When Guan Baiyu returned home from the hospital, he brought back two large glass bottles that he had previously used to store "saline solution," a syringe, and two small glass bottles about the size of a thumb.

This small bottle was also for holding medicine. The nurse took out the medicine from the bottle with a needle, injected it into the IV drip bottle for Guan Baiyu, and then put it aside. Seeing that Guan Baiyu was looking at the bottle longingly, she asked him if he wanted this one.

Guan Baiyu naturally wanted them, so Shi Zhen took the bottles and jars, washed them clean, and gave them to Guan Baiyu to take home.

Along the way, Guan Baiyu happily played with the bottle in the tricycle, and said to Shi Zhen, "Brother, the cap of this little bottle is probably made of rubber. You know, it can be used as an eraser. When I was a child, I didn't have any erasers, so I asked the barefoot doctor for these bottle caps. He took pity on me and would always give me a few."

“I know.” Shi Zhen smiled. Before the 1990s, the whole country was in a period of very scarce resources, and any old thing could be developed into a new use.

It's common to see people using the soft caps on medicine bottles as erasers.

As for the large glass bottle... his family also had a saline bottle brought back from the barefoot doctor, which his father used to hold water to drink when he went to work in the fields.

They got home around noon.

Shi Zhen didn't go to his rice ball stall in the morning. There was a big pot of glutinous rice cooked into white rice at home, so he just ate some. As for Guan Baiyu... glutinous rice is hard to digest, so Shi Zhen cooked him a bowl of noodles, added some vegetables, a few slices of lean meat, and an egg.

Guan Baiyu leaned against the bed and ate slowly, bite by bite.

The IV drip had an immediate effect; he feels much better now, except his throat hurts terribly when he eats…

Guan Baiyu didn't tell Shi Zhen about this, but Shi Zhen saw that he was eating slowly and remembered that the doctor said his throat was completely rotten, so he knew that he must be in pain.

After Guan Baiyu finished eating the noodles, Shi Zhen found Guan Jianguo's mother and bought a hen from her. After killing and plucking it, he removed the chicken fat and cut off the thick skin with scissors before putting it in a pot to stew.

Guan Baiyu is sick and needs to eat something good to replenish his strength.

The chicken was stewed for two hours. After it was done, Shi Zhen scooped out the chicken and most of the broth, then added rice and water to the remaining broth to make porridge.

Whether it's stewing chicken or cooking porridge, there's no need to keep an eye on it. Shi Zhen would check on Guan Baiyu from time to time.

Guan Baiyu slept for a short while after returning home, but stayed awake most of the time. Shi Zhen didn't let him study, only letting him listen to the radio.

After putting the rice into the pot, Shi Zhen went in again and asked Guan Baiyu if he wanted some water.

Guan Baiyu had a sore throat and didn't really want to drink, but Shi Zhen asked him anyway, so he drank a little.

"Are you hungry?" Shi Zhen asked again.

Guan Baiyu shook his head.

Shi Zhen patted his head and told him to lie down, then sat down on the chair next to him.

Seeing this, Guan Baiyu moved further into the bed: "Brother, why don't you lie down next to me for a while?"

Shi Zhen thought about it and did not refuse.

He was careful to maintain proper boundaries and avoided any inappropriate contact with Guan Baiyu, but normal interactions between brothers were still necessary.

Otherwise, it might make Guan Baiyu suspicious or overthink things.

Seeing Shi Zhen lying beside him, Guan Baiyu was overjoyed.

Shi Zhen slept next to Shi Xinghuo every night, but he had never slept next to him before. This was the first time. It was really nice.

Thinking back to when Shi Zhen accompanied him to the hospital and took such good care of him, Guan Baiyu asked, "Brother, why are you so good to me?"

“First of all, you are my brother,” Shi Zhen said. “Secondly, and most importantly, you deserve my kindness.”

