As expected, after being beaten, Chen Si stopped asking Xu He about Xu Shaochun. He rubbed his chest, gasped, and groaned softly, half of which was in real pain and half was pretending.
Seeing this, the two women on the ox cart glanced left and right at Xu He, with inquiring expressions written all over their eyes. Zhang Fangyuan ignored Chen Si, but instead raised his brows and glared at the two women unkindly. His palms, which were hanging between his knees, suddenly clenched into fists, and a creaking sound came from between his joints.
The woman's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately withdrew her gaze politely. She didn't dare to breathe, and carefully turned her head away to look elsewhere.
Xu He looked at Zhang Fangyuan, and the two of them looked at each other without saying a word. The vest lay safely on his legs, blocking most of the cold wind.
His hands were covered by the furry vest, and the soft and smooth touch was very obvious on the back of his hands.
Rabbit fur is of extremely high quality and keeps warm. His second sister has a scarf made of white rabbit fur. It is not big and costs forty cents, but it is really warm and beautiful when worn around the neck. It makes her second sister's pink face look even more lovely. Normally, the second sister is reluctant to wear it.
If they were not good at hunting, no ordinary person could afford to wear such an expensive fur vest.
Xu He had an indescribable feeling in his heart. He actually felt the care and protection that his family and relatives had never given him from a person with a bad reputation in the village.
How can this feel good?
The ox cart arrived in the city along the official road in about an hour. Zhang Fangyuan took out money to give to the ox cart driver. Three kind-hearted businessmen gave him two cents in return, so the total amount was ten cents.
Chen Si was still thinking about asking Xu He to bring some cakes to Xu Shaochun, but thinking of Zhang Fangyuan's dull punch, he held his words back and stood far away, waiting for Zhang Fangyuan to go into the city together.
"Thanks."
After Xu He got off the ox cart, he returned the vest to its owner and thanked him for the money he had paid for the ox cart.
Zhang Fangyuan took the vest which still had some body temperature, put it under his armpit casually, and asked, "Are you catching a cold?"
"Nothing serious."
"Is it the cold you caught in the rain last time?"
Xu He said: "I've had a bit of a cold for a while now, and it seems to be getting worse with the recent cold weather."
Before Zhang Fangyuan could say anything more, Xu He interrupted their conversation and said, "I'm going into the city first."
Zhang Fangyuan didn't bother anyone. He saw the young man walking quickly with a backpack on his back, looking thoughtful.
"When did you become so familiar with He Ge'er?"
Chen Si saw the two men whispering something from a distance. When he saw He Ge'er walking away, he walked up to him and looked at Zhang Fangyuan suspiciously: "People have walked so far away, but you are still staring at them? You are afraid that they will catch a cold, so you gave them a vest, and you also asked them to ride in a bullock cart. Are you!"
Zhang Fangyuan grabbed Chen Si's index finger, which was raised in sudden realization: "Don't talk nonsense."
"Who is talking nonsense? You are protecting He Ge'er just to get closer to Shaochun. We are brothers, so just speak frankly. There are many people in the village who are eyeing Shaochun anyway, so you don't have to hide it. We can compete fairly."
Zhang Fangyuan glanced at Chen Si, speechless, and strode towards the city.
"But you've already gone to other places to look for a date, and you're thinking about Shaochun, isn't that even more hopeless?"
Chen Si was a little confused and hurriedly chased after him.
Following the instructions of his fourth aunt He, Zhang Fangyuan first bought a box of honey-flavored crispy cakes and two pieces of cloth. In order to show his sincerity, after buying these basic gifts for the villagers to meet each other, he also bought a box of silk flowers that girls would wear.
He felt that it was really troublesome, buying from one shop here and there, and there were so many varieties. It would be better to just take two pieces of meat directly to Guang's house. He saved trouble and Guang's family would probably like it.
Fourth aunt laughed and scolded him for being against the village etiquette, which was that people would give less points to the man who was seeking marriage during the matchmaking process.
This thing was specifically asked by his aunt, so he had no choice but to find a jewelry store he had never stepped into before. After asking the waiter, people immediately brought out large and small boxes of things.
When the box is opened, there are all kinds of colorful flowers. The price is not determined by size, but by how exquisite they are. The more they look like real flowers, the more expensive they are.
Zhang Fangyuan looked at the pile of silk flowers, frowned and fiddled with them: "Why not just wear real flowers? Wouldn't that be more real?"
The waiter said, "Look at what this guest said. Silk flowers bloom much longer than fresh flowers."
Zhang Fangyuan knew nothing about these things and had no interest in learning about them. He said in a businesslike manner, "Take two pairs."
"What kind of flowers would you like, sir?"
"Just pick two festive ones for the relatives to see."
The waiter was eager to say, "Okay, I'll pick two beautiful and festive flowers for you. I guarantee that the girl will be happy when she sees them."
Chen Si was also amazed and dazzled by the sight: "Fang Yuan, how about I pick one for Shaochun? I think she will like it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter who had wrapped the silk flowers in a box said to Zhang Fangyuan with a smile, "Silk flowers are 15 wen a pair, two pairs are 30 wen, plus a gift box is 12 wen. Sir, please pay the bill this way."
