Chapter 55

They rushed to deliver the medicine to Dr. Yu. While at the clinic, they happened to see Zhang Yin receiving acupuncture. After two days of acupuncture, her body seemed particularly weak. Dr. Yu promptly adjusted the prescription and, after finishing the acupuncture, had her drink the medicine there before leaving.

"Dr. Yu, we've found it." Zhou Yuan strode into the clinic and happened to run into Li Xin helping Zhang Yin out, where they sat down.

Zhang Yin seemed a little worried: "Where have you two been these past few days? You haven't come back for several days."

Chen Qingcai leaned over to talk to her, while Zhou Yuan went inside to find Yu Nian.

Chen Qing said, "We went to the village near Manager Tian's place and talked about doing business there. We've been staying in the village for the past two days, which is why we haven't come back."

Zhang Yin was suspicious, but she had a gut feeling that Chen Qing wouldn't lie. She reached out to Chen Qing, and when Chen Qing looked down, she saw her pluck a few withered leaves from the top of his head: "You went up the mountain?"

Chen Qing nodded: "Yes, some things are also grown on the mountain. Manager Tian will take us to see them."

"Mother, you should rest first." Li Xin was afraid that Chen Qing wouldn't be able to handle it. "After you take your medicine, we'll go back and interrogate them."

Inside the room, Yu Nian glanced at the medicine in Zhou Yuan's hand, then looked behind him. Zhou Yuan understood and said, "Manager Tian is behind us. We came back first. He asked me to let you know we're safe."

Yu Nian nodded: "That's good." He examined the medicinal herbs carefully. "With these herbs, you can rest assured."

Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you."

Yu Nian shook his head: "I suppose you haven't had much rest these past few days. Take a good rest and don't worry too much. Your mother's illness isn't terminal yet. Acupuncture and medicine will help her get better."

Hearing Yu Nian's words, Zhou Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. These past few days, the pressure he felt was no less than anyone else's. Li Xin's whole family trusted him; they had come here with him after hearing just one sentence from him. If he couldn't cure her, even if the Li family didn't blame him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Now I can finally relax.

Yu Nian patted him on the shoulder and then went to brew the medicine. This medicine could not be given to the apprentice to brew; he had to do it himself.

After Zhang Yin finished taking her medicine, Li Xin and Chen Qing helped her back. However, when Zhang Yin got close to Chen Qing, she noticed that his clothes were damp and hadn't been changed for several days.

"Aqing, where have you been these past few days?" Zhang Yin asked again.

Chen Qing looked at Zhou Yuan with some helplessness. Zhou Yuan said, "I went back to Manager Tian's house and went up the mountain to find a medicine."

"What medicine? Have you found it? Was it dangerous when you were looking for it?" Zhang Yin was a little anxious. She didn't want to go to the hospital because she was afraid that something like this would happen.

“Look, we’re all back safe and sound, and the medicine has been found. It’s all thanks to your good fortune,” Zhou Yuan said. “If you feel sorry for us, please have Li Xin cook us a nice meal.”

Li Xin quickly said, "I'll go back and cook something delicious in a bit."

Back in their house, Li Xin helped Zhang Yin back to her bedroom to rest, while Chen Qing went to the kitchen to boil water. When Li Xin came out, he picked up a basket and said, "I'm going out to buy groceries."

These days, Li Xin has become familiar with the neighborhood and knows where to buy cheap and fresh vegetables.

Chen Qing nodded: "Let's take a shower and rest for a while."

Everything in the house was in perfect order; the water tank was full, and the firewood in the kitchen was neatly stacked.

After Li Xin left, Zhou Yuan went into the kitchen. Chen Qing glanced at the fire in the stove, got up, and then hugged Zhou Yuan tightly.

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment, then hugged him back: "Are you still scared? Don't be scared anymore, I'm here."

Chen Qing's eyes reddened, and he looked up at Zhou Yuan: "Ever since I met you, I've always thought that as long as Zhou Yuan is there, there's always a way to solve anything."

Zhou Yuan smiled and tapped his nose: "Isn't that how it is?"

"But I just realized that you also have things you're afraid of, and you sometimes get tired, but you never say anything."

Zhou Yuan hugged him tighter: "What do I have to be afraid of?"

“I could tell that day that you were afraid of heights,” Chen Qing said.

Zhou Yuan paused for a moment, then laughed somewhat awkwardly: "That's not it, I just wanted to appear omnipotent in front of you."

“But we’re husband and wife. You can tell me if something’s wrong. I may not be able to help you much, but if you can talk about it, won’t you feel less burdened?”

Zhou Yuan patted him on the back: "I understand. I'll tell you anything from now on."

After hugging for a while, Zhou Yuan let go of him, fetched water, and went to their room. The two of them hadn't had a proper rest these past few days and just wanted to take a hot bath and get some rest.

When Li Xin returned from grocery shopping, the house was already quiet. Li Xin figured Chen Qing and the others were asleep, so she didn't disturb them and went to the kitchen to cook.

Every morning when he got up, he would go to the clinic with Zhang Yin. When he got up, everything at home was already taken care of, the water tank was full of water, and the firewood was neatly stacked.

Qi Shuning got up earlier than the others every day because he was a temporary student and there were no rooms available for him at the academy, so he came back to stay every day.

Looking at the neatly stacked firewood, Li Xin wondered where Qi Shuning got the money to buy all this stuff, since he hadn't given her any money these days.

He was washing vegetables with his hands, but his mind was wandering far away.

Inside the room, Chen Qing was still sleeping on Zhou Yuan's body. Although it was the height of summer, the room was on the shady side and quite cool. The two of them sleeping close together weren't too hot, and Chen Qing slept well.

