The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 271

 

| TBBOTOF | 271

The egg-selling business was handed over to Xu Ze, as there were too many trivial matters both inside and outside the house for Tang Xu to handle.

"Brother, if you sell all the eggs, our family will not have enough eggs to eat," Xu Ze said with some concern.

Boiled eggs, these are great for building the body, especially for the elderly and the young. Tang Xu insisted on eating them until he finished.

The family was large, and every day they sold about twenty or thirty eggs. It always felt like there were some left over from before.

"We are not selling every day," Tang Xu said while washing clothes, laughing without even looking up. 

"Every household in the village keeps chickens. The weather was cold recently, so the hens weren’t laying eggs. Only when there’s a happy occasion at someone’s home do they buy some. When the weather warms up, eggs lose freshness after a few days. Just sell them for some pocket money. Later, you can go to the town and buy something you like, wouldn't that be nice?"

When Xu Ze heard that the money from selling the eggs was for him, he quickly shook his head. "I can't take this money. Brother Xu, I already have silver."

"Why can’t you take it? I said it’s for you, just take it," Tang Xu replied. After pouring the soapberry liquid into the water and stirring it, he pressed the dirty clothes into the basin to soak. 

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then looked up at the sky.

"This sun, it's so hot I'm sweating." He had originally planned to wash clothes in the yard to avoid the chilly wind, wearing his cotton-padded jacket, but after washing only one piece of clothing, it became so hot he could barely stand it.

But he couldn’t take it off. If he did, the wind would likely make him sick.

Tang Xu was helpless about his somewhat delicate body.

Xu Ze also looked up at the sky. The sunlight was a bit blinding, and he squinted his eyes slightly, saying, "Brother Xu, leave it there, I’ll wash it."

"No need for you to wash," Tang Xu tilted his head, smiling as he looked at him. "Are you and Liu Ge’er going to help me separately?"

Xu Ze nodded. "There are always people coming to buy eggs today, so we talked it over and decided that each of us would go over there for a day to help with chopping and washing vegetables. Sister Mei cooks, and he’s happy with the food."

Tang Xu nodded. After all, he had been cooking for many years at home. If the food wasn’t good, the Sun family probably wouldn’t have let her continue cooking for them.

"There’s nothing much to do now, Brother, I’ll go sweep the backyard. If anyone comes to buy eggs, call me," Xu Ze was not a lazy person and always looked for something to do.

Tang Xu nodded, "No need to sweep the pigsty, I swept it when I got up this morning." 

They had a few pigs at home, and they needed to be fed and cleaned every day; otherwise, the smell would be unbearable.

"Got it." Xu Ze replied and went toward the backyard.

The sound of reading came from the study, and Tang Xu listened for a moment before softly chuckling and muttering to himself, "Quite impressive."

–

On the other side, Wei Zhonghong was staying at Doctor Wu's house along with Wu Qiang.

Originally, she hadn’t planned to stay. Wei Dong's idea was that since the treatment wouldn’t be completed in just three days, it would be better to rent a small courtyard here for the time being.

When Wei Zhonghong left home, she took fifty silver coins with her, which was part of the savings she had accumulated over the years. She didn’t take the rest, thinking it would be better to keep that as a funeral fund. 

However, if the illness could be cured, there would still be time to save more later.

So when she heard that Wei Dong wanted to rent a place here, she didn’t object and even said she had enough silver to cover the costs.

But Doctor Wu didn’t agree. He put on a stern face and scolded Wei Dong.

The gist of it was that his old friend had been staying at his house for years, and if Wei Dong came for treatment and then stayed outside, his old friend would surely mock him for it.

With a very firm attitude, Doctor Wu told Wei Dong that if he dared to rent a place outside, he would not treat the illness anymore.

Wei Dong, knowing that anyone who could be friends with Old Wen had a strong character, simply compiled.

On the third day after arriving in Mincheng City, Doctor Wu began Wu Qiang’s acupuncture treatment.

When Doctor Wu found out that they shared the same surname, he was quite pleased and chatted with him about farming.

Although one grew grains and the other grew herbs, they hit it off well in conversation.

Wei Zhonghong took over the cooking duties at the Wu family’s house. It felt awkward for her to act like a guest and do nothing while others took care of her, so after discussing with the butler, she went to the kitchen to help with the cooking. 

The cook, originally in charge of the kitchen, didn’t mind that his duties were being taken over, especially when he learned that she was there for medical treatment. This knowledge stirred a bit of sympathy for her.

At first, Wei Zhonghong didn’t know that the cook had sympathy for her. It was only after spending some time together and chatting that she discovered this.

