Apology

When Jiang Danhe saw Xiaoguo getting up, he stood up with Zhuang Zhuang in his arms.

“What are you doing?”

Xiaoguo looked at the two little tails following behind her and felt a little helpless. Previously, she only had one little tail. Now, there is an additional big tail. They are really father and son.

“We’ll follow you and do whatever you do.”

The two of them spoke at the same time, in identical tones.

Xiaoguo shrugged and said, “As you wish.” Since she’s going to cook, they can help out.

“Bring the meat to the kitchen first.”

As she passed by the courtyard, Xiaoguo directed the two tails behind her effortlessly.

They seemed very happy too. After acknowledging her instructions, they went ahead to grab the meat.

In the end, Jiang Danhe managed to pick up a lot more meat than Zhuang Zhuang since he had longer limbs.

Seeing that Jiang Danhe had had an arduous journey. Xiaoguo decided to whip up some herbal soup for lunch.

She started by blanching the chickens she had bought. When the water was boiling, the scum in the pot was scooped out. Then Xiaoguo added the herbal packs that she had prepared earlier into the pot. Without adding any other condiments, she left the soup to simmer in the claypot.

During this time, Jiang Danhe walked with Zhuang Zhuang around the house to familiarize himself with the environment. It had been many years since he had returned, so he was really not familiar with the place. It was good to take a walk around.

Zhuang Zhuang happily introduced all the animals in the courtyard to Jiang Danhe.

At first, Xiaoguo was following the two of them, but when they passed by the vegetable plot, she stopped to pick some vegetables. When Jiang Danhe saw her squatting down, he secretly glanced at Zhuang Zhuang and squatted down as well.

Zhuang Zhuang continued walking ahead by himself. He was still introducing the animals to Jiang Danhe. However, when he turned around, there was no one behind him.

Looking at the two black heads in the vegetable field, Zhuang Zhuang snorted loudly to express his dissatisfaction.

When Xiaoguo heard this, she nudged Jiang Danhe.

Jiang Danhe sighed helplessly and handed the picked vegetables to Xiaoguo. He then continued to follow Zhuang Zhuang to get to know his animal friends.

Xiaoguo snickered behind him. These two are hilarious.

After the herbal soup was cooked, Xiaoguo brought all the dishes and rice to the table. She scooped a big bowl of chicken soup and asked Jiang Danhe to follow her to Mrs. Yang’s house.

Since it was time for lunch, everyone was gathered around the dining table. Only Mrs. Yang’s mother-in-law was still resting in the room.

Everyone from the Yang family was watching Jiang Danhe curiously. Xiaoguo was giving Mrs Yang a quick summary of what happened when the latter patted XIaoguo angrily. “Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?”

“I haven’t had the chance to tell you. Who knew that he would suddenly come back and end up scaring your mother-in-law.”

Knowing that she was in the wrong, Xiaoguo apologized earnestly.

Jiang Danhe’s heart ached for Xiaoguo. Mrs. Yang’s physique was double that of XIaoguo. How painful it must feel for her to be patted like this? He was about to step forward to apologize and block the blows for Xiaoguo when Brother Yang pulled him aside to talk to him.

After they were done catching up, there was some movement in the room. Xiaoguo quickly brought Jiang Danhe to the side as she was worried about him scaring the old Mrs. Yang again. Xiaoguo and Mrs. Yang went into the room first and let Jiang Danhe wait by the door. He could keep watch outside and enter later.

Xiaoguo brought the chicken soup to the older Mrs. Yang and sat on the bed. She called out softly, “Auntie?”

“Huh? Xiaoguo.”

When the senior Mrs. Yang saw that it was Xiaoguo, she immediately sat up.

Seeing this, Xiaoguo quickly helped her up. “Auntie, are you alright?”

“Sigh, I’m fine now.”

Mrs. Yang said, “Mother, look. This is the chicken soup that Xiaoguo brought over. She said it was brewed with herbs. Smell it. It is so fragrant.”

“Yes, it does smell good.”

The elder Mrs. Yang sniffed at the fragrance in the air. Earlier on, she was woken up by this smell. She didn’t expect it to smell even better up close.

“Mother, it’s still a little hot. You can drink it later.”

