Ger, So Proud

Chapter 75

After the fifth day of the new year, most people in the village had finished visiting relatives and friends, and the festive atmosphere had finally quieted down. The sky was clear, and in the courtyard, He An was watering the neatly arranged forty to fifty pots of plants.

These plants had been planted before the new year and had now grown to the height of a hand.

Holding the water in one hand and the ladle in the other, He An worked steadily, but his face was full of worry, and he kept glancing towards the main house.

About half an hour later, He Ze emerged from the room.

“Brother, how is it?” Upon seeing him, He An immediately stood up, spilling more than half of the water in the ladle.

He Ze shook his head. “Is Dad back yet?”

Last night, He Youcai and Dad Li had a huge argument, which made their dog Wang Fu bark all night. Early this morning, Dad Li left the house, saying he was going for a walk and not letting them follow.

He Ze could still smell the thick smoke from the main room, and he couldn’t help but frown. Maybe because of the argument, He Youcai seemed to be making up for the smoking he hadn’t done in the past few days, not putting down his pipe all day today.

“Not yet. And Father…”

“He’s been smoking dry tobacco and doing woodwork, acting like nothing’s wrong,” He Ze said with a bitter smile. “This time, Father’s really been hit hard.”

Looking up at the blazing sun, he squinted and then raised his hand to shield his eyes. He grabbed another ladle and started helping He An water the plants.

After discussing with the elders, they had decided to buy the larger shop.

Although it was a bit old, replacing everything that could be replaced would make it about eighty percent new. Moreover, when He Ze went to see it again, the shopkeeper, eager to sell quickly, even gave him the neglected little courtyard in the back, which was perfect for storing idle plants.

He had hired two people to renovate it when he visited town a couple of days ago. When the flowers bloomed, the flower shop could open.

Gently patting the plant in front of him, He Ze saw a few leaves tremble, sprinkling a few drops of water on his pants.

“What’s been going on with Father these past few days? Yesterday he made Dad so mad! I haven’t seen them argue like that in a long time,” He An said, bringing over another bucket of water and glancing again at the tightly closed door.

“You didn’t hear the loud argument last night?” He Ze raised an eyebrow. “Father feels guilty towards Dad and is upset.”

He An pursed his lips and said nothing more. Of course he had heard last night’s argument, but after all these years, why was Father suddenly unable to get over it?

“Don’t worry, Dad will handle him.” Thinking of the perfectly finished round wooden piece He Youcai had been working on, He Ze’s face showed a hint of thoughtfulness.

A heart problem needs a heart cure. Besides Dad, maybe he needed to prescribe another remedy for He Youcai.

He An paused, his face still full of doubt, and slowly poured another ladle of water. The flowers were soon fully watered, and the bucket of water quickly emptied.

“When will they bloom?”

“In another month or two.” In the spring, the flowers would bloom and the willows would turn green.

He Ze glanced at He An, who was moving a few pots of flowers from the shade to a spot against the wall. Sunlight fell on them, making the water droplets on the plants sparkle like pearls.

“These flowers like sunlight?”

“Yes, Uncle Xu rented Fourth Uncle’s house. I asked him about it.” He An nodded, pulling out a weed from one of the pots.

He seemed to really like these flowers, taking even more care of them than He Ze recently.

Watching He An’s focused expression, He Ze pondered for a moment before speaking, “When the shop opens, how about becoming the shopkeeper?”

“Huh?”

“Has Dad mentioned your marriage recently?”

“…Brother, why are you asking about this?” He An pouted.

That reaction definitely meant he had.

“You’re already seventeen. Learning some skills to support yourself is always good. Literacy, bookkeeping, even if you want to be a florist, you need basic knowledge about flowers.” He Ze patted He An’s head. “Think carefully about what you want to do. Brother will help you. This opportunity won’t come around again.”

In this world, most gers are expected to marry at sixteen. By next year, their father and Dad would probably be anxious.

He An froze for a moment, but before he could respond, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the courtyard gate. Dad Li rushed in, panting and furious, “He Ze, something’s happened! Someone pulled up the Bai zhi in our field!”

What?!

What happened?!

…

Knowing how much effort his son had put into that field of white peonies, He Youcai also emerged from the room upon hearing the commotion and followed closely behind He Ze and Dad Li.

He An stayed home to guard the gate.

On their way, He Ze ran into Liu San and He Dalang, who were wandering in the village. Hearing a word from Dad Li, they indignantly decided to join them. By the time the group reached the field, it was almost noon.

The field was nearly an acre. Yesterday, when He Ze had checked, it was still lush and green. Now, only a few sparse plants remained. Most of the plants had been pulled out and thrown carelessly on the ground, turning yellow and wilted, their condition dismal.

He Ze’s face was dark, his eyes boiling with suppressed fury.

Compared to storytelling and selling flowers, this field of bai zhi was the one “career” he had poured his heart and soul into and held high expectations for.

“Which bastard did this! No, I’m going to find the clan leader!” Seeing the field full of ruined white peonies, He Youcai’s beard twitched in anger. He clutched his tobacco pipe and angrily struck his own thigh with it before storming off in the direction they came from.

“Wait—”

“It’s okay, Dad. This matter indeed needs the clan’s intervention.”

To the villagers, crops were life. Destroying someone else’s crops was akin to robbing and killing. It had been over a decade since such an incident occurred in He Family Village, and the clan’s punishment would be severe.

Collecting his thoughts, He Ze interrupted Dad Li and bent down to pick up a plant about the size of a baby’s arm. Gently pinching a curled leaf at the top, a long, slender green worm fell to the ground.

