The Hoe Scare

“… Brother!”

Xiaoguo’s pupils reflected the scene of the hoe falling beside her.

In the end, it landed with a cloud of dust at her feet. The sharp edge of the hoe had gotten embedded in the ground just inches away from her feet.

Xiaoguo hugged Zhuang Zhuang, who was buried in her arms, and was completely shocked. She stared blankly at Qin Anming.

She really thought that she was going to die. Her heart almost stopped beating in that instant.

“Ahem, Xiaoguo? Zhuang Zhuang! You’re back!!”

A look of joy appeared on Qin Anming’s pale face. He sized up Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang with concern in his eyes. “Let’s go. Cough, cough. Let’s go home.”

Xiaoguo looked at Qin Anming, who was sweating profusely. He was swaying as he walked—it seemed like he had used all his strength to throw the hoe earlier.

Xiaoguo put down Zhuang Zhuang, who had recovered from his shock, so that he could walk on his own. She quickly went forward to help Qin Anming who was walking unsteadily.

“I’m fine. Cough, cough, cough.”

“You are fine?” Xiaoguo held on to Qin Anming with all her might. Feeling his unusually warm body temperature, she frowned and said, “You are coughing non-stop. What is going on?”

Hearing the heartache in Xiaoguo’s voice, Qin Anming pretended to be fine and comforted her. “I’m fine. I am just too excited to see you guys!”

As he spoke, he deliberately puffed up his chest to show Xiaoguo how healthy he was.

But after a few seconds, he immediately bent down and coughed again.

“Hey, stop putting on a brave front. I can’t move you if you collapse outside the house.”

Xiaoguo couldn’t help but feel a little angry. She wasn’t angry at him for not taking care of himself. She was angry because her heart ached for him. Why was he sick again?

Zhuang Zhuang opened the door first and waved away the puppies who jumped at the sight of him. He didn’t have time to play with them now, he would play with them later.

“Haha, cough, cough… Zhuang Zhuang has grown quite a bit.” Qin Anming couldn’t stand Xiaoguo’s aggressive gaze, so he deliberately tried to talk about something so that Xiaoguo wouldn’t harp on his health again.

There was no way Xiaoguo was going to let him get his way, but on second thought, this wasn’t the time to talk about it. “…I have only been gone for less than a month.”

Qin Anming wanted to say something after hearing her words, but when he opened his mouth, he started coughing again. Xiaoguo sighed and patted his back to calm him down.

After Qin Anming stopped coughing, he felt a little embarrassed. Just moments ago, he was claiming to be fine, but the truth is now revealed.

“Stop talking and come into the house.”

Xiaoguo looked at Qin Anming, who was about to speak, and stopped him.

Qin Anming nodded and followed Xiaoguo into the house. It had taken him a lot of effort to get out of the house earlier. If Xiaoguo wasn’t around, he would have to walk and take many breaks in between to return to the house.

Xiaoguo put the hoe aside and reminded Zhuang Zhuang, who was following behind them, “Zhuang Zhuang, close the door.”

“Oh!”

Zhuang Zhuang turned around to close the door while Xiaoguo led Qin Anming into the house. As soon as they entered the house, she put down her bag and carefully helped him sit on the bed. Then, she lifted the blanket so that he could lie down.

“I’m really fine. I’ll be fine in a while.”

Qin Anming didn’t want Xiaoguo to get all busy when she had just come back. “You guys have just returned. Hurry up and get some rest.”

Although riding in a carriage was easier than walking, it was a tiring affair to sit in a bumpy carriage for a long time.

“Don’t worry about us. You haven’t told us about yourself.”

Xiaoguo looked at Qin Anming, who was trying to chase her away. In a fit of anger, she sat by the bed and stared at him.

Qin Anming’s eyes darted left and right, and he refused to look at Xiaoguo. He got so anxious that he was on the verge of coughing again. Seeing this, Xiaoguo hurriedly stood up and helped him calm down. “Have you gotten yourself any medicine?”

Xiaoguo was concerned about him trying to bear with the illness and refusing to get any medicine for himself.

Fortunately, Qin Anming did get some medicine. He nodded and said, “Yes, I asked Mrs. Yang’s brother-in-law to help me get some.”