The sudden feeling of falling startled Chen Qing, and Zhou Yuan instinctively hugged him tightly, gently patting his back with both hands.

Chen Qing then woke up; it was already dark.

He got up, and Zhou Yuan also woke up. The two got dressed and went out of the room together. Li Xin had already set out a table of dishes in the courtyard. Qi Shuning stayed by his side and told him about what had happened at the school.

Seeing them come out, Li Xin came over and pulled Chen Qing aside, asking, "What exactly happened? Why have you been gone for so many days?"

Zhou Yuan didn't mention the dangers involved, only that it took some time to find the medicine and that he had stayed on the mountain for a while. He also mentioned what Doctor Yu had said, that Zhang Yin's illness could be cured, and that she just needed more time to recuperate properly.

After hearing what he said, Li Xin burst into tears and nodded repeatedly, "Okay, big brother, thank you."

Zhou Yuan patted him on the shoulder: "We're family, so let's not be so formal."

Chen Qing also wiped his eyes with his sleeve. After learning that Aunt Yin's illness could be cured, Zhou Yuan felt much more relaxed. At least he no longer frowned when he went to sleep.

Zhang Yin was still weak, so Li Xin brought the food she had prepared into the house and helped her finish eating before the rest of them ate in the yard.

“I originally wanted to buy a chicken to make chicken soup, but Dr. Yu said that Mother shouldn’t eat too much nourishing food, just ordinary home-cooked dishes are fine.” Li Xin handed out chopsticks, and Qi Shuning served rice.

"Listen to the doctor's advice. If you're unsure, go and ask him," Zhou Yuan said.

“I know. What are your plans next?” Li Xin asked.

“I plan to go back and bring some things back to sell, to make some money,” Zhou Yuan said. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing. I think I’ll have to stay here a little longer and go back to let them know.”

After saying that, he looked at Qi Shuning and said, "Shuning, after we leave, you'll have to take better care of things at home. No matter how capable Li Xin is, he's still just a guy. Some things should be discussed and done by the two of you."

“I know, brother.”

Chen Qing sat next to Zhou Yuan, watching him methodically arrange the next steps. He recalled the worries and doubts Zhou Yuan had expressed before taking a nap that afternoon. Only he could see Zhou Yuan's vulnerability.

Whether it's him, Li Xin and Qi Shuning, or even the more distant Li the blacksmith and Aunt Sun, or Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi from the village, they all get used to relying on Zhou Yuan. But Zhou Yuan is only twenty-five years old this year, and he has to lead them forward together.

They still needed to trouble Manager Tian with their business dealings, but since Tian's business was busy during the day, they could only visit him in the evenings.

Although Manager Tian's family had everything they needed, they still brought a lot of things when they visited, not only because of the business deal, but also because of the many ways Manager Tian's family had taken care of them.

Qi Shuning would pass by Tian's shop every day on his way back. He said that Tian's shop closed around 9 PM, and if he went there at that time, Manager Tian would be free.

So on the third day, Zhou Yuan and his group brought many gifts and went to Tian Ji's house.

Seeing how formal they were, Tian Yao immediately asked the waiter to open the door to the private room and instructed the kitchen staff, whose stoves were still burning, to cook two more dishes.

It was Chen Qing's first time sitting in a private room, and he was a little flustered. He had never even had the chance to eat in a restaurant before, but now he could sit in a private room. He was very nervous, and his palms were sweaty.

"You've come all this way so formally today, is there something you need my help with?" Tian Yao was carrying several dishes and a pot of wine. He wasn't at all like a typical shopkeeper and did many things himself.

"Yes." Zhou Yuan stated his thoughts, and Tian Yao remained silent for a while.

Chen Qing was a little nervous, and his palms were constantly sweaty.

The silence in the room was broken by a knock on the door. Yu Nian pushed the door open and came in: "What are you saying? It's so quiet."

Tian Yao smiled as soon as she saw him, and then said, "They want to do some business with me."

Yu Nian had already guessed what he was thinking from just that one sentence: "What do you think?"

“Of course,” Tian Yao said. “The land is doing well this year, and the village was quite worried and asked me what to do.”

They were talking, and I sat listening, completely bewildered. But when I heard that Manager Tian was actually the president of the Yunxi Town Chamber of Commerce, I realized that young men could do things that men do too.

Zhou Yuan had some questions: "Why wasn't it sold to the public on a large scale?"

Tian Yao laughed: "We only have one small town, and the things we can grow are limited. On one hand, we have to supply the capital, and on the other hand, we sell our own products. So we actually prefer that whoever takes our products can grow them themselves, but unfortunately, no one has ever done so."

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised: "But wouldn't it be better if these things were in your hands?"

"My thought has always been that once I become rich, I want to help those around me become rich as well. As long as everyone can live a good life, that is my blessing."

Zhou Yuan never expected that Manager Tian was such a person who was dedicated to serving the people. No wonder Yunxi Town was able to develop into what it is today.

"So if you want to ship the local specialties back to your place, I can give you a discount."

Zhou Yuan then asked, "Has there ever been any caravans like mine before?"

"Yes, but none of them persisted." There were many reasons for this, but Tian Yao didn't go into details.

"Since you're so interested, come back to the village with me tomorrow. I'll load up a few truckloads for you. Be careful, it's summer now, and food spoils easily. That's one of the reasons why no one has been reselling goods from us for a long time."

Zhou Yuan raised a glass to Tian Yao. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn't need to say it. Getting to know Tian Yao and Yu Nian was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to them.

Finally, Tian Yao said the most important thing: "The most important thing is that you are responsible for your own profits and losses. I'm not some great philanthropist who makes everyone happy when I make money and suffers when I lose money. Don't come to me for a refund when you lose money."

"Of course not," Zhou Yuan said. "I know all these principles."