The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 249

 

| TBBOTOF | 249

In the main room, Wu Hong found himself with nothing much to talk about; his throat was dry, and the bitter taste of brick tea lingered even more than usual. He didn’t typically like it, but at this moment, thirst took over.

He smacked his lips a couple of times, glanced around, and noticed his two older brothers sitting together on one side, while his father sat on the kang, cracking sunflower seeds with the same cheerful expression.

Sitting at the table on the kang across from them was Wei Dong, who was turning his head to look at someone crouching in the side room.

If he didn’t say something...

After a moment of thought, he asked, “Brother Dong, are you and Brother-in-law planning to have another child? The three you have are all grown now, so wouldn’t it be manageable to raise one more?”

Wei Dong turned to look at him with a serious expression. “No, having children is hard on the body. Three is enough.”

He was speaking the truth. Even if other families married a woman, there was no guarantee that they would be able to have as many children as his husband had given him. 

He already had two sturdy sons and an adorable little ger, so he was very content.

Wu Hong poured him some tea, refilled his father’s cup, and reminded him, “Dad, don’t crack so many seeds. Mom said you cough all night and told you to eat less.”

Wu Qiang smiled, nodding obediently, and set down the seeds in his hand. Then he looked over at Wei Dong and spoke slowly, “Dongzi, do you know anyone suitable? Introduce someone to your younger brother. He’s at the age to get married, after all.”

Wu Hong's eye twitched, and he quickly interjected, "I'm only seventeen!"

“After the new year, you'll be nineteen. How can you still say seventeen?” Wu Qiang frowned at him. “You used to say there wasn’t enough silver and how you couldn’t afford to get married. But you’ve earned a fair amount this past year. It’s hard to justify not getting married now.”

Wu Qiang was usually the quiet type who kept to himself and rarely got involved in family matters. 

The only time he had raised his voice to his parents was years ago when he insisted on marrying Wei Zhonghong. Otherwise, he was always a mild-mannered person.

But now, discussing his youngest son’s marriage had brought a spark to him.

“Your third brother is in the army, far away in the mountains, where we can’t look after him even if we wanted to. Who knows if he’ll ever come back? You’re already so grown up. Are you planning to wait until your mother and I are gone before you marry?”

“Dad, why are you talking like you’re cursing yourself? You and Mom are going to live long, healthy lives!” Wu Hong laughed, playfully trying to lighten the mood. 

He reached for a handful of sunflower seeds and started peeling them for his dad. Right now, he couldn’t worry about his father coughing; he needed to calm down his suddenly excited father first.

If his mother had been there to see his father getting all worked up, she’d definitely have given him a smack.

Wu Qiang glared at him, unusually angry.

Wei Dong observed his usually silent uncle-in-law with some confusion, wondering why he’d suddenly lost his temper. This outburst didn’t quite fit his usual character.

Wu Qiang covered his mouth, coughing a couple of times. Wei Dong glanced over, then asked, “Uncle, are you feeling unwell?”

Wu Qiang quickly waved it off. “No, no, I’m in good health, I’ve just had a bit of a cough lately.”

Wei Dong gave a small nod and didn’t press further.

From the kitchen, Wei Zhonghong’s voice echoed, calling out to those inside to help set the table, as the food was ready.

Before sitting down to eat, Wei Shi  pulled Wu Hong’s second brother aside and whispered to him about Tang Xu’s suggestion to raise chickens and ducks to earn some silver. Wu Shouxin’s eyes lit up, and he agreed immediately, “Sounds good. Let’s raise some.”

“I was only thinking of twenty or thirty, at most; there’s not much space,” Wei Shi said, casting her gaze around the yard. 

Finally, she pointed to where an old chicken coop used to be against the wall. “Do you think if we suggest to Mom that we put up a new coop there, she’d agree?”

Wu Shouxin glanced over, then smiled, “Probably won’t allow it. If Big Brother and the others want to raise chickens too, it’d get chaotic. Mom definitely won’t manage it; she’ll just tell you to find your own spot. Let’s eat first, and we’ll talk about it after.” 

After all the tension inside earlier, he was starving.

At the table, Wei Zhonghong had really put in effort, preparing a feast of rich dishes—all meat, not a single purely vegetarian option among the ten plates.

For Wei Dong and Tang Xu, who had meat at every meal, it wasn’t anything special, but for those who hadn’t had a decent meat dish in two months, it was like a dream come true. They were practically wide-eyed at the spread.

When she’d been taking dishes from the stove, Liu Shi had already sneaked a couple of bites of braised pork. Now that her parents-in-law were picking up their bowls, she eagerly grabbed her chopsticks and went straight for the pot of stewed chicken she had made.

Even though she’d cooked it herself, she hadn’t tasted a single piece yet. The aroma alone had already made her mouth water.

With chopsticks in one hand and her bowl in the other, she leaned in close to the pot and began pulling pieces of chicken into her bowl.

“Why don’t you use a ladle!” Wei Zhonghong couldn’t stand her wolfing it down like a starved ghost and scolded her sharply, “Scraping away like that—how are others supposed to eat?”

Liu Shi quickly pulled her bowl back, not daring to argue with her mother-in-law at the table. If her mother-in-law truly got mad, she might end up being sent away from the table.

Under the table, Wu Shouye gave his wife a nudge with his foot and shot her a warning glare.

Wei Zhonghong ignored the couple, turning instead with a warm smile to serve food to Wei Dong and Tang Xu.

By the end of the meal, Tang Xu’s stomach felt uncomfortable from overeating. He offered to help clear the table, but Wei Zhonghong grabbed his hand and said, “No need for you to clean up. Sit down and let’s chat for a bit.”

