Two Bottles of Medicine
Chu Mo had no idea that Chu Yuechuan had misunderstood his unusual behavior.
Seeing Chu Yuechuan and Chu Yueqing alive and well, the anxiety Chu Mo had carried all along finally eased.
Chu Yuechuan hadn’t injured his leg yet, and Chu Yueqing hadn’t been kidnapped. Everything was still on the timeline of his past life.
This time, they would all be okay!
In his past life, Chu Mo had only spent time with Chu Yueqing during the period when he’d been kidnapped. Back then, Chu Yueqing hadn’t obeyed the traffickers and had been beaten until his spine was broken. He could only crawl, and the traffickers used him to win people’s sympathy. In the end, he was too frail to survive an illness and died young.
After that, every year on Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chu Mo and Chu Yuechuan would visit Chu Yueqing’s grave, bringing all kinds of candy, tasty treats, and toys. They would sit by the little mound of earth and talk to him for a while.
Now that Chu Mo saw Chu Yueqing healthy and full of life, he wanted to spoil the child rotten.
Chu Mo gazed tenderly at Chu Yueqing as he picked the cockleburs out of the boy’s hair.
The child’s hair hadn’t been washed in who knew how long. It was coated in dust, tangled into clumps, and even had a few lice hiding in it.
Chu Yueqing grinned foolishly at Chu Mo, scratching his head now and then. His little hands were black, with dirt packed beneath his fingernails.
At first, the boy’s round, clever eyes had made him look adorable despite being filthy. Chu Mo had even wanted to ruffle his hair and cuddle him.
Now he couldn’t bring himself to touch it.
He’d have to find a chance to give the boy a proper wash.
Good hygiene was the foundation of good health.
As Chu Mo thought this, the ox cart soon reached Team Two of Taohuagou Brigade, where Chu Yuechuan’s home was.
Chu Yuechuan didn’t take the cart through the village. Instead, he went around and brought it in through the back gate of the Chu home.
The Chu family’s courtyard was large, with a front and back yard. The house in between was small: a row of earthen houses built with a little bit of blue brick mixed in. There were three rooms. The middle room, with a back door, was the main room, and the rooms on either side were bedrooms. A side room in the front yard served as the kitchen.
Chu Mo’s memories of the old Chu house were hazy. He’d lived here for a while when he first arrived in his past life, but the house had been renovated later.
They’d been so poor back then that they hadn’t even managed to keep a single photograph.
Now, even though the house looked shabby, seeing it still made Chu Mo feel at home.
Chu Yuechuan unloaded Chu Mo’s luggage and transitional grain rations, carrying one bundle in each hand and taking them to the empty room he’d prepared earlier.
Chu Mo climbed down from the cart, took Chu Yueqing by the hand, and followed Chu Yuechuan into the room.
The room had been cleaned ahead of time and looked quite tidy. The window had just been covered with paper to keep out the drafts. The earthen kang was bare except for a straw mat. Beside it stood a four-legged cabinet that served as both a table and a storage cupboard, with a wooden chair in front. That was all.
Chu Mo didn’t know the outside of the old house very well, but he knew the cabinet and chair in the room like the back of his hand. Even after they built a new house, they hadn’t had the heart to throw them away.
They held so many memories.
Chu Mo remembered one time in his past life when he’d been playing hide-and-seek. He’d hidden in the cabinet and fallen asleep. Chu Yuechuan had searched for him all day and nearly panicked. When he finally found Chu Mo inside, his eyes were red and his expression terrifying. He’d hugged Chu Mo so tightly.
It had cost Chu Yuechuan no end of worry to raise him.
Chu Yuechuan put down Chu Mo’s luggage and turned to leave. Then a cool hand grabbed his arm, and the next moment, arms wrapped around his waist.
That fresh, pleasant scent rushed into his nose again. Every point of contact felt soft, and soft strands of hair brushed against Chu Yuechuan’s neck.
Chu Yuechuan stiffened. He reached back and pulled at Chu Mo’s clothes, trying to draw him away. Chu Mo’s eyes were glistening, reflecting Chu Yuechuan’s face. He looked on the verge of tears, his gaze full of an emotion Chu Yuechuan couldn’t understand. It seemed to be sadness, mixed with longing.
What did this mean? Did he not want Chu Yuechuan to leave?
But they’d only met today…
“I’m going to get you some hot water.” Chu Yuechuan paused, then let go of Chu Mo and spoke gently, pointing to the room across the way.
Realizing that memories of his past life had made him a little too emotional, Chu Mo quickly stepped back several paces.