“Luckily he did.” When Xiaoguo heard this, she felt relieved. At least he knew to have someone buy medicine for him.

“Have you taken your medicine today?”

Xiaoguo looked around the room and spotted a bundle of medicine on the table.

“Cough, cough, I did. Three times a day. I take them after each meal.”

“Drink it after his meals?” Xiaoguo looked at the bowl beside the bundle of medicine. There were still some dregs in it. That must have been taken in the morning.

“Have you had lunch?”

Qin Anming shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Okay. Lie down. I’ll go cook.”

It was just about time for lunch. Xiaoguo planned to get lunch ready before she boiled the medicine. She had just asked Qin Anming about the doctor’s instructions. For each dosage, she only had to take out the required portion from the main package and each portion had to be freshly boiled.

She reminded Zhuang Zhuang to take care of Qin Anming and also to make sure that he rests well. Then she went ahead to prepare lunch.

Zhuang Zhuang imitated Jiang Danhe and saluted. He promised Xiaoguo, “I will complete the mission!”

Xiaoguo smiled. “His imitation was quite good. Hahahaha.”

She patted Zhuang Zhuang encouragingly and left with the medicine.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, the two puppies, who had grown a lot, pounced on Xiaoguo and circled her, as if welcoming her return.

Xiaoguo squatted down and scratched the two adorable heads. “My dear, why have you become so fat?”

The dogs barked at Xiaoguo in response.

The other animals had also been creating a ruckus from the moment they saw Xiaoguo. They kept making noises as if they were welcoming her.

Although she was a little touched, it was a tad noisy. Xiaoguo quickly gave them something to eat in order to shut their mouths. She would have been deafened if she had to endure the noise for another minute.

After the courtyard had quietened down, Xiaoguo went to the kitchen and started thinking about what to cook.

There were still a lot of crops in the vegetable plot, but they had to be picked. It was cold at night, so the crops would probably freeze over the next few days.

The kitchen was still well-stocked with grains. There was also meat in the fridge. “How about I cook some dishes and make some porridge?” Qin Anming was sick, so greasy foods should not be in his diet now.

After making up her mind, Xiaoguo began to get busy. It had been a long time since she last cooked, so she was a little rusty.

There were still sausages on the wall. Xiaoguo took one down and cut it into slices for later use.

Just as she was about to go out to pick the vegetables, there was a knock on the front door.

Xiaoguo was curious about who it was. She wiped her hands and went to open the door.

“Xiaoguo, you’re back!”

Mrs. Yang and Yang Jia were standing at the door. When they looked up and saw Xiaoguo, they were surprised.

“Yes, yes, Sister-in-law. We just got home.”

Xiaoguo let both of them in.

Yang Jia and Qin Anming were quite familiar with each other. When Qin Anming was sick, Yang Jia was the one who bought him medicine and helped to feed all the animals in the house.

After getting Xiaoguo’s permission, he went into the room to look for Qin Anming. Xiaoguo watched him leave and smiled. How polite… he even needed her permission to enter the room.

Xiaoguo brought Mrs. Yang to the kitchen. While chatting with her, Xiaoguo learned that Mrs. Yang was the one who cooked for Qin Anming when he was sick. She did not miss a single meal.

She had just finished cooking at her own house and had come over to cook without taking a break for herself.

“Sister-in-law, I don’t know how to thank you…”

Xiaoguo was really grateful to Mrs. Yang. She felt a little embarrassed for causing her so much trouble.

“We’re family.” Mrs. Yang waved her hand and said generously, “There’s no need for formalities.”

Mrs. Yang felt that it was just a small matter and something that she didn’t mind doing.

Xiaoguo smiled and sat closer to her. She looked outside and quietly leaned closer to ask, “Sister-in-law, why did my brother suddenly fall sick?”

Xiaoguo felt that Qin Anming had fallen sick due to some reason. When she had just returned, he had raised the hoe and said, “Let’s see if you still dare to come.”

What exactly happened during this period of time? Why did Qin Anming say this the moment he opened the door?

Xiaoguo had been concerned about Qin Anming’s health and didn’t ask him the details. Now Mrs. Yang was here, she had to find out properly.

When Mrs. Yang heard Xiaoguo’s words, she sighed and put on a disgusted expression. “It’s all because of Li Zhaodi!”