Excuse
After the night patrol, Chen Bozhou found that he could no longer bear the days of separation from Yun Wu. So, he began to rack his brains to find various excuses to go to Yun's house.
On the first day, he stood outside the Yun family's low courtyard gate, carrying a large bundle of freshly chopped firewood. His voice was so loud that it could almost alarm half the village: "Grandma Yun, my father asked me to bring some firewood!"
Yunwu was drying herbs in the yard when he looked up at the sound and saw Chen Bozhou standing outside, smiling brightly in the sunshine. He was slightly startled, and before he could say anything, Grandma Yun came out of the house on crutches.
"It's Bozhou. Come in and sit down." Grandma Yun greeted with a smile.
Chen Bozhou strode into the yard and placed the bundle of firewood neatly in the corner, his movements as smooth as if he were at home. After putting the firewood away, he did not leave. His eyes swept around the yard and finally landed on the slightly damaged eaves.
"The thatch on this roof needs mending," he said casually. "It's going to leak if it rains in a few days."
Yun Wu followed his gaze and said softly, "After this busy period..."
"Why wait!" Chen Bozhou immediately replied, "I happen to be free today, I'll help you make up for it now!"
Without waiting for Yunwu's response, he had already climbed up the ladder swiftly and began to check the condition of the roof. Yunwu, holding the ladder from below, looked up at his busy figure with a complicated look.
Grandma Yun sat on a small stool in the yard, doing needlework with her hands, with a smile in the corner of her eyes, but saying nothing.
Chen Bozhou worked on the roof for an entire afternoon. He not only patched up the damaged areas but also reinforced the entire roof. When he came down, he was covered in thatch scraps and his face was covered in dust.
Yunwu silently handed over a wet cloth and said softly, "Thank you."
"It's just a piece of cake." Chen Bozhou grinned, took the towel and wiped his face roughly, but his eyes never left the clouds.
The next day, Chen Bozhou came again, this time carrying two large buckets of water.
"I see your water tank is almost empty," he said as he walked straight towards the tank. "I'm going to fetch water, so I'll help you pick up two loads while I'm there."
Yun Wu was sorting the herbs and put down her work when she saw this: "Don't bother, I can do it myself..."
"No trouble!" Chen Bozhou had already poured the water into the vat quickly, turned around and walked out again, "I'll pick up another load, it will be full soon!"
After running back and forth three times, until the water tank was almost full and about to overflow, Shen Bozhou finally stopped, satisfied. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, took the bowl of water handed to him by Yunwu, and drank it all in one gulp.
"I'll come back tomorrow and take a look," he put down the bowl, his eyes sparkling. "If there's less water, I'll go get more."
Yunwu looked at his sweat-soaked collar and said softly, "You... don't have to do this."
Chen Bozhou seemed not to hear, his eyes drawn to the chicken coop in the corner of the yard again: "This chicken coop should be repaired too. I'll bring some new bamboo tomorrow!"
On the third day, he really came carrying a few green bamboo poles. He not only repaired the chicken coop, but also built a sunshade on top of it.
"The sun is very strong in summer and chickens are afraid of the heat." He explained as he fixed the bamboo pole.
Yunwu stood by, watching him skillfully split bamboo and weave it, and finally couldn't help asking, "How come you can do everything?"
Chen Bozhou kept moving his hands without looking up: "My father said that a man should know a little bit about everything so that he can take care of the family." After saying this, he seemed to realize something, his ears slightly reddened, and he quickly added, "I mean, take care of your own family."
Yunwu didn't ask any more questions, turned around and went into the house to pour him a bowl of herbal tea.
In the days that followed, Chen Bozhou came almost every day. One day, he said he had leftover food at home and wanted to send some over. The next day, he said he had hunted too much game and wanted to share some with Grandma Yun to nourish her. The day after tomorrow, he said he had found some wood in town suitable for a medicine cabinet and would buy it to help Yunwu build a new one.
His excuses were varied and sometimes even full of loopholes, but he never minded. Every time he came, he would find some work to do, repairing things, carrying water and chopping wood, and he was very busy and happy.
Yunwu initially resisted, then acquiesced, and now became accustomed to it. He still didn't talk much, but he would quietly hand over tools while Shen Bozhou was working, cool the tea in advance when the weather was hot, and promptly offer ointment when Shen Bozhou got a new wound on his hand.
Grandma Yun saw all of this. She always smiled as she watched the two teenagers busy in the yard. Sometimes, when Chen Bozhou looked at Yunwu too bluntly, she would pretend to lower her head to sew, but the corners of her mouth would rise uncontrollably.
That day, Chen Bozhou came to help Yunwu sort the herbs. The two of them sat on small stools in the courtyard, sorting the herbs into different categories and drying them on bamboo plaques.
"This is honeysuckle, which clears away heat and detoxifies; this is forsythia, which reduces swelling and disperses lumps..." Yunwu explained softly, her fingers gently stroking each herb.
Chen Bozhou studied very seriously, asking questions from time to time. His eyes were mostly fixed on Yunwu's face, watching his focused expression, watching his pursed lips, watching his clear eyes when he occasionally looked up.
"You remember it so clearly." Chen Bozhou admired sincerely.
"Practice makes perfect." Yun Wu said lightly, but her ears turned slightly red.
The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the two of them. The yard was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional bird song.
Grandma Yun looked out of the window and saw Chen Bozhou secretly giving the best shade to Yunwu, while he himself was basking in the sun; she saw Yunwu quietly pushing the bowl of water towards Chen Bozhou, although she didn't say anything.
The old woman shook her head, a pleased smile on her face. She'd lived most of her life, so how could she not understand the minds of young people? It was just that some things still needed to be broken through on their own.
After sorting the herbs, Chen Bozhou rushed to chop wood. He was strong, and with each blow of his axe, the wood cracked. Yunwu was sitting in the shade of a tree not far away, weaving a bamboo basket, occasionally looking up at him.
"Bozhou has been quite diligent lately." Grandma Yun walked to her grandson and said casually.
Yunwu paused and said softly, "He has always been enthusiastic."
"You're enthusiastic, of course," Grandma Yun said, smiling even more broadly, "but coming to our house every day like this, I'm afraid you have other motives."
Yunwu lowered her head, her ears turned red, and she stopped talking.
Chen Bozhou finished chopping wood and came over, sweating profusely. Yunwu handed him a bowl of cold tea and watched him gulp it down, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.
"Tomorrow..." Chen Bozhou put down the bowl and tried to find an excuse.
"I'm going to the back mountains to collect herbs tomorrow," Yunwu suddenly interrupted him. "I heard there's a rare seven-petal lotus there."
Chen Bozhou's eyes lit up: "I'll go with you! The road back in the mountain is dangerous, I'll help you carry the medicine basket!"
This time, Yunwu did not refuse, but just nodded slightly.
Chen Bozhou was so happy that he almost jumped up. He tried hard to suppress the smile on his face and said calmly, "It's a deal then. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
Before leaving, he turned back and said, "By the way, I think the gate is a little loose. I'll bring the tools to fix it tomorrow!"
Yunwu looked at his hurriedly departing back, and finally couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips.
Grandma Yun came over with a cane and patted her grandson on the shoulder: "He's a good boy."
Yun Wu looked in the direction where Chen Bozhou disappeared and whispered, "I know."
The setting sun stained the Yun family courtyard in a warm golden hue. The neatly stacked firewood, the overflowing jars of water, the newly repaired chicken coop, and the roof all spoke of a young man's clumsy yet sincere heart.
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