Chu Yuechuan went to check on Grandpa Chu. The old man was still asleep, so he didn’t wake him. He took a somewhat battered thermos from the room, found a bowl, poured in some hot water, and carried it to Chu Mo.
“Drink some water first,” Chu Yuechuan said, pointing at the bowl.
“Thank you, Brother!” Chu Mo nodded at him with a smile in his eyes, then wrote a few words in his notebook.
If Chu Mo could speak, he’d have a very sweet tongue.
Chu Yuechuan glanced at those words, his eyes flickering. Then he held out his hand for Chu Mo’s notebook.
Chu Yuechuan had been thinking that Chu Mo might have just gone through some huge upheaval in his family and felt insecure. He was probably afraid Chu Yuechuan would abandon him, and was treating him as a future “husband” he could rely on.
He needed to explain things clearly to Chu Mo. No matter what, he wouldn’t leave him in the lurch, so there was no need to take the “childhood betrothal” their grandfathers had arranged as binding and decide what they were to each other right away.
That was hard to explain with gestures. Seeing Chu Mo’s notebook, Chu Yuechuan decided to write it down.
The little notebook looked tiny in Chu Yuechuan’s hands.
Chu Mo watched Chu Yuechuan write with a frown and a serious expression, feeling a little expectant.
Chu Yuechuan was taking a while, so Chu Mo picked up the bowl from the cabinet.
He’d finished the water in his thermos on the uphill stretch, and his throat was parched. He’d been wanting a drink.
Chu Mo took off his mask and sipped from the bowl.
The water was hot. He blew on it, and the steam warmed and moistened the air he breathed in. He took a sip, his eyes curving into a smile, then drank a few more.
When Chu Mo looked up, he found both people in the room staring at him.
Until then, Chu Yuechuan had only seen Chu Mo’s eyes. They were lovely, but they were only eyes, partly hidden by his bangs. He hadn’t thought they were that striking. Now, seeing Chu Mo’s whole face, Chu Yuechuan was completely stunned. An unfamiliar, inexplicable feeling surged through him.
The person before him was clean, delicate, and beautiful. Even the shabby, bare surroundings seemed to brighten and grow more pleasing to the eye.
Chu Mo blinked, unsure what was going on. When Chu Yuechuan stopped writing, Chu Mo assumed he’d finished. He smiled at him and pointed to the notebook in Chu Yuechuan’s hand.
Chu Yuechuan lowered his eyes, his expression turning uneasy.
The person before him looked even more beautiful when he smiled. It was like the peach blossoms in Taohuagou blooming in spring…
As Chu Mo’s slender, pale fingers reached for the notebook, Chu Yuechuan acted before he could think. Rip. He tore out the half-written page, the one where he’d begun to explain himself.
The paper was clenched in Chu Yuechuan’s fist, almost burning to the touch.
Actually, an arranged childhood betrothal wasn’t necessarily unacceptable…
“Drink your water. I’m going to check on Grandpa.” Chu Yuechuan handed the notebook back to Chu Mo, looked away, and left as he spoke.
Chu Mo was curious about what Chu Yuechuan had written and then torn out.
But when he saw Chu Yuechuan mention Grandpa Chu, Chu Mo forgot about the water, got up, and led Chu Yueqing out.
Chu Yueqing, who’d been right there for all the excitement, had seen Chu Mo hug his big brother and had also seen that Chu Mo was as beautiful as a “fairy.” Instinctively, he felt even closer to him.
A hug meant marriage. That made the person in front of him his sister-in-law!
A sister-in-law that beautiful, who even gave him candy, had to be the best sister-in-law in the whole world!
Chu Mo had no idea what Chu Yueqing was thinking. He led the child out of the room and stopped at the doorway of the room on the other side of the main room.
A heavy curtain hung across the entrance. Chu Mo didn’t go straight in, but tapped on the doorframe.
Inside, Grandpa Chu had already woken up.
Chu Yuechuan went in and briefly told Grandpa Chu about Chu Mo. He helped the old man up from the earthen kang, put a jacket on him, and supported him outside.
Grandpa Chu was in his early sixties, but looked extremely old. He was so thin his bones showed, and his back was hunched as if he couldn’t straighten up.
Compared with the Chu brothers, Grandpa Chu looked much cleaner. He’d had his hair cut recently, close-cropped, though he seemed low on energy.
A year earlier, Grandpa Chu had fallen and lost consciousness. He’d been revived, but was left partially paralyzed, unable to move one side of his body, and his speech had become slurred.
When he heard what Chu Yuechuan told him, he was delighted.
