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The person was saved. It was Zhi Sheng who spent half a year gathering herbs to pay for the treatment.
Xiao Feng woke up, but he seemed a bit dazed.
According to Zhuang Daifu, it was due to a bump on the back of his head that caused a bruise pressing on his nerves, which made him forget some things. Now, he acted like a fledgling bird; the first time he saw Zhi Sheng, he clung to him as if he were his mother—or rather, his father.
Zhi Sheng rubbed his forehead. "Zhuang Daifu, can’t you do anything to help him? He’s a grown man, just a year or two younger than me. Is it appropriate for him to call me ‘father’?"
Zhuang Daifu seemed quite pleased. Sipping his tea, he commented, "Isn’t this great? You don’t have the money to marry anyone anyway. Now you have someone to take care of you without getting married—what a good deal! I think you should just accept it. You spent your savings to save him; it’s only right for him to call you ‘father’ while helping you out."
Glancing at Gou Wa, who was following behind him with a silly grin, Zhi Sheng felt speechless and quickly pulled Xiao Feng away, fearing that Gou Wa might say something outrageous again.
"Listen, you’re not allowed to call me ‘father’ in front of others, nor ‘mother,’ and definitely don’t look at me with that silly smile, got it?" Zhi Sheng said to the grinning Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng nodded repeatedly. "Got it, mother."
Zhi Sheng corrected him loudly. "Call me brother."
"Yes, brother."
At this point, there was no longer a Xiao Feng; only an unnamed fool from a small village called Gou Wa.
The name Gou Wa was given by Zhi Sheng. He had no talent for naming but thought that a silly name would be easy to care for. Since Gou Wa had been injured and Zhi Sheng feared he might not survive, he chose this name for him.
Having lost his parents early on and having started foraging for wild vegetables and herbs at the age of seven or eight to survive, Zhi Sheng thought he would live alone for the rest of his life. Then suddenly, fate brought Gou Wa into his life. Although he was simple-minded and often smiled foolishly at him, there was something endearing about him. Whenever Zhi Sheng asked for help, Gou Wa would rush forward eagerly, even though he initially knew nothing and needed Zhi Sheng to guide him step by step.
That day, Zhi Sheng took Gou Wa back to Zhuang Daifu's house for a follow-up examination. Fortunately, the external injuries had healed; however, regarding the injury in his head, Zhuang Daifu couldn’t say when the bruise would dissipate. After all, it was possible that it could remain in his brain for life, leaving him as a fool forever.
Zhi Sheng had his own selfish desire to keep Gou Wa around to accompany him. During these days of living together, their bond had grown closer than that of twin brothers, and he hadn't felt such familial affection in a long time.
However, Gou Wa was quite handsome, and even recognized the characters in Zhuang Daifu's medical texts. A person like him must have been a well-educated child from a respectable family before his memory loss. Zhi Sheng couldn't help but wonder if his family had been worried about him during his long absence.
One day, Zhi Sheng took Gou Wa to the market, intending to ask around the nearby towns if anyone had lost a son, especially a Tian Qian boy. But after several busy days, no one came forward to claim him. It seemed likely that Gou Wa's previous injuries were the result of an encounter with bandits, and that his entire family had perished, leaving him alone.
Of course, these were just Zhi Sheng's own speculations.
Days passed, and life with Gou Wa continued to improve. With two strong men working together, they naturally reaped greater rewards.
Recently, Gou Wa had indeed grown quite a bit. Initially, Zhi Sheng's clothes could still fit them both, but now Gou Wa had outgrown him by a considerable height, making the clothes too short. Unable to do anything else, Zhi Sheng bought some fabric in town and sent it to a neighborly aunt who was skilled at sewing. He also gifted her some floral fabric for women to make a new outfit for Gou Wa. The ready-made clothes in town were too expensive; he always relied on the talented women in the neighborhood to help him sew.
Looking at Gou Wa's appearance resembling that of a jade tree swaying in the wind, Zhi Sheng felt quite satisfied. If only the boy weren't so naive; surely all the village girls would want to marry him.
In their impoverished rural area, there were hardly any Tian Qian people; it took over ten years for one to appear in the village. Naturally, when Zhi Sheng learned that Gou Wa was from Tian Qian, he decided to keep this information from Zhuang Daifu. A simple-minded Tian Qian boy could easily become an object of desire for the village women who would go crazy just to bear Tian Qian offspring.
