"Madam, we have only two rooms. One is for us old couple. This one is for you and your husband," the auntie enthusiastically introduced this room to Xiao An after sending away the village doctor. "Although this room is a little small and messy, the kang is good. It was the room where our son and daughter-in-law lived before. Now they are going to sell ginseng in the interior with the villagers, so it's a good place for you to live."
Xiao An looked around the small room and the cracked earthen walls. There were a few ginsengs hanging on the wall and the man sleeping on the kang. She felt extremely embarrassed. She wanted to say, "Auntie, I can just live with you." But when she saw the aunt's greasy hair and the strong smell of tobacco on her body, Xiao An swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She nodded to the aunt and said with a smile, "That's fine. Auntie, thank you and uncle so much for today. Otherwise, I would be at a loss."
"It's really unfortunate. Such a strong man fainted on the ground because of the cold. You can see how uncomfortable he is. He must have endured it for a long time, otherwise he wouldn't have fainted so suddenly." The aunt looked at Pang Yi who was unconscious on the kang and couldn't help but sighed. She said, "Just like our boy, he loves his wife. He must be afraid that he would fall ill and leave you alone in the wild. He endured it all the way. When he saw that there were people living here, he relaxed and fainted. He is really a good child who knows the cold and the warmth."
Xiao An was stunned when she heard what she said. When she looked at Pang Yi again, she felt inexplicably agitated. She quickly looked away and then looked at the aunt again. The aunt rubbed her hands and said to Xiao An with a smile: "Don't worry too much. After you drink the medicine, cover yourself well overnight and sweat. You will be 70% to 80% better tomorrow."
"Yes, thank you so much, uncle," Xiao An said from the bottom of her heart. She took out two coins from her purse and handed them to the aunt, saying, "Aunt, this is money for you to stay overnight."
"How can I spend so much?" The aunt was startled. She looked at the two silver coins in front of her and hesitated for a while. Then she took out one silver coin and said to Xiao An, "The money for overnight stay, meal, doctor's fee and medicine, all added together, it doesn't cost one silver coin. When you leave, I will give you another three hundred coins."
Xiao An said hurriedly: "Auntie, no need..."
"That won't do. I know that noble people like you don't care about the loose money, but I can't take advantage of you for nothing." The aunt insisted.
"Then I'll trouble you to give me..." Xiao An said hurriedly, but she stuttered again. She looked at Pang Yi, then lowered her voice and whispered to her aunt, "Cook a pot of ginseng chicken soup for my husband. He has been on the road all the time and is very tired. He needs to nourish his body. You can take this silver."
"Okay, I'll go make some chicken soup for you so you can drink it tonight." The aunt said readily, while taking another coin from Xiao An.
"You... don't get the wrong idea. I'm just... I'm afraid that people will find out..." After the aunt left, Xiao An sat on the edge of the kang awkwardly, looking at the man sleeping on the kang. Her tongue was tied. After a long time, she muttered to herself, "But what flaws are there that I'm afraid people will find out?"
Yes, what's the flaw? Why are you afraid of people finding out?
Xiao An's face turned even redder. Seeing Pang Yi's equally red cheek, Xiao An silently wrung a handkerchief from the basin and gently covered Pang Yi's burning cheek, wiping it gently again and again while mumbling in an embarrassed voice: "Don't, don't think wrongly, I just... I just feel sorry for you, otherwise I wouldn't care about you..."
Naturally, Pang Yi would not have any bad thoughts, and what's more, he was still in a coma, making him even more unconscious. But Xiao An was very shy, and somehow she felt that Pang Yi would see it. After simply wiping Pang Yi's face, Xiao An hurriedly put down the handkerchief in her hand, pushed the door open and went out to the kitchen to see if Pang Yi's medicine was ready.
…
Pang Yi woke up in the evening. He felt sore all over and couldn't get off the kang. He drank some medicine on the kang and was about to go to sleep. Then he saw Xiao An bringing in a big bowl of ginseng chicken soup.
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