As Chu Yuechuan helped him outside and he saw Chu Mo, a little more light came into his cloudy eyes.
“Good, good, good. Now I can rest easy and go into my coffin!” Grandpa Chu said indistinctly. Only Chu Yuechuan, who was used to hearing him, could understand what he meant.
“Grandpa!” Chu Mo went up to him and bowed, then wrote the character for “grandpa” twice in large letters. The old man could recognize a few characters, and his smile grew when he saw them.
Chu Mo hadn’t met the old man in his past life. The old man hadn’t made it through that winter. He’d worked hard all his life and never enjoyed a single day of comfort.
Chu Yuechuan’s father had died young. After his mother remarried, something happened to her, and she left Chu Yueqing, the child from her second marriage, in Chu Yuechuan’s care.
In a way, both Chu Yuechuan and Chu Yueqing had been raised by Grandpa Chu.
He was the closest family Chu Yuechuan and Chu Yueqing had. That made him Chu Mo’s family, too.
Chu Mo supported the old man from the other side, and together he and Chu Yuechuan helped him sit down in a chair.
Looking at Grandpa Chu, Chu Mo remembered something. He returned to the room where he’d left his luggage and soon came back with a square box.
Chu Mo opened the box and took out two bottles of medicine.
He’d bought them in Fengcheng.
In his past life, Chu Yuechuan had told Chu Mo some things about Grandpa Chu.
There was a medicine that dissolved blood clots and improved blood circulation in the brain. It could help Grandpa Chu’s condition, but it was expensive and very hard to find.
Back when Grandpa Chu had been seriously ill, Chu Yuechuan had taken risks to earn money for his treatment and medicine. He’d been left disabled, and Grandpa Chu hadn’t made it through that winter.
Qian Guixiang had worried Chu Mo would get sick after going to the countryside, so she’d taken him to buy medicine.
Chu Mo had asked a doctor to help him get this medicine, enough for half a year.
Fengcheng was a fairly prosperous city. If you had the money, you could still get the medicine there.
Chu Mo handed it to Chu Yuechuan, hoping it could help him avoid that disaster.
“Brother, this medicine should help Grandpa. I know a little about medicine.” Chu Mo wrote a line for Chu Yuechuan to read.
Chu Yuechuan took the medicine and looked at Chu Mo in surprise.
When Grandpa Chu had fallen and suddenly lost consciousness, Chu Yuechuan had taken him to the hospital. He’d spent quite a bit of money, but Grandpa Chu still hadn’t woken up. Later, Chu Yuechuan had begged an old doctor sent down to the brigade’s collectively owned Peach Orchard to save him. That doctor had prescribed this medicine, but it was both expensive and hard to find. The commune clinic in Qinghe didn’t have any, and when Chu Yuechuan went to the county hospital to ask, they didn’t have it either.
Chu Yuechuan had been worrying about how to get the medicine. He hadn’t expected Chu Mo to have bought it!
Since Chu Yuechuan already thought Chu Mo was his betrothed, the medicine Chu Mo had brought made sense to him, too.
He’d already been convinced that Chu Mo was his betrothed. Now he was even more certain.
His grandfather had mentioned his illness in a letter to his old war comrade, who’d said he would come visit. They just hadn’t expected things to change so soon.
Things were so hard for them now, and yet Chu Mo had still found a way to buy medicine for his grandfather.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask a doctor. Do you know Mr. Xie Xinru? I heard he’s a famous doctor, sent down here to Taohuagou.” Seeing Chu Yuechuan’s expression, Chu Mo wrote another line.
Xie Xinru was the person who had treated Grandpa Chu and prescribed the medicine. In Chu Mo’s past life, he’d also been the benefactor who had nursed Chu Mo’s frail body back to health and devised a treatment plan for his deafness and muteness.
Without him, Chu Mo probably wouldn’t have survived.
Besides finding Chu Yuechuan, another important reason Chu Mo had come to Taohuagou was to find Grandpa Xie. He wanted to make the old man’s life as comfortable as possible, and also have him treat Chu Mo’s own health problems and teach him medicine.
In Chu Mo’s past life, Xie Xinru had been worn down by years of hard labor and had died just a few years later.
When Chu Mo had lived with Xie Xinru, he’d been too young to understand much. By the time he could speak and hear, he was already sixteen or seventeen, and had lost his chance to learn from him.
“I believe you. That’s the exact medicine Mr. Xie prescribed. Thank you!” Chu Yuechuan took Chu Mo’s notebook, wrote a line, and handed it back to him. Then he went into the room and came out with a stack of saved small bills, which he pressed into Chu Mo’s hand.