She led Tang Xu into the side room, where a few of the younger kids, having finished eating, had gathered to play. They had dug several small holes into the ground and were bent over, tossing tiny stones into the holes.

Tang Xu glanced at them and couldn’t help but chuckle—wasn’t this just like the marble games they used to play as kids?

Wei Zhonghong closed the door, walked over, and sat beside him. The usual smile on her face had disappeared.

Tang Xu realized she must have something on her mind; otherwise, she wouldn’t have called him over to talk privately.

“Auntie, what’s going on?” He skipped the formalities, asking her directly.

Wei Zhonghong sighed, and before she could speak, her eyes reddened.

Tang Xu was taken aback. "Auntie?"

“Xu Ge’er... your uncle, he’s sick.” Her voice was low, almost muffled in her throat. If Tang Xu hadn’t been listening carefully, he might not have caught it.

“Sick?” Tang Xu’s thoughts flashed to the coughs Wu Qiang had stifled a cough during the meal, and the faint bluish tinge on his face. He frowned slightly. “Have you seen a doctor?”

Since Old Xu passed away, although Old Wen had some medical skills, his specialty was in fertility matters. He could handle minor illnesses, but anything more serious was outside his expertise.

As a result, for complicated ailments, the villagers would seek out a herbalist or visit the pharmacy in town, leaving Old Wen’s help for simple colds and headaches.

Incidentally, ever since Old Wen had settled in the village, there had been a noticeable increase in the birth rate over the past two years. Many local women privately believed he was a “heaven-sent spirit of fertility,” descended to help the village grow.

Wei Zhonghong nodded sadly. “He’s been coughing nonstop for a while. We visited the herbalist, but he said it was beyond his ability to treat, so he only gave us some cough medicine. But it didn’t help. Then we went to Chun Hall in town, and the doctor there said it’s a lung problem.”

Tang Xu realized that if it was indeed a lung condition that wasn’t responding to medicine, it might be one of those deadly illnesses in this world.

Though he didn’t know this uncle very well, judging by Wei Zhonghong’s expression, it seemed the couple had a close relationship.

He recalled some of the stories he had read before, and it occurred to him that there hadn’t been any mention of the general’s father in the book. 

Could it be that by that time, his uncle was already gone?

"A while back, the household was in constant chaos, and I was too distracted by headaches and my own anger to notice that he was unwell," Wei Zhonghong admitted with a bitter sigh. "It was only after Dongzi helped us settle things that I realized his cough wasn’t getting better. He didn’t even want to see a doctor at first, saying it was a waste of money and just a minor issue. But now, the doctor says that if he had looked for treatment sooner, it wouldn’t have become so serious.”

“Have you thought about taking him to the county hospital?” Tang Xu asked.

Wei Zhonghong shook her head with a wry smile. “The doctors in the county aren’t necessarily better than the ones at Chun Hall. I’m telling you all this simply because there’s no one else I can confide in, and it’s been eating me up inside.”

Ironically, back when they hadn’t managed to save much money, life had been easier in some ways.

These past two years, even though she had managed to save up a bit of silver, life seemed to get tougher and more unpredictable.

With Wu Qiang falling ill, Wei Zhonghong had been utterly exhausted. If it hadn’t been for the New Year and her desire to keep the household’s spirits up, she probably wouldn’t have agreed to let the eldest and second sons bring their families over. 

In the end, she just couldn’t bring herself to say no.

Tang Xu thought for a moment and then suggested, “Why not have Uncle go with Ah Dong on his next trading trip? He still seems strong enough to travel. While he can still get around, it would be worth seeing a doctor in a larger city.”

It wouldn’t be feasible to bring a doctor here, but taking Wu Qiang to a nearby provincial city wouldn’t take too much time—just half a month’s journey or so should be enough.

“If you’re worried about the household, just let the others take care of it. Lock up anything valuable and take your silver with you; get Uncle’s illness looked at first, then worry about everything else. And besides, with your sons wanting to join in on Ah Dong’s business, they’ll likely behave themselves.”

Wei Zhonghong’s face, initially weighed down with worry, visibly brightened at his words, and her eyes even sparkled with a hint of hope.

“Are you sure we can go along? Won’t we get in the way of Dongzi’s work?”

Tang Xu glanced at the children now digging by the wall and replied, “Auntie, you don’t have to worry about getting in the way. Just make arrangements to go with Uncle, and when he’s finished with his treatment, Wu Hong can bring you back.”

Wei Zhonghong nodded repeatedly, visibly relieved.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Wei Dong pushed open the slightly ajar door and asked, “Are we heading out?”

Tang Xu turned and motioned for him to come over with a wave.

Curious at the secrecy, Wei Dong raised an eyebrow as he stepped in.

Tang Xu quickly filled him in on the conversation. Wei Dong nodded in agreement, “Traveling by carriage is easy enough. I’ve gotten familiar with this route, and I was planning on leaving right after the second of February anyway. The snow will have melted by then, so the trip should go smoothly.”

He thought for a moment before adding, “There’s a reputable clinic in Jiaodong City. I heard a few people from the trade caravan mention it last time.”

Wei Zhonghong’s eyes reddened with emotion, clearly moved by this glimmer of hope.

“Are the doctors there skilled enough? Will they be able to cure your uncle’s illness?”

That was a tough question, given that Wei Dong had only heard a passing mention of the place.

Tang Xu gently patted her shoulder and reassured her, “Auntie, don’t worry. We won’t know for sure until we go and check it out ourselves.”

Previous TOC Next