Chapter 69
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Tang Feng couldn’t handle this matter alone.
“I understand this request is quite sudden. You don’t have to give me an answer right now.”
Wen Shu also understood propriety. He remembered when the village chief came specifically to ask him to teach before. But he had been too arrogant, solely focused on passing the imperial examinations, going with the confidence of sure success. Now, coming back asking for teaching again, Wen Shu felt his face flushing just thinking about it. But to calm himself down, he still agreed to meet.
Tang Feng smiled faintly, “I’ll discuss it with the other two teachers.”
“Thank you.”
Tang Feng’s willingness to help already made Wen Shu quite grateful.
That afternoon, Tang Feng sought out Wu Fei and Old Xiucai Wang to discuss.
“Does Wen Shu want to teach with us?”
Wu Fei’s mouth hung open in surprise.
“He said he wants to give it a try.”
Old Xiucai Wang took a puff of his pipe and chuckled, “Back when he went to the capital, I said this guy, only through experience will he know his true worth.”
As he said this, he glanced at Tang Feng, wondering how things would turn out if it were Tang Feng going this time.
“Hmm?”
Wu Fei listened with a puzzled expression, glancing at Old Xiucai Wang for clarification.
Tang Feng explained, “It’s good that Wen Shu wants to teach. It’s beneficial for the village, considering his literary skills are much better than mine. However, since the results of the imperial examinations haven’t been announced yet, we don’t know if he’ll pass. If we start another class and Wen Shu ends up passing the exam, what will happen to those students?”
If Wen Shu passes the imperial examination, the Wen family won’t stay in Xiao Qingshan Village. Wen Shu is still young, and his future is promising. The Wen family, even Father Tang and the clan people also don’t want Wen Shu to stay in Xiao Qingshan Village indefinitely.
“Yeah, that’s true,” Wu Fei agreed, realizing Tang Feng’s point was valid.
Old Xiucai Wang glanced at both of them. “It’s not for us to decide. Let the village chief and the clan handle it.”
Tang Feng nodded in agreement.
At the Tang family courtyard,
Lin Yu was hanging the freshly made auspicious lock pillowcases on the clothesline.
As Tang Feng entered the courtyard, the exquisite auspicious lock caught his eye. “It’s finished.”
“Yeah, is it good.”
Tang Feng’s expression become serious when he heard the question. He leaned in to inspect closely. After a while, just as Lin Yu was about to ask him something, he said,
“What my Fu Lang makes is always the best, no matter what it is.”
Lin Yu seldom teased Tang Feng like this anymore.
“Zhao Amo has taken the medicine you prepared, and I’ve collected the money.”
Seeing Lin Yu ignoring his “sweet talk,” Tang Feng chuckled softly. He realized he had thickened his Fu Lang’s skin with his compliments.
After Father Tang returned, Tang Feng informed him about Wen Shu’s situation and discussed his own thoughts on the matter.
“You’re right about this. I’ll discuss it with the elders of the clan,” Father Tang responded.
Tang Feng had initially planned to discuss it with the elders the next day, but after dinner, Father Tang couldn’t sit still and went out.
“Your father is always like this.”
Tang Amo rinsed his feet with cold water in the courtyard and noticed Father Tang heading out. He turned to Lin Yu and complained softly.
“Father must be thinking the matter could be resolved sooner.”
Tang Amo understood this naturally, but he couldn’t help his habit of complaining.
So, Tang Feng really didn’t know what to say to them.
“Let’s go.”
Tang Feng said to Lin Yu.
“Be careful, come back soon when it gets dark.”
Tang Amo reminded.
“I know.”
Lin Yu was nearing childbirth, and for a safer delivery, Tang Feng had been taking walks with him in the village after dinner for the past few days.
Note: in case you don’t understand, when women are near childbirth, they are advised to walk more to make it easy during labor.
Summer nights stayed bright for longer, so even after dinner, it was still quite luminous outside.
The village was still bathed in the lingering glow of the sunset. Occasionally, when Tang Feng glanced at Lin Yu, his determined face was illuminated even more handsomely by the golden light.
“Why are you staring at me?”
Lin Yu felt uncomfortable under Tang Feng’s hungry gaze and turned his head to ask.
“Can’t I admire my own Fu Lang?” Tang Feng replied.
Lin Yu looked around and saw few people nearby. “Okay.”
Tang Feng nodded in agreement. “Let’s take the main road. We might come back late, so it’s safer to walk on the wider path.”
The main roads in Xiao Qingshan Village were made of a mixture of mud and stones. Over the years, the stones on these roads had been embedded into the mud, making them smooth and slip-resistant.
“Hey, are you two out for a stroll?”
Wu Amo greeted them with a smile as she stepped out of her house.
“Yes, Wu Amo where are you off to?”
Lin Yu replied.
“I’m going to the Zhou family.”
Wu Amo said with a smile. “Alright, you two take your time, be careful on the road, there are still some small stones scattered around.”
“We’ll be careful. Thank you, Wu Amo.”
Tang Feng replied gratefully, and Lin Yu nodded in agreement.
Tang Feng and Lin Yu naturally appreciated the concern from others.
“Wu Amo seems very happy.”
“There must be good news at the Zhou family,” Lin Yu replied.
It suddenly occurred to Tang Feng that Zhou Ming’s Amo was the village’s coal supplier. He realized it must be about Wu Zhu’s affairs.
Hu Qiang and his new Fu Lang seemed to be doing well. Every time Tang Feng saw them, Hu Qiang wore a smile of contentment. Although the new Fu Lang was from the town, he worked just as hard as the village men. Tang Feng had heard Hu Qiang praise him several times.
