Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Waiting
After the autumn harvest, the grass plants gradually withered.
The temperature on the top of the mountain is not as high as that at the foot of the mountain, but it is autumn now.
There were some nine-section wind and blood-scattering grass growing on the mountain road outside the big temple. Kanghe saw them when he came.
He took some, rubbed it into a paste, tore a piece of clean linen from his body, and smeared the sticky herbs thickly on it.
"hand."
Kang He uttered a word, and to prevent himself from pronouncing it wrongly, he pointed at Fan Jing's hanging hand.
Fan Jing was puzzled when he heard this, but he still raised his left hand as he was told.
Seeing this, Kang He simply pulled his right sleeve.
The cut on the palm of Fan Jing's right hand, which was half the length of his index finger, was caused by the thick thorns on the vines when he climbed up from the edge of the cliff a few days ago.
The wound was not treated properly and healed a little after a few days, but the injury was on the right hand, and because of frequent movement, half of it began to fester again.
The inflammation is also very severe, and the palm of my hand is a little red.
Kang He saw it when he scratched his palm a few times.
He knew a little about medicine. When he was a child, he liked to follow a single barefoot doctor and learned some basic knowledge.
Medical conditions were poor in those days, and a simple cold or illness could be fatal.
He looked at Fan Jing's red palms. If the condition continued to deteriorate, the inflammation and fever would be a minor issue, but his hands might even be crippled.
Kang He couldn't bear to see this and wanted to do something to him.
Then he pointed to the knife at his waist.
Fan Jingmei's heart moved, and after a slight hesitation, he pulled it out.
Kang He took the clean knife, took out a fire starter from his waistband, and warmed the tip of the knife.
In a moment, a faint smell of hot and roasted food wafted into the air.
He quickly scraped off the pus and inflamed flesh, cleaned the wound, and then applied the prepared herbs.
Without anesthetic, it must be painful. Kang He couldn't help but look up at Fan Jing, but saw that he looked normal, but his face seemed a little tense, still like a cool boy.
Kang He found it a little funny and wanted to ask him if it hurt, but he couldn't say it, so he raised his eyebrows and tentatively made a "hiss?" sound.
Seeing this, Fan Jing's eyes softened slightly and he nodded.
Looking at the neatly tied hands, I was surprised that Kang He could do all this.
“…Thank you.”
Kang He guessed that it was a word of thanks, so he smiled.
Matchmaker Hu was worried about Kang He, fearing that he might make a fool of himself or anger Fan Jing, so he came back less than an incense stick's time after leaving.
I saw the two of them sitting in the meditation room, just as they were when the three of them left.
Both Chen and matchmaker Hu wanted to see if the two were attracted to each other, but one of them was taciturn and didn't like to talk, and the other couldn't understand the local dialect, so it seemed that they had never talked about it.
I wasn't sure what it meant for a moment.
So they had a vegetarian meal here and then went their separate ways in the afternoon.
"I think this Kang Sanlang is a nice young man, tall and strong, and he cleans up very neatly. He's not that stupid, runny-nosed guy. He looks like a decent guy."
"Although he seems a bit foolish when talking to people, there's nothing wrong with him otherwise. Maybe he's just a little unintelligent..."
Kang He exceeded Chen's expectations and was much better than she had imagined.
She felt that Kanghe was strong and vigorous, and that he was someone who could work hard.
She was afraid that Fan Jing would not agree to the marriage, and she would have missed out on a man who was willing to come to her house. On the way back, she kept praising Kang He over and over again.
She drank up the entire gourd of tea prepared in the temple on the way.
Ke Kua kept talking all the way, but Fan Jing didn't respond once.
Chen endured it all the way and kept her mouth shut despite Fan Shoulin's constant winks at her.
When I got home, I couldn't help but pull Fan Jing aside to ask him some questions.
"Brother, whether you agree or not, give me and your father an answer so we can tell the matchmaker."
Fan Jing said nothing, his eyes swept over the bandaged hand.
The palms of my hands, which had been burning before, suddenly felt relieved without me noticing.
People say Kang He is not very smart, but he feels that no one can be smarter.
The skillful way he bandaged the patient showed that it was not his first time doing such a thing. He also knew how to use medicine, so it was obvious that he knew some prescriptions.
When I bumped into him today, he shouldn't have been lost.
I'm not lost, and there's no other reason except that I don't want to go on a blind date.
Fan Jing felt that Kang He was a kind-hearted person, and he didn't want to waste his time by clinging to him.
After a moment of silence, he said, "According to the Kang family's wishes."
Chen didn't know that he had thought so much, she just felt that she had finally gotten a definite answer, and she immediately became happy.
I can't wait to reply to the matchmaker.
But she was not so eager to do it. She would have been laughed at for wanting to get married. She had to wait for the matchmaker to ask first.
Sheng waited for two days, burning with lamp oil, but the matchmaker didn't come. Instead, the eldest sister-in-law from the eldest house came first.
"Logically, if the other party agrees, the matchmaker would have replied the next day. Matchmakers are eager to get paid, and are usually more concerned than the people involved in the matchmaking. If they haven't replied in two or three days, it's probably not going to work out, but it's not easy to say it quickly. If it's been delayed, everyone will have a clue."
Zhang Jingui, the daughter-in-law of the eldest son Fan Shoushan, came to the yard and sat down with a handful of dried chestnuts.
She raised her hand and called out to Zhen'er and Qiao'er who were about to go out to collect grass for the livestock, and poured her some tea.
Zhen'er is honest. If there is no ready-made tea at home, she will get some dry tea from inside the house to make.
