear the last sentence, lightly reprimanding, “Even a five-year-old child is more sensible than that rebellious son of mine!”
The old man thought more and more about it, feeling that the child’s words made some sense, rough but reasonable.
Suddenly remembering his son’s attitude and tone, this little bit of sense immediately dissipated.
With the new batch of medicinal herbs needing timely processing, He Yu, after taking Wen Ze out, went to the backyard to get busy.
She remained busy until past six o’clock, with more than half of the yard’s herbs still left. It was unlikely she’d finish tonight; Sun Qiao suggested He Yu go home first.
In the summer, apart from other things, one thing was certain: there was plenty of sunlight. For over twenty days, it had been sunny every day, and the temperature was gradually rising.
In mid-June, the primary and secondary schools in the county had begun their summer holidays, making the streets lively.
He Yu had two roles at the clinic: first, helping with odd jobs and gathering herbs, with a certain salary; and second, she was Xun Qingrui’s external disciple.
The former was her initial role at the clinic, while the latter came about when Xun Qingrui discovered her ability to quickly and accurately identify medicinal herbs, a talent beyond the ordinary.
In the old man’s eyes, men and women were no different.
He just had a bit more foresight and had observed He Yu for a while, knowing she was a good person. However, she hadn’t yet met his requirements to officially become his disciple, so for now, she was an external disciple, receiving occasional guidance from him.
Considering He Yu was a young woman raising a child, her salary remained the same. She had four days off every month, which she could arrange as she pleased.
Last month, she was busy for most of the month, barely having any time to spend with her son. With the clinic quieter these days, she and Xun Qingrui took two days off.
In the early morning, the windows were misted over. The morning light penetrated the glass, dispersing the darkness.
Children are full of energy, and Wen Ze woke up early, planning where he wanted to go today before knocking on He Yu’s door.
“Mom, wake up!”
He Yu, rarely able to sleep in, had pulled the curtains shut early last night. With the sun rising, the room remained dim, the bright light casting a hazy glow through the curtains.
Half-awake, He Yu heard the knocking, turning over peacefully and calling out with her eyes closed, “Wen Wen, go back and sleep a bit longer; it’s still early.”
Last month, Wen Ze suddenly told her that he wanted to sleep separately when he grew up.
He Yu didn’t understand, but she respected his wishes. That night, she cleared out the adjacent room, which had a bed inside.
She was worried that Wen Ze wouldn’t get used to it, but surprisingly, he adapted well.
All her worries as a mother had been in vain.
Wen Ze glanced at the bright sky outside, deciding not to disturb his mother’s sleep any longer and quietly returned to his room.