Chapter 2 Marry me

The lake water in midsummer is cool to the bone, and the scorching heat of the scorching sun is instantly washed away.

　　Ye Annian slowly opened his eyes and felt like he was sinking to the bottom of the lake.

　　He looked at the lake getting further and further away from him, until finally there was only a ray of light the size of a fingertip.

　　All the sounds in his ears disappeared. The water in his nose made his throat and chest feel like burning. The itching in his throat also made him very uncomfortable, but he could no longer cough it out.

　　He didn't want to stay here, nor did he want to go back. If there was another chance to be reborn, it would be better to leave it to other people in need.

　　All he wanted was death.

　　Before completely losing consciousness, Ye Anyian raised his eyelids with great effort and glanced at the blurry and dim sky above. He didn't know if it was an hallucination, but a shadow seemed to flash past him in a trance.

　　…

　　"Sir, here you go."

　　I don't know how long it took, but there seemed to be a childish voice ringing in my ears.

　　Then a gentle male voice came over: "Did you bring the scent?"

　　After a slight sound of things being turned over, a child's voice sounded again: "Sir, I don't think I have it with me."

　　Feeling his consciousness return, Ye Anyian's eyelids trembled and he tried to open his eyes.

　　The sky was bright in front of me, and I saw a face that was not unfamiliar.

　　The man has sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose and thin lips. On his handsome and handsome face, there is a pair of gentle and warm eyes. The corners of his lips are slightly pursed, raising a slight smile.

　　Next to him was an eight or nine-year-old child squatting on the ground, holding a blind stick.

　　These two people were none other than Jiang Zhu, the doctor in Crescent Village, and Ding Qiu, the blind medicine boy he brought with him.

　　Three years ago, the two people fled from outside, saying that there was a flood in their hometown. Li Zheng felt that they were pitiful, and the village happened to be short of a herbal medicine doctor, so they left them behind.

　　Ye Anian and Jiang Zhu had met once before. His arm was covered with scars when he was beaten by Ye Chenghe. When he was squatting by the river washing clothes, Jiang Zhu had given him a small bottle of wound medicine.

　　Unfortunately, after only using it a few times, Ye Chenghe discovered it and snatched it away, saying that he was a cheapie and did not deserve such a good thing.

　　"elder brother..."

　　His sleeve was suddenly pulled, and a pair of warm little hands held him firmly.

　　Fuzai's eyes were red. When he saw Ye Anyian waking up, he flattened his mouth and tears began to fall down.

　　Ye Anqing sighed softly: "Brother...it's okay, cough! Cough cough cough cough cough..."

　　He wanted to comfort Fu Zai, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his chest twitched, and a dull pain and itching came from his throat, causing him to cough uncontrollably.

　　He coughed so hard that Fu Zai was immediately frightened and did not dare to cry anymore. He was at a loss with tears in his eyes.

　　"Don't talk yet." Jiang Zhu on the side raised his hand and patted Ye Anyian's back, speaking warmly.

　　Then one hand held his shoulder, and the other hand held a small white porcelain bottle and handed it to his mouth.

　　Ye Anian was coughing and couldn't breathe, when he felt a cool and sweet liquid pour into his mouth and slide down his throat.

　　My throat, which was itchy just a moment ago as if there were ants crawling on it, instantly felt as if it was being watered by a cold spring, and all the discomfort disappeared without a trace.

Seeing that his brother had recovered, Fu Zai's little hand that tightly held Ye Annian's sleeve loosened a little.

　　Seeing this, Jiang Zhu ordered Ding Qiu to take Fu Zai aside to play. He had something to say to Ye Anian.

　　Ding Qiu responded and fumbled for Fu Zai's little hand. The two walked to the shade of a nearby tree and weaved grasshoppers.

　　Ye Annian calmed down for a while and then said "Thank you" to Jiang Zhu.

　　"You can thank me if you take good care of yourself. Life is precious, why seek death?"

　　Of course he can't survive, Ye Anyian thought to himself.

　　But facing Jiang Zhu, he just twitched the corner of his mouth and said quietly: "I'll trouble Doctor Jiang to save me one more time. Don't worry, I won't seek death again."

　　"What are you going to do next?" Jiang Zhu asked.

　　Ye Annian glanced at Fu Zai, who was playing straw knitting with Ding Qiu not far away, and smiled bitterly: "What else can I do?"