Qiao'er stopped her, "Auntie came in cracking those fragrant chestnuts, but she didn't even share one or two with us sisters. Instead, she just ordered people around. You're so kind as to even bring her some tea. The rice soup from the stove hasn't been poured out yet, so if she's thirsty, just make her a bowl."
After hearing what her sister said, Zhen'er thought it made sense, so she went to the kitchen and brought a bowl of rice soup to Zhang.
Zhang noticed that the maid was not making tea and raised her eyes, saying, "You are so frugal at home that you don't even make tea for us?"
Zhen'er was at a loss for words and stood there, not knowing how to respond. Qiao'er smiled and said, "In our family, only our uncle and aunt are wealthy. We were poor to begin with. In the summer months, when we finished our tea, we said we'd go buy some. Now that big brother wants to propose marriage, we have to be frugal."
After that, he continued, "Sister Yingchun came to our house a few days ago. She must have brought back a lot of good things for my aunt. If there is any good tea, please let us try it."
Fan Yingchun, the maid of the eldest son's family, is now eighteen years old. A few years ago, a wealthy family in the county took a fancy to her and rented her out to work in their house.
The child is very filial. Not only does he give all his monthly allowance to his parents, but he also brings things back every now and then to supplement the family's income.
Zhang was so proud that she told everyone in the village how thoughtful her maid was, and what she loved most was to show off in front of Chen.
Zhang Jingui heard Qiao'er's clever words and raised her hand to pinch her face, but the little girl dodged it.
He turned around and pulled Zhen'er out of the yard: "Auntie, please sit down and wait. My sister and I are going to cut grass."
"This little girl is very naughty, not at all like her well-behaved second sister."
Chen, who was hanging clothes at one end, saw Zhang being humiliated by the child and laughed inwardly, "Sister-in-law, don't bother with that girl."
Zhang said, "I have nothing to do with her. I just want to make this little girl happy."
Zhang Jingui had a round face and a plump figure. She had a flower-like hairpin on her hair wrapped in plain cloth. She never went out to attend banquets or go to the market, and she was always well-groomed in the village.
He didn't do much work during the day. He was either lounging at home or chatting with a group of village women and men under the big locust tree.
Sometimes the meals were prepared by her mother-in-law, Fan Lao Niang, who lived with the eldest daughter-in-law. No other daughter-in-law had such a good life as hers.
But who told the two elders of the Fan family to favor the eldest son? And Chen is the niece of Mrs. Fan's maternal family.
My heart is even more inclined to go into the nest.
Chen Sanfang didn't like her parents-in-law favoring the eldest wife, and she couldn't stand it even more because Zhang loved to show off and step on the second wife to bring honor to the eldest wife.
"But then again, Dajing is going on a blind date, and why didn't you and my second brother tell us? Besides saying anything else, I'll pack a set of nice clothes that Yingchun sent back and teach Dajing to wear them so he can look presentable on his blind date."
"Nowadays, the groom's family is so snobbish when it comes to choosing a bride. A talented person from Dajing... well, even if she's just wearing coarse clothes, it would be strange if the groom's family would even look at her."
Zhang Jingui was certain in Fan Jing's tone that he wanted Huang for the blind date, so how could she not be certain?
Their girl Yingchun is so capable and sensible, and she works in a wealthy family and has a lot of worldly experience. But she didn't fall in love with a peddler who went from door to door the other day.
With Dajing's looks and temper, it's no big deal if he turns yellow.
Chen Sanfang was upset when she came and started talking about Dajing's marriage being cancelled, but since nothing was decided, she could only say, "Wangshui Township is far away, and it's not as easy to send news as it is to get closer. It's still uncertain."
"I told you that if you don't believe me and still hope that things can be accomplished, you will only be sighing when the time comes. Just wait and see..."
Before Zhang Jingui could finish her words, she suddenly saw Fan Jing coming out of the house holding a hatchet.
She stopped talking, her voice softened a little, and said unexpectedly, "Da Jing is at home too."
It's no wonder she was surprised. Autumn was a good time for hunting. After the busy farming season, Fan Jing spent most of his time setting traps and hunting in the mountains. It was almost impossible to see him before the snow fell in the mountains.
It was because she thought Fan Jing was not there that she spoke with a lisp.
Fan Jing hummed, ignored Zhang Jingui, and went to the backyard to chop firewood.
Zhang Jingui heard the banging and clanging sounds, and her heart skipped a beat. She knew someone she couldn't afford to offend had arrived. She patted her butt and stood up: "The pig food is still cooking in the kitchen. I'll go back and take a look."
"Sister-in-law, you are so anxious. Mom is at home. Why don't you sit for a while before going back?"
Zhang Jingui just waved his hand.
Watching the man walk away, Chen Sanfang secretly spat and cursed in his heart, saying that he was also a coward.
However, after hearing what Zhang said, she also began to feel worried.
If this matchmaker Hu doesn't show up for a long time, I hope the marriage won't really fall through.
"Dajing, didn't Kang Sanlang say anything to you that day?"
Fan Jing chopped the wood with his hatchet, and the dry wood split in half. With another push, he broke it into two pieces.
He didn't respond to Chen.
Seeing Chen's anxiety, he thought his guess was correct.
Even though things didn't work out, it wasn't too disappointing, as it was expected.
The weather has been good these past few days, so the delay has passed.
We have to go to the mountains tomorrow no matter what. If we don’t get something, we won’t be able to pay the taxes this year.
However, early the next morning, Fan Jing went up the mountain with food.
In the afternoon, matchmaker Hu came again with a happy mood.
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