Seeing Guan Baiyu looking somewhat bewildered, Shi Zhen laughed: "If Guan Kai were my younger brother, I'd probably just visit him occasionally, buy him some things, and that would be it. I wouldn't even bother to talk to him much."

Guan Kai is the beloved grandson of the youngest grandmother, and Shi Zhen has had some contact with him during this period.

This child... looks just like his grandmother.

They like to take advantage of others, talk badly about others behind their backs, and bully the weak while fearing the strong.

"Brother, you really dislike him?" Guan Baiyu asked. "What kind of person do you like?"

"Of course I hate him, but do you like him?" Shi Zhen laughed. "I like a younger brother like you."

Guan Baiyu is the kind of person who, if someone gives him a little, he'd want to give them ten in return.

Guan Baiyu's eyes lit up.

Shi Zhen knew he lacked a sense of security, so he added, "Xiao Yu, you are my younger brother, and I will always be good to you."

"Brother, if you get married and have children in the future, will you still be good to me?" Guan Baiyu didn't dare to ask before, but after crying and making a fuss at the hospital today, and being coaxed by Shi Zhen, she dared to ask.

Shi Zhen countered, "If you get married and have children, will you be too lazy to pay attention to your older brother?"

Without hesitation, Guan Baiyu replied, "Definitely not, brother, you will always be the most important person to me."

“Just like you, you are also the most important person to me,” Shi Zhen said earnestly.

Guan Baiyu laughed. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that even if he got married and had children, he would still want to be with his brother.

That would be great if his brother was like him.

“Brother, when we build our houses in the future, we can build them together, with a shared wall in the middle. We don’t even need a wall for the courtyard. When you come to my house for dinner, I’ll cook for you,” Guan Baiyu said.

Shi Zhen knew about the kind of house Guan Baiyu was talking about.

In the countryside, to save money, two families would build houses right next to each other, sharing a single wall in the middle.

Of course, doing this can easily cause conflict, so it's usually only done by close brothers.

Some houses have a courtyard in the middle, which is directly connected to each other, making it convenient for people to visit each other.

Shi Zhen said, "Okay. But we'll probably be living in the city from now on, across the hall from each other. When we get older, we can practice Tai Chi together, play chess together, and walk the dogs together." He wasn't from Guan Baiyu's village at all, so naturally he couldn't build a house in the village.

Even Guan Baiyu, if he doesn't register his own household, the village won't approve a homestead for him.

Most importantly, they will definitely leave here in the future.

"Okay, bro, I'll come to your place as soon as I get off work."

"Okay," Shi Zhen agreed.

Guan Baiyu is too young now. He was the one who turned Guan Baiyu gay in his past life. He can't be sure what will happen to him in the future.

But he really looks forward to this kind of retirement life.

Guan Baiyu became happier the more he thought about it, and started talking again. As he talked, his heart calmed down, but then suddenly there was no sound around him.

He turned his head and saw that Shi Zhen was asleep.

Shi Zhen didn't sleep for long; he woke up in less than half an hour.

It was time to cook dinner, so he went out and stir-fried two dishes and chopped up the cooked chicken.

There's no need to cook rice; there's plenty of glutinous rice left over from this morning.

After preparing dinner for himself and Shi Xinghuo, Shi Zhen tore off a chicken leg, shredded the meat, and added it to the cooked porridge, along with chopped green leafy vegetables and chicken liver.

Before stewing the chicken, he threw away all the oily chicken skin, so the chicken soup for the porridge didn't have much oil and wouldn't be too greasy.

As for the taste... it's so-so, but easy to swallow.

Qian Qi hadn't returned yet, so Shi Zhen served the porridge to Guan Baiyu first.

Guan Baiyu sat on the bed holding a bowl of porridge, laughing non-stop: "I feel like a woman in postpartum confinement, drinking chicken soup porridge in bed."

After saying that, he worriedly asked, "Brother, why did you buy chicken? Did we spend a lot of money today?"

