Chapter 76 Suffering
"However, among the several villages nearby, only Dayangshu Village has a doctor. But it's windy and snowy right now, and it's completely dark. I guess he won't come even if we invite him."
"Well, you stay here peacefully. I will go get you a doctor tomorrow morning and have him take a closer look at you."
"Thank you, uncle." Zhu Yongwu thanked him again and again.
I really met a kind person.
Zhu Yongwu felt warm in his heart.
Jiang Youcheng and Liu cleaned up a room in the east wing for the father and son to live in.
The house is usually kept clean, but no one lives there usually, so there is no fireplace. People just put a charcoal brazier inside and use it to warm up the quilt, so it's not cold.
After some tidying up, Zhu Yongwu sat down on the bed. While Jiang Youcheng was the only one around, he took out a purse from his underwear and wanted to give Jiang Youcheng money.
"Uncle, my aunt and sister were here the whole time, so it's hard for me to take them. It's disturbing for my father and me to be here. You take these."
Zhu Yongwu took out a piece of silver and stuffed it into Jiang Youcheng's hand. "Don't be polite. This is what I should do. My leg will have to bother my uncle and aunt for a few days. I have to ask for a doctor. My uncle and aunt have to worry about everything. If you don't take it, I will feel really bad."
Jiang Youcheng and Liu may have good intentions, but it is not right for them, father and son, to eat and drink for free.
Paying for food and lodging is only natural.
Jiang Youcheng thought about it and took the money. "Okay, I'll take it first. When you recover from your injury, I'll refund you the money and give you the money back."
Their family took good care of Zhu Yongwu and his son and did not treat them unfairly. They just treated the relationship as landlord and tenant, so they were able to take the money.
Seeing this, Zhu Yongwu chuckled.
Jiang Youcheng talked to Zhu Yongwu for a while, prepared a pot of hot water for him, and told him the location of the chamber pot to prevent him from losing it when he got up at night.
"Okay, you guys go to bed early too. If anything happens at night, call us. This is close to the east room where we live, so we can hear you if you call us."
Jiang Youcheng added one more word of caution, "Don't be polite. Since you've paid, you're a tenant, and the landlord has to do his best to take care of you."
The latter sentence has some joking elements.
Zhu Yongwu was amused, "Don't worry, uncle, I will definitely treat this place as my own home. It's getting late, uncle should go to bed quickly."
"Oh." Jiang Youcheng went back to his room.
Zhu Guangtai closed the door, bolted it, took off his clothes, and lay down obediently next to Zhu Yongwu.
The quilt was warm, and the little guy stretched out his legs in comfort.
"Dad, does your ankle still hurt?" Zhu Guangtai asked.
"It's much better now. It doesn't hurt as much as before." Zhu Yongwu answered truthfully.
When I was walking in the snow and wind before, the crutch made of a branch was actually not very useful. When walking, I had to continue to use force on my sprained foot. It was icy and snowy outside, and my shoes and trouser legs were covered in mud and water, which made the injured foot suffer even more pain.
At that time, my ankle was really painful, it was excruciatingly painful.
But now that I have warmed up, I can lie down peacefully in the warm bed. My ankles have also been cleaned, and even if it hurts now, it really doesn't hurt that much.
"Uncle Jiang said that we should ask a doctor to come and see Dad early next morning." Zhu Guangtai said with his little face raised.
"Well, Uncle Jiang's family are all good people." Zhu Yongwu smiled and touched Zhu Guangtai's little head, "It's getting late, go to bed."
After a whole day's journey, Zhu Yongwu could see that Zhu Guangtai's face was full of fatigue.
Hearing the word "sleep", Zhu Guangtai yawned loudly, and shrank his little head into the quilt. He hugged Zhu Yongwu's arm tightly and closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again and stretched his little head upwards, "Dad, can we find my great-grandfather's house?"
"It should be possible." Zhu Yongwu touched Zhu Guangtai's head again.
To be honest, Zhu Yongwu had no idea about this matter.
He only knew that his grandfather's home was in Anmi County, but he had no idea whether it was in the county seat or in a village within the county.
Moreover, since he was born, he had never been to his maternal grandparents' home, nor had he met anyone from his maternal grandparents' home. He only heard from several aunts who were on good terms with his mother that his mother had mentioned that there were two older sisters and two older brothers in the family.
So many years have passed, and I don’t know if my grandparents’ home is still there, who else is in the family, and whether they know of his existence.
Besides, they haven't seen each other for so many years, so naturally they don't have much affection. And after his mother passed away, no one from his maternal grandparents came to see him, so I guess they didn't care about him either.
With such a relationship, if you go to the past, you may not be able to get along harmoniously.
Zhu Yongwu knew this, but he had nowhere else to go right now.
Most of the villages are of the same clan and surname, and are mostly hostile to outsiders. If Zhu Guangtai were to settle down in an ordinary village, he would have to live a cautious life, and he would also be bullied by the children in the village.
But if he went to settle down in a town or a county, he would not have enough money to buy a house. Moreover, he would have to go out to work and earn money, which would require him to travel far away. Then he would have to leave Zhu Guangtai alone at home all the time. He did not know what the neighbors would be like, and he was extremely worried.
Anyway…
Zhu Yongwu also had many concerns, and he didn't know which path would be better.
But now, he doesn't have to worry.
With an injured leg, you can't go anywhere.
This actually made his shaky heart feel a little more settled.
Especially since this family seemed very warm and sincere, and they were really good people, which made him feel more at ease.
Zhu Yongwu pulled the quilt upwards: "It's okay if you can't find it. Dad is here. We are together, and wherever we go is home."
"Yeah!" Zhu Guangtai nodded vigorously and grinned, "With Dad here, anywhere is home."
"Go to sleep quickly." Zhu Yongwu urged.
But he didn't hear Zhu Guangtai's response for a long time. He looked down and saw that the little guy had his eyes closed and his breathing was even, as if he was already fast asleep, but his arms were still exposed, hugging his arms tightly.
Zhu Yongwu pulled his arm, but it didn't move.
In the past two years, Zhu Guangtai has been sleeping like this, fearing that the two of them would be separated.
The child really suffers having a father like him.
Zhu Yongwu frowned and tried twice more before he gently took Zhu Guangtai's hand away from his arm and put it back into the quilt. Seeing that he did not wake him up, he breathed a sigh of relief, blew out the oil lamp on the table and closed his eyes.
The next morning, Jiang Youcheng went out early to Dayangshu Village to ask for a doctor.
Because of the heavy snow, it was difficult to travel, and by the time we brought Doctor Yang home, the sun was already high in the sky.
(End of this chapter)
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