　　Either go to the Wang family or go back to the Ye family. but...

　　He raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Zhu, his voice was light and a little distant: "If it's convenient, could you please Dr. Jiang lend me some money and make an IOU. I'll ask someone to pay it back to you when I settle down with Fu Zai outside in the future."

　　Since he was not dead, he would never return to the Wang family or the Ye family. He wanted to escape from here.

　　"It's money..." Jiang Zhu hesitated.

Ye Anyian's heart tightened.

　　He knew that whether he borrowed it or not depended on Jiang Zhu's wishes. He had already saved him and had no obligation to borrow any more money.

　　Jiang Zhu said, "I just came back from a medical visit in Beigou Village and saw Butcher Wang taking his two sons and heading towards Yueya Village."

　　Ye Anyian was silent.

　　His Adam's apple twitched, knowing that someone from Beigou Village might have passed by, saw the wedding sedan on the road, and told the Wang family that he "died" on the road. The Wang family was going to settle the score with Ye Chenghe. I'm afraid the fight between the two families has ended by now.

　　This time, he had absolutely no way out.

　　"It's not like I don't have money, but it will be very difficult for you to make a living with Brother Fu alone."

　　Jiang Zhu packed up the medicine box and looked up at him: "But now I have another way..."

　　"What can I do?" Ye Anyian asked.

　　Jiang Zhu slightly raised the corners of his mouth: "Marry me."

　　Ye Anyian:...

　　"Cough...cough cough cough!" He stood up from the ground suddenly and stared at Jiang Zhu in surprise.

　　"This way you don't have to go back to the Ye family, and I can help you get rid of the Wang family." Jiang Zhu ignored his expression and continued to lay out the pros and cons.

　　When he said this, Ye Anian frowned: "What are you planning?"

　　He was a sick man who was about to die, and he was carrying a small oil bottle. His only thirty coins were stolen by Xi Po.

　　"Your cough is an old disease that is stubborn and difficult to cure. I want to try it." Jiang Zhu smiled.

　　"There's no need to...marry me." Ye Anyian clenched his fists with his hands hidden in his sleeves, still not believing what he said.

　　The experience of two lives made him not believe that there would be help and kindness without any intention.

　　"The medicinal materials to treat your disease are very expensive." Jiang Zhu stood up and put his coat on Ye Anyian's shoulders, "If I don't marry you, why should I spend so much money on treating an outsider's disease?"

　　Ye Anyian:...

　　He couldn't refute these words.

　　Seeing that he didn't speak, Jiang Zhu seemed a little happy: "Then I'll take it as your promise."

　　After saying that, he called to the two children who were playing with leaves of grass not far away: "Ding Qiu, Brother Fu, you're home!"

　　"Coming, sir!"

　　Ding Qiu responded loudly, holding a blind stick in one hand and holding Fu Zai in the other. Two little people, one tall and one short, slowly walked towards them.

　　Jiang Zhu: "Wait a minute, go out and see if there is anyone else on the road outside?"

　　"Yes, sir." After Ding Qiu said that, he turned around and walked out of the forest with his blind stick.

　　Fu Zai grabbed the hem of Ye Anyian's clothes and hid behind him, staring at Ding Qiu's back with half of his face exposed.

　　Jiang Zhu knew that he wanted to follow him, so he said, "Ding Qiu's eyesight is inconvenient. Brother Fu, are you going with him?"

　　Fu Zai's eyes lit up when he heard this and he looked up at Ye Anyian. Ye Anyian touched his head: "Go if you want to. Run slower and don't fall."

"Yes!" Fu Zai bit his finger and responded, then limped after Ding Qiu with his short legs.

　　He liked his blind brother very much. He spoke softly and made grasshoppers for him to play with.

　　The figures of the two children quickly disappeared into the woods, and only then did Ye Anyian notice the clothes on his body.

　　The dirty clothes were a bit too wide and didn't fit well. He looked up at Jiang Zhu and froze immediately.

　　At this time, Jiang Zhu was bare-chested, wearing only his old red wedding dress, and his own patched undergarment was hanging to dry on a branch of a tree nearby.

　　Then the obscene clothes he was wearing obviously belonged to Jiang Zhu.

　　Ye Anyian:...

　　As a modern person, he doesn't care about this at all, but although the brother in this world is a man, he has more reproductive functions than ordinary men, and his status is the same as that of the women here.

