Chapter 321

Mother Hu felt distressed in her heart, seeing the wound neatly bandaged, knowing it was Ding Heli’s handiwork. She turned around to express gratitude, “I owe you so much, thank you very much! Another day, the child’s father and I will come again to thank you in person.”

They didn’t have any impressive gifts to offer, so they could only plan to buy something with money on their next trip to town.

Thinking about going to town, she felt conflicted. It was risky to go, but without earning money, their family had savings to survive, although they would have to stay home.

Would Wenhua agree…

Ding Heli waved their hands, emphasizing solemnly, “In our friendship, saying thank you is unnecessary. If you come to thank us again, it would truly make us feel like outsiders!”

Mother Hu looked at the head of the household, Hu Butcher nodded, “Alright, let’s not be polite then. We might trouble you again for Wenhua’s wound dressing. When he’s better, let him come to your place to work more often, alright?”

Little Jiajia had to grind medicine powder, which was quite exhausting. Such physically demanding work was most suitable for her strong son.

Ding Heli had wanted to refuse, but seeing the eager expressions of the Hu family couple insisting on some form of repayment, they could only nod in agreement.

Anyway, Fan Jin’s donkey was resting during winter, so they could borrow it to grind. That way, Wenhua wouldn’t need to go over, practical yet not too obvious.

While everyone was talking, Shuiqing went to the kitchen to start cooking the medicine brought back by Ding Heli.

Chinese medicine was slow to take effect but safe. Wenhua was afraid of infection and fever from his injury, but Ding Heli had already applied the medicine and bandaged him. With internal medicine added, he would recover faster.

If he did develop a fever later on, she could still buy some antibiotics from the market to add in.

With the medicine cooked, Shuiqing began planning what to cook to supplement Wenhua.

He had lost quite a bit of blood and needed some good nourishment.

The most effective nourishment was still an old mother hen. Normally, they would stew it until the meat was tender and melted in the mouth, a favorite of mother and the children.

However, Wenhua preferred something with more texture.

Today, with him as the focus, it had to be according to his taste.

Shuiqing decided to make poached chicken.

After cleaning the chicken thoroughly, she boiled it until cooked, then let it simmer for a while before fishing it out. The skin was golden, the meat white, fatty, tender, and delicious, with a satisfying texture.

Cut into evenly sized pieces, she would serve it with a dipping sauce made of ginger, garlic, scallions, and soy sauce, preserving the original flavor of the chicken while offering a different taste. Wenhua should like it.

The broth from boiling the chicken couldn’t be wasted either. Though not as rich as stewed old hen soup, it was nutritious, especially with a layer of golden chicken fat floating on top, too precious to discard.

Shuiqing used a small spoon to skim off the top layer of chicken fat and used it to cook some greens. She added a bit of Chinese yam and bamboo fungus to the remaining chicken broth and let it stew together.

Served with rice, a meal with meat, vegetables, and soup for a recovering patient was ready.

She carried the two dishes and soup into the room, placing them on the wooden table by the window. Hu Wenhua quickly stood up, feeling embarrassed, “Sister, it’s just a minor injury, nothing serious. You’re already busy enough, no need to specially cook for me.”

His sister had a lot to do every day, and now with the herb shop, she couldn’t spend all her time cooking.

“Lunch at the herb shop is rotated among them. At home, Mom usually cooks. Occasionally, when I cook, Yan Qiuxing and Wanxia help out. What am I busy with?” Shuiqing smiled.

Before the herb shop was completed, she had indeed been busy for a while, mainly with cooking.

But once the herb shop started operating smoothly, she didn’t have much to do. Even if she were busy, there would still be time to cook a meal when her brother was injured!

She handed him some utensils and said, “Try it. Do you like it? If you do, I’ll make more for you later. While you’re recovering, besides taking medicine, you need nourishment too.”

In the past, she hadn’t felt much familial affection, and she wondered if it was heaven’s way of compensating her by giving her Wenhua, a responsible and caring younger brother.

At the beginning, there wasn’t much emotional attachment, but as time passed and they spent more time together, she had come to see him as a true younger brother. Seeing him injured this time, she truly felt heartache.

However, simply feeling distressed wasn’t enough. She had to turn that concern into beneficial actions for him, such as brewing medicine and cooking dishes he loved.

When Hu Wenhua was slashed, he didn’t even blink. During the long wait for the hemostatic medicine, he didn’t utter a word. His return home was sparse and normal. Even when faced with his mother’s crying, he was able to console her as usual. But now, holding onto his chopsticks and looking at the chicken cooked to his taste on the table, his eyes welled up and his nose tingled.

His sister was truly wonderful, the best sister in the world!

“Sis…”

Shuiqing patiently waited, thinking to herself, “Please, as a grown man, don’t say anything sentimental.”

She couldn’t handle sentimental words; they made her feel awkward and gave her goosebumps.

Suddenly, Hu Wenhua reached into his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in oil paper, handing it to her.

Perplexed, Shuiqing wondered, “What is this? Is it for me?”

It couldn’t be, right? Boys rarely think to give gifts to their mother or sisters once they grow up. Was Wenhua an exception? The next moment, she heard him plead, “Sis, I think this suits her. Can you give it to Jiajia in your name?”

If it was from him, she was certain Jiajia wouldn’t accept it.

Shuiqing: “…Better than saying something sentimental!”

Embarrassment was embarrassment, goosebumps were goosebumps. It was still better than ordering her to do these sneaky things.

She didn’t want to eat dog food.

“Why don’t you give it to her yourself? It would be more meaningful.”

During this time, Jiajia was often at home preparing medicine powder or at the herb shop. They rarely met. Wouldn’t it be better to meet under the pretext of giving a gift rather than her delivering a message?

Besides, “You could also give it under my name.”

“She won’t accept it,” came a hoarse, low voice.

Shuiqing was surprised. How could Wenhua be so sure?

“Have you tried giving it to her?”

Originally, Hu Wenhua wanted to keep this to himself, but now he wanted to confide in his trustworthy sister.

He nodded and recounted the story.

Shuiqing was dumbfounded.

So, according to Wenhua, Jiajia had no romantic feelings for him at all?

But that couldn’t be right! It was completely opposite to what she had observed!

And during this time, Jiajia hadn’t come around. It wasn’t because she was busy, but because she was avoiding Wenhua?

And Wenhua had been restless during this time because of this?

But wasn’t Jiajia also like that during this period?

Wait! She needed to sort this out.

If her guess was correct, there must have been a misunderstanding between Wenhua and Jiajia. She didn’t know the reason behind it, but she was certain that there were feelings between them, perhaps even mutual affection!