Ger, So Proud

Chapter 31

“You don’t happen to have feelings for Yu-ge, do you?”

Xu Qingsheng stopped working on the tiles and stroked his long beard. Seeing his hand covered in dirt, he quickly bent down to wipe it on his pant leg.

“What feelings?” He Ze looked up.

“You know, those kinds of feelings!” Xu Qingsheng got anxious, slapped He Ze’s shoulder, and nodded towards Lin Yu. “Look, Yu-ge is good-looking, has a great personality, and is very capable…”

Hmm, he is indeed good-looking and can hunt, which is impressive. As for his personality…well, putting aside his sharp tongue and sassy attitude, He Ze suddenly felt a pang in his nose.

But apart from that, he seemed… quite alright. The sun was getting a bit strong, so He Ze wiped his forehead and bent down to lay another tile before saying, “I know all that. So what?”

“So what?” Xu Qingsheng repeated, wanting to say more but stopping himself. He stared at He Ze for a long moment, seeing no reaction, then continued, “He family boy, give me an honest answer. Do you have those kinds of feelings for Yu-ge?”

“Those kinds of…” He Ze was taken aback, finally realizing what Xu Qingsheng meant. “Doctor Xu, you can’t possibly mean… that, do you?”

“Exactly! Got it?” Xu Qingsheng slapped his thigh, looking excited. “That’s exactly what I mean. So, tell me, what do you think?”

The He family boy wasn’t bad. Both families knew each other well; it could be a good match for Yu-ge! Over the years, Xu Qingsheng had watched Lin Yu grow up. Because of his feelings for Lin Yu’s dad, he almost considered Lin Yu his own child. Lin Yu’s marriage was not just a concern for his dad but also for him.

Xu Qingsheng stroked his beard, looking more and more pleased with He Ze.

“What do I think?” He Ze felt uncomfortable under his gaze and couldn’t help but laugh wryly. He then frowned, “Rest assured, Xu… Uncle Xu, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for Lin Yu.”

He doubted he would ever have those feelings for anyone.

“Really?” Xu Qingsheng paused, his voice rising, eyes sharp.

He suddenly leaned closer to He Ze, as if trying to find something on his face.

“Really.”

“Then I’m really puzzled. If you don’t have those feelings, why do you keep hanging around Yu-ge?” Xu Qingsheng scrutinized He Ze for a few moments, his eyes growing colder. “You better not be toying with him…”

“Uncle Xu, what are you saying? Lin Yu got injured because he took me up the mountain. Can’t I come to check on him?”

“Of course, you can.”

Xu Qingsheng seemed to remember something, and the coldness in his eyes dissipated as he bent down to continue working on the tiles.

“Uncle Xu, you…”

He Ze sensed something was off about the atmosphere.

“It’s nothing. I forgot that Yu-ge has that kind of reputation. Any man would have concerns, not to mention your family might not agree.”

Xu Qingsheng paused his work, then sighed.

“Uncle Xu, you misunderstood…”

“Alright, alright, stop talking about it. Since you don’t have feelings for Yu-ge, I’ll just have to find someone suitable for him. You, boy… don’t cry when that happens!” Xu Qingsheng gave He Ze a glance before laughing lightly.

“…”

He Ze went silent and instinctively turned to look at Lin Yu. At that moment, Lin Yu was sitting at the table, resting his chin in his hand, watching them. When He Ze looked over, their eyes met, and he saw Lin Yu’s smile.

He Ze was momentarily stunned, then smiled too.

Lin Yu indeed deserves a good husband.

Bending down, He Ze picked out a few more good tiles from the basket and placed them over the gaps on the roof.

“By the way, you mentioned wanting to start a medicinal herb field. Have you decided what to plant?” After a while of silence, Xu Qingsheng changed the subject.

“I was originally thinking of choosing between Bai Zhi, Atractylodes, Saffron, and Platycodon. So far, I haven’t found Saffron or Platycodon in the mountains. After consulting some medical books, I found that the most suitable one to plant is still Bai Zhi.”

Atractylodes are susceptible to pests; saffron is too precious and has strict growing conditions, making it unsuitable for a first-time crop; as for balloon flower, its medicinal value isn’t high enough, and the current market already has an excess.

Only Bai Zhi poses a low risk.

“Not bad,” Xu Qingsheng nodded approvingly at He Ze. “I initially thought you would choose saffron since its current market price is more than ten times that of Bai Zhi.”

“No matter how high the price is, failing to grow it would result in greater losses.” He Ze, having finished laying the last tile, climbed up to the roof’s highest point and sat down. From his vantage point, he could see Lin Yu with his head bowed, only his facial contours faintly visible.

“That’s true, haha,” Xu Qingsheng, also done with the last tile, climbed up and sat beside He Ze. “It’s rare for someone your age to have such foresight. You’re quite impressive!”

“You flatter me, Uncle Xu.”