The cook mentioned that nearly everyone who came to see Doctor Wu for treatment had an illness that couldn’t be cured at home. "If the illness could be treated back home, there wouldn’t be any need to come all the way here," he had said.

When Wei Zhonghong heard this, her heart sank, and in a panic, she rushed to find Wei Dong.

After listening to her, Wei Dong sighed helplessly. “We all know that if it could be treated at home, we wouldn’t have traveled so far for treatment. Auntie, you need to be mentally prepared.”

Wei Zhonghong sat by the bed, dazed and with red eyes.

Although her husband didn’t have much skill, he was kind to her, and they had shared many years of life together. How could she easily accept the idea that his illness couldn’t be cured?

She knew she couldn’t force anything, but the heaviness in her heart was overwhelming, and eventually, tears began to fall.

Wei Dong sighed, saying nothing, as she lowered her handkerchief.

After Wu Qiang finished his acupuncture and went back to his room to rest, Wei Dong went to find Doctor Wu. He didn’t go empty-handed; he brought a jar of high-proof white liquor brewed by Tang Xu.

The alcohol from the first distillation was extremely strong, and drinking it could cause serious problems, but Tang Xu had kept it for its medicinal uses. High-proof alcohol could also be used as a disinfectant.

So every time Wei Dong went on business trips, he would bring a small jar of it, in case anyone in the caravan got injured and needed urgent treatment. It was always good to have something for sterilization and disinfection.

When Doctor Wu found out what the alcohol was used for, he was so surprised that his mouth dropped open, and even the little beard on his lips seemed to twitch slightly.

"Is it really as you say?" Using alcohol for disinfection was a basic practice for a doctor, but he had never heard of alcohol so strong that a single sip could potentially get someone drunk or even kill them.

Wei Dong nodded, "Doctor Wu can try it. It should be much better than what you're currently using."

Doctor Wu gestured for the nearby servant to take the jar of alcohol, then tilted his head slightly toward Wei Dong. "You brought the alcohol over; I assume you have something to ask?"

Wei Dong nodded and asked directly, "Can my uncle's illness be cured?"

Doctor Wu stroked his little mustache for a moment before replying, "His health is generally good, but he’s been overworked in recent years. This is a common issue among farmers."

Wei Dong nodded quietly, listening intently.

Doctor Wu didn’t go into too many details, but after addressing some of the concerns, he said, "To fully recover, he needs to rest. He absolutely cannot do any heavy labor in the future. Farming is out of the question, and tasks like threshing wheat are also off-limits. Anything that could trigger a cough or strain his body—he must avoid. Do you understand?"

Wei Dong nodded, "I understand."

"If this illness were in a wealthy family, it wouldn’t be that difficult to treat," Doctor Wu continued, his meaning clear. "The problem is that he's a farmer. I’m worried he might not want to spend the money on the medicine or might be too tempted to return to work in the fields."

Wei Dong nodded again, "I’ll make sure to explain it to him."

"This illness hasn’t been cured by Old Wen because he hasn’t focused on this aspect," Doctor Wu explained. "I’ve encountered similar cases here. As long as he hasn’t started coughing up blood frequently, it can be treated." 

Mincheng City was surrounded by many villages, and since Doctor Wu often treated patients from those areas, he was quite familiar with this kind of fatigue-related illness.

Wei Dong felt somewhat relieved and sincerely thanked Doctor Wu.

He then went back to share the news with Wei Zhonghong.

Wei Zhonghong, both crying and laughing, repeatedly thanked the heavens for the good news.

"Auntie, you stay here and take care of Uncle’s health. I still need to go to Yongcheng. I can't delay any longer."

"Alright, alright, go ahead. I’ll stay here, I won’t go anywhere." Wei Zhonghong knew very well that a lot of things had been delayed in the past few days. 

Although the caravan members didn’t say anything, they couldn’t keep accommodating him forever.

The next morning, the caravan set off from Mincheng City, with Wu Hong also accompanying them.

Because his mother had said that, in order for his father to stay alive, they would need a lot of silver to buy medicine and take care of his health. So, she told him to hurry up and earn money, without slacking off!

"Brother Dong, my father’s condition will be fine, right?" Once they left the city, Wu Hong finally gathered the courage to ask Wei Dong.

Wei Dong shook his head. "I can’t give you any guarantees." 

Although it would be easy to simply say "yes," this wasn’t something that could be dealt with casually.

Wu Hong scratched his head, feeling a bit discouraged.

But soon he pulled himself together. He needed to help his father earn money and pay for the treatment!

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