Shi Zhen said, "You are the most important person. What does money matter?"

Guan Baiyu smiled again.

Seeing him like this, Shi Zhen knew that he had been thinking about this and that all day long before, but now that they had talked, he was much better.

Guan Baiyu was indeed in a much better mood. He stopped thinking about what would happen after Shi Zhen got married and started thinking about what would happen to the two of them in the future.

In fact, many couples in the village have bad relationships. Guan Jianguo's father, who is also his second grandfather, lives separately from his wife.

His great-uncle and his great-aunt didn't get along well either, so usually, his great-uncle and his great-uncle would sit together at the door and chat.

In winter they sit in the sun, and in summer they sit in the shade.

This is fine too.

Once Guan Baiyu understood, he stopped getting anxious and upset.

However, he still didn't want Shi Zhen to get married too early, nor did he want Shi Zhen to be nice to others.

He was a bit selfish, always hoping that Shi Zhen would only care about himself.

When Guan Baiyu felt better, he felt his body was also better, and he didn't want to go to the hospital the next day.

Perhaps because she had never had an IV drip or injection before, Guan Baiyu's IV drip had an immediate effect, and she did not have a fever again.

His condition stabilized, so Shi Zhen didn't insist that he continue to go to the hospital for IV drips.

Too much IV fluids can damage the body's immune system; if possible, it's better to take medication.

Although Guan Baiyu's fever had subsided, his throat remained sore, and he suffered from pain even when drinking water for several days before gradually recovering.

During this time, Shi Zhen brought home a first-aid kit containing a thermometer, bandages, plasters, fever reducers, cold medicine, and several bottles of vitamin tablets and calcium tablets.

Guan Baiyu was sick, so Shi Zhen gave him vitamin tablets every day. As for calcium tablets, he planned to give them to him after he recovered.

Guan Baiyu stayed home to recuperate for three or four days before going back to town to read.

Then, the weather got hotter day by day, and before we knew it, it was the end of May.

Shi Zhen saved up another sum of money, which he used to buy things, such as a gas stove and a liquefied gas cylinder.

In addition, it's summer now, and whether it's him, Guan Baiyu, or Shi Xinghuo, they all need to buy some summer clothes.

When he and Shi Xinghuo left the village, they brought their better clothes with them. Although these clothes were a bit rustic, they were enough to wear if they were washed and changed.

But neither he nor Shi Xinghuo had summer clothes.

Guan Baiyu did have a few pieces, but they were all old and didn't fit properly.

Guan Baiyu's clothes were all given to him by the villagers. The winter clothes were fine; some of the children had worn them for two or three years and then gave them to him, so they weren't too worn out.

But summer clothes...

Summer clothes need to be washed and changed frequently, and teenagers of this age wear out clothes while playing around. In addition, people in rural areas generally buy clothes a size too big and wear them for several years... The short-sleeved shirts given to Guan Baiyu were at least two or three years old and were already quite worn out.

Guan Baiyu's summer clothes had discolored collars that drooped down, and some parts were torn or stained with oil from tree branches. Wearing such clothes would give people a sloppy impression.

Shi Zhen planned to take him to buy some clothes.

Shi Zhen decided to buy clothes on Children's Day, June 1st.

Although Guan Baiyu is already fourteen years old and no longer a child, he has probably never received a Children's Day gift before, so we can make it up to him now.

Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu had agreed in advance to buy clothes.

That morning, Guan Baiyu went with him to set up a stall in town. She helped him collect money while he sold rice balls. After he finished selling, the two went to the second floor of the market to buy clothes.

The second floor of the market has many small shops, including clothing stores. The prices here are not expensive, but... you have to bargain.

Shi Zhen was impatient with haggling, but at this point many people wouldn't give a fair price, so he had no choice but to haggle.

Having learned from Qian Qilai that he could get half-price clothes here, Shi Zhen took Guan Baiyu shopping.