With a few sighs, Zhi Sheng sat on the bed, feeling quite troubled. Every day, Gou Wa seemed to grow more outstanding; recently, even the village girls had started paying attention to him. Moreover, being so innocent and silly, he would smile foolishly when they pinched his cheeks.
Zhuang Daifu had also suggested that they should let Tian Qian marry into their family. With such a connection, no one would dare cause trouble for them.
However, the idea of Tian Qian marrying Zhong Yong was simply unheard of; Zhi Sheng immediately opposed it. That wouldn't work at all.
Gou Wa thought his brother was just staring at him. Sitting beside Zhi Sheng with a silly grin on his face, he suddenly pinched Zhi Sheng's cheek and said, "Brother, your face is so soft!"
Zhi Sheng swatted his hand away; it seemed this guy was picking up bad habits lately.
Gou Wa suddenly pouted, holding Zhi Sheng's arm and whispering, "Brother, I feel uncomfortable."
"You feel uncomfortable? Is it a headache?" Zhi Sheng asked quickly, thinking it was an old ailment resurfacing.
Although Gou Wa was a bit slow, he understood that some things were hard to say. After a moment of hesitation, he bit his lip and said to Zhi Sheng, "It's not a headache; it's something else that hurts."
"Where does it hurt? Let me see if you bumped your leg," Zhi Sheng said as he bent down to lift Gou Wa's pant leg to check for any injuries.
But just as he crouched down, his face collided with something hot.
Zhi Sheng stared at Gou Wa for a long time, his expression turning strange and awkward. After holding back for a while, he finally asked, "Have you entered your restless phase?"
Having never raised Tian Qian before, Zhi Sheng wasn't sure if he had overlooked anything. He had asked Zhuang Daifu many questions about Tian Qian and learned that every few months, Tian Qian would go through a restless phase. During this time, Tian Qian's temperament would change unpredictably, refusing to interact with others unless comforted by Kun Ze.
"What?" Gou Wa didn't understand what Zhi Sheng was talking about. He simply gazed at him with clear eyes and said earnestly, "I feel uncomfortable, brother."
Zhi Sheng opened his mouth, unsure of how to handle the situation. However, he remembered Zhuang Daifu saying that releasing pent-up feelings would help. He gestured to Gou Wa and said, "See? Just do it like this... Yes... Just like that; you won't feel uncomfortable anymore..."
Gou Wa tried to move a few times but soon became more agitated. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled Zhi Sheng closer, grasping his hand tightly. Zhi Sheng was momentarily stunned; it took him a few seconds to react. When he felt the pressure in his hand, Gou Wa let out a pained whimper. Zhi Sheng quickly released him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
Gou Wa bit his lip and looked at him with a pitiful expression. "Brother, you're bullying me."
Zhi Sheng: "..."
"I'm not doing it on purpose, but I can only teach you this much about such things. The rest is up to you. There are some books from Zhuang Daifu here; see if you can figure it out. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Without waiting for the reproachful gaze of Gou Wa behind him, Zhi Sheng hurriedly left the room, his footsteps flustered.
When he returned that evening, he found that Gou Wa had already tidied everything up. Assuming that Gou Wa had vented all his frustrations, Zhi Sheng tentatively nudged the motionless figure lying on the bed. "Gou Wa, you..."
In the next moment, the world spun around him as Gou Wa grabbed him and pulled him onto the bed, pinning him down.
Gou Wa spoke as if seeking praise, "Brother, I learned it! The little figures in the book you gave me, I’ve mastered them all."
Before Zhi Sheng could comprehend the deeper meaning behind Gou Wa's words, he was silenced by a kiss from Gou Wa, leaving him unable to ask any further questions.
The next day, at noon.
Rubbing his sore back, Zhi Sheng marched towards Zhuang Daifu's house with a hoe in hand. He was determined to get to the bottom of what nonsense was in the booklet he had given to Gou Wa!
It nearly cost him his life.
Unfortunately, before he could even step over the threshold with his hoe in hand, a large hand from behind yanked him back.
From that moment on, he had a home.
A blissful home.
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