Xiaohua’s marriage left Xu Yi’s small wooden house feeling quite deserted.
However, a few days later, this quietness was shattered by an unexpected visitor.
“Granny Xu, I’ve brought you a wild chicken.”
Chai Jin stood at the doorway of the wooden house, holding a wild chicken with a crooked neck.
Although the cloth clothes he wore were washed white, they were at least clean and tidy.
“Xiaohua is already married,”
Xu Yi said slowly, drawing out her words.
“I know.” Chai Jin nodded expressionlessly, then walked into the wooden house on his own, began boiling water, and plucking the chicken.
Xu Yi did not stop him, watching him quietly.
He cleaned the chicken, then chopped it into pieces, and brought in some dried goods from outside the yard, throwing them all into the pot.
Before long, the aroma of chicken soup filled the entire house.
After finishing everything, Chai Jin spoke his third sentence of the day to Xu Yi.
“Xiaohua is always very grateful to you. Now that she is married, I will take care of you from now on.”
With that, he swept the yard clean again before striding away.
Xu Yi noticed that although he tried his best to control his steps, making himself appear normal, his uneven footprints still exposed his deficiency.
Xu Yi looked again at the bubbling chicken soup on the stove and couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh softly.
What a pity…
From that day on, Chai Jin would come to Xu Yi’s home every day, chopping firewood, carrying water, tending the fire, and cooking meals for her. He would also occasionally bring one or two fresh game meats to improve her diet.
When Xu Yi offered him silver, he refused.
He said, “You raised Xiaohua for many years. Now it’s time for you to enjoy your old age.”
Seeing that Chai Jin insisted on not accepting money, Xu Yi didn’t force the issue. Instead, she taught him how to set traps that could be used during hunting.
Chai Jin didn’t take it seriously at first. He had followed his master hunting since he was young and had already mastered most hunting traps.
But Xu Yi rarely spoke to him, so he didn’t object. He listened silently, but as he listened, he began to feel something was amiss.
The traps Xu Yi described were completely unknown to him.
However, based on his experience, he could tell that what Xu Yi was saying was not fabricated, but indeed feasible.
He no longer dared to be presumptuous. Instead, he listened attentively as Xu Yi imparted her experience. The next day, he eagerly set up a small trap according to the method Xu Yi had taught him.
On the third day, before he even reached the trap, he heard the cry of a beast coming from its location.
When he pushed aside the leaves covering the trap, he was surprised to find that the casually set trap had caught two plump rabbits at once, and they had not managed to break free.
Chai Jin was very smart. He immediately realized that the experience Xu Yi shared was an invaluable treasure.
Originally, he was doing this for Xiaohua’s filial piety, but this time he sincerely regarded Xu Yi as his elder, visited her more diligently, and treated her with even greater thoughtfulness.
Xu Yi grew older, her memory declined, and her temper worsened. Sometimes she wouldn’t speak to Chai Jin for ten days or half a month.
Chai Jin paid no mind, and his attitude towards Xu Yi remained unchanged.
Half a year later, Xu Yi made an unprecedented request of Chai Jin.
She asked him to buy medicine in the city according to her prescription.
Most of the herbs on the prescription were common, but two or three were incredibly precious, priced far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
For this, Chai Jin spent almost all of his life’s savings to gather all the herbs on the prescription.
While Xu Yi was boiling the medicine, he curiously asked, “Granny Xu, what medicine are you boiling?”
Xu Yi glanced at him faintly, “Good medicine.”
Chai Jin immediately knew that Xu Yi didn’t want to say more, and wisely shut his mouth.
The entire pot of medicinal liquid was eventually boiled down to a shallow bowl.
Xu Yi poured out the liquid and beckoned to Chai Jin, “Drink it.”
“Is this for me?” Chai Jin asked, surprised and delighted.
He knew Xu Yi was a very capable person. This pot of medicine had cost a great deal and had been boiled for a long time, so it must be something good.
Without hesitation, he picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
The bitter taste of the medicine spread in his mouth, and Chai Jin instinctively frowned.
“How do you feel?” Xu Yi asked with a smile.
“Feel?” Chai Jin closed his eyes and quietly felt, “Very bitter, and a bit numb.”
“And then?”
“Then I feel a bit dizzy, and I think I’m getting sleepy…”
Bang!
Before he could finish speaking, Chai Jin’s vision went black, and he fell to the ground.
When he dimly opened his eyes, it was already dark, and he was still lying in the courtyard of the wooden house.
Did I fall asleep?
Chai Jin glanced at the wooden house, noticed the door was closed, and saw the dim candlelight emanating from within. He couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
He lay on the ground to clear his head for a moment, then slowly got up and walked towards the neighboring village, still pondering what medicine Granny Xu had given him that made him so sleepy.
But as he walked, Chai Jin suddenly stopped. He felt something was not quite right with his body. The feeling was very peculiar, yet he couldn’t describe it.
He looked down at his body but found nothing unusual. He rolled up his sleeves, but still saw no problems.
He suspected he was being overly sensitive, shook his head, and continued forward. However, the strange sensation became more pronounced.
What exactly was wrong?
Chai Jin stopped and frowned in thought, his gaze shifting downwards again.
This time, he seemed to have found the source of the abnormality.
He gritted his teeth and, with a slightly trembling hand, lifted his trouser leg.
The originally hideous wound was re-bandaged with white cloth, and a faint numbness lingered.
He tried to take two steps forward and found that his footsteps landed steadily, without the previous unevenness.
“My leg…”
It’s healed.
Chai Jin stood there foolishly. After an unknown amount of time, he let out a cry and sat down on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Xu Yi, who was lying on the bed in the wooden house resting her mind, heard the crying outside. She shifted her body with some annoyance and covered her ears.
So noisy, can’t an old woman get any sleep?
Winter turned to spring, and another year passed in the blink of an eye.
Xu Yi grew older and older.
She rarely moved now, spending her days sitting blankly on the bamboo chair outside the courtyard, or quietly watching Chai Jin busy himself with all the household chores.
Chai Jin was also very concerned about Xu Yi’s health. He would turn to look at her from time to time, ensuring her breathing was steady before continuing with his work.
“Granny Xu, I’ve come to see you.”
A clear girlish voice drifted in from outside the house.
Chai Jin paused his movements, then pretended not to hear, ignoring her.
Hong Xing, dressed in blue, entered from the door. Her small face flushed red as she walked to Xu Yi’s side and placed a thick cotton pillow in her hand on the bamboo chair where Xu Yi was leaning. She said gently, “Granny Xu, I noticed you often lie on this bamboo chair, so I specifically made you a pillow. Does it seem suitable?”
After a pause that lasted nearly the time it took to brew half a cup of tea, Xu Yi finally replied slowly, “It’s good.”
“That’s good then.”
Hong Xing let out a sigh of relief and turned her gaze to Chai Jin, who had his back to her. She said shyly, “Brother Chai, what a coincidence, you’re here too.”
Chai Jin still did not speak, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.