Liu Sisi raised her eyebrows in surprise! She couldnât see it coming, the man was actually a great filial son!
She suddenly lost interest in causing trouble for him.
âNo harm done! Sisi didnât save your aunt for the silver. Consider it a small repayment for your help in finding San Mao. Letâs call it even between us.â
Her words also hinted an intention not to have any further contact with him.
âNo! This matter must be kept separate. I from the Zuo Family still owe you one!â
After Zuo Xingyu finished speaking seriously, he helped his still babbling mother to leave.
âAh! I completely forgot!â
Liu Zhiâer suddenly exclaimed and rushed out of the door, immediately attracting Da Maoâs attention, who cried âwa waâ and ran outside as well.
âSecond Sister! Second Sister, where are you going?â
Liu Sisi hurriedly chased after her, but couldnât see Liu Zhiâerâs figure.
Not long after, Liu Zhiâer returned, looking despondent and constantly glancing back.
âSecond Sister, whatâs wrong?â
âSisi, Big Brother Zuo has no silver on him and heâs with Auntie. How will he get back? I was chasing after him to give him some silver so he could rent a carriage or a bull-cart, but I couldnât find him.â Liu Zhiâer was anxious.
Liu Sisi looked deeply at her. Why had Second Sister suddenly taken such an interest in Zuo Xingyu? She still remembered that when Zuo Xingyu was mentioned before, Second Sister had always gritted her teeth and looked absolutely resolute. This was quite different from how she appeared now.
Could it be⦠what she had thought?
This was too dramatic!
Think for a moment about the relationship between Zuo Xingyu and Second Sister⦠She hurriedly shook her head, dispelling the thoughts that shouldnât have been in her head.
âWhatâs the matter? Sisi, do you disagree with what I said?â Liu Zhiâer asked.
Liu Sisi, with an embarrassed expression, said: âSecond Sister, what were you just saying? I didnât hear clearly.â
Liu Zhiâer shook her head, amused: âI said, Da Mao and I will temporarily live in the room where Auntie lived before. Is that okay? This way we donât have to clean up another room.â
âOf course thatâs fine. But first, take the bedding out and wash it. Also, bring two new quilts over. I knew youâd be coming back to stay, so I prepared quilts in advanceâ¦â
It was only then that Liu Sisi realized, hurriedly stepped forward to hold Liu Zhiâerâs hand, and the two, talking and walking, entered the house.
As Liu Zhiâer returned, Liu Sisiâs load suddenly became much lighter.
She had been worried about the new family servants not being conscientious enough, and she had to supervise and deal with them. As soon as Liu Zhiâer returned, she took over many tasks. Meanwhile, Liu Sisi focused on taking care of her pregnancy and tutoring Xuanâer and Yunâerâs homework after dinner.
Liu Zhiâer had always been a hard worker. With her leading the way, no one dared to slack off.
Her embroidery skills were also top-notch. Liu Sisi had saved a lot of cloth, and Liu Zhiâer chose a few of them and said she would make spring shirts for Sisi and YingEr. Liu Sisi naturally didnât object, as long as Second Sister could recover from her grief, she could do whatever she wanted.
But a few days later, when she accidentally got up in the middle of the night, she heard faint crying from Liu Zhiâerâs room. It was then that she understood that Second Sister hadnât really recovered from the blow.
It seemed she must not slacken in her efforts to find Er Mao and San Mao!
Time slipped quietly away, and by the time Di Yelei returned, it was already a dozen days later.
âSisi! Sisi, Iâm back! Sisiâ¦â
Di Yelei hadnât even entered the door yet, and he was already shouting and rushing in from outside.
Liu Sisi was in the middle of preparing cooked dishes for her father.
âHuh? Sisi, is this dish for⦠â
As Di Yelei came in, he saw Liu Sisi closing the lid of the large food box.
âYe Lei, youâre back? Perfect timing. This is the food I prepared for the clinic; you can take it over! And check on your father while youâre at it.â Liu Sisi saw him and quickly handed over the large food box.
âBringing food to Dad? Is he not feeling well? Or is he sick? Whatâs going on, Sisi?â Di Yelei asked anxiously.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âNo, no, hereâs what happenedâ¦â
Liu Sisi quickly explained: âRecently, Dad has been visiting the clinic every day, chatting and laughing with Old He. Heâs been eating and even staying at the clinic. Old He has been giving him acupuncture treatments to clear his meridians and remove the after-effects of his strokeâ¦â
Liu Sisi tried to pay with silver, but was strongly refused by Old He, and almost had a falling out with him. She quickly apologized, and simply decided to cook some delicious food to bring to Old He as a way of repaying his kindness.
Besides Old He, there were his apprentice Zheng He and another sitting doctor at the clinic, both of whom gradually got a taste of the benefits and started enjoying free meals every day.
Over time, everyone got used to it, waiting for the food to be cooked and delivered.
âI figured that since Iâm sending food to one person, it wouldnât be much more trouble to send food to a few others. Itâs just a matter of adding a bit more rice and a few more dishes.â Liu Sisi said as she pushed the large food box forward again, âHurry up and take it! Itâs so heavy, and my arm is sore.â
Di Yelei quickly took it and nodded repeatedly, âIndeed, it should be done. Although Old He didnât say it explicitly, the cost of daily acupuncture treatments isnât cheap. Are we giving too little by just delivering some food?â
âWell⦠Old He didnât want to accept silver. How about you buy some good wine and bring it to him as well?â Liu Sisi suggested.
âSounds good! Even if Old He doesnât drink it, he can use it to make herbal wine.â
Only then did Di Yelei happily carry the large food box out of the courtyard.
It wasnât until after he left that Liu Sisi remembered that she had forgotten to ask him about the situation at the riverside.
The work at the riverside has come to an end, and Di Yelei, in a good mood, bought a jar of good wine and went to the clinic diagonally opposite with a light step.
From a distance, the sharp-eyed medicine pageboy spotted him and waved at him.
âThird Uncle Di, how come you have time to come over today? Is the spring military recruitment over?â
âYou little rascal, you had to bring up that, didnât you!â
Di Yelei quickly entered the clinic, tapped the medicine pageboy on the head, and everyone laughed as the boy exclaimed, âOuch!â
âAlthough the spring military recruitment isnât over yet, it will be soon. Once everyone comes back, the workload will be reduced. Hello, Old He, Doctor Zheng, Dad, Third Child brought the food.â
Di Yeleiâs face was full of joy, and he looked exceptionally energetic.
âThird Son Di, you really seem invigorated. Is there some good news? Share it with everyone!â
Old He teased him with a laugh.
Di Yelei put down the large food box, straightened his back, and said, âOld He, youâre absolutely right. There is indeed some good news.â