Chapter 12: Worried

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

“You’ve been outside all this time, where are you going to find a wife? Let your mother take care of this matter for you.”

Wang Meizhen joyfully took the candies from him and looked at them in her hand. “We haven’t seen this type of candy around here. They must be very expensive, right? You always waste money like this.”

The villagers always envied her sons and daughter for doing well in life, especially Yihan. Last time, he wrote to say that his salary had increased again. 50 or 60 yuan as wages for the people working in the city was already considered pretty good, but Yihan would send about 70 or 80 yuan back home every month. If the girls in the village knew about this, they would definitely rush to marry him.

“Your son is being filial to you, just secretly be happy inside.” Zhan Dafeng opened the pack of cut tobacco. He examined the quality and put it under his nose to smell it. A satisfied smile spread across his face. Smelling the scent of this cut tobacco, he knew that the tobacco he usually smoked was nothing compared to this.

Wang Meizhen rolled her eyes at Zhan Dafeng and said, “Isn’t he also filial to you?”

“Mum, you mentioned that Dr. Su was injured last time. Is she better now?” Zhan Yihan asked. Had it not been for the urgent mission last time, he would have come back a long time ago. Although he would not have been able to help her even if he had come back, he would at least know whether her injuries were serious or not.

“She’s fine already. She even saved Wu Caiying a few days ago. Although Dr. Su is young, she is really capable. Whoever marries her in the future will be very blessed,” Wang Meizhen praised her. Now that she thought about it, Yihan and Dr. Su were quite a good match. The only thing was that she did not know if both of them were interested.

“Yihan, what do you think of Dr. Su?” Wang Meizhen looked at Zhan Yihan and asked. If Yihan was interested, she could go and sound Dr. Su out.

“Very good!” Zhan Yihan smiled. Jinyue was a kind, opinionated lady and he admired her very much.

Seeing the smile on Zhan Yihan’s face, Wang Meizhen understood. “In that case, I’ll go and raise the marriage proposal to Dr. Xu tomorrow and say that you’ve taken a fancy to Dr. Su.” She also liked Dr. Su very much.

“Mum, Dr. Su and I are just friends, please don’t jump in with both feet. I’m going out.” Zhan Yihan stood up and walked outside. He only regarded Jinyue as a good friend and as a younger sister. He did not have any other intentions towards her.

“Is anyone home?” As soon as Zhan Yihan stepped outside of the main hall, he heard someone shouting outside the courtyard.

Stepping forward to open the door, Zhan Yihan saw that the person outside the door was Song Yiren.

“Big Brother Zhan, you’re back!” Song Yiren looked at Zhan Yihan in surprise and her eyes shone brightly. She had hurried over the moment she heard the news of his return.

Zhan Yihan gave her a brief nod and glanced at the basket in Song Yiren’s hand.

“I’m here to deliver medicine to Aunty Zhan. Aunty Zhan complained about lower back pain a while ago, so I specially went to the mountain to gather some herbs for her.” Song Yiren raised up the basket in her hand to let Zhan Yihan see the herbs in the basket.

“Thank you!” Zhan Yihan said indifferently. Although it could be said that he and Song Yiren had grown up together, for some reason or another, he did not like her very much.

Song Yiren shyly smiled and bashfully lowered her head, as she said, “You’re welcome. It’s what I should do.” After more than three years of not seeing him, Big Brother Zhan had become even more handsome. Her heart rate was accelerating uncontrollably.

“My mum is in the house, you can go on in.” Zhan Yihan stepped out of the courtyard and headed in the direction of the clinic.

“Big Brother Zhan, where are you going?” Song Yiren asked anxiously. She had come here just for him. If he left, wouldn’t she have come all the way here for nothing?

“Just walking around,” Zhan Yihan said as he continued striding forward.

Song Yiren looked at the basket in her hand, then at Zhan Yihan who was going further away. She then quickly strode into the house. The village was only that big. It would not be too late to chase after Big Brother Zhan, after she handed the herbs to Aunty Zhan.

When Zhan Yihan arrived at the clinic, he saw Xu Tiansheng examining Grandma Sun from the village, so he stood by the side and waited.

Xu Tiansheng also saw Zhan Yihan. He looked up and smiled at him. He admired this young man very much, especially the aura that he exuded. One could tell from a single glance that he was not simple.

“These medicines are to be taken for seven days. Decoct and take them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The method of decocting the medicine is the same as the past few times. Don’t eat cold vegetables such as radish and eggplant.” Once more, Xu Tiansheng carefully explained to Grandma Sun the method of taking the medicine and the things to note.

“Okay, Dr. Xu.” Grandma Sun took the medicine that Xu Tiansheng passed her. She then stood up and hobbled out.

After taking two steps, Grandma Sun turned back again. Taking a good look at Zhan Yihan, she then asked in uncertainty, “Aren’t you the eldest child in Dafeng’s family?”

Zhan Yihan smiled and nodded. “Yes, Grandma Sun.” Grandma Sun was very high in seniority in the village, and the villagers respected her very much.

“You haven’t come back in more than three years, isn’t it? It must be very tough out there, right?” Grandma Sun asked with a smile. People who work outside were different indeed. They looked very energetic.

“It’s not tough.” Zhan Yihan shook his head. He enjoyed his current life very much. Although he was only helping out in the army, he felt very proud to be able to contribute to his country.

“Good child! By the way, you are already in your twenties now. It’s about time to find a wife so that you can have a child earlier,” Grandma Sun smiled and said.

Zhan Yihan stroked his nose in awkwardness.

“Okay, okay, I shan’t say anymore. I have to go back and decoct my medicine.” Grandma Sun chuckled while waving the medicine in her hand, before hobbling out.

“Just came back today?” Xu Tiansheng pointed to the chair beside him and motioned to Zhan Yihan to take a seat.

Zhan Yihan walked over to the chair and sat down. He replied to Xu Tiansheng, “I just got home. I heard that Dr. Su is injured, so I came over to take a look. Where is she?” He had not seen her in more than three years, he actually missed her quite a fair bit.

“Jinyue went out to gather medicinal herbs. It’s already past four o’clock but she’s still not back yet. This girl is really getting increasingly out of hand.” Xu Tiansheng looked at his watch, feeling a little worried. He had already returned from his meeting but Jinyue was still not back yet. Did something happen to her? The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

“Why don’t I go and look for her? Where did she go to gather herbs?” Zhan Yihan was also a little worried. The mountain road would not be easy to navigate when the sky turned dark.

“She should be on the South Mountain,” Xu Tiansheng said. There were herbs on South Mountain and it was relatively less dangerous than the other mountains, so they would usually go there to gather medicinal herbs.

“I’ll go and take a look. Don’t worry, I’ll bring her back safely.” Zhan Yihan stood up, nodded at Xu Tiansheng, and headed out.

After searching around the entire village but failing to find Zhan Yihan, Song Yiren could only listlessly head back to the clinic.

As soon as she reached the clinic, she saw Zhan Yihan walking out from there. Her eyes instantly lit up and she rushed up to him. “Big Brother Zhan, why are you here?” Had she known that Big Brother Zhan had come to her clinic, she would have come back much earlier.

“I came here to see Dr. Su,” Zhan Yihan said indifferently.

Song Yiren’s eyebrows knitted together, as she said, “Jinyue went up the mountain to gather herbs. She should be back soon. Big Brother Zhan, why don’t you go in and sit for a while.” He was in a hurry to see Su Jinyue the moment he came home, but ignored her. How is Jinyue better than me?