Font Size:
It was late, and Chen Feng said to Chu Lingxuan, “It’s late. You should go back to Tangyuan to rest.”
Chu Lingxuan nodded and said, “If there’s anything, inform me.” He added, “Don’t worry too much. Go to bed early. The doctor said Dabao’s leg is fine, so it should be fine.”
Chen Feng nodded and persuaded Mrs. Wang, Chen Ming, and Lu to return to Luyuan. After freshening up, she sat by Dabao’s bedside, watching him sleep.
Autumn softly suggested, “Young Miss, you should also rest, or you’ll be tired tomorrow.”
Chen Feng shook her head and told Autumn and Summer, “I know. You’ve both worked hard for so long. You should go and rest.”
After sending the two maids away, the Golden Swallow finally flew down from the tree branch and crept into the room. It perched on Dabao’s pillow, its eyes swollen from crying, its little body still trembling.
This little creature, sharp-tongued as an electric drill, yet its heart was so tender.
Chen Feng was deeply moved and gently stroked its feathers, saying, “Don’t be sad. The doctor said Dabao’s leg can be healed.”
The Golden Swallow choked up, “I just can’t bear to see children suffer. It makes me particularly sad, especially for poor Dabao. Oh, my heart aches.” As it spoke, it flapped its wings against its chest.
Suddenly, the courtyard gate creaked, and shortly after, Qiqi and Gray flew in. They fluttered through the window, perching at the foot of the bed, stretching their necks to look at Dabao, chirping, “What happened? What happened? What happened?”
Chen Feng quickly made a “shh” sound and whispered, “Keep it down. Dabao is injured.”
Upon hearing this, Qiqi and Gray were greatly alarmed, and both began to cry loudly.
“Wuwu… wuwu…” That was Dabao’s crying.
“Ying ying… ying ying…” That was little Yan’s sobbing.
Chen Feng urgently whispered, “Keep your voices down. Dabao is still asleep.”
The two little creatures then lowered their crying.
Zhui Feng was placed inside by Old Zeng and silently cried in the room. After they finished crying, Chen Feng had Autumn and Summer give them a bath once they heard the commotion. After their bath, they returned to the bedroom to accompany Dabao.
The next morning, Chen Feng woke to this scene: Dabao was still asleep, the Golden Swallow lay with spread wings near his pillow sleeping soundly, and Zhui Feng slept on its back on the floor. Qiqi and Gray perched on its chubby belly, also sound asleep.
After getting up, Chen Feng woke up the pets.
Before they could make a sound, Chen Feng whispered, “Anyone who wants to make noise can go outside. Don’t wake up Dabao. His leg hurts, and it’s very uncomfortable to wake up.”
Qiqi and Gray covered their beaks with their wings, and Zhui Feng, who wasn’t fond of making noise, understood and flew out first, chattering to itself near a big tree before returning with its mouth closed.
After breakfast, Doctor Jin came to treat Dabao and administered injections. Dabao’s mood was much better today. He ate, said a few words, and then fell asleep again, not even waking up when Chu Hanyan and Chu Lingzhi came to see him.
Chu Hanyan cried uncontrollably but, knowing she couldn’t cry aloud, covered her mouth with her chubby hand, looking heart-wrenching. She stayed for a while before being carried away by Mama Song. Chen Feng heard that she cried for most of the day in Tangyuan, and her eyes were swollen.
During these days, not only Chen Ming and his wife but also the old Marquis and Chu Lingxuan were almost always by their side. Five days later, when Dabao was completely out of danger, Doctor Jin was sent back to Dingzhou.
During this time, Wang Laowu also came to visit Dabao once, carrying two bags of candy. Since joining Fengyuan as a laborer, he had become cleaner, but his teeth were still yellow, and his clothes were not entirely clean. One could smell his body odor from a distance.
Not only did Autumn and Summer dislike him, even Shanzhi didn’t like him. When he came, Old Zeng wasn’t in, so Shanzhi didn’t let him in, saying, “The food you brought, except for yourself, probably won’t be eaten by anyone else. You’d better take it back and eat it yourself, so my master won’t have to deal with the trouble.”
Chen Feng happened to come out of the kitchen and overheard Shanzhi’s words. She scolded sternly, “A visitor is a guest. What gives you the right to block Dabao’s guest from entering? I’ll deduct a month’s wages from you.”
Shanzhi immediately started crying and let Wang Laowu in.
Blushing, Wang Laowu bowed to Chen Feng and said, “Young Miss, I heard about Young Master Dabao’s injury and specifically went to the county town to buy candy to visit him. Don’t worry, these candies were wrapped by the teahouse’s waiter. I only carried the string the candies were tied with, and my hands didn’t even touch the oil paper edges.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand, indeed only using two fingers to hold the candy string.
Chen Feng smiled and said, “Thank you for thinking of our Dabao. Please come in.”
Seeing Autumn frowning and Summer covering her nose, Chen Feng glared at them, and they hurriedly went to pour tea for Wang Laowu.
Wang Laowu didn’t dare to enter the bedroom and just peeked inside from the doorway. After seeing that Dabao was still sleeping, he lowered his head and quickly left. Chen Feng guessed he must have cried.
If this person truly came to protect Dabao, it indicated that Dabao’s family members weren’t neglectful but had reasons for having to leave him.
If his family members came to take him home, how could she bear to let him go!
Just then, Autumn muttered, “That Wang Laowu, after looking at Young Master Dabao, he just left without saying a word. This person, not only is he dirty, but he also has no manners.”
Chen Feng said, “Wang Laowu is our laborer. He works hard during normal times. You shouldn’t…” She wanted to say “you shouldn’t look at him with colored glasses” but then remembered that there were no glasses in this world. After pausing, she continued, “We should respect hardworking people and not be disrespectful.”
Autumn and Summer nodded in agreement.
Fengyuan returned to tranquility.
As Dabao’s condition improved slightly, the gifts he had bought were delivered to Chen Feng, Mrs. Wang, Chen Ming, Chu Lingxuan, old Marquis, Mr. Liao, and Grandma Chen. They were all deeply moved by these gifts, which not only symbolized Dabao’s hard work but also his suffering.
It was the hottest season of the year, and the cicadas in the trees were constantly chirping, but the bird songs had diminished. Occasionally, a few birds flew into the courtyard, all of them foreign to the area.
The Golden Swallow took Qiqi, Gray, Zhui Feng, and Wangcai to the mountains again, even taking little Jin, little Gu, little Ge, little Lu and little Lan, the cage birds to escape the summer heat.
By this time, the watermelons in Wangshan Village had all been harvested, and the land was being prepared for planting autumn corn.
The net profit from this round of watermelon sales was 2116 taels of silver after deducting the cost. As half of the six mu of watermelon field belonged to Chen Ming’s family, Chen Feng gave Chen Ming 150 taels of silver.