“Are there… bugs in the Bai zhi?”

There should still be few bugs; otherwise, he would have noticed earlier.

He Ze picked up a few more Bai zhi plants from the ground. The earth-yellow roots, interlaced with lines, were already a bit soft but had no signs of insect holes.

Thankfully.

“It’s not that. He’s just so impatient! I was thinking we should find the person responsible before we go to the clan leader. Going now without any leads would be pointless…” Dad Li stomped his foot, looking at He Youcai’s back with a mix of frustration and helplessness.

“I’ve found the person,” He Ze crushed a leaf of the Bai zhi between his fingers, green juice staining his fingertips, “I know who did it.”

“Who? Which bastard…” Liu San was visibly furious. To him, his brother had worked hard on this field despite their family’s struggles. To have it ruined like this…

Damn it, I’ll make them pay!

Before he could finish, Dad Li and He Dalang both turned their eyes to He Ze.

“Lin Dazou.”

He Ze spat out the name coldly.

The clan had already decided that if the Lin family didn’t leave by the eighth, they would be expelled.

Third Lin was dead, Wu Cui had been arrested by the authorities, Dad Liu was blind in one eye. If they were driven out of He Family Village, their future would be bleak. It was retribution of sorts. He Ze hadn’t intended to pursue the matter further, but since Lin Dazou wanted to provoke him one last time before leaving, he couldn’t be blamed for what was to come.

“Lin Dazou? Him?”

For some reason, Liu San and He Dalang’s faces changed upon hearing the name. They exchanged glances, hesitant to speak.

“What’s the matter?”

Liu San glanced cautiously at Dad Li but said nothing.

Understanding their concerns, He Ze found an excuse to leave with them. Midway, Liu San finally muttered, “On the second day of the new year, Dalang and I ran into that Lin family’s eldest son. He… he seemed to hear that it was us who informed on them, and… and your name was mentioned too.”

“Is that all?” He Ze stopped walking.

“Yeah, he originally wanted to start trouble with us, but we beat him up. We figured he couldn’t do anything with just that knowledge, since all we did was relay a message. We didn’t tell you because we thought it wouldn’t matter.” Liu San’s voice grew quieter, looking somewhat regretful.

The Lin family’s reputation was already ruined. Lin Dazou probably thought he’d exact revenge on He Ze by uprooting their Bai zhi plants before leaving. But— “He Ze, how do you know it was Lin Dazou?”

“I saw him,” He Ze replied nonchalantly. “I went out last night and saw Lin Dazou coming down the small path.”

“So what now? Should we go with you to the clan leader?” He Dalang asked, clenching his fists.

Just seeing Lin Dazou wasn’t enough to settle the matter, but as brothers, they needed to support him.

“No need, I’ll handle it myself.”

He Ze waved them off and left after saying goodbye.

That afternoon, with his insistence, the He family replanted the uprooted Bai zhi. He An even brought a bucket of water to irrigate them. Watching the soil slowly soak up the water, his expression grew uneasy, “Brother, what if they don’t survive after being watered…”

“If they don’t survive, we’ll just buy new seedlings,” He Ze said casually.

Upon hearing this, He An frowned even more deeply. Beside him, He Youcai and Dad Li seemed to have forgotten about their argument from the previous night; their expressions mirrored He An’s, filled with concern as they looked at He Ze.

He Ze understood they were worried about him being disheartened, but he didn’t offer further explanation. Easing the tension between his father and dad in the process wasn’t a bad outcome either.

The next day, He Ze went to the village early in the morning to find Xu Qingsheng, only to be told that he had already gone to the clinic in town. Left with no choice, He Ze went to the Lin family and took Lin Yu with him to town.

Since that night during the New Year, Lin Yu had not given him a friendly look.

But… to die under a peony flower is still romantic, isn’t it? He Ze glanced back at Lin Yu, his eyes full of mirth.

“You’re still smiling! Didn’t you say the Bai zhi in that field was ruined? How come you’re not worried?” Lin Yu glared at He Ze, his beautiful eyes bright in the morning sun, making He Ze’s smile even broader.

“Why worry? It’s fine. There’s truth in the saying, ‘Blessings come in disguise.’ If Lin Dazou hadn’t uprooted the Bai zhi, I wouldn’t have noticed the bugs. The uprooted Bai zhi can be saved, but once they have bug holes, it’s much harder to deal with.”

He had flipped through many books last night but couldn’t find a specific solution for pest control. It seemed he would need to ask Xu Qingsheng about it.

“Don’t worry. Trust your husband, okay?”

“…”

“Hyah—”

He Ze snapped the whip against the ox’s flank, prompting a couple of loud moos as it quickened its pace. “Remember last time when we went out together? That was with a carriage. How about we buy a couple of horses next time?”

As the fastest mode of transportation in ancient times, He Ze was very interested in horses. Just driving the carriage for that short time hadn’t been enough for him.

Lin Yu wasn’t surprised by He Ze’s quick change of topic and chatted with him casually along the way. They arrived at Xu Qingsheng’s clinic shortly after the hour of Chen (around 8-9 a.m.).

Xu Qingsheng’s clinic wasn’t large and was quite far from the bustling market, but it was busy, not at all desolate.

This was likely due to his excellent medical skills. Additionally, when patients in difficult circumstances came for treatment, Xu Qingsheng often charged them less or gave them medicine for free. Word spread, and over time, he became well-known in the town.

After all, good wine needs no bush.

But precisely because of this, despite practicing medicine for many years, Xu Qingsheng still only had this small clinic and likely had little in the way of savings.