Old Mrs. Yang nodded. Mrs. Yang then placed the chicken soup on the table and gave Xiaoguo a look.

“Auntie, did Danhe scare you just now? I’m really sorry.”

Xiaoguo received Mrs. Yang’s hint and brought up the subject immediately.

“What?” When Mrs. Yang heard this, her face turned pale again. “Is Danhe really not dead?”

“No, no.”

Xiaoguo continued to speak and tried to calm her down. When she was calmer, Xiaoguo explained everything to her.

Only then did the older Mrs. Yang become more composed. When the time was right, Xiaoguo called Jiang Danhe in.

It wasn’t until she saw him in person that the old Mrs. Yang really believed it. She was overjoyed. “That’s great! That’s great!”

It was obvious that she was really excited.

After chatting for a while more, Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe excused themselves under the pretext of allowing the elder Mrs. Yang to drink the chicken soup.

Back at home, Zhuang Zhuang was already waiting anxiously. The food on the table was too tempting. He really couldn’t take it anymore. When would his parents be back?

Just as Zhuang Zhuang was about to call for the two of them, they finally returned.

Jiang Danhe was already starving. The first thing he did when he returned was to wash his hands and eat.

Xiaoguo scooped a bowl of soup for him. A bowl of soup before a meal was better than a good prescription.

After the meal, Jiang Danhe looked a little tired. Xiaoguo asked him to go back to his room to rest. She had intended for him to go to another room, but he went straight to XIaoguo’s room and dived into the bed.

Seeing him like this, Xiaoguo was too embarrassed to pull him up again. She had no choice but to cover him with a blanket. “Go to sleep, and sleep well.”

Jiang Danhe, who had his back to her, smiled to himself. He had gotten his way.

After Xiaoguo covered him with a blanket, she left quietly. When she reached the door, she bumped into Zhuang Zhuang, who was about to enter. Xiaoguo quickly stopped him.

“Mother?”

“Zhuang Zhuang.” Xiaoguo led Zhuang Zhuang further away from the door before saying, “Your father is sleeping. Go and sleep in that room.”

The boy rubbed his eyes to show that he understood. He turned around and returned to another room.

When Jiang Danhe woke up, the sun was almost setting.

He sat up in bed and stretched. It was rare for him to have a good sleep. His entire body felt much more relaxed.

As soon as he woke up, he looked around for Xiaoguo and finally found her and Zhuang Zhuang in the kitchen.

“You’re awake?”

Xiaoguo was teaching Zhuang Zhuang how to identify the Chinese herbs that would be used to make soup for dinner when she looked up and saw Jiang Danhe leaning against the kitchen door frame.

Perhaps it was because he was at home, Jiang Danhe’s expression was exceptionally relaxed at this moment. He had been standing at the door for a long time, quietly watching the mother and son playing in the house.

“I’m awake.” Jiang Danhe nodded and walked towards the two of them. “Do you know Chinese medicine?”

He suddenly felt that his wife was more capable than he had imagined.

“A little bit, I can remember all the herbs that can be used for cooking. But I am not well-versed with herbs that are used for medicinal purposes.”

Xiaoguo fiddled with the herbs using one hand while explaining the names and uses of each herb to Zhuang Zhuang.

Jiang Danhe looked at Xiaoguo, who seemed to be glowing. Listening to her clear and moving voice, even he, a layman who knew nothing about herbs, could easily remember her words.

Xiaoguo tied up the bag of herbs and threw it into the casserole. Inside was a big, meaty duck that had been blanched a while ago.

It was a habit of Xiaoguo to prepare soup for every meal. However, the soup dishes would be replaced by herbal soups from today onwards. If there was any difference between normal soups and herbal soups, the biggest difference was that the medicinal properties were stronger in the latter.

Of course, the herbal smell was also stronger. Fortunately, Xiaoguo was very precise with the portions she used, so the herbal taste wouldn’t be too overpowering. In fact, it was all thanks to the perfect combination of the herbs and meat that the soup could taste so good and yet possess medicinal effects at the same time.

Xiaoguo looked at the plates that were always licked clean after each meal, and felt very proud of herself.

As she was in a good mood, Xiaoguo even started humming a tune. This was perplexing for the father and son who were washing the dishes.