“Since you want to grow Bai Zhi, do you have any leads on the seeds? That’s the first step.”

He Ze, realizing the significance, suddenly cupped his fists and bowed to Xu Qingsheng. “I seek your guidance, Uncle Xu.”

He had previously inquired and found that most of the Bai Zhi sold in town’s pharmacies were sourced from Ding County.

However, Ding County was far away and had recently suffered from floods. The road would likely be filled with refugees, making the journey difficult. Moreover, after such a disaster, local farmers might be relying on leftover Bai Zhi seeds for survival, making it uncertain whether they could sell any to him.

He also considered buying from medicinal herb traders, but their stock might not be the best for planting. Thus, he hesitated.

He could also dig up wild Bai Zhi from the mountains, but since they were wild, their growth states were inconsistent. Inducing uniform growth would be too labor-intensive.

Xu Qingsheng’s question was indeed timely.

“The Bai Zhi in our town’s pharmacies mainly comes from Ding County, but not all of it. My clinic only has some common medicinal herbs, but there are two types of Bai Zhi at different prices. Do you know why?”

He Ze looked up at Xu Qingsheng and shook his head.

“The lower-priced ones are from Ding County, while the higher-priced ones come from neighboring An County. Their quality is only better than Ding’s. However, An County only has one place suitable for growing Bai Zhi, so it’s always been self-managed by local farmers and hasn’t formed a large-scale industry.”

“An County? So, I should find farmers there?” He Ze seemed to understand.

“Exactly.” Xu Qingsheng stroked his beard with a smile. “If you don’t know the way, ask Yu-ge. A few years ago, one of his dad’s prescriptions required Szechuan lovage, which wasn’t available in town. Anxious, he went to find it alone and succeeded. He’s been there a few times since.”

“Alright,” He Ze nodded and glanced at Lin Yu in the courtyard. He suddenly stood up. “Uncle Xu, let’s go down quickly, or Lin Yu and Uncle Zhang will be worried.”

Without waiting for Xu Qingsheng’s response, He Ze climbed down the ladder. Seeing him descend, Lin Yu stood up, leaning on the table, “Be careful! Is it done?”

“Yes,” He Ze dusted off his hands and walked over to Lin Yu. His eyes swept over the items on the table before he spoke, “There are some snacks here to enjoy. And some ribs for your dad to stew later. Take good care of yourself. I’ll be going now, and you shouldn’t move around too much.”

“…Alright.”

Lin Yu nodded and turned to watch He Ze leave.

Xu Qingsheng had just come down from the ladder and, seeing Lin Yu facing the gate with his back turned, suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. However, he didn’t say anything.

Knowing that his dad didn’t want to be gossiped about, Xu Qingsheng glanced towards the kitchen and then bid farewell to Lin Yu.

“Take care, Uncle Xu.”

Watching Xu Qingsheng’s silhouette disappear beyond the courtyard gate, Lin Yu turned his head and immediately saw Dad Zhang standing by the kitchen door. He pursed his lips and quickly averted his gaze.

“Yu-ge, sit down first. I’ve made you some meat porridge, I’ll bring it over!”

Dad Zhang snapped out of his thoughts and turned back into the kitchen. Lin Yu sat quietly at the table, lost in thought.

…

When He Ze returned home, Dad Li had already gone out. He An and He Youcai were sitting in the courtyard chatting and laughing. Upon seeing He Ze, He An immediately rushed over.

“Brother!”

He Ze quickly stepped aside, narrowly avoiding him.

“Brother, how could you!”

He An pouted and returned to his seat, stuffing a piece of chestnut cake into his mouth, cheeks bulging, truly a little foodie.

“You’re back? How is Brother Yu’s injury?”

“Better now,” He Ze nodded, walking over to sit opposite He Youcai. “Father, where’s Dad?”

“The wind and rain were too strong yesterday. Your dad went to check on the millet in the fields to make sure it wasn’t knocked over,” He Youcai sighed, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to He Ze.

He Ze took it and drank a sip before replying, “It shouldn’t be, the rain didn’t last long.”

“Let’s hope so. But just in case. This year, we’re relying on those two plots of millet, or what will we eat next year?”

He Ze didn’t reply, just smiled. After finishing his tea, he said, “Father, about the plot where we used to plant sweet potatoes, you haven’t planted anything else there, have you?”

“No, we haven’t. Didn’t you say to wait a bit? Your dad wanted to plant, but I stopped him.”

He Youcai waved his hand and took a puff from his pipe.

“That’s good,” He Ze tapped his fingers on the table and then said, “Father, I want to try planting medicinal herbs on that plot.”

“Medicinal herbs?”

He Youcai looked puzzled, his brows furrowing deeply.

**Author’s Note:**

Lin Yu: I heard you have no feelings for me?

He Ze: Sob sob~ I have only true feelings for you.

**Author’s Comment:** Waiting to see He Ze get slapped in the face~ hahaha~