　　Unmarried brothers will cause gossip if they are alone with men, let alone wearing each other's clothes.

　　"you..."

　　He lowered his eyes, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

　　Jiang Zhu quickly explained: "Your clothes are all soaked. If you don't put on dry clothes and catch the wind and cold, you may die. Then what's the point of me saving people?"

　　This is indeed the truth.

　　He raised his head and glanced at Jiang Zhu, and found that the man's face was clear and his expression was as usual. He didn't seem to think too much at all. The exchange of clothes was probably just a way for the doctor to care for the patient.

　　Thinking about it this way, he felt that it was no big deal, and he was also a man.

　　"Don't worry, no one else is here except me, Ding Qiu and your brother. Ding Qiu and I will keep this matter secret." Jiang Zhu promised.

　　"Doctor Jiang is still thoughtful."

　　At this time, Ding Qiu and Fu Zai came back.

　　"Sir, there is no one outside, shall we go?" Ding Qiu said.

　　"Let's go, you and Fu Zai go first, be slow."

　　After Jiang Zhu finished speaking, he turned around and stretched out his hand to Ye Anian: "I'll carry you."

　　"Ahem... I won't bother Doctor Jiang anymore," Ye Annian coughed twice, his voice a little hoarse, "I can leave by myself."

　　Ever since he was a child, no one else had carried him except his own mother.

　　Now that a grown man wants to carry him, it doesn't make sense no matter how hard he thinks about it.

　　"With your body, it will be almost dawn when we walk back." Jiang Zhu was helpless.

　　Then he took out the small medicine bottle just now and put it into Ye Anian's hand: "Loquat dew, it relieves coughs."

　　"Ahem, thank you." Ye Annian took it and took a sip, suppressing the itch in his throat.

　　Seeing that he had calmed down a bit, Jiang Zhu asked the two younger ones to slowly explore the way ahead.

　　Only when the two children were farther away did Jiang Zhu reach out his hand again.

　　Ye Anyian didn't insist anymore. His own body knew that if he were allowed to walk back by himself, half of his life would be lost.

　　After he finished drinking the loquat dew, Jiang Zhu also put on his clothes and carried him steadily on his back.

　　Ye Anyian was a little surprised.

　　Although Jiang Zhu was tall, he was not strong in stature. Unexpectedly, he could easily , completely unlike a country doctor who had no strength to tie a chicken.

He lay on Jiang Zhu's back, the two of them were very close, and a pleasant herbal fragrance penetrated his nose continuously.

　　Ye Annian had no reason to feel at ease. He had only smelled this faint herbal smell on his mother when he was very young.

　　Yueya Village is surrounded by mountains and rivers. More than 50 households in the village are scattered at the foot of Wangyue Mountain.

　　There is an old locust tree that has been growing for more than a hundred years at the entrance of Dongtou Village. The three shabby houses under the tree are Jiang Zhu's family.

　　These three houses were originally the old houses that the Li Zheng family lived in before, but because they were far away from other people in the village and it was difficult to get around, the Li Zheng family built a new house in the village. After moving into the new house, the house became deserted.

　　Later, Jiang Zhu and Ding Qiu fled here, and Li Zheng lent them these three old houses.

　　Jiang Zhu saved up money for almost a year by relying on medical fees and selling herbal medicine. He sold the old house and renovated it. He added a fence with bamboo sticks to surround a small courtyard. Now it looks like It's not too depressing to stand up.

　　The four of them walked for more than half an hour before arriving, and it was already dark.

　　Maybe Jiang Zhu's steps were steady, or maybe he fell into the water and caught some cold, and his whole body was tired, but Ye Anian fell asleep on his back.

　　Arriving at the door of the small courtyard, Ding Qiu held a blind stick in one hand and flexibly opened the bolt on the bamboo door with the other hand.

　　"Brother Fu, follow me." He used his blind stick to find the way and walked into the courtyard. "This morning, Mr. Fu dried herbs in the courtyard. Don't step on them."

　　"Oh." Fu Zai's little hands held the corner of Ding Qiu's clothes tightly, and he followed closely.

　　Jiang Zhu followed the two younger ones and carried Ye Annian on his back into the yard.

　　Feeling that the person on his back was still asleep, he tilted his head and called softly: "Wake up, we're home."

　　I called him twice in a row, but the people behind me didn't respond at all.