"It’s so hot, isn't it?"
A thought suddenly flashed through Hou Yong's mind: he could go into town and set up a stall to sell *bingfen* (iced jelly). The raw material for this treat is stone flower seeds. In his previous life, while attending a company team-building event in Xinyang, he had visited a scenic spot where the locals grew this plant and invited tourists to make the dessert themselves. Hou Yong could still vaguely recall the preparation steps.
If he could open up a market for it in town, having the whole village plant a crop of stone flower seeds would be a pretty good option.
Hou Yong pondered this carefully and felt the plan was highly feasible. The Back Mountain behind the village had plenty of wild stone flower seeds. He decided that once he finished taking his father to the city for medical treatment, he would start with the *bingfen*.
At the very least, before Pan'er started school, he could save up enough money to cover his father's medical bills, pay off the debts the family owed, and then have enough left over for his sister’s tuition and Pan'er’s living expenses while at school.
Noticing that Hou Yong had become a bit distracted, Gu Panpan reached out and waved her hand in front of him. Hou Yong followed the movement of her arm, which was as fair and soft as a lotus root, and after just one glance, he found it difficult to look away.
It was a hot summer day, and the clothes Gu Panpan wore were clinging to her body, revealing the faint outline of the undershirt she wore beneath.
On top of that, Hou Yong had consumed quite a bit of his own wedding wine, and the atmosphere in the room was truly filled with a subtle, intimate tension.
Seeing Hou Yong leaning in, bit by bit, Gu Panpan’s heart felt as though it were about to jump right out of her throat.
"Brother, I’m going to sleep with Sister-in-law tonight to help keep the room warm for you."
Dong'er suddenly pushed the door open with both hands and dove straight into Gu Panpan’s arms. Hou Yong stood there stunned for a long while, until his father’s voice calling him from outside the door finally snapped him out of it.
"Even if you’ve held the wedding ceremony with Pan'er, you can't sleep together tonight. If word gets out, you’ll have no shame, but Pan'er still needs hers."
The moment he stepped outside, Hou Yong had his ear pinched by his father. After receiving a stern lecture, the poor groom was banished to sleep on a reed mat nearby.
In truth, Hou Yong hadn't actually intended to "devour" his new bride that night. After all, that wedding feast had been prepared for Wang Xue; no matter what, he wanted to prepare a better one for Pan'er.
She deserved it.
***
Breakfast was simple: a pot of sweet potato porridge, a dish of crispy pickled radishes, and a few coarse grain pancakes. The family of five sat around the table to eat.
Hou's mother had made a stew out of the leftovers from yesterday's feast. Although it didn't look like much, it tasted quite savory when eaten with the porridge and dipping the pancakes into the broth.
The other four were eating with great gusto, but Hou Yong felt nothing.
As someone who had grown up used to hearty meals in his previous life, this food was genuinely difficult to swallow. More importantly, he hadn't slept well at all the previous night; he had nearly been carried away by mosquitoes in the middle of the night.
If he hadn't lacked the skill to make mosquito coils, Hou Yong would have wanted to start a business selling those instead.
They finished breakfast before 6:00 AM. After the family of five tidied up, they climbed onto the farm tricycle used to deliver vegetables to the city. They headed toward town, chugging along the whole way. When they passed the county seat halfway there, they got off and went straight to the county hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Hou Yong insisted on having his father tested for kidney disease. In his past life, uremia had claimed his father's life; now that it was earlier, he could ensure early detection and early treatment. Hou Yong did not want to see that tragedy repeat itself.
In this day and age, his father was very resistant to the idea of a urine test. Perhaps because his daughter-in-law was present, his fingers trembled with anger as he held the plastic sample container, which looked like a jelly cup.
After much persuasion, he finally got the old man to provide a sample. Seeing his father's swarthy face turn a shade of red from sheer embarrassment, Hou Yong didn't mind at all; he quickly took the sample and delivered it.
Next, he accompanied his father up and down the hospital floors, completing every basic checkup possible.
By the afternoon, the actual test results came back, and they were much better than Hou Yong had imagined. His father did indeed have nephritis, but it was just a mild case, showing only one plus sign for hematuria. As long as he rested quietly, he could recover in about half a year.
Hou Yong didn't let his parents follow him when he went to listen to the doctor's orders. According to the prescription, the injections alone cost twenty-six yuan per day—a single day’s medicine cost as much as a person’s monthly salary.
In his previous life, even with an early diagnosis, his father would have rather died than seek treatment if he had known how expensive it was. Furthermore, the doctor advised "quiet rest," which was equivalent to cutting off one person's income for the family. His father never would have agreed to it.
Gu Panpan stood behind Hou Yong, her hands twisting the hem of her shirt, her fingertips turning white from the pressure. She knew exactly what such high daily medical expenses meant in this era.
"Alright, thank you. I'll go get the medicine now."
Hou Yong flicked the paper list the doctor had given him, making it snap loudly. The doctor watched Hou Yong’s retreating back with a touch of pity but said nothing; he had seen too many such patients. Although it wasn't a terminal illness, the eventual outcome was often the same.
"Brother Yong, I won't go to school anymore. I’ll go work in the factory with you."
As they left the clinic and queued at the pharmacy, Gu Panpan tugged on the back of Hou Yong's shirt. The young woman seemed to have gathered all her courage; her voice was soft, but her tone was firm.
"My tuition and living expenses are another drain on the family. If I save that money, you’ll have an easier time, and you can earn more to help Uncle recover sooner."
"Hmm?"
Hou Yong turned his head and looked at the determination in Gu Panpan’s eyes. A softness stirred deep within him.
"You silly girl, you worked so hard to get into university; how can you just talk about not going?"
"It’s fine. If I don't go this year, there's always next year. But if a person is gone, they're truly gone."
As soon as she said it, Gu Panpan felt like it sounded ominous, so she turned her head and spat twice to ward off bad luck.
It was true: if a person is gone, they are truly gone. It was such a simple truth, yet it was one Hou Yong had failed to understand in his previous life.
"There’s still over a month left. If I can't earn enough money by then, it won't be too late for you to consider dropping out, okay? But you have to keep this a secret for me."
As he spoke, Hou Yong gestured toward the direction of the ward. Gu Panpan opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she swallowed it back.
They returned to the ward to collect the medicine. That day, there were two IV bags: one for erythromycin and one for astragalus.
The medication in this day and age was potent. As the erythromycin dripped in, his father’s expression gradually grew pained. The medicine was harsh on the blood vessels and the stomach, causing body-wide aches the first time it was administered. The young nurse nearby kindly brought over a hot towel to place on his wrist, which eased the sensation a little.
Because of the effects of the medication, Hou Yong was able to easily distract his parents from the cost.
By the time the two IV bags were finished, it was already evening. His mother had to stay behind to look after him, so Hou Yong took Gu Panpan and Hou Dongdong home.
The little girl, worn out from the day's events, had long since fallen asleep. She had been drowsy for the entire ride on the tractor, and Hou Yong had to carry her to bed as soon as they walked through the door.