Footsteps were heard shortly afterward, followed by a deep, resonant male voice.
"They're here."
Master Xia opened the door and saw a group of people standing there. Their clothes were covered in mud, and their faces were smeared with dirt from who-knows-where.
Because of an itchy hand, Xu Anbai couldn't resist pulling up some weeds and then touching his face, which was covered in mud. He then raised his big white teeth and spoke.
"Hello, Teacher Xia, we've come to see you."
After dropping them off, the young woman waved and left, asking them before she left if they wanted to come to her house for dinner.
Xu Anbai swallowed hard and refused.
Xia Hewei is seventy years old this year, but he looks like he is only in his fifties. He is tall and strong, and if it weren't for his gray hair, he would look very young.
"Why don't you come in first?" Xia He suggested after hearing the purpose of their visit.
"Okay, thank you, Teacher Xia."
Xia Hewei was a man who had seen many big scenes, but what was a bit tricky was that he was just about to eat when several people stared at his food with a faint green light emanating from their eyes. Except for one girl, Yun Nuan, who was doing a little better.
He looked him up and down a few more times, then murmured something.
"This girl's illness is so serious."
Yun Nuan turned to look at him and replied, "Hello, Teacher Xia, my name is Yun Nuan."
He roughly knew that the group of people who had come to see a doctor were probably coming to see this girl. Judging from their complexions, the others looked tired and hungry from their long journey, but she was the only one who was truly ill.
"Um, you guys put your things down and come eat first." As soon as Xia Hewei finished speaking, the others put their luggage down, washed their hands, tidied themselves up, and sat obediently at the table to wait.
Xia Hewei lives alone most of the year. He had just returned to Huaxi Village. The villagers were worried about him, so they sent some food to each household.
The table was laden with food, and he brought out two more stools from the room where the medicinal herbs were drying, so there were enough seats.
These people were polite; after washing their hands, they waited for Xia Hewei to sit down and speak. As soon as Xia Hewei spoke, they began to eat in an orderly fashion, their eating manners were elegant, but their appetites were quite large!
The food on the table was gone in no time. Xia Hewei had only eaten half a bowl of rice. He never expected that he would be unable to get enough to eat at home in his old age.
Lin Yu put down his chopsticks and smiled awkwardly, then began to explain how the group had come all the way to Huaxi Village that day—they had been starving for too long.
He rushed to catch a plane, then a high-speed train, and finally drove here. Speaking of the car, he seemed a little nervous, wondering if it would be okay to leave it at the village entrance.
Xia He waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine, it doesn't matter how many days it's left."
Lin Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief; the car was rented and he would have to return it later.
At the dinner table, only Yun Nuan was left eating slowly. Her bowl was piled high with food, and everyone basically put the food in her bowl first before starting to eat.
She had been hungry all day and her appetite was much better than usual. The bowl contained only light food, but it made her very hungry.
Jiang Miao was the only one there who knew Teacher Xia, which was why Teacher Xia was willing to let them in. A few years ago, Grandpa Jiang had come here for treatment and stayed for a while.
However, Jiang Miao had only been here once before, and when she came today, she had almost forgotten the way.
"Teacher Xia, do you have any good ideas about Yun Nuan's health?"
He pondered for a long time, glancing at Yun Nuan from time to time, before slowly uttering two words: "It's difficult."
The moment those two words were uttered, the lively atmosphere suddenly came to a standstill, and everyone froze in place.
The person in question lowered her eyes and slowly sipped the soup, which had a medicinal flavor and offered her some comfort.
Xia He paused for a moment, noticing that everyone's movements were less natural than before, as if they had asked a question that seemed to have caused the sky to fall. He then continued speaking.
"However, there is a way. You should rest tonight. I will examine Yun Nuwa's pulse tomorrow and then make a decision."
"Really, teacher? That's it, that's okay, right? Oh dear, you scared me to death!" Guan Mingyue clutched her chest. To be honest, those two words just now made her heart sink.
The courtyard is quite large, a two-story courtyard house. Both sides are covered with drying medicinal herbs. There is a small vegetable garden in the backyard, which is overgrown with weeds. Teacher Xia awkwardly pointed to a few medicinal herbs in the garden and said that they were planted by herself.
I was out for too long, and when I came back I found that the area around me was covered in grass.
They led the people up to the second floor. This place was originally intended for family members to stay in when they came back, but Teacher Xia's son and grandchildren have all gone to the city and rarely come back throughout the year. It's empty now.
The two boys stayed in his eldest son's room, and the girls were divided into two rooms: one for the guest room and the other for the bunk beds prepared for his grandchildren.
After making the arrangements, he looked at the clothes of the group and offered his suggestions.
“Your clothes probably don’t fit here. Go to town tomorrow and buy some things. Yun Nuwa’s illness will probably take a long time to heal. If you’re leaving in a few days, then disregard what I said.”
Teacher Xia left with his hands behind his back; he was in a good mood, enjoying the rare liveliness. After dinner, the group washed the dishes themselves, bringing some life to the otherwise quiet courtyard.
Perhaps because they were tired after a long day, everyone quickly fell asleep after getting ready for bed.
A light drizzle began to fall in the middle of the night, dripping from the tiled roofs onto the stone-paved road. By morning, the rain had stopped, and looking out the window from upstairs, the village was shrouded in mist.
The crowing of roosters gradually rose, followed by the barking of dogs. Children from some unknown family had already gotten up early and started visiting each other's homes.
Teacher Xia had already gotten up and washed. Looking up at the second floor, good heavens, not a single person was awake yet. He smiled helplessly, put on his clothes, and went out.
Many people greeted him along the way, and he responded with a smile. Several people, knowing that he had guests at his home, quickly asked him if he needed any help.
He waved his hand and said it was just a few kids, but he didn't stand on ceremony and asked if they had any extra vegetables so he could buy some from them.
That was his purpose in going out: to buy breakfast and some vegetables, otherwise he wouldn't have dinner to eat.
There's a small supermarket here, and further inside there's a guesthouse—the only one. Tourists also come to Huaxi Village; the scenery here is beautiful, and some young people like to come to places like this.
The supermarket was located a little to the left of the village entrance. After picking and choosing, he started to pay. It was the first time the female shop owner had ever seen Teacher Xia buy so many vegetables.
I couldn't help but ask
"You've come home? You bought so many groceries?"
Xia He took out some banknotes from his wallet, handed them to her, and said with a smile, "A few kids have come, and they'll probably be staying for a while. I'll be troubling you a lot in the future. How about this, I'll order groceries from you every day, and I'll pay a little extra for you to deliver them to me, okay?"
The female boss laughed heartily and waved her hand.
"What are you saying? No need, I'll just send it over directly. It's no big deal. Your guest is our guest too, Teacher Xia, you're too kind."
"Haha. Okay, thank you for your hard work. I have to go back now, everyone's probably up by now."
He carried a large pile of things but walked steadily. Just as he turned out of the alley and returned to the main road, he heard the sound of car wheels behind him. The person coming had big steps and a steady breathing.
He looked over and saw that the man had two suitcases on his left and right, a tall and upright figure, wearing a suit, with a cold and stern face, and he was indeed good-looking.
"Why are so many people suddenly coming here to find me?" Teacher Xia muttered to himself after glancing at the crowd. However, he didn't look at it much and was about to leave when the young man suddenly spoke up from behind him.
"Hello, I would like to ask how to get to Teacher Xia Hewei's house."
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