This is the second time the four have visited their families since they joined the army.
The remote and poor Liu Village is not Guo’s hometown. Guo’s hometown is in the prosperous capital thousands of miles away.
However, the marquis's mansion with carved beams and painted rafters had long been confiscated by the imperial court. Without the government's permission, the Guo family could not even leave Xicang, let alone return to the capital.
Therefore, the mountain village in front of us can be regarded as my "hometown".
Although they were not homesick, they could not help but feel anxious and a little nervous when they thought that the people in the farmyard were looking forward to their return, always worried that something might happen at home.
As the sun was setting in the west, war horses entered the village, their hooves sometimes making a "crunch" sound on the snow, and sometimes "clack" on the bluestone pavement, causing dogs and cats along the way to bark. The villagers looked over cautiously, and only when they saw that it was one of their own people, and not the northern bandits, did they put their minds at ease.
Those who are familiar or bolder among them dare to say hello and exchange pleasantries.
For example, when passing by the village head's house, Liu Sanping happened to be leading his two sons to feed cattle. He heard the noise, turned his head, and immediately smiled. He quickly opened the gate and asked enthusiastically, "Hey? Are you back to visit your relatives?"
Guo Honglei smiled and nodded. This place was very close to "home", so he simply pulled the reins and dismounted. But as soon as his feet touched the ground, his vision suddenly went black. His shoulder injury hurt so much that his whole body became hotter and hotter, making him dizzy and dizzy.
"Brother Liu, what are you busy with?" Peng Changrong is talkative by nature, and he can chat and laugh familiarly even with strangers.
Seeing the other man dismount, Liu Sanping was flattered. He quickly approached, bending over involuntarily, and replied naively, "There's nothing to do during the winter. I was just feeding the cows." He moved closer and asked with concern, "Are you injured? Are you okay?"
Guo Honglei replied casually: "It's not a big deal."
"Going into battle and killing the enemy, you're bound to get injured the whole time." Peng Changrong tugged at the reins and asked with emotion, "Alas, it's already snowing. Have you harvested the potatoes? How's the harvest? We've been so busy that we haven't even been to the fields to check on them. We still don't know what the bean sprouts and leaves look like."
"Haha, they harvested it a long time ago! Hundreds of thousands of kilograms. It's a great harvest. Everyone in the village wants to plant a few acres of it." Speaking of crops, Liu Sanping's eyes lit up and he said happily, "The magistrate is so kind. He's already issued an order for our village to continue planting next year!"
Guo Honglei touched the horse's neck and said in a deep, rich voice, slightly hoarse, "Congratulations."
"You, you—" Liu Sanping scratched his head, racking his brains to pick a name, and complimented, "Mrs. Guo is truly capable! Even the county magistrate praised her. Please ask her to continue teaching our village next year."
Guo Honglei was very proud of it and was about to speak when he saw two boys slipping through the horses and running away.
"Hey, be careful of the horse!" Lin Qin was startled.
Liu Sanping hurriedly apologized, "Don't blame me, don't blame me. Those two naughty kids need to be punished. They must have gone to your house to report the news."
"I'm just afraid that the horse will hurt the child." Lin Qin explained with a smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Guo Honglei said, "It's getting late. Let's go back first and talk again another day."
Whether they were descendants of marquisates or frontier soldiers in uniform, the villagers were all wary and dared not neglect them. Liu Sanping bowed and said, "You four have had a hard journey. Come home and rest."
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After leaving the village head, the group led their horses forward and heard two boys shouting as they reported the news:
"Madam Pan, your family is back!"
"Four, four horses!"
"Open the door, open the door quickly, they will be here soon."
After a moment, Guo Honglei saw the courtyard gate open and his family members rushing to greet them. His heart warmed and he looked carefully:
The Zhou Yans, Aunt Pan, Xiao Tao—the third brother? Why did Azhe come to Heqin?
Guo Honglei stopped in surprise and was stunned for a moment.
Lin Qin and the others were also puzzled and asked quietly, "Third Young Master?"
"Strange, why is he in Heqin?"
"Young Master!" Xiao Tao supported Nanny Pan, overjoyed and smiling.
Guo Hongzhe opened his cotton-padded jacket that he had wrapped himself in hastily, and rushed to his brother in high spirits. He was breathless and shouted excitedly: "Second brother! You are finally back. A while ago, I thought I would never see you again in this life." As he spoke, his eyes became red and he almost cried for joy.
