"Master Miao, could you tell Grandma and the others that I'm planning something big after the New Year? Could they stay in the county and work for me for a few months?"
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. Looking at Huo Xiaolong, who was eating squid while talking to her, Miao Cuifang felt that time hadn't changed. She was still that cheeky, third-party kid from back then.
"OK."
This year, the Fengyue Tower was even more crowded, not only with family members, but also with Doctor Gu.
The old man was angered by Huo Xiaolong. A while ago, the young girl brought Hou Xiangxiang to the clinic with a bundle of medicinal herbs, smiling broadly as she said...
"Grandpa Gu, could you please get me some more pills?"
The old doctor thought to himself, "How many can we have if we don't fight or cause trouble? If we want the kids, we can have them. They've all grown up around me; how could I not have feelings for them?" So the old man replied...
"Tell me how much you want, and Grandpa will make it for you."
Huo Xiaolong used his arm to swing a large bundle, almost as big as her, from behind him and said...
"Not much, Grandpa. You can finish all of these for me. Little Sister also brought a basket of red berries."
Looking at these aged medicinal herbs, Gu Shilin, whose hair had turned a bit whiter than a few years ago, regretted his decision to come to Pingyang County for the first time.
He still can't understand why medicinal herbs that are priceless elsewhere are sold wholesale to Huo Xiaolong.
At first, he felt sorry for the thing, thinking how much damage it would cause as it fell to the ground with a clatter.
The old man eventually got used to it; his white hair must be from worrying about those two ancestors.
"Grandpa Gu, just tell me what medicinal herbs you want, and I have them all. If you don't have any, I'll plant them for you right now." Huo Xiaolong looked at her expressionless elder, knowing in her heart that the workload was too heavy and she needed to comfort him.
Doctor Gu remained expressionless, taking it as a joke. After all, He Yi and Cen Ang had said the same thing before: ginseng was grown in the ground.
The old man now has more pills than he can use. He can retrieve anything that is inseparable from the body.
I wonder if the King of Hell will make things difficult for me when I get to the King of Hell's palace.
"Alright, just leave it here. Grandpa doesn't want anything. Just don't upset me too much," Doctor Gu finally said.
Accept your fate. This is your destiny. This is the price you pay for seeing medicinal herbs and the Thousand Red Fruit.
"It's alright, Master, I'll help you with it. Besides, my senior brothers are all back now."
It's winter now, so being in the alchemy room isn't too unbearable; in fact, it's quite comfortable. But the moment the firecrackers went off outside, the old man felt a little resentful.
Why should they be able to enjoy the New Year while I have to lead a bunch of apprentices in a miserable alchemy process?
"Stop, everyone, young apprentice, put out the fire," Doctor Gu said as he walked out of the alchemy room.
"Why stop, Master? I still have to cook during the New Year. Let's have a good meal together tonight."
"What are you doing? Your master will take you to freeload."
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to go out for a free meal on New Year's Eve?"
The young apprentice doctor has grown into a man and works at Doctor Gu's clinic, assisting the old man. Over the years, Doctor Gu has come to regard him as a qualified doctor, but the boy has always been unwilling to go out and gain experience, so he stays by his side to serve him.
"What's wrong with that? I'll just go to my apprentice's house for a free meal."
"Call out your senior brothers, tidy them up, change into proper clothes, and head to the red-light district."
"Okay!"
The young apprentice wanted to try to dissuade him, but upon hearing that they were going to the brothel, his mouth watered uncontrollably; the food at the brothel was truly delicious.
Lan Tingche watched from the fourth floor as his sisters bustled about below. Huo Xiaolong and Hou Xiangxiang stood beside them, along with two children in the same pose as them.
"I'm already sixteen, why won't my sister and mother let me help them?" Huo Xiaolong asked, picking at his fingers out of boredom.
“I’m already nineteen, and my mom doesn’t let me do it either,” the girl replied naturally.
Lan Tingche listened to the two talking without saying a word. He was the oldest, seven or eight years older than Long'er.
"Tingche, come down and try on the clothes your aunt sewed for you." Downstairs, He Yi waved to Lan Tingche on the fourth floor.
“I feel like your mother treats him very well,” the little girl said, leaning against Huo Xiaolong.
“My mother pitied him because he had no parents.”
He put on his padded jacket, looked at the embroidery on it, stroked it, and then turned to He Yi and said...
"Thank you, Aunt He."
"You silly child, why are you being so distant with your aunt?"
Then He Yi picked up another women's padded jacket and said...
"Could you help your auntie see what looks good embroidered on the hem of her dress? And what stitch would be best?"
The man picked up the jacket, looked at it, and said...
“It would look nice to embroider a little dragon using the Hou family's needlework technique; it would be suitable for the dragon to wear.”
"Embroidering dragons on clothes is taboo." He Yi was both amused and exasperated. Of course, she knew what was suitable for her son, but you can't just embroider anything.
"It's alright in the border town."
“Aunt He, please don’t do too much needlework. I really like the clothes. I’ll embroider Long’er’s clothes for her.”
After finishing his studies, Lan Tingche had nothing to do except practice martial arts. His maternal grandfather handled the affairs of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion. Seeing Lu Wangji tinkering with things for Mantuo every day, he also went to learn embroidery from the Hou family's embroiderers. Now, half of the clothes in Huo Xiaolong's room were made by him.
Unfortunately, the other person had excellent taste, and on top of that, Long'er was beautiful, which made the eagle so angry that its face turned purple.
After saying that, the man picked up his jacket and put it in his room.
Huo Shuwen, standing nearby, was practically glaring at Lan Tingche. He Yi nudged him with her elbow and said...
"Don't be so fierce, we've grown up together."
The eagle just doesn't understand. Women have a strong sense of crisis about the "green tea" tactics among women, so why doesn't it work on men?
"If he doesn't have any other intentions, I'll twist my head off and let you play with it," Huo Shuwen said to He Yi, taking a deep breath.
"So what if I have it?" Huo Shuwen was a little confused by He Yi's question.
Cen Ang was helping out in the backyard, so the woman whispered in the man's ear.
“As long as Long’er doesn’t mean it that way, Tingche will never reveal his true feelings.”
“I know I’m a bit selfish as a mother, but Wen-ge, look how happy Ting-che is to be a concubine. If Long’er is going to find someone in the future, she should find someone like him.”
"The kind of person I'd be willing to give my life for."
"As a mother, all I want is for my daughter to be happy and joyful."
"If she wants someone to be with her until she grows old, then she should get married; if she wants to be single and carefree, then she can stay single forever."
The woman folded her padded jacket neatly, smiled at the man who was still stunned by her, nodded at him, and continued speaking.
"You've come to your senses, General Huo."
The eagle composed itself, lowered its head, and replied.
“Then I don’t like him either. All men who covet my daughter deserve to be beaten.”
"Then there's no other way. It's too late to put it back in and let it regenerate."
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