Chapter 60
The lettuce in the field was large and thriving. Xia Yi carefully dug them out one by one, stacking them neatly by the edge of the field, planning to come back with a cart to haul them later.
After finally digging up all the lettuce, leaving none behind, he wiped the light sweat from his forehead and contentedly headed home.
On the road outside the village, Gu Wenzhu was carrying a wild boar leg back home, intending to make dinner early.
Xia Yi hadn’t been looking well for the past few days, and Gu had thought about asking around the neighboring village to see if anyone had slaughtered a pig, so he could buy some meat to nourish him. Luckily, that morning, he ran into a hunter coming down the mountain with a wild boar slung over his shoulder.
Since Xia Yi’s favorite dish was wild boar stew, Gu Wenzhu immediately bought a leg and planned to cook it with some herbs like codonopsis and angelica when he got home.
When he arrived home, no one was there, so he assumed Xia Yi had gone to the fields. Gu Wenzhu started cleaning the boar leg, removing the hair and skin, then chopped it into pieces, adding some spices to blanch the meat and remove the gamey odor.
Finally, he simmered the wild boar in a clay pot with herbs. Before long, a light meaty aroma began to fill the air.
As Xia Yi made his way home, he discussed the lettuce harvest with 179. Before he knew it, he had reached the courtyard gate.
Just as he pushed the gate open, Gu Wenzhu peeked out from the kitchen with a smile and greeted him, “You’re back! Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”
Xia Yi was always eager to eat. He quickly washed up and sat obediently at the table, waiting for the meal to begin.
Gu Wenzhu set the table and brought out a steaming pot of wild boar meat. Placing it on the table, he smiled and said, “Quick, try it and see if it’s good.”
“Wow, my favorite wild boar!” Xia Yi’s eyes lit up as he grabbed his chopsticks. Not caring that it was hot, he picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffing as he chewed happily.
Gu Wenzhu stood by the table, watching Xia Yi with a smile and a hint of expectation in his voice, “How is it? Does it taste good?”
Just as Xia Yi was about to nod in approval, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea as the strong gamey flavor hit his nose. His stomach churned, and he couldn’t help but gag.
Even though he was about to vomit, he didn’t want to spit out the meat. His eyes reddened as he stubbornly kept it in his mouth.
Seeing this, Gu Wenzhu panicked and quickly rushed over, crouching down and putting his hand to Xia Yi’s mouth, urging, “Spit it out.”
Xia Yi took a couple of breaths, trying to suppress the nausea, and valiantly chewed the meat a few more times before gagging again.
Seeing Xia Yi’s teary-eyed face and reluctance to give up on the meat, Gu Wenzhu felt both heartache and amusement. He kept urging, “Stop eating! Spit it out now.”
Finally, Xia Yi reluctantly spat the wild boar meat into Gu Wenzhu’s hand.
Gu Wenzhu went into the kitchen, threw the meat away, washed his hands, and brought out a bowl of water. He gently rubbed Xia Yi’s back while helping him drink, all the while blaming himself, “You usually love wild boar. I must not have removed the gamey flavor well enough, and now it made you sick.”
Xia Yi’s eyes and nose were still red, but he shook his head at this, “You prepared it just fine. I actually like that faint wild taste. I don’t know what happened today; the smell just made me feel uncomfortable.”
“Could you have caught a chill and lost your appetite?” Gu Wenzhu asked with a hint of worry, reaching out to feel Xia Yi’s forehead.
“It’s nothing. Maybe I just ate too much rich food lately. Let’s stick to vegetables for now,” Xia Yi said, smiling when he saw Gu Wenzhu’s concerned expression. “It’s no big deal, let’s eat.”
The large bowl of wild boar sat on the table, but only Gu Wenzhu ate it.
Xia Yi chewed on his vegetables with little interest. Several times, he was tempted to pick up a piece of meat, but the memory of that smell quickly killed his appetite.
Just then, a breeze wafted another hint of meat aroma toward him.
Xia Yi felt his stomach turn again. He immediately put down his chopsticks and rushed to the courtyard gate, dry heaving painfully.
Gu Wenzhu quickly put down his own chopsticks and followed him outside.
Although Xia Yi didn’t throw up anything, he still felt as if he was going to faint, his body weak.
He leaned against Gu Wenzhu, gasping for breath, feeling utterly drained.
Seeing his pale face and sweat-drenched temples, Gu Wenzhu immediately scooped him up and carried him to the bed, laying him down before covering him with a blanket, tucking it snugly around him.