"Third brother." Guo Honglei calmed himself down, took his brother's arm, and said gently, "What do you mean by 'never seeing you again in this life'? You're saying depressing things again."
"Oh, your shoulder is injured? Is it serious?" Guo Hongzhe was worried. Zhou Yan and others came closer and said in unison, "You are injured. Come in and sit down."
"You look pale, you must have lost a lot of blood."
"My family has been waiting for me day and night lately, but I can't help myself. Oh, I'm so anxious."
Guo Honglei, looking dusty, replied briefly as he walked towards the courtyard gate, "It's just a minor wound, nothing serious. I was too busy last month to visit my family." After a pause, he couldn't help but ask, "Where's your second sister-in-law? Why can't I see her?"
"My second sister-in-law has gone to the back mountain with a few people. Judging from the time, she should be back soon." Guo Hongzhe leaned close to his brother, and his steps were so fast with excitement.
It turned out that she was not at home. Guo Honglei suddenly realized it, felt disappointed, and asked in confusion: "What is she doing up the mountain?"
"Hunting." Guo Hongzhe rushed to take the reins and whip and handed them to his follower.
Guo Honglei's face darkened instantly, and he frowned and asked, "Hunting? Are there any hunters in your family?"
"No. But don't worry, my second sister-in-law brought five or six people with her. They never set foot in unfamiliar dense forests, and only set traps to catch rabbits in the back mountains. I went there once, and it was very interesting!" Guo Hongzhe stepped into the threshold of the yard, turned around, and pulled his brother's hand.
Guo Honglei's brows knitted in disapproval. He said in a deep voice, "In winter, there's no farming or working in the fields. It's a rare opportunity for her to have some free time. Instead of taking the opportunity to recuperate, she's gone hunting? That's ridiculous."
Peng Changrong sighed in disappointment, looking listless. He muttered, "So he went hunting. Alas, I came all the way back, and Cuimei couldn't even take over the baggage."
"The back mountain?" Lin Qin seemed to be thinking about something, but before he could say anything, he heard someone ask in surprise:
"Brother, why are your hands so hot?" Guo Hongzhe held his brother's hand, eyes wide open, and said nervously, "It's too hot, something's wrong! Are you having a fever?"
"What?" Everyone was startled. Lin Qin quickly approached, reached out his hand, and blamed himself deeply. He said angrily, "Oh no, you really have a fever! Quick, go back to your room and lie down and rest."
"Fang—" Nanny Pan opened her mouth, but Xiao Tao interrupted, "Doctor Fang has gone up the mountain with the young mistress! What should we do?"
Guo Honglei's face was pale, and he was slowly developing a high fever. His vision was blacking out again. He had planned to go to the back mountain, but he was exhausted. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay, don't panic. I've already seen a doctor in the army."
"Luckily, the doctor gave me a big bag of medicine!" Lin Qin raised his hand and pointed. "The medicine is right there, but my arm is injured and I can't move easily. Who will boil the medicine?"
Xiao Tao didn't hesitate, "I! I'll go right away." She was anxious. She took the bag handed to her by Peng Changxing and hurried to the kitchen to boil medicine.
After a while, Guo Honglei suppressed his dizziness, washed up roughly, changed into clean clothes, and lay down with his eyes closed to rest.
Nanny Pan was worried and uneasy. She bent down to tuck the quilt around the patient and said comfortingly, "The medicine will be ready soon. Please rest for a while."
"Changrong isn't injured. Manager Zhou has taken him to the back mountain to report to Second Sister-in-law." Guo Hongzhe sat on the edge of the couch and asked anxiously, "Brother, are you cold?"
Guo Honglei lay on his back, his whole body burning with heat, his originally pale face flushed red. He whispered, "I'm not cold."
"Ever since the snow started, every household in Liu Village has started heating their kangs. It's very warm inside, sometimes even scorching. I heard—" Guo Hongzhe had a lot to say, but was quietly interrupted by Nanny Pan. She understood and said quickly, "Well, when you recover, we'll talk in detail."
"Hmm."
Guo Honglei was exhausted and closed his eyes. He was supposed to rest, but his mind quickly became blurred. He seemed to be floating in the wind in the air, or as if he had fallen into the bottom of a river. His consciousness was floating in and out, and the pain in his shoulder seemed to have numb.