Guan Baiyu was someone who had never seen the world, and he happily strolled through the small shops located upstairs in the market.

However, while they were shopping, Guan Baiyu suddenly pulled Shi Zhen into a shop next door.

"What's wrong?" Shi Zhen asked, puzzled.

Guan Baiyu and Shi Zhenjin's shop was very small, only about ten square meters in total. Various women's clothing were hung around the perimeter, and a small table and a stool were placed in the middle where the shop owner sat.

Most of the shops here are this size, unless the owner rents two shops.

Guan Baiyu didn't answer Shi Zhen's question, but instead went to look at the clothes here.

"You want to buy clothes? The clothes here are all very good. I bought them from the provincial capital. People there dress like this!" the shop owner said.

Shi Zhen: "..." Although he had never been to the provincial capital, he had been to Changxi City, and had even gone there a few days ago.

Nowadays, some people dress in a very unfashionable way, while others dress very fashionably. The girls in Changxi City wear very beautiful dresses, jeans, flared pants, high-waisted pants, and so on. But here... he has never seen young girls in Changxi City wearing these floral shirts, floral pants, or straight dresses with red and green peonies.

Only Guan Baiyu watched it quite attentively.

However, Guan Baiyu only looked around for a while before reaching the door and looking outside.

After looking around, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Shi Zhen, "Brother, let's go."

Shi Zhen followed Guan Baiyu outside and asked Guan Baiyu, "What happened just now?"

“I just saw Guan Kai’s mother,” Guan Baiyu said.

What's wrong with seeing Guan Kai's mother again? Shi Zhen knows this young lady who has a lot of complaints about her daughter-in-law. She's a woman who dresses well and isn't bad-looking.

She was thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with wrinkles around her eyes, but she had a great figure, fair skin, and a charming demeanor.

She's actually a nice person, and she's quite kind to Guan Baiyu. She even gave Guan Kai's clothes to Guan Baiyu to wear before.

The young lady had mentioned this matter when she came to see them before, and Guan Baiyu told him that later the young lady stopped Guan Kai's mother from giving him clothes.

After that, Guan Kai's old clothes were all given to his youngest daughter by his grandmother—who also gave birth to a son.

Because his grandmother constantly talked about how bad her daughter-in-law was in the village, Shi Zhen felt very sorry for her.

But he had never met this person before, because in his previous life, Guan Kai's parents divorced very early, and he had never met them.

He didn't know what happened to Guan Kai's mother afterward, but he did know what happened to Guan Kai's father. After his divorce, the man wanted to find someone else, but he was too picky and never found anyone.

Anyway, when Guan Kai's father got into a fight with Guan Pingguo and ended up in the police station because Guan Pingguo had gambling debts and wanted to sell the house, he still hadn't found a wife.

But he... still hasn't given up on finding a partner.

Guan Baiyu is acting all mysterious right now...

"What's wrong with seeing Guan Kai's mother again?" Shi Zhen asked.

Guan Baiyu said, "Guan Kai's mother was holding hands with a man... that man is not my uncle."

Shi Zhen: "..." These days, his grandmother and Guan Pingguo have been talking badly about him in the village every day, telling everyone that he doesn't let Guan Baiyu go to school and forces Guan Baiyu to work for him for free.

They even spread rumors that his food was unclean, saying he had committed a crime outside and that's why he came here...

Anyway, my great-grandmother is really good at making up stories!

If it weren't for the fact that so few people believed them, Shi Zhen would definitely have grabbed a knife and gone to their house to confront them.

One of Grandma's lifelong hobbies was gossiping, but now... their family is probably going to become the subject of gossip.

As for Guan Kai's mother, although what she did was not right, Shi Zhen actually understood her somewhat.

Yesterday, my grandmother was telling people how disgusting it was that her daughter-in-law would leave her underwear in a basin overnight after taking a shower... It's really unbearable for a normal person to have a mother-in-law who tells everyone everything.