Looking at Gu Wenzhu’s worried face, Xia Yi weakly said, “I think I might really have caught a chill.”
“You rest here, I’ll go find a doctor to check on you,” Gu Wenzhu said urgently, barely able to hide his panic.
With that, he hurried out the door and headed to the northern part of the village where the local doctor lived.
Watching him leave the courtyard, Xia Yi already felt much better, the discomfort having mostly passed. He yawned as sleepiness washed over him and, just before drifting off, reminded the system, “179, make sure to wake me up later. I still want to eat the wild boar; Wenzhu’s stew is the best, and I love it.”
“Got it, host. Just rest for now,” 179 replied, completely baffled by the host’s foodie tendencies.
Eating while gagging, and still wanting to eat after.
The village only had one doctor, an old man surnamed Li who had inherited the family trade. He couldn’t treat serious illnesses, but he was good enough for minor ailments.
When Gu Wenzhu arrived at Dr. Li’s house, the doctor was having dinner. Hearing Gu Wenzhu’s explanation, Dr. Li quickly set down his chopsticks, grabbed his medical kit, and followed him back.
“It’s likely just a chill affecting the stomach. Let me take a look and prescribe a couple of remedies. He’ll be fine,” Dr. Li said, trying to reassure the visibly anxious Gu Wenzhu as they walked back together.
When he arrived home, Gu Wenzhu pushed open the bedroom door and saw that Xia Yi was already asleep, deeply nestled in the quilt, with his mouth slightly ajar.
Seeing that Dr. Li was still sitting in the living room waiting, Gu Wenzhu had no choice but to wake him up. “Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, don’t sleep yet, the doctor is here, let him take a look at you quickly.”
Xia Yi grunted, impatiently pushing him away with his hand, turning over to continue sleeping, and soon began to snore softly.
Seeing Dr. Li getting up and pacing in the living room, Gu Wenzhu started gently patting Xia Yi’s face. “Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, wake up quickly, the doctor is here; you can sleep again later.”
This time Xia Yi woke up a bit, groggily opened his eyes, recognized Gu Wenzhu in front of him, and asked, unclear, “Is it dawn?”
“You were so dazed, I just stepped out for a moment to ask Uncle Li to take a look at you.” Gu Wenzhu began to help him sit up, draping his outer garment over him. “Come on, let’s get dressed first.”
Xia Yi kept his eyes closed, resting his head on Gu Wenzhu’s shoulder, allowing him to lift his arms to put on his clothes.
Just as they got both sleeves on, Gu Wenzhu heard the familiar sound of snoring again.
It took a lot of effort to get him dressed, but Xia Yi had already fallen asleep again.
Gu Wenzhu sighed helplessly and tucked him into the quilt.
After carefully arranging the quilt, he invited Dr. Li in, feeling a bit embarrassed amidst the soft snores, and said to the doctor, “Uncle Li, I can’t wake him up; he’s too tired. Should we just check him like this?”
Dr. Li shook his head with a smile. “Let’s check him like this; I’ll feel his pulse first.”
Gu Wenzhu sat at the bedside, pulling Xia Yi’s hand from under the quilt, placing it on his own lap for Dr. Li to take his pulse.
The room was silent, only the sound of Xia Yi’s heavy breathing could be heard, and Gu Wenzhu watched beside him, hardly daring to breathe.
After a while, Dr. Li opened his eyes, revealing a look of concern.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Gu Wenzhu immediately became anxious.
Dr. Li shook his head, “It’s nothing; let me check again.” Saying this, he placed his fingers back on Xia Yi’s wrist.
Gu Wenzhu held his breath, staring intently at Dr. Li’s face, trying to discern something from his expression.
His hands were clenched into fists by his side, and his back was tense.
After a long time, Dr. Li sighed and slowly lowered Xia Yi’s hand.
Turning to Gu Wenzhu, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. “Go tell Gu Dashu and Liu Xiuer to burn some paper and share the good news.”
“Good news? What good news?” Gu Wenzhu looked confused and dazed.
Then he reacted, his face first showing disbelief before revealing a look of surprise. “Uncle Li, does that mean…?”
Dr. Li nodded with a smile. “Go tell them that your Gu family is having a child.”
Gu Wenzhu stood there dazed, his expression shifting between joy and worry, momentarily unsure of how to react.
“Uncle Li, but will there be any danger for Xiao Yi during childbirth?” Thinking of Xia Yi’s not-so-strong body, Gu Wenzhu became a bit anxious again.