“There’s eleven yuan and fifty cents here. It’s only enough to pay for one bottle. I’ll get the other one from you once I’ve saved up enough.” After handing Chu Mo the money, Chu Yuechuan wrote it in Chu Mo’s notebook.
Chu Yuechuan took only one bottle of medicine.
Chu Mo stared at the familiar handwriting, dazed for a moment. Then the money was pressed into his hand.
“Brother, you don’t have to be so formal. We’re family. If you feel bad about it, could you take me to see Mr. Xie sometime? I want him to examine me, too, and see if there’s any chance I can speak again and hear sounds.” Chu Mo wrote. He wanted to grow closer to Chu Yuechuan and didn’t want the money. But remembering how Chu Yuechuan had wanted to pay even for a piece of candy for Chu Yueqing, and seeing how stern and insistent he looked now, Chu Mo changed his mind. He accepted the money and kept one bottle of medicine.
In a place like Taohuagou, Chu Yuechuan must have worked hard to save up that much.
Chu Mo didn’t want him to take any more risks. He would have to think of a way. Until Chu Yuechuan started earning money, Chu Mo would ask him for more favors and trade help back and forth on equal terms, so that Chu Yuechuan could feel at ease.
“All right.” Chu Yuechuan nodded.
Given Xie Xinru’s situation, it might be difficult to get him to treat Chu Mo. But Chu Mo had done them such a huge favor. No matter how difficult it was, Chu Yuechuan would take him to see the doctor.
Chu Mo’s eyes curved into a smile.
Good thing that had gone smoothly. Otherwise, Chu Mo wouldn’t have known what to say.
He only hoped Chu Yuechuan wouldn’t ask why he carried this kind of medicine around. If he did, Chu Mo would have to make something up.
Chu Mo wrote “thank you” for Chu Yuechuan to read, then saw him back away a few steps, looking uneasy.
Chu Yuechuan’s stomach growled, making him feel awkward. Remembering that Chu Mo couldn’t hear it made him feel a little better.
“Big brother’s tummy is hungry. Mine’s hungry too. Big brother should make dinner. I’ll make the fire!” Chu Yueqing said, holding his stomach.
Chu Mo understood what Chu Yueqing meant. It was getting late, and it was time to eat.
Chu Mo had brought some cured meat and sausages in his luggage. The transitional grain ration included some rice, and there were potatoes and carrots, too. He could make cured-meat braised rice.
“Brother, I’ll cook at home. If I have to go out to work, could you help me with some of the labor? Would that be all right?” Seeing Chu Yuechuan heading for the kitchen, Chu Mo wrote a line and showed it to him.
Chu Yuechuan was great in every way except that his cooking was terrible. He had no talent for it.
In his past life, when Chu Mo had first arrived, he’d had very little appetite and only eaten a few bites at a time. He’d grown thinner and thinner, so Chu Yuechuan had taken him to ask Grandpa Xie about it. Grandpa Xie had said the problem was that Chu Yuechuan’s cooking was awful.
Later, Chu Mo taught himself to cook, and the two of them finally ate well.
“All right. Everything’s in the kitchen. Make whatever you like.” Chu Yuechuan saw what Chu Mo had written and paused before nodding.
One look at Chu Mo showed he couldn’t do much heavy work.
If he wanted Chu Yuechuan to help, then Chu Yuechuan would help.
“Go make the fire and keep an eye on everyone. I’ll take the ox cart back!” Chu Yuechuan told Chu Yueqing, then gestured to Chu Mo that he was leaving.
“Brother, come back soon. We’ll wait for you to eat.” Chu Mo understood and wrote a few words for Chu Yuechuan, smiling at him with his eyes.
Chu Yuechuan felt dazzled by Chu Mo’s smile and nodded absently.
“Grandpa, I’m taking the ox cart back. I’ll be home soon!” Chu Yuechuan said to Grandpa Chu, then hurried out in long, brisk strides.
Chu Mo was about to take Chu Yueqing to the kitchen when a gust of wind swept past. Chu Yuechuan had come back again, passed Chu Mo, and latched the front gate.
“If someone knocks, don’t open it until I get back!” Chu Yuechuan told Chu Yueqing, then hurried toward the back yard, raising another gust of wind.
Chu Mo stared, bewildered.
Chu Yuechuan led the ox cart out through the back yard and locked the gate behind him.
The Chu family didn’t have anything valuable, and Grandpa Chu was always home, so they’d never bothered to close either gate during the day.
But things were different now.