Chapter 66: Drinking Medicine

When the ingredients were cut, Xiaoguo did not stir-fry the vegetables immediately. After all, the bone broth would take a while. She could make use of this time to boil the Chinese medicine.

It would take two hours to brew the Chinese medicine. After dinner and a short break, the food would have been digested. Her brother could then drink the medicine and go to bed.

Xiaoguo brought the medicine stove to the courtyard, and lit the fire to start boiling the medicine. She kept watch over the heat. The fire could not be too strong or too low—the temperature had to be just right. At the same time, she had to make sure that it didn’t get burnt.

Xiaoguo left the medicine to brew and returned to the kitchen to start making the batter for the carrot pancakes.

The carrots were chopped into shreds and mixed with white flour and salt. The mixture was evenly stirred to become a thick and gooey batter.

A moderate amount of lard was poured into the pot. Then, a spoonful of batter was put into the hot oil. When one side had turned golden brown, the pancake was flipped over and cooked until the other side had turned the same color.

Halfway through the pancakes, Xiaoguo went to check on the medicine stove. When she returned, the pancakes were cooked. Xiaoguo scooped them onto a plate. The hot lard had imbued a nice golden hue to the pancakes and every piece was a wonderful mix of crisp and fragrant goodness.

Xiaoguo scooped all the pancakes onto a plate. At that moment, Zhuang Zhuang came over.

“Mother, the chickens and ducks laid five more eggs today.”

Zhuang Zhuang skillfully placed the eggs and duck eggs into the basket. Xiaoguo turned her body and looked over. During this period of time, the chickens and ducks had laid a lot of eggs. The two baskets were almost full.

Xiaoguo handed the pancakes to Zhuang Zhuang and asked him to bring it into the house. Zhuang Zhuang washed his hands and returned to the house with some chopsticks and a couple of bowls.

One piece of pork belly, sliced into pieces. A stalk of celery, cut into sections and blanched. In a heated pot, the pork belly was stir-fried until the oil was released. Some onions and ginger were added in to add fragrance. The celery was thrown in and stir-fried with everything in the pot. Salt was added before serving.

Zhuang Zhuang came over and brought the dishes into the house. Xiaoguo carried the bone soup herself as it was too heavy for Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo returned to the kitchen. Since she had so many eggs stashed away, she might as well add another egg dish for dinner. With that in mind, Xiaoguo took three eggs and two duck eggs, scrambled them together, and stir-fried them in the pot.

Zhuang Zhuang carried the plate of scrambled eggs back into the house and helped Qin Anming out.

“Let’s eat.”

Xiaoguo scooped a bowl of soup for Qin Anming. “Brother, a bowl of soup before the meal!”

Qin Anming took it and blew on it gently. When it was cooler, he had a mouthful. Qin Anming’s eyes lit up.

“This soup smells so good!”

Qin Anming gave a thumbs up for the soup. How should he describe it? It was fragrant, savory and smooth! These three words summarized the soup perfectly.

Zhuang Zhuang was also holding the soup that Xiaoguo had scooped for him. He blew on the soup and took a sip. Like his uncle, his eyes lit up and he was full of praise.

“You can’t drink too much even if it’s good. You shouldn’t eat too much for dinner.”

Xiaoguo instructed the two of them, and they nodded in acknowledgment. However, they did not look up at Xiaoguo. Xiaoguo smiled helplessly—she would just let them be.

After dinner, Zhuang Zhuang went to wash the dishes. Xiaoguo went to check on the medicine stove. When she was done, she returned to the house and looked at Qin Anming, who was still sitting in the dining room.

“Brother, wait a moment. I’ll make the bed for you.”

Qin Anming nodded. “I’ll help you.”

Xiaoguo stopped him and pulled him back to sit. “Sit down. It’ll be ready in no time.”

Feeling helpless, Qin Anming sat back down and watched Xiaoguo make the bed for him. He was filled with mixed emotions. In the blink of an eye, Xiaoguo had really grown up. He still remembered how he used to wash her hands and wipe her face. To think that the little baby at that time had grown up to be so awesome. Today, he had been observing Xiaoguo all day long. He saw how busy she had been the whole day, and how she took care of everything in an orderly manner. She had raised a good kid too. It turned out that the little child back then was able to support a family now…

“Brother! Brother!”