Chen Si immediately shut his mouth when he heard that, and quickly put back the silk flower he was playing with. These fake flowers were too expensive, four flowers and a box cost forty-two cents, enough to eat two kilograms of pork. The jewelry shop was indeed not something that ordinary people could afford.
No wonder people say getting married is a big hurdle and too expensive.
Zhang Fangyuan didn't think it was expensive, mainly because he was used to spending lavishly. Although he was determined to be frugal, he thought that the money was spent on the right things and it couldn't be considered as wasted money. In the past, when he spent money recklessly, a meal in the city would cost more than a thousand coins, and he had been to Fengyue Tower for entertainment. Even today, he spent nearly three hundred coins to buy these things, but he just felt it was a hassle and didn't feel bad.
The two came out of the shop, and Chen Si said, "My mother asked me to bring some candles and salt back. How about we meet at the tea stall outside the city after we buy everything?"
Zhang Fangyuan responded, "Okay."
Anyway, he also needed to buy some things that were missing at home, so it would be faster for the two of them to go and buy them separately and then reunite.
Zhang Fangyuan was going to the dried fruit shop to buy some dried fruits to bring to Xiaomao as a snack, and on his way there he passed by a small clinic.
"We don't sell on credit in our clinic, and we don't keep accounts. So, it's just how much it is."
"Three doses of ordinary typhoid medicine only cost thirty cents, why is it that two doses here cost forty cents?"
"The prices of food, cloth and clothes can go up, so why can't the prices of our medicines that cure diseases and save lives go up?" The doctor boy who picked up the medicines asked impatiently, "Can you afford it? It's only thirty cents, so you don't have that much either?"
Xu He opened his mouth: "I don't want it anymore."
The doctor rolled up his sleeves when he heard this and said, "You've already prepared the medicine, but you say you don't want it. You're really an interesting guy. You don't need the medicine, but you have to pay for it!"
It was also the first time that Xu He encountered such a forced sale. He frowned, did not answer the doctor's words, turned around and was about to leave. Suddenly, two men came out and guarded the door.
"It's not that easy to leave without paying."
The doctor put down the abacus and walked out from the counter. He put his hands behind his back and sneered as he approached Xu He: "What? Are you going to pay or not?"
Xu He's heartbeat was a little fast. He stepped back subconsciously. How could he not be scared when surrounded by several men in such a hostile way? "How much money do you want?"
"The medicine specially prepared for you cannot be used by others. If you calculate the manpower and material resources, you will have to pay double the price!"
Xu He opened his eyes. He also wanted to pay money to settle the matter, but he didn't even have enough money to buy medicine, so where would he get so much money? Just when he didn't know what to do, he suddenly heard two muffled groans from behind: "There are quite a lot of people here, it's quite lively, what kind of money do you have to pay? Let me see."
The doctor boy saw the two gatekeepers being kicked open and a tall and burly man coming in against the light. He swallowed slightly and took a step back: "No, nothing happened."
Zhang Fangyuan threw the medicine bag on the doctor's face, pulled Xu He's wrist and walked out of the clinic.
"You have to spend money to see a doctor and buy medicine. If you see a small shop like this in a remote area with few customers, don't go in alone. The city looks peaceful with many people, but it is much more chaotic than the village. Some of them are shady shops that specifically pick on people who are alone and easy to bully."
Zhang Fangyuan had been in the city for quite some time and was very clear about these things. If he had not been caught just now, being asked for money would have been a small matter. Who knows, these black-hearted people might even resort to violence. Thinking of this, he could not help but scold them.
After talking for a while, the person behind him didn't respond. His head was lowered than that on the cart, and he walked unsteadily. He paused.
Xu He didn't know that the person in front of him suddenly stopped. It was true that he was still frightened by what happened just now, but he breathed a sigh of relief after Zhang Fangyuan came in. He was a little dazed and not very clear-headed, and he kept following the big guy without worrying about getting lost. However, with a bang, he bumped directly into Zhang Fangyuan and was almost thrown to the ground.
Zhang Fangyuan frowned: "Did you listen to me?"
"I listened and remembered."
Zhang Fangyuan was furious, but seeing that the man didn't seem to be very alert today, he softened his tone and asked, "Have you sold all the things?"
"Sold a chicken coop and some back ropes."
Later, his throat was so sore that he couldn't shout out his wares, his head was dizzy, and his whole body felt heavy. He had no choice but to go to a clinic to get medicine. He originally thought that a small clinic would be more affordable, but he unexpectedly walked into a black shop.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
Xu He raised his eyes to look at him, his face was already very red, as if one could feel the heat radiating from his skin through the air.
Zhang Fangyuan said nothing, grabbed the wrist of the staggering man again, and strode forward.
Xu He was a little panicked, but he didn't have the strength to break free, or even to ask what the person wanted to do. He was just dragged into a large clinic on the main street.
The courtyard-shaped two-story clinic was full of patients. The doctors and the medical boy were busy. Xu He felt a little awkward. He had never been to such a large clinic before. He didn't even know where to get the medicine. He was panicking when the person next to him said, "Wait here for a while. I'll go find the doctor."
Zhang Fangyuan placed him in the waiting area for patients to rest. He watched the familiar figure go to the counter to talk and negotiate with the doctor, acting as a relative would do. He didn't know if it was because the severity of the illness would make people weak, but he felt a sore nose and misty eyes when he was not paying attention.
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