The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 322

 

| TBBOTOF | 322

Recently, life has been passing by in a routine manner, but it has been pleasant and happy.

Now that Tang Li and Liu Yao’s wedding is over, business in town has picked up again. 

However, Liu Yao and Tang Li didn’t leave; instead Tang Mei still went and took Goudan with her.

In January, it had already snowed twice, and both times were heavy. The temperatures had dropped significantly.

Because there were both elderly and young people in the household, Tang Xu paid extra attention to changes in the weather. Before the temperature dropped further, he replaced everyone’s clothing with thick long jackets. 

As a result, no one caught colds or fell ill.

However, there was news from the Tang family’s old house that the old lady had caught a chill while sleeping at night. She had been feeling very unwell recently.

Tang Zu was the one who came to deliver the message.

After taking a sip of water and wiping his mouth, he said to Tang Xu, “Grandma originally didn’t want to bother you, but my mother felt the herbal doctor in the village wasn’t skilled enough. After taking three days of medicine, Grandma still hasn’t improved. She’s still weak, lacks energy, and has no appetite. It’s quite worrying. So she asked me to come over and invite Old Mr. Wu to take a look.”

It’s not that the herbal doctor in the village wasn’t capable—usually, people went to him for minor illnesses like colds, and there had never been any incidents where his treatments caused harm. 

But Luo Pingping was anxious about how the old lady looked. Thinking that Tang Xu’s place had two highly skilled doctors, she sent her son to deliver the message and inform Tang Xu.

Hearing this, Tang Xu couldn’t sit still. He went straight to Old Wu’s room and told the old man about his grandmother’s illness, asking if he could come over to see her.

Old Wu, half-closing his eyes, stroked his beard and nodded slightly before saying to Tang Xu, “Call Wei Xi and have him come along.”

"Alright, please wait a moment. I’ll have Ah Dong hitch the mule cart," Tang Xu said as he turned and left.

Although Old Wu and his group had arrived by horse-drawn carriage, the old man hadn’t let anyone leave the carriage behind. He sent it back, saying he wasn’t that particular and didn’t want to trouble anyone with the care of two high-spirited horses—it seemed like too much of a hassle to him.

At the time, Old Fu had wanted to say that there were people specifically assigned to care for the horses, so it wouldn’t have been much trouble. 

But upon second thought, since Old Wu and his group were staying as guests, it made sense to keep things simple.

They had been staying here for over half a year now, and it seemed as though everything about the place suited them perfectly.

There was always a child around to provide entertainment, and although the food and items weren’t overly luxurious, they were refined and perfectly to their liking.

After all, during this extended stay, all the older members of the group seemed to be in excellent health, full of vitality, and had even put on a bit of weight.

Old Wu had even joked the other day, saying that if there were a medicinal herb field nearby for him to cultivate, combined with Tang Xu's routine of three meals a day, an evening snack, and countless little treats, they might all end up eating themselves into an illness.

Tang Xu didn’t like hearing that one bit—who would curse themselves like that?

Because of this, Old Wu had unusually apologized to Tang Xu, admitting that he had spoken thoughtlessly due to his age and should be more mindful.

Tang Xu then went to the study to call Wei Xi, who was practicing calligraphy, and after some thought, he also called Tang Yang. After all, since it was their grandmother who wasn’t feeling well, it was only proper for a grandson to visit her too.

Wei Dong hitched the cart, Wei Xi went to help pack the medicine box, and Tang Xu assisted Old Wu onto the cart.

Old Fu suggested going along, but with the cart’s limited space already seating four people, it would have been a tight squeeze to add another passenger.

Tang Xu assured Old Fu that he would take good care of Old Wu, putting his mind at ease.

“Go stay with the kids at home. I’m not so old and senile that I need you to attend to me at every step,” Old Wu said, waving Old Fu off. Then, he patted Wei Dong on the shoulder. “Let’s go. The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll return.”

Wei Dong’s family mule was now about six or seven years old and could run exceptionally fast. Tang Zu, driving his ox cart, tried to keep up with them, but it wasn’t long before they left him behind on the village road.

Unable to do much about it, he could only slap the ox on its rump to urge it to move faster.

At the Tang family’s old residence, the family had been doing well financially in recent years, thanks to Tang Xu. 

Luo Pingping had discussed with her husband the idea of renovating their courtyard and house in the spring to make the place more comfortable and spacious to live in.

Tang Dahu naturally agreed—who wouldn’t want to live more comfortably?

That day, the courtyard was in disarray. The family had decided to sort through old belongings in the house, discarding items they had previously been reluctant to throw away, in preparation for replacing them with new ones during the renovation.

The mule cart arrived outside the courtyard. Wei Dong jumped down from the driver’s seat, glanced around, and decided to pat the mule, letting it wait outside.