“Do you want to take a rest for a while?”
Lin Yu nodded. His belly was too big, and although they were walking slowly, Lin Yu wasn’t feeling very comfortable.
Tang Feng naturally had a long stride, but he had to slow down because of Lin Yu’s condition. He was always mindful of the baby in his belly.
“Let’s go to the big rock up ahead. There’s a place to sit, and I remember there’s a spot that’s slightly elevated. You can sit there comfortably without having to bend over.”
Tang Feng supported Lin Yu as they walked towards the nearby large rock.
The big rock was named so for a reason—it was indeed huge, requiring the effort of five grown men to encircle it. Over the years, its surface had smoothed out, and on sunny days, children often played on top of it.
There weren’t many houses around the big rock, but there were a few large locust trees nearby. When the wind blew, you could hear the rustling of the branches.
“Do you think the wind will be too strong?”
Tang Feng felt a bit worried.
“What do you take me for? It’s not just because it’s summertime; I’m naturally strong. Even with this belly, a regular wind won’t knock me down.”
Tang Feng felt a bit embarrassed; he realized he was being overly concerned.
“…I’m sorry…”
Tang Feng was puzzled. “Sorry for what?”
Did Lin Yu do something wrong?
Lin Yu hurriedly covered Tang Feng’s mouth and pulled him to hide behind the back of the big rock.
“No need to apologize. It’s not your fault.”
Tang Feng cautiously peeked out from behind the rock and saw two figures standing under the large locust tree—one tall and handsome, the other delicate and picturesque.
It was Zhang Lei and Wen Qing.
Tang Feng was stunned. These two…
Fearing they might be discovered, Lin Yu quickly pulled him back. Seeing Lin Yu standing there heavily pregnant was also not ideal, so Tang Feng reached out and wrapped his arm around his waist.
“Lean on me.”
Tang Feng whispered silently.
Lin Yu complied without hesitation, resting against him.
Meanwhile, the two over there continued talking, their words intermittently carried by the wind.
“I… you…” Wen Qing’s voice sounded different from its usual coldness, tinged with an unknown emotion.
“But… it’s not possible… you know…”
Zhang Lei’s voice sounded troubled.
“Why… why couldn’t it be me!”
Wen Qing’s voice suddenly rose, filled with agitation.
“But…”
There was no more sound after that. After waiting for a while, still no sound came. Tang Feng cautiously peeked out again. “They’re gone.”
Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. If they had to stand there any longer, he would have been really tired.
“Let’s go home.”
Neither of them mentioned what had just happened. After all, encountering such a situation was already embarrassing enough. Bringing it up again now would be impolite.
However, Tang Feng couldn’t help but recall Zhou Wen’s words from last time. He figured the man he saw earlier must have been Zhang Lei.
“The sky is getting dark. I’ll go to Uncle Zheng’s house to borrow some torches before we leave.”
Tang Feng said, observing the dimming sky.
“It’s okay, we don’t need to.”
Tang Feng insisted, so Lin Yu had no choice but to wait outside for him.
From the Zheng family’s courtyard, the sounds of children crying could be heard intermittently.
After a moment’s consideration, Tang Feng decided to knock on the door. To his surprise, the door swung open by itself.
“Oh! Doctor Tang! I was just about to look for you!” Uncle Zheng exclaimed excitedly, holding a several-month-old baby who was crying incessantly. His face lit up as he looked at Tang Feng. The baby in his arms was his grandson.
“Come in, have some green bean soup. You’ve been a great help to us.”
Uncle Zheng’s son-in-law kindly brought Lin Yu a bowl of green bean soup and said.
“Zheng Amo, don’t mention it.”
It turned out that Uncle Zheng’s grandson had been crying a lot these days, and he couldn’t sleep well at night. Tonight, he even refused to drink milk. The Zheng family was worried, so they decided to bring the baby to see Tang Feng. Unexpectedly, Tang Feng was right at their doorstep.
Tang Feng carefully examined the baby, who was still lying on the big table. Seeing the red spots on the baby’s face, he gently opened the child’s clothes. He noticed that the baby’s entire body was covered in redness, with numerous small bumps and blisters, densely packed together.
Tang Feng frowned, touching the small bumps. The baby shuddered and cried even louder.
“The baby has developed heat rash. We bathe him three times a day, but it’s only getting worse. Doctor Tang, what do you think is causing this?”
Uncle Zheng asked worriedly, while the baby’s father looked on nervously.
The author’s note: [Are you willing?]
After seeing that everyone had nothing more to say, the male teacher didn’t ask Tang Feng to sit down but continued, “Is there anything else you don’t understand?”
Everyone exchanged glances, and then Hu Qiang raised his hand.
The male teacher gestured for him to stand up and speak.
Scratching his head, Hu Qiang asked somewhat sheepishly, “If a man wants to sleep with another man but the other person doesn’t want to, why is that?”
The male teacher looked directly at Tang Feng, indicating that he should answer.
Tang Feng felt like punching Hu Qiang. This was a biology class, not a counseling session!
With a sigh, Tang Feng responded in a barely audible voice, “When you’re walking on the main road, and someone suddenly comes up to pick your nose, would you like it?”
Hu Qiang thought for a moment. “No, I wouldn’t.”
Tang Feng shook his head. Well, there you have it! Wasn’t it obvious?!
(This small theatre is based on a joke~)
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Haha, the author definitely wouldn’t want that!
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