After Xiaoguo finished making the bed, she came out and saw Qin Anming sitting on the stool in a daze. She reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Qin Anming came back to his senses and looked at Xiaoguo’s puzzled gaze. He lowered his head and laughed.

“I think I am really getting old. I’m starting to reminisce about the past.”

“What! Brother, you’re only 23! You’re still young!”

Xiaoguo snorted, her tone full of indifference. But then she remembered that in ancient times, when girls were between 13 to 15 years of age, their parents would seek out potential husbands for them. Once they turned 15, they were considered to be adults and most girls would be married by then.

It was the same for the men. At Qin Anming’s age, most men would have had children that were around six or seven years old.

It was the same for Xiaoguo. She married Jiang Danhe when she just reached adulthood. When she was pregnant, she was only 16 years old.

Xiaoguo didn’t know what to say. She stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.

When Qin Anming heard Xiaoguo’s words, he chuckled and shook his head. “I’m in my prime!”

Xiaoguo chimed in, “Yes! You’re in your prime!”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Xiaoguo helped Qin Anming back into his room.

Sitting on the warm bed sheets, Qin Anming felt as if he was sitting in the sun. It had been a long time since he had smelled this scent. He was busy worrying about his meals everyday and had no time to care for the house. The bedding in his house hadn’t been sunned for a long time and they smelled of dampness.

Qin Anming lowered his head and covered his eyes which were brimming with tears.

“I’m going to check on your medicine.”

Xiaoguo said to him and walked out, unaware of the change in Qin Anming’s expressions.

Qin Anming wiped his tears and lay on the bed. He thought that he would grow old alone. No! He might not even live for that long.

He really didn’t expect to be reunited with his family. It felt so good!

After a while, Xiaoguo brought the medicine into the house. Afraid that he would find it bitter, she asked Zhuang Zhuang to get some white sugar from the kitchen.

At first, Qin Anming thought that Xiaoguo was looking down on him. As a man, he was not afraid of hardship!

With this thought in mind, Qin Anming raised his hand and drank the medicine in a gulp. He put down the bowl and looked at Xiaoguo with obstinance. One second, two seconds, three seconds later…

Zhuang Zhuang stood by his side. Seeing that something was happening, he seized the right moment and popped the sugar into Qin Anming’s mouth.

Xiaoguo was watching from the side. In the beginning, Qin Anming didn’t seem affected. But three seconds later, tears streamed down his face as the medicine was too bitter. But when he saw Zhuang Zhuang’s bold actions, he burst out in laughter.

This little kid! How very cute!

Perhaps due to the effects of the medicine, Qin Anming started to feel drowsy after a while. Xiaoguo covered him with a blanket and gently closed the windows, leaving only a small gap for air. To recover from a cold, one had to sweat it out. She closed the windows a little more to prevent him from catching a cold while perspiring.

Xiaoguo led Zhuang Zhuang back to the house and poured out a bowl of water. She got Zhuang Zhuang to place it in front of his uncle’s bed. Before she left the room, Xiaoguo had placed a stool in front of the bed. If Qin Anming got thirsty in the middle of the night, he could reach for water from the stool.

Zhuang Zhuang obediently brought the water over. Xiaoguo tidied up the bed and spread out the blankets.

When Zhuang Zhuang returned, Xiaoguo took out a book and asked him if he still wanted to study. Xiaoguo had no time today, and Zhuang Zhuang was following her around the whole day. He didn’t have time to rest, nor read.

Seeing Zhuang Zhuang nod, Xiaoguo was secretly delighted. “This child is quite studious. Yes! Unlike me!”

“Then we won’t be learning new words tonight as there isn’t enough time. We’ll just do revision starting from the first word!”

Zhuang Zhuang carefully took out a brush and paper. Xiaoguo flipped through the book, from the bookmarked page back to the first chapter. Xiaoguo was very surprised. She didn’t realize that Zhuang Zhuang had already learned so much!

The thickness of the pages in her hands were pretty substantial. Time really passed quickly!

Xiaoguo sighed. She looked into Zhuang Zhuang’s serious eyes and started asking questions…