The big mule had been to the Tang household many times. Sometimes Wei Dong would leave it outside, letting it wander around and graze on its own.

Now, with the grass dried up and patches of snow still on the ground, the mule snorted, flicked its tail twice, and stood still.

Tang Xu helped Old Wu down from the cart, with Wei Xi following behind.

He turned to Wei Dong and said, "Ah Dong, let’s head in."

Wei Dong nodded and reached out to steady Old Wu. "You go ahead first," he said, knowing that Tang Xu was anxious to check on the situation.

Tang Xu gave him a quick smile before turning and jogging into the courtyard.

"Auntie!" he called.

Inside the main house, Luo Pingping, who had just fed the old lady two spoonfuls of porridge, was startled by the shout, her hand trembling slightly. She quickly set the bowl aside and responded, "Yes! I’m in the house!"

After calling out, she turned to the elderly lady lying on the kang and said, "Mother, Xu Ge’er has come."

Wu Guizhi, the elderly lady, struggled to sit up, her movements frail and shaky. Luo Pingping immediately reached out to help her, ensuring she was propped up comfortably. 

By the time the old lady was sitting upright, Tang Xu had already lifted the curtain and entered the room.

At the sight of his grandmother’s pale complexion, Tang Xu felt his heart sink. He quickly stepped to the side of the kang and said, “Why have you gotten so thin, Grandma? Have you not been eating properly?”

“She hasn’t,” Luo Pingping sighed, gesturing toward the small bowl on the table by the kang. “She only drinks this tiny bowl of porridge a day. No matter what we offer, she says she has no appetite.”

The old lady shot her daughter-in-law a glare, as if blaming her for saying too much.

Seeing this, Tang Xu quickly sat on the edge of the kang and extended his hand for his grandmother to hold.

“I’m fine, really,” the old lady said.

“Fine? I’m not blind,” Tang Xu said, his face tense. “I told you last time not to skimp on firewood. Start heating the kang earlier so it’s warm for sleeping. Did you catch a chill because it was too cold?”

The old lady smiled at him, not saying a word.

Her eyelids drooped slightly, clearly struggling to stay awake.

Tang Xu felt a twinge in his nose, his eyes stinging. He gently supported her arm and said, “Grandma, lie down. Old Wu is here, and he’ll check your pulse.”

“It’s too much trouble for him,” the old lady said, feeling apologetic about making someone travel so far in the cold.

“It’s no trouble at all. Doctors are compassionate by nature, and the Old Wu won’t mind.”

“Now that’s something I like to hear,” Old Wu said as he entered the room, catching Tang Xu’s words. With a cheerful laugh, he approached the kang, glanced at the old lady, and said, “Lie down. Why are you still pretending to be strong in this condition?”

Wu Guizhi sighed and lay down.

Old Wu began examining her, and Tang Xu stepped back a couple of paces. He turned to Luo Pingping and asked, “Auntie, where’s my grandpa?”

“He’s in our room. These days, he’s been staying with your uncle. I’m worried your grandma might feel unwell at night, and if your grandpa falls asleep, he might not notice. Besides, with your grandma in this state, I’m afraid he might get overly anxious,” Luo Pingping said as she went to the outer room to fetch some hot water. 

When she returned, she noticed Wei Xi standing by the kang, speaking quietly with Old Wu. She added casually, “Is Xiao Xi studying medicine now?”

Tang Xu nodded, his gaze following hers toward the two by the kang.

Old Wu and Wei Xi were huddled together, speaking in hushed tones. Their voices were so low that it was hard to hear anything. 

After a moment, Wei Xi reached out to take the old lady’s pulse. After a while, he withdrew his hand and let Old Wu check her pulse next.

The two of them continued their quiet discussion afterward.

Tang Xu guessed that Old Wu might be testing Wei Xi on what he had learned recently.

In medicine, careful observation, inquiry, and examination are essential. After the elder and the younger finished discussing the old lady’s condition and comparing their findings, it turned out they reached nearly the same conclusion.

Old Wu stroked his beard with satisfaction and nodded approvingly. “Wei Xi is learning well.”

Old Wu turned to Tang Xu and said, “There’s nothing too serious. I also checked the herbal prescription from the other doctor earlier; two of the herbs were underdosed.”

He handed the revised prescription to Tang Xu. “This kind of medicine is available at home. Let Dongzi go fetch it.”

Tang Xu nodded, taking the prescription as he left the room.

Wei Dong was standing in the courtyard chatting with Tang Dahu. When he saw Tang Xu come out, he asked, “How’s Grandma?”

“Old Wu says it’s nothing serious. You should go back and fetch the medicine,” Tang Xu said, handing him the prescription.

Wei Dong nodded. “Alright.”

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