After a while, he fell into a coma, lost consciousness, and his face gradually turned red.
At the same time. Back hillside
In the gently sloping jungle, a group of seven people sat in the snow, surrounding a bunch of brown vines, chatting and laughing happily.
"My goodness, hunting is so hard!" Cuimei extended her index finger, gently stroking the rabbit, and sighed, "We've been busy for half a month, dug five traps, and only caught three rabbits. If we relied on this for a living, we would have starved to death long ago."
Zou Gui tied the hare's hind legs with a rope and shouted with great enthusiasm, "Gangzi and I have set up new traps. Let's check back in a couple of days. Maybe we can catch a wild boar!"
"Wild boar meat is delicious! It was cooked by Aunt Pan last time. It was stewed so fragrantly that I have always remembered the taste." Hu Gang took a sip of water and felt greedy.
The robust middle-aged man traveling with him echoed, "It smells really good!"
…
Jiang Yushu sat in front of the vine, concentrating fully. She moved the dagger carefully, dug out two rhizomes from the soil more than a foot deep, and put them into the backpack.
The rhizome of this vine is brown, as thick as an arm, covered with small bumps on the surface, and the stem flesh is purple, delicate and juicy.
"Strange, what on earth is this?" Fang Sheng, a doctor, stared at it with great interest. "I've read many medical books, but I don't recognize this."
Jiang Yushu wiped the dagger with the snow and answered softly: "I asked many people in the village, but none of them knew him."
"I wonder if it's poisonous?"
Jiang Yushu warned, "It's still unclear. To prevent any accidents, please don't touch it. I'll figure it out myself."
"Try feeding it to the rabbits?" Fang Sheng filled the dug soil back into the roots of the vines.
In previous lives, poison/drug experiments traditionally used animals, such as rabbits. Jiang Yushu nodded, carefully packed her backpack, and replied seriously, "I have to try it. This could be a drug, or it could be food." She glanced at the sky, turned around, and urged, "It's getting late. Hurry and pack up! We should get down the mountain."
"Hey, let's go." Cuimei stood up and patted the snow off her cotton jacket.
Jiang Yushu was the first to go down the hill. She asked with a smile, "You guys think hunting is just a hobby, don't you? You keep clamoring to go up the mountain. Even Ah Zhe is so excited. I had to persuade him a lot before he agreed to stay home and recuperate."
"We just want to hunt more prey, and it would be best if we could get some wolf skins to make coats!"
Jiang Yushu sighed and said angrily, "Wolf skin? Oh, we can't even catch a few wild rabbits, and you dare to set your sights on wolves? Cuimei is getting bolder and bolder, and her words are shocking." Just as she finished speaking, a shout suddenly came from the slope:
"Young Madam!"
"Xiao Cui'er, I see you." Peng Changrong jumped and waved.
Zhou Yan was sweating profusely and anxiously informed, "The Second Young Master is back. He is injured and has a high fever. Fang Sheng, you must go back as soon as possible. We don't know any medical skills, and you are the only one in the family who can treat illnesses."
Jiang Yushu was horrified and asked anxiously, "W-Where is he injured? Is it serious?"
"Left shoulder!" Peng Changrong struggled to climb the slope and comforted him, "Don't worry, I've been treated in the army. I brought a lot of medicine back home to heal the injury."
Jiang Yushu's heart was in turmoil. She guessed, "It's snowing cold, and he's injured and weak. Maybe he caught a cold."
"This, this is possible."
The snow was soft and Jiang Yushu almost sprained her ankle, but she didn't even bother to rub it. She hurried down the slope in a hurry.
It was dusk, the lights in the room were still on, the windows were closed, the door was ajar, and it was gloomy.
Nanny Pan, Guo Hongzhe and others rushed out of the courtyard and were anxiously discussing, waiting for Jiang Yushu and her group to return.
Guo Honglei's eyes were tightly closed, his forehead was burning hot, he lay motionless on his back and fell asleep.
"Young Master? Young Master?" Xiao Tao's eyes were filled with tears, and her face was full of heartache. She knelt in front of the bed, gently placed a cool handkerchief on the patient's forehead, and said with a sob, "Please wake up. It's time to take your medicine."
The two of them were alone in a room, and she couldn't help herself, holding her breath, getting closer and closer——
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