Chapter 27: I’m Sick
He had personally seen her save Yingzi, so he was certain she knew medicine.
"I’m just going to gather medicinal herbs. I already told Uncle Hu."
Hu Feng said nothing, staring at her for a moment. His gaze was so intense it felt like it could burn a hole right through her.
"I can take you to Luoying Mountain and protect you while you’re there, but I have one condition."
Bai Zhi wanted to curse. ’Damn it,’ she thought, ’he’s just showing me the way, it’s not like I’m asking him for anything else. How can he have the gall to make demands? Is there any justice or decency left in the world?’
Seeing Bai Zhi purse her lips and say nothing, Hu Feng got straight to the point. "I’m sick."
Of course Bai Zhi knew he was sick. "If you’re sick, then go get treated!"
Hu Feng turned his head away, his gaze fixed on the distance. "Those quacks—they can’t cure me. Besides—I have no money!"
’So, is the main point that those quacks can’t cure him? Or that he has no money?’
"What makes you think I can cure you?" she retorted.
Hu Feng’s gaze remained on the horizon. "Just give it a try."
Bai Zhi was speechless. ’So that’s his real meaning,’ she thought. ’Give it a try, since it’s free anyway. He’s just guiding me, so it’s not like he’ll lose anything more...’
Hu Feng asked, "They call you Zhi?"
Bai Zhi nodded. "My name is Bai Zhi. People close to me call me Zhi. Those who aren’t call me Miss Bai. And we aren’t close."
"Zhi, if you want to go to Luoying Mountain, we should get moving. In another hour, the sun will be even more brutal."
"Zhi, what are you spacing out for? Don’t you want to go anymore?"
"..."
Not long after Mrs. Yingzi left the Bai Family home, Bai Erzhu suddenly rushed out of the house in a hurry, tying his belt as he cursed, "It’s already this late and there’s no food ready. I don’t know what this houseful of old women are good for."
Ms. Zhang followed him out of the room and huffed, "If you’re so capable, then you cook. You say that as if you get up any earlier than anyone else."
Bai Erzhu didn’t have time to bicker with her right now. He tied up his hair and rushed back into the room, shouting to ask what food was left in the house that he could take with him.
Just then, Old Mrs. Bai came out from the backyard. "Erzhu, what are you eating for now? You should go on an empty stomach and wait to eat at the competition!"
Bai Erzhu froze for a moment. ’That’s right! If I go hungry, I’ll definitely be able to eat faster and more than the others. Wouldn’t that give me a better chance of winning?’
When Bai Dazhu heard this, he asked with a puzzled look, "What competition? What are you all talking about?"
Bai Erzhu had originally planned to hide it from his older brother, but now that he’d overheard, he knew he had to tell him the truth.
When Bai Dazhu learned of such a great opportunity—free food, things to take home, and a day off from working in the fields—there was no way he would miss it. He immediately stripped off his patched-up jacket, turned around, went into the house, and rummaged around for a half-new long shirt. "I’m going with you. The two of us brothers will do our best to bring back that bag of white flour."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Bai immediately waved her hands dismissively. "No, absolutely not. If you go too, who will do the work in the fields? One person is enough for this flour-earning job. If you go, we’ll have to pay another entry fee. Isn’t that a waste of money?"
Bai Dazhu was immediately unhappy and started shouting, "Then on what grounds can my younger brother skip farm work to go have fun in the city, but I can’t? Aren’t you just being biased?"
Bai Erzhu quickly said, "How is this ’having fun’? I’m risking my life, eating until I burst, to earn rations for the family! It’s one thing if you’re not grateful, but now you’re slandering me by saying I’m going to have fun? Who plays with their life on the line?" He felt a little guilty, so he deliberately raised his voice.