Dr. Li was tidying up his medicine box while replying, “When giving birth, who can guarantee that everything will go smoothly? There are definitely risks. But hasn’t everyone come through it this way? We can’t decide not to have children just because of that.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Wenzhu’s heart trembled, and his facial features tightened. He stopped speaking and silently stood aside.
Seeing his expression was not good, Dr. Li smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’ve seen many people who are about to become fathers like you. Don’t panic; just take some time to help Xiao Yi recover for a few months, and then get ready to hold the baby.”
179 also began to excitedly shout in Xia Yi’s mind, “Host, wake up quickly; you’re going to be a dad! No, you’re going to be a mom!”
Xia Yi slept until noon the next day, and before he even opened his eyes, a fragrant smell of fish porridge wafted to his nose, instantly making his mouth water.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Gu Wenzhu’s enlarged face, leaning over the edge of the bed, staring at him silently.
“You scared me! What are you doing?” Xia Yi stretched out his voice, unknowingly sounding a bit spoiled. He pushed his face with his hand, squishing his handsome features together.
Gu Wenzhu caught his hand and kissed it near his mouth. “You’ve slept until noon; you must be hungry, right? Hurry up and get up to eat some porridge. I caught the fish in the river before dawn today.”
Xia Yi hadn’t eaten enough the night before and had just fallen onto the bed to sleep until now. Smelling the aroma of the fish, he felt his stomach rumbling and quickly climbed out of bed.
He hurriedly ran to the washing area to freshen up.
Gu Wenzhu kept calling out, “Slow down, slow down,” while nervously following behind him like a hen, saying, “The floor in the washing area is slippery; be careful.”
While rinsing his mouth with salt, Xia Yi glanced back at the tense Gu Wenzhu behind him and mumbled, “What’s wrong? I’m not a child anymore.”
Gu Wenzhu opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.
Xia Yi then began to lean his head back, bumping his nape against Gu Wenzhu’s nose repeatedly.
Gu Wenzhu helplessly covered his nape with his hand. “Be more serious.”
After washing up and returning to the room, Xia Yi hurried to get the porridge, exaggeratingly sniffing the air. “It smells so good! I could eat ten bowls.”
“Don’t move; I’ll feed you.” Gu Wenzhu quickly picked up the bowl of porridge, blew on a spoonful, and carefully brought it to Xia Yi’s mouth.
Xia Yi opened his mouth wide, almost swallowing the spoon along with the porridge.
Soon, the bottom of the bowl was visible, and Xia Yi reached out to grab the bowl. “I want more; I’ll go get another bowl.”
However, Gu Wenzhu tightly held the bowl, quickly getting up and nervously saying, “Sit still; I’ll go get it.” After that, he hurriedly headed toward the kitchen.
As Xia Yi watched his back, he suddenly felt a doubt arise.
“179, did Dr. Li come by after I fell asleep last night?”
“Yes,” 179 answered cheerfully.
“Did he find any issues with me? Why is Brother Zhu taking care of me like I’m a seriously ill patient?” Xia Yi began to feel anxious.
“You guess, hee hee.”
“179, are you still my friend? Quickly tell me, I can handle any result.”
“This kind of thing can’t be told by me; you should ask Gu Wenzhu.”
As they were speaking, Gu Wenzhu walked in again, holding a bowl of porridge, stirring it gently and blowing on it.
Then he scooped a spoonful and brought it to Xia Yi’s mouth.
Xia Yi silently finished the porridge, filled with various guesses in his mind.
When Gu Wenzhu finished tidying up the bowls and nervously sat beside him to keep watch, Xia Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Zhu, aren’t you going out today?”
“I’m not going. I’ll stay with you today.”
“But you said you needed to water the winter wheat these days?”
“I’m not going. Missing a couple of days won’t kill the seedlings.”
“But what if they really die?”
“Let them die if they want.”
After saying that, he began to gently massage Xia Yi’s shoulders.
Xia Yi’s expression gradually became serious as he grasped Gu Wenzhu’s hand on his shoulder and quietly asked, “Brother Zhu, what did the doctor say when he came to see me last night?”
After speaking, he turned his head to look behind him.
His pupils were a completely different color from Gu Wenzhu’s; they were very light. When he looked at someone quietly, it gave off an especially gentle feeling, but also revealed a simple stubbornness.
Gu Wenzhu showed a strange expression upon hearing this, as if he was trying hard to suppress excitement while also containing worry and fear.
Finally, he thought for a moment and gently told Xia Yi, “Xia Yi, our family is going to have a baby.”
